brybo86

you get the prize ^^^dumbest thing I have read all year. change the belt already

how could i test the shocks to see if they are the culprit?

little background when I go over a speedbump(or when they chew the blacktop to put a a new layer on it and there is the abrupt 3 inch jump) any faster than a crawl I get a loud clunk in the rear end i was underneath trying to figure out what is going on today. These pics are of the bushings directly behind the differential they dont look torn to me but they definitely flex to the extreme when the diff is jacked up. #1 weight on wheels #2 weight on wheels #1 jack under diff #2 jack under diff

yes, i had to push pull as hard as I could given the limited space and being careful to not tweak the fuel lines in the process as i was turning the connections I thought for sure something was getting stripped I broke the fuel line connections loose while the mounting bracket was still connected for a little more stability

Not fun... why does the filter have to be located above the exhaust and all the suspension components? really tested the flexibility in my wrists. i wasnt having any issues with fuel delivery but changed it for fun i guess Tool used were 14mm and 17mm flare nut wrenches 17mm combo wrench 19mm combo wrench jack jack stands catch pan new filter was a WIX The day before I sprayed a bunch of penetrating oil on the connections new filter installed ONLY lost about 5 quarts of gas.... ROFL took forever, with gas running down my arms and neck... sucked old filter, i couldn't find any markings on it other than "KUG" ?? cut open... didn't seem very dirty.

OTC 4754 Universal Pulley Holder http://www.amazon.com/OTC-4754-Universal-Pulley-Holder/dp/B000Q8GVPY I used this to remove/install the crank harmonic balancer as well as the cam pulleys. It comes with the different sized pins to remove both pulleys. The holes on the cam pulleys are SO small like 8mm. There is no way that some random 8mm bolts can take the 80+ ft/lbs to remove the bolt. The pins included with the pulley set fit perfectly between the "spokes" of the pulleys allowing a much more firm grip on the pulley. Trust me. Here is a link to my thread with a picture of how I positioned the tool. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/81797-got-a-1995-ls400-172k-and-need-some-advice/?p=476013

possible solenoids didn't i read that these go bad? they are change by removing the tranny pan not too bad

yes my vote would be leaking rear coolant bridge gaskets

you sure it is the pump and not the o ring under the reservoir? the o ring cost like $1 takes maybe 10-15 minutes to change

if you look closely on the pics of the old starter gear you can see it was only touching the flywheel about halfway on the teeth...?

I put everything back together yesterday and it works GREAT! Starter turned over strong and quietly and most importantly with any high pitched chime (delayed disengagment) of the old starter. I went to the dealer yesterday and bought new coolant bridge gaskets, they were acutally cheaper local than from sewell even before shipping. It took me FOREVER to reconnect the lower EGR pipe to the back of the coolant bridge. Like a few hours just for that one step. SO frustrating. I used new gaskets for the head to manifold and manifold to surge tank, as well as a new throttle body gasket. I also used the reman DENSO from amazon per sha400's recommendation. although the reman denso from rockauto was cheaper and they will take the old core back for like a $32 refund I did not test before reintalling everything... :0 dumb/lucky me I bought rebuild fuel injector kits for $2 each from Napa. worked great. The old injector grommets were rock hard and cracked each one I changed the PCV valve, grommet, and hose. The grommet was literally rock hard, I used pentrating oil to loosen it and then stuffed a towel into the hole and then pryed/broke it out with some screwdrivers. THen pulled the towel out with all the pieces caught in it. I bought another set of distributor rotors from sewell since if you recall I put the first set of new ones in backwards when doing my timing belt last month and have been using the old ones until I opened up the engine again. So last night at 11pm I opened the "new" distributor rotor boxes and they look just like the ones I put in backwards last month. The rotors wiper friction material look to have been shaved off and it is missing the sandpaper like material. They are very smooth without grit. I emailed sewell today, Even so now I have to go in AGAIN with new rotors at some point, this will be the 3rd time I change them... I have it down to a science. I gently pull back the timing cover and slip the new ones in. Only requires draining a tiny bit of the radiator and taking off the bolts from the upper timing covers. I leave the serpentine belt on too. old on the left and "new" on the right, someone must have returned the rotors and they repackaged them and gave them to me.... GRRRR. it was the icing on the cake of frustration yesterday.

