Ruud

Well it was a great topic title!

As to the question, if your heater core was leaking you'd have a fine scum of coolant on the inside of the windshield. It would be difficult to remove. If that isn't present, then more than likely you have some sort of growth occurring in the heater box/evaporator box itself. There are biocides on the market designed to be fogged into the air intake for the HVAC system, that will kill whatever is growing. It's also possible that something has already died in there, but I doubt it.

Smelly AC is a concern in many climates, Canada included. Once cured the best practice is to shut off the AC a few miles from home, run the fan up to full speed, and dry the evaporator core so that no moisture is present, eliminating the "growth medium" for various types of molds and other buggly-duds.

Thank you for your reply.

The problem is that the smell is there when the car starts to heat up with the A/C off.

I have used the 'fogged' a/c cleaner, but that did not make any difference. I am pretty sure it is coolant I smell. I get the same smell when coolant drips on the hot exhaust.

I do not have any coolant scum on my windshield though.

Does anyone actually reads the posts, or just the topic title?

Did Lexus produce a LS 400 Pebble Beach edition ? I know Lexus produced a SC430 PB.

The only official "special" LS400 models for the U.S. market I'm aware of were the 1994 "5th Anniversary Edition", the 1997 "COACH® Edition", and the 2000 "Platinum Series". There were sometimes special LS400 models sold in other markets such as the 2000 LS400 "Millennium Edition" for Canada which was essentially the same as the U.S. Platinum Series except without the emblems on the front fenders and the American Express credit card tie-in.

There are, of course. those cheesy, vinyl top "Palm Beach Edition" Lexus cars from a Lexus dealer in Florida -- I thought I had a photo of one of his LS400 aberrations but these other two will have to do.

Holy crap, that looks !!

any updates about this?

the guy in the below link has exactly the same issue

http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9020

Anyone here knows what a vapor trap is?

Welcome

I'm also from the Netherlands, but have given up living there many, many moons ago

I see you have the extremely rare and highly desirable "Red Curry" limited edition.

(sorry...)

Indeed I do :)

I have found out that these are quite the collector's item these days.

Lexus LS400 RC Limited Edition :)

Like I said start the car,open all the vents,make sure the air is set to recirculate,set the AC to max cold,set the thing off in the back of the car,leave it 10 minutes for the can to empty and circulate around the system then leave the doors open to vent the excess.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_224996_langId_-1_categoryId_165632

Thanks Steve, I'll give it a try

Have you considered getting one of those AC cleaner aerosols,the one where you put the AC on max cold,set the thing off behind the front passenger seat(I use the rear part of the transmission tunnel) then leave until its done it's job.

I bought a few from Aldi a while ago but they are readily available elsewhere.

umm..I have never even heard of them..lol

How can they clean a closed system from behind the passenger seat?

I just want to know who makes it. I like the subtle kit.

It could be Wald International.

Here's a Wald UCF10

Is it a methane type smell (natural gas ie; !Removed!...)? And does it come and go? Mine does this periodically. I've been told it could be one of the cats going bad.

No, it's not methane. The smell is really only there in the morning, when she is warmed up. The rest of the day is fine.

Iknow the smell of a bad cat., that's more like a rotten egg smell :)

I purchased a 2002 LS430 that has tinted windows. I would like to remove the tint and am looking for suggestions or tips from someone who has done it. Thank you in advance and stay warm.

I have recently removed tint from windows. It's a ***** to get the glue off. I found using a stanley knive blade and autoglym tar remover worked the best. It's still a nightmare though.

I'm not sure if the Autoglym range is available in the US?

Lay in the footwell and look up behind the glovebox,you should see a black plastic box with 2 wing-nuts,unscrew them and the bottom panel will come off exposing the filter(s).

I actually washed mine in soapy water,rinsed,allowed to dry,sprayed with air freshener and refitted.They are probably $20.00 to you guys but cost over $60.00 in the UK

ah, pollen filter was changed earlier this year.

