" Peel Back " Of Driver's And Passenger's Footwell Car

[toothguy57]

I am replacing the downstream 02 sensors and need to access the "through - the - floor " sensors cabin connection. Is there anyone that can either provide me with detailed step by step or pictorial directions to accomplish this? I have some pictures but they are so limited that they don't really give me the information that I need . I am hesitant to " wing -it " because I don't want to do cosmetic damage to the interior. I have already removed the plastic sill plates and popped loose the clips that hold the carpet to the sill under the plastic sill plates but I am afraid to proceed further because:

Driver's side

1. I do not see how to release the carpet from the kick panel area. It is between the parking brake and the body structure and the carpet is quite inflexible due to the change in the plane of the carpeting as is goes from the somewhat vertical to the horizontal.

2. How is the carpet released around the accelerator pedal ?

3. Is it necessary to release the carpet along the plastic console trim ?

4.How do you release the 2 clips that retain the removable floor mats just in front of the drivers seat ?

Passenger's side

1.Is it necessary to remove the lower plastic portion of the dash ( below the glove box ) ? If so, how do you do this ?

2. How do you free up the carpet from the kick panel and the side of the console ?

3. Again, how do you release the carpet just in front of the passenger seat i.e. the 2 clips that secure the removable floor mat are holding it down here.

Any help will be gratefully received. I am retired and the dealer has quoted me $957.00 to replace the downstream sensors. I have obtained information from members of the forum and have :

1. Ordered all 4 sensors from Rock Auto ( the upstream 2 as well as the downstream 2 )

2 I have succeeded in loosening all four sensors from the exhaust system.

So.. the last thing standing in the way of a DIY success project and saving significant $ is this information

[landar]

Charles, I have never removed the carpet in an LS but found a site that has some generic info on carpet removal. http://www.ehow.com/video_4942137_automotive-carpet-replacement-tools.html

Now, you are not replacing the carpet, you just need to get to the O2 sensor wiring connectors. So, I would work from the outside(meaning door side) and lift the carpet from there to see if you can get enough clearance to feed the O2 wiring through the floor pans. You might be able to get the wiring and connectors snapped together without releasing the inner carpeting anchor points. Once you get the outside edge lifted a bit, use a flashlight to view the existing wires/connector and maybe you can feed the old out and new in with a minimum of carpet lifting.

[sha4000]

1. You have to really bend the carpet to get it underneath the parking brake. It is stiff and will bend.

2. This should help you with the gas pedal.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls400/674553-question-about-removing-carpet.html

3. You have to pull the carpet from underneath the foot well once you have the gas pedal off, I have a 98 but I can't see it being much different on your car. It takes some time and you have to wiggle s lot but it will come out. Just pull it back to the seat and then you have to remove the plastic vent underneath the carpet because the plug is routed underneath them.

4. don't worry about the clips for the mat. They are a part of the carpet and not attached to anything else.

PASSENGER SIDE

1. Yes you have to remove that lower cover to create room to pull the carpet forward. I believe there are a couple of screws holding it on but make sure to unlock the bulb before you pull it out.

2. I told you that the only thing holding the carpet in place are velcro strips, you just have to bend and wiggle the carpet out.

3. See 4 above.

[paulo57509]

Reading through the 1998 factory service manual it looks like the following things need to removed in order to pull the carpet back. I would think it would be similar for a 1993 model.

1. Front door scuff (sill) plates.

2. The center air vents on the side of the center consoles.

3. Accellerator pedal.

4. Air ducts running under the front seats.

5. The lower hush panel above the passengerside footwell.

It's strange that the service manual doesn't provide details on how to go about removing the this stuff.

I did try to remove the drivers side sill plate on my car. I grabed the plate on the inside edge next to the carpet and lifted/rotated it up towards the outside of the car. I started at the rear and moved forward releasing the plate a little at a time. Once released it came off.

The accelerator pedal was covered in an earlier post.

I don't know about how to remove the center console vents. I would think a flat pry tool such as a putty knife would work to pop this out of its opening.

The air ducts are fastened to the floor with one screw/bolt.

You might have to remove the glove box to remove the lower hush panel. I can't open the passenger side door to my car enough the crawl under the dash - it's a tight fit in the garage and I was out there at 3AM doing a mock tear down.....

[toothguy57]

Thank you for the information. Sha 4000 sent me a link on the subject but there seems to be some question as to how to release the accelerator pedal but at least it gives me an idea as to how to approach it . Sha 4000 also says that it just takes a lot of muscle and wiggling to pull it back so I guess I'll try to be intelligent about it and go for it.

[sha4000]

Just push the carpet down by the bottom of the pedal and try to get a good look to see if there are threads. If there are you probably have some bolts if not the pedal most likely just pops on the balls like my 98 does. Once I figured out i had the balls I just put a small pry bar under it and pried the pedal off. I thought I was going to break something but it ended up ok. I made sure to grease those balls before I put the pedal back on .

[sha4000]

Here are 2 good pics of where the velcro strips are on the drivers side. A member posted them in relation to something else but should work for your purposes.

[AzHotLS]

Removing the gas pedal isn't mentioned in this tutorial:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/EFI/suboxygensensor.html

[sha4000]

Removing the gas pedal isn't mentioned in this tutorial:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/EFI/suboxygensensor.html

It might be slightly different on a first gen car in that respect but I could not really say. The instructions that I have been giving relate to the second gen cars but should be close enough to follow.

[AzHotLS]

It might be slightly different on a first gen car in that respect but I could not really say.

The toot is for first gen which the OP has so hopefully it applies.

@toothguy, a dentist by chance? Anyways, there is another toot for the primary O2 sensor on the lexls site. Maybe you've seen it.

[toothguy57]

Thank you for your input. Yes I am a retired dentist. I have progressed in the project to the point where I have gotten the carpet back far enough to access the plug in connectors but haven't been able to unplug them. It seems that it is necessary to lift up on a " finger " of the female portion in order to allow a " tooth" on the male connector on the end of the sensor pigtail but it doesn't release. Any hints?or am I mistaken in my understanding of the connector?

[landar]

Being a former dentist, you may have to pull that connector tooth! ;-) But seriously, if you have purchased the new sensors, study the latch mechanism carefully and you should be able to figure it out. Usually, it involves pushing down on an outside tab or using a screwdriver to pull/push the latch upward/downward. In any case, you will also need to be applying outward pressure on the connectors so that they come apart when you release the latch.

[toothguy57]

Thanks for the response. Another question:

One of the upstream sensor's connector is positioned so that it is going to be extremely difficult to do whatever it takes to disengage the connection . Is there a tool perhaps to solve this situation?