Crusty1

Just replaced a cracked EGR tube on my son's 96 LS400. I've read all that I can find on the web and found a few tips that may make it easier for any DIYer attempting this himself. First off, for those of you who were able to replace an EGR tube without removing the right side cat I bow at your feet saying "I'm not worthy" repeatedly. I have idea how you pull this off because I couldn't even see the top 2 bolts without taking off the cat. And yes, the bolts on the cat were completely frozen. I stripped 2 of the three upper nuts attempting to get it off. After soaking in PB Blaster for 48hours and then hitting it with a propane torch with no luck, I pulled out the big gun: "CRC Freeze Off!." If you haven't ever uesd this stuff, it's simply amazing. After shooting the nuts/bolts with Freeze Off, 90 seconds later, "BAM!" they're off. So if you're afraid to remove the right side cat because the bolts are frozen, now you know. However, a caution: Freeze off has a flash point of 104 degrees. So be careful. And the way to get the stripped bolts/nuts off is with your Craftsman stripped bolt/screw remover set. Works like a dream even when the nut is stripped round. After getting off the cat, the two lower nuts are cake to get off; top two bolts, not so easy. To get them off, working from the bottom, I used a long extension and swivel socket with painters tape wrapped around the swivel joint. Painter's tape allows you to position the angle of the socket so it doesn't flop around while you're trying to get it on the head of the bolts. When I got the bottom two nuts off the bottom half of the EGR tube fell off and hit me in the face. No wonder it sounded so crappy! Once it was off putting it back on was another challenge. Feeding the tube up from the bottom it's pretty easy to get the flange over the bolts and then just screw the nuts on. No big deal. But getting the proper orientation for the upper two bolts which are inserted into threaded holes is another story because you can't really see much of the treads looking up from the bottom. Note: I've read that a lot of guys work from the top. I couldn't get my hand between the firewall and all the tubes running around the back of the engine to thread the first bolt, the top one, to get the orientation right. Obviously, if you get these bolts cross threaded, or muck up the threaded holes, you're SOL. So I got a little creative. After unbolting the brace that runs along the bottom attached to the exhaust, I jacked the transmission up about 2 inches. I know, living dangerously. But I thought there'd be enough "slack" in the motor and tranny mounts to allow for this after I made sure I wasn't going to pinch any fuel, cooler, or AC lines in the process. Once I felt resistance, I stopped. And I used a big wood block under the tranny pan to prevent damage. Once jacked up the engine had moved far enough away from the firewall that I had enough room to squeeze my hand down the back side of the fire wall to get my hand in position to work. I couldn't hold the bolt in my hand as I worked it down the back of the firewall so I attached a piece of thread to the bolt and lowerd it down into place and then slid my hand down afterwards. Still tight, but doable. Once I could insert the bolt into the flange of the EGR tube I could safely begin to feel the proper orientation to thread the bolt into the threaded hole and position the tube at the same time as well. Once the top bolt was in I had the proper orientation/alingment to insert the bottom bolt in from the underside of the vehicle. I used the same painter tape trick on the swivel but also wrapped painter's tape around the socket leaving about 1/16" protruding about the edge of the socket. I used this to press down on the underside of the bolt once inserted in the socket so that I wouldn't keep losing it when it boinked on something and fell out for the umpteenth time. I Don't honestly know if any of these ramblings will actually help anyone or not. But it sure helped me get this job done myself without having to take it to the dealer ($1100 quote) or drop the tranny. I've already R&R 2 trannies this year so I've met my quota. But WOW does this car run smoother and quieter now....and doesn't sound like a '73 LTD like someone mentioned.

Yeah. I tried to remove the cat but could only get the bottom 2 bolts/nuts off. The top 3, even the 2 that are exposed, are frozen from endless heat cycles...even after hitting them with PB blaster. I think it it's because of the angles. An impact would probably break them loose or strip them out. But getting the top 2 EGR nuts are what I'm really stumped by. I have no idea how to get at these but I guess I'll try what you said and see how it goes. Just weird I can't even see these. As far as the starter goes, it's insane to bury the starter behind the fuel rail. I've dropped the starter on my suburban over 10 times and its takes 10 min. max.

