95LS400Bob

Our 95 squealed brakes like crazy when we got it. I removed the pads and found they were installed upside down. There is a relief cut into the brake pad. I simply installed the pads the correct way and it has been quiet ever since. Just something you might want to check.

There is also a spray stuff you can use on the brake rotors. I have only used this for the chronic type deals it sounds like you are going through.

It is called "The Silencer" 9 oz spray can. Bowen Technologies, Inc. It's a professional use only stuff...you may have to go to specialty brake place to get it. I may have a local store that still carrys it if you can't find it.

With this stuff, you spray a light film on the rotor itself. Fills microscopic areas in the brake rotor which causes squealing.

You do that....sand the pads you have on a true flat surface with sand paper to get a new surface...then do the shims,the lube...the whole deal.

I'll update this post with a link to the stuff..if I can find it on the web.

http://www.qmimo.com/qmi_home_page_040.htm

We are currently just "wearing out" the Pep boys tires on the Lexus. They are not worth anything anyhow to sell and we will put new tires on in the spring. This thread has had a bunch of good information and sure helps with tire selection.

I have noted also that after 5000 miles....people review the tires different also at tire rack.

Yeah, tires are tough. My 91 Toyota pickup always had Bridgestones and I always kept getting Bridgestones. Since now it only gets driven around town a little, I went the cheaper route and put some Yokahama's on it. Better ride, quieter, smoother and rounder tire...found totally by accident cause I was just saving money. Now I wish I had thrown away the Brdigestone Duelers when the truck was brand new and done these Yokahama's for 1/2 the price. Go figure.

That's good.

Just had a good laugh! Last night when we were talking about this...I went out and disconnected the mass air flow sensor so i could see if it would start as a test. Well, soon as it fired I shut it off. Didn't figure it would set a code for a check engine light. Connected the mass air flow sensor back up. Closed the hood.

Wife just got home. She says "I got a check engine light on in the Lexus. Wonder what that is all about?"

Ha! Ha!

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Bob, How is she liking the LS......I know you've worked on it A LOT !!!! since you've owned it to get the LS in great shape and your wife was a little leary....

SHe's gotta love the ride :D

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A little wife test today. :D

Bob: "With the price of gas what it is, maybe we should have got you a Toyota Camry. I won't have any trouble selling the Lexus and we could get you a nice Camry. One with Leather. They get a lot better mileage I have heard and they can run on regular gas. Buying premium fuel has gotta be working on your spending money."

Wife: "I don't think so."

Bob: "But I can make a good profit on the car now that it is fixed up nice and no problem finding a Carmy. Same color, even newer!"

Wife: "NO!"

To those unmarried (I have 31 years experience)....that means she likes it. :D

Not me. Only have one Lexus.

My advise would be to use Ebay only as a locater. If you cannot drive there and check the vehicle yourself...do not bid.

I traveled about 2000 miles total, looked at several. The supposed immaculate ones were anything but. Bear in mind I can do all repairs myself so I would probably be more forgiving in a vehicle than you would. Search cars.com and trader on line. The one I found was by total accident returning from a 750 mile trip to look at another one. Good luck.

She really likes it. Even lets me drive it a little.

Still a few things I would like to do. Front lower ball joints replaced. They are a little worn..not hampering the drving of the car but want to do this before a good alignment. Also considering replacing 02 sensors. Then 4 new tires (it has cheap Pep Boys tires now than former owner put on the car) and a small repair on a leather driver seat.

I think it's gonna be the best car we ever owned.

Mine turned out to be power steering hose. Then later while doing motor mounts..I found the return hose hard and brittle and seeping at the power steering pump. Its just a short return hose so nothing special to replace. So check those first.

Batterys die weird lately. Have the battery load tested.

Check your email.

That's good.

Just had a good laugh! Last night when we were talking about this...I went out and disconnected the mass air flow sensor so i could see if it would start as a test. Well, soon as it fired I shut it off. Didn't figure it would set a code for a check engine light. Connected the mass air flow sensor back up. Closed the hood.

Wife just got home. She says "I got a check engine light on in the Lexus. Wonder what that is all about?"

