Stuck in pasco washington with my LS/road trip gone bad
01-31-16, 07:11 PM
#16
Lexus Champion
CynderES you're going to have to park the car and catch a bus to the nearest recovery point where you can get to a truck/trailer. At this point it looks like you've got a car that won't run for very long.
You've got a smartphone... post pics of what your coolant reservoir looks like etc. Sorry to hear about what's happened but your original post says the timing belt/water pump were done fairly recently. Still under warranty by the shop etc?
You've got a smartphone... post pics of what your coolant reservoir looks like etc. Sorry to hear about what's happened but your original post says the timing belt/water pump were done fairly recently. Still under warranty by the shop etc?
01-31-16, 07:18 PM
#17
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
The tb was done in 2003 at a lexus dealer, it hasnt been driven much since. Ginna look at shops tomorrow and see if anybody will take a sob story as payment. Its dark out, i will post pics tomorrow. Nearest recovery point is 5 hours away in missoula, and i dont know when my uncle will pass through next.
02-01-16, 02:41 AM
#18
So can you even see the weep hole with all the stuff in the way? It could be something else leaking as well.
If you are just using water and its freezing out you will have lots of other problems as well. Like a messed up anything that has engine coolant flowing in it. I would not want to mess up a heater core, it would truly be a worse than pulling the engine out type of job.
If you are just using water and its freezing out you will have lots of other problems as well. Like a messed up anything that has engine coolant flowing in it. I would not want to mess up a heater core, it would truly be a worse than pulling the engine out type of job.
02-01-16, 05:04 AM
#19
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
From where the coolant is leaking, it has to be the weep hole. After i let everything dry for a night and started it the coolant was coming out from directly below the center of the water pump on the timing cover. It still has a roughly 50/50 mix of water and coolant in it, i dumped in a gallon of coolant a few miles out and a half gallon of water when i got here.
02-01-16, 07:02 AM
#20
back in 2007 i was driving my sisters 94 LS400 in Jacksonville florida. It was a hot summer day. All of a sudden, the temp needle spiked. i shut the car down and waited a few minutes. I went to wal-mart to have them change the oil and tell me if they could see a leak from the water pump. Sure enough, it was leaking, but ever so slightly. Like weeping. Anyway, bought two gallons of coolant and two gallons of distilled water. Since the drive was mostly highway and it was evening time i ran without AC.Just the sunroof vent. i just drove it and keep a watchful eye on the needle. I still drove 80mph since the needle was not moving. I stopped for gas and food once. Checked the coolant and topped it off. The car never overheated after the first spike. I made it home and called a local mechanic to change he TB and WP since it was due. 
Was it just luck?
Was it just luck?
02-01-16, 09:19 AM
#21
back in 2007 i was driving my sisters 94 LS400 in Jacksonville florida. It was a hot summer day. All of a sudden, the temp needle spiked. i shut the car down and waited a few minutes. I went to wal-mart to have them change the oil and tell me if they could see a leak from the water pump. Sure enough, it was leaking, but ever so slightly. Like weeping. Anyway, bought two gallons of coolant and two gallons of distilled water. Since the drive was mostly highway and it was evening time i ran without AC.Just the sunroof vent. i just drove it and keep a watchful eye on the needle. I still drove 80mph since the needle was not moving. I stopped for gas and food once. Checked the coolant and topped it off. The car never overheated after the first spike. I made it home and called a local mechanic to change he TB and WP since it was due.
Was it just luck?
Was it just luck?
02-01-16, 01:05 PM
#22
And it could still be something leaking above and running down. I really don't think you can see a weep hole or even the water pump with out removing all the plastic covering, if you can't see the timing belt then you can't see the water pump.
02-01-16, 01:09 PM
#23
Lexus Test Driver
sounds like a nightmare scenario.. i love my car but i wouldn't DARE take it on a serious road trip simply because of its age. sounds like you might be stuck for a little while. id check into a hotel, and in the morning look into a labor pool, if i got stuck on a major road trip wherever the car took a dump id be stuck there a few weeks. id prob try to find work, save enough for a few weeks to get my car back on the road, and haul *** outta there.
btw, on a trip from Orlando to west palm my 95 suddenly stalled out on the florida turnpike on one of those desolate stretches with 50 miles and no exits. car just totally shut off on me. 2 mins later it started back up like nothing ever happened. no idea what caused that to happen to this day years later. VERY scary ride home that day. i was shaking for the last 100 miles. only time it ever happened.
btw, on a trip from Orlando to west palm my 95 suddenly stalled out on the florida turnpike on one of those desolate stretches with 50 miles and no exits. car just totally shut off on me. 2 mins later it started back up like nothing ever happened. no idea what caused that to happen to this day years later. VERY scary ride home that day. i was shaking for the last 100 miles. only time it ever happened.
Last edited by Stereorob; 02-01-16 at 01:12 PM.
02-01-16, 01:15 PM
#24
Lexus Test Driver
ill never forget as a kid driving to west palm beach and back to Orlando when i moved away at 20, had a 90 myself at the time, and my dad warning me "if that old bomb breaks down in indian river county...." (the half way point) "you're on your own" luckily it never did thank god. wow that was ten years ago
02-01-16, 01:36 PM
#25
If I go through and fix what needs fixing I wouldn't hesitate to take a trip in an old LS. I would always rather any car to stop and not start. Then there is a problem to fix. If it stops then starts like nothing is wrong, that is the worse thing to try to figure out.
Before any trip in these older cars, first make sure all hoses are good, and no failing important plastic parts either, like radiator, heater coolant valve, thermostat housing etc. Something else that could leave you stranded is an ignition lock goofing up, or transmission shifter problems. And even a brand new car off a dealers lot can have problems too. But then you have a warranty for that.
Before any trip in these older cars, first make sure all hoses are good, and no failing important plastic parts either, like radiator, heater coolant valve, thermostat housing etc. Something else that could leave you stranded is an ignition lock goofing up, or transmission shifter problems. And even a brand new car off a dealers lot can have problems too. But then you have a warranty for that.
02-01-16, 01:36 PM
#26
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
I have 10 gallons of water, i just dumped 2 radiator stop leak no flush cans into the upper hose, if i can make it to missoula, MT, i have a ride home. Lets hope the 340 miles passes swiftly. If you are located somewhere on that strech of i90 please let me know if your willing to help if **** hits the fan.
02-01-16, 01:39 PM
#27
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
And dicer, this is the only problem i have had with it, i have been daylying it up to 300 miles a day since my last thread, looks like i just got ****ty luck this time. My tb kit is waiting for me as soon as i get home. This old of a 1uz is non-interference iirc so if it craps all i should have to worry about is timing it and getting it home. Thanks for the help guys, the 1LS crew has been nothing but kind to me!