My son just picked up a '96 LS400 with 159k on it for $1800. Interior is super clean and it just needs a right side front fender, hence the price. But....I noticed an exhaust leak when we test drove it and told him no big deal, we can fix that cheaply. Now that I've narrowed it down to the lower EGR tube, I think I'm going to eat my words on this being an easy fix. After scouring the internet and looking at over tons of threads on this I still don't know if I can replace this without dropping the tranny. (I've dropped 2 trannies this year so I'm at my max!) From the bottom I can see the 2 nuts for the bottom end of the tube. Would still be tough to get to but pulling the right side CAT would probably help. But I can barely get my hand on just one of the nuts' on the upper part of this tube. Even with fairly average size hands there is no room to do anything. A lot of the threads on the internet address replacing gen 1 tubes, not much on gen 2. Has anyone actually done this repair themselves on a 95-97 LS400? I just hope I don't end up having to do this repair on my LS430! Thanks.

A complete fluid drain by gravity is problematic because of the fluid contained in the torque converter. Unless the engine is running the oil in the converter cannot drain as well as oil contained in servos and fluid passages. At present we're limited to oil change parlors that offer a power flush (T-Tech) to get a complete oil change. Agreed. The "gradual" tranny flush of replacing what's in the pan is better....but not the best. On all my rigs I use the "red neck" tranny flush: same as in the tutorial here on the forums. I'm just surprized no one has detailed this out for the new 430s. It does appear a little different than the older LS line. I really like the idea of totally fresh ATF in my tranny versus a "mix" of old and new. I'd write more but having a problem with responding here....something is wacky with the site and my keyboard.....???????

My 01 LS430 just turned 90k. I'm thinking about doing a "red neck" tranny flush. So much conflicting info on this topic here and on the web re. this. I bought the car with 72k on it and drained what was in the pan and replaced. It appears from faded service stickers that previous owner (who was a doctor in AZ) had regular service done at the recommended intervals from a combination of the Lexus dealership and an independent shop. I'm planning on doing my own tranny flush, often referred to on the net as a "redneck" flush and replacing the T IV with Amsoil full synthetic. By "red neck" I mean, drop the pan, replace the filter, and then use the tranny's own system to flush out the old and replace with the new. I've used this system with great success on my other 5 rigs but I'm sure this will attract some conflicting opinions...possibly. What I'd like to know is: 1. Which line from the tranny into the radiator/cooler is the return line? Usually, there's a line on the top and one on the bottom, but looks like there's just 2: both entering at the bottom. One on drivers side; one on passenger's side. I'm guessing it's the one on the drivers side that feeds back into the tranny. 2. My factory service manual, which doesn't even provide intructions on a tranny service drain...wierd?, shows "cutting" the sealer material between the pan and tranny. Is there a gasket on the pan? Just sealer? Or both? 3. Also, it instructs me to replace the bolt designated with an "A." It's one of 19 bolts holding the pan on but it's the only one that needs to be replaced. What's up with that? Is it some kind of special thread/disposable bolt? From my documentation I can't confirm with 100% accuracy that the previous owner had the fluid changed or tranny flushed for that matter. And I'm aware of the conflicting opinions of flushing trannies when they're over 100k without prior tranny service. (fear of clogging things up with dislodged gunk). But it's really a "catch 22" as to just leaving it alone or doing the "progressive" drain and replace through the pan at each regular oil change (ie, 3000k). Also, I'm not a transmission professional. I only service my own trannies so I'm not giving advice for others to apply to their own situations. My depth of knowledge is mainly servicing my own stuff. Howerver, when my "professionaly built" HD towing tranny in my wife's suburban blew after just 10K, I did remove and completely tear down and rebuild the tranny from scratch on my own. So far I've got 5k miles on it and it works great. Sigh of relief! I never really appreciated what a trannsmission did until I took one apart piece by piece!!! Thanks for your input in advance. Dennis PS. I've been a Toyota/Lexus owner/user for 40 years. I think Toyota ATF is a little over rated but still better than what you'll pick up at Autozone.

My 01 Ls430 has 89,340 miles and I'm looking at the 90k service with the timing belt. The dealer will do just the timing belt for $650-750 depending on what they encouter. What else should be done at 90k? I've heard water pump gasket or entire replacement. Local Toyota dealership will do TB alone for $450 but they don't do a lot of Lexus, just the Tundra V8s. I'm fairly mechancal (do all my regular oil, tranny, belt, brakes, etc.) and wonder if I could just save the money and do it myself. Also, I see a lot of choices for replacement belts: Who makes the OEM belt? Is it Dayco? And is there a better choice than OEM such as aftermarket co. like Gates? Love the car and just want to do right by her.

Does this not make sense?