Ha! Ha!

Where's the starter located?

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Buried under the intake manifold according to manual. I have a pdf file on it if someone needs to go there. Starter is same design as a Toyota starter by pictures in diagram.

I'm new here and have a problem with the LW's '95  LS400.

Nearly every morning, when she tries to start her car, she turns the key and....nothing, no clicky-clicky or anything. When she tries again it will either groan (like a discharged battery....it's new) or start right up. A third try always starts it.

The rest of the day it starts just fine unless it has benn sitting for a long-long time. 

I've tried leaving the lights on for a while to simulate a low battery, but unless it's the first start of the day, it starts right up.

I suppose there could be a dead spot in the starter, but I'd think it would be less predictable.

The Lexus dealer wants to put a new starter in it to the tune of $ 1,200.00. I would like to do that as a last resort.

The car has clocked 89k miles and will be due for the 90k before long. If no one has any ideas, I guess I'll bite the bullet then.

Thanks for any ideas,

Greydog

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Check all electrical connections first...especially at the starter. If not..then the starter is most likely. At $1200 for a starter...I believe I would become hands on really quick.

I think the MAF sensor  (malfunction or bad connection) wouldn't allow the car to start............

Does it ever smell like it's flooding out?

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Just for the heck of it, I just unplugged the entire mass air flow sensor and all vacuum lines I could find going. My 95 started right up. Just a test so we would know.

If this had happened to me and I couldn't seem to find it...my next step would be to put the motor at TDC #1, remove the dist cap and make sure the rotor pointing at #1 on the cap.

Or..rent a trailer...bring it over the Hill to Sparks, Nevada and we'll find it .

Reading your posts a little closer..sure sounds like you are covering the bases. I still think all we need is compression, spark and fuel..and it should fire. To stay running a different story...but all we need to fire. I'll be reading the manual more tonight.

There's no CEL on....the car doesnt even start. I checked my valve timing 4 times just to make sure everything is lining up correctly.

The car ran fine before I did any of this, it had low power due to an extremely dirty air filter so I figured I'd do a comeplete tune-up.

The car cranks but doesnt start up... I have fuel and spark for sure. The weird thing is that my instrument cluster turns completely black when I try to start the car up...it returns to normal and is bright as soon as I back off on the key. I tried jump starting it with another vehicle and left the jumper cables there for a good 5 mins.

I torque'd everything down to specs. Spark plugs @ 13 ft lbs, even though the box said 1/2-2/3 of a turn once the base of the plug is flush...that wouldnt be it right? I went back and back tracked my steps to make sure I didnt leave any sensors disconnected and cleaned up battery post and connections.

So now its just sitting in the garage.

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I don't have any diagnostic experience with the Lexus..but do with others.

The only thing I can think of is possibly plug wires on wrong or perhaps the coil wire not in or in the wrong terminal, rotor not engaged correctly...something like that.

We have spark but is it at the right time? that would be plug wire wrong, etc.

Generally speaking...most cars...when the key is turned on..the computer turns the fuel pump in the tank on for a certain amount of time(approx 25 seconds). Then when the engine is cranked...the computer looks for a cranking signall..usually via a cam or crank sensor. If it sees this signal...it turns on the fuel pump and the ignition. Then the car will fire. Now to stay running...it looks at other sensors...but to fire...it should just be that.

I know this is general but maybe that will help.

Also is the engine cranking speed normal? Maybe the dash lights going out are just low battery voltage.

I changed out distibutor caps, rotors, spark plugs, spark plug wires, air filter, checked alternator and battery and got deperate so I tried jump starting the car and it still wont start. The car cranks and dash lights all work but its not firing up... did I miss anything? I also checked valve timing and fuses. Any suggestions on where to look next?

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Let's go back here. Was the engine running somewhat normally before you changed plug wires, cap, rotor, etc. ????

