914lps

The sensor on the resevor botle has a float on it. The after time, the dame things tend to no longer float. You have to replace the whole sender sensor unit. To see if this is it, unplug yours. If light goes out then bingo. Unit went bad. I have the same thing on my 91 LS. I have tried to take the thing apart and fix the "float" part, but have not found a fix. So I just pulled the plug on it. I have not priced the part but I know I will not like it as I know it's a dealer only thing.

I make part of my living selling on Ebay, so I have a clue about things. On disputes, Ebay and PayPal do what is in thier best interst. Right or wrong have little to do with it. Good sellers that are very honist can get bad feedback becouse some buyer did not know what they were buying, or did not read the listing, and got mad. Or the buyer is just a nut job! Negative feedback can alert you, but read what the negative listing is. And any responce the seller posted. You also have dumb sellers. I have seen sellers selling things that are not what they claim. They do not know about what they are selling and post wrong info on it. Ebay will not do . I sell SCUBA stuff on Ebay, and have seen others selling the same item I sell, or should I say claiming it is the same, but it is something completly diferant, in the wrong box. I report it to Ebay and the seller. Nothing is done about it. And yes, some sellers just don't give a . After all someone will come along and fall for thier BS. Look out for shipping rip off's. Some folks sell stuff real cheep, and then charge more for shipping then you could have bought the item for at your local store. So, it is really buyer and seller beware. Know what you are doing. Do your home work. Be willing to just say "NO! And pass on the deal. You have to look for the folks to stay away from. Not only look at thier feedback and how long they have been on ebay, but how easy is it to reach them. Do they give a phone number, do they respond to email? And so on. Last, if you are a Buyer always pay with a credit card!!!!! Ebay and PayPal will not do most of the time, but your credit card company will! If you can show that the product etc, is not as listed or such, the credit card company will do a charge back. Most of the time Visa and Master Card side with the consumer. It is in the credit card companies best interst to keep the consumer happy, not the merchant. If you have a paypal account, and you use it to pay, if you have funds it the account, those funds will go to pay for the purchase, even if you tell paypal to take the funds from your credit card. And paypal will not tell you this. So, to be able to pay though paypal, and keep the protection of that credit card, take your funds out of your paypal account, or have two accounts. If you are a seller only take PayPal and always track your shipments with proof of delivery. Over the years some folks have tried to rip me off, but if I show PayPal that the item was dilevered and delivered to the confirmed address, paypal eats it not me. I will never take anything but PayPal becouse of this, I never ship to anything but a confirmed address, and always get proof of delivery. I also ship insured. Ebay is just like the real world. There are folks that rip you off, and others that are honist. I know we have all been in at leat one face to face deal in the real world, so why should ebay be any diferant. In short, you have to be carefull, and informed, and remember if it's to good to be true..... There are more bull$#@^ deals out there then incredable bargans, and part of finding the bargans is knowing the difreance between "Gold" and "Fools Gold" so to say.

← No reason to touch the battery on doing an alignment that I know or can think of.

This has been beat to death in the past. It is your car do as you like, but read this: http://www.biznetonline.com/11-05/squeez.htm

Monarch, I was wondering this same thing about my car (vacum lines on right). In fact that is why I loged on today. As you know Pep Boys replaced my Power Steering pump after the almost new one failed when I was on a trip. The old pump clearly shows the main bearing on the outside of the pump failed. The bearing self distructed. The car did not leak fluid or smoke. When the old pump was removed it had fluid in it. After Pep Boys put the new pump on, the car started smoking like crazy. But not till the new pump was on. Pep Boys then told me they fixed it and the air valve was OK. I did tell them to replace it if needed. On getting home I found out they broke off the fitting from the Air intake, and pluged that vacume line. They left the line conected to the manifold by the Lexus logo. I "fixed" the fitting and conected the vacume line to the air intake. Bag! Car smoked. And smoked bad. Lots of oil going though the line going into the Air intake conection piont. I have not detected any oil going into the manafold from the vacum line conetec to the manifold. I tried to check to see if the vacum lines are conected corectly. I'm not able to get a look at them, but doing it by touch, the line closest to the front of the car is going to the manifold, and the one on the "back" is going to the air intake conection. Is this right? Also could the valve get damadged in moving it from on pump to the other? If the vacum lines are crossed, what would that do? I have for now pluged both lines. I have not noticed the difreance in the way the car drives. More then likly I'm going to get some vacum line and use it to temporaly swith the vacum lines to each others conections, to see if that fixes it. If so, I'll know they crossed the lines. I know I can get a new valve off Ebay for about $75.00 with shipping. Thanks in advance for the help.

