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The factory repair manual suggests replacing rather than cleaning the EGR valve. The EGR vacuum modulator is very important too and should be replaced at the same time for top fuel economy and engine performance.Owners who don't delay tune ups or oxygen sensor replacement and who periodically scrub the throttle plate clean won't have a problem with EGR valve plugging and sticking for over 300,000 miles. Delayed preventive maintenance of this nature causes the engine to burn more gasoline and generate more emissions which in turn causes the EGR valve and EGR pipes to become more quickly fouled with carbon deposits which in turn causes an even greater drop in engine performance and fuel economy. It's a vicious, self reinforcing circle.

No, it doesn't make sense. If the coolant is actually sitting still then either the cooling system thermostat is stuck closed (which would cause severe engine overheating after driving the car just 3-4 miles) or the water pump isn't pumping (but water pumps nearly always leak coolant and become very noisy long before they actually stop pumping) . Maybe what the mechanic really means is the radiator fan clutchisn't engaging and therefore the radiator fan isn't spinning fast enough to cool the radiator when you are stopped at a street light or driving slowly around town or stuck in slow moving traffic. Under what driving conditions does the engine run hot?

Yes you should be worried because if your gauge is accurate your coolant temp is definately above normal and the extra high temp is slashing miles and years off the life expectancy of your engine, its cylinder head and other gaskets and many other parts. You might need to find a shop or individual who has one of those infrared heat guns to verify whether or not the radiator coolant temp is really around 210-220 degrees or is actually normal (180 degrees). If 180 then there is no problem and your dash temp gauge simply isn't calibrated correctly. Does your dash temp gauge stay steady on the the 4th line when driving or does it fluctuate alot between the 3rd and 4th line?

How do tailpipe emission change? Cleaner or dirtier? In all driving conditions or just some conditions? Anything mod that increases emissions = degraded emission system component reliability and durability in the long run = degraded engine performance and fuel economy in the long run.

On another Toyota forum, the owner of a 1990 V6 4Runner did some timed 0-80 MPH runs with and without the factory cat installed. There was no improvement in the 0 - 80 MPH times with the cat removed so the owner put it back on. My understanding is that the factory original cats installed on Toyota s built since the mid-late 1980's are not significantly restrictive unless they become damaged internally from overheating. Owner failure to keep up with engine tune ups and other routine preventive maintenance is what causes the engine to generate high levels of emissions which in turn tends to overheat the cat.

It's standard procedure to take all the engine under covers off and to even remove the radiator to help gain access.

A regular group 24 battery works for my LS400 V8 and they're only $39.99 at Walmart and come with a 2 year free replacement warranty. While I usually insist on genuine Toyota parts, I buy cheap batteries because I usually ruin their longevity potential by accidentally leaving an interior light on or door ajar.

Mechanically your ES300 is identical to a V6 Toyota Camry of the same model year. So your local Toyota dealer in Grand Junction, Colorado carries all the correct genuine Toyota filters, parts and fluids you need. Specifically, you should use the genuine Toyota 90915-YZZD1 oil filter. Another approved Toyota filter has a part number of 08922-02011.

On my last drain and fill, ATF from the differential was noticeably degraded while ATF from the sump looked like new. Sharing a common fill point doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the degree of mixing.

artbuc, I agree you could be right and if so then you and jgr7 may be one your way to learning how to obtain longer life from the AWD Rx transmission; i.e. drain the 1.x quart out of the differential sufficiently often to keep the fluid looking fresh.

I know the 1984-2001 2WD, 3 speed automatic Toyota Corollas have separate drain and fill plugs for the transmission oil pan and differential because the fluids in the two units do not mix and owners who have neglected draining the differential have ended up with premature transmission failure.

I am unsure about the degree and rate of mixing that occurs in the RX transmission and differential. wwest's anecdotal experiece where the fluid on his tranny dipstick looked clean one day and then suddenly became darkened the next time he checked it might suggest the fluid in the differential became overheated from a specific driving event and then gradually mixed with the rest of the transmission fluid, causing it to darken as well.

