jaaa

New problem, suddenly it doesn't start on first turn of the key. You get the audible click that for me would be a bad battery, bad starter(solenoid), or bad wiring. After crawling all over the bottom of the car looking for the starter, I found(google) it buried under the intake! Boy would I like a few rounds with the engineer that designed the location. Any hints or links to a good troubleshooting procedure/intake teardown. I found one link that begins with the intake off already. What is the likelihood it isn't the starter?


BTW- the restoration project is going well, with most of the critical problems solved. Drives like a dream since I had it aligned.

cobalt91

Our cars are finicky about having good clean connection's. I would start there.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Starter replacement threads.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ry-by-bdr.html

http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11862

fixmiester

Although these cars are beautifully crafted, if there is one thing that was poorly engineered, it would be the location of the starter solenoid. There are several legitimate reasons for placing the starter motor where it is; however, there is NO good reason for placing the solenoid in that location, since 9 times out of 10, it is the solenoid that fails first, long before the starter motor, in most cases. A new solenoid costs about 1/10 the cost of an OEM starter. Unfortunately, that's the way it is, and we just have to live with it.

Therefore, when it is necessary to tear down the intake manifold to get to the starter or the solenoid, they are usually both replaced, because it's so hard to get to either one.

jaaa

Got to the starter and duplicated the starter problem outside the car. Boy did that make me feel good as I sure didn't want it to be wiring after all that work. I'm using this teardown to replace the coolant outlet housing that had a slow leak. I priced the whole job at a Toyota shop and they wanted $1000 to do the job. I just can't get over where they placed this starter and how much stuff you have to take off to get at it.

fixmiester

So, is the problem with the starter or the solenoid? If it's with the starter, go ahead and recharge the solenoid too. In the starter, brushes are generally the only thing that fails, but the commutator may be worn down also. Although they can be rebuilt, it's not something you would want to do again in a few years. A new one may be worth it.

jaaa

Oh, I ordered the starter many days ago. I'm not going through all this work and not putting a new starter in. To answer your question though, it was the solenoid that wasn't throwing it out. Just an audible click.

dicer

So your probably paying more for the starter than the car?

R Z

Did ya hear the one about the LS400 with 900K miles?

http://carbuying.jalopnik.com/im-dri...600/1686272604

It's true.

jaaa

Got the starter in late last night. Tried it outside the car just to make sure. It will be interesting to see if I can remember where all the hoses go.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

It should not be that hard.

jaaa

famous last words. I now need help again. I replaced the starter and all is well in that regard. While twisting on hoses to gain room, I heard a snap and the coolant tube that tube that runs from the front to the back of the valley of the engine broke free. From what I could see and read, there is only a single rubber oring that holds the water in. I replaced that oring and all the gaskets for the upper and lower intake. While filling up with coolant it came pouring our from the bottom of the car just behind the harmonic ballencer about an inch and near the oil pan. It looks like a weep hole to me. The valley of the engine is full of coolant towards the front and I figure the it is flowing towards the weep hole internally somehow. I pressed fit the coolant pipe I was talking about. Could it be the source? I initially torqued the intake bolts and nuts to 13 foot pounds. Is that right? I had another problem in that it surged from 1400 PRM's to 2100 RPM on start up and didn't change. Could I have put the gaskets in backwards or upside down? Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated as it looks like I will have to tear it down again. BTW, it really leaks fast but I can't see the leak internally from any of the gaps I can look through.

dicer

The location of the starter is a really good design.

But not for the starter --> Heat
Not for the person removing and reinstalling it.

For the shop doing the work its nice. I got my 1'st LS from a brother in law that didn't want to spend the $2k his mechanic quoted him for the starter fix. The most fun part is removing the starter bolts, with all 4 wheels on the ground.
If I had a hoist I think I'd just drop the engine and trans assembly fix any potential leaks etc. it seems it would be less headache than dealing with that coolant manifold and the lack of firewall space. Wonder how much trouble it is to leave the wire harness with the engine and trans? Either way its a bunch of fooling around with crusty hoses and wires.

jaaa

Got it all up and running today. The coolant leak was indeed the pipe that runs down the valley of the engine. I ended up using some coolant sealant on the part of the pipe that is inserted with the o-ring. On the outside I used a marine epoxy just to make sure it didn't leak. I was very tired of taking the intake out and in(although now I can do it without any problem). The rev from 1400RPM to 2100 RPM turned out to be the coolant sensor that I inadvertently left off upon assembly. After I put it all back together and checked for leaks, the exhaust was making very loud sounds while idling. This turned out to be exhaust tube from the coolant bridge that you have to remove to put in the starter. I guess it takes a while to seat, because the noise went away within a mile or so. I guess it takes some heat to "seat" the blind connection near the lower passenger side bulkhead. All in all, a very trying week. The positive to this is I now have mostly new rubber hoses because the old ones were very brittle(you could literally snap them in half if you bent them too far). My back plastic bumper and my drivers side door are slated to be painted next. I've already painted the rims and they came out super sharp.

jaaa

Just did the most important thing I've done to date on this car- change out the defunct hood props. $26 for the pair shipped. I'm really tired of bumping my head. Also painted the door tonight. Hard to tell how good it will come out as it is getting dark. I've had a ball putting this car back together.