SRK

I'm glad you're pleased with the repair. Sounds like it was very well done. And can I estimate prices or what? A Chrysler minivan will make just about anything else feel good - but an LS400 especially so! SRK

I think you're on the right track. However the 96 has got distributors and ignition wires. For sure pull the number seven plug connector as the deep well it sits in may have water in it, and pull the plug to check it. That's more than likely all it is. The 98 engines with VVTi had coil on plug.

There is no way I would hack the body to gain access to the line, or repair the existing line. If you are convinced the perforation is in an inaccessible area, then I'd run a new line from the first available fitting, to the next available fitting. You may have to use "joiners" to connect several new lines. Then route them in a safe run without burying them in the body. As to the existing line I'd "abandon in place". It seems odd to me that the lines would be run in a way to be inaccessible. However I've never really looked at my LS for that purpose.

If you have an exhaust leak before the O2 sensors then there will be oxygen added to the exhaust stream. The O2's see that oxygen as lean - excess oxygen means insufficient fuel as far as the ECU is concerned. It then adds fuel to correct it. You'll have to repair the exhaust leaks. The ECU has only a limited range of adjustment, and a big leak will exceed it's ability to trim the mixture. That has probably produced the code. Check all of your previous work again as well.

That's expensive and may not be needed. For sure pull the plug connectors - one of the wells may be full of oil if the gaskets leak.

Any place that the wires nearly touch can be a source of a cross-fire - in other words the energy jumps as a spark to the adjacent wire and causes the wrong plug to fire. They can also arc to ground. Normally there will be a tiny pinhole in the wire insulation, or carbon marks around it. It was more common on older engines, but as Lexus routes the wires close to each other, and over long distance, it's worth checking.

What you have there is a true "backfire" or a spit-back. It means flame and combustion gases in the intake tract. Normally such things are restrained by the throttle plate, but not always. So you're looking for something that would cause a reversion. Lean starts will do it - delayed ignition of the fuel and the intake valve opens just when it gets going after a long pause. Another is a sticky intake valve hanging open a bit. But in your case I'd suspect a crossfire between two ignition wires. Pull the covers off and have a good look at them to see if you can find any carbon tracks or spots where the wires are close to one another.

It won't be spark plugs, and if it's a wire it would be one, and that wouldn't cause the lack of power you are noticing. However pull all the plug wire covers off and have a look. Look at the spark plug connectors and see if there is any carbon tracking. And ohm check the two coils.

Sounds like the common failure of one of the two ignition coils. Check the primary circuit of each with an ohmmeter and compare. Or snap a timing light if you have one, on the high tension lead of both, and the one that isn't triggering the light is the bad coil. Your car has enough mileage that it's a distinct possibility - although it's still important to diagnose it.

The old saying in car, house, and boat restoration is "It always costs more and takes longer". The estimate on my LS was $5500. Then $8000. Then $10,500 after they found ( I had to tell them) that all three engine mounts were sheared off and the driveshaft needed aligning. Another $1000 for the car rental. And two further repairs in the following year to the AC which had been badly converted to 134r. The insurance company guaranteed the repairs at the shop they directed me to. Had they know all these things, the car would have been written off at $8000, and I would have preferred that, but once they started the repair there was no turning back. Get a good shop started and be ready to jack them up. You'll get the best repair that way - on their commitment. The car is worth it. SRK

Sweet mudder o' jaysus! You walked away from that?! No better testament to these cars than those photos! Thanks for posting.

I'm sorry to see such damage. It's amazing what an animal can do to car travelling at such speeds. Glad you're both OK. I'd say the damage is $10k, at least. The hood will be $1k by itself. Unless used parts are installed. There were very few used parts when my LS took a front end hit, so everything was replaced with new, and that repair, with hood, grill, AC condenser, lights, was $11k.

You've got a problem alright. You've damaged the internal threads, and you'll have to work carefully to restore them. Take the bolt to an industrial supply or machine tool store. They can sell you a "tap" that is designed to cut the same thread form as the bolt. Buy what's called a "taper tap" - the initial threads on it are not fully formed, which will allow you to engage the threads in the crank gradually, and then re-cut the ones you've damaged or rounded over. What is very important is that you don't begin cutting threads on top of the existing ones - you must synchronize the tap with the existing ones. If the tap is successful you can then re-install your new bolt and all is well. There should be plenty of thread engagement on the bolt even with a few "cleaned up" threads in the crank. If you are not familiar with taps and their use find someone who is. You might be able to find a "thread chaser" in the correct metric thread matching the bolt. You have one chance to fix it - otherwise it may be time to change the crankshaft...