Boy, did I start a discussion or what. Well I'm still not finding an answer to the question. But I bet that if I had a failure of a part and put in a warranty claim, and it came out I used Power steering Fluid, instead of DexIII, I could see Lexus denying the claim due to the wrong fluid being used.... I also can't figure out why any dealer or shop would not use DexIII as stated ON THE CAP of the power Steering unit!........... After all if it lead to a court case... They would look bad...... If you are wondering this is the problem that started the question: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=25682

OK Here is what the "Old" pump looks like. I put it on a few weeks ago. I plan on letting AutoZone and the Manufacture that I expect more then just the cost of the pump back. This failure cost me almost $600.00 to replace the unit. $300.00 for a hotel bill, and a lost business meeting. As you can see the main baring on the outside of the pump had a catastrophic failure after being on the car for only a few weeks. I believe this goes beyond simply a normal failure. There is no way this unit was rebuilt correctly, or quality inspected correctly. Also I'm posting a photo of how Pep Boys left my vacuum lines. They broke the "nipple" of the air intake, and plugged the line. Also filled unit with Power Steering Fluid instead of DexIII as stated on the cap of the pump! I now must flush and fill the system with DEX III. I will also temporally fix the vacuum lines and fittings with some JB Weld. To make sure I do not have a problem with the vacuum valve on the pump, I’ll put a clear gas filter inline so I can look for fluid being sucked. Pep Boys told me that fluid got into the manifold making the car smoke like crazy when I got it back. Smoke looked to be White…. I’m guessing when they took the old pump off, they did not first take off the vacuum lines and when lifting the unit off the car, they broke the fitting off, and fluid flowed “down” the line into the manifold. On driving the car home I put some B12 ChemTool into the gas tank to help clean things and also did the trick of using a vacuum line to suck some B12 into the intake manifold. After 20 to 30 miles all smoking was gone. Even when I punched it and went from 0 to 80. Oh, Please no one tell me I should not have let Pep Boys work on the car. It was not by choice, but dictated by circumstances. I did not want to have it towed to a dealer (about 80 miles), or take my chances finding a shop out of the phone book. Well as one turkey to another, here’s to surviving another Thanks Giving!

What can power steering fluid do to my system, instead of Dex III? I know this has come up before but I have never seen a definitive answer. Pep Boys states they called a dealer and was told to use Power Steering Fluid. And that is why they filled my system with Power Steering Fluid hen they put the new pump in. I called three dealers. One stated Power Steering, One said either one is fine, and one said only Dex III. I called Lexus USA. They had no one there to ask, so they called two dealers and called me back. They stated “It should be OK, but change it if you want to, if it was going to hurt the system, you would have had the steering fail on your drive home! What kind of answer is “It Should Be OK???” What is with that??? I know both are Hydraulic fluids but I’m sure the viscosity, heat rating, and other specifications are different. Anyone know for sure if Power Steering Fluid instead od DexIII is a no harm, no fouwl thing, or will it mess-up things like your valves etc.....

