mitmaks

Maybe you can run some engine flush on your engine and try to flush out all that gunk

Ravencrave

Yes the engine can always be replaced and I was about to have that done until I got to this point. Still have nothing to lose.
I bought the car in 2007 with 97,000 miles on it. I'm the second owner. Carfax showed that it was serviced by lexus, had been in an accident impacted on the passenger side ( I see no signs of an accident though). I have flushed the coolant once a year before winter. Oil changed with castrol part synthetic high mileage 10w-30 every 3,000 to 4,000 but mostly at the 3,000 mark. That also goes along with the oil filter. Changed the air filter 3 times. Never did change the plugs though until yesterday. I now have Bosch platinum gapless plugs in there. The ones I pulled out are denso plugs (probably original). Timing belt has been changed 3 times and the water pump twice. Had tranny serviced by aamco years ago and will never do that again. They did not do a flush as i had paid for. The fluid was still a brownish color. At the time I was thinking, "is this how its suppose to look?" At that time I was still new to Lexus so i did not know. So I let it go. Up until this past May this year I had no issues at all. Car always ran great. Went out for the day one day, on the way home the car started shifting roughly then eventually wouldnt shift into 4th gear...would take a while. So used another vehicle to get trans fluid (which I can only get at Toyota), a new gasket and filter. Code read a shift solenoid E malfunction. I dropped the pan, took out the solenoid, tested it, worked fine, put it back in, put new filter in, new fluid and BAM she runs like nothing ever happened. One month later in June, I took my annual road trip back to NJ (830 miles one way). On the way up, in Richmond, VA the car started slipping out of the higher gears. I pulled off the interstate and into a truck stop and let it cool down for a few. I had no cell service at the location I was in and needed to get an extra 20 miles where I was originally going to stop. I looked on my gps for a side road to that point because I needed to stay off the highway. I started up the car and rode around the parking lot for a few minutes. Ok it will still go but not out of second gear. 35 mph it all it will do. WHATEVER so away I went to my destination to gas up and make some tough decisions. I messaged through my FB of what had happened....i had offers to be picked up but my car would not be. NOPE I will stay with my car. RT 301 runs the backway to where I needed to go even if I can only do 35 then I will. From that point it took me 6 hours to get to the bridge into Jersey. Once I got there, I dropped the pan, Changed the filter, gasket and fluid again. Ran it down the street theen changed the fluid again. and changed it 3 more times. Still had issues shifting into 3rd (hard shift) but if i shifted manually it would be fine. Drove the hell out of it to work it out and hope it will get me back to Georgia with no real issues but I expected it. I ran it for 3 weeks up there then time to come back to GA. 65 to 70 mph all the way and no problems. Today I have no shifting issues whatsoever.

Sorry for the novel but that pretty much sums up what the car has went through.

Ravencrave

I have read somewhere on here just a while ago to replace a quart of regular oil with marvels mystery oil and drive it for about 60 miles then change it. That is what I did along with a filter this morning and so far after driving for about 2 miles, no oil light.

msekanha

Are you sure you tested the proper sensor? Shift solenoid E can only be accessed from the top of the valve body, which has to be completely removed from the transmission. A very tedious job...

Also, how long have you been driving with this solenoid E problem? Shift solenoid E is also called the "lock-up" solenoid, meaning that this sensor enables your transmiSsion to go into over-drive above 40+mph. Driving on the highway with a bad lock-up solenoid is pretty much like driving in 3rd gear 65+mph. It will cause pre-mature wear on your transmission fluid and other transmission components. It would also cause your engine to operate at higher RPMs than necessary when cruising at higher speeds. It is possible that a bad lock-up solenoid caused the pre-mature wear on your engine. Not 100% sure, but its a theory.

If you decide to replace your engine, you should definitely consider replacing the lock-up solenoid also.

Ravencrave

According to what I have read from a print out, it was the right solenoid. It was one with a brown or red wire...I forget. I did it not only once, but twice when the tranny went on me the second time. The fluid was bad and needed to changed over several times to flush out the old fluid...had a lot of sediment. I kept the rpms no higher than 3000 when rolling at 35 miles per hour and drove that way for 265 miles. At that time there was no other choice. Over 5000 miles later, the transmission is still running like a champ and shifting smoothly. Just pure luck with that as well as my engine recently. Currently flushing out the loose sludge.

