Lex3486

Bet that Optima wasn't cheap; I priced em the other day. I was surprised at how much a battery could cost, but oh well. Anyhow, that looks pretty familiar to me lol. I could work on that car in my sleep at this point, I've had parts of it apart so much now.

Grrr...went out to the car this morning to warm it up a bit before headin off to school. Turned it over and it just turned and turned and turned but wouldn't hit a lick. FINALLY it started, and I just thought to myself, "must just be the cold start injector...I'll check it out this afternoon." Well, much (or maybe not so much) to my surprise, when I get outta the car, I smell gas...open the hood and find that ANOTHER one of the rear injectors is leaking AGAIN! AHHH! I'm beginning to hate this car! <_< Fixed it tonight, hope that it doesn't do it again, b/c that's somethin you can't fix on the road, nor can you just ignore it, that is of course if you wanna live...

Well, that's what I thought too. Maybe I'll do the fluid thing again and see what happens. I dunno though. At least it's not slippin as bad; I think it's only done that like twice since I've gotten it running again. Used to do it all the time.

Success! We got it back together last night. Started it up first time and discovered that we'd left a gas line loose on the fuel filter, so we lost about a gallon of gas on the floor . Then after we fixed that, tried to start it again and the battery was too dead, so we put it on charge. Finally started it a second time, and it idled funny; discovered we'd neglected to connect the new PCV valve to it's vaccum hose, so we did that and it purred like a kitten B) We proceeded to get a new battery and when we returned with it, I popped it in and turned it over and was about to go on my first test drive...well, the second I started it, I smelled an overwhelming gas odor, so I turned it off and proceeded to find the problem. All three fuel injectors on the rear bank were leaking gas everywhere like crazy, so I had to tear the intake off again. FINALLY about 7:30 (we started at like noon) I started it up and drove it. Runs like a top; much much more powerful and responsive (thanks to a good internal cleanup) and has much more throttle response. No overheating either. Now, I'm back to the transmission...it's still actin up. But at least it's driveable...well, it runs good...so much for driveable <_<

I say Silverstars all the way; I have em in the low beams and APC high beams. The APC's are brighter I think, but they do have that "ricer blue" look to em. I just haven't gotten around to buyin the Silverstar highs yet. (waitin for em to go on sale, as they do every once in a while around here) B)

Well the second I posted that, I saw another member talkin about how they did it w/o removing the intake, so apparently it can be done that way. That's how I'd do it too if at all possible. I've just always removed it, b/c I was doin valve cover gaskets or such at the same time, so it was convenient for me to do the plugs at that time too. ;) But if you can, avoid it, b/c it's alot of extra work.

Are you cool with the personal messaging system Jim? If so, I can tell you how to do it via PM, but it'd be really long. I can get it straight outta the Lexus Repair Manual, although it's for a 93 model. I've never worked on a 96; we own one, but haven't yet done any service to it (knock on wood B) ) I'm sure they're close to the same, but if anyone here knows of any reason why they aren't, speak up now b/c I don't wanna mislead the guy! :whistles:

Aaah, okay; I thought your car was a 96 or older. Well in that case, then yeah, there is no other way that I could think of to get your signal out. I'm used to my 93, so when you said that, I was like "wait a minute..."

Eh..you're right, they are tough. Personally, I removed the air intake to gain access to em; I've heard of people doin it somehow without doin this, but it's gotta be nearly impossible the way I see it. It's a good couple hour job if you remove the intake though. If you're still interested in doin it after hearin that, then just let me and everyone here know and I myself or probably alot of others can give you exact instructions for replacin em. ;)

As many of you know, I'm currently in the last stages of repairing my head gaskets. Something I noticed when I had the car apart is how difficult it would be to replace the oxygen sensor on the rear bank, if it were to go bad. I priced these and they're about $30 for a Bosch. Should I go ahead and replace it while I have access to it, or is this a part that rarely goes bad? The car has 132k and is a strong runner (when it's assembled ) and the engine has never had any problems other than the head gaskets. Really clean inside too. I know I've heard here and there about people havin these go bad, but is it really a common occurence? Also, will the car run abnormally if one were to go bad and weren't replaced?

