Hey everyone! Long time but I just recently picked up a 2001 LS430 (I missed the car and I'm bored lol). She's got some issues though and after talking to josh all day i'm still a little lost and not sure.

210k miles and never really maintained.
I started off with really bad and rough idle (car shaking) horrible rumble from exhaust.Power but not enough. and a horrible rotten egg smell when I slam the gas pedal.
Had it ran for codes and these came up

c1336, p0330, p0303, p0305, p0307, p0171, p0174, p0155, p0325, p1346, p1349.

misfires in 3,5 and 7 is what i figured to start with. So I replaced all 8 spark plugs on the motor. but still had a misfire on 5. So I decided to check the coils.

CEL shows me cylinder 5 is misfiring but when i disconnect the coil I still get lower idle which makes me think that the coil is working but not at full voltage so maybe a bad coil. I decided to switch coil 5 with coil 7 and reset everything. Was expecting to see cylinder 5 work well and cylinder 7 be bad but when i checked CEL again after driving, cylinder 5 was still at a misfire and cylinder 7 was just fine which makes me think that all coils are as they should be. Drove for a bit with noticable more power then before but still missing some, Still a shaking I Reset the CEL once more, went for a 15 minute drive checked CEL and now have these codes...

c1336, p0305, p0171, p0174, p0325, p0300, p0330,


Does anyone have any clue as to whats going on?

 

Update.... I'm running on all 8 and yet still bad shaking and rumbling from
Exhaust.... Only for josh and I to discover egr valve is completely missing. Posting pics in a bit.

 

Check MAF sensor on top of your airbox also. A dirty one can throw at least 3 or 4 codes. O2 sensors may be out of spec possibly.


Have you checked your compression in the cylinders?


Compression tool can be had for cheap.

 

Going to clean the MAF tomorrow.

Egr valve is missing.... Vaccuum switch valve has no air going through it... Going to start playing with all of these things and keep posting updates

 

Clean the throttle body while you are at it.

 

Here are some pictures of the engine bay. You'll notice in two pictures that there is missing parts. If anyone see's anything out of the ordinary feel free to chime in.

 

Another update.

I took out the MAF and cleaned it. I cleaned the throttle body. And I also replaced a hose and attached a pic for reference.

basically I bypassed the vaccum switch valve as there was no air going through it. When i disconnected that i felt air being sucked from the manifold. i also bypassed the fuel vapor feed pipe (which is non existent at the moment anyway) and ran a hose directly from the manifold into the steel vacuum line. (shown in previous pictures that had nothing attached to it)

I disconnected negative battery terminal to reset everything and took a test.

Much better idle. When in park its fine but when i shift to drive and sit still, car still shakes. Still a small rumble from the rear coming from exhaust but not as bad and definitely more airflow coming through exhaust. Check VSC still on.

After 20 minutes of driving CEL comes on and I got these codes.

p0325, p0305, p0171, p0174, c1336

I have already ordered the vacuum switch valve and the fuel vapor feed. But in the mean time I will be running with the new hose.

attached is a diagram of what vacuum lines should be and i edit it to show what i did so far.

 

Here is another picture of the engine bay to try and show what I did and what should be done

 

vacuum lines were crystallized according to previous owner. anyone know where I can buy the full kit and replace all the lines?

 

Try

https://www.mylparts.com/

Not sure where a full kit could be attained, except eBay possibly

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VMS-Starter-...BW46pn&vxp=mtr

These guys are outstanding, I have dealt with them before. Nobody makes a kit for the LS430, which is a shame. But as I told you on the phon, if you cut them yourself and just cut and replace one at a time and re-use your hose clamps you really can't screw up vacuum lines.

 

In conclusion, I went hardcore cleaning on the throttle body, I cleaned the hell out of the MAF sensor, I replaced most vacuum lines, I ran seafoam through brake booster, through gas tank, and through the oil as well. I have run two bottles of techron cleaner through the fuel tank so far. Changed the serpentine belt. The idle is normal again, close to no shaking at idle. smooth driving and the engine purs through the highway driving. No hesitation.

I'm still getting misfire on cylinder 5 every now and then but I still need to change the catalytic converters and put the charcoal canister for the vacuum lines. Pretty much bad maintenance and bad gas caused all the problems and the car needed some TLC.