landar

Just curious as to where you guys store your proof of insurance card and vehicle registration? Mine are in the glovebox but sounds like maybe that is not a good idea.

Very clever, Jim. Imagine the look on their face(s) when they realize that have been duped! Priceless. :whistles:

First off, it is highly unlikely that all four O2 sensors were bad...so yeah, definitely a question there. Only time will tell if the cap fixed the problem. The smog people will not know if the code has already been cleared. Depending upon the code, you could have a leak in your exhaust system(pinholes, gasket). Do you know what codes were pulled? Welcome to the club!

Well I could almost guarantee you that it is not 242 F so it is most like a faulty temp sensor 'fooling' the computer, resulting in a too lean fuel mixture for a cold engine. What kind of scanner did you use? Welcome to the club, Tom!

I take the money I would have invested in a DVD update and buy a Garmin. Lifetime maps, portability between vehicles and, absolutely the most important point for me, is the ability to select new destinations while driving.

I could get 'flamed' for this but I would just have the coolant drained and refilled and drive her for a couple of more years. As Jim mentioned, a seized water pump is the most probable reason the belt would snap and fresh coolant tends to keep the pump properly lubricated and "happy". So get that coolant done right away if it has not already been changed. If the car has been stored indoors in a relatively cool and dry place for most of its life, the belt should be fine for now. I have an '02 LS430 with 45k miles and on the original belt. I will change it in a couple of years and, yes, I still sleep fine at night. BTW, this time vs. mileage issue has been debated ad nauseum in other posts. If you do a simple timing belt search you can read the debates. Congrats on your purchase. Would like to see some pics and..... WELCOME to the world of "Lexitis"!

Wow 2ton! Lots of good data there. Are you, by any chance, an (gasp) engineer??? :o :D

The trunk struts go bad just as the hood struts do. Yes, if your old struts are weak, it will make a big difference in lifting effort with new struts.

Wow, thats 'freakish'. So the pump was ok but the rubber fuel line was pinched, restricting flow. Still do not see how the RPM was limited to the same amount with and without load. Oh well, glad you got it sorted out and thanks for the 'closure'. ;)

Tony, bank 2 is as you suspect...the passenger side or RH side containing the "even" cylinders 2, 4, 6, 8 (8 being toward the back). Welcome to the Club!

Phil, a lot of information is just not adding up. You say your 97 LS400 is OBDI???? I thought 95 and up was OBDII? You also say in earlier UK posts that you can put the tranny in Neutral, floor it and the engine will limit to 4000 RPM. While a weak fuel pump might limit the engine performance under load, It seems to me that the engine would not limit to 4000 RPM in 'N' simply because of a pump. However, it might be some rev limiter kicking in. And maybe that same limiter is inadvertently kicking in while in 'D'?

Fair enough, Phil. You certainly have gone over that engine with many different approaches and in all truth, nothing should be wrong. Yet it is. It may be time to go over some of the obvious again as they may have been deemed 'good' but on second check, found to be faulty afterall. Now, you could get a scan tool and check the system. Not a simple OBDII reader. The scan tool gives you many more parameters. Your issue is really fairly basic and yet the problem area has not yet been pinpointed. To wit...you command the engine to a certain range via the throttle, the engine responds and produces the desired output. If it were mine, I would want to verify that the engine is indeed being commanded and if not, why. If so, why is the engine not responding? Fuel delivery lean/rich, timing retarded, etc. A scanner may help you glean that information and greatly narrow the search. As far as the knock sensors, have you tried a high-octane fuel or octane booster, to see if that might help (if only for a test). Again, knowing the timing at higher RPMs would verify this but requires instrumentation.

Interesting dilemma. You sure have covered a lot of bases in trying to pinpoint this issue. My 'Yank' mind cannot get past the clues you have given on the accelerator pedal. You say that feathering the pedal can get you past 4k RPM, yet tromping on the pedal limits the engine to 4k. I would like to explore that area further. I am wondering if there is an issue with the Thottle Position Sensor or Accelerator Position Sensor. I know, you have checked those items off of your list. Still, I wonder if there is not some 'dead' spot on a position sensor resulting in the ECM throttling back the engine. Would you be game to try a rather crazy test? Limit the travel of the accelerator pedal such that it cannot actually touch the floor even when you mash it all the way down. Perhaps a small board(cardboard or wood) placed betwixt the pedal and floor to limit the full travel? This it just a short term test. I would like to know if there is some sort of dead zone in the latter part of the throttle response. With a small limit on the pedal travel, could you consistently get to, say, 5k RPM? Does this make any sense or have I misinterpreted your previous statements?? ^_^

On my 92, it was up on the intake plenum, center-slightly right. I think I have a pic if you are interested. In fact, I think I posted it in an earlier thread.

Bummer. But as least you and the other driver are ok. Time to upgrade to an LS400/430!

It sounds like a fairly significant amount of leakage and you should see some on the floor if it were an external leak. Therefore, I would suspect a head gasket as well. If I were you, I would pull the spark plugs and carefully examine them one-by-one. If you have a gasket leak, you should be able to easily identify the leaking cylinder via the condition of the spark plug(s). If they all look similar, it might not be a head gasket after all. I have attached a picture of the spark plugs in my 6 cylinder ES300 that had a blown head gasket. You can see that the plug on the far left is stained with coolant, still wet with coolant(even the threads) and electrodes a little 'cleaner' than the others. Burning steam in a cylinder will really clean the piston and plug. A dead giveaway.

Well, you are in the wrong forum, VJIS300, but *usually* you can find bushings via 3rd party sellers then press out the old and press in the new.

Did you pull the code first? The on-board diagnostics is trying to talk. OBDII is your friend. :whistles:

So you take it to the Lexus dealer and an independent and they are both stumped? Then you turn to this forum and get lots of good suggestions. Speaks volumes about 'professional' help. Really sad these days! :cries: :D

Yes, my son is currently driving it. It's his 'baby' now. Absolutely loves it. He won't let me drive it anymore!Billy, I was actually in your area last week. Went to San Antonio, TX to attend my other son's graduation from Air Force basic training. Awesome state.

...and you are pressing the 'learn' button on the overhead opener in the garage???

SRK, you sure did call it. You ever tried your hand at Lotto numbers? ;)

Just got a call from the body shop and picked up my Lex. All shiny and new again. The final cost rose by about $3k from the original estimate...$7500 to $10,500. They found some hidden damage, among other things, a headlight controller that cost $950! In other cases, the price of parts had gone up. The shop used all OEM sheet metal and parts. I could not believe how nice it was to be back in the saddle after 2 1/2 months of driving a 98 Chrysler van. What a difference. Almost like I had stepped into a luxury vehicle...oh wait, I did!! :whistles: ^_^

Don't worry about the dealer, he/she will more than make up the cost. Wait and see and behold the 'magic'. ^_^

Your car has a lot of miles for any brand (336k miles) and perhaps something is not properly sealing in the cooling system. It sounds like you have covered all of the obvious bases. If air is getting into the system, coolant would have to be displaced. Are you losing any coolant at all? Have you checked for combustion gases in the coolant?