Exhaustgases

Just don't use a lit match or propane torch to find it.

I know nothing about that year car. But I am sure it has the climate control diagnostic just like the older ones do. That is where I would start, it should check servo motor action etc. it sounds like the valve for that function is not working correctly. Also didn't they have cabin filters on those years? Make sure its clean too.

You must have a leak someplace around the fuel tank. You need to remove the front trunk panel inside the trunk area and look and smell for it. It could be a leaky gasket or fuel pipe for something like filler or pump lines, hose? etc.

How bout smelling in the trunk. And do look for leaks and smells around the engine. Even go under the car and check it. How full or not is the fuel tank when you smell it? Is the check engine light on or been on? Evap system could cause smells check it out too.

Yeah kinda like every new car there is now. You would think someone in one of the car manufactures design places would wake up. Maybe Lexus should do retro LS400's, bring back a nice look to the cars. Does your son like any of the new cars built now?

http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12402&highlight=1995+engine+interference Like it says there is good reason for them to be interference engines. More cam lift more compression all that makes for closer clearances. And one guy said he tested it. I say who ever says its not an interference then gosh do a test, cut that old timing belt and go hit the starter. I'm curious why would a non interference engine have no annoying valve lash? That is a funny statement because all the Gen 1's are supposed to be non interference and they all can have annoying valve lash due to non hydraulic lifters, followers, buckets or what ever you wish to call them. They all have to have lash which is the running clearance between the cam lobe and the adjustment shim or puck that fits in the follower counter bore. If that clearance is too large you get the tick sound. And you would adjust it out using a thicker shim.

I really don't get young people wanting to drive an old fogey 4 door car? You would think they would be into the SC400 look, they just look like a young guys car. So why would a kid want a 4 door granny and grand pa car? Even a Mercedes CLK430 would be more a kids car than an old Luxury car.

The engine will likely be ruined if it does go. Then what? Parting it out? Making it a yard decoration? Maybe take it to the dealer and display it with a sign "This is what happens when you don't properly service your car". Take it to your local community college for a fix it learning project ? Call a wrecking yard? Find some kid that needs a car? Cut the floor out on the driver and all passenger locations and run it flintstone style? Put a VW diesel engine in it? Maybe put a lawn mower engine in it and try for a fuel mileage record? Put a blown Chrysler hemi in it and go drag racing? Better yet a jet engine and go to the salt flats and break the sound barrier with an LS400 no one has done that yet, and you truly will be "living on the edge". I'm out of ideas for now.

You will need to do a new look, no lowering, lift it like a monster truck. Sure wish I could have the nice fenders before they get smashed by the tire.

Lucky I don't like the newer LS's, but still I don't like to see non factory holes drilled into a car. It ruins any collector value it has in the far future. The only acceptable non factory holes would be dealer installed Lexus options like the phone. When someone messes up a metal panel on the car, to fix it right can be a horrendous job and hours and hours of goofing with it. And usually the best place for such cars is a junk yard at least until they are so rare that huge holes of rust will be desirable kind of like the old 50's Chevys.

I don't understand why the factory system isn't sufficient. Its good enough in the older LS's to ruin your hearing, and that is the only reason a person needs super duper speakers and huge amplification of sound. And really an amp 3 feet long and a foot wide? Was it made in the 1950's? Gosh I think the woofer amp in a gen1 is 3 to 4 inches long.

They look okay to me.

Its there for a good reason. So the dealer can charge a ransom to change it. Hmm either make sure that tank is almost empty or go to the trouble the break the siphon, if there is a rubber hose some place on the inlet a hose crimp tool could be used to stop the flow too.

Look in the manual.

That is what I had mentioned in my above post. And you would have to be a certified and bonded entity to access the radio / stereo repair information. They should make that accessible for Cars over 20 years old. There is no reason to ever protect an old Lexus stereo system from theft, I don't think anyone wants them. As I said they are dirt cheap and wrecking yards.

