landar

Here is a pic of the access hole on my '98 with the cover removed (there is an allen key in the flywheel). You can see the ring gear teeth. Just two small bolts in the cover. Its at the bottom front of your transmission (between engine and transmission...what is referred to as the 'bellhousing').

Hey Robbie, this must be very frustrating for you so let's take a deep breath and hit the 'reset' button. No, not the cars reset button, the troubleshooting button ;) This may be old stuff to you but let me go back over the basics of activating the starter system. 1) You turn the key in the ignition to the 'start' position. 2) The system (ECU along with ignition switch being turned) energizes the starter relay which is usually located in the fuse box under the hood. 3) The starter relay contacts then supply +12v power to the starter solenoid. 4) The solenoid energizes (its just a big relay) and supplies +12v power to the starter rotor windings via the large positive cable you attached to the starter. 5) The starter begins to spin, the starter pinion gear is 'thrown' into the flywheel gear and the engine begins to spin. Somewhere along the line, your car is missing a step. Your job is to methodically investigate each step to determine what might be the root cause. I would begin at step 2 above and verify that the starter relay is actually energizing (pulling in). I do not know what 'click' you are hearing but it may be from this relay. If it is pulling in, then why is it not supplying power to the starter solenoid. Go over it all being very careful and, most importantly, making NO assumptions about what is and is not working. Verify everything in this chain of events. Running out of ideas is not in my vocabulary. Let's get back out there and win one for the 'Gipper'. ^_^

Jarebear, you might want to crawl underneath your car and take a peak at your flexplate(aka: flywheel) ring gear to see if it looks ok or is worn down in some spot. There is a plate with 2 bolts on the bottom of the bellhousing. Remove that plate and have a look. You will have to rotate the crankshaft by hand (clockwise only) with a socket wrench (22mm IIRC) to monitor the entire ring.

I believe that you can replace the air shocks with a standard shock. There are some threads about this issue.

That's a good idea. Since the water pump is not driven by the serp. belt, did you mean power steering pump or ac compressor?

Yeah that's a good one! That guy would make a 'good' politician. Another thing that will make it pull is a dragging brake on that side.

You definitely have a reason to suspect the ECU. You might want to locate the ECU and pull the connectors, clean them and reattach. Sometimes the connectors get corroded over time. Long shot but won't cost anything to try. I am still wondering about the ignition switch.

Drive your car to the nearest Autozone/Advance/Pepboys/Sears/whatever..and have them scan it for free. What brand/model of scanner did you buy?

Keep in mind that although you replaced the plugs and coils, that does not clear the ignition side. Could still be many other electrical things..sensor/ECU/ignitor/connector issue.

So, several easy things to try. Get a can of starter fluid and 'spritz' a little bit of that into the intake snout(probably be easiest to spray directly into the throttle body..be careful and use it lightly, very flammable of course) to see if you can 'nurse' it above an idle. If you can, then you have a fuel delivery problem. Alternatively, you could check for spark using a timing light. Observe sparking at idle then simply give it some throttle. If the sparking dies, then its an ignition issue. You will need to check each coil, repeating the test. Simple, yet useful tests in the next step of action.

If it were mine, I would want to hook up a strobe light to the main high-tension wire of each coil (one at a time) and look for a 'hiccup' in the strobing sequence. It might be the ECU, or it might be an ignitor (the driver circuit for the coil). In any case, I would want to do some troubleshooting before replacing parts blindly...that cost a lot of money. If the spark looks ok, you would go after fuel delivery but try to 'divide and conquer' with some logical path first. Unfortunately, the early OBDI systems such as yours, do not show misfire codes for individual cylinders like the later OBDII systems.

You are open for discussion? Good. Me too. ;) First off, I would not put to much emphasis on the bump. Could be simple coincidence. Now, will the engine rev properly and normally while in Park(I am talking about taking it smoothly up to 4k RPM's) or does it die with no load?

Even tho the CEL is not on, I would still check for codes. Can't hurt. If you are consistently hitting 'spots' in the RPM range that cause surging, it might be a sensor like cam or crank as kjhwv suggested.

Well, this is an LS forum but I would think that your GS is very similar. See Jim's post#5 above. The instructions are almost in English.

