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I would look at the oxygen sensors also. Bad ones don't always give a CEL and can cause the car to run rich.

The sulphur smell is usually the catalytic converter getting too much gas.

Good timing and congratulations on getting the heater going.

This is the season to make us appreciate it.

Do the coolant flush first - it might cost about a $100 at a small shop. Putting off cleaning the system may lead to bigger / more expensive issues as my assumption is that it's not good for the car to be not getting cooled in parts which are expecting it.

Make sure to use the approved coolant (usually red) and distilled water when refilling. If doing it yourself, then the flushing liquid should also be compatible.

A clogged radiator would not warant replacement. Usually it has to be damaged with rust or broken parts. The clog may have occurred due to using tap water instead of distilled.

How do I get at the connector on the passenger side aft of cat converter? code P0156?

1. You pull of the frame/step on the right of the passenger seat. Hold it at the top next to the bottom dash compartment and pull it off.

2. Take out the vent cover. It's located just about where the passenger's left knee would be. A flat screwdriver in the rear (smaller)side usually gets it out.

3. Take the passenger seat back as far as it will go.

4. Pull on the carpet and bend it back

5. You should see a flat black tube to take air from the blower to the vents at the back floor. Take out the 10 mm bolt holding it down then pull the tube out by moving it around.

6. There's a tube in front for venting the condensation from the airconditioner. Make sure it's tight.

7. The wire for the O2 sensor should come out of the floor and the connecter should be hooked on to the wall. 4 wires: 2 blacks, 1 white and and 1 blue.

And yet another option:

I remember an earlier post where a member cleaned out his car's cat using a chemical he bought from amazon.com. I think this was the product : http://www.amazon.com/Cataclean-Engine-Catalytic-Converter-Treatment/dp/B002BVXM92/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1271000314&sr=8-2

That one's $25 and there's a $7 one also :http://www.amazon.com/Catalytic-Converter-Cleaner-16-oz/dp/B000AMBO9O/ref=pd_sim_auto_1

I have not tried these out as I did not find it locally in Toronto.

Hi,

Dealer (Lexus of Riverside, CA, USA) estimated $3600 for the followings:

3 oxygen sensors, left catalytic converter, Y pipe, labor & tax.

Obviously, they recommended the right side catalytic converter replacement as well.

I really want to keep the car (for sentimental reason..., also it is kinda hard to sell a Canadian car in U.S.A).

Does anyone know any good non-dealer place I can take care of this?

I live in Redlands, CA, anywhere around LA is fine.

Thanks,

Q

1999 LS 400 GOLD 320,000 KM (200,000 MI), All options - Chrome Wheel

What shape are your tires in?

I have a 96 LS and though the tires looked good, I had a major problem stopping and with skidding / sliding.

The Traction light was on a lot also.

After changing the tires these symptoms went away and the $1,000 bill was better spent on the tires then accident / fender-bender repair.

Sorry to hear about the accident.

I was in one years ago and my advice is to treat the physiotherapy with respect and practice the routines dilligently. The pain can come back after a few years even and like a mouse which you take pity on and don't kill while ejecting from your house, it comes back with a vengeance.

There is a way to get diagnostic codes from the Air Conditioning system.

-Press Auto and Recirculate at the same time. Keep them pressed while turning ignition to ON.

- All the lights should flash and buzzer should sound 4 times @ 1 flash and buzz/second

- The temperature display should display a code.

- There may be more than one code. Use the Up key to slow them down and display one at a time.

Post the code and we can go from there.

Hello Rauf

A belated welcome to the forum.

I have been looking through the manual but cuold not find many notes on replacing the ECU.

The instructions basically say that you should check ground before replacing as often the ECU will malfunction if ground connection has deteriorated.

Good luck

ps. Have you opened up the old ECU? I wonder what's inside. If its a microcntroller it would be educational to look at the code.

hallo my lexus family

my question is has anybody replaced the ecu on a 1995 lexus ls 400 i got the upgraded one from a junk yard in texas and i plan to install it soon but i have problems pulling out the glove cormpartment. secondly is it plug and play or do i have to reset anything after installing the new one. any advice will be appreciated

From a safety point of view, newer cars can be safer. The NHSTA should have safety ratings for both cars.