I don't have an RX, but from what I have heard, the fluid in the transmission oil pan and differential will both stay pretty pinkish if both are drained and refilled every 15,000 miles. I also have heard that although the differential and oil pan have separate drain plugs, they both share a common fill point (the transmission dip stick opening).If all this is true, then I don't think there would be any point in draining the differential alone more frequently.

When the refrigerant level in the system gets really low the magnetic clutch won't activate and the compressor won't turn on. The solution is to add some R134a refrigerant through the low pressure

port (black colored cap). This can be done by getting a can or two of R134a at an auto parts store and a can tap valve with a recharging hose. Remove the black cap and screw the charging hose onto the fitting then immerse the can in a bowl of water that's about 110 degrees F (120 degrees or more could burst the can and cause severe eye injury or blindness and frostbite to any skin surfaces). The hot water will build up enough pressure in the can to force gaseous R134a into your AC system. Once the can is empty or near empty enough refrigerant will have been added to allow the magnetic clutch to activate. Next you need to locate the receiver-drier and the sight glass built into the top of it. Then you need to run the engine with the AC on and observe whether or not the sight glass is clear or has a stream of foamy bubbles. If the latter, you need to add more R134a (with the engine and AC running) until the bubbles dissappear.

Before doing any of the above, press slowly down on the tire-like schrader valve underneath the black cap to see whether or not you hear air (refrigerant gas) escaping. If you hear some gas coming out then you can proceed with the above procedure. If you don't hear any gas escaping then the system is totally empty of refrigerant (due to a severe leak) and the leak will need to be located and repaired, plus the system will need to be vacuumed using a vacuum pump and then recharged into the deep vaccuum (all of which requires special equipment that only AC service shops have).

Thanks for the photo jbarhorst2. Now I am wondering if you could tell if you pushed upward with the vice grips to loosen the solenoid or pulled downward on the grips? Thanks.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/sole.jpg

Sounds like you made several servicing procedure mistakes :

1. You didn't measure the amount of old coolant drained so you can't know for sure how much new coolant needs to be added back into the system to fully fill it up. You may have severely underfilled the system and then drove the car causing the localized engine overheating Toysrme mentioned that won't necessarily be displayed on the dashboard temperature gauge.

2. You apparently didn't read the factory repair manual beause if you did you'd know it describes an air bleeding procedure (the burping Toysrme mentioned) that should be followed whenever you change the coolant.

3. You didn't buy genuine Toyota replacement parts (e.g. thermostat, thermostat gasket, radiator caps, etc. so you can't reasonably expect your cooling system to function normally without them. For example, Toyota radiator caps are rated at 13 lb, not 16 lbs. Toyota V6 thermostats open at 180 degrees, not 195 like auto parts stor thermostats. Toyota thermostats have a built in air bleeding valve that helps bleed air out of the cooling system automatically.

4. You mentioned adding water several times, but don't say whether you mean plain water or the 50/50 mix of distilled water and antifreeze that you're supposed to be adding.

Possible good news: If the engine still idles butter smooth like it did before you performed the service work and still starts instantly without alot of cranking from the starter then chances are good the compression of your engine is still good and your engine isn't severely damaged. But if the engine shakes a bit at idle now and doesn't sound as silky smooth as it used to then, like Toysrme mentioned, you may have heat warped a head and breached a cylinder head gasket causing low compression on some cylinders.

The slight low speed hesitation is a characteristic of all 2002 on up ES300's/330's.

Toyota's have had this delayed engagement of overdrive feature since they came out with their first overdrive automatics back in the late 1970's. One purpose of the feature is to reduce transmission and overall drivetrain component wear because wear would be accelerated if overdrive was engaged when these components and lubricants are stone cold. For the same reason, owners of manual transmission cars should also avoid using overdrive when the drivetrain is stone cold.American cars don't have this delayed engagement feature presumably because drivetrain durability isn't a priority with the American car makers.

