Team Pointless

Alright, so getting a new belt solved the issue along with draining the air out of the PS again. In case anyone thinks about buying them, both the Duralast 875K6 and Gatorback 4060875 (only available belts in stock from Autozone) are too small for the LS400. I finally went to O'Reilly's and bought a Gates K060878. Tensioner is now within the range it should be and the groaning is gone. Thanks for your input bigste and 93ls400walt.

OK, just to follow up about the rotor issue. I had the passenger side on backwards. So it is possible for your engine to run (like complete crap) with one rotor reversed. Once I have it back together, I'll report as to whether or not this helps with the groaning.

Thanks for those replies. Will try to de-air again and see if I didn't fully reconnect a sensor. However, would it be possible for the engine to run if only 1 rotor was on backwards?

Just found another thread from 92lex where he said that rotors can be put on backwards/180 degrees off. Gotta tear down in the morning to get to the passenger rotor that I'm not 100% sure is on the right way. Unless it keeps me awake thinking about it tonight and I do an all-nighter. Doh... hope I didn't just not pay attention on this one. Will also leave the PS cap off to let any air drain out that will come on it's own and try to evac more bubbles in the morning as well.

Sorry for the long post in advance, but I've searched and finally did this big maintenance and now I'm stuck. OK, so I just finished rebuilding the PS pump, putting on a new alternator and v-belt, and changing the distributor caps/rotors. This is on a 97 LS400 with 129k miles. Now, there is a constant and VERY loud growling from the engine. It sounds like it's the PS pump, but like it's the pulley or something. It has me stumped. The PS pump rebuild was all new seals and bearing. The pump also has an idle air valve that's only got about 4k miles on it. I also added an inline Wix magnetic transmission filter as well as the $1.99 cheapie inline Cardone PS filter both on my return hose. I had a Gatorback belt on the car when I put it back together, but it was making this groaning noise and the tensioner read a little too tight on the range stamped on it. I swapped the belt for a Duralast (from Autozone) which shows that it should be the same belt size. The groan is maybe a little less, but still there and still VERY loud. The groan can be heard from inside the car and it feels like there is engine wobble. I double checked the clutch fan and it is on tight. Filled PS reservoir with new fluid and turned wheels lock to lock about 50 times to relieve air from the system. I had the regular PS "groan" before, but this is easily 3 times as loud. The main problem that concerns me more than the groaning though, is the power loss. My idle is just about where it should be, between 700-725 rpm. However, when I put it in gear to drive, there is a HUGE loss in power compared to previously. It feels like there is an occasional stumble/misfire, but basically it just feels like the emergency brake is on or something, if that makes sense. I can hit the accelerator and it will move, but as if I were towing something behind the LS. When I punch the gas hard, the groan makes it sound like a toy car, and it will accelerate, but about 1/5 the power it did previously. Please help me figure out what I screwed up on this? My questions are these: 1. What can cause this "groaning" from the PS pump with a new bearing/seal kit just installed? 2. Could a belt that is just too tight cause this groaning by putting too much strain on all of the pulleys? 3. What are the chances that the belt tensioner is bad, but still showing too tight on the markings? 4. Is it possible to put the distributor rotor on upside down / backwards? If so, should it have been hard to put on and screw in place? I appreciate any help y'all can give, and if anyone in Austin, TX would be up for lending another eye/ear, I would be especially grateful. I am mechanically inclined, but my experience is with Datsun/Nissan Z cars. Obviously, this Lexus is a bit finicky for me to figure.