Let me just start by saying that this job is a SLEEPER in difficulty...It SEEMS easy but oh boy.. it isn't. The issue that I was having was that immediatly after starting the car it would make a high pitched chime or high pitched grind for a half to 1 second that sounded exactly the same as when you turn the key on a car that is already running. Bascially like the starter was not disengaging quick enough. I read about it every day for the last week, thinking everything was going to be very smooth.... It started off very well Here is the back of the throttle body, definitely in need of a good cleaning The upper manifold/surge tank came off relatively easy. The EGR pipe on the back had 2 different sizes of bolts? one was a 12mm and one a 13mm?? This is when I began to suspect something was up. My game plan was the take off the upper manifold/lower manifold and fuel rail off in one piece... failed There was no way that was happening... I took them all off separately. gaskets between surge tank and lower manifold is metal, i got new ones but i bet these would be fine to reuse. As you can see in the above pic, the upper manifold is off I removed the injector clips with a small U shaped pick/hook tool, didn't break any :) false hope I removed the fuel return hose and took off the rail mounting bolts then simply flipped the rail intact over to the driver side of the car. Felpro manifold gaskets...as I suspected with the different EGR bolts. Someone had been in here before. I guess what do you expect at 172k... ? lower manifold off, starter in plain sight now, It had been about 3 hrs, but i was apparently just getting started I thought i was going to use the harbor freight tool ratchet/t handle tool and remove the starter bolts without removing the rear coolant bridge... YAH... impossible, at least on a 95-97, you see that heater core and heat control valves up there? no way the tool is getting in there. After trying for 2 hrs, and numerous colorful words I was losing hope. I removed the upper EGR pipe to try and get the HF tool in, nope. OK so I guess Ill just take out the rear cool bridge... easy right? no The lower EGR pipe is bolted to the back of the rear coolant bridge, those bolts cannot be accessed from the engine bay as the coolant bridge is in the way. Ok then so I read online that I might need to remove the passenger cat to access the lower EGR pipe bolts on the rear coolant bridge,...not happening.... thought about it for 30 mins, impossible, not only were the cat bolts old and locked on there. There is no way for a socket(maybe a special sized swivel socket, i dont have one) to even get around them without hitting the cat and there is no way a simple box wrench is getting those suckers off. After more words and tow truck contemplation i had genius idea, loosen the lower EGR pipe bolts on top of the exhaust pipe and then hope that it gives me enough clearance to pull up on the coolant bridge. I used the harbor freight t handle thing to remove the 2, 12mm nuts on top of the exhaust freeing up the lower egr tube from below. This allowed me to pull up an inch or 2 on the coolant bridge and then I could get the HF tool in there again to remove the bolts holding the lower EGR tube to the back of the rear coolant bridge. finally the coolant bridge was free and I had much better access to the starter bolts. I put some serious torque on that HF tool to loosen the passenger starter bolt... It flexed and i thought it was snapping for sure but it thankfully broke the bolt loose, I removed it using the same tool while jamming a screwdriver against the bolt to keep tension on it so it didn't spin backwards. I broke the driver side bolt loose with a 3/8 breaker bar and shorty socket( nothing fits in there even with the bridge removed) then finished removing with the HF tool. Finally got it out Some wear/chips on the bendix, this starter was definitely not a denso, probably a duralast (I found some pieces of autozone receipt down in the valley) another shot best shot I could get of the flywheel, there was a tiny bit wear but nothing like the starter drive, no chips, or missing teeth as i cranked the engine over via the crankbolt I did manage to break the little connector for the starter solenoid signal, wrapped it up with a bunch of electrical tape... :/ new starter in, bolt reinstall was a breeze by hand, I had ran them through the new starter threads a few times to clean them up and tightened as hard as I could with a 3/8 shorty ratchet (all that would fit) Now I need coolant bridge gaskets from the dealer and since i didn't plan on removing it i didn't buy them... dumb, if they dont have them in stock maybe I will add some rtv on top and reinstall? they are the same part number but different names on the sewell parts diagram. Now i just need to put everything back, clean up mating surfaces and manifolds, and rebuild injectors with napa kits, then hope it starts, oh joy Not recommended for the faint of heart, this really is a big job. I just did my timing belt and I think this was much more difficult. In conclusion, that harbor freight 98484 "Tbar with flexible 3/8 ratchet" saved my !Removed! many times.

