PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

based on?

a lot of the better "aftermarket" parts are made by the same manufacturers of the OEM Toyota part...

chadr

Thanks all for the feedback.

Dean, I was digging for that last night and just couldn't find it. Appreciate the link.

Will let you guys know how this turns out.

chadr

The afm checks out according to the specs in the post, 5v with key on, 2.8v while idling, and ground ok on both brown wires.

I unplugged the pass side coil and the car absolutely does not even try to start. When I unplugged the driver side coil yesterday the car acted like it was going to start for a second then died. So there is surely a difference in how the coils behave when unplugged. When I say unplugged, I mean the 2 pin connector, not the spark plug wire.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

pull the high tension wire, otherwise the ECU will recognize the coil's unplugged.

deanshark

As PD says, pull the high tension wire (coil wire) from the coil. Hold it 1/16 inch from something (I use the intake) and see if you're getting spark. If so, check the same by pulling the plugs. I know how ya feel with this b/c I just went through it, same thing you are describing, 4 cylinder feeling. I checked everything, twice. I couldn't find anything wrong, until, I checked the timing marks. I didn't think timing b/c it only had 14K miles on it but there it was. I redid the T-belt, with all new parts, and it's been fine since. I know you say all the marks line up but do they look like # 28 in this? http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html

chadr

I'll have to remove timing belt cover so I can check for a good blue spark from the high tension lead. Hope that is it.

I'm purposely not responding about the timing

LiCelsior

iTrader: (32)

oh make sure no wires are crimped, i had one ignition coil wire that was crimped by the spark plug cover.

chadr

There is no spark coming from the driver side coil. Car runs the same with the high tension wire removed from the distributor end. Maybe I'll pick up a coil from the auto parts store if the price is reasonable. I see many on ebay for 25 or less shipped.

chadr

I replaced the driver side coil with one that I grabbed from a junk yard this morning. The car is running ok again. I'd like to replace both of the coils with new ones just to lessen the chance of trouble in the future. I'm waiting on the price quote from irontoad for the cost for lexus parts. However, what do you all know about these brands I see on rockauto?

ORIGINAL ENGINE MANAGEMENT
$24.79

BECK/ARNLEY
$38.89

AIRTEX / WELLS
$53.79

STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS
$61.79

NjRican

iTrader: (1)

I have the BECK/ARNLEY ones and have not had any problems.

91LS400vgb

I'm sorry I couldn't comment earlier, but I've been away and just returned. My 91 LS400 has almost 120K miles on it. Something similar to this happened to me recently. The car was sputtering and there was a smell of unburned gas which indicated that some cylinders weren't firing. I was able to get home on 4 cylinders. Anyway, I tested the primary and secondary coil resistances of each coil and found the passenger side's secondary resistance to be too low. I decided to replace both coils with new one's made by BWD and the car has been running great again. Based on research, it seems that the driver's side coil is the one that usually goes bad first. I later discovered that the driver's side coil on my car had already been replaced at a Lexus dealer when the car had about 61K miles on it back in 1997. When I examined the coils, sure enough the driver's side had an updated part code on it (19080-50011 vs. 19080-50010 for the driver's side). I guess Toyota may have done something to improve it. So, who knows - maybe I should've just left the driver's side one in there, but I still feel better having two brand new ones installed.

chadr

I ended up ordering a pair of BECK/ARNLEY coil's from rockauto today for $86 shipped. There are some super cheap coils on thepartsbin web site for $16 each but that price is so much lower than everything else I wonder how they sell so cheap. Lexus parts from irontoad were $83 each w/o shipping for those interested in comparing prices.

I can sell my old working lexus coil to someone looking for a spare (to keep in the trunk for the day a coil goes out) for $18 shipped in the US.

deanshark

Hey chadr, glad ya got it figured out. Even the best of us are wrong sometimes. It sounded like timing. I might take ya up on the offer for that coil. One of mine has a broken tab so the wire doesn't click onto both sides of it, but it still works for now. It was the drivers side but I switched them around when I did the T-belt so it's easier to get to. They're both the same so I don't see why everyone has a problem with just the drivers side except maybe a heat difference. Hope your car runs better when you get the new ones in.

chadr

For certain the driver side coil was bad as I determined that after swapping it around.

The car has a slightly rough idle now with the used replacement coil. I have two new coils arriving tomorrow so I'll replace both before I start checking much else. Looks like I may have to do more troubleshooting.

dean, who knows, maybe I'll have to re-check timing marks

chadr

The car is running as it should once again.

After both coils were replaced it was still running slightly rough after a couple hours worth of driving. Pulled all plugs today to check condition, one was oily looking while the rest were good. Cleaned the electrical metal contact surfaces of the one suspected injector with caig dexoit and plugged/unplugged it a number of times to try to work off any bad stuff. Checked compression and found all cylinders very close in the 170-180 psi range but my gauge would not hold pressure so the numbers really aren't so meaningful all alone. Compression was balanced which is what I was looking for.

Next time I need to mess with injectors I'll wire in new connectors since every one of them have broken clips at this time.