Shifting Help
#1
Shifting Help
Hello,
Back in September I purchase a 14 Gs350 which ended up having both head gaskets leaking. Long story short I had it fixed at my local Toyota dealer by a kid who it was his first headgasket replacement. I work for the dealer group so I got the job done for about 60% off. I get my car back and I wont shift into manual. I put it on the lift and my shift cable is welded to my selector rod. They tried telling me I had to pay $900 for a new shifter which wasnt true at all. The manager steps in, adjusts my shift cable and it shifts into manual just fine. It now has a heavy clunks everytime I switch gears. It does it everytime. When I put it in park the shifter jolts, clunks then rests. I tried bringing this issue to toyota and they told me it was my fault. Never had that issue before. I would've brought it to Lexus but my closest dealer is 3 hours away. (They also dropped my exhaust and my check engine light keeps coming on for Cats below threshold :-),) Does anyone have any suggestions or know if the selector rod is easily replaceable?
Thank you so much in advance!
Back in September I purchase a 14 Gs350 which ended up having both head gaskets leaking. Long story short I had it fixed at my local Toyota dealer by a kid who it was his first headgasket replacement. I work for the dealer group so I got the job done for about 60% off. I get my car back and I wont shift into manual. I put it on the lift and my shift cable is welded to my selector rod. They tried telling me I had to pay $900 for a new shifter which wasnt true at all. The manager steps in, adjusts my shift cable and it shifts into manual just fine. It now has a heavy clunks everytime I switch gears. It does it everytime. When I put it in park the shifter jolts, clunks then rests. I tried bringing this issue to toyota and they told me it was my fault. Never had that issue before. I would've brought it to Lexus but my closest dealer is 3 hours away. (They also dropped my exhaust and my check engine light keeps coming on for Cats below threshold :-),) Does anyone have any suggestions or know if the selector rod is easily replaceable?
Thank you so much in advance!
#2
@RoninM802 :
Having leaking head gaskets gives me the thought a previous owner has mistreated (at least) your car's engine, and maybe more. Head gaskets don't typically leak or need replacing.
Is there any indication your GS 350 was tracked or unusually modified, or abused in any way? Just a view from worldwide web cyberspace, I can visualize that being the case!
Did you buy the GS 350 from the Toyota dealer where you work for the auto group or from somewhere else?
Having an inexperienced 'kid' at a Toyota dealership's service department who had never pulled a cylinder head or replaced a head gasket before - replace the head gaskets on your 4GS engine is not a good omen in my opinion...I would have NEVER allowed that to happen!
The shifter rod should be available from Lexus - I presume as the: Gear Shifting Rod Sub-Assembly - confirmed by a Lexus parts department for your Lexus vehicle's VIN#
Yes, your image certainly looks like it might be welded and maybe even safety wired (i.e. aircraft powerplant assembly standard) instead of the use of a cotter pin. Strange! I can't imagine why that would be...
Possibly a previous owner did something that he thought that welding it would be better to fix it if it was somehow broken or bent, but was it welded in the correct orientation?
► 'ended up having both head gaskets leaking...had it fixed at local Toyota dealer by a kid who it was his first head gasket replacement.'◄
Is there any indication your GS 350 was tracked or unusually modified, or abused in any way? Just a view from worldwide web cyberspace, I can visualize that being the case!
Did you buy the GS 350 from the Toyota dealer where you work for the auto group or from somewhere else?
Having an inexperienced 'kid' at a Toyota dealership's service department who had never pulled a cylinder head or replaced a head gasket before - replace the head gaskets on your 4GS engine is not a good omen in my opinion...I would have NEVER allowed that to happen!
The shifter rod should be available from Lexus - I presume as the: Gear Shifting Rod Sub-Assembly - confirmed by a Lexus parts department for your Lexus vehicle's VIN#
► 'my shift cable is welded to my selector rod' ◄
Possibly a previous owner did something that he thought that welding it would be better to fix it if it was somehow broken or bent, but was it welded in the correct orientation?
Last edited by bclexus; 07-15-24 at 08:04 AM. Reason: orthography
#3
They would have pulled the motor entirely to do the head gaskets I'm thinking. That shift weld looks like a shinny new and fresh weld. Guessing the angle it was welded at is incorrect off for the arm alignment. When shifting it's ether going over to neutral or under in a not full positive gear.
