jjewell

thats exactly what it is. there are 2 buchings on the long control arms in the ES250's rear end. these are called trailing arms. where they connect in the center, under the back seat, the pivot point. those are bad. cost like $10 for the pair and will take like an hour to change its a pretty straightforward procedure. good luck. mine had this problem too. GOT IT. its called a lateral arm. those bushings are bad. #'s 2, and 1 have bushings in those far holes. those are bad. Once again you come thru. You must be my Lexus guardian angel! THANKS!!! If thats not it, check your rear knuckle bushings. but im pretty sure thats it. it sounds like a series of thuds coming from the trunk as you turn or hit a rough road right? Yes, low tone multiple thuds, just like the sound of golf balls bouncing in the trunk. yep, more than likely, these are your culprits. i could be wrong, im not a god LOL. but thats what was causing mine. get the bushings for the camry, they are cheaper and they same bushing, just paying for the Lexus name adds $7 to the price. Excellent! I was hoping there was a Camry equivalent! Thanks again!!!

thats exactly what it is. there are 2 buchings on the long control arms in the ES250's rear end. these are called trailing arms. where they connect in the center, under the back seat, the pivot point. those are bad. cost like $10 for the pair and will take like an hour to change its a pretty straightforward procedure. good luck. mine had this problem too. GOT IT. its called a lateral arm. those bushings are bad. #'s 2, and 1 have bushings in those far holes. those are bad. Once again you come thru. You must be my Lexus guardian angel! THANKS!!! If thats not it, check your rear knuckle bushings. but im pretty sure thats it. it sounds like a series of thuds coming from the trunk as you turn or hit a rough road right? Yes, low tone multiple thuds, just like the sound of golf balls bouncing in the trunk.

thats exactly what it is. there are 2 buchings on the long control arms in the ES250's rear end. these are called trailing arms. where they connect in the center, under the back seat, the pivot point. those are bad. cost like $10 for the pair and will take like an hour to change its a pretty straightforward procedure. good luck. mine had this problem too. GOT IT. its called a lateral arm. those bushings are bad. #'s 2, and 1 have bushings in those far holes. those are bad. Once again you come thru. You must be my Lexus guardian angel! THANKS!!!

Thats my sons description & I have to agree. Not really horrible but noticeable when going over minor or worse bumps in the road. I did the visual and "grab & shake" test of everything I could see- no luck. It doesn't appear with the rear end (bumper) bounce test either. Tried to prevent the :chairshot: by doing a search but didn't really find anything other than bushings.

No problem, glad i could help. can you tell i have done this before? it wont work with OBD II though, only OBD I. Oh yea it shows. You are a great resource. As kinks arise I'll be back. Thanks again.

Yeah it was quite a fog! Luckily I knew to expect it & did the treatment in the morning early just after they all left for work. :whistles:

I took Army's advice on the cel bulb & took it another step- I jumped the bulb to the battery idiot bulb & insulated it from the cel socket & stuck it in the hole. Since the smog guys check that the light comes on when they turn on the ignition, yeah, the bulb comes on! And the car passed with flying colors! All reading LOW! I'm sure the Seafoam treatments helped. At least this buys me time for getting the knock sensor replaced. My hats off to ya Army! Thanks again!!

I had the same problem with my 91 ES250. One of the deck hinges was not drawing down that side tight enough. Replaced the hinge and adjusted alignments. I then wiped off the rubber seal & where it contacts the deck. Then I spread talcum powder (any light powder would do I guess) along the top of the seal surface liberally. Closed the trunk & reopened. The contact point on the deck will show from the powder transfer.

no need fo hatin on me- It's greyish green, solid color. Havent had a chance to find out what "name" color it is yet. Sound like a cool remote system! I'll have to check it out. What brand? If you would like the 91 FSM, I could email it to ya! :P Lol. It's a DEI Valet remote starter system. www.directed.com and click the Valet tab on the left. It's working slowly for me but it's in there. And thanks I have the FSM for the wiring, engine and transmission. I'm having a difficult time comprehending it all though. NO KIDDING! It took a while to get into their mindset! WINDOW TINT is a MUST have. 5% on the rear and 20% on the front will go quite nicely. I won't go through window tinting again. CHP are very paranoid here. I got a fixit ticket to remove my tint on my F350 dually . I'd love to have it though. CHP will only accept tinting done by the factory (original).

