landar

Raymond, you may possibly be THE person we have been searching for! Someone who actually had a VVTi trashed due to timing belt. Can you give us more details? Year, mileage? We are ready for a good old horror story.

That is your fan clutch which is bolted to the fan bracket with the pulley bearing that is suspect. Does your info say that your LS has only 66k miles? Oh, see now it is 93k. Would not think the fan bracket would go bad at that mileage but it is entirely possible. With the engine off, just grab the fan clutch assembly and see if you can wiggle it. Should not budge. If it does, the fan bracket bearing is shot. The old timers up the street should be able to change it for you.

It proves that the noise is in the accessory drive train. It could be belt, idler pulley, tensioner, PS pump, alt, AC compressor, fan bracket, etc. IF the noise does not go away w/o the belt, you have other issues. But I am fairly confident that it is in the accessory area. If the WD helps then it might even be the belt (or maybe tensioner). Then I would put the belt back on and use a mechanics stethoscope to isolate the noise. You could just do that now but be VERY careful around moving parts. If not mechanically inclined, find a shop and have them troubleshoot.

First off, don't panic... and look for something simple. Are you mechanically inclined? There are a couple of "simple" things that I would try. First is listening as you have done. However, with noises it is often very difficult to determine the source as they play tricks on your ears. Next, I would take a can of WD40 and give a quick spritz (thats technical jargon for "dont over-do it") on the serpentine belt. Noisy contact with pulleys will often quiet down. Finally, I would just pull the serp belt off and run the engine for a brief period. No driving, just idling in the driveway. It should run w/o the belt although the alt. light will be on. If any of those help, you can go from there. Only 66k on a 94? Nice.

Yeah SRK, I was thinking the same thing as I watched the red Toyota coolant run like a river across the street. She shed her 'blood' for me :cries: I credit the good Lord and the safety/engineering of the LS for nary a scratch. (good sermon entry, Billy ^_^ ). I agree that although I loved that car, it can not be restored to former glory. Its worse than the photos show. I am already doing a search for another LS, probably an LS430. I really like the body style of the 2nd gen over the 3rd, but the 430 can be sweet if you find the right one. I even gave a passing notion to a Mercedes then gained my sanity back. I dont like working on cars THAT much!

Maintenance records are top priority, then collision damage, rust, smoke out the exhaust. It will be tough to assess prior to an auction if you have little time. Depending on miles, you could be looking at some significant $$ in getting maintenance items up to snuff if not already done. Don't overdo the bidding. Lots of used ones on lots that can be thoroughly scrutinized before buying. Best of luck.

Yes etex. I had just replaced the TB, WP, pulleys, tensioner last November. Spent about $500 and a lot of loving care and time. I could cry. This is why you should never replace the timing belt. Or get your car repainted. Or any other expensive item Now my wife is talking about us getting her a new vehicle and making me take her old Chrysler! Total bummer. Life ain't fair. Can you imagine what would have happened had I been in a typical econobox? I shudder.

The guy in the Ford truck climbed out after a bit and was not injured either. Of course it helped that he was a young and healthy (early 20's). And the airbags did NOT go off. So, either the airbag system is defective or the impact was not hard enough for deployment. I will go with the latter. I could hardly sleep a wink last night thinking about this. Just thankful there were no personal injuries. Now I get to see how the insurance co. tries to rip me off. Whats with this site? Got a new, shiny look! Flash CS4? Silverlight?

You basically just repeat everything. Fluids every xxx miles. Timing belt and water pump every 90k miles, etc.

Coming home from work tonight, some guy pulls out in front of me in a Ford pickup. Hit him at about 40mph. Flipped the truck. I'm grateful for not even a scratch. But totally sick over my baby. My Lex gave her all. I fear she is totalled. RIP. Landar

The timing belt is located at the front of the engine behind a bunch of stuff. But, no need to inspect it because it will most likely look fine. However, the belt is something that needs to be changed at a certain mileage (every 90k miles) or time (6 years +). So, your immediate efforts would be best spent trying to determine when the last time the belt was changed (perhaps by a previous owner, if ever). If never changed, you are past due.

See if this tutorial helps out: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/maintenance/airfilter.html

Please do elaborate on the Seafoam into the cylinders. How did you do that? And why?

Most likely is air trapped in the system. First thing I would do is put on a new radiator cap. Perhaps your old one is not keeping the system properly pressurized. And that may not allow the system to purge the air.

Well, in short, it is not a good idea. The rubber part(bushing) ages even in the junk yard. Ozone and the elements cause cracks and deterioration of the bushing which are only detectable upon close examination or when your vehicle goes "clunk". Especially if you are paying for labor, it is wise to only go with new. You can have new bushings pressing into the old bars if you like or go with a completely new unit. I have a tutorial showing how to remove and replace the entire bar. Not hard.

