Shaggz

I haven't been told to do anything with mine yet. I just know I've got an error code 71 causing the check engine light to come on. All signs point to the EGR system, but how do I determine whether it's the EGR Valve, Modulator, VSV, or what? Do I just go one by one replacing each component hoping to eventually get to the troublemaker? I have inspected the modulator and the filter is nasty and definitely needs replacing, so I guess I'll just start there, but what next if that doesn't solve my problem? Anyone?? One other idea...I have reason to believe my steering rack may be leaking, possibly near the O2 sensor(s). Is it possible that situation could cause faulty O2 sensor operation, thereby causing a misdiagnosed EGR system malfunction? Just a thought...

The check engine light just came on in my 91 LS400. The error code is a 71. I will start the diagnosis after work today, but I'm curious, how risky is it to drive the car before the (EGR) problem is resolved? Is it possible that limited driving under it's current condition may cause additional problems? Is it possible the car will suddenly quit on me? Thanks for any additional insight...

91 LS400 - 172,xxx and climbing...

Ahhh....I see...when you click on that link it bounces you to the root web. I was able to get the actual burnout.wmv to load and what the hell?!?!?! That's out of control :D Where there's smoke there's fire...nice video AOO!!

Nice, er, I mean, yikes!! I hope I don't get in trouble for hitting that at work?!?! :whistles:

I am running the Sylvania Silverstars on my 91 LS400 and I love them. They are a world apart from than the OEMs and quite an inexpensive option. Regarding the yellow fog lights...perhaps this could shed some light on their origination...check this Google discussion, possibly more info than you care to know.

Sorry folks, I was mistaken...it was actually the 8" that I used as a replacement. I found the original box from the subwoofer I bought and now I remember the whole story...it was a couple years back. The audio shop guy tried to tell me it would take a 10", so I bought the thing and wasn't able to fit it without serious modification. I took it back and got the 8" and it fit like a glove. The screw holes aren't an excact match, but you should be able to find a kit to mount it securely. I cut the OEM harness and wired it up and it sounded awesome! :D Once I saw that the existing screw holes weren't going to work, I decided to take the car to the audio shop and let them mount it securely for a small charge. One thing led to another and I never made it back to the shop. That said, it's been over 2 years and the replacement sub STILL has not been "securely mounted". That's how snug it fits, and it still sounds as good as the day I installed it. :o Now, I don't recommend this solution, but it seems to have worked for me. I've also been told that vibration around the speaker can cause speaker damage (as well as poor quality sound), but I've not experienced any problems whatsoever, that I can hear at least. Maybe one day I'll get the thing properly mounted, but I'm not in any hurry. Subwoofer details Kicker CompVR ($50-$70) 8" 4ohm DVC Subwoofer Max Amp Power (watts): 200 Sensitivity (db1w/1m): 83 Frequency Response (Hz): 30-500 Mounting Depth (in., mm): 3-15/16, 100.1 Mounting Hole Diameter (in., mm): 7, 177.8 Item# 01C8VR4 Thanks to jadecuir for triggering my memory

Ahh, the perfect spot to drop a comment a colleague of mine made when discussing the lifespan of vehicles in general. Let me preface this by stating this fellow drives a 2000 C class <_< On with the claim he made... I noticed another forum user found a 91 LS400 with 120,000 miles and a clean and well kept maintenance record for only $4500. IMHO, that's a great deal and I'd buy it anyday. Well, this idiot overheard me talking about it to someone else and decided to jump in with his 2 cents (or less) and tried to convince me it wasn't a good deal because no gasoline engine should last more than 200k miles without becoming a money pit. Of course, I'm 99.99% certain he's wrong, but I'm curious to hear if anyone has some solid data that would actually support or deny his claim. I'm not interested in wasting my time debating him, I'm just the curious type. But he's a fan of diesel engines, stating they last longer and run better overall and are the only reliable option for extended engine life. He also believes diesel is the wave of the future for gas/electric hybrids.

Sup rahlo :D You may have a little trouble from time to time, but no moreso than with any other vehicle, if anything, less...the good news is, you've found the holy grail for info on keeping her in tip-top shape. Welcome! B)

In case you haven't had a chance to just measure the thing, I will offer up that the 91 LS400 comes with an 8" woofer (center of rear deck), although it can be replaced with a 10" without modification.

Well, that all certainly seems to make sense. It's rather easy to notice the partial throttle difference when you compare the two switch positions. I've never really put 2 and 2 together on that, though, I'm glad the mystery is solved. I had no idea the smooth shifting normal operation is actually more taxing on the system. But as stated, it makes good sense now that I understand what the switch does. As for gas consumption, I have undoubtedly noticed greater consumption rates when in Pwr mode. I also noticed the owner's manual "warns" of such a side effect when using Pwr mode. Fortunately, I don't drive an LS400 because it's economical, I drive it because it's a kickass luxury automobile :D

I definitely agree, it does behave more responsively, I'm just trying to understand the exact science behind it.

I don't know, they make dent resistant panels, why not poo resistant paint? Just seems like a logical progression in technology to me.

