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j.barleycorn

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Everything posted by j.barleycorn

  1. Hi all- I have decided to live with it and monitor it, as I agree it is just the sensor. Once the weather got cooler it would not come on as often... now that we are having a long Indian Summer, it is on more than off, but the temp gauge reads normal and all levels are where they belong. And since the brakes on 4Runner need doing (including those massive and expensive front calipers) I'm putting the $ where it will do the most good :) And yes, the normal position for the temp gauge needle is in the middle of the gauge, just above the 2nd line from the bottom (and pointing to 1200 on the tach).
  2. Yep, I should have mentioned there has been no loss of coolant.
  3. Hi folks- My coolant warning light has started to come on now and then. Seems to have no fixed pattern... sometimes it comes on when the engine is first started and cold, and goes off after 10 minutes @ 60 MPH. Sometimes it won't come on until 10 minutes after starting off. It generally goes off and comes back on every 5 or 10 minutes. Lately once it comes on, it stays on more than it is off. The temp gauge acts normally at all times, from cold to operating temperature, whether the light is on or not. I checked past posts and didn't find any definitive answers. Thermostat? A sensor? 116,000 miles on the '92. I appreciate any experienced help on this!
  4. Per the manual for a 1992... This vehicle is equipped with two electric cooling fans to help cool the radiator. When the air conditioner compressor is operating, the fans operate slowly, and when the radiator temperature increases, the fans operate rapidly to help cool the engine.
  5. Hi Kevin- I came across your post while looking for help on my coolant warning light... I hate to suggest the obvious, but have you checked the fuse for the lighters? My Lexus lighters were out. I checked the fuse and SWEAR it was OK. Asked for help on this board, went through a number of possibilities and nothing worked. Checked the fuse a few weeks later while I was down there for something else, and VOILA! it was blown. Changed it out and it both lighters worked again. As an FYI, I use my front lighter to recharge my cell phone, and have blown the fuse twice in less than 2 years... (Hey, and nice call, RFeldes!)
  6. Here you go! Good luck and let us know how it turns out! dtc6263.pdf dtc67.pdf
  7. Hi DC- I have no audio problem. The quote was from Pearly's original list of symptoms he identified when he encountered his audio problem. Pearly, where are you? Progress?
  8. DC- Will the faceplate PCB board explain: "Also the antenna wont go up i also notice the mileage tracker stop counting my miles soon as the radion stop working". ?
  9. Welcome to the club, and the joys of LS400 ownership. I hope the car treats you well! Curious about the $5000 in diagnosed issues. That sounds like a lot of green for a 1993 in repairs. What is on the agenda?
  10. I maintain what I suggested. My car started and ran when the radio and antenna was dead. I recall I later found out that the car is wired in such a way that the radio can die first before the charging system finally does. Note the two relays in the schematic. Take it to an Autozone and have them check the battery and the alternator. It's free and might save you more trouble than not having tunes! Good luck and let us know how you make out.
  11. Welcome to the club- I'll take a stab at this. You might want to check your alternator and battery. When I was installing a new antenna in my 1992 LS400 (and of course testing it and the radio's reception here and there while installing without starting the engine) I eventually discovered I had ran my old crappy battery so low that it would no longer power the radio or the antenna. Given the vintage and generation of your Lexus, which are prone to power steering fluid leaks onto the alternator below, you may have a charging system problem. Good luck!
