M.Yasir

Hi Jim Thanks for the super good info, much appreciated, i didn't know about it

Hi Craig Thanks for the reply, After reading the above thread and multiple nested threads inside that, i came to realize that i should leave it as it is, i can wait for the initial 30 seconds to let the "AC switch off" display message in my Nav screen and then turn the AC on However on the side note, can you please help me in setting the TPMS thing, there is a warning light popping up always I am aware that the TPMS sensors are inside the rubber tyres but how to configure it thats a big question, i am aware that there is a reset button but unfortunately that is not working for Thanks

In my local market, i am going with the total quartz full synthetic 5W30 2 gallons straight away, experience is much better than the shell (also 5w30) oil which i used earlier, how better? is because i feel that now the engine is running a much smoother if you carefully feel it One note i would like to make that these days i am seeing the marketing is changed for the oil packaging cheaper oils are also hitting the market which are saying synthetic technology or synthetic blend (maybe not in the US), quite frankly have no idea whats the catch but i just avoid it anyways and pay little extra for the full synthetic Thanks

Hi everyone, Its been a long time since i posted anything here, so i purchased a 07 LS460 white (inside beige) at 183,000 km- full options minus two things which are the radar cruise control and the air suspension not to mention the LKA ( i am located in middle east), i had no idea of the previous owner no service history at all, yes i would say i took the risk but what i felt that the car is good since it had no dashboard lights, currently only caution light is there because of the front sonar system and the as usual the ridiculous TPMS After driving it for a while, what i imagine that how it would have felt when the car was new, i mean it should have felt that there is no road below you are just gliding on ice; the 8 speed auto gear box gives a totally different experience; what i can classify that the previous LS 400 had more punch to it compare to 460 which gives a more executive type ride but with 240+km/hr power Soon after the purchase, i did quite a maintenance like changing the engine oilt to a Shell 5W30; replacing the transmission fluid with the Toyota WS type, differential oil at the shop most likely it was a 20W50; replaced engine coolant as it was running on water Then i did the suspension part like replaced all the 10 bushes for the front right & left; turn the discs at the turning shop; replaced the brake pads (with cheap taiwanese which i am not satisfied always squeaking sound); made red color painting on the calipers; inner tie rod and outer tie rods replaced And finally replaced with a brand new Dunlop SP sport maxx tires 235/45/19 Also i noticed that LS 400 used to drink around 6 liters of engine oil compared to this mammoth which eats full 8 litres One more thing i noticed maybe it is related with the regional specs is that the Air conditioner doesn't gets switched on immediately after starting the car, its just disabled and you count i think around 15 seconds then it lets say enables the feature to switch on the AC; strange?! Now i am planning to replace the 2 piece engine foundation and 1 piece for the transmission; and lets hope i get that gliding feeling Thanks for reading and please do mention any of the other maintenance which is necessary at this mileage since i have no history for her

Hi Craig The thing is unfortunately in this part of the world (middle east) no body cares and customer feedback have 0 value, and yes there is no lexus corporate here Can i buy an ECU from a junkyard for a lets say 2000 LS? will it work with mine?

Hi Craig Yes i saw your post sometime back, but do you think that if i reach out to Lexus at this point of time they will entertain? considering that the car was imported to UAE, i will try to reach them and will report back, From your post what i can understand you did managed to change it in the year 2014, so i am guessing i still have a chance Looking at the PDF of the SSC, my VIN number falls within that range which is specified as compared below campaign-ssc-wl2-1998-gs400-ls400-sc400-ecm-replacement.pdf

Hi Ok reporting back after a short drive, well it appears that the problem is solved now, and yes check engine light is also gone by itself after driving at slow and constant speed, so from the pictures below, exactly 1 box of fuel is remaining and it is showing 100 miles range which is normal, we can say this a success story!

