LEXIE

93-- the solenoid is located on the p/s rack. have your mechanic trace the two wires on the rack and it will lead him to the solenoid. it has a thin hex nut on valve body. he will have to tap ths nut with a chisle or long screwdriver to break it loose. once the valve is out, he will see a white circular plastic collar just below a black o-ring, this is the screen. slip it off and wash it thourghouly with break cleaner fluid. have him make sure the valve works freely and for safety's sake, also flush the valve internals with cleaner. my screen was loaded with junk...this could be some or all of your problem. good luck, lx

car-clinic analyst bobby likis highly recommends you go to lower octane fuel for the cost savings unless you are a big time performance buff. lx

connect your refrig can to the low side fitting and submerse the can in very hot water..say 150F. this will drive the refrigerant into the system and raise the pressure above the low cut-off point and allow the compresor to kick in. did you lose all your refrigeratnt thru a leak or are you recharging to and empty system after a repair?? lx

99-- did you clean out that solenoid filter yet..you promised you would get to it this week. that may be your problem. i cleaned mine last week..it was loaded with junk and only 61k miles on car. lexie

t3-- the filter on my sc400 is located just below the yellow port cap shown in the pic below posted by monarch. it is inside the solenoid body which has to be removed by tapping ( striking) a hex nut to break the unit loose...nearly impossible to get wrench on. you will see two electrical wires going to the solenoid and will most likely have to have the car on a hoist to do the job. i just removed, cleaned, and replaced my filter and it was pretty badly plugged. http://www.saber.net/~monarch/steeringrack.jpg lx

90LS-- you may want to keep a close eye on that leak. i thought my hi press hose was leaking at the crimped joint but after wrapping a cloth around the hose above the joint, i found that it was the pump inlet. i got the seal repair kit including the copper/brass gasket all for about $25. all the old o-rings were brittle and my car only has 61kmi. no problems with repair and pump is fine now. there were no signs of any drippage ever hitting the alternator. also, finally cleaned solenoid filter yesterday. it was totally plugged. lexie.

before i repaired my p/s pump i did quite a bit of research on this forum and a couple of others to gather pertinent info to prepare for the task. i noted a recurring comment in a lot of the posts regarding leakage problems to the tune of: "well i got my pump repaired and now i have to worry about a leak on my rack". a post just today played the same song. is it possible that when the solenoid filter on the rack gets excessively plugged, it creates so much system back pressure that the seals give in both the pump and rack and that is why the problems seem to be concurrent. actually, this could relate to hose failures also. i'm not implying all failures are due the the filter but maybe a significant percentage. if so, it would be prudent to check/clean the filter on a periodic basis as a preventive measure. any thoughts any1?? lx

monarch-- i think i have finally spotted the solenoid from under the hood. with reference to the power steering pic you posted above, it is directly under the yellow plastic port cover. if you look very closely there is a thin hex nut (not more 1/8' thickness) on the solenoid body about an inch or so below the yellow port cover. i guess this is what you strike to break the unit loose. i can see the number 01313 stamped on the body of my solenoid. tansupplyman, if you have read this post...is that the culprit we are talking about?? see pic below. http://www.saber.net/~monarch/steeringrack.jpg lx

e-- when you say u replaced the original leaking one with autozn model r u referring to the filter, the solenoid or a replacement ps pump. lx

99-- i am going to be a real nice guy and let you do your solenoid filter clean job before me so i can pick up all the details from a pro. how's that for consideration from a fellow "maintenance overkill" forum member??? lexie

t'man thx for the info. i think i can locate now. when i did my seal replacement there was a lot of crap in system. i got the resevoir squeaky clean using engine gunk cleaner and hi press water flush. completely purged system with fresh fluid till no signs of contamination. rebuilt pump is showing no signs of leakage but i have a very slight moan when wheels are turned at dead stop. gut feeling with all the junk that was in system before cleaning, i just may have a buildup on screen thus my desire to clean and also to eliminate possibility of excess back pressure on p/s pump. L

jp-- sorry for the diversion... i guess this happens once in a while but i did give TR an answer directly related to his question in my very first post on this subject. are the little oil testers i mentioned not a satisfactory way to determine both oil and contamination level. it sure seemed to work ok for me when tested my unit. L

monarch-- i have the same question regarding my '93 sc400. i want to change the filter screen now that my p/s pump has been refurbished but for the life of me i can't seem to locate the solenoid from looking at the rack from the top. i see a device with two wires attached but it has no resemblance to the solenoid that every1 refers to with the large hex nut you "beat" on to remove. hope we can get some clarification. lx

