curiousB

I have been running regular fuel for 3+ years on my '04 LS430, just rolled over 125k miles. No issues. Last time I checked the engine was still under the hood. I wouldn't go crazy doing a bunch of back to back oil changes. That is just throwing money away. You say you just did a change then wait normal interval before doing it again. Regular vs synthetic is a passionate debate here but that debate has nothing to do with your current issues. Once you cut over to synthetic it is not a death sentence to do a regular oil change before you go back to synthetic. The issue here is the possible loss of oil not the oil type. Prior poster suggested wiring to the knock sensor. Unfortunately its a bit of a problem to get to it. So before ripping out the intake manifold I would: Burn down the current tank of gas to near empty. Just normal usage don't make a special trip to throw the gas away. Fill with premium fuel from a Tier 1 gas vendor (I prefer Shell), preferably a fairly active gas stop (means fuel is turning over frequently). Since you must have an OBDII reader reset the P0345 code Monitor the oil level to see if it is holding Throw a piece of cardboard down and park in the same spot in your garage each day. See if an oil leak develops after several days of parking in the same spot. After your next long drive (over 15 minutes) in the evening (i.e. dark outside) take a look at the catalytic converters just after stopping. See if one or the other is glowing red. That could suggest an ignition problem in one or more cylinders dumping gas into the exhaust system. Don't stick your hand down there. Its hot! ouch... I believe your model has coil over plug ignition so you won't have the very common bad coil problem the earlier model LS400s were prone to have. Its also unlikely more than one CoP went bad at the same time (so losing one cylinder in 8 wouldn't likely make the dramatic performance hit you are seeing). I would look to common components on the ignition system. Maybe the crank position sensor is faulty, loose connector, or out of alignment. When were the plugs changed last? They are good for 100k miles so unlikely they suddenly woke up faulty. But it may be just time to replace them and its cheap/easy to do. A faulty knock sensor needs to get fixed but you can relax and go through a logical order. It might be the intake manifold has to come out to replace a sensor or a wire but try the easy stuff first. You can do that on you own. Maybe you get lucky and just find you had some bad gas and there is no big oil loss. Good luck. Hope your work situation has improved.

here they are...

This might be fairly easy to fix. The paint is sitting on top of the finish so a well skilled detailer can probably buff it out with some mild polishing compound and then wax it up so you never know what happened.

If you are constantly topping up coolant that is a sign of a leak. As rated in (good/better/best) scenarios: Lucky: a leaky hose, easy fix Not so lucky: a worn water pump (seal leaking), fairly costly but might still be worth it Bad news bears: Blown head gasket (coolant leaking into cylinder), forget about it, time to get a new car

Maybe its the air handler box under the dash. Perhaps the core is getting hot but the air is being blocked from flowing over it. Is the cabin air filter plugged with dirt and grime? Is the fan not running or running at too slow a speed? Are the air dampers or related servos stuck closed?

Something is strange here. The brakes will only be cold before the first serious stop. Brakes convert kinetic energy into heat. That energy conversion is what brings car to a stop. If you are saying that they squeal even after several stops on a cold day then it is a bit puzzling because the pads and rotor won't be at ambient temperature any longer. I wonder if the rotors have some surface rust due to moisture and it takes a few stops to grind off the surface rust? Doesn't seem likely to be the problem though.

Fill it up slower.

Are guide pins binding? Uneven wear sound like caliper can't straddle the rotor evenly and is favoring one side.

For $15 you can join this site for 48 hours and get the exact service manual for you vehicle. It will give you the step by step removal and reinstallation instructions. Best $15 you'll ever spend. www.techinfo.toyota.com

I would stick with the ignition theory for now. It is a chronic issue with these cars so is a good path to start down on. Pick up one of these and see if you have spark on each bank: http://www.jbtoolsales.com/lisle-20610-inline-spark-tester/ A bad coil will kill 4 cylinders and make it run rough or not at all (on a cold engine that was a little hard starting anyway).

If you don't have the repair history I might be a little concerned about the water pump, timing belt, and TB idlers. TB is an every 90k miles replacement but because its a big job I recommend the extra few bucks and do the water pump while you are in there. Some suggest new seals on camshafts and main bearing but I haven't done that yet. I like flushing the tranny with new fluid. Newer models have so called lifetime tranny fluid but I am highly suspect of that once you get north of 100k miles on the car.

There is plenty of history with this egr pipe cracking. Search the forum here to find more. I would use the 3/8" hose trick I mentioned earlier to pinpoint the problem before ripping things apart. There is a section of the pipe that is corrugated and it tends to crack on one of those seams. Its a bit tricky to replace but you'll find instructions here on how to do it. I would resist making changes such as; capping off, eliminating, rerouting, and so on. These components work in a complex closed loop system and while you think you are fixing one thing you might actually break something else. I learned this lesson last year when I had a faulty catalytic converter DTC and CEL issue. After a few weeks of checking and swapping out gaskets, an O2 sensor and a catalytic converter the problem persisted. In the end it was a cracked pipe a few inches after the second O2 sensor. All I needed was some welding. So be careful about closed loop system diagnosis. Its not always what you think. Emission inspection of cars where I live is simply a computer connection via the OBDII connector to check for trouble codes (DTCs). If the CEL is not lit you will pass in IL. They don't use a probe in the exhaust pipe. Is your CEL lit?

