mattylex77

Im looking at moving up to the 98-00 series LS and i have been scouring craigslist cars.com etc. all over the country for the best one at the best price. I have been noticing something weird about all of them. Correct me if im wrong but proper idle spec in park or neutral is ~800 or the tick mark below below the 1000 mark. and idle speed in gear should be ~650 correct? I have looked at A LOT of these cars and when they take a pic of the cluster it seems that not one of them is idling within spec. they are all just a bit low... exactly like my 97...

Has anyone else noticed this or am i the only one. did a search and nothing.

Be interesting to hear what ther forum members idle behaviors are.
idle speed in P N D w/ AC no AC

RugbyDad

Proper idle in P with the car warm with a/c off is ~650. Alot of the forum members with 2.5 gens idle is within that spec, mine included.

Cold idle in P with a/c off is anywhere between 1k and 1200. Idle in gear is a different story. I have no clue what proper idle is. Mine sits @ 400 with the lights and a/c off. Turn on the lights and my idle goes up to 600.

I may have a vacuum leak or a weak alternator so ymmv.

johnnyg66

Well my 92 idles at 1k in park motor hot and 650ish in drive. Now i did just change the TPS sensor and did tweak it once to lower it. I cannot remember what it did before i changed the sensor. I may have to tweak it again per manual. But it moves fine in both city and highway driving.

When i changed the starter i did a lot of other updates while i had it apart.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

my 97 idles low as well. she just needs a proper cleaning since i have never cleaned in the intake ports since taking ownership.

i would imagine most owners also neglect to clean their intake tracts thus leaving a low idle. this does not indicate a car in "bad shape" however. my car has only stalled once from low idle and that was on a super hot day with the AC blasting coming off the hwy after cruising at 80mph.

with AC on the idle is compensated for the extra load on the engine so idle usually goes up.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

This is what Yamae states in another thread about idle in the 98+:

Yamae

98-00 are targeting to be 750rpm sharp by the engine controls system. The value is at P or N with no AC, no light on.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

My 98 had always idled at 750 in park with no lights or AC. When in drive with the same conditions it starts out at around 650 and stays that way sometimes and gradually drops down between 400 and 500.

mattylex77

i wish someone with a manual would chime in. Shouldnt the official information be in there? i have a 97 and did full efi cleaning service cost me $150 and didnt change a thing. I imagine they cleaned the air mix path though i cant say for sure. So 750 in P no AC no lights means slighly below the line that is just below the 1k mark correct?
Also wondering what AC does to idle in park for you guys. it actually drops me down to ~600 or so. then when i turn AC off it immediatley jumps back up to 750~800.
idle in D no lights/AC is 400~450.

Also can we question the accuracy of our tachs? I wouldnt think lexus would make a bad one but who knows?

RA40

iTrader: (6)

You say "bad shape" what in particular are you referring?

Yamae

Regarding the idle rpm, Toyota has changed the ECU design in summer of 96. Below is from a JDM manual with added my English translations. It says,"To reduce the vibration, the idle rpm is changed as below".

I don't know the exact date of the change. There were some market problems complained by customers saying that the vibration level was bigger than expected".

mattylex77

Bad shape being just a figure of speech. Like thre is something wrong. Thanks Yamae that cleared up a lot for me

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

I have owned 5 different 99's and have two of them now and have never had an idle problem or vibration except one that needed brake rotors... two of them had had paint work and the other had a hum in the engine and that is why I replaced them... but good drivers... I just had my annual wax & polish and headlight restoration and they just look like new again.... I call them salt & pepper... sometime, but they are really the Dove and the Raven (or crow, depending on my attitude), they are white & black.. luv'em/ you can see them below (photos)

mattylex77

GORGEOUS!

willing to part with one??

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

`only the white one, but my wife would go with it.... you need a 70+ year old woman.. (hehehe)

we were not always old, me and DiMaggio both had pretty wives..

charlesw62

I've owned my 98 since new and only had one issue: I replaced the starter last year! Took about four hours. Lucy has been running like a gold medal sprinter all this time. And fast too! And yes that IS MPH!