90Duchess

Hello all, thank you for all the advice over the years; we are all really fortunate to have such a dynamic, informed, and industrious community of car enthusiasts who genuinely wish to share their knowledge and expertise for no other reason than to help us all. For all your efforts, I'm personally thanking you! I will continue to contribute any factual help I'm able in the future to us all and that's my promise to you! I'm having an issue with my detailer. He uses a certain dealer for all his touch-up paint, works on many high-end cars such as Ferrari's, Lamborghini's, and is certified in CQuartz Finest. I paid premium price to have paint correction, touch-up, and premium coatings, inside and out. However, he ordered the 062, Crystal White Pearl paint, which does not remotely match, it's too white, prepped my vehicle, applied the paint, and coated with CQuartz Finest. He didn't like the match, so only filled them in halfway, yet applied the CQuartz Finest over it all anyway. When I picked up the car, we agreed it did not remotely match, and three Weeks later he had me come in to have the chips redone with another paint. This other paint, "066" written on the lid and made by DrColorChip, is way too dark and flakes off besides. Is there anyone out there that has had a similar experience as I and can direct me how to proceed? I can get my own paint and have him redo it, but it's not bonding with that CQuartz, I think. Please, I'd welcome any informed recommendations. I paid nearly $1,000 for the total package, so it's not like small potatoes to me. Thank you all in advance.

awesome! I found that same nut loose on my ls400 after a shop repair and tightened it up myself, fortunately before any noise or problems arose. Thank goodness you got it fixed before it caused any major problems! arent't our collective minds on this forum awesome?? I hope your car gives you many more trouble-free years to come!

Have you inspected the Universal Joints (U-joints) and the rubber driveshaft couplings for play/wear?

I, too, am intersted in knowing if the OP found out what was causing that metallic noise. Personally, based on the description, I thought it sounded more like a dry/failing drive shaft carrier bearing...

Thanks, Landar, I'm definitely up to trying anything to narrow down my possibilities. I think I'd prefer to take the dist. cap covers off and disconnect the wires one-at-a-time that way, versus piercing them. I'll get it done in the next couple of days and post my results and we can go from there. My research has led me to suspect that my problems are either related to the TPS or the fuel pump. The pump was tested electrically and showed internal wear, but it wasn't pressure our volume tested. Both the TPS and fuel pump are 23-years old, after all, so their failure wouldn't surprise me. I will try your suggestion first before replacing those expensive parts, though, and post my findings in a couple days. Thanks for all your help and suggestions!!

Ok, I replaced all my capacitors according to Yamae and LSCoyboyLS directions, and to be honest, I cannot really tell much difference. Maybe it is because the bucking is still present at part-or-higher throttle, I don't know, but the capacitors were not the brownish-colored Nichicon caps in the tutorial directions that failed on so many people; they were all black Rubycon caps, except one that was a purple-ish blue. I know that it doesn't mean much, but none were leaking. The next two avenues i'm trying this week are the TPS and the fuel pump. Let me know what you guys think, thanks!!!

So sorry; bad sentence structure and poor editing skills on my part. I just assumed people would understand; my fault. My intention was to help, to point out that having rotors hub-matched (the technical jargon for the procedure, "radial run-out", escaped me at that point) is a far better option than just taking them all off, as some have suggested; having them lathed and putting them back on, irregardless of which hub they originated from. Yes, the high-heating and repeat-cooling of metal parts will cause warpage, or distortion. As parts age, this action is cumulative. Anything attached to an axle will experience these effects, whether simple wear of a rubber or plastic bushing; a metal backing plate, metal spindle on which mounts the bearing, caliper, rotor, and yes, even the wheel. As parts age, wear or abrate into their mating surfaces and become accustomed to their relations to each other, you should keep this knowledge in mind when evaluating issues with each axle as a unit, not as individual parts. If you want silky-smooth brakes, you should take into account radial run-out, even on brand-new rotors. They are machined to precise measurements on a lathe. Any mechanic worth his salt will tell you that they will not be perfect after mounting unless they are turned, or fine-tuned to each wheel. I was only trying to help, as I have had three import cars needing brake work over the years and found that when I needed to have the rotors turned, I was much happier having them machined on the car as opposed to off it. Hope it helps. Good luck!