Not to say that y'all are wrong, but often times something like this is caused by a bad bulb in either your front or rear turn signal circuit (there's only 2 bulbs, and I don't believe they're tied into the rear light failure warning circuit b/c they cause the rapid blinking when one's out, thereby defeating the need for them to be tied into that warning system). Anyhow, just sounds sorta strange that you'd have that problem, but I guess if you fixed it, then go you. ;) I have another one of those off the driver side if you want it (removable turn signal bulb socket). Works fine, came outta my wrecked car. Lemme know and maybe I can mail it to ya if you want. Also, on removin the headlights, you shouldn't have to do the whole screwdriver bit; I just grab the whole assembly however I can manage to get a grip on it and pull until it comes loose, but I guess the screwdriver thing works. Just seems a little more risky B)

Soooo, no one knows where to get one of these? :whistles:

Got the heads back finally. Ooh man, they look goood; I almost don't wanna put em back in, they look so good and they tested out good, so it's all gravy from here on. Wish me luck slappin it all back together! With any luck and no surprises, I'd bet I'll be back on the road with it by Friday, but we'll just have to see ;)

Hey guys. Since I'm servicin my car right now, I decided it was a good time to investigate possibly changing the lighting of my guages; I want a more brilliant white on the backlights-something resembling that of the LS400 and the LX470. I seem to recall someone here doing that with flourescent bulbs...any help would be appreciated. Also, I need to know if any of y'all know if the stock bulbs and bases are sold on an individual basis, or in sets b/c I lost one <_< Thanks again guys and gals.

Hey guys. I'm lookin for an amplifier for my 93 ES. I messed mine up when I put my subs in (long story) and I need another one so my stereo sounds right. Only thing is that my car doesn't have the factory CD changer (slightly different amp I believe). Any info is appreciated.

Sk-you afraid to tell us about the bodykit? Don't want any copycats possibly? jk man ;)

Sk-don't forget a "refresher" for the 94 ES (driveline, security system goodies, mystical "Anniversary Edition, which I've never seen, but I suppose it does exist...maybe I've never heard of one b/c the people who own em don't know it lol) B)

Amen; this is by far the best Lexus club I've found; CL is good too, but I don't think it's as active, although it seems maybe a little more closely knit...actually, they seem to focus more on modifying rather than fixing their cars, but then again, I don't look there too much, so I'm not really one to judge. Here, there's a few really loyal people that communicate alot with each other and help everyone tremendously. That's what I like here. ;)

Well, I believe in free speech also, and in doing so, I believe I have the right to say that personally, I could care less if someone has an avatar that says "pimpin ain't easy"...hey, it takes all kinds. That's the glory of America. B)

Yeah, I hope I get it back soon too lol. And you're certainly right about bein spoiled by the Lex...try drivin a 6000+lb. Land Cruiser with only 185hp and spongy brakes w/o ABS and more body roll than even our Lexuses in the twisties...fun stuff. Oh well; it could be worse! Already bought the gaskets, or I might have consulted JPI.

Well, it's hard to tell, but it sure does sound like the intake pipe. Mine did the exact same thing. Make very sure that you tightened the clamps down on both ends; this is just as important as having a good pipe. I thought when I first got the 93 ES I have now (my family's third one, so I know a little about em) that it was having an intake pipe problem, but I came to find that the clamps were loose - easy fix. If not that, then I suppose that it could be a speed sensor (?) I'm not too familiar with problems with those, so I'm not the one to tell...but the fact that you said that it has a complete loss of power when you stomp it really really sounds like the intake...I dunno, I'm sure if you didn't notice any cracks that that isn't your problem - usually for a crack to be big enough to cause you any problem, it's very easily seen. Some say that a hole as small as a pin head could do it, but c'mon...let's be reasonable here; nothing, not even a Lexus, is that perfectly tuned <_<

Well guys, in the end, it all came down to price; both sets had the exact same parts, and the machine shop we took the heads to said that they do lots and lots of these for Lexuses (my local dealer sends em to them for repair :o ) and he recommended the FelPro set; said they're excellent parts and that he uses them himself, so I figure why not take the pros' advice? Especially when it costs less! Anyhow, dropped off the heads and valve stem seals and he's gonna clean, inspect and resurface em; also puttin the new valve seals in for us, so now all I lack is them doin that and us cleanin up the engine some, and I'll be back on the road hopefully by the end of this weekend! B)

Niiice ;) Hey, I thought you put the stock grill back in sk?...Either way, I love your work! Very original, not to mention professional B) Bright lights!

Thanks y'all; I think that's what we're gonna go with. Just hope they've improved em somewhat so they don't do the same thing again, but then again, I guess nothing, not even a Lexus, lasts forever eh? ;)

Here's a good way to test the intake pipe; get your car on a relatively steep hill and start from a complete stop. Go easy on it at first and then stomp it too-pay attention to the engine; if it seems to go "dead" for a second or two, or just won't move at all, chances are that it's the intake. If nothing in drive, then try it also in reverse; look for the same things. Doing this puts alot of stress on the engine and causes it to move alot, which can open up any cracks in your intake pipe that are located after the mass air flow sensor, causing unmetered air to enter the engine and thus confuse the ECU, causing the car to "stall" or "hesitate". If your intake was in really bad condition, as I've seen on many ES's, you'd notice this problem from every start, but sounds like your case is pretty minor. Still, this is definitely where I'd start. Keep us posted!