I am quite impressed by side airbags after a friend got saved by them.

You don't buy a car everyday. Test drive and get the one you like.

Judging from previous posts, the NMAF is a very sensitive device.

There is a writeup here about testing it : http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h34.pdf

I will do a summary for you from the manual. It is from page EG-183 for 1996 LS400.

PASSIVE TEST:

Resistance goes down as the temperatures go up. For normal temperatures (20 C / 68 F the resistance should be 2-3 KOhms.

This resistance is measured between the THA and E2 pins.

When looking at the male end connector while MAF is still on the car,

THA is third pin from the left

E2 is second pin from left.

ACTIVE TEST -

--> Connect volt meter, positive to VG and negative to EVG.

When looking at the male end connector while MAF is still on the car,

VG is fourth pin from the left

EVG is first pin from left.

--> Turn ignition on, blow air into the MAF.

--> Voltage should fluctuate.

I found out how to get te codes with out a scaner.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/intro/codereading.html I hope this helps someone. It did for me.

I got a code 31. Mass airflow signal.

Will water hurt the sensor? It got rained on when i had it off.

My experience with non-Lexus O2 sensors was not good.

I got Densos from an EBay Supplier from Miami. I was so happy and slapping myself on the back to get 2 for $50 including shipping to Canada.

I spliced and soldered them. They worked for maximum a day before the Check Engine light came back on complaining about the O2 sensor heater.

Spent $160 at Lexus for one O2 sensor and no complaints at all.

The sensors were identical except that the ones from Miami had holes in the heat shield.

Bad experience. I was considering getting the timing belt kit from Ebay but now thinking of staying with the dealer.

Since Lexus, and virtually every other manufacturer I would guess, doesn't make their own filters, spark plugs, plug wires (where applicable), sensors, and a host of other parts, I don't see what is wrong with buying name brand parts that meet the OEM specifications. Do we buy Lexus oil? No (well, at least I don't)! We buy a name brand, quality, 5W-30 that meets the requirement. Do we buy a Lexus oil filter when there are probably half a dozen other quality pieces out there? One of the few things that is in short supply in the aftermarket is ATF, although that is even becoming less of any issue as other manufacturers make a Toyota spec'ed ATF.

If the aftermarket industry is willing to make a product that meets Toyota/Lexus requirements, why do we have to buy something with a Lexus name on the container that was spec'ed and outsourced? A good example is timing belts. You can buy a great belt from Gates that is every bit as good as anything that Toyota ever asked for.

Ok, off the soapbox.

Gary

Fried

Hi

This is a bone of contention for a lot of people here. If you do a search of the forums here, you will find people wanting to use the phone, trying a few things and ripping it out to make the space useful.

Here in Toronto, Canada, the previous owner of my car had the phone linked up to Bell Mobility. It seemed very convenient but I never went for it and let it lapse. I have disconnected it though as I used to accidentally touch the steering wheel controls and it would start ringing and give me an 800 number to call.

Some people have put in Bluetooth devices and are generally happy with that. You will find it all in the forums.

Hello back and that's a great price.

The heat up may have something to do with the cooling system. What does the temperature gauge inside the car show?

1800 rpm is quite high and my car does this if its cold outside - usually below freezing. The temp gauge needle huddles at the bottom looking for warmth.

If all else fails maybe worth throwing in a hundred or so to the Lexus dealers for a diagnosis.

Good luck.

Thanks for the heads up. I have disconnected my antenna also (pending replacement in the next few decades) and now I know I have to do something about it. Real Soon.

!Removed!!! :D

Hey Mr. Mechanic. My car's farting, you have some antacid ? Or how about some anti-flatulent???

It wasn't me it was the car. Honest. Must be from all that ethanol we 're force feeding it!