Time to replace the tires on my 01 LS430. I'm playing with the idea of using different sizes than the oem 225/55/17. Reason? I really want more handeling. I'm just wondering if anyone else has experimented with different sizes such as 235/50/17, 245/45/17, etc. Also, has anyone tried different size tires front to back? I know some bimmers run wider and shorter tires in the back than the front. Also, I realize it's a tradeoff between ride and handeling. And with 92 hitting $3/gallon today, how do these different sizes affet the almity MPGs? Know this is asking a lot but doesn't hurt to ask!

Great site, but is there somewhere to get the original part numbers? I didn't see it. For some things I really do like to stick with OEM.

The closest Lex dealer is an hour away. So I thought I'd try and get me some Toyota parts cheap from the local Toy dealer that's just 10 min away. But everytime I call to get something as simple as an oil filter, parts guy says "what's the Lexus part number for that?" And of course the Lexus dealer's do not want to give out part#s because they know the game as well. Is there an easy online reference site for sourcing Lexus part #s? Mine is an 01 LS430. Thanks.

Just talked to the service mgr. for Lexus of Portland. He said mine's got the "red" stuff. Said Lexus didn't switch over to the pink unitl 2003. And he did advise against mixing the two. Here at the Toy dealer the red stuff goes for $21.37/gal. Ouch!!! Hence the durogatory slang for dealer of "stealer."

Maybe 1/2 qt. max. I just topped off with distilled water and will monitor it as the days go by. This was first thing in the morning when oviously it's going to be at it's lowest point. As I ran the engine with the rad cap off there was no sign of "froathing" or bubbles so it looks good to go until I see something that's worth worrying about. Thanks for the feeback. As far as the type, the manual states: "Your coolant must contain ethyelene-gycol type coolant for a proper corrosion protection of your engine that contains aluminium components. Use Toyota Long Life Coolant or equivalent...Total cap. is 10qts." I must be in the "trasitional period" between LLC and SLLC. I was just guessing that Lexus would be ahead of the Toyota curve for upgrading the coolant which occured mid year 04 for the Toys. I guess I was wrong. I'm still going to talk to the service dept. at Lexus of Portland and see what they recommend when I drain and refill.

I need to top off the coolant in my 01 LS430. Taking a paper towell and twisting it into a paper "dip stick" it looks like the stuff in there now is pink...but not 100% sure. I don't have my repair manaul yet so I'll have to trust the wisdom/experience of you Lexus wizards. Also, is the pink and red compatible? I've read here on the internet that a lot of technicians don't like the "pink stuff." Last, car has barely 73k on it. Don't know if it's had a coolant flush. If it's the pink stuff that's supposed to go 100k, would it still be a good idea to drain and refil at this point? What's the capacity? The pink stuff is like $25/gallon at the local Toy dealer. Thanks. PS. I'll probably have a lot less questions I hope after I receive my 2 volume repair maunals in the mail this next week. DP PPS. Anybody got a accurate part#? I saw this on the internet for the pink but then someone commented that this was the red not the pink. part # 00272-SLLC2 I thought the "SLLC" would stand for super long life, ie the "pink stuff."

I've always stuck by Toyota/Denso products. Lately, however, newer products are showing signs of less bang for buck. I'll still buy OEM, but only after I check out the alternatives. Check out this study regarding oil filters, obviously the Lexus OEM is made by Denso. Look how it compares: http://www.systems-engineering-associates.com/papers

You're probably right. But one reason to switch over to a synthetic is because they are a much cleaner oil than dino. Hence, the thought of "cleaning" out what was left behind by the dino because synthetics don't have very much "detergent" in them to wipe out whatever was there before the switch. Just wondering, how did you conclude "all was and is well?" Did you have a base UOA as a "control" and a after the switch UOA for your "variable?" Or was it pretty much seat of the pants? Thanks.

Crusty: 1/2 can of Seafoam in the Crankcase, drive 20 to 25 miles, immediately drain & replace with Syn and you'll be good to go..... I was thinking of that route. I'm probably going to go with Penz Platinum and a purolator pure one for the filter and see how that goes. I'll do a UOA at 5k just to see how things are looking before I push it. Even with PP's rated OCI of 12k I'm going to approach with caution. Thanks.

Looking at switching from dino to synthetic on my 01 LS 430 and wonder what the best way to clean out all the old gunk of dino before making the switch. I thought of using Seafoam or just a high detergent dino oil before making the switch. Any ideas?

Double WTF!! I woke up this morning to 3" of new snow and I'm just 45 min. out of Portland. I guess this would be a great time to try my "snow" setting on my newly acquired 01 430...naw. With a 18% grade I don't think I'll chance it!!

