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Welcome to the club, Cesar! Take a look at this tutorial on removing the drive shaft. It has some good pics -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/driveshaft/removal.html So, what seems to be the main issue? Leaking tranny fluid?

Success! The engine is all back together and running. The new starter cranks like a champ! Very strong, not sluggish like the old one was. I would like to knock the difficulty level of this job down one notch. Don't get me wrong, it is fairly involved but very much within a determined DIY'ers ability. One frustrating aspect of the job is disconnecting all of the plastic electrical connectors near the fuel rail. With years of heat, the plastic gets brittle and it is easy to break the clips off if not careful. Sometimes they break even when you are careful. But it is not the end of the world. Just push them back on as best you can and it will be fine. Lexus went a little overboard (IMO) on some of the wiring dressing trying to make it look nice and routed. We also decided to replace the O-rings and "pintle" seals on the fuel injectors while it was apart. The old seals looked pretty worn out. As I mentioned previously, we did not need to remove some of the items that others have. We did not even drain the coolant because we did not remove any coolant lines except for the hose connecting to the top of the thermostat housing (and that did not leak due to being at the top of the engine). So, I would encourage anyone with decent mechanical skills to give this a go. Just take your time, be methodical, bag and tag all bolts, take lots of pics along the way and you will do fine. I would put the total hours for an average shadetree mechanic at around 12 hours. Not all in one sitting either. You have to take breaks to clear your head and keep focused.

Have you checked any of the fuses to see if one is burned out?

I would have to agree that for $105 in labor, there cannot be a lot of work in changing the fuel pump. However, you do live in Michigan and it is January. Do you have a heated garage? If not, it might be worth hiring the mechanic especially since he helped to diagnose the issue. If you decide to DIY, the first answer here sounds reasonable: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080411141406AANNH35

That would be the first thing I would recheck is the cam timing. The engraved marks on the cam pulleys and crankshaft 0 degree(TDC) are the main concern. They MUST be exactly correct. Here is a you tube video of the marks you should have aligned when it is all done. The video is not the best quality but should give you the basic idea. If your marks are off, you will need to start over on the belt. Notice that many will take a white marker and highlight the timing marks...that's why they show up as white in the video. You may have to do some searching to find your timing marks but they are there. Once you find them, run some white chalk or "white-out" (whatever you have handy) along them to make them more visible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMFx6ByauFM

The new (rebuilt) Denso starter came in so we got that installed. I wanted to show a pic of the T-bar tool being used to tighten the 14mm bolts. You can see how we slipped the bar between the engine and firewall. You have to wiggle a little to get it started onto the ends of the bolts but its not hard. The socket clears the EGR pipe without removing anything(no wiring removal, no water bridge removal). Pretty slick. You may need to push the socket off the bolt with a screwdriver when you want to remove the tool. Now, with the new starter installed, there was no way I was going to begin re-installing the manifold before we at least did some test on the starter. So, with the starter main terminal lug wired in but with the starter solenoid terminal connector off, we reconnected the battery in the car. I took a long test wire with alligator clips on both ends and clipped onto the exposed solenoid terminal. Then touched the other end of the wire to the (+) positive of the battery just briefly. The starter took off and cranked the engine over. That's a good thing. You do NOT want to try cranking the starter via the key because you will energize the fuel pump and have gas all over the place. We are now ready to put this baby back together.

I am a little concerned about your wording above and the method of checking the cam timing. Once the belt is on and you turn the engine over, you can NO longer go by the belt marks. Those are strictly for initial alignment. You should only be using the hard marks engraved on the cam pulleys with alignment on the block and the TDC on the crank. So, I would recheck the timing very carefully.

Good to know and glad you got the vibration issue resolved. Thanks for posting the solution, Don.

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, Paul. Still no replacement starter. UPS is running way behind so maybe it will come in tomorrow. Ok, now for a significant tool-tip, literally. One of the biggest, most difficult issues in removing the starter is how to get at those 14mm bolts sticking out the rear of the engine block? Well, my son found a perfect tool at, where else(?), Harbor Freight. It is a 3/8" drive Flexible Ratcheting T-bar made by Pittsburgh Pro. Harbor Freight item# 98484 -> http://www.harborfreight.com/t-bar-with-3-8-eighth-inch-flexible-ratchet-98484.html This tool slides right down the back side of the block and, with a 14mm socket attached, can be maneuvered on to each bolt. My son used duct tape on the swivel joints just to hold things in place at the correct angle and that worked nicely. So, be assured that you can get those starter bolts out and back in with this tool. It still takes some patience, but is very do-able. You do not need to remove any coolant bridge, egr pipe... 'nuthin'. ;)

I was afraid you were going to ask that. There is a so-called "blend door" or chamber behind the glove box that mixes the hot and cold air into your main duct work. You might want to explore that area a bit more. It is usually fairly easy to remove the glove box and start looking around if you have ruled out all of the other issues. Here is a thread that may help. You will have to go off on some of the 'rabbit trails' in the thread but hopefully it will give you some more ideas of things to check -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/68099-heater-control-valve-or-a-cable/

Todd, what wires do you intend to check? The 2000 LS400 does not have high voltage plug wires. It uses "Coil Over Plug" technology (basically a spark coil for each plug). By telling you to hold down the gas pedal, it sounds like the dealership suspected that you had flooded the engine. I would try spraying some starter fluid into the intake and see if the engine might come (briefly) to life.

