tony_lexus

Hi folks, My car LS400 1999 with 142K miles has code P171 (system running lean) due to vacuum leak. With an OBDII reader watching the trimming (long and short trims), at IDLE it is way over %30 in total for both banks. If I press the accelerate pedal, the trim went down to < %10. My mechanic did a check and he told me my brake booster is bad (after $700 replacing the intake gasket). To prove it he clamped the vacuum hose that connects to the booster from the intake, at idle, I can see the trimming gone down to < %10. Now comes the hard part, he want +1000$ for replacing the booster with re manufactured part and almost $2000 for OEM one. Ouch! I think I can handle the R/R for this thing once the weather is nice enough So here are some question for experts out there: 1. Is re manufactured brake booster , particularly from CARDONE A1, any good? Or should I look for an used OEM one? 2. How easy to get access to the 4 nuts inside cabin to take out the booster? I download the service manual and it seem not that hard but want to tips/opinion from expert out there. 3. is it possible that the master cylinder might be the culprit and cause the leak? Thanks a lot Tony

Hi all, After replacing the oil control valve on bank2 (code 1354), car is back on the road. Thank you very much for the helps from all the board members, wow hoo!!! it saved me a bunch of money just for diagnostic. While I had the cover off and the engine was running, I smelled and saw some smoke coming out from the exhaust header shield (on same bank), I looked down and noticed oil dripping down onto the heat shield that caused the smoke. Do you think my head gasket is leaking? I checked the oil level and it seems to be OK. should I worry about it now and have it fix or I can wait a while until spring time and tackle this? Is it a DIY job or required professional touch? Thanks again for all the helps/suggestions. Tony

Hi All, I have ls400 1999 and it has 130K miles on it. Timing belt, water pump changed at 90K. Today I got these codes: P1354-VVT System Malfunction Bank 2 P0302-Cylinder 2 Misfire P0304 Cylinder 4 Misfire P0306-Cylinder 6 misfire Questions: which side is bank 2? On the passenger side or the driver side? I can see there are 2 OCVs. One on each side. As test, I remove the plug to the OCV on the driver side, I got code P1656 in addition to the P1354. Does this mean bank2 is on the passenger side. I also try to remove the OCV but it seems it does not want to move it. I can rotate it freely but not coming out. How do I remove it.. I dont want to put any force before I find out the proper way. Please help. Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks a lot Tony