Been thinking about the new tires I'm going to put on my 01 430. Bimmer 745i was my second choice when I bought the LS and I see a lot of guys running bigger tires on the rear of their 745i like 275/40/18 and up front 235/45/18s. Just wondering if any LS owners have experimented and what the results were...other than a drop in MPG!!!

So true! I just took off the 2 screws to reveal the "filter" opening. I guess after 30 years of changing my own oil with 100% accuracy I've gotten a little cocky!! With 5 cars and 7 bikes I do a lot of oil changing around here!!! I'll be sure to be more observant from here on out.!

NO. Not oem. Was just a Fram TG. Actually, fairly highly rated filter. But the problem was trying to run 2 oil rings: that space between that much rubber is just going to flex under this kind of oil pressure...as I know from first hand experience!!! I'll pick up a batch of OEM soon. I also like the Amsoil filters. Expensive but very highly rated...at the top of the heap.

On a way to a pizza party with the family in my recently acquired 01 LS 430. I had just changed the oil and tranny fluid. About 3 miles from home I see this red light on the dash saying: low oil!! WTF? I think this has got to be something screwy? I"ve been changing my own oil for 30 years, never had a problem. I pull over and sure enough I've got oil splatter on the top of the engine cover. Fill cap is on? Dip stick is in? Couldn't be the drain plug, would have seen oil light when I fired her? Ummm? Must be coming from the oil filter. It's 6:45PM and it's snowning and we're in the sticks...where we live. I luck out and see a neighbor who I really don't know but recognize the truck and flag him down. He gives us a ride home and we grab the SUV and head back to the car. Sure enough, oil is blowing past the seal on the oil filter and on the way back home I can see an oil slick 3 miles long!!! I always change my oil because I don't trust "iffylube" and that's who did the last oil change before I bought it. I'm always joking they're idiots. We'll I guess I'm the idiot now...sort of! When I got home I checked the old penz filter I pulled off and sure enough...no oil seal. Pull the new oil filter off and sure enough I get 2 oil seal rings: 1 on the new filter, 1 stuck to the underside of the surface of the filter seat. After all these years of changing my own oil and always "oiling the rubber seal" before intall just like the instructions say, I now wonder if this isn't one of the reasons to do this: I always thought it was to allow better torque with the hand tightening method. I wonder now if pre-oiling the seal doesn't keep it from sticking to the filter seat...which I found out the hard way!!! Probably pretty ovious to the old and wise pros on this forum but this was news to me. And now more than ever, I don't think I'll be trusting my newly acquired LEX to the minimum wage grease monkeys at super "iffy lube." Yeah, I should have realized the oil seal wasn't on the old filter but I wonder if this wasn't a case attributable to "not oiling the rubber seal prior to install." Hope I've got it right now...but is there something else I missed when putting on the filter? Is there some special type of LEX oil seal or gasket I'm supposed to use? Let me know before I torch this very nice LEX! Thanks. Dennis

Thanks. I'll look into both of those options. I found OEM at books4cars.com but they're right at $245 for both manuals. Also, if the dry fill cap. is 9.4 and it only takes 2 qts to drain and refil the tranny, that's a lot of old ATF left in the TC. That's like draining 1 qt out of your crank case and saying "hey I just changed my oil." I realize ATF is not as contaminated as CC oil but I just love the idea of getting it all out of there. Any body done a total drain and refil on the Lex?

Thanks. So far. Bought a set of replacement trunk struts off ebay for $75. No more getting clipped in the back of the neck!! Now I need a good OEM repair manual. Also, what's the best way to do a "tranny flush?" Does this thing really hold less than 2qt or ATF? Wow. My suburban takes 17qts for a good, thorough flush!!! The drain and fill is about 2 qts., I wouldn't flush the tranny, Just drain and fill. Thanks DC. Yeah, I'm aware of the different opinions about the danger of flushing trannies...especially the "power flush" technique pushed by places like "iffylube." I'd like to change the oil and drain/refil tranny. Dumb question, but is there anyway to accomplish these tasks without removing the "shroud" under the engine? I'm sure once I get used to taking it off I'll become more proficient but just not used to having to remove something to get to the engine. Still having a heck of a time finding a decent service manual. If anyone has a source please paste a link. So many places say they carry a manual only to get you to their website.

Thanks. So far. Bought a set of replacement trunk struts off ebay for $75. No more getting clipped in the back of the neck!! Now I need a good OEM repair manual. Also, what's the best way to do a "tranny flush?" Does this thing really hold less than 2qt or ATF? Wow. My suburban takes 17qts for a good, thorough flush!!!