Well I got my car back and drove it home without any trouble. But this morning in the light of day, I was shocked. Pep Boys filled the system with clear power steering fluid. And the vacuum line coming from the air intake by the mass air flow unit has been blocked off. I do not know why?? But the nipple from the plastic housing has been snapped off, and a plug was put in! The Vacuum line to the manifold is OK. So, I'm off to the parts store to buy some DexIII and do a flush. 8 quarts should do it. As I do not know if there is an issue with the valve on the pump and fluid going into the manifold, I will get a clear gas filter and put it in line on the vacuum and watch it like a hawk. The Pump that failed had a catastrophic bearing failure. I will post photos. Nothing to do with if there was fluid in the system or not. I’m sure there was as when this happened it was immediate. No warning noises, and the old pump had fluid in it when it was pulled off the car. I will be posting the question of what can power steering fluid do to my system, instead of Dex III? I know this has come up before but I have never seen a definitive answer. Pep Boys states they called a dealer and was told to use Power Steering Fluid. I called three dealers. One stated Power Steering, One said either one is fine, and one said only Dex III. I called Lexus USA. They had no one there to ask, so they called two dealers and called me back. They stated “It should be OK, but change it if you want to, if it was going to hurt the system, you would have had the steering fail on your drive home! What kind of answer is “It Should Be OK???” What is with that??? I know both are Hydraulic fluids but I’m sure the viscosity, heat rating, and other specifications are different. :chairshot:

The shop is working on the valve right now. Again it seemed OK before they put the new pump on. And the resevor had fliud in it. Now that the new pump is on, the car is smoking. It did not blow any smoke before or after the falure. Not until the new pump was on. I do have an inline filter in place, but it has been there a long time. I do not think the system was killed by a loss of fliud. Again I checked all leveals etc, and As I'm always checking review I never saw any smoke, and if valve was sucking it down that hard, I would have had a lot of smoke.....

The valve showed no signs of going bad. Fliud level was staying good. If it went bad could it suck the system dry in 200 miles??? Also when the shop started the car before working on it, no smoke. And system had fluid in the pump. Smoking started after installing new pump.

If they are plastic, heat up an allen wrench and push it into the screw. Let it cool, and turn the wrench to get the screw out.

I hope the Altanator is ok to as it is also only 3 weeks old. Could the pump failing make the valve go out??? I checked fliud level before departing and it was right on the mark. Would it go that low in only 200 miles?? Also no smoke when it first happened. Smoke only showed up after they put new pump on and restrated the car.

I put a new (rebuilt) Power Steering pump on about 3 weeks ago. Last nigh when I was about 300 miles into a 400+ mile drive the pump seized up and took out the serpentine belt at about 75 MPH. Almost all my warning lights came on. Like Brake, Oil, Battery. I pulled over and stopped the car. Looked under the hood. No belt. I restarted the car and made it into a Pep Boys ( I know there are better places to go, but I could see this from the highway and I was in a strange town (On a Sunday Night at 5 pm). Got there just in time for them to lock the car in the shop for the night. I walked to a hotel. They called this AM. Car will be ready on Tuesday in the morning. Almost $600.00 for new pump belt etc… But I can’t complain as I’m stuck here…. Now for the important question. They just called to tell me they got the pump and belt on, but when they started the car it was blowing massive amounts of smoke. They say that when the pump went out some how the fluid went into the manifold. Does this sound right, and should everything be OK, or could I be looking at more damage? I know that the pump has a vacuum line attached to it. I’m guessing that is the route the oil took to get into the manifold. :chairshot:

I was a car sales man. As such when I buy ant thing I give the first guy that showed my what I wanted a chance to match the best deal I find, but If they are not nice.... The guy was a jerk for giving you a hard time. He should have simply stated that he was sory that he could not earn your busnies, and have asked you to give him a chance next time, and he would be happy to try to match any deal you found. Your toyota guy worked at keeping your business. The lexus guy worked at never getting it!

The "film" is most likly on the inside. It comes from the off gasing from the dash etc. Best glass gleaner in the world. 1 cup isopropyl alcohol. 1 cup distilled water 2 oz. ammonia. Use a micro fiber cloth to clean. But cleaner in a spray bottle.