  12. Hello, and welcome... The TRAC light will come on when the Check Engine light comes on, so it is the check engine light that is the clue. Assuming you have not done any work (or had any work done) on the car, you should take it to an AutoZone and have them run the diagnostic code. It is probably something minor. If there was some recent work done that confused the ECU, disconnecting the battery cable (positive or negative) does sometimes reset it and the warnings will disappear, as Sheab suggested. This just happened to me with my 4Runner after an oil change. I was driving it home when I noticed the Check Engine, VSC, and TRAC lights were all lit up. After the initial fuming, I checked the internet and found a variety of sad stories of people taking this issue to dealers and getting charged for several excuses/diagnoses, and a few that suggested disconnecting the cables, which is what I did, and the problem was solved. But, you don't have to disconnect and leave them over night... 10 seconds will do :)
  13. T-C, Yep, checked the alternator and it was fine. It was new when I bought the car in November of 2005 and did not suffer during the PS war. The battery, however, was definitely old and barely serviceable. All has been well now, 3 weeks and 1600 miles of clear sailing. I have used that Firestone before. They are straight shooters and have taken care of us pretty well. Although they are a "franchise" I think they each run fairly independently, and in these parts they have been the most consistent, reliable and fair of all mechanics I have used when necessary, so I didn't feel taken by the rack episode. NYS inspections have gotten much tighter over the past couple years. Thanks for the welcome-back!
  14. Hello all! Long time no see. I'm back in the saddle again after a winter hiatus. Since August I sold the 2000 Tacoma, bought a 2003 4Runner Limited, and just resumed driving the Lexus after having it largely off the road since November. You may see in another thread I was coerced into a reconditioned Lexus steering rack when I took the car in for its 4 months-past-due NYS inspection. I was happy with the deal and the service, and the car has been good to me, so I got over my initial disdain for the mechanic and made peace with the Lexus gods. Prior to this, I had allowed the old battery to weaken and die during the winter, as some big storms buried the poor LS and prevented me from starting her for awhile. After the fresh battery was installed and I replaced the newly blown cigarette lighter fuses, I noticed that cool old Lexus feature of turning the key, then letting the engine crank on its own no longer works. Not that this is the end of the world, of course, but I wonder if anyone can shed some light? I tried some searched but apparently could not put a combination of words together which rang the bell of the database. Oh, and this starting feature was new to the 4Runner line in 2003... a mere 13 years after Lexus introduced it. Much obliged to the first person to tell me a thing or two...
  15. My dear T-cutter, So nice to be remembered! Or is living in infamy for the public suffering at the hands of my PS system a better descriptor? Believe it or not, I have only just recently returned to the LOC after a long absence. Much selling and buying of my cars, reorganizing the fleet. I admit to reading the current PS threads today and trying to decide whether to jump in or not. I agree, if the right searches are done, one would be hard-pressed to find a similar topic with as much information as the PS issue. I should have made good on my suggestion to write a pictorial-tutorial of my epic journey into the heck-hole. Perhaps if I am bored some day I will whip one up, although I am no expert and I never did cure the leak 100% There is actually a final, somewhat disturbing word to that saga. I took the Lexus in for an inspection a few weeks ago, and the place (a Firestone) would not pass it because the steering rack was leaking! I have never solved the miscellaneous small leaking that went on after (1) the solenoid was blessed and (2) I removed the reservoir screen lock, stock, and barrel, which took care of the worst leaks and the whine 100% Of course I gave them hell over the phone, lecturing them on the whys and where-fores of the Lexus PS system and mystifying them with my wit and wisdom. Unfortunately they would not pass it and I went in and looked at it myself when it was up on the lift. OK, I admit it looked like it may have been leaking from the boots. Steve the Manager took my anger and frustration in stride. They quoted me $600 for a reconditioned Lexus rack: lifetime warranty on the rack and 6 months on the labor. Given the car is 15 years old and that I was boned on the inspection (which was due in November) I told them to go for it, but if I have any problems or my steering is 1% worse than the perfection it had been, I will have it there for endless free repairs and replacements. The car steers the same as it did, but I admit it leaks less fluid now. One or two drops each time I park it. I asked them to look at the ACV before I went to see the car but I assume they didn't hear me through my ranting and raving. I suppose I'll wade back into the group that gave so much to me. I have to do a search of my own on a strange new event: since changing the battery (it had died over the winter from the cold and not driving it) I now have to hold the key in the starting position until the engine catches... most undignified!
