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Has the power steering fluid ever been changed? That would be my first move. The second would be to replace the serpentine belt (I know, how could that do it? But you may be surprised). The third would be to replace the pump itself depending upon the amount of noise and whether I could live with it. Turn up the stereo?

You probably don't want to go the crowbar route, do you? Actually, I think your locksmith idea is the best. They would have it open in no time. Its that or park it in a bad section of town overnight. :P About owning multiple Lexi...you're definitley hooked. Just like me.

I agree with Jim. First thing to check or replace would be the tires. They are often the biggest contributor to vibration. You can do a little test by swapping wheels, front->back, back->front(keeping rotation direction the same), and see if the vibration changes in any way. If so, that would be a indicator that something is not right with the current tires/wheel combination, possibly balance. Most tire shops will say older than 5 years and tires are nearing the end of the trail especially if you have a less expensive brand/model of tire (read: cheap).

Well, it really sounds like you have some general maintenance to do. First off, the leaking PS should be addressed ASAP. The fluid can and will leak onto the alternator and cause that to fail. If you catch it in time, you may be spared the expense of a new/rebuilt alternator. Second, if you have "leaks everywhere", you had better start identifying and fixing. Certain leaks may be tolerable but others may be foreboding of higher repairs to come. You mention white/blue smoke from the tailpipe. That could be PS fluid being sucked into your intake manifold. Very common problem. Did you find the PCV intact? All vacuum lines still on? Not rotted?

Yeah, sorry, WOT = Wide Open Throttle. IOW (In Other Words) did this "pop" occur while you were 'nailing' it (we all do it on occasion..love to hear that V8 wind up!). Why is that important to know? Helps because the pressures are much higher within the engine and might open up the possibilites of what actually happened. Remember that being 1000 miles away or more as many of us are, and trying to diagnose over the internet, is like trying to peer through a straw...so every little detail helps.

Yeah, don't jump on the head gasket theory. Extremely unlikely. In cases like these look for very simple things such a vacuum line that popped off or as you mentioned PCV. The first order of troubleshooting would be to identify the source of the leaking oil and go from there. Here is the location on 90-94 LS -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/emission/pcv_valve.html What year/mileage on your car? Were you WOT when the pop occurred?

I used to put my 65 Mustang away for a year at a time with regular gas (no stabilizer) and was pulling the carburetor every year to clean out the gunk. One year I decided to put premium in her and was pleasantly surprised to have no more problems. Been a ritual ever since in all my equipment with no gumming problems. I do not claim to be a gasoline expert but I believe that the extra additives and/or refining steps are the reason.

If you use premium gas, stabilizer should not be necessary for a 6 month period. Premium gas does not varnish up like regular gas. I use regular gas in my mowers all summer then switch to premium for the winter storage. I would also consider "critter-proofing" the car so that mice don't take up residence. Might also consider getting the weight off the tires so flat spots don't develop.

Yes, unfortunately you have lost your mind. I am afraid the only way out of this mess is to sell your car to me really cheap and go buy a Honda. Sorry, I wish I had better news. It was a good ride while it lasted but its over. :( ;) Seriously, when troubleshooting electrical you often have to recheck and recheck. It is very easy to NOT get a connection when you think you have one. And another really common issue is to think you know which wire is which when, in reality, you have the wrong pair. And you are right in thinking that both motor and switch would not be simultaneously out (in less, of course the motor shorted out and took the switch with it). Re-verify the wiring and try ohm'ing out the motor to make sure you are on the windings. Try to find a schematic, or sketch out the switch wiring if you can. The first order is to get familiar with the wiring. And are you certain that the tilt circuit is not on a different fuse?

That is rather peculiar. So, you put new bulbs in, the warning light goes out but the new bulbs do not light? You are obviously drawing enough current with the new bulbs to satisfy the warning light. I would experiment and pull the new bulb(s) to see if the warning would come back on. Which bulbs did you replace and what brand/type did you use?

I think I "fingered" it out. The temperature reading is all done natively in degrees Celsius THEN converted to Fahrenheit. Since Fahrenheit readouts are just a conversion, the ratio is 9/5 or almost 2x. Therefore, the micro is just converting the Celsius and rounding, hence the apparent jump by 2 degrees F. When the rounded C reading is close to an even F reading, the display shows an even value and it jumps by 2 until it gets to a rounded C value close to an odd F integer number and it goes odd for a while. Lika so: -2 C = 28.4 F = 28 F -1 C = 30.2 = 30 F 0 C = 32 F 1 C = 33.8 = 34 F 2 C = 35.6 = 36 F 3 C = 37.4 = 37 F 4 C = 39.2 = 39 F 5 C = = 41 F That is what is going on. Whew, I can sleep tonight! ;) :whistles:

I use 5 quarts including the filter (Toyota) on my LS430. I check the level on the dipstick after starting it up for a few minutes and then letting it set and drip back into the pan for a few minutes. It is always very close to the full mark on the dipstick. Good enough for me.

