1990BlackLS

Good catch Trevor! All the components in a timing belt kit are necessary, don't be cheap on things like the tensioners and pulleys people, used ones are just asking for a failure/screaming pulley bearings coming from your engine if you don't replace everything while you are in there.

Thank you! I will let her know and tell her the promising news!

Dating a woman with a Lexus (RX330 AWD) she bought used out of D.C., brought back to Michigan as it was rust free albeit high miles. Passenger airbag light on and they said it would be a simple fix at a Lexus or Toyota Dealer when she got back home. Take it to Lexus Dealer and they scoff and say, "just trade it in on a new car, why waste your and our time." She says, "it is the same year, model and color of the John Wick movie car, I love that movie. Takes it to Toyota Dealer and they say no problem, $200 and we can reset it and you will be on your way. She starts car after they drop it off in front and the passenger airbag light stays off for exactly three seconds now and then lights back up. Service writer says, if you leave it overnight we can sort out what is wrong and fix it for you, just sign this work order. She is talented with cars, did the timing belt herself from YouTube and changed the filter on the AT, knowing NOT to flush the fluid, instead only add to top it off. Smelled a rat and backed off and now has to have passengers sit in the back until this is sorted out. Before Toyota Dealer work, light was on as soon as car started. Now it comes on three seconds after it is started. Did they get the passenger seat calibration near but not close enough with their equipment and need to "borrow" the car to their Lexus Dealer buddies to get it right? Told her she is right to stop and take a breath and let me see what the experts say and if they have a guru to recommend for her "movie" car. She also has the Lexus from the 50 cars list from Gone in 60 Seconds, but that was acid attacked by a passing car. Michigan hates foreign car drivers with a passion, she garages everything now, nothing visible from the street in her very wealthy white area (Eminem lives just over the hill from her).

Water pumps always weep a small amount around the main pump bearing weep hole as they get older and unless you are visibly low on coolant AND smell coolant after running it at highway speeds (where a leaking water pump would mist the exhaust from the passing high speed air) you are not at risk. Also bad water pumps will make squealing noises months before they fail. What bothers me more is that they are mentioning doing the water pump without mentioning replacing the timing belt and pulleys (timing belt service kit). You need to remove the timing belt to get to the water pump. No competent person would change out one without doing the other (both) at the same service. Look up timing belt kits on Amazon for your car. They include the belt and a new water pump.

Dating a woman with a Lexus she bought used out of D.C., brought back to Michigan as it was rust free albeit high miles. Passenger airbag light on and they said it would be a simple fix at a Lexus or Toyota Dealer when she got back home. Take it to Lexus Dealer and they scoff and say, "just trade it in on a new car, why waste your and our time." She says, "it is the same year, model and color of the John Wick movie car, I love that movie. Takes it to Toyota Dealer and they say no problem, $200 and we can reset it and you will be on your way. She starts car after they drop it off in front and the passenger airbag light stays off for exactly three seconds now and then lights back up. Service writer says, if you leave it overnight we can sort out what is wrong and fix it for you, just sign this work order. She is talented with cars, did the timing belt herself from YouTube and changed the filter on the AT, knowing NOT to flush the fluid, instead only add to top it off. Smelled a rat and backed off and now has to have passengers sit in the back until this is sorted out. Before Toyota Dealer work, light was on as soon as car started. Now it comes on three seconds after it is started. Did they get the passenger seat calibration near but not close enough with their equipment and need to "borrow" the car to their Lexus Dealer buddies to get it right? Told her she is right to stop and take a breath and let me see what the experts say and if they have a guru to recommend for her "movie" car. She also has the Lexus from the 50 cars list from Gone in 60 Seconds, but that was acid attacked by a passing car. Michigan hates foreign car drivers with a passion, she garages everything now, nothing visible from the street in her very wealthy white area (Eminem lives just over the hill from her).

Upper control arms were the culprit for mine. Replaced both via aftermarket supplier and now quiet and better ride quality.

