landar

I used two 8" long, 3/8" extensions with a swivel connector for maximum wiggle room to get the drain !Removed! bolts. Its either 8mm or 10mm (can't recall) ...Lexus is awfully fond of 10mm.

Keep this in mind...a 'new' battery could also be defective. If you have another key fob, give that a try. If you do not have another, it might be time to see about obtaining one. Always good to have a back up.

You are off to a good start, Richard. Just plod away methodically and you will be rewarded. I took three days to complete mine with picture taking, bagging and just generally being anal about everything. You have wisely taken the time pressure off of yourself so no need to rush it along. The only thing I wish you had was the car in a garage to shield you from the weather. Then again, you live in Texas and it is nice outside this time of year.

It has been a while now, but I think it is the sensor with the green electrical connect shown in this pic. Not the green ones with vacuum hoses but the one with the wired connector. Again, this in on the drivers side behind the plenum. There is another sensor down by the thermostat on the passenger side near the water pump.

There is, perhaps, a more salient question to ask. When did you last have the coolant changed? You see the water pump seizing up is a much more likely scenario to snap the belt than is the belt to just fail on its own. The coolant is important to have change every five years or so because it keeps the pump lubricated and seals supple. The coolant does break down over time and will not lubricate as well as when new. Being in hot Florida, your belt has seen some pretty high temps over the years. I do not think you are in any immediate danger (depending upon coolant change frequency) but you should probably be saving your pennies for a timing belt and water pump replacement within the next several years.

Richard, jacking up the car at will and lowering at will are pretty simple things to do. And it will make the job much easier trying to access the block drain plugs with the car jacked up. I would not even begin to consider trying to slide under the car without jacking it up (or using ramps). If you prefer ramps, then use them and stand on a box as curiousB mentioned.

Since the new fluid is still sealed and has not been exposed to air or contaminants, I would not hesitate to use it. Opened container would be another matter. The procedure is not a real pain, IMO, but does take some time and care. Whatever you do, and you probably already know this, you do NOT want to let any air get into the master cylinder while bleeding each line. That would mean air into the ABS modulator and then you have to bleed that...not real easy. You can go vacuum pump or just do the old fashioned way of pumping the brake pedal and opening/closing the bleed valve. That is the method I use but it does require a helper (and my 'helpers' usually do not have the patience that I do). I always start with the wheel(s) furtherest away from the MC and work my way forward. Here is a post on that other forum -> http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls430/619055-brake-fluid-change.html

Yeah, try some classical music. Soothe the savage Ultra beast within.

It is really pretty simple to test the coils. Pull the main hi-voltage line on each coil, one at a time, with the engine running (use isolated pliers or clamp so you do not get zapped...or pull the ignitor connector that drives the coil) If, after pulling one of the wires or ignitor, there is no change in engine operation, then you have found a bad coil (or rotor, ignitor, cap). If the engine operation changes, the coil, and associated ignition components, is good. Since you are smelling raw gas, I would guess that you have an ignition issue.

It started suddenly? All of the locks or just one? If all, then I have to wonder about the health of your battery/cable connections. Wonder if it is getting weak and making the actuators sluggish. If your car starts fine (starter whirls strong) then the battery is not the issue. Could also be a hi-z fuse connection for the locks. Just some things to check.

Thanks for the update. BTW, I can guarantee you it was not the 12VDC that gave him a 'charge'...it was more like the 25kv high voltage from the coil. Another neat "trick" is to mist the wires with a spray bottle of water. If everything(coils, wires) is healthy, nothing should happen other than the wires get wet. But if insulation is bad, you will notice a stumbling engine and arcing. Best to do in low light conditions to see the arcing.

Ok...just filled up and checked my mileage. I calculated 22.4 MPG. The on-board computer shows the average and tank average both at 22.9 MPG. Seeing that I could have overfilled it by a couple pints'o'petrol, the computer is pretty close.

Thats good news. I would replace distributor caps and rotors on both sides as the other side is probably worn/brittle as well. Glad you are back in business

well today i teseted it by removing all wires on the distrubitor one by one to see if i get a spark i did not get a spark from any of the wires execpt for the one going to the coil arent i suppose to get a spark from all plugs and wires ? ? ? That would suggest a bad distributor cap or rotor. Is this the distributor on the drivers side?

