alsalih

It's your starter, it will be fine for a few days and then give you a no start suddenly. If you open and close the hood the shock from that will allow it to work ok for a few days. Let me guess you have between 110K to 120K miles on your car? It almost always occurs at this mileage on the 98+ for some reason.

There is nothing wrong with your water pump. Before you going tearing into the vehicle replacing it you should first replace your thermostat and reservoir cap before anything else. Water pump bearing failure will give you a constant noise while seal failure will start leaking consistently through the weep hole.

In addition to what lenore mentioned, there is also an oxygen sensor thread repair kit made by Heli-Coil. Some NAPA stores carry it or you can order it online.

Spiral cable they are talking about is the cable that goes from the fixed portion of the steering wheel (column) to the rotating portion (actual steering wheel) where it connects to the airbag. Mine was making a clicking noise and was replaced under the CPO warranty. The cable is installed in spiral configuration which I guess is where the name comes from.

Thanks so much for updating us. Please let us in know in a week if that does in fact solve the problem, I'm very curious to know!

Interesting info thanks for sharing that. I’m kind of surprised because the TPS will normally trigger a check engine light when it fails and then the car would go into the fail safe mode you noted. You did get the check engine light but it appeared to clear up. The TPS is not expensive and replacement is fairly easy except that they need to clock it (adjust it) right in order to get the correct idle speed. Please let us know if that does in fact fix it your problem.

This would not store a code. You could try a fuel pressure test however there is the possibility that it might actually still be within specifications and lead you to believe that it’s ok. The simplest thing to do is to listen for the fuel pump “buzz” when you turn the ignition key from position 1 to 2 without starting. When the car fails to start after being warm you should notice that when turning the ignition key you will not hear the fuel pump buzz. Actually, with the LS you might almost want to have someone turn the ignition while you stick your head in trunk listening for the fuel pump sound as it’s so quiet you might not hear it in the cabin. Anyway, there is the remote possibility that your fuel pump relay is bad, so check that first just to make sure, however those hardly ever fail on the LS so I really doubt it would the cause.

These symptoms are related to the fuel pump failing. That’s exactly what it starts doing before eventually going out completely. Make sure you also replace the fuel filter after doing this job.

What you’re describing is a typical symptom of the throttle control motor going bad. On the ’98 and newer models you have an electric motor attached to the side of the throttle body which controls the opening and closing of the butterfly as opposed to the older and more reliable method of using a direct cable. The electric motor retails for just for around $160 last time I checked. Let us know how it goes.

Sounds like a simple screw up from the shop doing the work. The rod which has the single nut on it has two flat spots (just below the threads) which sit inside the strut mount, and that keeps the rod from rotating when you tighten the center nut. Make sure the car is resting on it’s tires i.e. not lifted, then try to slowly tighten the center nut which will turn the complete rod until it matches up with the key/slot in the strut mount at which point it will push up into it and lock (which is what the shop should have done during install). Once that happens then you should be able to torque the nut to 20 ft-lbs. After a week of driving try retorquing those center nuts because the rubber will compress further leading to slack and a popping noise from the strut.

I think folks sometimes forget the many differences that the 98+ LS have over previous models. Your throttle body can and will get dirty but this will not cause the problem you noted. The 98+ LS does not have an EGR system as the earlier ones do, they’re able to reduce emissions through the use of VVT-i. You have an electric motor mounted at the throttle body which controls the throttle, and is most likely what caused your intermittent problem. That still doesn’t justify replacing the complete throttle body, rather the motor assembly only, which runs about $290.

OEM from the dealer ONLY, unless you want to change the feel of the ride. The OEM are made by KYB, however you might also find aftermarket KYB, they’re not the same part. The aftermarket ones are stiffer (do a search this is a common surprise for many). Only the ones from the dealer will give you back the original ride. FYI I paid $83 each for the oem from this site http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...m?siteid=213808

I just did this on my 98 last week. First you don’t need to remove the steering outer tie rod, unlike what the manual tells you. Second, only remove the upper control arm ball joint. You use a ball joint remover (I used the small fixed size one) for that just as bicol-ini noted, from Autozone, NAPA, or any other store. If you have done this before then this should be straight forward for you. It took me 3 hours to do both sides using all manual tools and spring compressor. I highly recommend you replace the isolator boot (the one the spring seats against) when doing this job. It will be badly compressed and needs replacement, plus it is known to have caused pop noises when the spring hits the strut mount.

SW03ES, man that's too funny, I died laughing here at work when I read that!

Thanks SK. Toysrme I did follow a similar method as done on bob's however eveything you see was done by me in my garage last week.