SWO, how does it add to the "seat of the pants" if the accelleration is no different at all? I would suggest that it DOES affect accelleration, but only as I described above. Of course, it's all just theory in my head but it seems to make sense.

Makes sense... If svrog was correct (which it sounds like), Power mode just delays the shifting until higher RPM. I woudn't expect it to accellerate faster until you hit that threshold where the ECT switch goes into effect. At that point, though, I would definitely expect it to accellerate faster because you'd be running at higher RPM through the top end of each gear. But that's exactly the info I was hoping to discover, thanks for everyone's input :D

Good point SWO...mine are soaking now ;) Isn't that sad though, that we've digressed to the point where even silly HS pranks have to be scrutinzed to the "T" like that. I'm not trying to start a political discussion, but I mean, what if those cars would have been packed with explosives or something and planted by terrorists? That's exactly the kind of silly story I would not be surprised to see popup on Fox News. "Bomb squad called over Senior prank..." O'Reilly would have a field day and probably demand that they not receive their diplomas at all!

Good god, I thought all birds ate are worms and maybe some leaves or something? Why is their poo so destructive? It's 2005 for crying out loud, I can't believe Lexus hasn't figured out a way to guard against the poo effect on paint. Birds have been around since long before cars. I would have thought the paints would be somewhat resistant to a little birdie dookie by now if it's known to be so dangerous.

Well, that's what I was guessing, but thought that was too simple of a guess to be correct. While we're on the topic, are there any "usage guidelines" I should be aware of? Is it okay to flip the switch when the car is in gear? Would prolonged use of Power mode present any problems, other than consuming twice as much gas?

I had an older Jeep Cherokee that suffered from sagging ceiling fabric. I too was able to push it back up and it would stay for a day or two at a time. :D Follow Army's advice, just take it to an upholstery shop, they'll make it like new for not too much money. The result will be a brand new ceiling, well worth the money and it's a hassle free solution you can depend on.

Okay, now I understand why you might consider it a prank...but I'm with Soldier, that's the kind of prank that will get you in serious trouble in many cities. I guess they're pretty lax in Murfreesboro. Where I come from, I'm quite sure it wouldn't have taken school officials more than 30 mins or an hour to tow and ticket the offenders and have the police waiting for their arrival to take them downtown for breaking some sort of traffic violation. I'm sure some summer school detention time or something along those lines would be in order before they got their diplomas. Consider yourself lucky...

Any idea what the ECT stands for?

It's possible there's just a loose wiring connection underneath the seat. This is easy to check, just remove the 4 bolts holding the seat to the floor (they're camouflaged by little plastic pieces that pop off with a screwdriver). Once loose, tilt the seat back a little and use a flashlight to get a good look at all the cabling. There's a silver box underneath the seat, that's the memory settings module. Another possibility could be loose wiring in the door. To get inside the door (as best I can remember): 1. Remove the 4 screws from the bottom of the interior panel of the door 2. Remove the 1 screw from the little plastic hook from near the door latch area of the "jam" 3. Title the bottom of the interior panel away from the door (toward the inside of the car) and lift the panel off of the door. This may require a little jostling, but be careful not to break any of the plastic parts. Once inside the door panel, you could check for loose wiring to the memory switch module. I guess it's possible there could be an inline fuse somewhere in the mix, but I've never seen one. Finally, it's possible that the memory switch module in the door is prone to self-destruction the same way the window switch is. I've had to replace my window switch in the driver side door before. Once I had the old one out, I dismantled it to see where the failure was and it turned out to be just a blown resistor of some capacity. Black burnout residue was all around the affected window switch. I'm not sure whether moisture or faulty design is to blame for that but it seems to be a common problem. Good luck.

Okay, please forgive my ignorance ...but what the heck does this switch do? All the manual says is that it switches the ECT between Normal and Power modes. The manual doesn't even seem to define what ECT stands for and what is affected when this switch is engaged. It definitely consumes more gas when set to Power. It also "feels" like I get a little more torque, but I guess it's possible that may just be a psychological afffect. :whistles:

Arvid, that sounds exactly like what I want to do. Where does the filter component go? Behind the glovebox? Was it difficult to install? It sounds like you were able to install it, but can't get it working..? Is it possible that there is some requirement from the A/C system itselft to be able to support the automatic switching from filter to non-filter operation? In other words, even if we can install a filter it will never work due to dependencies elsewhere within the system? I image this filter as just an inline carbon-type filter that is either used or bypassed. Is that correct? If the older A/C system simply won't support the automatic filter operation, is there a way to force it to always use the filter? Or is it a matter of just automatically switching from fresh to recirc air?

Hey maxed, it sounds like you have rather intimate experience with the insides of the driver seat so I'm curious....do you think it would be that difficult to move a memory control module from one seat to another that does not have the module installed? I replaced my old driver seat a while back with one that did not come with a memory module. I would like to install the module from the old seat in the new seat so the memory settings buttons in the door will work once again. At the very least, could you post instructions on how to get the seat apart?