Ravencrave

UPDATE: Came home from work (still using a different vehicle), checked the oil, went to take it for a ride (a good 35 miles) and the oil light has not come on once! Not even a flicker! I took it real easy during take off and maintained a speed of 55-60 mph....no problems. I currently have new oil, new filter and 1 quart of mystery oil in the crankcase. Going to take it to work tomorrow for the first time in 3 weeks. I guess the sludge is starting to break down.
Spoke with my mechanic earlier today, explained what has been going on and he said the same thing PFB had said about the oil passages being blocked up (which I had known). He also said to run a quart of mystery oil in the crankcase (which I had already done) and drive it for a couple hundred miles then change it out. I'm currently on 48 miles so I think by the time I come home tomorrow evening, I should have about 118 miles on it since the change. I'll change it out again when I get home tomorrow and run the same stuff over again for 200 miles then put straight up mobil 1 in there.

PFB

If you perform the following procedure, (which Is not scientific, but still indicative), you can determine how clear your oil passages are.

Start with the oil level at the full mark. Run the car till the oil is up to normal operating temperatures, than shut off the engine. Wait 1 minute and measure your oil level. It should be at least 1/2 way to the full mark. Repeat the measurements every minute up to 5 minutes. By 5 minutes the oil level should be almost at the full mark.

If its substinally below the full mark, than your oil passages are stil somewhat resrticted. If almost full, you're ok.


Phil

Ravencrave

Thank you for the insight. I will definitely try that!

Ravencrave

Ok I did that procedure as soon as I got home. Checked to make sure it was full before I left work and it was dead on. Drove 38 miles to get home. Checked the oil just after shutting down and it was reading between halfway and the full mark. 2 minutes later it was back on the full mark. Everytime I would pull the oil stick out, I could see particles of the sludge on the stick.
Drained the oil and refilled with fresh 5w-30 and the MMO again along with new filter. The oil didnt look too bad but could tell it was a bit darker than when I put it in but still clear.

Mythotical

I have played that game all the way to the point of smoking the #1 rod bearing. I got lucky and replaced my engine myself with a $400 yard engine that I overhauled. I did read a T.S.B. that had a remedy for sludge requiring you to remove one of the two P.C.V. tubes from the RH head (firewall side). this allowed better oil return and my engine is still spotless inside.

P.S. USE 5w30! Somewhere in CL is a long post about how 5w30 and 10w30 become 10w when warm anyway so hot weather means nothing to engine oil.

Ravencrave

Ok so today I went to drop the oil pan and check up inside. Looks the same as I left it after I scraped out the sludge.



Oil return...



Oil pick up tube was catching quite a bit of the leftover crumbs that I scaped out from the heads.



I may be lucky to have gotten my car running again but looking at this, maybe not for long. Found metal shavings in the pan.

vintagelex

Well who knows, it might just be clearing itself of all the sludge since you put in the engine cleaner... but with the metal shavings idk. I'd say just drive it until the engine dies, and in the meantime save up for a nice low milege engine. From what I've seen they aren't super expensive.

Ravencrave

That's about what I'm thinking....drive it til it dies. I'm also wondering if these shavings could be from scraping out the sludge and left behind or from prying off the pan. I took a magnet to them and they didnt attract. Had the same thing in my transmission pan about 5 months ago but it is also running flawless. I'll be dropping the pan again before too long to check it and the pickup tube because it was about to clog again this time. All that aside, she's still running smooth and quiet. Next thing is a p1135 code issue which I have had for the past year or more. Trying to pinpoint all this while I'm at it. Gonna put that in a different thread.

PFB

After youve driven with the same oil for at least 2,500-3,000 miles, and if all is well, you might consider having an oil analysis performed.

It will tell you if there is something in the oil that shouldn't be there.

Phil

Ravencrave

Thank you. I will consider that after a while.