The Cat light also could be a result of damaged O2 Cat sensors if they removed and/or pulled the wires. Reset the battery, see if they come back. If it;s the Cats try a can of lacquer thinner from walmart in a tank of gas on a 1 hour highway drive and back. If not, you need Cats. Was the threshold light there before they did the work? If not they could have gotten debris dropped in the exhaust manifolds that fell down in clogging the Cats.
The Cat light also could be a result of damaged O2 Cat sensors if they removed and/or pulled the wires. Reset the battery, see if they come back. If it;s the Cats try a can of lacquer thinner from walmart in a tank of gas on a 1 hour highway drive and back. If not, you need Cats. Was the threshold light there before they did the work? If not they could have gotten debris dropped in the exhaust manifolds that fell down in clogging the Cats.
#4
They would have pulled the motor entirely to do the head gaskets I'm thinking. That shift weld looks like a shinny new and fresh weld. Guessing the angle it was welded at is incorrect off for the arm alignment. When shifting it's ether going over to neutral or under in a not full positive gear.
The Cat light also could be a result of damaged O2 Cat sensors if they removed and/or pulled the wires. Reset the battery, see if they come back. If it;s the Cats try a can of lacquer thinner from walmart in a tank of gas on a 1 hour highway drive and back. If not, you need Cats. Was the threshold light there before they did the work? If not they could have gotten debris dropped in the exhaust manifolds that fell down in clogging the Cats.
The Cat light also could be a result of damaged O2 Cat sensors if they removed and/or pulled the wires. Reset the battery, see if they come back. If it;s the Cats try a can of lacquer thinner from walmart in a tank of gas on a 1 hour highway drive and back. If not, you need Cats. Was the threshold light there before they did the work? If not they could have gotten debris dropped in the exhaust manifolds that fell down in clogging the Cats.
Is the drive 1 hour total, or 1 hour out and then 1 hour back for a total of two hours?
What size can of lacquer thinner - a quart can or a gallon can?
Does the lacquer thinner have to come from Walmart because it is special in some way?
This is kind of exciting to see how it works out! I think...
Last edited by bclexus; 07-14-24 at 06:11 PM. Reason: orthography
#6
I think lacquer thinner contains acetic acid, which eats metal and causes metal surface corrosion over-time.
Maybe the short period of time the lacquer thinner is mixed with the gasoline, it doesn't present a problem.
Call me leery - I wouldn't think lacquer thinner is safe for materials like rubber, nylon and plastic which is likely used in various components like fuel lines, injectors, sensors or filters within the vehicle's fuel system.
Tell me more about this, please.
Last edited by bclexus; 07-15-24 at 06:27 AM. Reason: orthography
#7
@RoninM802 :
Having leaking head gaskets gives me the thought a previous owner has mistreated (at least) your car's engine, and maybe more. Head gaskets don't typically leak or need replacing.
Is there any indication your GS 350 was tracked or unusually modified, or abused in any way? Just a view from worldwide web cyberspace, I can visualize that being the case!
Did you buy the GS 350 from the Toyota dealer where you work for the auto group or from somewhere else?
Having an inexperienced 'kid' at a Toyota dealership's service department who had never pulled a cylinder head or replaced a head gasket before - replace the head gaskets on your 4GS engine is not a good omen in my opinion...I would have NEVER allowed that to happen!
The shifter rod should be available from Lexus - I presume as the: Gear Shifting Rod Sub-Assembly - confirmed by a Lexus parts department for your Lexus vehicle's VIN#
Yes, your image certainly looks like it might be welded and maybe even safety wired (i.e. aircraft powerplant assembly standard) instead of the use of a cotter pin. Strange! I can't imagine why that would be...
Possibly a previous owner did something that he thought welding it would be better to weld it, but was it welded in the correct orientation?
Having leaking head gaskets gives me the thought a previous owner has mistreated (at least) your car's engine, and maybe more. Head gaskets don't typically leak or need replacing.
Is there any indication your GS 350 was tracked or unusually modified, or abused in any way? Just a view from worldwide web cyberspace, I can visualize that being the case!
Did you buy the GS 350 from the Toyota dealer where you work for the auto group or from somewhere else?
Having an inexperienced 'kid' at a Toyota dealership's service department who had never pulled a cylinder head or replaced a head gasket before - replace the head gaskets on your 4GS engine is not a good omen in my opinion...I would have NEVER allowed that to happen!
