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lex4me

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Everything posted by lex4me

  1. To bypass (or not) my heater core, I first have to change to full heat or full cold with the temperature up/down switches on the dash. Once I do so, I have to pop the hood and manually move what I think is the heater control valve at the firewall to the up or down position. The valve I am moving is attached to the cable that is certainly operated by the servo controlled by the dash module. The question is whether I have a bad cable or a sticking valve (is the cable able to be lubricated?). If it helps, I cannot, for example, get the valve to move to provide heat in the cabin unless I first change the desired temp on the dash control to request it. Any ideas?
  2. Everyone keeps giving me the run around on warranty issues. Dye has been in it at least twice.
  3. My 91 has, for three years in a row now, had A/C issues each Spring. The first time, I took it to a local shop for the diag and repair. They said they fixed it, but then two months later I was back in the same boat. Then I went to the dealer. Entirely too much money later, I had a new compressor and working A/C. I had asked for the retrofit to R134A, but the dealer didn't do it. When I went to pick up the car, it was still R12, but working. I should have not accepted that, but foolishly did. The next spring, there I was, dead again. Another dealer visit and the diag was the receiver/dryer. That replacement kept me working for that season, but was expensive given the R12 cost. The next season, there I was, dead AGAIN. This is getting tiring and ridiculously expensive.
  4. Before I was going to do my brake job referenced in my other post, I was going to order replacement brake lines to change out the surely weakened OEM rubber ones. Han at LuxuryMods valiently tried to get them from his supplier, but came up short. Does anyone know where these remain available?
  5. I went to bled them starting at the driver rear and heard a pss noise from the driver front caliper when my son pressed the pedal. A little investigation later revealed that the connection from the brake line to the new caliper was leaking horribly. I remembered when I replaced these calipers being uncomfortable with the thickness (double, really) of the replacement copper washers that came with these new calipers from Autozone. I also remember when I used them, being uncomfortable with how few threads I had actually holding the brake line to the caliper as a result of the increased thickness (double the thickness times two washers means not much bolt length left). I remember feeling like the threads were about to give way when I first assembled it so didn't tighten further. To correct the leak, I ended up re-using my old copper washers. I certainly wasn't comfortable doing this (always heard you were supposed to replace them), but the leak is gone now. My pedal is much stiffer now (imagine that), but it still feels like there is some air in the system (the brake pedal drops perhaps 30% before truly doing anything, but removing your foot from the pedal momentarily and then putting it back on results in a firm pedal that is maintained throughout a gradual or hard stop). Plans are to go ahead and replace the ultra thick washers on the passenger side front wheel just because and then rebleed the entire system. So...beware of ultra-thick brake line washers from Autozone-sourced calipers on your Gen I LS.
  6. Point of clarification: I didn't replace the master - only the rotors, pads, and calipers in the front. I'll crack the lines at the master and rebleed both front wheels and see where that gets me. Thanks guys! Ed
  7. Okay, so I was doing my replacement brakes on the front of my 91LS and I cracked the brake line fitting to loosen it prior to removing the old caliper. I thought I had re-tightened it enough after its removal from the slider pins, but evidently not since when I came back to work on the car more after leaving it overnight I had brake fluid on the floor and the master cylinder had drained to the point that the front-most hole leading into the master was at least partially exposed. I immediately thought that it was time to bench bleed the master (grrr), but then the local auto parts guys said that that was only the case on cars with an ABS motor directly hooked up to the master cylinder. Since mine wasn't that way, they said, I didn't have any worries. Well, the car is back together again and wouldn't you know that I have a soft, like very soft, pedal (this after bleeding the brakes with the new calipers). I was going to try re-bleeding at the two front calipers to see if that would help, but am skeptical. Questions: 1. Does that front port feed the front or back brakes (i.e. which ones possibly have air)? 2. Is bleeding at the calipers a waste of time and fluid until I get the master bench bled? All thoughts appreciated. Thanks!
  8. I had the same problem just in the last couple months. The battery terminals needed to be cleaned (lots of build up on them), after which I put the battery on a charger overnight.
  9. The passenger side was sticking. Nothing wrong with the driver side that I know of, other than the fact that the rotor had that wear line (or lack thereof) in the middle. I picked up the replacement calipers today - time to go get everything installed. Thanks for the help guys! I'll see if I have some anti-sieze compound in the garage. If not, any reason why I shouldn't use the synthetic grease that I know that I do have?
  10. I finally got the rotor off. After it sat overnight with penetrating fluid sprayed from every angle I could think of, I was able to pound it off using the original grab a sledge technique. Thankfully, despite the pitting caused by the trauma, o'Reilly's gave me a new set of rotors (Wagners) under warranty along with new warranteed ceramic pads. Calipers (which were reasonably responsible for all of the damage from day one) are being ordered (also under warranty) and should come in and be installed tomorrow. Total brake job cost was about $3 for new fluid. Question: is there any reason to NOT put a THIN layer of synthetic brake caliper grease on the inside hub area of the new rotors prior to assembly to prevent the rusting of the hub to the rotor in the future?