I'm also getting my rotors cut and wheels balanced tommorrow morning. My shifter is also moving slightly. I can tell when I brake that my rotor need to be cut. Getting the wheels balanced couldn't hurt. Maybe they can just see if they are off balance (for peace of Mind). When I replaced my front tires the place that installed them did not balance or ask if I wanted the tires balanced (crappy service, if you ask me). Nonetheless I drove off and the car started to shake and the shifter moved alot. Went back mad, and had the wheels balanced and all was well. (never went back to the place)

note: My car has 18" wheels and the ride isn't as good as the stock wheels. They seem to amplify each problem.

Hope the cars will be fine tommorrow

Tote

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Something I want to pass on here. I have my own tire balancer. I have found that new tires "move"...in other words..there is some shifting that comes about after the tire is run a while. So brand new tires should go back and get a rebalance. I have proven this over and over on my balancer. Always about the same weight is required to rebalance but it moves near 30 degrees on the wheel. My Toyota truck proved it again today as I had to rebalance the tires.

On the brake rotor deal..the word is the best way to turn the rotors is to have it done on the vehicle. Now I have not done that but I can understand why it would be better with everything torqued up and in place. So for a real true rotor....that is what I would do.

The motor and trans mounts are so soft in these Lexus cars..it is no wonder you can see shifter movement if anything shakes.

Bob,

Your posts are always great!! 

You know how to DIY -    (and you'll tackle anything)...........

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!

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Thanks! I am not too typical a Lexus owner I think. I am "Fiat48" most places on the web. Now if I used that name here...everybody would surely wonder!

But I am a race engine builder, drag car and boat racer and build everything myself. Here's a link to some pictures at the Hot boat forums.

http://www.hotboat.com/image_center/showga...user=374&stype=

When you look at some of these things I have and build..you'll see why I want a nice quiet highway vehicle. :D

The Lexus is certainly a different car and I have had a lot of help in fixing the one I have from this forum. I'll always continue to give as much back as I can.

Toyota cars and pickups also have so called "lifetime" fuel filters. BUT, I changed mine anyway

every 30-60K miles on my '92 pickup and have never experienced any fuel injector clogging or fuel pump failures in 451,000 miles of driving.  But I have heard from lots of Toyota pickup and Land Cruiser owners who DID need a new fuel pump and / or their injectors rebuilt after 200-300,000 miles and these owners never changed their fuel filter.

So I figure changing the fuel filter every 60K miles is cheap insurance against potential expensive fuel system problems. And not just the expense of fuel system component replacement, but the huge potential expense of having a fuel system breakdown far from home and far from any Lexus dealer.

In addition, if the fuel injectors do start to become clogged, gas mileage goes down and emissions go up which in turn wears out the expensive EGR valve and catalytic converter prematurely.

So to maintain long term reliability of the whole vehicle for many hundreds of thousands of miles, it is important to keep reasonably clean filters, fluids and lubes in the car at all times.

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Absolutely and I do the same thing. But I got a lot of driving to do for my 91 Toyota pickup to catch ya. I got 144,000 miles.

This is off topic but...have you had brake rotor problems with your 92 Toyota? Mine does. 3rd set of rotors and now these are ready to be turned to get round or thrown away and replaced.

Yep..searches in the forum revealed that 95's are up high..above differential and to wear my 'gas clothes and goggles."  :o

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Blake918 sent me a new fuel filter gathering dust in his garage.

Many thanks again. I put it to good use today.

Sitting here in my "gas clothes" smelling like 90 octane the Lexus fuel filter is quite different than any I have seen. And it's a messy job. Fuel is going to run out as long as there is any left in the tank when changing one of these. So take this job to a mechanic that you don't like.

There is near 5 feet of paper element in this thing. So much area of filtering, perhaps that's why the slogan "lifetime". I suspect this one was original and there was some restriction in it when I blew air through it. Also..some rather brownish stuff came out of it.

4 pictures:

The filter:

Cut open:

The paper element:

Nearly 5 feet of filtering all in one little can:

Just got back from doing a complete scan on the Lexus. We also put it on a lift so i could get a better look standing up..instead of lying on my back.

Found that fuel filter...and it is original and never a wrench on it. The rear suspension and the bushings are in good shape so no further suspension work is needed.

The rear 02's read near same values as the car is running. Switching rapidly as they are supposed to. That pretty much ruled out the rear 02's.

