SRK

Thank you Billy. It's been a while since we spoke. I hope you are well.

SRK

That's a very poorly written article, which seems not to have a point regarding why some cars can go extreme mileages. It doesn't know who to "blame" for that feat.

I met Irv Gordon, the owner of the 3 million mile Volvo. The engine has had two, maybe three rebuilds at this point. The trans and differential are mostly original. Most of the paint is original. Fifteen or twenty windshields, and about a hundred headlights.

His mileage is due to proper maintenance, attention to defects ( repaired in good time ) and a driving style that most could not duplicate. He's an expert driver for sure.

Most cars given the same care could not have achieved that mark without massive repairs. For sure a Dodge minivan of almost any year, Ford F-250 with the 6 litre diesel, Volvo's with the B230 engine, BMW's, etc. Repairing most of them means throwing a big chunk of the car away and installing a new assembly.

A million mile Lexus is evidence of something exceptional. Unfortunately the less than capable writer didn't mention what had been replaced during that time. But I suspect the engine and trans have never been apart. The diff is original. Probably the wheel bearings too.

I sold my 92 LS400 some time ago, but I still see it and know the owner. The rad hoses are original. The valve covers have never been off. It doesn't burn any oil. It doesn't leak any oil. It's amazing.

There are very few cars that can claim that kind of reliability. The author doesn't understand that, and doesn't care either.

If any car stands a chance of matching Irv's Volvo, it will be a Lexus. In fact I think they are more reliable than that 1800S.

I never stated that dropping the pan and changing the filter was the way to go. A few others have mentioned changing the fluid as I did, partially, over time. That's what Lexus advises. AFAIK Lexus does not advise removing the pan for routine fluid changes.

The cost of a partial fluid change using the drain plug ( they provide the drain plug for this purpose ) is about $10.00. Do that three or four times, over time, and you're good. Postponing that because it "ain't broke" is not logical, especially at such little cost.

Whatever evidence people provide for "don't change the trans oil" it is all anecdotal and co-incidental. Change it. If the trans is on its last few miles it won't help, but it won't be responsible for the failure. If the trans needs a service, it will help. That's it.

Would you consider such advice for the engine? Or the brake fluid? No.

I've heard this myth for years. Change the oil about two quarts or litres at a time from the drain plug. Every third engine oil change I drop two litres out of my trans. Costs almost nothing, takes almost no time.

Do it.

What the dealer has advised doesn't address what you describe as a hard pull to the right. That's not normal and has to be fixed. Having a tire worn to the cords means that the owners didn't care, and that the tire wore out quickly. Neither is a good sign.

And of course the t-belt has not been serviced and needs doing. The PS pump is not a big deal to replace, but of course the dealer wants to install a new, not remanufactured one.

I'd return the car. You still don't know why it's pulling ( could be accident damage ) and you will have a $6k plus car very quickly at this rate.

Buy the best one you can, with service history, and no known issues.

Run from this one.

The "power" button is for the transmission shift programming. It will make a small, hardly noticeable change in the way the trans shifts - delayed up-shifts, that kind of thing.

Anyone who would advise a neutral drop is not your friend. As Denny has pointed out "what could go wrong" sarcastically. Just about everything.

As you've learned this site will steer you in the right direction. Trust no one else. Become one with the LOC.

Did I or did I not diagnose the problem for you? Right then. Ignore the others, ask us.

You're welcome. So it was one of the coils then? Glad you fixed it.

Well what toasted your cats was the unburned fuel from the four cylinders that were not firing. The cats overheat when dealing with gasoline rather than exhaust.

Check the coils. It cost almost nothing to check, and then proceed. If you didn't have codes for the mass air flow sensor, or the throttle position sensor, then neither required replacement. Both will set codes when they fail.

It's common for one of the two ignition coils to fail, and that will cause the symptoms you describe. Quick ohm check of the primary windings on each will show the bad one, or a timing light on the coil to cap wire will also show a dead coil. Cheap and easy to fix. I'm wondering if the dealer checked that before selling you an exhaust system.

The coils do not set codes, and if you did have one you'd have a check engine light on.

The Lexus is outside, and in the garage is my 2004 Corvette ZO-6. The yellow Corvette looks great alongside the Cinnabar red GS400. And further down the driveway is a 1999 Dodge Dakota. Most of the paint is blistered off the truck but it's a gem mechanically. It hauls stuff to and from my boat.

Sounds like a good plan to me. Good luck with it.

The Toyota alignment was quite sloppy. The split caster is not good - should be nearly exactly the same side to side. The camber is nearly maxed out to allowable to positive. I prefer zero camber on the front, especially given the tire width on these cars. You've got some toe out on the rear axle, also not good.

Looking at the ranges Lexus allows, go for the middle of the toe range front and rear, zero camber on the front, half a degree negative on the rear, and get the caster exactly the same left right on the front.

