steve2006

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Not a bad initial diagnosis regarding the idler pulley from 4000 miles away then! lol. Ref Q3 The missing screw sounds like the under engine cover is not fastened to the fender,they tend to get damaged over a period of time,some people remove them or you could get some replacement screws and washers and refasten it. Ref Q1 is this an oil leak? If so check the sump plug and its sealing washer first.

Can you record the noise or take a video then post it via a hosting site?

The only common thing for all your symptoms is the serpentine belt,this drives the PS pump,alternator and AC compressor. The noise you hear may be the idler pulley or belt tensioner or you may have a seized AC compressor or PS pump. Remove the belt and check each component driven by it for tightness or noisy bearings by spinning the pulley by hand,the diagram for refitting the belt should be on the label under the hood. Link below for tutorial http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/maintenance/drivebelt.html

Like I said start the car,open all the vents,make sure the air is set to recirculate,set the AC to max cold,set the thing off in the back of the car,leave it 10 minutes for the can to empty and circulate around the system then leave the doors open to vent the excess. http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_224996_langId_-1_categoryId_165632

Have you considered getting one of those AC cleaner aerosols,the one where you put the AC on max cold,set the thing off behind the front passenger seat(I use the rear part of the transmission tunnel) then leave until its done it's job. I bought a few from Aldi a while ago but they are readily available elsewhere.

The idle speed in park with the engine fully warmed should be around 650,I would follow the procedure given and set up the TPS correctly and then if the fault persists go from there. You can check the TPS output voltage with a meter set to DC volts,the old needle ones are better for this as you can actually see the needle flicker at a dead spot as you move the TPS,the digital ones react slower making it harder to see a glitch. You mention that the TPS is a replacement,why did you replace it? and was the car doing this before replacement?

Does it do the same when in park/neutral and you rev to 3000RPM? It could be a "flat spot" on the TPS.

Lay in the footwell and look up behind the glovebox,you should see a black plastic box with 2 wing-nuts,unscrew them and the bottom panel will come off exposing the filter(s). I actually washed mine in soapy water,rinsed,allowed to dry,sprayed with air freshener and refitted.They are probably $20.00 to you guys but cost over $60.00 in the UK

lol..the smell is not coming from outside. Ah but the A/C filter could be clogged causing the poor air flow and the smell

I normally put my photos on a hosting site like photobucket.com then paste the direct link onto the forum

If you are talking wheel alignment I would say yes if the repair involves removing/refitting any steering components like track rod ends or bottom ball joints,when I replaced my BBJs I noticed that afterwards the steering wheel was not centered with the wheels pointing straight,it was after the tracking was adjusted. For the sake of £20.00 here in the UK it's cheaper than having to replace tires with uneven wear caused by the tracking being out

At the very least it should have had a cam belt change not on the mileage but on age,if that's not been done you have to look further into its history. If its done only 10 miles a week to and from the local grocery store that's a lot of cold starting where most engine wear occurs not to mention wear on the starter motor (see below),plus it would be stop/start town driving over what kind of roads? 500 miles a week freeway driving is better for the engine and the suspension. I bought my 1994 in 2005 as a JDM import with 38,000 certified miles (converted from 62,000KMs) and have either been very lucky or bought a good one as the only problems apart from routine maintainance have been the starter motor (possibly a lot of short stop start use in Japan) and two lower ball joints ( UK roads with potholes!). I paid £3750 around $6000 for the car which at the time was about the same age as the car you are now considering.

The air line connection is at the rear of the unit,you should be able to feel it if you reach around the back,releasing the top and bottom mounts first may give you a little movement to allow access to the union. This may explain better. http://www.lextreme.com/bushing.html

Hello and welcome to the LOC. This may help, you can also click on the pictures to enlarge them http://www.lextreme.com/ascon.html

Sorry I don't quite understand this,are you saying you removed the key whilst you were driving,the steering lock came on resulting in the car rolling 3 times or you can remove the key when stationary but still in drive? I make sure the car in always in park before turning the engine off so don't have to rely on the interlock from the transmission to the key lock.

It could well be an ABS problem check the wheel sensors and the wiring to them it could be damaged and shorting out when the steering is on full lock,you could also do a code read for possible stored codes.

Hello and welcome to the LOC. It is rare for the ECU to fail, what is the car doing/not doing? Is the engine turning over,is it running? Is the engine management light on? Have you read the engine codes? Please provide some more details so we can help you.

It's not the memory seat moving is it?

These are what you need and as already stated by hughes369 also check the lower ball joints. http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=lexus+ls400+upper+control+arms&_sacat=See-All-Categories

It sounds like the front upper control arms,do you have any knocking noises at the front when going over bumpy roads?

I would given you had to jump start the car replace the battery,these cars do strange things when the battery is on its way out.

Hi,you need to have the codes read to begin with then post up the results and we will try and help

Not forgetting we also pay nearly $9.00 a gallon for gas AND have ours cars destroyed by road salt!!!

Hello and welcome to the LOC. What you are describing sounds like the height sensor link. Lexus Part "Link Sub assy Height Control Sensor rear" Part # 48906-50030 RH Part # 48906-50040 LH. These connect to the ride height sensors and maintain the car on the level. Below is a link explaining the operation and a possible replacement remedy without involving Lexus parts at over $100.00 each http://evansweb.info/2009/11/23/ls400-ride-height-sensor-repair