^^^ really good to know, thx

was there any sign of tranny problems before this happened?

you need to take another pic, turn off the phone flash and use a separate light, if the phone screen isn't clear before the pic is taken it wont be after. If it wont focus try backing up more, and/or using zoom after backing up.

when you say you removed the manifold as one piece do you mean the upper(surge tank) and lower manifold together or the lower and the fuel rail together?

I am planning on starter/starter solenoid replacement before winter sets in. I am currently experiencing a delay in starter disengagment, this seems to happen at every start regardless of engine temp. I hear the "ching/chime" of the starter being engaged for a half second after the engine starts. The starter is 179 after discount at sewell, part number 281005006284, "starter assembly" The picture makes it look like it includes the solenoid the solenoid is also listed separately as part number 2815050060 Does anyone know if the first part number includes both starter and solenoid switch? Typically I have to crank the engine for about 2 full seconds before it starts, not sure what normal is. I have read Landar's thread and will be getting the harbor freight T handle flex head ratchet as the idea of not removing the rear coolant bridge or egr piping sounds very appealing. Am I right that I dont need a 14mm flex head wrench if I use the above tool? From reading various threads I have found these things that should be replaced while the intake manifold is off and starter is out. Knock sensors fuel injector o rings, and grommets? intake manifold gaskets surge tank gaskets anything im missing or are any of the above unnecessary? also any specific parts/hoses that I should plan on breaking/replacing? thanks

I took a leisurely ride last night with the wife in the Lexus (she thought we were just going for ice cream instead of a test run for noises...LOL) there is definitely no noise similar to this while moving. At slow speeds i can hear a faint high pitched squeak which I think is the wheel bearings. The vibration at 70mph is still there, otherwise it is very quiet. I'm thinking that when the wheels are off the ground the weight of them pulls the axles away from the differential and that pulling is allowing the bearing to move in a way to create this noise.

Background I have a vibration from 65mph and up its worse when accelerating or decelerating both wheels have a very small amount of play when pushed at 12 o clock there is no howling as is described with other diff problems you can see the sound coincides with the metal moving in and out.

Glad to hear you got her running, Bryan. So, you inadvertently put the rotor on 180 degrees out of position initially and smashed the tab down? Yes, on the initial install, I put them in according to the picture on lexls.com thinking it was correct. After talking to the mechanic at the dealer he mentioned smashing and or cracking the tab on the back of the rotor.... and then I remebered a faint crack when I put them in wrong, felt more like plastic shifting slightly and I didnt think much of it at the time (dumb i know) Just for the record, what positions do you now say the rotors should be in when at TDC? 9/5:30? Yes definitely, with both cam's time marks lined up and crank at 0 TDC the metal rotor wipers should face towards RH 9 and LH 5:30. BTW, this also felt like "Deja Vu". Good write-up/pics there too. -> http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls400/753413-new-to-me-1995-ls400-172k.html You got me, responses on each site have been very helpful. its also on bitog if you want to read there too ;)

So...... Of course I thought about my no start all day at work. I came home and decided that the only thing possibly wrong is the distributor rotors. I changed the LH rotor by only removing the air dam and slightly twisting the upper rad hose up. The RH rotor required the air intake to be removed as well as the top of the lower rad hose. I removed tension on the serpentine belt and removed it from the power steering pulley and left it on the rest of the accessory pulleys. When I removed the rotors this is what I found. See the difference? New rotor is on the left and old is on the right. The tiny tab is smashed on the new/left rotor. I couldn't find this information anywhere other than calling a dealer in Milwaukee and talking to him. He described a small tab on the back of the rotor that aligned with the cam pulley. He also said the "protrusion" is the metal rotor wiper. I would recommend this be added to the timing belt tutorials. I also believe the lexls.com picture is incorrect. cams and crank are set at timing marks but the rotors are not in correct alignment/orientation. I put it back together and VRROOOM! A bit rough for the first few seconds but then it settled down to the Lexus purrrr.... I was ecstatic. My ghetto solder job worked on the coolant sender too. Amazing. Thanks for all the advice and the tutorials helped a ton! -Bryan

