jerm8

Well, I feel a little silly. I had a friend come over tonight that is much more savvy than I am. One of the first things we did is take the top plastic cowling off, which I didn't do because it was leaking out the bottom of the bell housing. Anyway, I have quite a pool of coolant under the intake plenum. I can see with that amount that it could easily run to the back and drip where it is dripping. The leak appears to be coming from what we think is the return line coming out of the heater core, thru a pipe that runs thru the void between the block and the intake and ties in just behind and below the thermostat housing. I snapped a photo to try and capture it. With the engine running and pressure to the system he put a little pressure on the connection with a pry bar and it started spewing fluid. Now at least I know where it's coming from. It doesn't appear to be tough to get to, but does anyone know how that pipe connects? Is there an o-ring in there? What seals it? You may be able to see in my photo that there is what looks to be a thin washer or something that is loose where the pipe inserts into the housing. I'm not sure what that is either. Any more advice would be appreciated! I am certainly glad to know where it is coming from. I would also assume that that is where air is being introduced into the system which would prevent it from pulling fluid from the reservoir.

I spent some time searching the back side of the engine and the firewall, but can't see anything leaking. A mirror helps, but it's pretty tight back there. I should have mentioned originally that the heater works fine now because I filled it back up with fluid. I do know that the cooling system is building some pressure, but I will still get it checked. But for the life of me, I still can't understand why it could be dripping from the bottom of the bell housing with no other apparent signs of leakage.

The engine did get hotter than usual, but not to the red. Is the heater control valve easy to spot? I did look over the back of the engine compartment, though not specifically at the firewall. I just didn't notice anything wet, or any residue, but will look it over again. Thanks for the thoughts!

95 LS400 110K miles Greetings, so far I haven't seen this one talked about so I would like to find out some opinions wiser than my own. My heater wasn't working a couple weeks ago and I found I was loosing fluid. The reservoir was full so I pulled the fill cap above the thermostat and there was no fluid in sight. I added about 1/2 gallon before it filled! Every now and then I have that hot antifreeze smell outside the vehicle. I finally couldn't ignore it any longer so I put it on jack stands this afternoon to try to discover what is going on. To my surprise I found coolant dripping from the holes under the flywheel inspection plate! There is also residue indicating that it has been so at least for a little while. I think there might be more than one thing going on here. First--why wouldn't it draw the fluid from the reservoir? Second--what would cause it to come out of the bottom of the bell housing? My only thought about the second is that possibly there is a soft plug in the back of the block that could be leaking, but really I haven't a clue for sure. Any thoughts??

I'm fairly new as well, but have read quite a few threads talking about aftermarket pads. My LS400 does the same thing. It is quite annoying and I find myself minimizing how much I brake when I back out anywhere by shifting it into neutral and coasting out of the parking spot. I don't want people to hear that sound coming from my car! I am certain that my car has aftermarket brake pads, but I just haven't wanted to tear into yet. It can be a fairly loud clunk. To me, it sounds like the same thing as what I have going on.

You're right to want to turn off the auto. On the left side of the steering column, below the turn signal lever, you'll find both the tilt/telescope button and the auto button. Press the auto button to turn the auto feature off. You will still be able to adjust the wheel with the other button whenever you like. My 95 does not have the auto button. I don't have an auto button either. I would rather not have to unplug it and totally disable it, but maybe that's my only choice. I'll keep watching to see if there are any other replies. Thanks for your input!

I'm fairly new to this forum, and can't seem to find a thread talking about this. I am simply trying to find out if I can disable the auto tilt away steering wheel feature in my 95 LS400. I use the car for work and am in and out of it 15-20 times a day. I can certainly see the day when it wears out, and would like to prolong that as much as possible. Any advice would be appreciated!