1992 LS400 has got me stumped !
09-28-12 | 09:39 PM
#31
(I posted this reply on Lexus Owners Club where I had initiated a thread called Frustating 1992 LS400 ! This is in no way directed to anyone on this site . With the exception of the thanks that I placed on the end of it)
Instead of replying to the negativity of the recent posts to my issue, I'm gonna be the mature one about this and just say that after tearing down my engine today, I had a blown head gasket between the no. 6 & no. 8 cylinders .... Anyone with any kind of mechanical apptitude knows that (1) if you have a stuck valve, when the engine come's up on the compression stroke on that cylinder it's gonna blow the compression out of the cylinder because the valve is stuck open; (2) if your cats are stopped up, everytime an intake valves open up, compression is gonna leak back into those cylinders, because it has nowhere else to go (3) if you have ran a car hot enough to the point that the ring's collapse, you are gonna get crankcase back-pressure that's gonna come back out of that cylinder as soon as that valve opens up, and (4) if you have a blown head gasket between two cylinders, the pressure from the compression stroke is gonna leak to the ajoining cylinder and out the valve's as soon as they open .
I learned a long time ago that if I don't know something, I ask; I don't jump to conclussions or tell someone else that they are wrong, just because I don't have or know the answer . I get me a book , or lean upon the knowledge and experience of someone that's more knowledgeable than me . And just for the record, I am an ASE Certified Master Mechanic with shop's (Supreme Clientel) in two (2) location's (Alabama & Florida), and have been in this field for over 30 years, but that doesn't make me the smartest or the best mechanic in the world, nor does it give me the big head to think that I'm too good to ask for clarification of an issue that I'm not familiar with .
Before I go, I just want to let everyone here know that, It's best to fix a problem than try to put it off, or patch it; because it will come back to bite you . Some people say that I took a shot-gun approach to my problem, if thats your opinion, then that's on you . I know my skills, abilities and bank account lol . When I bought the car, It had sat up for 3-4 years . I didn't know it's history, and I wasn't gonna take the chance of just patching a problem that could possibly lead to another problem . That's why I fixed everything, I would rather be safe than sorry; my wife and daughter will be driving this car . I care more about them than somebody's opinion . (Remember the old saying about opinions lol) .
My new heads (shot-gun ? lol) will arrive at my shop in Alabama Saturday morning, by Saturday evening I will have the car back together and driving it to my daughter in Florida . I'll keep you all posted .
I want to once again thank the people that offered me advice and feedback concerning the issue that I presented in this forum . I learned alot from you guy's/gal's . Special thanks goes out to Mark aka 1992 Lexus, landar and skulcracka , for thier invaluable input and feedback that made me look at the LS as a car instead of a Mysterious being lol, thanks for everything .
Instead of replying to the negativity of the recent posts to my issue, I'm gonna be the mature one about this and just say that after tearing down my engine today, I had a blown head gasket between the no. 6 & no. 8 cylinders .... Anyone with any kind of mechanical apptitude knows that (1) if you have a stuck valve, when the engine come's up on the compression stroke on that cylinder it's gonna blow the compression out of the cylinder because the valve is stuck open; (2) if your cats are stopped up, everytime an intake valves open up, compression is gonna leak back into those cylinders, because it has nowhere else to go (3) if you have ran a car hot enough to the point that the ring's collapse, you are gonna get crankcase back-pressure that's gonna come back out of that cylinder as soon as that valve opens up, and (4) if you have a blown head gasket between two cylinders, the pressure from the compression stroke is gonna leak to the ajoining cylinder and out the valve's as soon as they open .
I learned a long time ago that if I don't know something, I ask; I don't jump to conclussions or tell someone else that they are wrong, just because I don't have or know the answer . I get me a book , or lean upon the knowledge and experience of someone that's more knowledgeable than me . And just for the record, I am an ASE Certified Master Mechanic with shop's (Supreme Clientel) in two (2) location's (Alabama & Florida), and have been in this field for over 30 years, but that doesn't make me the smartest or the best mechanic in the world, nor does it give me the big head to think that I'm too good to ask for clarification of an issue that I'm not familiar with .
Before I go, I just want to let everyone here know that, It's best to fix a problem than try to put it off, or patch it; because it will come back to bite you . Some people say that I took a shot-gun approach to my problem, if thats your opinion, then that's on you . I know my skills, abilities and bank account lol . When I bought the car, It had sat up for 3-4 years . I didn't know it's history, and I wasn't gonna take the chance of just patching a problem that could possibly lead to another problem . That's why I fixed everything, I would rather be safe than sorry; my wife and daughter will be driving this car . I care more about them than somebody's opinion . (Remember the old saying about opinions lol) .