Also keep in mind the longevity of the "paint" job. While the finished product could look pretty good right out of the shop, it may not last for long. I had an 86 Olds that I wanted to keep for a bit longer but the original paint was gone. So, I took it to Maaco and decided on their "premium" package for $800 (this was in 1998). The car actually looked ok afterwards. More orange peel than I had hoped, but ok. Then several years later, it started falling apart. Yeah, the paint job. I started to notice what looked like tree sap on the hood. Only I did not park under a tree. No problem, I will just polish it out. Not. It got this "leprosy" looking effect and it just progressively worsened until the whole job looked like crap. So, what I am trying to say is beware. There is a tremendous difference in quality of materials. You have to pay to get top-notch materials that will not fall apart several years later. And its a bit more than $500 for an entire car. Oh wait. Strike that. I just checked at Lowes. A gallon of Sherwin-Williams is on sale for $30. ;)

I think we all enjoy your posts, Billy. I know I do. And I see your point about using the non-OEM to save some coin up front. Now, if anyone wants to stay OEM AND save a ton of money, my old Toyota parts await. I have a water pump, tensioner, pulleys, strutrods all in decent condition. And I am finding it hard to throw the stuff in the trash! Just dont want to see it end up in the landfill. But no one really wants it. Guess its a nice addition to my junk collection. Hey, maybe Goodwill..... ;)

That's not dripping with sarcasm, is it Billy? :D Actually, my timing belt was made in the US of A.... (of only the finest Chinese materials <_< ) :o Where'd I put them aspirins....

add in 2 gals of Toyota antifreeze at about $18 a pop. IMO, I'd go the OEM route.

I bought the crank seal and had it ready to go but when I got in there it did not look like a trivial task to change. In fact, it appeared to me that a special tool was going to be needed. So, with no sign of leakage and wanting to leave well enough alone, I decided to postpone the crank seal change until the 180k mile timing belt change. Ditto for the cam seals.

$1750 is more like it. So, what was the "special" for $475?

Not unless you are a contortionist ;) I would say 'yes'. The air assembly covers most of the RH bank. It is fairly easy to remove. In concept yes, it's easy to remove, in practice it's not that easy. It may be what you and I consider easy, because like me, you probably have a gang of tools in your garage and are mechanically inclined. For the original poster who seems like a novice, there are vacuum lines and rubber hoses that are on there so tight you better have the serious kung-fu grip to get them off. There are small things that people don't tell you when doing something like this. Well, you have a good point there, gatoman. I am hoping that anyone wanting to DIY is willing to buy the tools necessary and take on the learning curve to become more proficient in maintaining their vehicle. I have found that most people who say they are not "mechanically inclined" are so because they are not very interested in tackling the job or lack confidence(overwhelmed) or don't have the time (or all of the above). Just not their "cup-of-tea". And that's ok. Most people are capable of some basic level of mechanics and can grow from there. On to the lesson for today. I have found that a hook & pick tool is perfect for slipping underneath the hoses and working them loose. Work the hook underneath one edge of the hose, run it around the lip and presto, the hose basically falls off. Then you do not need the "kung fu" grip. Man-handling is rarely the answer to stubborn parts that are stuck-fast. Learning proper technique is. And that only comes by trying and by asking those who do know.

Not unless you are a contortionist ;) I would say 'yes'. The air assembly covers most of the RH bank. It is fairly easy to remove.

Interesting. I like the idea of directing the flow directly into the storage container rather than a pan. I would be a little concerned about the galvanic action of brass threads on a steel pan over the long haul. Concerning the 2mm of oil loss out of a 25 mm span, I would consider that very acceptable. In fact, I wish mine were that good. It is probably down about twice that but still not a problem. There has been endless debate on this and other forums about synthetic vs dino and when to change. I use Mobil One and switched at 60k miles and 9 years. No problems whatsoever. I use synthetic primarily because it gives me greater breathing room between changes. I like to change oil when the weather is warm. So Spring and Fall. If I go over 5k miles with dino, I am getting itchy to change it. With synthetic, I feel comfy going longer, maybe 7.5k if need be. But I always change every 6 months and that is usually around 5k miles.

Well it's not quite that easy. You have a 98 so I'm not entirely sure, but I just did this on the 95 yesterday, and it was a pain in the &#33;Removed&#33;! The hard part is getting to the plugs. Once the prep work is over, pulling the plugs is easy breezy. The hardest part is getting the air intake into the throttle body off. There are several vacuum hoses and you need to have the proper tools to access the 10mm bolts to remove the engine covers as well as be strong as an ox to remove the vacuum hoses on a car that is 12 years old. The picture is after the hoses have been removed. The easiest part is actually changing the plugs. The plugs are like 3 bucks, but the labor is like 300-500 because of all the prep work. Not sure of the 98 are distributorless or not, but if they're anything like the 95, you better be mechanically inclined and have some wheaties for breakfast. The 98's are COP (Coil On Plug) so no distributor, no high voltage wires. It's not rocket science. It's spark plug science! :P Get the right deep-well socket and extensions ready.