First off, welcome to the forum, Amy. Whether or not to keep the car vs. something else is strictly a personal decision. There are no hard and fast rules. Typically, it is less expensive to keep fixing an older car than to buy new. On the other hand, if you are getting 'tired' of this LS430 and want something newer, AND (perhaps) most importantly, have the money, you could buy a newer car. You are now reaching a point when some expensive items may need to be replaced. I would advise you to find a very competent independent mechanic who is honest. You can save a lot of money over the dealer. As far as the dealer telling you the car could last for 500k miles, that is true, but they failed to mention that it may cost you some to get it that far. No vehicle over 100k miles is immune to needing new parts now and then. My counsel is to keep it and find a lower cost way of maintaining it via an independent mechanic or perhaps even a good Toyota dealer. You could easily shave the cost in half.

I would start by looking for a vacuum leak (loose or cracked vacuum line...even the throttle body accordian-style hose could have cracks). Rubber/plastic gets very brittle over the years especially with the heat of the engine. What have you tried so far? Looked for any codes?

Based upon your video, I had another thought that perhaps the fuel pump is being de-energized when the key goes to the 'run' position. I have seen that kind of behavior on other cars when the ignition switch is going bad. I would monitor the fuel pump relay (or the voltage to the fuel pump) to see if the relay cuts out as soon as you let off the key to the 'run' position. I do not think the spark is going away based upon your previous use of starter fluid to keep it running.

From the video, I think the battery is very strong and everything appears to be fine...until the engine actually fires and begins to run then abruptly stops. Almost seems to me like an errant sensor is telling the computer to shut the engine down. Maybe the computer is cutting fuel via the injectors or fuel pump(and you are bypassing the fuel cutoff with starter fluid)? Based on what I see, I would now give the battery/alternator a clean bill of health and concentrate on the CEL codes. Agree with SRK...does seem fuel related.

It is really hard to diagnose with small clues here and there and without being there to makes some simple checks. However, bear in mind that this is probably something fairly simple...most issues are. You mention checking the voltage at the battery and it being 9.26v. That is fine IF that is a reading WHILE cranking. The starter draws a lot of current when cranking (>100amps) and the battery will drop down in the 6-8 volt range under normal conditions while delivering high current. However, it should spring right back to the +12v range once you stop cranking. Now, you should be checking the voltage right at the posts of the battery AND then at the connectors to the battery. There should be NO difference between the two readings otherwise you have a cable connection problem. So, with the car not running, turn on the headlights. Check the voltage directly at the battery terminals (posts) then just move over to the battery clamps. Also, the voltage with the lights on should slowly creep down to +12v and perhaps a bit under(11.75) after 10 minutes or so. If it starts taking a dive with the headlights on and goes under 11.5v, the battery is bad or is not charging. Again, check directly on the terminals and then on the cable connectors and let us know if there is any difference.

You can measure the fuel pressure at the fuel rail to see if it is proper or not. However, the computer is trying to tell you something and researching the exact code could be very helpful. With a '96, you should have the OBDII system so get the code(s) read from the local auto store and let us know the Pxxxx code(s) you get before changing any parts. It could save you some money.

My money would also be on the starter. It does sound like the pinion gear is not disengaging quickly enough and the flexplate is briefly spinning the starter motor. It could be the "Bendix-type" mechanism getting sticky or perhaps your solenoid contacts have worn enough to sometimes cause a temporary welding together of the contacts thereby keeping the starter engaged slightly longer than necessary. I do not think it is something for immediate concern but begin saving your pennies for starter replacement. The starter repair itself is not all that expensive but there is a lot of labor involved getting to the starter. If you also begin to experience a single 'click' (no start) once in a while when you turn the key, you will know for certain that your starter is EOL.

When it comes to leaks, it is really hard to say. You may have more than one oil leak but you can fix one at a time to find out. The valve cover gaskets are often the first thing to check and fix because they get hard/brittle over time and do not seal correctly. Sometimes you can just snug down the valve cover bolts and fix it..you might check that first. And, depending upon the severity of the leak, you can absolutely leak a lot from the VC's. There is a lot of sealing surface there. The first thing you might want to do is to give the engine a bath and clean up the old crud so that you can more clearly see where the leak(s) are coming from...carefully...dont get the electronics all wet (you can put plastic baggies over that stuff). Dats all 4 now.

ITS DA PASSENGER SIDE VALVE COVER GASKET DATS LEAKIN.

ok, now I am really wondering...when you said 'oil', I thought you meant transmission fluid but it appears that you are mentioning engine oil. So, you are having shift issues(correct?)...did you have the transmission fluid flushed or drained and refilled? Old, worn tranny fluid can cause harsh shifing. ONLY use Toyota Type IV.

When you say 'The oil was changed recently', do you mean a complete flush or just the two quart drain and refill? What (brand and type) fluid was used in this operation?