Although we might all agree that Lexus makes the best vehicles, we simply can’t agree on what the best oil filter is. I’m not even going to try and convince anyone to use a specific filter, however I will provide some interesting facts for you to consider. Let me say that after many experiments with aftermarket parts for my Lexus, I’m convinced that OEM parts fit, function, and operate the best. The only small exception I’ve found has been with the oil filters, after cutting open the current Toyota filter and seeing how they have cut corners with their oil filters. You see Denso which is part owned by Toyota is the primary supplier for Toyota and Lexus. They make the OEM filters which were at one point in time of excellent quality. However, today the only quality Toyota filter I find (aside from the TRD filters) are the original made in Japan filters such as the 90915-20004 used on the LS400 and sold by Carson Toyota. What I did here was cut open what I considered to be the top 4 oil filters that you can buy for less then $10/each. They include, Purolator Pure One, Denso Aftermarket, Toyota, and Micro. I should say that I’m simply looking at the components and build quality of these filters, and that a critical aspect, the filter media filtering capability and efficiency I’m not able to determine (except for the Pure One, which is noted on the box). I know that such studies were done before, however this is really specific to Lexus filter applications (RX300 and LS400 filters since this is what I drive). First, the Pure One (Made in USA), appears to be an excellent filter and well worth the $6 price. The only thing that concerned me with this filter is how thin the steel case is. Aside from the reduced burst pressure, I’m concerned that the filter will collapse during removal if it’s been left on for a while and the gasket has cooked on. Positive points are; 1) Silicon Anti-Drain back valve 2) Highly efficient filtering media @ 98% 3) Steel capped on both ends of the filter media 4) By-pass valve, built into steel cap Negative points 1) Shorter length then OEM Toyota filter (LS400 application) 2) Very thin steel casing 3) Pleats are unevenly spaced Second, Denso Aftermarket (Made in Thailand). Excellent filter and superior to the one they make for Toyota. Price $6 ea. Positive points 1) Thick outer steel casing 2) Steel capped on both ends of filtering media 3) Silicon anti-drain back valve 4) By-pass valve, built into steel cap 5) O-ring seal at mounting surface Negative 1) Unevenly spaced pleats Third, Toyota filter (Made in Thailand by Denso to Toyota specs), very very disappointed, Toyota is cutting too many corners unlike their filters from previous years! This will be the only non OEM part on my vehicles from now on. I think I now know why I used to have clunking dry starts on my LS, which has not happened since I’ve switched to Micro filters! Positive points 1) Thick outer steel casing 2) O-ring seal at mounting surface Negative 1) Nitrile rubber anti-drain back valve 2) Filtering media is NOT capped, allowing pleats to possibly fold or collapse! 3) By pass valve is built into the bottom spring assembly, creating another sealing surface with the filtering media which could leak Last, is the Micro filter (Made in Japan), purchased through www.autohausaz.com , well worth $6 + price and my top pick from now on. Positive points; 1) Thickest steel casing of all 2) Highest number of filter pleats 3) Steel capped on both ends of filtering media 4) By-pass valve, built into steel cap 5) Perfectly evenly spaced pleats Negative; 1) The one made for the RX300 uses a nitrile rubber anti drain back valve, the one for the LS400 has the better silicon valve.

Racso, Assuming that you bought the original Lexus gas cap and not an aftermarket replacement, then the second thing you need to look at is the attached service bulletin. Let us know what you find out. EG002_01.pdf

lexus400 try this site; http://www.foreignautosalvage.com/bushings.htm

How many miles, and is it cranking and not starting or not cranking at all? Most likey cause of cranking and not starting after car is warm is due to the fuel pump going bad.

lexus400, I'm assuming your doing your front wheel bearings right? Let us know how it goes especially with the hub tamer because I have the hub shark and it doesn't work on the LS front wheel bearing because of the spindle going through the bearing. The setup is different from the A8 (which I also worked on for a friend) and it worked out just fine on that. On the LS I had to remove the hub assembly and use my press to get the spindle and bearing out. Although I prefer the original KOYO bearings, Timken also makes excellent bearings and you shouldn't have any problems with them. Good luck.

All engines have a resonance frequency which occurs at a certain RPM. The LS400 does appear to have one occur around 1800 RPM as mine does and many others have reported. It’s also possible to occur again at a higher RPM. With new front engine mounts, this vibration is nearly undetectable, so that’s one thing you might consider. The vibration you’re having at 1400 is however a bit strange. I would look closely at the crankshaft pulley (harmonic balancer) for deterioration of the rubber isolator or general looseness or the pulley.

nc211 yes I'm pretty sure they are for gen 2+ because I specifically called Carey at Park Place Plano and had him verify that for me. Also, the service manual for my 98 does show the procedure for pressing them out! LS400GUY, be careful with the Adus for this installation, the original ones are actually "fixed" bushings that don't rotate about the bolt, rather the rubber bushing it self flexes during rotation.

Actually you can buy the bushings alone and install them with a press. You need bushing number 48674-40051.

thanks Blake, however it is in fact different on the 98+ models. I wish I had a digital camera to show you guys. The solenoid is integral with a bracket that has a single bolt hole on the side of it holding it in place.

Ok, I know that there is tons of information and pictures on removing the steering solenoid and cleaning the filter screen for earlier LS models, however I can't find a single thing about doing it on the 98+ models. The 98+ has what appears to be the solenoid attached to the side of the rack on a bracket with a single bolt attaching it to the rack assembly. It's not attached with the large nut found on earlier models. I removed the bolt today, however something keeps me from pulling the solenoid completely out so I decided not to force it. Please let me know if anyone has been able to remove it. Cheers