Hi All Well reporting back, following things got replaced Valve cover gasket Knock sensors (unfortunately the wiring harness was not used by the mechanic i think he was not able to connect it, well i will keep it for future) Fuel filter PCV valve with the gasket Two transmission coolant hoses which are below the radiator Some pics And the flashy new one installed Now the knock sensors and ECT sensor PCV valve old Replaced the two transmission hoses which are below the radiator which were cracked and were leaking with new ones Okay now the car starts and what a bummer, Check Engine Light (CEL) is glowing in its full glory As you can see in the above dash pic, i have consumed half of the gas tank and was only able to get only 114 miles! well this was before so i will test drive and lets how much i will get now, i should get atleast 100 miles in 1 box of the fuel gauge meter, Ok now coming back to CEL, i already erased the DTC's right after the car started, took it for the test drive and again the CEL popped up ok so this was the result Well from the above, the P0715 is haunting me since i purchased my LS in 2015, i replaced the trans speed senor (which is near the trans foundation/ mounting) but still i failed to rectify this DTC Anyway now the car runs smooth and better than ever i just hope i get a good gas mileage now, i am attaching the new spare parts photos with part numbers just for reference Next steps I have some vacuum hoses which are cracked on the Intake Manifold pictures as below and also the intake air valve assembly (the whole plastic part) since it is cracked where it connects to the IAC valve, maybe i am losing some HP there and fuel efficiency there, will buy that whole assembly from junk yard Ok that sums it up, once i have these i will replace them myself and will report back again here, Well to be honest since my ownership since 2015, i have invested a lot in this car which makes me think that is it worth? well lets see if i recount i have changed the following Starter motor (from junk yard it was of LS 430 which fitted in just perfectly) All 4 oxygen sensors (Bosch from rockauto) All 8 spark plugs Alternator (purchased from rockauto) Radiator fan belt Power steering pump (from junkyard) Exhaust gaskets Exhaust center Y pipe (from junkyard) Front right and left lower ball joints (from junkyard) Front right and left control arms (from junkyard) Front right inner tie rod (genuine toyota) Rear upper control arms both right and left (from junkyard) Radiator fan clutch Radiator fan blade Starter motor (yes 2nd time since the bearing was shot of the 1st one) Intake manifold gaskets Water inlet coolant gasket Valve cover gasket PCV valve Engine Coolant Temperature sensor Fuel filter Phew!

Hi Jim I believe we are not driving LS and expecting it to be loaded with the tech of this 21st century, its not fair to compare, i have driven the following Ford Mustang GT 2006- 4.6 litre V8 (brother in law owns it) Nissan Patrol 1999- 4.8 litre I6 (elder brother owns it) Nissan Armada 2006- 5.6 litre V8 (brother in law owns it) Lexus RX 330 (sister in law owns it) Lexus LS 430 2001 (elder brother owns it) Lexus LS 400 1998 (i own it) BMW X5 2015 4.4 litre V8 (my wife's sister husband owns it) Audi Q3 2014 3.2 litre V6 (my wife's sister owns it) Toyota Camry sports edition 2015 (elder used to own it but now sold) Out of the above 8 cars, in my personal experience i would pick the LS 430, why? simply because the ride is so much smoother (than the LS 400) but that can be debated with brand new cars but what cannot be debated is the cabin noise Even in BMW X5 and Audi Q3 which are still under warranty they have so much of cabin noise, (by cabin noise i am referring to the engine noise which can be heard every time when you accelerate from 0, this becomes a headache when you are into a number of traffic signals or there is a bumper to bumper traffic congestion) what our LS offers is the best ride experience and great silent cabins (i know i have not driven a lot of cars but it gives you an idea, what i have heard is Chrysler 300 C has a more dead silence cabin than the LS) and packed with power punches which will go from 120 km/hr to 180 km/hr without hesitation which is again a huge advantage with these natural aspirated engines compare to others I raced with a Range Rover and we both were at 180km/hr, both accelerated from 140km/hr and we were at the same position along the way up until we reached 180 (this i did with my 98 LS) I know i am going a little off topic here but since you mentioned that LS are now old with the tech., yes indeed they are old but with amazing ride even with the old tech, now regarding reverse camera parking although its a great added advantage but i would still pick up the old school optical way to park the car by using car mirrors, you should just know the thumb rules how to use them, it will keep you active in a sense that once you are used to reverse camera and due to some reason you are driving an old car or an old truck you will find difficulty, In my opinion Jim parking/proximity sensors are just the right balance (although i dont have them but thats what i feel since you will still be using mirrors to park your car) And as you said "who really wants it" i believe Jim those are the exact words, and that person will the pay the right amount ,you just have to find one In the end yes new car from showroom is always a new car and cannot be compared

There could be number of issues, ignition coils would be my 1st guess another guess would be after spark plugs I have also experienced hesitation in my 98 LS and it was due to multiple cylinder misfires, so i changed all the 8 spark plugs which solved the problem however i did not changed the ignition coils though I believe in 92 LS there is no ignition coil which is direct on the spark plugs (coil on plug), there is a rotor and distributor cap with wiring harness running around all over 8 spark plugs so your issue can also lie somewhere in the wires again just a guess

well from my own personal experience i used a body deodorant to clean the MAF sensor in my 1998 sensor which worked really well

wow thats a lot, in that money you could have replaced your timing belt ..... anyway glad you found the solution and fixed it, just curious why you didnt tried any junk yard to find the spare parts? i am sure in your country there will be junk yards full of lexus just like here since LS are being massively imported in this part of the world from Japan (right hand drives) and are ripped apart and almost all parts being sold individually making a good profit for the guys doing the business.

