Thank you! I cleared my CEL! New owner of LS400
12-26-11, 06:35 AM
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Thank you! I cleared my CEL! New owner of LS400
First off, thank you to all the contributors who helped me clear the CEL myself. I just bought my 1995 LS400 for about 2,200 dollar and Im loving it. It had 129k miles and it was riding terrible when I took it home, here are some of the symptoms and actions I took to finally make it run right.
•CEL was on and autozone pulled PO171 code.
•Wouldn't go past 40-50mph without feeling like there was an earthquake, steering would shake.
•Poor gas mileage
•Power steering leaking
•Seemed a bit loud at a drive through or alley (lifter sound)
•Gas pedal seems a bit hard, as if I have really have to step on it to go.
Actions taken:
1) Balanced tires and did an alignment. (it was completely off). This fixed the shaky ride and improved my gas mileage a bit.
2)Changed spark plugs and wires. Regular brands.
3)Changed alternator since it went out shortly after I bought it.
4)Attempted several expensive power steering leak seals and none worked until I tried one that was not that expensive that came with a florescent dye and sealer. That one actually sealed up the leak, Engine would wine loudly when I took it home, I assume it was the low fluid in PS. No more leaking, no more whining noise every other day.
5)Cleaned the MAF sensor.
6)Changed all filters. Air, Cabin, and Fuel. (Fuel filter was in a bad spot, paid JiffyLube $50)
7)Cleaned the Throttle Body. (Was extremely dirty)
8)Changed the PCV Valve and Grommet.
At this point I was hoping to have cleared the PO171 CEL issue, but it would still come on. I started to check for leaks in vacuum or any type of leaks, and found none. I pulled into a muffler shop and had them check it for exhaust leaks. Sure enough the tech stated that I has a leak at the passenger side CAT and that the CAT was bad. He wanted to charge me $480 for a new CAT.
I took it to a second muffler shop of the same chain, and they said that my CAT gaskets were bad at both CATS. For 25-30 dollars I purchased all four CAT gaskets and had them installed for $80. I had found the source of the leak and I hoped it would clear the PO171 code.
I have to say the car was much quieter, felt much smoother, and accelerated better. Right when I got home the CEL came back on. So, I went back to Autozone and pulled now a different code, PO156 (Bank2, Sensor2).
Hey, found my other issue. Check the sub cat sensor right underneath the passenser side door. Check the wire and the O2 sensor was broken I actually pulled the wire off, the filament was cracked. Installed the universal Denso Sensor for $25 dollars myself. It took me less than 30 minutes and I did not go into and underneath the passenger side carpet.
(I have the 4 wire O2 sensor. Before I cut anything I checked for a pattern and there was. There was blue or white on top, followed by black left, and black right, and the alternating color at the bottom either blue or white. That is how I matched them up, Black left and Black Right. Then I cut the wires indivdually and installed the new O2 sensor.)
What a difference. The car feels so much smoother and gets past 80mph without having to put on a heavy foot. CEL cleared so far.
Thank you to all how have posted!!
•CEL was on and autozone pulled PO171 code.
•Wouldn't go past 40-50mph without feeling like there was an earthquake, steering would shake.
•Poor gas mileage
•Power steering leaking
•Seemed a bit loud at a drive through or alley (lifter sound)
•Gas pedal seems a bit hard, as if I have really have to step on it to go.
Actions taken:
1) Balanced tires and did an alignment. (it was completely off). This fixed the shaky ride and improved my gas mileage a bit.
2)Changed spark plugs and wires. Regular brands.
3)Changed alternator since it went out shortly after I bought it.
4)Attempted several expensive power steering leak seals and none worked until I tried one that was not that expensive that came with a florescent dye and sealer. That one actually sealed up the leak, Engine would wine loudly when I took it home, I assume it was the low fluid in PS. No more leaking, no more whining noise every other day.
5)Cleaned the MAF sensor.
6)Changed all filters. Air, Cabin, and Fuel. (Fuel filter was in a bad spot, paid JiffyLube $50)
7)Cleaned the Throttle Body. (Was extremely dirty)
8)Changed the PCV Valve and Grommet.
At this point I was hoping to have cleared the PO171 CEL issue, but it would still come on. I started to check for leaks in vacuum or any type of leaks, and found none. I pulled into a muffler shop and had them check it for exhaust leaks. Sure enough the tech stated that I has a leak at the passenger side CAT and that the CAT was bad. He wanted to charge me $480 for a new CAT.
I took it to a second muffler shop of the same chain, and they said that my CAT gaskets were bad at both CATS. For 25-30 dollars I purchased all four CAT gaskets and had them installed for $80. I had found the source of the leak and I hoped it would clear the PO171 code.
I have to say the car was much quieter, felt much smoother, and accelerated better. Right when I got home the CEL came back on. So, I went back to Autozone and pulled now a different code, PO156 (Bank2, Sensor2).
Hey, found my other issue. Check the sub cat sensor right underneath the passenser side door. Check the wire and the O2 sensor was broken I actually pulled the wire off, the filament was cracked. Installed the universal Denso Sensor for $25 dollars myself. It took me less than 30 minutes and I did not go into and underneath the passenger side carpet.
(I have the 4 wire O2 sensor. Before I cut anything I checked for a pattern and there was. There was blue or white on top, followed by black left, and black right, and the alternating color at the bottom either blue or white. That is how I matched them up, Black left and Black Right. Then I cut the wires indivdually and installed the new O2 sensor.)
What a difference. The car feels so much smoother and gets past 80mph without having to put on a heavy foot. CEL cleared so far.
Thank you to all how have posted!!
12-26-11, 04:08 PM
#3
congrats on getting the car cleaned up, did you check the condition of the timing belt? it's due every 90k miles (usually when it's done there's a sticker on the core support or one of the timing covers) and since the '95+ LS is an interference motor it's pretty critical to have the belt, water pump, idlers, and tensioner replaced.
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