godpossessed

Well I got my rack replaced with an AC Delco unit and now there is still a leak. The mechanic says that the new rack didn't come with a pressure valve and that he had to move the one from my old rack to the new unit. The leak is the gasket (which he reused) between the pressure valve and the rack. That gasket is not sold separately by Lexus and is not showing up on any searches online. Any thoughts on where to look for one?

thanks

Mark

I'm stumped. Just put a new steering rack on the car and reused the old seal when I moved the pressure valve over from the old rack to the new one. Now it's leaking and Lexus doesn't list the seal as a separate part. Does anybody have an idea where I could get one of those seals?

thanks

Mark

Make sure it has a new solenoid with it (specifically the contactor plate and contact points). That tends to go faster than the motor itself. Given it's major surgery to replace it you don't want to be going in again because they skimped by using the old solenoid. Use new gaskets on intake manifold too. Not a good idea to reuse old ones as you'll have vacuum leaks which create erratic engine running.

thanks mucho

I am getting the starter replaced today. It has been grinding for 2 years now upon engagement. What other items should be addressed while the intake is off for the starter work?

thanks

Mark

Same here - I got the arms on in about 40 min per side. The quality seemed fine and the handling is nice and tight.

Do these aftermarket control arms make the ride tighter and stiffer than the OEM's? Can you feel any difference?

I don't know what it was like when it was new (I bought the car in '01 with 53K miles) but the ride is smooth with these arms. They seem compliant, but controlled. I guess the bushings are similar in hardness to OEM.

found em

A wonderment: do the air suspension cars have different upper control arms than the standard cars? And did Lexus change the arms for the '93 - '94 cars? My car is in dire need of the front (and rear) suspension overhauled.

The part# for the '93-'94 cars is the same. You could call Arnott and ask about the air vs. standard suspension differences.

Same here - I got the arms on in about 40 min per side. The quality seemed fine and the handling is nice and tight.

found em

http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_LEXUS...d46_gid421.html

thanks

Well - the old girl has 232K miles now and the used upper control arm that I put on the front passenger side 2 years ago is sloppy now. Is there a better choice than trying used again. The OEM is ~$500 as you all know. What about aftermarket.

thanks

Mark

Found it. The motor I put on earlier was defective. The shaft that has the drive gear on it had excessive play and was flopping around under power and flexing the regulator. Still under warranty so I'm good to go.

ps - don't ever be an idiot like me and replace the window motor with the regulator in. It can be done with patience and the right tools but the correct way is to remove the 3 bolts holding the window to the regulator arm. Then tape the window in the UP position. Finally, rmove 3 of the 4 bolts holding the regulator to the inner door shell (just loosen the top left one) and unplug the motor from its power source. The whole regulator/motor assembly comes out the large hole on the left of the inner door shell. The motor is real easy to remove and replace at that point.

thanks all

I have a '91 with 213K miles. I put a new window motor in about 6 months ago and in the last couple of week the window has started making a popping sound when you take it all the way down and start back up. After removing the inside panel and looking inside the door, I noticed that the curved piece of the regulator that the motor gear engages flexes in and out when you change direction. This is where the popping is happening but I don't want to remove the regulator if I don't have to. Any thought?

thanks

Mark

Wifey's '91 LS400 has 194k and it is still sweet. Mileage has fallen off in the last 10k miles though. Probably time for an EGR/TB/plenum cleansing and O2 sensors.

..and now the cruise also works. You guys will love this - Sewell wants $113 for the reservior lip with sensor. Pull-a-Part here I come.

m

Well, I think I found the problem. I replaced the center brake lights and it didn't help. I checked the fluid agian, just to be sure and it was full. Then, I took the lid off of the reservior and jiggled the floaty. No help. The light was still on. Then I unplugged the sensor to the lid and, voila!, the brake arning goes off. I am assuming that would indicate a failed sensor. Any thoughts?

m

Yeah - the brake fluid is OK. What could fool the system into thinking the rear bulbs weren't functional or the current passing through them was outside tolerance?

m

OK I finally got all the bulbs replaced. They were all lighting up but I changed them and squirted the sockets with contact cleaner. No change! The "brake" light on the dash still remains lit and the cruise won't work. The light is about half lit. It becomes fully lit when I set the e-brake. Any thoughts?

