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dthouston

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  • Lexus Model
    1990 and 1999 LS400's

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  1. I've got an oil leak at the (top?) front of the engine on my '99 LS400 with 240K stop-and-go miles. The oil level only drops about 1/8" on the stick between 4K mile oil changes. So if the timing belt isn't getting saturated, I'll probably just ignore the leak for a while. But what's the minimum that I have to remove to inspect the timing belt? Since it's a VVTi engine, there's a lot of stuff in that area! DT
  2. Apparently, my attachment didn't get "attached". How does one upload a photo? DT
  3. Here's a photo showing the two types of bulbs. The wedge-base is on the left, along with its plastic base. The pig-tail is on the right, with its base (but minus its pig-tails, as they are broken off). DT
  4. What are equivalent aftermarket bulbs/lamps (mfg and #) for a 1990 LS400? Preferably, name-brand (eg, Phillips, Sylvania, etc) "long life" bulbs, which are usually rated at 14V, I believe. The bulbs in-question are: A: 16 miniature (< 1/2 inch long) bulbs that insert into the back of the Combination Meter (aka, "instrument cluster"). These bulbs have wedge bases that push into blue plastic twist-in bases. PLUS... B: 8 miniature ( < 1/2 inch long) bulbs that go into the Warning Light Assembly (which is located above the Combination Meter and reflects downward on the front of the Combination Meter "glass"). These bulbs have pig-tails that are threaded through holes into gray plastic twist-in bases. These bulbs - since they don't have a wedge base - are slightly shorter than the bulbs in "A" (above). I want to replace ALL these bulbs while I have the cluster pulled to repair the speedometer. At 20 years old, a couple of the bulbs are out, and I expect it's only a matter of time before they begin dying en-masse. BTW: the speedo was reading too low, but I discovered that all I had to do is move the needle upward a little to fix the problem. The Lexus dealer wants over $7 EACH for these bulbs! Thanks! DT in Houston
  5. My '99 LS400 had the "doesn't work intermittently but banging on the dash sometimes fixed it" problem for some time. I was able to fix it by 1) buying the Lexus service manual and 2) very carefully removing and disassembling the cluster and 3) "hot wiring" the four pins from the speedo directly to the Combination Meter ECU pins F1-4, thus bypassing the press-fit edge connectors (which are a source of problems just about anytime they're used - shame on Toyota/Nippon Denso for designing it that way!). I don't recommend this procedure to anyone unless you can read a schematic, are VERY competent with precision soldering, and have a spare $1000 if you slip and destroy the circuit board. BUT THIS DID FIX THE PROBLEM... for about 2 years. But now I have a different problem (or at least the symptoms have changed): rather than being completely dead, the speedo now reads about 60mph too slow. That is, until you get to 60+ mph, it reads zero. But it then rises to 15-20mph (ie, the needle isn't completely "stuck" at zero). I re-checked my "bypass surgery", and those connections still seem to be OK. And the needles don't seem to be "stuck"... they swing easily off their stops. And the two SIN and COS cores in the air-core speedo still read ~200 ohms. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to check next? Does this year model use a sensor on the transmission or is the speedo driven off the ABS front/rear speed sensors? They're "only" $200 each (not installed). How can I "drive" the ECU electronics (or at least the speedo part) when the cluster is on the bench? Is there a more complete schematic available for the Combination Meter ECU than the one in the service manual? Anyone know how to test an air-core speedo beyond simply checking its coils for continuity? Thanks! DT