So you did the leak down and compression test but forgot to tell us that it failed miserably? No wonder the water pump didn't fix it......

What do you mean "back pressure"? Exhaust back pressure? Easy to check with a rag over the tailpipes and get someone to rev the engine - if no exhaust gas flow, blocked cats. If you do mean exhaust back pressure I'm at a loss to understand how you could think a stuck valve, or collapsed rings, or a head gasket would cause that. None of them can. If you mean crankcase pressure then the diagnosis leans towards cylinder compression and leak-down, and that's easy enough to check, because the only thing that can cause excess crankcase pressure is piston sealing. You said you checked fuel pressure, but have you monitored it while trying to rev the engine? A weak pump can make pressure but not volume, or volume but not pressure whereas a good pump can do both. You have used a complete shotgun approach so far, and then defended your replacement of parts as "needed doing anyways". Mechanics like that put me in business thirty years ago.... Diagnose it. Stop throwing parts at it.

You consider that amount of body work a "good challenge and a lot of hard work"? And then repair it in a week with the "boy guy"? You hung a black door hopefully for checking the fit I guess, and then will shoot the edges after removing it again? Fair amount of filler on the trunk lid. Maybe you'll shoot some high build filler/primer and block it out really well. Maybe not. A mess of a car eh? It was a drive-in for crap's sake! You'll probably shoot it with Dupont. No need for the good stuff like Sikkens or BASF here. If you're lucky you'll find some old Centari..... Go sell your car someplace else. I did more extensive body work as a teenager - before I got in the biz.

The O2 sensor measures oxygen, not fuel. So a hard misfire sends more oxygen, not consumed in combustion, down the exhaust, and the O2 sensor interprets that as lean. Assuming that's what's happening.

That's too hot. Raise the front axle. Try to spin the tires. You can also have someone depress the brake pedal, and while they are doing that, you try to turn the wheel. Then have them release the pedal, and the front wheel should then turn instantly with no dragging. It's possible from the lack of use that the caliper pistons have seized up and are keeping the brake pads against the rotors. Relatively simple repair, and it should be diagnosed and done soon.

The guy wants 4300 for incidentals and labor??!!!! The engine re and re should be about 12 hours, although that may be a bit low, and the bits he's mentioned are not really needed, except that he wants to warranty it. How much is the rad itself? That and some fluids are all that are really needed - hoses can be inspected and re-used and plugs can be done anytime. It's high.

Tuesday morning I took the GS400 to a buddy that runs a frame straightening shop. He's done my cars, and my customers cars alignments for years. He has the best Hunter equipment there is, and he knows how to use it. He also understands that I like to be present when the work is done. The GS was being a bit darty, and not "laying into the road" as it should. Somehow it had gone toe-out, about 1/8 of an inch. So now the toe is in 1/16 as it should be, caster and camber are correct, and the thrust angle is zero. Car is transformed - stable, tracks well. All is good. This afternoon the wife runs her parents around, and the car won't start. Phones me to let me listen to it crank normally, but no start. She admits the key fob fell apart in the parking lot. So I head out with my key-fob, not sure if that will fix it. She calls a few minutes later and the car is running, having found the guts of the fob on the ground in the lot. I talked to the folks at the Lexus dealer and they mentioned that there is a transponder, separate from the door and trunk locks, that the car must "see" before starting, otherwise the security system disables the engine. Learn something everyday. Now I need a new clamshell for the fob, and will get that next week. For a 14 year old car it's still amazing. I'm going to keep it forever.....or until it dies, which may take as long.

It sounds like you drove the engine to destruction. If it was run for any length of time with no coolant in it and "shut down" like you say, the damage will be far greater than just a blown head gasket. The pistons will be scuffed and the rings lose tension. The block and head will be distorted. So get a used engine from an identical model and year from a wrecking yard and have that installed. Don't even think of rebuilding what you have.

There are four O2 sensors - two pre-cat, and two post-cat. I'd suspect it's one of the pre-cat ones, and the code will indicate the one. Otherwise you have a faulty ignition coil if both O2's are triggered. I don't know the codes off by heart - that's for you to figure out. Diagnose it.

So now you have a check engine light, and that means a code is stored, and that's what you need to find first. The TRAC system turns off when a code is tripped. Not really worth guessing at, but if I had to it's an O2 sensor. But don't be replacing any without further diagnosis.

That Sienna is probably the best minivan there is. If you need a minivan, it's the one to have. I'll admit my Vette is a bit "firm" in the ride department and I use smooth roads when I can.....

Well I'm assuming you test drove the 4Runner, and I won't even sit in a minivan let alone drive one. LOL.