What is most disturbing now is that your engine will not fire even when you jump it. So you are 'dead' in the water for the moment. I am 'afeared' that some electronic component was taken out during your jumping exercises but I sure hope not. You did not happen to perhaps reverse the polarity of the jumpers one time and see a few sparks? Even though your battery is only 9 months old, it could still be bad. Cold weather and running them down is a sure recipe for sulfation and that's really tough on them.

You know I was just thinking that perhaps your issue could be related to a blend door. Could be that the heater core is being bypassed via the ducting and that is why you have very little heat.

It sure sounds like your trunk wiring is bad. Your issues with the dash lights began right after you disturbed the wiring, correct? So, I would get back in there and recheck, particularly the white wire though others could be broken/stretched. There is a tutorial on checking/fixing the wiring. Just because it looks fine does not mean a lot. There could be a broken wire within the insulation sleeve that is not seen. Here is the tutorial -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html Welcome, Tracy!

Oh Billy, think again. If you can find a good used 430, buy it and you will fall in love all over again. ^_^

Well, our 92 LS400 starter finally began to croak so it is time to replace. My son and I started teardown the other day. It is indeed the "bear" you have heard tell of. We got the plenum off and intake manifold just to reveal the starter motor. It is like staring at the edge of a cliff that you have just spent all day getting to. Getting to the starter was the easy part, now how am I going to get it unbolted? It reminded me of an epic journey, you know, the Indiana Jones type. Every turn reveals another impossible obstacle to overcome. Now, the original symptoms of a failing starter were several. We occasionally got the single 'click' but more concerning was the very sluggish starting in the morning. Subsequent starts were brisk. We even put in a brand new battery and got the same operation. This told me that the motor was either binding up, the contacts were hi-z (high resistance) or a winding or brush was shorted. In either case, with 160k miles and 22 yrs old, the starter was kaputsky. Getting the starter motor out *only* took about 8 hours. ^_^ That includes taking photos and several breaks to come in from a cold garage. This had to happen in the coldest January in memory in Northern Indiana. Of course, would not have it any other way. We got the starter bolts out without taking out the "coolant bridge" or EGR pipe. Yes, there is enough room with the proper tools. I will post pics of the setup. The new starter has not yet arrived. This is most definitely NOT a job for the faint of heart.

Paul, if it is within your power, you might consider deleting the "No Response" duplicate post here(no replies) -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/79152-no-response/

Ditto on both counts. On checking the heater flow control valve, it is controlled by a cable coming out of the firewall on the passenger side. Check the location of that lever going into the valve when calling for heat. It should be either fully down or up (I forget which) but you can 'play' with it manually by disconnecting the cable and moving it. Sometimes (usually if low on coolant), you will get cool air when idling and then hot air with the engine revved. This could also indicate an air pocket in the heater core. If none of these issues applies, you could have a plain old clogged heater core. Let's hope not. Usually it is something simple and that is what you should look for.

Martin, you started a new thread??!! What was wrong with this one? -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/79153-no-response/ BTW, there is an 'h' in throttle. Seems to be a recurring theme.

Accelerator pedal position sensor or throttle position sensor? Sounds like maybe bad or a dead spot on it.

Please be aware of this thread, SRK -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/79009-94-ls400-oil-change-flush/ Paul called it.

Are you referring to mechanical cable running to the heater control valve or an electrical 'cable' running to the Trac unit? Is that a photo of your car or of another?

Depending upon how many miles are on your car, you might get by with just replacing the solenoid contacts. However, if someone goes to the trouble (lots of labor) to get to the starter, it would be prudent to have the entire unit checked out and perhaps rebuilt. You might find that the contacts take care of the immediate issue only to find later that the bearings were also tired. Another teardown. Most of the cost is going to be in the labor.

Actually, what you have described is a fairly common symptom. The starter solenoid contacts have worn from years of use and now need replacement. In most cars, this is not big deal (an hour or so of labor). However, in the Lexus V8, the starter is mounted underneath the engines intake manifold which means you have to take a bunch of stuff off the engine just to replace the starter. If you are a fairly handy DIY mechanic, you could probably tackle it (might take a day or two). But if you would rather not mess with it, a professional mechanic is the way to go. You will have to get estimates. For now the engine still starts but it has fired a "warning shot across the bow" telling you to get the starter fixed soon. It could suddenly leave you stranded.

Martin, did you trying pulling code(s) as suggested?