I am very curious about this claim. I do all the maintenance on my LS430 particularly the oil changes. I use Mobil one and watch the oil draining out and examine the filter gasket and the port where the filter screws onto the block . Never have I seen any hint of a sludge problem. With as much sludge as is claimed, did you NOT see some evidence of this "goo" coming out the oil drain hole and around the oil filter port long before it became a major problem? I would think that the evidence had to be plainly visible for many oil changes.

I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but your best bet at getting at the root cause will be hoping that the engine dies completely and will not start at all. Those are the much easier problems to solve. Then you can get in and start checking each system for operation and get this problem narrowed down. I would get the car "instrumented" as best you can before it acts up again. Like put your spark measuring tools in place or have them in a really handy place so you can quickly deploy them. The worst thing is for the car to start operating again w/o having been afforded the opportunity to do a little testing. I am not a big advocate of replacing parts while the engine is still acting up. The reason being is that you may introduce a new problem that was not there before. It is not out of the realm of possibility to get a so-so part that will cause more grief and compound the troubles. So, while I am with you on replacing parts for maintenance reasons, I would caution against much of that until the root cause is identified. I suppose if you replace parts one at a time when the engine is running well and it does not cause any problems, it is ok. On the other hand, you may have to perform some level of experimenting and replacing parts is justified after you have narrowed things down some and have reasonable doubts about its performance. You might want to invest in some scan tools for your own use. There are some PC-based tools that can help you understand fuel ratios and flow, temperatures, sensor readings, etc. The poor mileage may or may not have anything to do with the current maladies. Intermittent starting problems are usually associated with poor connections or failing sensors. To address your earlier question, a single coil being bad would certainly cause problems but others report that the engine will at least run..very poorly but it does run. So, I doubt a single coil is the issue. A cat that is partially plugged would begin to affect mileage as the exhaust flow is impeded. Seems that cats tend to go after approx. 150-200k miles so if you are in that range, they may be needing replacement. They are big buck$ unfortunately.

Have to agree with SRK. The bottom line is that you need three ingredients to get the engine running...fuel, spark and timing. The timing really is not in question since it does run most times. You have a "tough dog" here. Intermittent behavior is what is throwing these mechanics for a loop. So, it is up to you to do the sleuthing and get to the root cause. If it runs then it runs. Be happy. Life is too short to worry. However, be prepared to do some diagnosis when it acts up again. Number one, carry a can of starter fluid with you and be prepared to use it. Starter fluid is highly flammable, so don't go crazy spraying it into the intake snout but use enough to give the engine a chance to fire. Probably 2-3 seconds of mist will do. Repeat one time. If that produces no starting results, spring into action and check the spark. You can buy a little strobe light to hook to the high tension wire of each coil or each spark plug wire. Once you have it narrowed down, then you go on the witch hunt. This tough dog will take some patience and a resolute, logical mind. I love these mysteries. And, worst case, if you cant get it fixed, you sell to me...cheap! I fix. :whistles:

West Michigan (Grand Rapids) - but will travel to get a nice car at the right price :-) I dont know if you must have an LS or what your budget is but this '04 SC430 in Greenville(just NE of GR) would have me drooling...-> http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2194770856.html

Or in your case, the bit that has "TOYOTA" molded into it. ;)

I believe that the sensor is behind the front bumper. If the OAT was working before this, then you most likely just forgot to reconnect some wiring and the sensor is not actually being read. And I think this would account for your temp control issue.

Lucy, So sad to hear about your latest problems. :cries: Jim is correct about the power steering fluid leaking onto the alternator and causing it to fail. Your mechanic should not have told you to ignore this leak. On many cars, a power steering leak is just an annoyance. On a Lexus LS, it can spell disaster (at least for the alt.). The burning smell was, most likely, the fluid being burned in the alternator or on the serpentine belt. A word of advice is to find a different mechanic to fix the alternator and power steering pump.

Welcome matt. The valve cover gaskets are not super critical so unless they are leaking badly, you can wait for warmer weather or more money in the bank account. And yes, you can DIY. Here is a tutorial for the 90-94 models. Yours may be a little different but this should be close enough to get you started -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/valvecover.html Cheers

I would imagine the author is speaking of RPM's while under load. ie: in drive while idling with the brake on and fully warmed engine. Your engine runs at drastically different RPM's when in park vs neutral(both no load) AND a fully warmed engine?

Have you gone through this? -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/EFI/tps.html It is especially interesting to note what the author says within this tutorial..."My first test drive the sensor was set too low and it caused very jumpy highway performance."

Have you ever cleaned your throttle body? -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/EFI/throttlebody.html Just wondering if maybe it is "hanging up" or sticking momemtarily at about the 3k mark.

Another rather simple test is to spray some starter fluid into the intake snout when it will not start. If it fires up, you know that it is fuel starvation. If not, then most likely an ignition issue.

I sure hope so. Removing the entire system from engine exhaust manifold to tailpipe is a big job. You will probably encounter stubborn, rusted bolts along the way which may require a good soaking in PB Blaster (or equiv) or perhaps a torch to heat them up before removing. Usually, when it comes to minor exhaust work like this, I will take it to an muffler shop with a lift. They are done in a fraction of the time it would take me and for (usually) a very reasonable cost.