monarch-- i guess it kind of falls into the category of "do i really want to take this plane trip to wherever with all this terrorist activity going on". yes a car cabin explosion is possible but just as dangerous are the toxic fumes that r12 and r134a put out (extremely toxic as compared to r12). one could make a case for about any situation and all are possibe but highly unlikely. heres some stuff that may be of interest: HYDROCARBON REFRIGERANT SAFETY Like many commonly used commodities such as petrol, natural gas and electricity, the use of HC refrigerants requires common sense and observance of adequate safety procedures. It is important to understand the volume of hydrocarbon refrigerant involved m motor vehicle air conditioning and refrigeration system applications. A typical car air conditioning system contains about a coffee cup full of liquid refrigerant, and a small refrigerator contains about an eggcup full. Australian Standard AS 1596 - 1989 (LP Gas Storage and Handling) established safety guidelines for storage and handling of liquefied petroleum gas products, which include hydrocarbon refrigerants. Australian Standard AS 1677 (Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Safety), recently, completed and soon to be released, includes comprehensive procedures for the use of all refrigerants, including Hydrocarbons. In all applications hydrocarbon refrigerants are much safer for the consumer than chemical refrigerants, most of which degrade producing toxic by products following accidental release in the presence of an adequate heat source. Research by International risk assessment engineers, the Arthur D. Little Group indicates an extremely low risk to motor vehicle occupants from accidental release of hydrocarbon refrigerant. The School of Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, University of N.S.W., is a world leader in the application of these products, and have documented* the safety and efficiency of HC refrigerants in motor vehicle air conditioners. There is also overwhelming evidence of the environmental benefits and safety of HC refrigerants. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have there been studies to determine the potential level of incidence, in terms of ignited automobile compartment leakage? Internationally respected risk assessors Arthur D. Little, in a detailed UK-based study, estimated the risk of an ignited refrigerant leak in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle as being in the area of 3 in 10 million. Their findings, from a local perspective, mean that if every car in the USA (some 50 to 60 million vehicles) were to use a hydrocarbon refrigerant such an accident might occur once in every 50 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The most significant point to be made is that there is a total lack of technical evidence to refute the case for hydrocarbon refrigerants. Australia is particularly vulnerable to the effects of Global Warming and the degradation of the Ozone layer. At this time the supply of CFC refrigerants is practically exhausted. HCFC (hydro chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants) do less damage to the Ozone Layer than CFCs but are still detrimental and a cause of global warming. Currently it is intended that HCFCs be phased out by the year 2015, or sooner. Several European countries have decided on an earlier phase out period for HCFCS. EFC refrigerants (of which RI 34a is one of the more common types) have not been a universal success. Apart from having a very high Global Warming Potential, they have proved to be excessive energy consumers in most applications; poor performers in high ambient conditions- and are particularly dangerous when exposed to moisture or a heat source causing degradation. CFC, HCFC and HFC refrigerants are easily replaced with a hydrocarbon product. All major refrigerator manufacturers in Europe have universally adopted hydrocarbon refrigerants. The refrigeration systems of four out of five of the largest UK supermarket chains have been - converted over to HC refrigerants with the obvious advantages of being recognized as environmentally I conscious, while energy savings have been outstanding. Chinese refrigerator design and manufacture is being geared to hydrocarbon technology instead of the American HFC chemical refrigerants. The first Australian hydrocarbon refrigerator, using 'hydrocarbon refrigerants was produced by Email in February 1995. Email was promptly presented with a Federal award for their contribution to the protection of the environment. Greenpeace also commended the occasion. Email will be providing the latest hydrocarbon technology refrigerators for the Olympic villa-e at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Hydrocarbon refrigerants has become the dominant technology in Europe. Many models of refrigerators with hydrocarbon refrigerants are now on sale in Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Britain. All of the major European companies, Bosch, Siemens, Electrolux. Liebherr, Miele, Quelle, Vestfrost, Whirlpool Bauknecht, Foron, and AEG are marketing Greenfreeze technology based refrigerators. 100 percent of the German market has converted to hydrocarbon refrigerants technology. END OF ARTICLE i guess it boils down to what your comfort level is to different things. like one could make a case if they continue to allow 134a to be used we we all die of cancer due to its contribution to the ozone problems, altho it is somewhat better than r12, it still " ain't right". would you drive a propane fuled vehicle knowing you are in a potential time bomb should a rear end collision occur?? life is a crap shoot but we do what we gotta do. lexie