Using ramps is the easy way to lift it for things like that and oil and filter, transmission stuff.

Your next assignment is to find some real good service info on these systems. I wonder where any of the fix it places get the info? Maybe on the Toyota tech site ? I've never done it I'll have to try that someday. If you had the service info things would be much easier. The main thing that ruins it for us is the theft password deal, I suppose any info on the radio system is only for ones that qualify for the lock smith deal on the tech site. Because any service info would have how to reset an existing password. Gosh these old cars should have that deal removed, I don't think anyone would want to take an old LS400 radio. They are dirt cheap in some wrecking yards.

So did you get it?

If they are not the same who cares? That is how engine swapping is. Since the crossmember bolts in, you could fab a new one from either Al or steel plate, I could make the engine and transmission fit way faster than rewiring the whole car. To rewire it the dash and pretty much the whole interior has to come out. The thing is if you are considering a drastic engine swap then its a who cares about factory stock, right? If you can't make the mounts work on the crossmember in the car now, then just like the ecu's and wiring stuff, you will have to modify it or fab a new one. It would help having a milling machine to get the suspension holes in the correct place, but its doable with out one. If it doesn't fit you will have to make it fit, like you mentioned with the drive line. Problem there is instead of adding untold hours of work to swap stuff for the drive line, its so much easier to take it to a drive line shop and they will cut and add what ever is needed to make the existing one work, then you don't have to worry about "is the rear end going to bolt up". If you worked 8 hours a day on this project everyday, your going to have 2 months plus into this project. And please keep us all posted on how it is all going.

I have studied this problem a bit. One of the things that always comes up is the fuel pump was changed to fix it. Another thing that comes up is the fuel pump resister, and since I have zero information on 93 to 94's I have no idea if they have that resistor on not, nor do I know where it is on those cars. The resistor is for low powered driving and lets the fuel pump run slower. So it is possible that if that resistor drastically changes value and lowers the pump speed too much then there would be more susceptibility for vapor lock. So when you have this problem simple things first, and start with good clean battery connections, an experiment can be done by bypassing the resistor to see if the problem clears up. But fuel pump life is degraded if that resistor is not there, so let it be a short experiment.

New lesson learned. Always disconnect the battery before working on major electronics components in these cars. There are exceptions like tail lights etc. And a few sensors like the O2. I don't see how a wire can short to the body. They are all protected with insulation, and have plugs that would plug into the CD player, so unless the insulation was worn off or peeled off there is no way that will happen.

I don't know much about 98's. You need someone else for that.

You are going to swap way more than just engine and transmission. It will be a lot of work. You will need the ecu and all the other electricals that plug into the harness that is required for that engine. Even if the mounts aren't the exact same, the mounts are the easy part of the whole deal as you can always make an adapter plate or what ever for them. The electrical will be a night mare. In the 98 there is a whole lot more going on with intercommunication between all the various control modules than in the older stuff, even the instrument cluster maybe something that is needed in the swap as well as the climate control system, and all the controlers for the doors abs, and on and on it goes. Maybe I'm wrong and someone else knows more. But I think electrically it is almost impossible to do that transplant. Now if you use an after market engine control and transmission controller then you can do it. But if the emissions are checked using the obd2 port your out of luck. And even then I'm not sure how the 95 would work electrically without the ecu and transmission controller that lexus put there. I'm sure they communicate with the climate ecu and abs ecu as well, if you have trac and a cruise control they need communication to the engine controller as well. Good luck.

http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=787788&ukey_make=1082&ukey_model=15669&modelYear=1999&ukey_trimLevel=19107&searchString=under cover You can enlarge the picture and hunt for the part number etc. Looks like its $156.22

Do not clean older LS Maf's or air meters what ever you want to call it. The fluid will ruin it. Vacuum leak is a long ways from an audible spark ticking noise??? A slight exhaust leak can sound like that too.