This is a great topic and good work in progress, i just admire that how people dig in and start doing things in the engine bay themselves unlike here, i notice that in the pics the engine is so clean free of dust unlike mine which was a mess! and requires quite an effort to clean everything up, because of the climatic conditions i guess or may be the original owner after import he never bothered to clean up

but how is that possible that by changing the rim size it will affect the behavior of the speedometer in the dash? i think you should go to an electrician or find a new console from the junkyard to rule out any possibility, OBD scanners which are capable of programming the ECU are expensive and it will be not worth purchasing it in my opinion just for this problem, I have a similar case in my broher in law Ford Mustang GT (2006), but in that car it is the other way around speedometer reads more speed than actual as per GPS of about ~10 km/hr

Sure will do that as well about the PCV valve Well i received the spare parts from ebay, looks good and i can indeed see denso on the sensors, costed me around 26.48 $ for 2 sensors and wiring I am planning to buy the following as well before i take my car to the mechanic PCV valve PCV valve seal Fuel Filter (i can bet that the current fuel filter is around the same age as of the car 20 years, so i will replace it as well) Coolant temperature sensor I will try to find the above parts locally here since these appear to be inexpensive 1998 Lexus LS 400- PCV valve seal-ACDELCO CV5006C.pdf 1998 Lexus LS400- Coolant Temperature sensor-ARNLEY 1580520.pdf 1998 Lexus LS400- PCV valve- FRAM FV401.pdf 1998 Lexus LS400-Fuel filterARNLEY 0431008.pdf

Thanks craig, soon after the starter was replaced and the car was in running condition i test drove it and it lacked that "punch" which it usually used to show when you press the accelerator pedal all the way to the ground at once, i thought maybe i am being too conservative but after 4 days of driving it drank half the fuel tank and gave only 100 miles like i said before I just want to make sure that once again the manifold will be open so this time i dont want to miss anything else, in this country its difficult to find good garages majority of the ones are only for show with good lighting and customer service but 0 technical and foolishly expensive. And hey during this time i also managed to get a good fan clutch and replaced my old one and indeed the car became so quieter comparing to the previous Thanks for the support please do let me know if i am missing something

Update: I ordered the sensors from the below link https://www.ebay.com/itm/232461386365 Well lets see when it arrives, will there be any possibility of bad Fuel Injectors Engine coolant temperature sensor?

Hi Antony Yes thats right power steering pump is on the passenger side just above the alternator and somewhat diagonally below the fluid reservoir From that photo as craig suggested it looks like the leak is coming from the boot, that rubber part which looks like a coil, wear a pair of gloves before you inspect

Thats a great video!

How can you be so sure that the fuel pump died?, if it is hesitating while driving there might be chances of misfire bad spark plugs or bad distributors among many other things If the car died there might be chances on the starter being failed or the alternator since it has happened to me many times

Thank you so much for the help Well i am trying to find a genuine source to procure the item, the amazon link above there is a comment by one user that this is not a genuine product, so leaving a big question mark on the reliability, i am trying to find something on amazon including the wiring harness Is there any other possibility apart from the knock sensors which would drastically reduce the gas mileage? i dont have any misfire in any of the cylinder that is for sure but is there something else which i should look into, although there is a clear cut code in my OBD reader but still sometimes the code which is appearing might not necessarily mean the same meaning which it is displaying Example: before i changed the starter with all the new gaskets, i was getting error codes of P0720 and P0730 that is for catalytic system efficiency and a turbine speed sensor circuit code, but when the starter replacement job was done with new silicone applied all the codes were gone, except of course this knock sensor one which is coming now and also i replaced the fan clutch and the fan blade as well Will update here once i have the spare parts, i am planning to sell the car after the repairs i had enough troubles but yes i gained good knowledge

Hi Craig I have to say it knock sensors are expensive! i believe this is the part number for knock sensors? " 89615-12040" Is there any part number for the wiring harness also? I am planning to buy from the below link, but which one? option 1 seems inexpensive https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D30L72S/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvpv2_1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=2708083022714283574&pd_rd_wg=n3AhK&pf_rd_r=QKEHJMZ60XYQ8Y3895NR&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-bottom-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B01D30L72S&pd_rd_w=BwYto&pf_rd_i=8961512040&pd_rd_r=030dcb6e-5918-4e6e-afc1-56877036a7e2&ie=UTF8&qid=1525432624&vehicle=1998-75-1003-20--1-6-7-3976-1783-1-1-1895--1-0&sr=1 https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=945088&jsn=1102 https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Denso-Sensor-89615-12040-Toyota/dp/B073MSLMQJ/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1525436335&sr=8-12&keywords=89615-12040 Thanks so much for helping me out, i am having so much of headache right now, here in this country a new engine (from scrap market) will come if i will buy the one from rockauto

Unfortunately Craig now the engine is all sealed pack and car is in running condition, soot? you mean that pink color residue? coolant pipe gasket was leaking and radiator coolant came inside the V bank, Starter motor got killed because of its own wear and tear in my opinion since the bearing of the shaft (which engages to the fly wheel) of the starter got broke Is there any alignment involved to install the knock sensors?, i just cannot believe that car runs so smooth now but drinking petrol like mugs of beer, in half fuel tank i got only 100 miles

Please someone help me out here? Should i prepare to replace the knock sensors? or i should point to somewhere else