If your window is rolled all the way up and will not come down I may know what is going on. If I hold the switch too long on my 1990 it tends to go too far into the older weather stripping and get mechanically 'past' the leverage point IMO. My solution is a small rolling pin that looks like a billy club. We keep it in the door side storage compartment and if the window will not come down we hold the down switch and tap on the door panel like you would knock on a door in the area where the imitation leather comes into a vee shape and meets the raised part of the door. Close your eyes and feel the door panel from switch up toward mirror. Where your hand stops and gets wedged is where you thunk the window mechanism. The window comes down every time and for doing it a half dozen times a year when we forget to watch the window come up, it is worth it in a saved Lexus Dealer repair bill.

Thanks Paul, I have the same problem you did and no measure of cleaning the drains helped. I'll give this a try ASAP. Right now I have a trunk that refuses to open. You should see my post about it here today.

Finally had time to get under the car today. The access is limited everywhere, but an aluminum panel near the passenger side muffler gave a bit of room to examine things. The lines are severely corroded. The rust falls off the lines like rain. The leak was found in the section of the right rear brake tube just as it turns up to go over the differential. I cut out a six inch section that was the worst and the piece just came out with one cut as the other end was holding on by a thread. I took off the right rear wheel to gain a better view and then noticed that the tube sections higher up in the car are in nearly perfect condition. The remainder of the rear brake lines travel through the center of the car behind a plastic grid cover. In the diagram it looks like they follow the frame rail, look toward the drive shaft and you will see the brake lines. It looks like it will be quite a job to fab up some replacement lines, but it can be done. The tubes are of a very small diameter and should be pretty easy to work in and around once I decide where to section the tubes to get them in and around the major obstacles. IMO if I buy the lines from Lexus, I will have to remove the exhaust and other major components. I'm probably going to install some kind of bypass at the head of the system, I do not want to have to limp home like that ever again! I'd suggest anyone that lives in the rust belt or suspects they have a survivor from the region, take off their rear wheel and take a look around. This could have easily been a wreck if circumstances had been different.

Thanks guys, it is nice to hear the suggestions. There is a harbor freight near me, I will check it out. My idea is that I need to find a central access point (middle of car) so that I get the lines in without resorting to a lift. The stock line is so long I know it will require a lift unless there is some magic panel that allows it to be put in horizontally. Part of the reason I want to pinpoint the leak is for everyone else's benefit. I really think I got lucky that I was not in an accident and had easy access to spare fluid to make it home. Thanks everyone, I will check in again tomorrow morning if there are any other ideas. Take care!

Thanks for the warm welcome! Yes it is a rust belt car. I've done a bit of research and it seems it is quite a problem for cars like ours since the undercarriage covers tend have gaps or areas where salt can enter and act like a hot knife of rust and cut the brake tubes and fuel lines with a virtual band of aggressive salt rust. BMW's seem to be especially prone. I wash the undercarriage regularly but there is no way I could have cleared salt residue from anything behind those panels even if I wanted to. That line looks to be a bear to deal with. I am going to disconnect the line at the front and cap the system so I can use the front brakes to get the car around the yard and out of the garage while I figure the exact location of the leak and examine the other lines. If I pressurize that tube with an air compressor I should be able to listen for where the leak is coming from and get a bore scope into the crevices that are available. Any ideas or suggestions are greatly appreciated and I will get photos on here as I find out what is what. I do not have the money for a shop. I did the timing belt myself, this one is just going to be another adventure!

Hello everyone. 90 LS400, have had the car for many years. No real problems, regular maintenance done by me. Panic stopped a week ago to avoid an accident happening and the brake pedal went to the floor halfway through the stop. It felt like something let go in the system. Got some pedal feel with pumping and limped to a parts store a half mile away. Lifted the hood and saw the reservoir was nearly dry. Looked under car in front, nothing. Eventually found a huge puddle of brake fluid just forward of the passenger side rear tire. The fluid seemed to be dripping from inside the frame and some other kind of paneled off section that is right about where someone in the right, rear seat would put their right foot, if that makes any sense. I bought a huge quantity of cheap fluid and limped back home, about ten miles, in stop and go traffic. Three times I topped off the master cylinder. Just ran out of fluid at the house and managed to get her in the garage. The Lexus dealer provided me with a parts diagram and it shows that the line I might need runs all the way from the front of the car to the back as one solid brake tube that will need to be ordered from Japan! Is there any way to access the area I am describing to cut out a section and do a properly flared and safe repair? I may have to cut out the passenger foot well to gain access from what I am seeing. Thanks in advance everyone.