At this point I'd do as Yamae suggests and look at bad ECU capacitors. It sounds like you are experiencing similar problems, and have tried to rule out the usual suspects. Check out the thread here: http://m.clublexus.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7605951&postcount=131

I agree with most posts, however, you'll be far better off if you have the rotors turned on the car, otherwise known as matched to the hub, as each wheel develops wear inconsistencies not perfectly matched with another wheel. In other words, taking all the rotors off and having them machined independently doesn't account for out-of-round measurements each one will have, all bolted together. Age, heat, and cooling all affect metal, and warpage will invariably result in the bearings, spindles, and rotors. Have them resurfaced on the vehicle and, proper brake job performed, you'll have brakes smooth as silk. Make a mark on each rotor in relation to each hub, and you'll be able to match each one up in the future if you ever need to disassemble them again. Hope this helps!

There are a series of air pathways, with servo-controlled gates in the ducts under the dash, that control hot/cold air mix. One of them could be bad. Try the A/C diagnostic, it checks for proper air mix function: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/3794-ac-codes/ Hope this helps

Have you tried poking around a few salvaged cars? You might find the parts you need, granted not new, but better than scrapping your car. I had a rear ballast go out a few years ago, but replaced the struts both sides, not cheap. Wish I had a better solution.

I am feeling that way. It is at the mechanics for the conversion of the AC fro r12 to 134a. But can't figure out for sure how to flush the oil out. But that is another story. I was going to do the brakes and fix the door handle when I got the car back.. But life is messing with me... So .... I have now told the shop to fix the door and do the front brakes (rotors are warped) My personal experience is that the R-134a is a poor substitute for the R-12. These cars were designed to run on the lower pressures of the R-12 for a reason, and after I had a professional retrofit done on my car, the compressor was noisy as hell, took forever to get cold, and was ultimately so poor in cooling performance that I had it flushed out and put back to R-12. I know the gas is expensive if you buy it at retail, but you can get your EPA certification online for $20, and you can buy it all day long yourself at wholesale prices, even if you just buy the gas and take it to your shop, much less keep it topped-off yourself. I've been much happier since having mine put back to original. Also, I know of no other way to drain the old oil from our systems than to take off the compressor and drain it that way, (plus replacing the receiver/dryer) as it has an oil well, and follow up with a couple cans of A/C flush ran through the whole system. Hope this helps save you frustration and expense!

Thanks, landar, that site was very helpful! I've found several stations that sell unadulterated premium, and will be switching to it as soon as I'm ready to fill up again. In the mean time, I've been using Marvel Mystery Oil in my gas to help offset the corrosive nature of ethanol. While the shop didn't confirm the concentration of ethanol in my tank, or if I have any fuel-related degradation, they did, at my insistence, test my fuel pump and it showed internal wear. I'm going to run my tank empty, replace the fuel pump with a new Nippon-Denso unit, and fill up with pure premium from one of the stations on the list you provided and stick with it, since these cars can quickly drain your bank account in assorted repairs, especially from careless mistakes, such as maybe continuing to use gasohol when the manual clearly states not to for extended periods. Thanks again, and good luck with your '92! I'll keep posting updates on my repair progress; hopefully our experiences can save others a lot of time, trouble, and expense!

Thank you guys, for your help! It took a bit to get my car in to a "recommended" shop today, and they said that they can't diagnose it because they had other work to do! I set up the appointment last week, talking to the rep for a good 20 minutes describing the issue and the measures taken to correct it, and he assured me that despite the age of the vehicle, they have many diagnostic tools to find most any issue despite the age of the car. I went in today and they had my car for about 30 minutes before they came back and told me that it was not able to show any error codes that their mechanics could follow. They knew it was a 1990, and prior to OBD-II, but that was the excuse I got. I told them I want them to test the fuel pump, at least, and they did, showing that it has some weakness internally by the EKG-type graph they showed me, but assured me that it was working, just that the regular spikes in the output graph had a few in a row that were lower (weaker) than the following spikes, and occurred often. The details the shop put on the invoice are that, " too early to have Mode 6 data or misfire counters; Current Ramped the fuel pump and see the pattern is a little uneven, communicators (12 in all) and brushes may have wear, and amperage was about 7.1 amps). I am back to square-one. Yamae: I noticed mention to repairing the ECU on Club Lexus during a search; it is the original ECU, and I have owned it since it was a mere six years-old. I believe as you do, that buying another used, old, ECU would have similar or worse problems if not immediately, eventually. I would like to have mine reb Thanks, Yamae, I will order them today and plan on having them replaced this weekend. I have one question, though: On the list of recommended capacitors, clicking the links to the specific ones on Digi-Key, the voltages are not 12v. I will have an electronics technician do the work, but since I am not an electrician, I just want to be sure I am ordering the right ones for my car. Are the ones listed on the page the right ones to get? ***UPDATE*** I spoke too soon; reading through you and LScowboyLs's posts on CL, I was able to educate myself that the voltages on the replacement capacitors must be AT LEAST the stated voltage on the originals, and what is most important is that the capacitance values must match. Today I received the exact capacitors for my 1990 LS400 that you guys specified, ordered from Digi-Key, and am having a computer repair guy replace them for me this weekend. I also ordered a new Lexus fuel pump, but it wont be here till next week. I will update with my results, first from the ECU repair, and later, the fuel pump. I can't thank you guys enough for the time and effort you both have put into the postings on ECU diagnosis and repair; you guys are the best!!!

