j.barleycorn

Thanks NC... and Threadcutter: yep, I still have the car. I bought it as a fixer-upper driver a few years ago, and have done enough to drive it "locally", but I confess I would need to spend some time on it to make it a complete pleasure to own. It is fun to drive and it blows away anything that has challenged it. Because I don't have a lot of hobby time available to me, and because of the long commute I "enjoy" every work day, I bought the Lexus and am slowly learning to get it tweaked before returning attention to the goat. I have driven the GTO to work a couple of times (when premium gas was $1.50), but now it would cost me $30 for the round trip! Nothing like 11 miles to the gallon, highway! I second the hearty recommendation for LOC members to rent Dr. Strangelove! This movie defines the Dark Comedy genre. Peter Sellers was a genius, and for those who only associate George C. Scott with "Patton", you need to see him in Dr. Strangelove... he was hilarious. Oh, and if anyone is just dying to own a 1988 Nova (Toyota drive train) with <40,000 original miles and 40 MPG, it is for sale. I also plan on trading the Honda this year, so that is up for grabs, too.

Threadcutter- I had to jump in and let you know I appreciated the quote in your signature. One of my all time favorite movies. Also, the only car I have experienced a too-hot engine compartment is my 1967 GTO. It has a non-stock 455 in it and it puts out alot of heat. You can't come near the engine even after a 10 minute warm up at idle. But it sure loves a nice cool Spring day, as it has a functional ram-air hood.

Hello Thieaux- I know you are aware the codes are for your sub-O2s, but I don't know if you have the trouble-shooting charts. If so, please forgive. If not, here they be: dtc2729.pdf troubleshooting_12diagnostic_code_chart.pdf Good luck, and congrats on your victory!

Hi BM- I have a 92 also. I am not familar with the paper clip method, but it sounds like you may have 2 codes showing? Here are a couple of pages from the diagnostic section of the 92 manual. Hope they help! troubleshooting_8_diagnosis_system.pdf troubleshooting_12diagnostic_code_chart.pdf If you identify a code you want more info on, let me know and I will post it.

Ah, what the heck, I'll throw my opinion in. I’ve lived in Rochester NY/upstate NY and its environs all my life, so I have driven in many blizzards (thanks to the infamous lake effect snows off Lake Ontario and/or Lake Erie) and through many lousy winters in all kinds of FWD and RWD vehicles, including: 1971 Pontiac LeMans 1974 Ford Pinto 1977 Chevy Malibu 1983 Honda Civic S 1991 Nissan Sentra 1989 Nissan 2WD pickup 1979 Saab 99 1994 Toyota Corolla 1996 Toyota 4runner 1991 Toyota Previa 1968 VW Camper 2000 Honda Odyssey 1988 Chevy Nova 1992 Lexus LS400 (yawn…. I know. Thanks for putting up with a trip down memory lane. Probably forgot a few, and the list does not include vehicles my spouses have owned) Any how, my $0.03: If you know how to drive in the snow, I don’t think there is a big difference between FW and RW drive. If I had to choose, I would take FWD. Just my preference, mainly for traction reasons. Also, when the roads threaten and I want a little more control of the engine, I just take the overdrive off (in the 4runner, Lexus, or any vehicle). I find that gives just the perfect amount of additional “drag” when you want to decelerate without braking. Now, the LS400. Today was the first time I drove it under "hazardous" winter conditions. My commute is 46 miles one-way, and the elevation change en-route can cause dramatic weather differences. I was too lazy to check the forecast this morning, and let the recent nice weather and sunny sunrise lulled me into blissful complacency. If bad weather is forecasted (or even if only snow), I take the 4runner to work. But today I took the Lexus and ran into a 25 mile long blizzard and icy, snow covered roads. The car had come with fresh winter tires on it: KUMHO KW11 Snow Tires (205/65/R15). They are fairly quiet on dry roads, and excellent on wet ones. This was their first test on real snow and ice. I have to say, with the traction control and those Korean winter tires, the car handles superbly. I did have to pull onto a main road from an icy incline on the way home after work, and it seemed to take forever as the car inched forward and the TRAC lights burned brightly, but it made it and stayed straight and true until we reached level ground. I was able to drive 40-50 MPH without much concern. Love the Lexus. And while I envy you southern and western guys that don’t have to subject your cars to these conditions, it somehow brings you a little closer to your car after you find out what it can do in a pinch.