It is easy to get disoriented when replacing parts. Tell you what....just mark the drivers coil as 'L' and the passenger coil as 'R'. Then swap them. Start the car back up (if it will start) and do the wire pull test again. If the results are the same(dies when passenger wire is pulled) then you do NOT have bad coils...something else is bad. If however, the symptoms switch such that the engine dies when you pull the drivers side wire, then the coil mark 'L' is bad (which would now be on the passenger side). You are closing in on it now. Just be methodical in all of this swapping, mark the parts and you will get to the root cause.

This morning i tried wat u suggested i pulled off the main wires of the coils the driver side nothing change but the passenger side the engine shut down , but the coil on the passenger side is the new one that i replaced The driver side coil is bad, the passenger is good. Pull the driver coil out, mark it as bad and try one of your old coils in there. Then repeat the test of pulling the main wire and see if the swapped-in coil works. You could even pull the passenger coil and put it in the driver side to see if the that makes the condition switch sides. If so, then the driver coil truly is bad. If not, then something else in the ignition chain is bad (like an ignitor, distrib, wire, etc).

So the plot thickens. Your orig. post said that you had replaced coils and I thought you meant both were replaced with new. You probably took a bad coil from the left side(drivers) and moved it to the right side(passenger). What did you do with the old passenger side coil? It might still be good. Then again, you might want to just get another new one just as a precaution since aging coils are so likely to go out. On another note, I found an interesting video showing how to check for basic ignition. I do not think you need to go to this test yet, but it is worth watching

Pull the main wire off of the coils one at a time. If disconnecting makes a difference in running, then that coil is good. If it does not make a difference(still shakes the same) then the coil is bad...or at least something in the ignition chain on that side is bad. In order for a cat to glow that red is because of unspent fuel in the system and the no. one culprit is usually a coil. Could be an ignitor or bad rotor/cap too but less likely.

Ok. So it does not run rough at all? Just a loss of power and red cats?

Did you install new distributor caps and rotors while in there?

This be an old thread and the OP's are likely long gone. Glowing red cats are usually caused by one or both coils going bad. I suppose a bad main wire feed(coil to distributor) or badly damaged rotor could do the same thing but most likely it is the coil(s). The extra hot cats are a result of unspent fuel in the combustion chamber due to lack of proper ignition.

David, since your car is a 92 with 180k on it, there could be several issues. When 'attacking' problems, I have always found it helpful to take a 'divide and conquer' approach. First, it would be nice to know the maintenance history on the car. Being a 92 with coils, distributors and wires, there could be some issues with the aging of those components. But, I would start with a basic triage. That basic troubleshooting starts with a separation of the problem into either fuel delivery or spark delivery. Seems fundamental but a lot of folks take a stab at replacing components. So, what I would do, is to remove the air cleaner so that I had access to the throttle body. I would examine the TB for deposit build-up and determine if the TB butterfly seemed to move smoothly. It is very common to get carbon build-up which keeps the butterfly from operating smoothly. Then I would take a can of starter fluid and with the engine running, spritz a little into the TB to see if it changed the operation of the engine at all. It may not make the engine run correctly but if it even helps a little bit, it strongly suggest a fuel issue. (a helper with this would be useful to work the throttle while you spray). Now, if the TB looks ok and the starter fluid did not seem to help, you could turn your attention to the spark. It is fairly common for one of the ignition coils to get weak or go out completely. Then you have your distributor caps/rotors and wires that could be end-of-life. Spark plugs could be pulled to check for condition. Ignition problems are suggested by your earlier post where you mention that "it runs rough and it will not go over 5 mph". Glowing, red hot catalytic converter(s) is a classic sign of a coil that has gone out. However, as a first step, I would check for any codes despite not having a CEL on. I do not know if you have seen the LexusLs tutorial site but it is excellent info for your vintage. Under "Introduction" you will find a way to check for codes. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ Just some thoughts on things to try.

Good to know. When you measured the 2.87 vdc, it was probably with no load. The true indication of battery health would be if you measured it while pressing a key which would put the battery under a normal load. Then you would probably see it drop below 2 volts. Thanks for the update.

David, lets start from the beginning...what are your symptoms? Need detail. It may or may not be the same as outlined in this thread.

When I said the back might be stuck in the 'low' position, I meant the sensing, not the actual level. If the air suspension 'thinks' the car is sitting low in the back, it will raise it up...to the maximum position if the sensing mechanism is not following along, ie:stuck or otherwise malfunctioning. Here is what I would do. Take your car to a local tire shop that has a good reputation and explain the situation. They see this stuff all the time and may be able to put it on a lift and locate the problem quickly. The charge (if any) should be very reasonable. They may not be able to fix it on the spot but could point you in the right direction.