Army. The guy has already stated he knows what he is doing, and does not want any help....... See where he took me to task for offering advise. So, wish him the best, but I'd save the advise.

Water injection article I wrote: http://www.biznetonline.com/02-02/water2.htm I also just got back from SEMA. There is a new unit coming out that is extrimly computer controlled and breaks the water into it's gas parts and injects the gas (H2o). I'll tell more when I know it. There is one thing I don't get. I have an 84 Saab, I drive the hell out of it. I have 350,000 miles on it. Factory turbo. 5 Speed trany. Added intercooler and water injection. Have a "hot" APC box. I have used no "additives" in it. Change oil every 3,000 miles. Keep it well maintaned. Had to put a new head gasket on at 150,000 miles after jerk at a shop, took car for a joy ride (shop paid for it), Replaced cluch at 175,000. Trany had minor work done at 200,000 miles. Org turbo, never needed any work. That has been it for major work, other then things like starter and alt, etc... I know the top speed is 150mph. I know it will handle 140 mph for 400 miles.. Like I said I drive this car hard. So, what I don't get is on toysrme, if you are taking care of your car, adding these great aditives, then why dose you car keep blowing up????? Is it that you don't believe in stopping at the red line, or???????? This is not ment as a jab. I really don't get why your car keeps blowing up, if you are careing for it. I would tend to be more open to your advise on car car, if it was working for you... Or am I missing something...??

Toysrme... If I'm remembering right you are running water injection on your car? If so your combustion chamber and intake should be clean and stay that way. I have a unit on my turbo Saab. An 84 with 350,000 miles. Put the water unit on at about 225,000 miles. The water not only "tricks" the computer into thinking your running 100+ octan, it cools the incoming air, but the water cleans the intake, and steam cleans your combustion chamber and valves, etc.

Salespersons hours tend to be hell.... But you can make good $$ I sold Toyotos about 20 years ago in California. I did not like the fact that nice folks got hosed on the deal, and the got the good deals.... I think in Nevada dealers are closed by law on Saterdays and Sundays.... So if you work Nevvada you may get the weekend off.

OK, I talked to the techs at SEAFOAM today. On putting it into the intake though a vacum line. You can do it and it does clean things. It can fowl your plugs but it is not likly. To fowl the plugs engine would have to be extrinly dirty. On puyying it in the oil. You should flush it within an hour or so, but you can leave it in the oil. Seafoam will desapate out of the oil after about 50 miles of driving. So you get more from it by adding it before you change the oil, and flushing the dirt out, then you do by putting it in with clean oil, and having the dirt stay in your oil for all the miles till the next oil change.

HILARIOUS... I actually had posted the entilre question previously and after about two hours with no responses I figured I would just post again in a much shorter format. The original question was about changing the DRL's because the manual for my GS400 says dismantling or changing bulbs could cause electric shock - so is this just a ploy to get people to use the dealership? thanks ← Now I'm shocked!

OK , now you have lost me. Seafoam clearly states on thier own web site to only leave it in the oil for about an hour before flushing with new oil. I will be talking to SeaFoam in the AM but I expect they will say Seafoam in oil for 5,000 miles is not good.....

I understand the piont evryone is trying to make. Cheeper in US then other places. Not a long tirm solution. More refineries. Alternative for powering car, etc... Better MPG... BUT, Why has evry atterny gen in the USA that has looked into the price of gas, ended up stating it's not right, but legail, as no laws against it. Exxept Hawie, they have put a cap on the profits that can be made. And this is my piont... All the oil companies are making major record profits by charging as much as they can for gas.... And they know we have no real options

I can understand putting it in your gas every now and then, but if you put it in the oil and run for 3,000 miles... I don't know about that. It has to realy thin your oil out! After all it is made to be a solvent. As for sucking it into the engine from the booster vac. I would think you are going to "gum" up your plugs, and put the cats though hell??? I would like to hear from more folks that have done this, or will not do it and why?