monarch-- i respect your opinions and really did not want to get into a discussion with reference to R12a vs R12 or R134a for that matter. rather than me try to justify its use in the USA, you may want to research this on the net if you have not already done so. briefly: the USA is the only major country not using this non-halogen containing gas as a refrigerant and it is costing this country billions of dollars a year in energy costs. the energy requird to compress methane, propane, butane or blends of these gases is significantly less than halogen containing gases and the efficiency of halide free gases upon expansion is much greater thus giving you a double benifit in doing its job as a refrigerant. major countries like australia, japan, canada, china, probably all of europe...on and on have been using these gases as refrigs for years but here in the USA there is extreme political pressure and mainly from some big time chemical companies like dupont to remain status quo with our current gasses. billions of dollars sales at stake. look at it this way, some folks are driving driving a car/truck around with a 50 gallon tank of propane in the bed or under the trunk and the whole engine full of propane vs 12 oz of R12a in your a/c system. actually the gases sold here in the us and probably all over the world, have a few parts per million of a highly odorous pine-scent compound added any minor leak can be detected rather quickly. i picked the odor up when i charged my car with the R12a and it is pretty powerful. again, not trying to justify my conversion but i sincerely think the US is way behind here and with the arab countries sticking it to us on oil prices we really need to do something here at home to relieve our energy dependency on foreign supply. research it a bit and you will be supprised at what you will find...even greenpeace is all for us converting. lexie

TR-- i know this is a controversial issue but i converted my a/c system from R12 to R12a refrigerant and it is working beautifully. added three cans at cost of $23...only takes 1/3 amount to fully charge vs R12... 12 0z R12a vs about 36 oz for R12 at some rediculously high cost. well, lets not get into the pros and cons of that change but the point i was going to make is when i made the conversion, i totally evacuated the system before adding the new refrigerant plus i added oil ( precharged can oil/refrig combo). the place i bought the refrig from also sold little test devices that indicated your oil level in the a/c system. they are pretty neat. it is a clear plastic tube, maybe 2" long and a bit larger than pencil diameter and is filled with an absorbant white fiberous material. you just stick one end of the tube on the low pressure port where you add regrig and press in for a second and the refrigerant passes through the filter media. if the media shows wet to the top of the plastic segment you are in good shape. if close to half wet, you need to add oil. the media will also tell how clean the system is...i.e., if chocolate, brown or orange..dirty. light brown, borderline and pale yellow or white, clean. mine was totally white in color after the test and showed the proper oil level, following the oil add. i am not sure if these are sold in auto patrs supply shops but if you want to order online, here is the web site: http://autorefrigerants.com/oilphasetester.htm hope this is of some help. lexie

lex4me-- i am very much interested in what ur hydraulic hose shop comes up with re duplicating ur hi press hose...$ wise. this is an expensive oem item and if they can repair/re-create/duplicate whatever the hose for minimum bucks, it would be a big savings for a lot of folks who go thru the ps repair fiasco if a hose is truly needed. please post back when u get the 'hose shop' report. lexie

sorry for poor spelling previous post> front(frint) fender barely noticeable(noticible) Lx

i had a pretty deep dent on my driver's side frint fender. it was oval shaped and about silver dollar sized. i bought a ding king repair kit for $19.95... glue gun, several glue sticks and a couple of suction cups with different shapes and the puller which threads onto the cups. it took about 5 repeat cycles of: putting hot glue in the suction cup, placing cup over dent and allowing to dry, and then applying the puller to cup and slowly drawing it out. after the fifth repeat the dent was barely noticible to me and would not be apparent to any1 unaware of its location. no damage to paint at all. i searched the web just now and the site below is offering the same unit on sale for the same 19.95 price. for that cost it would be worth a try and you certainly should have use for it sometime down the road. http://www.qksrv.net/click-907648-10274001...nkindenrep.html hope this helps. lexie

guys your going to love this one. maybe this is old stuff but i got to pass it on... there is one happy greek behind the computer at this moment. i was doing a little more research on replacing the bulbs in my dash and went to the clublexus forum for any info that might help re this subject. i found this series of posts and strangely enuf the first post asked the following question: "It looks like 2 bulbs have burnt out in my cluster....the one that lights up the 60 and 80mph areas on the speedometer, and then I have one burnt out at the 5-6k range on the tach. Does anyone have part numbers for these bulbs? Id assume they are the same bulb." these were the exact same bulbs (area) that were dark on both my speedo and tach. well, the next post gave the part number and another the oem bulb price and another commented on buying replacement bulbs for 2-3 bucks at auto zone and a few more posts about replacing the bulbs and then this guy posts a real bomb. he says, "you may be supprised but if you just give your dash a couple of hard pounds, this can revive the lights". so, the guy apparently followed his advice and lo and behold his lights came back to life. i couldn't wait to get to my machine ('93 sc400..same as the guy above) and try this masterful stroke of genius. i fired the car up and, altho i am not one for beating on any part of the car, i gave the dash a nice volley of blows and this is no sh*t... both dark areas came to life. the originator of this unique cost saving approach to dash light repair also said that most likely the lights will fade again but a occasional nice blow will restore them. no problem with that. hey, there is more. i go back in the house and am pondering what more i need to do to have my total lighting system back to complete normal. well, there was only one other area that was dark(1/2 out) and that was the a/c led display, which seems to be another vulnerable spot for my model car. another no sh*tter..... back out to the chine, crank it up and lay a couple of nice ones to the area just above the a/c display and for the first time in 4 yrs, the whole unit came to vibrant life. guys, tell me... can it get any better than this considering i was just about to pull the dash out for bulb replacement and also redo the a/c display, which i think requires soldering to correct. lexie