But the pre cat 02's..the ones that control the mixture...there is quite a difference between banks. From all indications of their switching patterns from rich to lean (which is what they are supposed to do) it is obvious to us that bank 1 is leaner than bank 2. (Bank 1 is cylinder #1 side..driver side). And every once in a while..we see a rather "wild" number the left 02 give out. But reading the "trim" (fuel system being trimmed by the ecm) the trim looks pretty good.

Since my check engine code pointed at the left side (bank1) which shows leaner than bank 2, our first thought was to swap 02's from left to right side...and see what that would do.

But while running the scanner...we would hear a slight ping from the motor...especially on starting it. This meant the fuel is not enough octane. So we are going to get a new tank of fuel before we do anything.

Next step is going to be to drive the car over the same ground I did before when I got the check engine code P0 420. See if the code comes back with different fuel. If it does..then I am going to switch 02's right to left. And drive the same ground again.

We figure if the 02 is a little bad on bank 1 and causing the code P0 420, then it shoud do the same thing on Bank 2 if we swap the 02's and give us a P0 430.

Seems nobody replied to this probem so I must be alone. I'll make this an information thread for others in the future.

The 02 sensors are a critical element in our cars. The signals they send tell the engine computer to richen or lean the fuel mixture for best power, economy and emisions.

These sensors live in constant heat and are subjected to possible exhaust contamination. It's my belief that they can get slower in sending the info to the PCM and hurt performance and economy. Yet they might not turn on the check engine lamp as long as they are working somewhat.

My reason for thinking this is a 1993 Cadillac I bought with 70,000 miles. The car ran perfect (so it seemed to me) and seemed perfectly normal. No check engine lights were on. I bought the car and when I went so have it smog tested it failed..but just barely. The car was freshly tuned up and had new oil in it when the smog test was done. I was kind of at a loss of what to do. So I went to an auto parts store and bought an 02 sensor. Even the guy behind the counter said he didn't think it could be that...for my car ran so perfectly.

I installed the new 02 and went for a ride. The car had lots more power than I ever thought a Cad would have. I thought for sure I had gotten the wrong 02 sensor..and this new 02 sensor was giving the car a lot more fuel and hense why it had so much more power. Surely it would fail the smog test with this 02..big time.

I knew the previous owner well and took the car over to him and had him drive it. He said the car never had that kind of power during the 30,000 miles he had driven it while owning it.

I took the car to a smog shop and the test passed with flying colors. Near 0 on emisions. A highway cruise gas mileage check came up 28 mpg.

So now I have this 95 Lexus. It also runs smooth and quiet. But did it used to have more power or get better mileage? I don't know as this is the first Lexus I have had. But the 93 Cadillac would blow it's doors off. But I still like the Lexus better.

02 sensors are expensive (like everything else) for these cars. So I don't want to just throw parts at it. I'm well connected in the auto community and a friend of mine and I are going to run some scan tests on the 02 sensors to see how good they are operating. My car has 150,000 miles and the 02's are all original.

I'll keep this thread posted with our finidngs.

On another thread these were recommended to me and I have been watching for results from a Lexus owner. The reviews at tire rack were not that good for the confortread but they were really good for the tripletread's.

The tires you bought...were they T rated or what rating? Thanks!

Yep..searches in the forum revealed that 95's are up high..above differential and to wear my 'gas clothes and goggles." :o

I'll have to dig around but I will find that sucker. Glad they put one on. Many Dodge vehicles don't have one at all..just the screen in the tank for the fuel pump.

Just thought of something. When I get the old one off (150,000 miles and sure to be original)..then I will cut it apart for all to see on this thread. For the heck of it.

I will be changing mine for sure. Never saw it in the Lexus manual and wondered where it was. I do repair work on cars and trucks and one of the first things I ask when I am going to service the vehicle is "notice any drop in power, accelerating, passing?" I always find a fuel filter that should be replaced when someone says "yes".

If nothing else...I am prolonging the life of the fuel pump by making it work less hard.

If you try to blow through the old filter and notice restriction...replace it.