I'm not sure about the core but you could get a charcoal cabin filter, they really help stop smells from coming inside the car!

lol..the smell is not coming from outside.

Ah but the A/C filter could be clogged causing the poor air flow and the smell

I don't have poor air flow though.

Just to be safe, where is this A/C filer located? Is it the pollen filter?

I'm not sure about the core but you could get a charcoal cabin filter, they really help stop smells from coming inside the car!

lol..the smell is not coming from outside.

Hi everyone,

My LS (1994) has hardly any warm air coming from the vents and smells like an Indian Takeout when it is warmed up :)

I have been told this could be caused by the heater core/matrix being on it's way out.

Has anyone attempted to replace the heater core?

I believe starting in '95, the timing belt only needed to be replaced every 90k miles and XX years. Do you know what XX is?????

Actually, maybe it was '97....

The replacement interval for the timing belt has always been every 90,000 miles or 6 years on all model years of the LS400.

I bought my first LS400 new in 1990 and had the timing belt and related parts replaced at about 75,000 miles when it was trashed (didn't really break -- just badly scuffed up) due to water pump failure and again at 180,000 miles a few months before I sold it after 13 1/2 years. The 90 LS engine was non-interference so I wasn't all that concerned about it breaking. I had the timing belt and related parts on the 2000 LS400 I currently have replaced at just before 90,000 miles and within a day of seven years from its in-service date. I have the original timing belt out in the garage -- it looks like new.

"Killer" mentioned timing belt "dry rot" as being a potential problem on the 96 LS that is the subject of this thread. I've never heard of a timing belt failing on a Toyota vehicle due to the timing belt actually breaking due to wear -- it's always been caused by the failure of other parts ... tensioner, idler, water pump. One LS400 timing belt a repair shop owner told me about was trashed by a "mystery bolt" that apparently had been rattling around inside the belt cover.

People should focus more on the need to replace the ancillary parts than on the replacement of the timing belt itself. The replacement of the timing belt is almost a side issue and should be replaced when the ancillary parts -- the ones that usually cause the problems -- are replaced.

The timing belt replacement interval has always been a topic of discussion, especially on the UK forum. I've found out that every other country uses 90k miles except the UK where it is 60k miles. I guess they did not made enough money out of sales so they adjusted the service interval ;)

Hi,

I think most ppl are stumped, incl me. :)

It might be an idea to get your temp sensor fixed in the first place and go from there..

My old '93 ls used to spill some coolant from the expansion tank even on normal operation temperature.

I have a 97 and just changed it last year at 110K last year. I got the old belt. It is in perfect condition. I just see a local mechanic that I have used for years. He told me that the Lexus belt is very big and beefy. It is. He has changed them on cars with the orig at 150k and they were fine. He alos said that this motor would not be damaged it the belt did break. I might add it to the list of things to do at some point, but I would not worry about it. Just shop long for the best deal to change it. I did not change mine, but it does not look hard, it just needs to be done by someone you trust.

I believe the non-interference engine was only the mkI & II not the mkIII ('95-'97)

I believe the interval is 90k miles or 7 years...whatever comes first.

In your case, according to the dealer, the change is 4 years overdue.

An easier fix would be to move to a colder area ;)

pretty impressive 115k miles on 1 belt ...then again it's a Lexus of course :)

just out of interest.

Was that the first timing belt chang since new?

Not sure if the 1997 engine is similar but in my case the noise came from a cracked EGR pipe. I've had the same on my old 1993 Ls400. More noticeable when cold and heave acceleration. On my '93 the EGR pipe went from the back of the intake (between engine and bulkhead) down to the exhaust. Halfway there is a 'harmonica' bit which easily cracks. I've managed to weld mine and the car was whisper quiet again :)

Quite a fiddly job but certainly not impossible to do yourself.

any pics? :)