  6. Does anyone know of a source for the wiring connectors that attach to the top of the 8 ignition coils in a 1999 LS400? (engine code 1UZ-FE) The '99 has the "coil-on-plug" type of ignition, which has a separate coil for each plug. All I need are the black plastic connectors (part of the engine wiring harness)... not the ignition coils themselves. And not the entire wiring harness, unless I can get it for a lot less than the $1200 that Lexus parts wants! The existing connectors are dried-out and cracking after 180K+ miles and 10 years of hot Houston stop-and-go driving. Each time I replace the valve cover gaskets and thus have to disconnect these connectors (just did this for the 2nd time), a few more of the connectors bite the dust. First the little locking tabs broke off the connectors, so I secured them with cable ties (luckily, there's a convenient place on both the connector and the coil through which once can pass a cable-tie... almost as-if the engineers knew the locking tabs would likely fail). But now a couple of the connectors are in such bad shape that the place on the connector where I was attaching the cable-tie has broken off! So the connector can work itself loose, and that cylinder then mis-fires. Even used connectors might be OK - or a used engine wiring harness - as long as they're from a car that hasn't had to endure so many Texas summers. I've searched Google, eBay and just about everywhere else, and so far haven't found anyone who has these (although I suppose I could buy an entire used engine for around $500... which might not be a bad investment, since it seems this engine is so sturdy that it is becoming a popular "swap" for the street-racer crowd... right up there with the Chevy small-block!) Thanks, DT in Houston
  7. How difficult is it to replace the struts - front and back - on a '99 LS 400? I've got about 170K miles on it, and it's getting a little loose in the rear: excessive roll on high-speed lane changes, and a bit more floating sensation after a large rear suspension excursion. I know the struts haven't failed, but they just no longer feel right (although the '99 has never had the "planted" feel - even when new - of my '90 LS400, but that's just a personal preference). Based on other posts, I'll be going with Lexus OEM replacements, but just how complicated is replacing them myself? Can it be done using only ramps, without a lift? How about the need for coil compresser or other special purpose tools? I have the factory service manual, but of course it doesn't provide a "difficulty level", and assumes the car will be on a lift, etc, etc. TIA, DT
  8. I think I may have just found what my problem is, thanks to an annotation made by Jim Walker to a diagram in his article at: http://www.lexusownersclub.com/Lexus_Circu...ard_Removal.pdf Jim said: "These 6 holes carry the high voltage from the circuit boards through the special long screws to .. the guage needles" So that's how the CCFL voltage gets to the needles! Those engineers at Denso aren't dummies! And sure enough, I used one of those "special long screws" as a convenient place to hold down a plastic cable clamp I added to restrain the wires I used to bypass the edge connectors. Well, duh! DT
  9. The speedo was intermittently not working on my ’99 Lexus LS400. Banging on the dash would (usually) make it work again, so I pulled the cluster and direct-wired the four pins protruding from the back of the speedo to the #1 ECU circuit board… bypassing the flaky edge connectors at both the speedo guage and the “F” connector's ribbon cable (pins 1-4). Note that this is NOT a job I would recommend for the faint-hearted, unless you're really good at precision soldering under a magnifying glass (I have the factory service manual and a background in electronics repair, but even so, this job took the better part of a weekend). But the speedo now seems to work great - at least it shows the speed reliably. HOWEVER, the speedo needle LIGHT is now not working! (arrrgh) I guess I broke it, although I was incredibly careful when I pulled the speedo. Does anyone know how the speedo needle light is driven? Does the '99 LS use LED's or cold-cathode? And if the latter, where's the step-up inverter? There are only four pins on the speedo guage (SIN +/- and COS +/- since it's an air-core guage), so the needle light must get its supply from them. And since the speedo is working, I assume the “break” is somewhere internal in the guage… between the two coils and the needle, or in the needle itself. Any hands-on electronics advice would be greatly appreciated! DT in Houston
  10. Your rough idle/no power sounds just like my '90 LS when the idle-air control (IAC) valve when out (after I washed the engine and didn't cover the IAC completely). But of course there might be any number of reasons that might cause the same symptoms. Good luck ! DT
  11. I have an extremely well-maintained 1990 LS400 (~280K miles). Conservatively, I have put at least the present "book" value of the car into repairs and maintenance in the past couple of years. But my insurance agent says that all I would get if it were "totaled" would be the standard book value, with very little (if any) allowance for the condition of the vehicle. Is there additional "specified value" insurance available for cars that would compensate me if the vehicle were totaled (I'm in Texas, where the insurance rules are probably different than other states). Sort of like collector car insurance, but for cars that aren't quite (yet) truly collector cars... TIA DT