  16. Just my opinion, but a 1990 LS400 with less than 80k and a leak or two here and there? The best money you will ever spend will be to do the basic maintenance on it, done yourself or by a reputable, knowledgeable mechanic. Check anywhere and you’ll see these cars run for 250,000+ miles with nothing more than the basics. He probably wants you to sell it so he can buy it! :) Find a good mechanic, invest some $ and enjoy the next 200,000 miles with no worries. My next car will be a 1998 LS400 with 90,000-110,000 on it. Sublime! :P
  17. Econ- If all was well, then "something" changed and caused a short to ground. Best place to start is with what changed... Did the dash lighting/radio issues start after you installed the CD changer? If so, perhaps the short is actually inside the changer itself (loose internal connection?), or part of the overall changer wiring?
  18. I've never had the pleasure of changing the timing belt on my car, so all I know is from the tutorials. I assume you have seen this one on LexLS's most excellent site? http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html#30 When you set the crankshaft mark to zero, did the camshaft pullys line up? The marks you describe on the pulleys belt and the missing dot on the belt sound ominous. Wonder if the belt was really OEM, and/or was it for the right year? I don't know why you get the CEL at low speeds only, either. Again, I am not an expert on LS400 valve timing. I suggest you do a search of the LOC on this subject and find the names of LOC experts and PM or mail them. Or, send LexLS a nice donation and speak to him directly! Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck!
  19. Attached are some explanations for those codes. Unfortunately, a possible cause that is common to these three codes is skipping teeth on the timing belt, although it appears more likely to occur once the engine is warm, which is counter to what you say you are seeing... dtc2526.pdf troubleshooting_33_DIAGNOSTIC_CODE13_RPM_signal_circuit_no.2.pdf
  20. When you cleaned the solenoid screen, how did you clean it? Did you remove the reservoir? Did you use the same reservoir on your new pump? You might want to do a Search Forum (bottom of the main screen) for air control valve or ACV. You'll find dozens of posts related to power steering woes using this Search method, too. Given all you have already done, this valve may be your nemesis. Unless, of course, you were unlucky as I was to assume the reservoir screen was as clean as I thought it was. Good luck!
  21. Hope someone can help me with the age-old question: If you put larger wheels/tires on a vehicle, would you expect a dramatic decrease in gas mileage? I recently bought and installed OEM 16” Lexus wheels (1995-1997) on my 1992 LS400. These came with brand new 225/60R16 Pirellis already mounted and balanced. These replaced the stock 15” wheels and 205/65R15. The car looks much better with the extra inch, BUT…. My MPG on the first tank since the swap went from my traditional average of 25 MPG to 22.7 MPG. Now I am aware that heavier wheels/tires will take more energy to get going, keep going, and stop, but is this size drop to be expected? When the LS400 went from 15” to 16” wheels, I can’t believe that other changes we made that compensated for the weight and added the MPG back somehow. And why can’t I get my head around how the car is calculating distance? Unless I am drunk, each axle rotation with a 16” tire would make the car go a little further than with a 15”. According to tire conversion calculators, when my speedometer reads 60 MPH, I am really going 62.7 MPH, or about 5% faster with these new tires. Would this therefore mean when my odometer reads 100, I have really driven 105 miles? Obviously I would like to think I did not hurt my mileage TOO significantly for simple vanity purposes. On a related note, I also recently put 16” Tundra wheels and 265/70R16 Pirelli Scorpions on my Tacoma (replacing the 15” stock wheels and P225/75R15 tires), and watched my MPG immediately plummet from 22.5 MPG to 20.5. (The conversion on this swap was more like a 8+% speedometer change: when reading 60, the true speed is around 65). So: has my mileage really taken the dive, or is my odometer playing tricks on me? This is all wishful thinking, I’m afraid!
  22. Glad to hear you're OK, and sorry about the Lexus. I have no need for the cartridge (nice of you to offer, though); just wanted to offer my condolences...
  23. Sweet- Does the whine increase with engine speed?
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