The shifter rod should be available from Lexus - I presume as the: Gear Shifting Rod Sub-Assembly - confirmed by a Lexus parts department for your Lexus vehicle's VIN#
Yes, your image certainly looks like it might be welded and maybe even safety wired (i.e. aircraft powerplant assembly standard) instead of the use of a cotter pin. Strange! I can't imagine why that would be...
Possibly a previous owner did something that he thought welding it would be better to weld it, but was it welded in the correct orientation?
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#8
I did some prior research and was used as a company car mainly which should have been my first red flag.
That classification should not cast the vehicle any differently than any other vehicle that is privately owned or leased by a 85 year-old grandmother to drive to church and the grocery store twice a week. Not to say any vehicle classified as a 'company car' couldn't be used for literally anything - including being tracked on a daily basis or being highly modified for the weekly car show event at the local shopping center parking lot.
I am very leery of why the head gaskets needed to be replaced and who did the work. Also, how the Toyota dealer seemed to not want to reveal certain factors...
#9
I have just never heard of putting lacquer thinner in the gasoline tank of a vehicle before.
I think lacquer thinner contains acetic acid, which eats metal and causes metal surface corrosion over-time.
Maybe the short period of time the lacquer thinner is mixed with the gasoline, it doesn't present a problem.
Call me leery - I wouldn't think lacquer thinner is safe for materials like rubber, nylon and plastic which is likely used in various components like fuel lines, injectors, sensors or filters within the vehicle's fuel system.
Tell me more about this, please.
I think lacquer thinner contains acetic acid, which eats metal and causes metal surface corrosion over-time.
Maybe the short period of time the lacquer thinner is mixed with the gasoline, it doesn't present a problem.
Call me leery - I wouldn't think lacquer thinner is safe for materials like rubber, nylon and plastic which is likely used in various components like fuel lines, injectors, sensors or filters within the vehicle's fuel system.
Tell me more about this, please.
#10
I have tried it on my old Camry XLE with a V6 due to Cat codes for being below efficiency. It didn't work for me and I ended up replacing them. It also didn't seem to do any damage, but I was a bit nervous about it. I heard it from Scotty Kilmer:
There are a few other videos on Youtube about this. Some seemingly as a response to Scotty's video, like this one from EricTheCarGuy:
Although Eric says that it didn't work for him, most of his commenters who've tried it, say that it worked for them and that Eric used a very diluted mixture in the video.
#11
I have tried it on my old Camry XLE with a V6 due to Cat codes for being below efficiency. It didn't work for me and I ended up replacing them. It also didn't seem to do any damage, but I was a bit nervous about it. I heard it from Scotty Kilmer.
There are a few other videos on Youtube about this. Some seemingly as a response to Scotty's video, like this one from EricTheCarGuy
Although Eric says that it didn't work for him, most of his commenters who've tried it, say that it worked for them and that Eric used a very diluted mixture in the video.
There are a few other videos on Youtube about this. Some seemingly as a response to Scotty's video, like this one from EricTheCarGuy
Although Eric says that it didn't work for him, most of his commenters who've tried it, say that it worked for them and that Eric used a very diluted mixture in the video.
The GS 350 holds 17.4 gallons so half a tank is 8.7 gallons. By putting a gallon of lacquer thinner to mix with 8.7 gallons of gasoline makes the fuel tank mixture containing a whopping 11.5% of lacquer thinner (1 ÷ 8.7 = 11.5%) and only 88.5% gasoline, which of course it is supposed to be 100% gasoline!
Eric, on the other hand, added only 1 quart of lacquer thinner to about 10 gallons of gas, which equates to a mixture containing about 2.5% lacquer thinner (.25 gal ÷ 10 = 2.5%) as compared to Scotty's mixture containing a whopping 11.5% lacquer thinner.
Eric's lower percentage formula didn't work, and we have no clue if Scotty's worked, but both Scotty and Eric made it clear that adding lacquer thinner in the gas tank to clean catalytic converters was only a 'possibility' that it might work to stop throwing a P0240 DTC.
I personally would NEVER add any lacquer thinner, a full can or even a eyedropper full to my gas tank!
When Toyota/Lexus - along with all the other carmakers (excluding EV carmakers like Tesla of course) - recommends or states that adding a can of lacquer thinner to the gasoline tank is an approved and acceptable method to clean the vehicle's catalytic converters - - then and only then would I ever do it myself, or suggest to someone else to try it.
But, that's just me...
Last edited by bclexus; 07-19-24 at 09:41 AM. Reason: orthography
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