  12. The oil pump on my '90 LS is leaking. On a scale of 1-10 (with rebuilding the transmission being a 10), how difficult is it to replace the oil pump? Based on the number of steps in the factory service manual, it looks pretty daunting. One local shop quoted 17+ hours of labor. And another said they would have to pull the engine to get to the oil pump (even though the factory service manual doesn't indicate this is necessary). I'm reasonably proficient, but certainly don't have the Special Service Tools that the service manual says to use for some of the steps. And pulling the engine in my garage is simply not going to happen! Are any of the SST's actually required? TIA DT
  13. If the leather is still salvageable, and you don't mind a considerable amount of manual labor, you may want to consider re-dyeing your leather. After considerable investigation, I found a company named Leatherique (www.leatherique.com) that sells a good leather re-dyeing kit I'm about 75% finished with re-dyeing all the seats in my '90 LS400 using one of the Leatherique kits, and I must say that the results are absolutely spectacular! I was really afraid that the seats would look 'painted', but I swear that they're just as soft and supple as when they were new (actually, maybe a bit softer), and the grain still shows like new. Even the 1/2 dozen major cracks on the driver's seat are almost invisible (filled using the crack filler that came in my kit). I shipped Leatherique a small sample swatch I found on the underside of the rear seat, and they did a color-match (although the sample wasn't as faded as my seats, so the color is a bit more "bold"). A few of words of caution if you decide to do this: Buy a lot more of the "surface prep" (a mild stripper) solution than comes in their kit. I ended-up using about 4X the amount that was supposed to be necessary to do all the seats (and it isn't cheap). Maybe I was trying to remove too much of the old dye, but I just don't see how you could make-do with the small amount they ship. They ship plenty of the conditioner and the actual dye itself. Don't sand until you start making suede! (the stripping step involves wet-sanding with 400 grit, so keep it wet and go lightly; let the surface prep solution remove the old dye) Use an artist's air-brush to apply the new dye. Apply it "dry" (ie, very light coats) and expect to spend a good deal of time rubbing-out the roughness. For the final rub-out, I used 1000, then 1500, then 2000 grit sandpaper - buy at an auto parts store - and finally cheesecloth. If you put the dye on "wet" (ie, heavy, using a brush or rag), you may fill the grain. Don't attempt to change colors (if you do, you'll need probably 10X the amount of surface prep!) Expect to spend at LEAST 4 hours per seat. It's a multi-weekend project, and you'll need to pull the seats (just four bolts on each of the fronts, but you may need an impact wrench). My total cost so far is around $300 (including the extra surface prep solution and lots of 400/600/1000/1500/2000 grit sandpaper). I good Paasche air-brush and compressor would be another $300. But new leather upholstery will run you around $3200 (even at the hole-in-the-wall places here in Houston). I did find a site on the 'net that sells replacement leather seat covers, but they would have been $1200 plus another $600 to install them. And I worry that they wouldn't fit nearly as well as the original leather. BTW: I have absolutely no business relation with Leatherique, other than as a customer DT
  14. The speedo on my '99 LS400 finally died. It has had the "reads 0 for the first 20 miles" problem that seems to be common for the past couple of years. But now I think it's really died. How do I determine if the problem is the sender or the instrument cluster? The odometer is still working, so that tells me that at least something is sending a signal. But are there multiple senders on the '99 LS? (like maybe the one feeding the speedo has died but the one feeding the odometer is is OK). I've found a company that will remanufacture my instrument cluster for $175 (us-sales@bba-reman.com), but I want to make sure the speedo is really the problem. (BTW: has anyone used bba-reman?) TIA DT
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