The leaking coolant is a sure sign of a waterpump failure. I wouldn't leave this too long as the bearing in the pump can eventually seize and snap the timing belt. I don't believe your engine is an interference type but it will still be an inconvenience. The cost of a pump isn't outrageous ($69.00) so I wouldn't even consider a used one. http://www.store.partsdinosaur.com/product1884.html I'd put in a new timing belt while I was at it. http://www.store.partsdinosaur.com/product1888.html ______________________ As for detecting a leak get a length of 3/8" hose and hold one end a inch or two so away from your ear and then move the other end around where you think the leak is. You'd be surprised how accurate this is for pinpointing a sound.

It might be easier to cut the old capacitor into pieces with sharp side cutters and get it down to the leads only on the PCB. Then using desoldering wick you can suck out the solder and pull the old lead out. Don't overheat or you will delaminate the copper layers and then its game over.

These are great cars but if something goes wrong it can be expensive. If you are of modest means this may not be a good purchase for you. Its easy to get $2,000-$3,000 repair bills on these cars. The good news is they don't break down much. The bad news is when they do, it can be pricey. If you are mechanically inclined and are able to do some work you can offset part of that risk. But only some of it. I'd hate to see you burn through your savings and not be in a position to handle an expensive repair down the road.

As Landar suggested this isn't likely a CoP issue (coil over plug). Its unimaginable that several CoP units failed simultaneously so it must be something else. Start with the obvious stuff. Get some aerosol contact cleaner and remove connectors to a few sensors and spray them with cleaner and reassemble. Connectors like, MAF, Throttle position sensor, crankshaft position sensor, ...). If any of these are intermittent you'll have problems. You really need to do an OBD-II code dump as well. There are probably good clues in the DTCs in the ECU.

Can you wire in some test wires right to the battery posts and then to your DVM inside the car. Then go for a ride and monitor battery voltage. With engine running it should always stay north of 13.3 VDC, at all RPMs. If battery only gets >13.3VDC at >2000 RPM it could be worn brushes in alternator (something you can fix without replacing the Alternator, just a brush kit). Worn brushes would limit field current which can reduce output of alternator. It could be a bad regulator but since these are now all electronic you don't hear of them failing much.

If you have 14VDC at the battery posts with the engine running and heavy electrical loads like the headlights on then you seem to have an OK charging system. Unless something is intermittent (like a loose connection on alternator charge wire, or battery) then it must be something else. Maybe you have a phantom load (trunk, interior or glove box light on) that is leading to excessive "key off current" such that the battery is slowly being drained overnight. I installed a remote starter unit into a Ford and it caused a strange side effect where the vehicle ECU never dropped into low power sleep mode and drained the battery in 2-3 days.

retracted, didn't realize OP was 2007.... All you need is a DVM to check alternator output. Lots of threads here on the procedure. If you had a PS leak probably brushes were damaged. You can fix alternator by cleaning it up and putting in new brushes. A lot cheaper than a new one. A rebuilt is an option too.

I'm not very familiar with air suspension but I agree it seems unlikely to be all four sensors failing at the same time. I would go buy new sensor set just yet. Maybe one sensor has shorted and is pulling down the reference voltage used to bias the potentiometer in the sensor. Do other codes go away if you unplug one sensor and reset system then fire it up? cable fault? A wire has broken in the harness that is common to all sensors (+VDC bias or ground)? Is there an air leak. Is air pressure used to raise car or lower it? Maybe an air hose or fitting has failed stopping pressure from getting to shocks. Is the fail safe position for the car full height or minimal height? If you intentionally crack open a fitting to bleed out air does car fall to ground or raise to max height?

Don't take it personal but the historical agency based model is dying thanks to the internet and direct sales. The insurance companies are under serious price pressure and the high cost agency direct (local agent) sales model is not in alignment with these realities. This is a structural economic change to this industry (not a temporary situation). I suspect the local agency model won't exist in another 10-15 years. If you own an agency sell it while it is still worth something...

No benefit to preventative changing of ALT or PS Pump. Fix when fail.

I learned the same a few years ago. Rental car is an "extra fee" I was dropping $3k/yr to these turkeys and they nickle dimed me on a rental car. No wonder the web based insurance companies are kicking the traditional agent companies butt....

Landar, Glad you folks are OK. The car can be fixed but I'm sure the mental pictures will hang on for some time. Stay safe.