T-cutter- Your advice is greatly appreciated. First, the latest: Fortunately/unfortunately I could not get to the third reservoir screw without (apparently) disassembling numerous innocents, so I put the other two screws back and flushed again, since it was all set up. This time when bleeding the system I cranked hard and held it when coming to the stops in both directions. The system groaned loudly, but after three or four cycles of this, the pitch dropped an octave and the groaning eventually went away all together, as did the little “buzzing” sound from the pump in between the stops. This brought me higher hopes, as there had been residual pump noise since the fist flushing weeks ago. But, alas, after taking it off the jacks and going for a spin, the steering (while slightly improved) is still hard. -------------------------------------------- I read with great interest your solenoid theories. I did disconnect the wires before removing the solenoid. and the vice grips were used only to get it turning (much like the tapping of a chisel). As soon as it was free, I unscrewed it by hand. I was extremely careful. I will crawl under and make sure 1) it is still connected and 2) that the contacts are not dirty (as AZ also suggested awhile back, but I was so sure they were connected I did not recheck). Also, of course, I will check for any broken wires. I have high hopes the contacts are dirty. It would make sense, as the steering was fine before I flushed and cleaned the solenoid screen… which I did ONLY to hopefully prevent any leaks threats to the alternator. I’ll let you know what the results are. Thanks again!

OK… Because I just can’t live with the hard steering anymore, and thanks to Monarch’s great pics, I’m in process of taking the reservoir off the car and trying to literally get to the bottom of this issue once and for all! As of this writing I have 2 of the 3 screws that hold the reservoir to the pump, and just came in to reference the picture to find out where the third screw is. If I am successful, I’ll take some pics and let everyone know what worked and what didn’t. I hope to have it off and soaking before kick-off!

Unbelievable! Just this afternoon I was cleaning the interior and for the first time noticed the small slotted opening you described and wondered what it could possibly be... then went back to blissfully conditioning my seats and forgot all about it. Thanks for the tip, SK!

Sorry, no help here from me. I'm hoping others may chime in, as I have 2 keys, and one of them does what you describe. The other one works fine, so the issue is the key. Did a quick search on LOC; no LUC. I wonder, does the steel need an occasional spray down with contact cleaner or such?

UPDATE FOR ANYONE REMOTELY INTERESTED... My steering has still not improved since the flush etc I did. Mustang, I appreciate the advice, but I don't want to get in there with a screwdriver when I can't see what I am doing. I am confident nothing bad happened/is happening, so, I will either wait to take another shot at it until I get in there and do the PS pump seals, or............ Hi Monarch, Thanks for the pics! When you pulled the reservoir off the pump, what did the connection to the pump consist of? Was there a seal or ring or ? In other words, if I removed the reservoir to get at the screen, can I put it back "easily" without additional parts, or worries of leaks? Thanks... depending on your answer, I might not wait until Spring to try and improve the situation.

Hi Monarch- Nice to see you. I read many of your previous posts on this topic, and learned a lot from them. I really don't know the tolerance level of the system for air. I was going to answer "yes, I believe you can change the solenoid without the reservoir running dry, and therefore no air would enter the system", but then wondered if air would enter simply because the solenoid was taken off and put back on. I suppose the flow of PS fluid from the solenoid cavity might prevent this if it could be removed/reinstalled or plugged quickly. Prior to the flush I suctioned the reservoir as dry as I could get it, trying to get as much gunk off the bottom (which I could not get a light in to see). I’m sure this process let plenty of air in the system. In retrospect, I wish I had only cleaned the screen. Would have been interesting to see how much my steering improved (when I thought it was pretty fine to begin with!) There is an answer here and we’ll find it! PS: All the hub-bub on what tool to use. On the vertically-oriented solenoid I was able to get in there with a big set of vice-grips and remove it without tapping after giving it some good blasts of sea-foam and letting it soak for 30 minutes.