Under the intake manifold.:cries: Sure hope I don't have to replace it! Entails about 4 careful hrs. of work. I've checked several threads on it to help "semi" prepare myself if it comes to it. I told you, if it comes down to it, pull the cluster out and yank the bulb out. get it smogged, then fix the problem and stick the bulb back in. It will pass even with that sensor out. Thats good news it will pass. I'm just being anal about the prob. Just trying to get it fixed as least painfully as possible.

no need fo hatin on me- It's greyish green, solid color. Havent had a chance to find out what "name" color it is yet. Sound like a cool remote system! I'll have to check it out. What brand? If you would like the 91 FSM, I could email it to ya! :P Lol. It's a DEI Valet remote starter system. www.directed.com and click the Valet tab on the left. It's working slowly for me but it's in there. And thanks I have the FSM for the wiring, engine and transmission. I'm having a difficult time comprehending it all though. NO KIDDING! It took a while to get into their mindset!

Under the intake manifold. :cries: Sure hope I don't have to replace it! Entails about 4 careful hrs. of work. I've checked several threads on it to help "semi" prepare myself if it comes to it.

no need fo hatin on me- It's greyish green, solid color. Havent had a chance to find out what "name" color it is yet. Sound like a cool remote system! I'll have to check it out. What brand? If you would like the 91 FSM, I could email it to ya! :P

Wow, your trunk triggers the alarm with the doors locked? Mine doesn't.:cries: Do you lock with the key or with the button on the inside? I only notice the "Security" light to go solid then begin flashing when I use the key to lock the car. I'm gonna install the DEI Valet Remote Start on my car at Circuit City. As for cleaning up the looks, try removing the pinstripes, depending on what color your car is, although I'm not a big fan of them on any car. All you need is a hairdryer and some patience to get them off. Before and after pics of my car, the first is the night I got it and the 2nd is quite a while after I had cleaned it up well. Good luck! Yeah, I was suprised when I opened the trunk. It apparently goes into security mode either using the key or the lock switch once the door closes. 30 seconds on (delay) then flashes when armed. It looks like the best place to tie in wiring wise for keyless entry is to the main lock/unlock switch wiring. If you use the door key you need double pulse type control; 1st disables security, 2nd does door locks (to open that is) Nope, no pinstriping on this one. Not gonna post any pix of her til after I get her cleaned up. Interior is immaculate though! Let me know how yer valet system goes, how much, features, etc. I'm gonna do it soon!

I'm in Concord, west of SF. Yeah, I've done the battery thing, etc. This AM I got some electrical contact cleaner spray & doused the male & female connectors, dried them & put in some dialectric grease before reassembly. Drove around doing errands (freeway & town) 20 miles- so far knock wood, no code. The code 52 says basically no communication between ECU & sensor. The cel has been intermittent at times- no other codes. Hoping the clean connection does the trick. I have the 91 FSM in full & it goes into the codes quite a bit in detail. Gonna do some things around the house then take her out on the road again. Keep yer fingers crossed for me!

I've gone over the whole circuit for/including the sensor-reset ecu-chem treated fuel system-keep getting the knock sensor code! :cries: Been searching threads for days- no real solutions. Saw one thread suggesting a resistor to simulate sensor signal to ecu. Anyone done this? What value of resistor? I gotta get this car smogged- running out of time! Please, can anyone give me some help? :( I've also gone over the fsm- still no good. My fingers be very sore for the searches. OR........... would I be better off getting another knock sensor, locating it elsewhere (where it's easier to get at) & wiring it in? is it position sensitive? This car runs great, even with the code. But it sure is wearing me down!

:chairshot: That ones for me- call me dumbass! Armyofones manuals- I was looking at the wrong one! only 1 knock sensor! :whistles: NOW I have the right info & can check it all out. YIKES!!!