thx for the response landar So in the above pic the cams are at timing marks(little white lines) and the crank is at TDC 0', it definietly looks like TDC to me, if you look again and think not please explain to me thx, the RH(passenger cam) wiper is pointed to the 3 oclock position not 9 oclock as you say it should be. also the LH(driver cam) wiper is pointed to the 11:30 position not the 530 position. I installed them exactly as shown in the above picture, but the picture shows differently than you are describing, thanks again for your prompt responses, I really appreciate it Where did u learn the description you gave, rotor wipers set to RH@9 and LH@5:30? is there a manual I can read? I spoke with a senior mechanic at the dealer and he said the "protrusion" is the wiper, not the arrow, which means the keyed groove on the RH cam pulley(@9oclock in the second from bottom pic), should line up with the wiper side of the rotor, If this is true the lexls pic is incorrect(im not trying to insult whoever made the turorial) In the lexls pic the cam timing marks are lined up as well as the crank mark, the belt is not lined up with cam timing marks but that just means that the engine has been rotated at least 2 revolutions since the timing was set.

SO... here is the alternator, outside had some spray on it but the inside looked clean, i just cleaned it off a bit and reinstalled OTC 4754 universal pulley holder used to torque cams and crank, highly recommended cam, not actual positioning but u get the idea crank, again not actual position, i had the car on the ground and let the pulley holder rest against the ground broken connector on coolant sender wire I should have taken pics but I took a dremel and cut back the plastic on the old sender then soldered a piece of wire to the small tab inside, then twisted it together with the old wire... almost looked professional. Now the BAD I put everything together, filled with coolant, reconnected everything, turned the key and all I get is cranking... it smells like gas, no codes, I am 100% confident the timing is set correctly. Im thinking the ONLY part of the job that I wasn't 100% sure of my self was the distributor rotors, "47) Install the distributor rotors. Align the protrusion of the rotor with the groove of the camshaft timing pulley. Torque the 2 bolts to 34 in-lb (39 kg-cm, 3.8 Nm); see step 12, then press backspace to return here." HUH? where is the protrusion is this pic? top or bottom? the groove on the back of the rotor is in line with the arrow side not the pickup/contact side this isn't my pic but I aligned the rotor with the arrow side pointing to the left in this pic...... with the arrow lined up with the "groove" at the 9 o clock position behind the center bolt in this picture. did I install them incorrectly? basically is the "protrusion" the friction pickup side or the arrow side? is this pic from lexls.com correct?

I finished removing the TB today and started putting it back together Removing the old TB, not sure why the lexls tutorial has you remove the belt before removing the fan bracket? There were a couple hiccups the fan bracket was pain to get off, mostly because it is bolted to the AC unit, and the bolts are on the side and down like a few inches below the battery. Then there are those tiny screws holding an electrical bracket on the top of the AC unit.... had to use a 2ft long extension and socket phillips bit to get at them so that the fan bracket would be able to pull out I changed the PS reservoir o ring, the old one was very brittle and hard like plastic, I hope that solves my leak I zipped the cam pulleys off with an impact and went at the seals using the genius special tool... its crappy metal, kinda soft, which is good so that it wont scratch the shafts, I filed the back side of the paint opener using a rough metal file then used a finer grit sandpaper to get a nice flowing curve on the backside. The RH camseal was the tightest, the LH was OK and the crankseal just popped out. The paint can opener worked great, I put the opener on top of the shafts just like when using it to open a paint can then got the sharp edge to cut into the seal as i pushed the handle down parallel to the shaft. No scratches. I put the cam seals in using a huge socket, they went in fine. I used a big piece of PVC to install the crankseal... until I noticed that I pushed in the bottom too far!!... DUMB. I was ticked, luckily there was a dealer 20 mins away that had one in stock. The one they gave me was the exact same part number but it was black, not brown like the one I got from Sewell. Water pump reinstalled using the OEM gasket only no RTV water inlet housing reinstalled with new orings, RTV, new thermostat and oring. idler #1 and #2 installed. and she is ON! sorry i forgot the alternator pic, waiting for my adjustable spanner to torque the cams and crank drivebelt tensioner is squeaky, I'll prolly buy the gates one tomorrow.