Hi Az- I definately re-connected the connector, but whether contacts are dirty... could be I suppose. What would the symptoms be if it was not powering the solenoid? I have no idea what would happen if this was disconnected.

I don't know the year of your car, but the following is for a 1992: dtc71.pdf Troubleshooting the EGR system, with references to the EGR gas temp sensor. Hope it helps-

Thanks Card- The car has 96,000 on it, and the timing belt was replaced at 60,000. I am going to stand pat on the engine at this point, as there are no known issues. Come Spring, I will be replacing the ACV valve, do a radiator flush, tranny flush and filter change, a power steering rebuild, A/C investigation/repair, and throttle body cleaning. Hello K- I have put 300+ miles on it since deciding to see if it takes care of itself (as suggested by Arkansawyer). It might be getting incrementally better, but it may also be wishful thinking on my part. The whine is gone, replaced by an occasional and very quiet buzz from the pump here and there. Rebuilding the pump come Spring. I plan on putting together the pictures I took with some text and copies of other folk's posts, hopefully this weekend.

sapper- I appreciate the effort. The color match is no problem, as all I need is the little plastic part behind the L-R switch. If you can snag that, cool. Otherwise I'll just be tossing the outer control assy in the trash after I get that part out.

Hey sapper, thanks for the kind offer. Can you tell how deep the Lexus was submerged? I imagine they don't float very well I need a small electrical component, so I realize I might be aout of luck but I'll take a shot. I don’t know what it looks like, but I need a small piece that can be found in the power mirror controls. It's probably a plastic part with contacts that is behind the Left-Right switch. It would make contact with the circuit board. I'll take the piece or the whole control section The easiest thing to do would be to pry out the entire outer mirror control assembly from the dash (takes no time at all), and disconnect the two sets of wires (one to the up-down-left-right switch, the other to the Left-Right switch) from the back of the housing holding the green circuit board. I'll take it intact. Thanks again for you time and offer

Well, the reassuring words of Daffy and Arkansawyer inspired me to get out there and do as little as possible! :D Seriously, I checked and reset the level (cold) by turkey basting out a few ounces (sorry to the wife, but another “tool” added to the collection!). Took it out for a leisurely ride; still stiff when turning at low MPH. Came back and parked it and ate the pizza and watched football, as promised. Came out after the game, no wet spots on the floor or the canister. Jacked it back up and proceeded to start cranking lock to lock. Lo and behold, quite soon the “whining” began to get a little less, almost with every cycle. Continued on with the lock to lock in a happier frame of mind. :) Put on some tunes, rolled up the window, and cranked away on the steering wheel for 15 minutes, oblivious to the pump and engine. At the end of this the whole system had quieted right down to almost pre-flush volume. Took it off the jacks, capped it, and drove it around a little more. Still stiff, but quieter. For all I know it is functioning as it always was supposed to, although it still seems too hard to turn at low speeds. I’ll tell you, one of the many great things about an LS400: no matter how frustrated you might get, or how worried you are things aren’t right, or how much time and money you spend to keep it happy, driving it is literally the reward for your efforts. Thanks again for the advice!

Hi Daffy, thanks for the reply- No, I have not rebuilt the pump. I have found the tutorials necessary to do so, if I have to! I appreciate the advice. Your theories regarding the pump seal life also make good sense. I will consider synthetics when the time comes. I'm hoping I can get to Spring and warmer weather. And I will definitely have to deal with the alternator at the same time. You read my mind on a question I have been pondering about the alternator, which was "can it be cleaned?". Did you disassemble to the windings? How did you clean it? The more I crawl around under this car, and the more I learn from you veterans, the more I realize there is a fair amount of work necessary to bring my car up to snuff. So, I'll take it as it comes, with priority to the immediate stuff.

