landar

This is what happened when my LS430 met up with a 200 pound doe last night. Traveling on I80 (Indiana) @ 70 MPH when a monster of a deer comes running across all four lanes. I could not avoid her. The impact instantly killed the old gal. My wife and I were shaken up a bit (though not as much as the deer). Other than the obvious damage, the Lex still drove fine and we easily made it the 30 miles that we had left to home. Besides creaming the left head light, fender, and hood, the left passenger door is really dented badly as the deer hit and bounced off the side. Wonder what this is gonna cost for repairs? I am guessing $5k.

The trans and motor mounts in a 95 are definitely suspect unless they have recently been replaced. Before replacing the harmonic balancer, recheck the transmission mount in particular. I am with curiousB on this one...really have not heard of the HB going bad, although it could. The big question is when the tranny and engine mounts were last replaced. They ARE notorious for going bad and causing vibration issues.

Why not just mount the new starter into its original position and crank it for a brief period? It should be able to turn the flywheel(flexplate) even if briefly.

Welcome, Blackheat!

Yep, a stuck plate (vane) will do it. You did a very good job of troubleshooting and fixing. And you saved yourself a bundle.

try more beers You won't even care that it will not start. Problem solved.

Take a look at this thread -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44338&st=0 It basically discusses starter replacement but there are some good pics and service manual steps on removing the intake manifolds (which you have to do to get to the starter or water pipe). BTW, if you do get the manifold removed, you might want to consider putting new solenoid contacts into your starter. They are fairly inexpensive and after you do all of this work, you probably do not want to be back in there in the not so distant future. Especially in North Dakota in the winter months!

You truly do seem to have good intentions and caring attitude and I am impressed, Randall (good name BTW.., "landar" is just randal with the first/last swapped). I would like to see the pics. You can post them in this forum and maybe start a new thread titled with head remove and repair or something to that affect. To post pics, you hit the"More Reply Options" button on the lower right of the screen, then browse for the picture file, upload and post. Its not bad once you get the hang of it. If you have problems with it, let us know.

I am glad to see that you are making progress. It is very difficult to try to help someone who is many miles away and all we have to go on is limited clues, not having first-hand and up close inspection of the problem. But let me see if I have this straight. You are the 'mature' one, yet call SRK an a-hole and tell him to play with a Barbie???? That is not mature. He may have ruffled your feathers, but he did not call you names. Just sayin.

On a 98', I believe you have COP (Coil On Plug) for each sparkplug rather than the two coils with distributor of earlier years?(not completely sure on a Celsior). I think the fuel pressure should be in the 45-50'ish PSI range.

Yes, that is normal. The ohmmeter does not 'like' being supplied external voltage(which is what you experience with the ignition 'on') for a correct reading.

Apparently those solder connections inside the MAF/VAF are very sensitive and we just pulled the external connector and yet (somehow) managed to pull the inside solder loose. Must be the age of the part. 20 years.

Ok I could not stay away and I have a 'burning' question. You have said in several posts that "the only way that you can get it to run and idle again is to pull a spark plug out, turn the engine over a few times, reinstall the plug, and then it will run again ....." That makes almost no sense to me. Can you just pull any old plug out? Or one in particular? Is the plug wet with fuel? The engine should run on seven cylinders (albeit a bit rough). If you are consistently pulling one particular plug, then that could be a clue. If any plug, then you are being fooled and it is just coincidence. And if the cats do happen to be plugged, could you not just temporarily drop the Y pipe connections and see if it improves? That is not a fix, just a help in diagnosis.

Yes, there is a method of testing the "maf" (it is actually a "vaf" in your '92...Vane Air Flow). The solder connections inside my vaf were loose and I had to resolder them. I think I have the shop manual for your car if its a 92 ES300. Are you getting any codes at all? Here is a tutorial on how it works, in general. -> http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/h34.pdf

You would need to remove the clamps and heat shield and visibly inspect the Y pipe to determine if any pinholes exist where the clamps were attached. Perhaps start the engine and listen or feel (be careful) for exhaust leakage. I just looked at the LS430 post and it was code P0430 which is not what you are getting. So, you can probably forget this one. Sorry.

Maybe I was too quick to call your shotgun approach as I really don't have first-hand knowledge of your situation. We just get lots of owners on here who needlessly replace parts. If your engine is running rich, I would think you would be seeing some 'black' exhaust and perhaps smelling some raw fuel as well. Typical problems in that area are bad or intermittent sensors, such as a temperature sensor. You do not mention if the symptoms get better/worse when the engine is cold or hot. That could reveal a lot. As concerns the codes...you mentioned that you already replaced a coil. Which one? Maybe the other is on the way out. Or perhaps a rotor/cap is not on properly even though you replaced them. The air flow could be the MAF sensor. Did you clean the throttle body? Have you checked the air flow sensor for proper operation? You can 'ohm' it out. And maybe there is an intermittent connection to the sensor. That happens quite often with older cars. You probably already know all of this so I am bowing out now. Best wishes.

Sorry to hear about all of the problems. The first thing to do is to stop throwing so many new parts at it in a 'shotgun' attempt to hit the root cause. That costs a lot of unnecessary money and could even introduce a new problem. You need to take a more disciplined approach to diagnosis. Ok, so the engine will sometimes bog down and die when you give it gas but idles fine, right? If it will do that in the driveway, I would buy a can of starter fluid and spray some into the intake snout WHEN it starts to bog down. If that revives the engine, then you know you have a fuel problem. Else its spark. But it is a simple, cheap way to begin diagnosing.

Interesting info, Steve. Here I was thinking of bad mounts...engine or transmission, driveshaft joint or differential.

Instead of a screwdriver, get a short length of some old garden hose and hold one end up to your ear while sweeping the other end around the area under suspicion. You might be able to pinpoint the source that way. Perhaps a vacuum leak of some sort?

Have you tried a Toyota dealer? They might be wiling to work on your car (as it is a high-end Camry) and are often much less expensive than Lexus.

There has been some similar problems with LS430's, although a completely different engine, that were caused by pinhole leaks in the exhaust 'Y' pipe near the O2 sensors. The problem is caused by a clamp on the heat shield causing rust to form underneath the clamp. Granted, it's a long shot but you might take a look.

Yeah, final suggestion...hint, hint... (whisper in your ear)....find a new mechanic!

Is this the same topic thread you started 10 days ago!? -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=73722

...and it is very easy to crack the old, dry hoses when gaining access to the throttle body. You might want to carefully examine for old, rotted looking rubber and perhaps even the accordian shaped intake hose has a crack or two. Its easy to miss. Replace any that do look old and cracked. Also check for loose or unconnected electrical plugs. That is also easy to miss the first time around. And finally, did the mechanic put new gaskets on where needed when pulling things apart? Bolts/nuts all snugged down correctly? (you really should not need to tell a good mechanic to do those things but since he seems 'lost', I cannot assume).

You didn't leave a vacuum line off of the intake, by chance?