More like a burp though as it is coming from near the intake.

The noise stoppped. Another one of these mysteries

i got the same noise, its not radiator tho:) still not sure what it is, sounds like the car is farting:) i have this for few years now and did not cause any trouble so far.

it might the vacuum system.

Radiator is a good idea. I'll check it tonight.

The noise seemed to be coming from the front left.

Could be your radiator. Make sure the levels are where they should be.

Hello

I have a 1996 LS400 with 188000 km.

Today I parked the car at work and turned it and heard a humming sound. Lasted about 3 seconds but frequenct. leaves a 2 second interval and then hooom.

I though it sounds like a servo. Maybe the ventilator stuf trying to open or close. So I waited a few minutes. Still going. I did not want to leave it like that as it might drain the battery.

So I disconnect the negative terminal. Noise still there. Disconnect the positive terminal. Still have noise.

The battery is fully disconnected and that noise is still there. Or was when I left it. Half the way up I thought to try changing the parking spot. (This was a prime spot and I thought I was lucky to get it) but would have been late for work.

Any help will be appreciiated. Thanks

Regarding the title of your thread, if there was a regular misfire, the Check Engine Light would probably go on as I have seen codes in the ODD II which come up if any one of the spark plugs doesn't work. Hold on., you have a 93. Maybe the OBD 1 also has similar codes???

Most painless way I know would be an FM transmitter. I hooked one upto a laptop on a Toronto-New York trip and it worked wonderfully until the laptop's battery ran out. (The inverter died).

I recall someone talking about a gadget which hooks into the antenna wire also.

Good Luck.

$50 / tire so that would be a $200 saving. Whenever I'm doing some spending I always think about how long I took to earn the money and what garbage I had to go through while doing so. Then I spend it anyway.

I recently upgraded though I thought I had another season left in the old Dunlop P6000s (?) The traction light and accompanying thumping was getting fairly regular as it has been snowing more often here in Mississauga, Canada. I was getting so used to that my heartbeat would not go up anymore as I the car grinded and thudded to liesurely halts.

Then about 10 days ago, I encounered black ice and slid about 5 car lengths in the left turn lane. The centre island on my left and the lane of cars going strasight. It stopped a few feet behind the fron car and then it started to slide towards the car on my right. There was a woman in there looking at me as if I was doing this deliberately. You know, even an LS400 doesn't drive sideways. If I had run into her who knows how much money I would have spent on repairing dents, insurance and lost time at work.

I did not shop around just went to the nearest tire dealer. He offered Turanzas for $180 each (This is Canada) but next day service. Next tire dealer offered Michelin Primacy MXV4s for the same price installed within the hour.

I now have the Michelins and they make a huge difference. There have been 2 snowfalls since and the traction light has not come on even once. Steering is tighter, less wobble and more confidence. I feel that was $900 (we pay incredible amounts of sales tax) well spent even though that is a major dent at a time I can afford it least.

Bottom line: I applaud your doing research but if it becomes a question of safety then hurry it up!

Good luck.

Had my encounter with black ice this morning.

Traction system was going nuts and the car still took about 3 car lengths to stop.

And then when I thought it was safely stopped, the front started swinging to the right and finally stopped about 4 inches away from the next car. The woman driving in it was not amused or reassured when I waved to her indicating that I was sorry.

I had the original Dunlops on the car and thinking that I should invest the money into tires rather than fixing dents I now have Michelin Primacy MXV4s. Traction control is not coming on as often and seem t have better control.

Having more money than brains I got another pair of 921 bulbs and stuck one of them into the 3rd light. It worked and nothing else blew. Drove about 150 km today and everything is still ok. Hopefully this is the end of the story.

>>>>>>>>>= Are the bulbs the same wattage ie 3w 5w or 8 watts ?

That's a good question. The original 7443 shows the wattage at 5W but the replacement 7443s and 921s don't. Maybe worthwhile to buy from Lexus. They would probably be charging the same money.

Another oddity: The manual says there are no 7443s in the back lights - all 921s.