Arkansawyer- Thanks very much for your reply. Music to my ears of course, as I would not have to do any further work! You may be absolutely right. Your "drive-it-until-it -improves" experience backs up that post I saw recommending a minimum of 50 cycles lock-to-lock to burp it. I am going to make sure the fluid level is where it belongs, check for leaks and tighten whatever I can put a wrench on, put the car back up, go lock-to-lock 50 times, close it up, set it down, and order a pizza and watch football. Then I'll drive it for awhile and see what happens. If all goes well over time, I plan on publishing my experience / pictures / references etc for the group. Either way, I'll report back so others don't suffer needlessly in the future.

Thanks for the replies, guys! Card- Yep, I suspect that the overfilling caused the system to leak under pressure. I will put the car up on jacks again today and see if I can find the leak. Do you know of a way to get a good view of the pump hoses without disassembling everything? And is the reservoir the only thing needing to be removed to be able to tighten everything? I saw the tutorial on Planet Soarer to remove the pump and re-seal. I fear this will be my future. Still seems like there would been no whine with the cap OFF, but I am probably whistling in the dark. :whistles: RF- The best laid plans of mice and LS owners, as the saying goes. I had read posts of people cleaning the reservoir screen. No one seemed to make a big deal of cleaning that one (difficulty), only the solenoid screen. I used a suction gun to get the fluid out of the reservoir, pre-flush. Once drained, I could not get a light doen into the reservoir, and even if I could, I don't see what I would have cleaned it with. Did I miss something simple there? I ended up adding some DexIII to the reservoir a few times and suctioning it out until it seemed pretty clean. In retrospect I should have taken the damn reservoir off, but I did not find many how-tos for this, and 95% of the posts from folks who had done the procedure did not mention to do it. I saw three bolts holding the reservoir. Is it a simple process? Any hidden seals/o-rings etc? Sorry for all the questions, I'm feeling a bit subdued. There are better things to do than crawl around on a cold concrete floor in winter in NY, especially when things go from ???? to @!&$%! :) OK, going to make another pot of coffee and see if I can stop the whine coming from the car... and from me!

My 1992 LS400 (93.500 miles) had no known problem with the steering, and the pump made no noises. This is my first Lexus, and therefore I didn’t know whether all was well or not. After discovering a small amount of power steering fluid on the windings on the bottom of my alternator and associated wet/dirty hose connections below the reservoir, I read up on innumerable posts regarding power steering flushing/solenoid and reservoir screen cleaning etc. and decided to dive in and do battle. I rounded up all the stuff needed, thanks to the tutorials and numerous posts by Monarch, Threadcutter, and others. I even hauled out the digital camera and took many pictures showing the removal of the solenoid and the removal and cleaning of the screen. All went well, and for the most part, the way most others described their experiences: Drained the reservoir first. It appeared the fluid in the system was original, as it was a brown/tan color. It smelled smoky, frankly a lot like bong-water from those days of yore. Removed the solenoid, using vice grips; no problem. The screen was completely covered with black gunk. Removed it per Threadcutter’s advice (blade), and cleaned it gently and repeatedly with brake cleaner and a toothpick. Not knowing what would happen during the flush if I re-installed the solenoid without the screen, I put the screen back on and re-installed the solenoid. (I’d read posts where folks have flushed without the screen, and also those who have flushed with the screen, then removed it again, cleaned it, and re-installed). Disconnected the return hose, rigged up the 3/8 tubing, and flushed the system with Dexron III. The only thing different from all the other posts I read was that the it only took one quart to flush the old color completely out of the system. I see in most instruction it could take up to 7 quarts to do it, depending on the condition of the original fluid. (I wonder if cleaning the solenoid screen first makes the flush more efficient, thereby using less fluid to flush the system clean?) I drained the reservoir again, and took the solenoid off (again) to check the screen. It was still completely clean. Reinstalled the solenoid. Reconnected the return hose and filled up the reservoir with Dexron III. Left the cap off, started the car, and turned the wheel lock to lock slowly at least a dozen times to get rid of the air in the system. The car (pump) made loud whining noises from the time the engine turned over, throughout the “burping” process. The noise seemed to get a little fainter as the number of lock-to-lock cycles increased, but eventually seemed to settle in. (I have since seen a post indicating the lock-to-lock should go for 50 cycles to get all the air out?) I put the cap back on, took the car off the jacks, and took it out for a spin. At 0+ MPH and low speeds, the car steers like it has no power steering at all. Turning right after a stop is laborious. As the RPMs and MPH pick up, it handles and steers like it did before the flush/cleaning, which seemed fine to me. I am definitely not getting the “one finger” steering others have described, at any speed. Took at back home after about a 6 mile drive and parked it. Went back on the LOC and searched under the word “whine” for some clues. Obviously, it could be many things, from disaster to fluid level. One thread suggested leaving the reservoir cap off over night to let the air breathe out, and liking this easy and free option, I went back out to take the cap off and call it a night. The fluid level was down about 1/2” below the lip of the reservoir, normal I would say. It was pretty much up to the top when I finished “burping” it before the test drive. That missing ½” looks like it came out from under the cap, as the hoses and guards below the reservoir are freshly wetted, and I have a nice red stain just in front and inside my front passenger tire. So, why the hard steering all of a sudden, especially when the flush/cleaning was supposed to restore one-finger steering? If the reservoir was too full, would the pressure cause the fluid to escape through the cap? Why did the pump whine so after the flush and cleaning, when before the flush/clean it made no sound, and offered easy steering through the full range of RPMs/MPH? I know this topic has been covered to death. I just hope someone has some words of wisdom for this particular situation. ALL HELP APPRECIATED!