A Toyota approved product http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/tar.jpg

The ES300 owners manual says ANY amount of oil about the Full mark on the dipstick is too much. The manual further states: "Avoid overfilling or THE ENGINE COULD BE DAMAGED."The owners manual also says the oil level should be checked a few minutes after a fully warmed up engine has been shut off.

kikikikopa, the upshift from 1st to 2nd while coasting should occur at very low speeds ( 5-15 mph) . Is this the case with your car? And are you saying the harsh engagement occurs only when your foot is fully off the accelerator?

In your owners manual it says do not tow with the rear wheels on the ground faster than 30 MPH or for a distance greater than 50 miles or else transmission could be damaged. 127,000 miles is very, very early for electronic shift control solenoid or torque converter clutch problems on the rugged 340 series transmission so my guess is either the transmission was filled with the wrong fluid at 106,000 miles (e.g. a fluid other than Toyota Type T-IV fluid) or the transmission was damaged by the towing.

Mechanically, there is nothing special about the LS400 compared to other Toyotas. Like other Toyotas, a large percentage of LS400's end up in automotive graveyards somewhere between 175,000 - 350,000 miles.

Why? The owners subjected their cars to fatal forms of both driving abuse and maintenance neglect which ruined their engines and transmissions somewhere between 175,000 - 350,000 miles.

Specifically, what commonly happens is the engine will begin to exhibit some sort of abnormality such as more noise at idle, a bit rougher idle, run with weaker acceleration, or may run slightly hotter or get worse fuel economy. What do 95% of owners do about these abnormalities? Answer: Nothing! They just keep on driving and that in turn leads to mechanical damage to the engine or its critical gaskets or subsystems (like the emission control system) which would be cost prohitive to fix so the car is sold to an automotive junkyard or recycler.

If you read through the LOC forum archives you can find literally hundreds of owners with over 100,000 miles who admit they keep on driving when there engines exhibit various abnormalities such as reduced power and gas mileage. These owners are digging their own automotive graves

What causes the abnormalities to begin with? Usually neglected or delayed preventive maintenance and failure to use genuine Toyota parts, filters and fluids when performing the maintenance.

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Toyota and Lexus often use different part numbers for the same parts and dealers do not have any easy, quick way of knowing which parts cross over. Same situation with other automakers; e,g, the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car share many components and parts, but I doubt a Lincoln owner who goes to a Ford dealer will get much help finding out what Ford parts fit his / her Lincoln.

Did the lazy, heavy acceleration problem exist before you performed that service work, or only afterwards? Did the coolant leaking problem exist before you performed that service work, or only afterwards? Are the thermostat, thermostat gasket and radiator caps genuine Toyota replacements or afternarket?

Do you use 50% factory red coolant + 50% distilled water at replacement time? Have you ever cleaned the throttle plate ?

I wouldn\t spend a penny on diagnosis or check up services. Instead, spend money on preventive maintenance services which will directly benefit your car like: eight new Denso platinum spark plugs, 1 1/2 gallons of genuine Toyota antifreeze mixed 50/50 with distilled water, a new air filter, 2 quarts of Toyota Type T-IV transmission fluid, a new serpentine drive belt , clean the power steering rack solenoid filter screen, clean the throttle plate, top of the Air Conditioning system with R134a refrigerant (if the level is low. When you keep up with preventive maintenance, problems like sluggish acceleration never happen in the first place.

Here is what can happen:

alsalih wrote the following yesturday in regards to his 1998 LS400: "I went from a perfectly dry car to massive leaks 4K miles after switching to Mobile 1 and I switched right back to regular oil and I'm pleased to say that 2K miles since the switch back my seals have swelled back and the car is no longer leaking."

rtd111 wrote the following yesterday in regards to his 1991 LS400: "I changed oil about 1500 mi ago, changing from regular to Mobil Synthetic. That was the first time I switched to synthetic in this car. Perhaps by coincidence, perhaps due to thinner synthetic I have had a small engine oil leak for about the last 600+ miles. It may have started sooner given the drip has gotten increasingly noticeable to a small puddle every 2 out of 3 times I drive the car."