Mark

Make sure your parking brake is fully released. I have had mine stick enough to keep the light on. The other indicator is that a tail or brake light is out.

the parking brake seems to be fine and the bulbs are all good - so waz up?

M

The "brake" light was on all the time, and the light that is the symbol of the car with light coming out of the rear went on as soon as the brakes were applied. I checked the fluid (fine) and replaced the 2 bulbs that were out in the trunk lid (double filament tail/brake). The warning lights went out for a little while, but now they are back on. The bulbs are still good. Any ideas?

thanks

m

Well it started with the brake warning light lighting the faintest you could imagine. The light has steadily gotten brighter and now my cruise won't set. You can turn the cruise control on, but it just won't take a set. The fluid level is fine. Could it be an e-brake switch adjustment? I don't even know if the e-brake will disengage the cruise if applied. Thoughts?

Mark

bump

I need to replace my fan bracket because the fan clutch somehow became unstable and worked it's way out of the bracket. Is there anything else I should be looking to replace? I have already removed the 4 bolts and 1 nut for the bracket but I cannot get it to come off. Any tips?

I tried to search the forums for old posts on this topic but got 0 results.

jim

I hate to tell you but the fan bracket requires a significant portion of the work needed to change the timing belt. The mounting bolts for the bracket are buried beneath various things attached to the front of the motor. Take a look at this thread. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=39998&hl=

Mark

Try resetting the ecu.

I'm getting error 71 as well. That is listed as an EGR system malfunction. Is cleaning the TB the standard starting place for the fix?

thanks

Mark

My '91 LS400 has 191K miles. Ever since I replaced the fan bracket it has gotten 2-3 miles to the gallon less than before. I recently left the cap off the radiator remote tank and didn't find it until today. I was about 30 minutes into a short trip when I got a check engine light. When I stopped to investigate the CEL, I found the cap off and put it back on. I completed the trip, replaced the lost water and on the way home the CEL went off. Question: How do you make the computer tell you what's wrong (without a scan tool)? Maybe the CEL is unrelated to the radiator cap issue but might tell me about the missing gas mileage.

thanks

Mark

95-96 and newer used the OBD2 diagnostic computer that shows codes via scan tool, its a generic coupler across the board so codes can be read by any OBD2 scan tool. Before these were proprietary interfaces and the computer would either show codes on its own proprietary reader or flash codes after a jumper is inserted into 2 sockets of the plug. 91 LS400 will flash codes when jumped by flashing the CEL in a morse code type fashion, counted flashes, a pause and then a second set of counted flashes, like 123...1234........123...1234....that would tell you you had a code 34 stored or active, then you look up code 34 in this forum and itll say something like "downstream 02 r side malfunction" or whatever.

Excellent - is there a resource that describes the procedure and identifies where the jumper should be attached?

thanks

m

My '91 LS400 has 191K miles. Ever since I replaced the fan bracket it has gotten 2-3 miles to the gallon less than before. I recently left the cap off the radiator remote tank and didn't find it until today. I was about 30 minutes into a short trip when I got a check engine light. When I stopped to investigate the CEL, I found the cap off and put it back on. I completed the trip, replaced the lost water and on the way home the CEL went off. Question: How do you make the computer tell you what's wrong (without a scan tool)? Maybe the CEL is unrelated to the radiator cap issue but might tell me about the missing gas mileage.

thanks

Mark

The last few tanks have been in the 16mpg range in combined driving. We were getting 18-20mpg. The only thing that has changed is that I replace the alternator when I replaced the fan bracket. What can I check on this economy problem?

thanks

Mark