I need a small piece that can be found in the power mirror controls. It's probably a plastic part with contacts thats behind the Left-Right switch. It would rub against the circuit board. I'll take the piece or the whole contol section The easiest thing to do would be to pry out the entire outer mirror control assembly from the dash (takes no time at all), and disconnect the two sets of wires (one to the up-down-left-right switch, the other to the Left-Right switch) from the back of the housing holding the green circuit board. I'll take it intact. Thanks readingchain@yahoo.com

I could send you some specific wiring diagrams, but there are lots of them in the manual (one for each specific area) so sending them individually would be time consuming. I highly suggest doing as LEXLS suggests: "Subscribe to TIS Information. It only costs $10 for a one-day subscription. I tried this service and was very impressed at the value. For that ten bucks I was able to download every piece of information regarding my car! The entire shop manual, collision repair manual, wiring diagrams, wire harness repair info, new car features, service bulletins, technical reference info, and technical training info. Everything is in PDF format and comes directly from Toyota; there are no poor scans here. It does take a while to download all this because everything is separated by section and procedure. So, you'll have to do a lot of clicking and saving, but it's well worth it. If you go this route you should note that their site requires Adobe Reader 6.0.1, they have the link to the patch on the main page when you log in. This is definitely the best value around." Here is the link: http://techinfo.lexus.com/ That's where I got my manual. It is tedious to save (and rename) each file, but as he says, well worth it, for $10. Also, worth knowing the site does not work if you are using Firefox as a browser. I switched to IE just for the downloads and it worked fine. Thanks for the wheel information. My LS is black also and I am contemplating the 5 spoke look for the summer. B) Since you say you are only on 7 cylinders for the time being, I won't comment on your speed woes. You probabbly already know this, but I have noticed there is a big difference in acceleration when you have the ECT set to POWER. My 1996 4Runner has the same option, but I never noticed any significant difference from a standing start. But the LS is a like a whole new vehicle!

I'm glad some progress has been made... but you can't stop as long as your LS is slower than your Camry! Go for 8 cycliders! Let me know what other sections you want to see, and I will try and find them for you. Just checked your web site. That is a sweet LS. I like your wheels, too. What brand are they? Are they 15"?

Everything you ever wanted to know about code 71 (from the 1992 LS400 manual) trouble shooting section... dtc71.pdf Cheers!