  11. My 91LS does NOT have those creases. I'd ask them to fix it for you.
  12. When I replaced the rack and pump on my 91, I was amazed at how many times I had to turn the wheel lock to lock (while the car was on stands) to devoid the system of any air. It's been awhile now since I did this, but I want to say that I did it somewhere close to 50 times
  13. Yeah, I should've added the 'heat it up' option to my list of things I've tried, though have to admit I was being pretty timid about it. Of course, getting something the mass of a rotor very very hot is a bit of work for a little propane or mapp gas torch. I had wanted to heat the hub part of the rotor but was concerned about negatively impacting the hardness of the studs, so was heating the face of the rotor in a weak attempt to get the heat to migrate over to the hub part. The airhammer trick is really a great idea, I'll give that a whirl. The trouble is that this is a rotor that was under a lifetime warranty. I had visions of grandeur of taking it in to the local O'Reilly's and have them give me a new one for free (for some bizarre reason, the rotor did not wear evenly. Rather, a spot halfway through the wear pattern area on the inside has a ridge in it sticking up higher than the rest of the wear face.). I've seen it where I had a divot in a wear pattern caused by a pebble or something getting caught up in there, but never the opposite. Perhaps to 'save' the rotor, I'll clamp a shot brake pad to the rotor and air hammer that. Thanks for the ideas!
  14. I've tried what seems like everything to get the driver's side front rotor off my 91LS. I've removed the caliper, the pads, the caliper bracket, and the two little screws. While the passenger side came off with just a little persuasion, the driver side will not budge. Remembering this issue on another LS, I even tried threading the bolts that hold the caliper to the caliper bracket into the threaded holes in the rotor that are intended to allow you to force the rotor off that way. Trouble is, as the tips of those bolts are not threaded for the last 1/4" or so, you've only got 50% of the threads working in your favor. Yep, you guessed it, I stripped the threads on one of the holes. Other things I had tried before stripping the threads: 1. Hitting the edges of the rotor with a small sledge. 2. Hitting the face (ack!) of the inside edge of the rotor with the sledge, rotating the rotor as I went. 3. Using an 18" or so prybar against the ears that hold the caliper bracket on. The prybar just bends (and bends back when I release the pressure. 4. Using a 3' section of 3/4" galvanized water pipe as a prybar against the ears that hold the caliper bracket on. The water pipe just bent (and stayed that way). 5. Spraying a rust penetrant (PB blaster or something like it) everywhere I could get to (between the studs and the rotor, into the threaded holes on the face of the rotor, etc. Current plans are to swing by a hardware store tomorrow and pick up some grade 8 bolts that are threaded to the tip and see if I have any luck that way. Other ideas?
  15. Hey Blessed – Re: your coils. While it is indeed incredibly unlikely that BOTH coils are shot, one failed one would prevent the car from starting. If you wanted to check them both, you’ll want to minimally check for spark from a wire from each coil. Not sure if you have an OEM shop manual or not (worth every penny despite the cost, btw, I got my set on eBay (surprise, surprise). Once you have this, you’ll NEVER use a Chilton’s manual again), but dcfish had previously posted a pic of the cord layout at http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ost&id=8189. If you’ve messed with the wires at all in your troubleshooting thus far, I’d make CERTAIN that the layout precisely matches this image. As far as HOW to check for spark, the most foolproof way would be to disconnect a spark plug wire from the spark plug (being sure to hold the boot and NOT the wire to separate the two), remove said spark plug, re-insert the now loose plug into the wire that it came from and watch for a spark as someone else turns the key. You are looking for a white or blue spark (not sure on the LS, the color is indicative of the electrical output of the coil and really is the phenomena of ‘color temperature’) with a good loud ‘snapping’ noise to it. Reddish, yellowish, or orange spark is weak and indicative of a problem with wires or, more likely, a coil. So long as the plug is out, I’d go ahead and make sure it is clean and dry and the gap is set correctly at 0.044”. If the plug is fouled, that in and of itself could be the trouble (long shot, I admit) and likely a sign to check the others. Another way to check for spark would be shove a metal rod (I’ve used completely metal screwdrivers [no plastic handle] and even the occasional screw) into the plug holder on the wire and hold the ‘rod’ so that it is almost touching a valve cover to watch for spark (the spark should be able to jump about 3/16” to maybe 1/4”). I’m not sure just HOW much juice it would take for a spark to cross the 1” divide that you mentioned, but it would reasonably be way more than our little coils produce. Word of caution: if your plug wire is shorting out, it could mean that you get zapped at this step. To avoid this, either just set the plug and wire down on the valve cover or something while it is being cranked (if you use the first idea for checking) or wear/use something to insulate you from the wire as you hold it (special insulated gloves or even a rubber can opener from the kitchen [just be sure to clean it up later to keep the missus happy ;) ]. Having been zapped before on prior cars (so THAT’S what’s wrong with me…), I can tell you it is not a fun experience. Remember that your coil is developing somewhere around 55,000 volts to bridge that gap (can you say ow?). Checking the wires involves a physical inspection looking for cracks, etc. along the insulation, but most importantly involves using