Last week Monday at about 6AM, went to start the LS and all she did was click. Immediately I knew what it was. I had multiple warnings but just kept pushing hoping I wouldn't get stuck some other place than home, well I am running 282,100 miles on the clock. So I got stuck @ home, starter is dead. I called the local Toyota dealer who also services Lexus and they quoted $600 parts and labor, but thats just for the starter. I decided to take on this task myself. When I'm done, I will not ever attempt this again. This is a DIY from hell. I followed procedure posted in a previous thread by BDR (B.Diddy).
Started removal process by removing all covers analyzing all connections wire harnesses, etc. A manual for your year model is recommended for all you DIY folks. First off was throttle body, EGR component from the sides off the upper air intake assembly.
Throttle body off...
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3rd was removal of upper portion air intake manifold. Before I removed this the EGR valve no.2 had to be disconnected. The 95 thru 97 has 2 EGR pipes, this is a real PITA... I'll explain later. Anyway upper/lower intakes are off fuels rails out and off to the side, busted hoses because I had no patience and my baby only has about 280,000+ miles. When I was disconnecting the fuel injector harnesses I pressed all the clips and heard a clicking sound thinking this was one easy disasemble, but what I was actually listening to was the breaking of each clip. Basically there are about six harnesses that will not click when I reconnect, so I will have to create my own tricks.
Moving along... Everything out of the way and there goes the starter dead in my face. Looks easy now.. HELL NO!
As you can see the starter bolts are not even visable, the rear water bypass will have to come out. You can see it directly on top of the starter with EGR no.1 attached.
Now I have to remove the rear water bypass. This sh%t is not easy, the 12mm nuts will come out, but before that I had to disconnect the fuel line bracket that is bolted down. The stupid nut is underneath the wire harness case that is also held down by 2 or three other 12mm nuts. Fast foward all bolts and screws out from wire harness, etc. Its time to take out the rear water bypass, but just like B.Diddy stated in his thread I had to take all the wires out of the case then move it out of my way.
Now its time to explain about the 95 LS double EGR pipes, which made this a DIY from HELL. With the rear water bypass unmounted, it will not come out because EGR no. 1 is connected to the exhaust manifold. Yes for the 95 you have to lift that baby up and sit on a jack stand or 2, I even took my front passenger wheel off for more room.
The CAT had to be removed for easy access to the 2 bolts that hold EGR no. 1 down on the exhaust mani. These little 12mm bolts were so f%&ing tight I was about to give up and just call the mechanic, so I took a 3 day break. I was really pissed off and depressed. The bolts were about half stripped so I was really having a good day. I went out to SEARS and bought a stripped bolt remover tool. I'll post pics on all the tools I used later. Long story short I got one bolt out from the bottom and the other from the top. If I didn't say it before, I had to basically drop the front portion of my exhaust just to get to this EGR pipe.
Exhaust dropped, the nice blue bucket is to catch the engine blood instead of wetting up my garage floor.
All said and done rear water bypass/EGR assembly out, starter bolts in plain view. Regular 14mm socket and 3/8 rachet along with a breaker bar did the trick and don't forget the stater cable and wire harness on the side. The starter is out.
At this point I will now gather up all the parts I need for replacement; gaskets hoses etc, and starter of course. I am going to take another break seeing that the X-Mas holiday is right around the corner and I haven't even bought my wife a gift yet. As soon I get all the parts and do the re-install I let you guys know how it went with pics. Any suggestions before then would be greatly appreciated.
that is definitely one of the worst jobs to do on any lexus....
the only thing i've done that was worse was replace all air suspension components on an Lx470.
this should be a sticky for the good write up.
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Dodge Ram cummins turbo diesel, 5 speed, 344 HP, 788lb.ft. 18/21mpg, shooting for 1000 lb. ft. on stock turbo.
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R 1200cc's, 190 hp of pure evil on 2 wheels.
95 Jeep Cherokee BDS/hybrid 5" lift, 32x11.5 BFG mt's, welded rear diff, long arms, etc. trail beater.
The dealer told me it would cost about $900 to 1200.00 to replace mine here in Irvine CA after seeing what you went through I will pay what ever it cost. Good luck on finishing your project.
Wow.. good job. How long did it take you? I did it on my old 91LS and it took me about 6 hours, but it was my first time ever trying to attempt a DIY job on the LS.
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1992 LS
20" Vyson D2 rims
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2005 Ford F-150 5.4L Lariat
2003 Honda CBR954RR
1988 Mustang 5.0 'Vert
Once you have the starter in, could you please tell me how many amps and volts your new starter uses to start your car? I need it badly to compare mine.
Thanks.
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The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain. -Scotty, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
this should be a sticky!!
Great job oz!!! now i see where all my money in paying for labor went,and after seeing this-i don't mind paying it again.You better get going on those gifts because i don't have any room in my house for you bro (you now how she gets..lol)
__________________ The relentless pursuit to the end of these mods!!
this should be a sticky!!
Great job oz!!! now i see where all my money in paying for labor went,and after seeing this-i don't mind paying it again.You better get going on those gifts because i don't have any room in my house for you bro (you now how she gets..lol)
This is the first and the last time I'll ever do a DIY like this.
95 LS400 Starter dead....DIY replacement completed
(you now how she gets..lol)
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