My new heads (shot-gun ? lol) will arrive at my shop in Alabama Saturday morning, by Saturday evening I will have the car back together and driving it to my daughter in Florida . I'll keep you all posted .
I want to once again thank the people that offered me advice and feedback concerning the issue that I presented in this forum . I learned alot from you guy's/gal's . Special thanks goes out to Mark aka 1992 Lexus, landar and skulcracka , for thier invaluable input and feedback that made me look at the LS as a car instead of a Mysterious being lol, thanks for everything .
10-05-12 | 08:47 PM
#35
I'm curious, i'm a licensed tech as well and as soon as i read "white smoke out the tailpipes" my mind went right to blown HG, cracked heads or corroded water jacket on the IM or something.....
running rich is black.
PS fluid, like all oils should burn blue, no?
granted i've never seen a car that had a vacuum line going to the PS Switch.
one of the things i have always loved about the internet is some of the advice you get from people. while it most of the time is honestly given as help, even the best of us who know what we are doing can get lead off the path. don't worry about it. we all ave spent a week chasing our tails in a similar situation due to poor advice from a forum. going against our better judgement and what our gut told us made it worse.
My old master tech i apprenticed under drilled this into my head when i was first starting out, "prove what it's not before you start guessing at what it could be! Your goal as a tech should always rule out the simple stuff before diving into the more complex and lengthy diagnostics. 4 hours of chasing your tail may be avoided by simply pulling the fuse and inspecting it rather than just touching the terminals with your DVOM to check continuity and/or power."
hopefully its all sorted out now, i hope you stick around the forums as its nice to have other techs around with a deep history to bounce ideas off of!
Cheers
Mitch
running rich is black.
PS fluid, like all oils should burn blue, no?
granted i've never seen a car that had a vacuum line going to the PS Switch.
one of the things i have always loved about the internet is some of the advice you get from people. while it most of the time is honestly given as help, even the best of us who know what we are doing can get lead off the path. don't worry about it. we all ave spent a week chasing our tails in a similar situation due to poor advice from a forum. going against our better judgement and what our gut told us made it worse.
My old master tech i apprenticed under drilled this into my head when i was first starting out, "prove what it's not before you start guessing at what it could be! Your goal as a tech should always rule out the simple stuff before diving into the more complex and lengthy diagnostics. 4 hours of chasing your tail may be avoided by simply pulling the fuse and inspecting it rather than just touching the terminals with your DVOM to check continuity and/or power."
hopefully its all sorted out now, i hope you stick around the forums as its nice to have other techs around with a deep history to bounce ideas off of!
Cheers
Mitch
10-05-12 | 09:25 PM
#36
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
From: AL
I really appreciate you being so REAL . You are right in all you said . I should've followed my mechanical instinct's, but I didn't and learned some useful info about this particular vehicle in the process, so all wasn't a lost . Thankx Mitch .
10-05-12 | 09:56 PM
#37
no worries. i'm in the same boat as you. i have an extensive background in high end european cars, race cars and sport compacts, Lexus' are new to me as well. In buying my 96, without having a detailed service history, i am going to be replacing just about everything for nothing more than my piece of mind knowing that it was done, done right and that i will never have to worry about it. at the same time, i'm going to learn a lot about the car. As a tech, and i'm sure you'll agree, that's the best way to learn. reading about it only gets you so far, we have to pull it apart to really see whats going on in there.
in a way, i envy you as you've gotten deeper into the car than i likely will and hopefully will ever have to!
I'm also the type that wont leave well enough along and that the "while im in here" bug always bites hardest. For me, the heads off means they go onto the flow bench and get a P&P, new cams... may as well make some custom headers, full exhaust... crap, what about the top en? extrude honed IM and Plenum, bigger TB.... ****, ECU won't support this... standalone.... well, i might as well find a solid bottom end and rebuild that to swap in... oh hey, 12.5:1 pistons, forged H-beam rods that will work... balanced to 9000rpm... crap, now the tranny needs work to handle the power... oops, now i need a diff, i wonder who in the industry will make me a custom LSD.... and so it goes!
haha
in a way, i envy you as you've gotten deeper into the car than i likely will and hopefully will ever have to!
I'm also the type that wont leave well enough along and that the "while im in here" bug always bites hardest. For me, the heads off means they go onto the flow bench and get a P&P, new cams... may as well make some custom headers, full exhaust... crap, what about the top en? extrude honed IM and Plenum, bigger TB.... ****, ECU won't support this... standalone.... well, i might as well find a solid bottom end and rebuild that to swap in... oh hey, 12.5:1 pistons, forged H-beam rods that will work... balanced to 9000rpm... crap, now the tranny needs work to handle the power... oops, now i need a diff, i wonder who in the industry will make me a custom LSD.... and so it goes!
haha
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