PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

it won't be obvious and fluid loss can be minor. don't throw money at it, if its any of the hoses i mentioned you'll see leakage/seeping. for my LS, the feed line from the reservoir to the pump was hard as a rock and full of stress fractures.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

Yea, and looking at the proximity of the driver side coil to the manifold is killer...I wonder if any thermal exhaust wrap in conjunction with the heat shield would work any better...not going to do it, just saying.

We're going to tear into the transmission early in the morning, did a search and found other threads where the transmission screen was filled with crap after a drain and refill with T-IV was done. I think my car did about the same mileage 15-20K and its going through the same motions as the other CL member.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

Well we tore apart the transmission. The screen on the transmission is fairly clean. At the bottom of the pan we used to catch the fluid there was this black tar-like sludge. Comparing the fluid side by side with freshman toyota IV, the 1 yr old fluid is definitely a bit darker. We moved out the valve body and cleaned the solenoids up as best as we could. Transmission shifts a helluva a lit better.

However the hesitation was a misfiring cylinder #1. A hairline fracture in the spark plug tube seal developed and we couldn't see the arcing until today. Aftermarket wires made in the US, going to tear those out after a visit to pick a part for some OEM wires.

We must have checked that wire 3 times over and it never exhibited the signs until today. Pretty ticked off but glad LS is running at 90% efficiency.

avalon42

iTrader: (1)

Ok guys, after dealing with the slight hesitation I went down to the Pick A Part to find some OEM wires. Found a YAZAKI wire set made from 2002, which according to some CL search, is what Toyota uses for OEM wires besides NGK or DENSO. Never, ever, EVER throw away your original plug wires, unless you have $ to burn. I truly regret doing so as I am sure that set would have lasted another 2-3 years.

The car is back to 98% operational, runs like hell without any hesitation. The other 2% is a new headache: driver side front window regulator and motor. Still trying to source the oil leak but gave the undercarriage a thorough cleaning to identify the exact source.

Nswoodrow

I am not very mechanically inclined, but nobody seems to be able to fix my problem. I have a 2000 lx470 that had a transmission replaced last year and I am still having a lot of problems with it. It wants to shift into 3rd or 4th gear when it should be in 1st or 2nd. It pops, grinds and does all kinds of bad things. I had a transmission shop put in a rebuilt. Since then they have replaced the valve body, torque converter and tested the wiring. I occasionally get a shift solenoid code that pops up and my check engine light comes on.

The kicker is i can make it shift perfectly for about 2 Days by disconnecting the negative battery cable. The transmission shop thinks its an ECU and this truck is too old to be reflashed so I was quoted 2k and 3k by 2 different dealers to get a new one installed. I really need some help and guidance...any thoughts?