$170 for a good four wheel is not bad. Get Lexus to do it, and the steering shaft.

That noise and play is not good, if the wheels were straight ahead when that was video was done.

A car in good alignment and proper suspension geometry will drive vibration free and straight on its own. The driver only modifies that condition with the steering wheel to aim the car.

You've mentioned vibrations - those are not the result of the steering shaft.

Wandering even with that play is largely alignment.

In your video the wheel was off centre. Is the the straight ahead position at this time? I ask because you have had it aligned, and no good shop would leave the wheel off-center.

Find a good alignment shop. Explain simply what the car does, not what you think it is. Demonstrate that wheel play.

That's all you can do yourself, short of being an alignment tech.

And good luck. It has to be something, there is a fault, and the trick is to find a tech that can diagnose it and explain the item(s) that are producing the symptoms.

It probably wasn't the overflow hose - more than likely the upper rad hose from the engine to the radiator. If driven for some time without coolant the engine may very well be damaged, and with these engines they become un-rebuildable as oversize pistons are not available. Lots of good used engines out there though.

As to the white powder in the car…..? Something else caused that. I cannot understand any engine issue that could cause that.

I'm not even sure that a heater hose to the heater core could cause that.

I'm glad you are getting a second opinion. Keep in touch.

Get a second opinion, or at least tell us what the symptoms are, and whether you ran the engine after it dropped all of its coolant or oil.

They are very tough engines, and short of loss of oil or coolant, not much goes wrong with them.

Thanks Eugene. I've got two motors now that both work the same, the original and the new one.

The wife has the car out of the driveway so much I can't get enough time to yank the wheel and fender liner to test the thing. Soon I hope.

The washer system isn't an OBDII system, so no codes.

No ice.

I mean that all six nozzles flow the same amount of water, which would indicate that foreign objects aren't plugging anything. Even so I blew them out and checked them with a number drill.

There are no leaks in the hose.

The pump is a new Toyota part.

So the new pump is generating the same pressure as the old pump, and that's why I now suspect something is limiting current in the circuit.

Thanks for the offer and response.

I may have a bad ground on that circuit which is limiting amperage to the new pump, same as it did to the old pump, which probably works fine as the new pump made no difference. Now the trick is to find the ground point for that circuit.

I might also run a 12v jumper to the pump from the battery, and also to ground to see if that speeds up the pump.

So the pump for the headlight washers gave up, and the flow from the windshield washer was low, so I replaced both pumps. Fun job taking the fluid reservoir out. Now the headlight washers work great, but the flow from the windshield washers is still the same. So blew out the lines, cleaned the nozzles ( all flow the same, just no pressure ) changed the fuse in case there was corrosion limiting current, and still the flow is barely there.

I'm at a loss to explain this. Is there a filter perhaps that might be restricting the flow? I can't believe the new pump is faulty, and obviously the old one was fine if that's the case.

Any help with this greatly appreciated.

You're looking for a rebuild kit, or a rebuilt alternator? If you need a kit, any good automotive electrical shop that rebuilds alternators and starters will probably sell you the brushes and bearings. The one in my town has supplied me with all kinds of parts over the years, but sometimes I let them do the work as their testing procedure is more than I can do in my shop.

The Denso parts are not that expensive so you should save a bunch if you do it yourself.

That's great Nabil. Sounds to me like you're saying it's a personal choice, which is my point. In ten years I've only taken my GS400 to the dealer three times, and every time the work has been done expertly, quickly, and at a reasonable cost. Ninety percent of the time I do my own work, but when I can't for whatever reason, I go to the dealer - because I choose to. Everyone is free to choose.

The rest of us don't actually need your shouted unsolicited advice. We've got more experience with these cars than you could know.

Most of us don't live in Coral Springs, and we don't know Charlie, although I'm sure he's a nice guy. If you actually have your transmission rebuilt by him perhaps you could post a photo of the final bill?

And welcome.

My 98 GS400 did the same thing a few years back. Suddenly went into limp home mode, no throttle response at all. Idled normally. The dealer found a code that identified the ECM as the problem, but as the car was running normally after a few restarts before I even took it to them, they didn't believe the code.

Another mechanic, whom I respect, stated that if the alternator had produced a voltage spike the sensors would have gone out of range, and the ECM would have had a jolt too, perhaps producing the code and the limp mode.

It has not happened again, and the engine has run perfectly. I have seen such intermittent "anomalies" on other cars, much like restarting your computer, and there is little to do except deal with them when they come up - if they come up.

Thanks - I didn't realize the connection.

So if you have a check engine light you may have a bad O2 sensor. If the engine has no power and the cats are glowing then you may have a bad ignition coil- one of the two. You'll need to diagnose it further to be sure it is one of those items, or something else.