an ohm meter to check for resistance. I don’t have my shop manual handy at present, but perhaps someone else could chime in with what the resistance specification is. A nice write-up can be found at http://www.inct.net/~autotips/plugwire.htm. Regardless, when you put everything back together, don’t forget to squeeze some dielectic grease back into the wire holder part of the wire to protect against water and corrosion of the electrical contacts. As for the cap and wire carbon comment, this is pretty easy to check – just pop the rotor off (I’ve never done this on my LS, but on other cars it has been held on with a screw or clip of some kind) and take a peek in there. If you want, you can use a Dremel or other moto-tool of your choosing with a wire brush attachment and clean up the contacts on the cap and the contact on the rotor in lieu of simply replacing it for now. Really fine (220 grit or more) sandpaper could also work, but would just take longer. Of course replacement is ALWAYS better, but if money were no object we’d all be driving ’08 models, eh? :) Of course, re-seating all of the wires (one at a time, mind you) at the coils is always a good idea, too. Again, be sure to use dielectric grease on the re-connect. Good luck! Ed
  16. On my 91, the low oil light will come in if the oil level is at all below the completely full mark. I've noticed that the amount of time the light will remain illuminated varies with just how "low" the oil is. One quarter down from full is about 15 seconds, half way down is about 30 seconds. I'd imagine that lower than that would result in longer "on" times, but I've never let it go that long. Good luck! Ed
  17. So I've ordered new pins from the dealer and confirmed that I hadn't bent mine. Does ANYONE have any ideas here? My car has been up on stands for almost two weeks!
  18. I need the windshield washer reservoir.
  19. Doing anyone know the trick for getting the rear parking brake shoe pin back in? You know, that little pin that is used in conjuction with a couple of hold-down cups and a spring to keep everything in place? I've done brakes numerous times before, but have never had this problem... I was redoing the rear brakes on my 91 LS. When I removed my rotors to have them turned, I noted that the friction material on three out of the four shoes had fallen off of the steel shoe "holder". They must have just been floating around in there. :o So...after an unsuccessful search at NAPA, etc., I ordered replacements from the dealer. Getting everything apart was a bit of a pain, but now I cannot for the life of me get that pin to go through the hole in the shoe unless the parking brake cable is removed from the parking brake lever first. Even then, the pin doesn't have a snowballs chance to set 90° to the shoe - it is angled down maybe 35° when the shoe is placed in the proper position. I SUPPOSE it's possible that I bent the pin somehow when removing everything, but I really, really doubt it. Ideas?
  20. Toysrme is right! I have this same problem when first start up. TLC toyota Lexus independent here in San diego Ca. with replace sterm valve seals for $500.00. I had read this topic before check it out!Click here On the older LS400's at least, there is a valve of some kind (I forget what it is called) attached to the PS pump that helps with power steering at low rpm's (idle). When this valve fails, it allows some PS fluid into the intake, causing blue smoke at (and only at) startup. My 91 had this problem. I replaced the valve (about $70 if I recall). Problem solved.
  21. After all the talk about the Seafoam, I tried it tonight on my 91 with 158000 on it. I slowly allowed a third of a can to be sucked in through a vacuum line, noted a bit of smoke, and then killed the engine for 5-6 minutes. It died twice upon restart and smoked a little, but NOTHING like what I have seen on the various youtube videos. Is my engine just that clean or did I somehow do something wrong?
  22. I'd try removing the wiper arm from the spline bolt that it is on and rotating the arm one or two positions up to change how far down the down travel takes you.
  23. Interesting observation. I did notice that the passenger side wiper was not fully engaged in the wiper arm and was able to pull it out further and lock it in place. The driver side wasn't fully engaged either, but no amount of pulling on it would engage it as the housing remains in the way. Perhaps the folks at rain-x didn't engineer their blade holder properly?
  24. My 91 LS400 wipers are getting worse and worse at cleaning the upper portion of the windshield during a swipe - the wipers never contact the glass. I have replaced the wipers with two different brands to no avail. I am thinking that the spring on the arm has gotten weak. Has anyone been able to find a replacement spring, done something to tighten up the spring, or done anything other than go to Lexus to get a new arm? None of the after-market houses seem to carry the replacement arm and Lexus wants a small fortune. Please advise. Ed - using RainX for now.
  25. Your symptoms don't sound like time for new brake pads to me. It sounds more like air in the line (time to bled the brakes, but you have to ask yourself how air got in there...), a bad master cylinder, or a bad (leaking) caliper. Brake calipers are designed to squeeze brade pads in against the moving rotor to stop your car. As the pads wear, the caliper's pistons move out further and further, but then STAY moved out within the same distance from the ever decreasing thickness of the pads. I'd put top priority at looking at this problem. Brake failure is not a fun thing. If, when you take everything apart to look, you find any wetness around the calipers at all, you've found your problem - bad caliper. If you find that the pads are worn out anyway, I've had great luck with the ceramic pads from Wagner - the Thermoquiet ones from O'Reilly auto parts. Good luck.
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