Thank you guys for your help!!! It took a bit to get my car in to a "recommended", major third-party shop today, and my service liaison said that the mechanics can't spend all afternoon diagnosing it because they had other work to do, despite my week-in-advance appointment!!! I set up the appointment last week, talking to the same liaison for a good 20 minutes describing the issue and the measures taken to correct it, and he assured me that despite the age of the vehicle that the shop had many older and current diagnostic tools to find most any issue. I went in today and the shop had my car for about 30 minutes before the same liaison that set up the appointment came back and told me that my car was not able to show any error codes that their mechanics could follow. I told him that there weren't any codes last week before I made the appointment! The liaison knew it was a 1990 when I talked to him last week, and prior to OBD-II, but having no stored codes for the mechanic to follow was the excuse I got. I told them fine, but still want them to at least test the fuel pump while it as in, and they did, showing that it has some weakness internally by the EKG-type graph they showed me. However, they assured me that the fuel pump was working; just that the regular spikes in the output-graph had a few in-a-row that were lower (weaker) than the following spikes, and occurred often. The details the shop put on the invoice are that, " too early to have Mode 6 data or misfire counters; Current Ramped the fuel pump and see the pattern is a little uneven, communicators (12 in all) and brushes may have wear, and amperage was about 7.1 amps). I am back to square-one. ***Yamae: I noticed mention to repairing the ECU on Club Lexus during a search; it is the original ECU and I have owned the car since it was a mere six years-old. I believe as you do, that buying another used, old, ECU would have similar or worse problems if not immediately, eventually. I would like to have mine rebuilt with the capacitors you recommend. Is there a service that will rebuild mine, or do you perform this service? Please let me know. If my ECU is not to blame, then someday soon it will fail and cause problems for something else. Obviously, I continue to plan keeping the car for the long-run, so I would be interested in having my capacitors replaced with the new, high performance, non-quarternary-ammonium caps as you recommend. Please advise me; I very much wish to keep the car and stay abreast of preventative maintenance, such as this.*** Thank you all for your suggestions; I have been following them and working them into my diagnoses. I had high hopes for this shop but, alas, their techno-bots only proved that they are not able to think for themselves and can only read a computer screen. You guys are far more talented than the techno-bots I must endure every time I take my car in for something I can't diagnose! I believe that since it is the original fuel pump, I should replace it before it outright fails, but because the techno-bots can't measure fuel pressure or volume through a Banjo fitting ( they took off my throttle cable cover that has TRAC displayed on top of it , LOST it and DENIED ever removing it! looking for a shrader [sp] valve to hook up to ), or even try to improvise an adapter, I am left with the electric graph they gave me as to its performance. What do you guys think? Also, my research shows that ethanol-based gasoline, even at 10%, can cause damage to the pump, much less the entire aluminum-based fuel system and aluminum heads. In fact, it is warned of in the Owner's Manual as Gasohol in that concentration or higher, and in 2005, Lexus did a recall on the ES, LS, and GS for fuel-related problems because of "gasohol." But my gas station says they have the lowest concentration in town, (for what THAT is worth), and say it is about 8%. (I'm sure....) I never had these problems before I started using their premium, exclusively, a year ago. Could this be a factor? I mentioned my concern to the shop today, but it seems they dismissed it, because they never tested my fuel After the techno-bot road-tested my car, (without me, I might add, driving it "HARD" as my liaison said he told him), they "were not able to duplicate my concern," and they recommended I take it to a transmission shop. Please help guys!!!