steveuk

Sounds like your only firing on 4 cylinders, if so this will do your cats no good.

Common failure is the drivers side ignition coil opposite the battery tray.

Would be a good idea to have the engine codes read first as this will point you in the right direction.

Check the alternator fuse in the engine bay fuse box, think it's 80A but a terminal connection type not plug in.

I've seen ones that look flawless but have had various panels repainted, meaning some sort of damage.

Sun roof = moon roof on Ls400.

There is no PS cooler.

There is a transmission cooler and its in lower tank of the radiator, and make sure the transmission in the car didn't make metal. If it did you need to clean out the lines and the cooler for the new trans.

You say the engine has so many miles, how about the rest of the car? It would make me nervous that someone did an engine swap, and what did they mess up or forget in that process. If the body paint and interior is in super good condition I guess its worth it.

Does the AC work?

And like Landar says you really need to remove the pan on that existing transmission and check things.

A used power steering pump may leak too, you should reseal it before installing it. There are o ring and shaft seal kits pretty cheap, I haven't done it yet but shouldn't be too difficult.

The LS400 does have a PS cooler, it is the U shaped pipe in front of the radiator sitting across the lower crossmember.

These do corrode and leak, fairly easy to make a replacement from 10mm copper pipe.

Now that's a very clever idea :)

This is for the earlier model but may help as very similar

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ignition/sparkplugs.html

my friend has a 1990 ls 400 v8. anyways i was wondering how hard it is to do a timing belt on these... and also if there is a write up for it. i tried to look but couldnt find any on 90 ls.. also i believe there is special tool that is needed, so i needa know if you can get it any where

Hi,

From the previous reply here's the link

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html

Not an easy project though

Cheers,

Steve

I can't get an inspection (NC) because one of the two left-rear brake lights is out. I think I have to remove the entire light assembly. Am I right? If so, what panels inside the trunk do I remove? What screws? If I have to remove the entire assembly does the rubber seal come loose easily or does it stick to the frame? I'm sorry for seeming so ignorant. I've had this since November. I replaced the antenna and screwed up the fender area around it. I'm trying to be more cautious with this project. Thanks, Gene

Hi this link explains how to remove the rear light cluster although it is an article on tinting but the bit about removing the clusters should be what you are looking for.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/ti...taillights.html

cheers,

Steve

Hi Craig - I am doing well thanks and hope you are too!

Of course I pay the same being about six miles away, but I use 92 octane in my car and I have told the wife to use 89 and 92 alternately in the LS. That makes it about 90.5 on average as I have also told her to keep the tank above the quarter full mark at all times. I don't run the level down out of respect for the fuel pump.

My brother in law is in England and they pay nearly double what we do, and their standard of living is somewhat less. So I suppose in the big picture we are still OK.

Buy oil company stocks and energy trusts. Takes the edge off.

SRK

Hi All,

Here in the Uk we are now paying 1.00 GBP per litre for super unleaded ( 97 octane) and to fill the tank costs around 90.00 GBP ( 185.00 CAD or 167.00 US$).

Also they never have a buy one litre get one free like they do at Walmart on groceries!!! I wish!

That makes sence if the hazards work and they run off the same relay, that it might be the column stick.

I'll start the tear down.

Hi,

According to the data I have the flasher unit is located in "the passenger compartment fuse/relay block"

Cheers,

Steve

Is your alternator in good condition? any leaks from the power steering? A low battery voltage can cause things to malfunction. Please check the voltage across the battery terminals with the engine running, anything less than 14.6 volts is bad.

You could also investigate the rear wiring loom in the trunk lid. You can search the forum using the terms "broken wire" and read about it. The posts mainly refer to the reverse light, not the brake lights, but it is a known fault with the early cars (they made the looms just that bit too short) and could be a root cause for your problem.

Good luck.

Hi,

It might be worth checking the brake light switch located on a bracket above the brake pedal ( you should also be able to overide the brake pedal and shift the transmission by pressing the red overide button at the front of the shift panel)

Cheers,

Steve