First of all- THANKS to Army & Toys for all your help! Discovered yesterday the OEM security system works. Doors locked & opened trunk with key- Alarm went off! :whistles: Dealer says there is no remote for this car. :cries: Where would be the best electrical tie-in point for a after-market keyless entry device (so as to not interfere with the oem system)? What system would be recommended? Did the Seafoam treatment in the gastank yesterday prior to my trip to Sacramento. Today my goals are to address the knock sensor cel scenario & do the Seafoam injection thru the brake booster line. But I digress................. :chairshot: Any input with the keyless entry would be appreciated!

Hello again all! As mentioned in previous post, I've got code 52 (knock sensor circuit). Noted there are 2 codes (52 & 53) relating to knock sensor circuits. Does 52 tell you specifically which circuit is at fault? Also remember seeing in past posts the wiring in the faulty circuit can be bypassed @ the ecu (temporoary measure until I can really dig into this- need to get this puppy CA. smogged)? Anybody got any info/insight/details on this? Thanks in advance. BTW- almost forgot- Its a 1991 ES250! Never mind- found the info on an old thread- Going to TAP recycling today- THANKS to all! I'll be back (to quote someone we all know)!

Thanks once again Toys! I've got my work cut out for me. I'm off work all next week :D so I'm hoping to get a lot done.

Thanks Toys. Overall thats good news. Where is the manual posted? Please forgive my ignorance in finding it. :whistles:

Remove the CEL bulb and go about your merry way. No, seriously, dont do that. if the light is on, there is something wrong. code 52= Knock Control Signal. If the engine is running fine, chances are its not the computer. go from there. try switching fuels (works sometimes, especially for the knock sensors, the higher octane will cause the light to go out.) or isolate the sensor thats the problem, by doing a resistance and voltage test. Go over here: Toyotanation.com and ask about the CEL, they can explain it to you in more detail as a few of them have the FSM's for the car. i have one too, but its in NY and im in TX at the moment LOL. or if you would rather i can ask the question and post the results. I have rebult this car from the ground up and know more about them than most people around. If i dont knwo the answer, rest assured i can find it out for you. Fell free to PM me for anything, anytime. Remove the CEL bulb and go about your merry way. No, seriously, dont do that. if the light is on, there is something wrong. code 52= Knock Control Signal. If the engine is running fine, chances are its not the computer. go from there. try switching fuels (works sometimes, especially for the knock sensors, the higher octane will cause the light to go out.) or isolate the sensor thats the problem, by doing a resistance and voltage test. Go over here: Toyotanation.com and ask about the CEL, they can explain it to you in more detail as a few of them have the FSM's for the car. i have one too, but its in NY and im in TX at the moment LOL. or if you would rather i can ask the question and post the results. I have rebult this car from the ground up and know more about them than most people around. If i dont knwo the answer, rest assured i can find it out for you. Fell free to PM me for anything, anytime. Thanks for the quick response. Not knowing how smooth it should be I can't really tell, but I'm sure the IAC valve/fuel system needs a super cleaning. I'm new to this posting stuff; not that I'm lazy, but if you could help out with the query you mentioned I would very much appreciate the help!

Hello Everyone! This is a GREAT forum! Been living on it for the past 2 days (Merry Xmas!) Got LOTS of great info. Thank you all. Yesterday morning we got my girlfriend the 91 ES250. 141K miles; Immaculate inside & out! Oil leaks; yeah no biggy- runs a little warm; getting an OEM tstat tomorrow. Also getting the trans. flushed tomorrow. Am I rambling..............? Really I could use advice on the 52 code. I tried searching, read postings til Midnite last night & off & on most of today. I know its a knock sensor (or chaffed wire) fault. OR computer module. Any time saving tips on homing in on this problem source (where is the sensor, wiring routing, etc.) would greatly be appreciated. I've cleared the code & it comes back (cel) shortly after driving off. Love this car, wanna make it all "right". Gonna have to get it Calif. smogged soon to register it. HELP!