monarch-- thx for ur reply. i was aware of that series of posts and thats why i eluded to the screen being a potential problem. i think some1 on either our forum or maybe another actually had a photo of exactly where the selonoid was and what it looked like. i guess i will eventually check it out just knowing in the back of my mind that it may be partially plugged. for now i am going to back off a while and for satisfying my own curiosity, i would like to c how effective just the fluid change alone is with regard to the noise. i.e., if the fluid change mitigates the plugged screen prob, then just think how much more efficient the system will operate if in fact there is a plugged (or partially) screen. also, with this fluid (havoline) having eliminated the noise prob while the other brands failed, it would indicate..not necessarily confirm... that it is a more suitable choice for my ps system. i have a tendency to be over analytical at times rather than just going ahead and covering all bases before it is too late... misfortune of having an engineering background. i am going to find that pic showing the selonoid and start preping for my next mechanical adventure. i hope i dont have to wield a chisle to get that nut loose as described in one of the posts you just referenced. lexie

i thought this might be helpful info re power steering problems in general so i am sharing with all who are having or have experienced difficulties in this area. a couple of months ago my p/s system was making some pretty loud groans that started out just once in a while then became a daily occurrence. there was no visible pump leakage but the fluid ('93 sc400 ..60K mi) had a slight brownish tint (apparently water clear in original state) so i decided to change. so using the turkey baster technique i replaced the fluid with two quarts of havoline power steering fluid... it too is water white. during the fluid exchange i noticed considerable trash in the old liquid druing the withdrawal process but eventuall the system cleared up. hey, the noise disaaperared and i was content for a few weeks and then noticed a few drops of liquid on the garage floor. eventually i found my ps pump to be leaking somewhere around the hi press line entering the pump so i decided to do the seal kit repair job and not take a chance of frying the alternator. the repair went well despite it taking me about 12 hrs (not a real speedball in this area). with the pump reinstalled, i purge the total syatem with a gallon of fresh dexron III atf until totally air free. during the process( front wheels up) there was lots of pump noise (air) which eventually disaapeared. a few days later i noticed that when the car was at a standstill, i would get a pretty loud groan when barely turning the wheels a bit to left or right. i assumed that maybe after a week or so of driving the new fluid would settle in. there were no signs of leakage anywhere and the noise only happened at dead stop and not while driving. the noise persisted so i decided to purge the dexron out and i replaced with a synthetic (valvoline)) fluid strictly for ps use. it did not help so i decided to go with the havoline again. i purged half the synthetic out and noticed an immediate improvement not only in noise level but also steering performance..easier to turn even tho it was not a noticible problem before. i will let it settle in for about a week and then i will purge the remaining fluid with the second qrt. at first i was a bit reluctant to go back to the havoline because of some previous discussion related to changing fluids and causing seal failure but when i replaced the o-rings, it was obvious they were shot.. brittle almost to the carbon state. so i assumed they were gone and the new fluid really had nothing to do with their demise. a theory here: it could be that maybe i have a slight blockage in the screen to the ps rack and maybe this havoline fluid has a lower viscosity and is flowing thru the system more freely. i have no positive evidence that is so but i sure have no desire to explore that (the rack) area. the havoline ps fluid is about $2.40/qt and carries a high rating so i am going to assume it just serves this particular ps system better than dexron II or III and other brands of fluid...especially if originallydesigned for atf use. any thoughts re the subject? lexie

sk- sounds easy enfu. thx for reply. lexie

'93 SC400 i have read most of the posts related to removing and replacing bulbs in the dash speedo display including a very descriptive tutorial on how to remove the dash unit. i have what appears to be 2 bulbs out..one on the speedometer and the other on the tach. i thinlk i can get the unit out w/o much trouble but my questions are: 1) there are 8 bulbs backlighting the speedo/tach display. should i replace all 8 while i am in the remove/replace process, or just the 2. 2) i am still confused regarding how the bulbs are replaced. do i have to do a soldering job or can i just twist the bulbs out and replace them with the new ones. i am sticking with white so there shouldn't be any difference in the new bulbs i buy vs the old ones. every post i read related to this subject gets confusing when you finally have access to the burned out bulbs and it's like you have to do this and that rather than just twist the fk'n bulb out and replace it with the new one. a simple answer would be greatly appreciated. lexie

stags-- where did you get that picture from. i really dont think you can touch that hose for anything eeven close to $35. that is the exact same looking hose that goes with my SC400 p/s system and it was quoted in the $350 range. if you can get the hi press unit for your car for anything less than $50, it is a steal even if it may be a knockoff. lx