MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

Quick question is you MAF sensor plugged in the right direction? Also I think I saw your other tread where you cleaned your valves. Did you chemical spray into the valves?

When I changed my plugs a few months back. I sprayed a little MAF cleaner in the spark plug tubes. To clean a little oil residue that was around the bottom. I remember when I put it back together it didn't want to start either. It took about 4 cranks before it started. When it did it was a little rough till it cleared itself out.

gustervon

I just finished pulling out all the plugs yes there was oil residue at the bottom of the plug tubes. I did not attempt to clean it.

Yes I did a chemical clean to the valves. It seems to be all dried up currently.

i am not getting any codes and did not touch the MAF besides plugging and unplugging the harness.

Thanks for your reply.

smitty2919

OP those plugs look dirty...which makes me believe that when you went around to clean the valve, then moved to the next one some carbon debris and chemical cleaner got into the cylinder when the valve opened. Which may be getting on the plugs now. It's worth carefully cleaning them off of any soot/debris.

With the carbon buildup/blow by issues these cars have via the PCV system, I'm not surprised you see an oil ring on the lower intake manifold...look inside your black plastic intake and I bet you see a lot of oil coated on the inside....that is the crap that builds up on the valves. A Oil Catch Can will greatly help to reduce that.

Try doing what someone else said and purge the cylinders of fuel/junk. I know on my wife's 99 Honda, you could hold the gas pedal down and it would disable the injectors while cranking the car. MAYBE this is the same on these cars.

Mrfix

If everything is all back together and you pull out a coil, put a plug in the end and crank the car. See if you notice a spark. If you're not getting a spark then the problem is with the ignition system. If you are getting a spark the next step would be to check fuel pressure. You can hook up a gauge to the fuel line to do this. Or you could spray some starting fluid into the intake to see if it starts for a few seconds and then dies. That would suggest your not getting fuel.

Now if neither of these things turn out to be a problem did you check your cam sensor/ wires or crank sensor/ wire? This would affect your engine timing and could cause the vehicle not to start.

Also, I'm curious if a fuse could be causing a problem.

smitty2919

You did disconnect a fuel line, so it may take some time to build up/purge air out of the fuel line. I'm not sure, with a push button like these cars, but on a regular car you can click the key over to "prime" the system, then hold the key forward to actually start it.

If you can, try to "cycle" the car to purge air from the fuel line?

Mrfix has a good suggestion about spark plug to diagnose...but if you did one plug at a time I don't think spark is your issue. Something simple to try using passenger side plugs though.

Also, Post #10 here the person mentioned difficulty starting after doing something like this:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...alves-diy.html

gustervon

OP those plugs look dirty...which makes me believe that when you went around to clean the valve, then moved to the next one some carbon debris and chemical cleaner got into the cylinder when the valve opened. Which may be getting on the plugs now. It's worth carefully cleaning them off of any soot/debris.

• I would agree on the carbon debris getting on the new plugs. I should have probably held off on the new plugs until all the junk worked out of the system. I am getting good at tearing this thing down. I'll revisit the new plugs once it gets running again.

With the carbon buildup/blow by issues these cars have via the PCV system, I'm not surprised you see an oil ring on the lower intake manifold...look inside your black plastic intake and I bet you see a lot of oil coated on the inside....that is the crap that builds up on the valves. A Oil Catch Can will greatly help to reduce that.

• Yes, the intake was pretty oily upon disassembly. Oil catch can is on the agenda, but once again...want to get the car running first.

Try doing what someone else said and purge the cylinders of fuel/junk. I know on my wife's 99 Honda, you could hold the gas pedal down and it would disable the injectors while cranking the car. MAYBE this is the same on these cars.

• I tried this and I am getting mixed results. It seems like it wants to sputter more when I have the gas pedal held down.

If everything is all back together and you pull out a coil, put a plug in the end and crank the car. See if you notice a spark. If you're not getting a spark then the problem is with the ignition system. If you are getting a spark the next step would be to check fuel pressure. You can hook up a gauge to the fuel line to do this. Or you could spray some starting fluid into the intake to see if it starts for a few seconds and then dies. That would suggest your not getting fuel.

Now if neither of these things turn out to be a problem did you check your cam sensor/ wires or crank sensor/ wire? This would affect your engine timing and could cause the vehicle not to start.

• I have not check the cam sensor / wires or crank sensor / wire. Could you provide more information on this and some regarding the timing?

Also, I'm curious if a fuse could be causing a problem.

• I have not looked into the fuses yet. Would you suggest just pulling them all and check one by one?

You did disconnect a fuel line, so it may take some time to build up/purge air out of the fuel line. I'm not sure, with a push button like these cars, but on a regular car you can click the key over to "prime" the system, then hold the key forward to actually start it.

If you can, try to "cycle" the car to purge air from the fuel line?

• See below...

Mrfix has a good suggestion about spark plug to diagnose...but if you did one plug at a time I don't think spark is your issue. Something simple to try using passenger side plugs though.

Also, Post #10 here the person mentioned difficulty starting after doing something like this:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-2...alves-diy.html

• This I am considering currently.

---

I checked out post #10 in the above link. Here is what I notice...

I tried to start the car ~20 times. At times it seems to sputter more than others. Last night and this morning, the car seemed to be close to fully turning over, but my repeated attempts at starting the car seemed to have drained the battery, which lead me to wonder...would a low charge on the battery be preventing the car from fully turning over.

I put it on a charger over night, which didn't seem to give any more juice to the battery.

In all my attempts to start the car, it does seems to sputter in varying levels of strength. This AM I felt the most steady rumble go through the exhaust system, then the car stopped. After that the car's battery seemed very low on juice and wouldn't give me any action.

Could the lack of starting be due to low voltage in the battery? Also, the purging of the fuel line makes sense to me too. I'm going to pick up a new battery to try and a battery charger.

Thanks again for the replys.

Any other thoughts?

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

Do you actually have fuel in the gas tank?

gustervon

Yes, half a tank.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

If you have the car back together. Have you looked into an immobilizer issue? I think if you open & close the driver door 3 times in a row. It resets it.

gustervon

Everything is back together...and I'm going to laugh pretty hard if this fixes it.

smitty2919

Are these kind of tricks mentioned in the owners manual? If not, is there a link to these things? Things like disabling injectors during cranking and this immobilizer issue.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

No I don't think they come in the manual. You can find many post on various Lexus model forums.

MikeFig82

iTrader: (13)

Also OP have you checked if your Key Fob remote battery is good? If it's weak it might not be able to start unless you hold it close to the push start button. Another thing to check maybe if the ground wire is not corroded on the battery. Check for corrosion where it's bolted to the chassis.

Mrfix

Could the lack of starting be due to low voltage in the battery? Also, the purging of the fuel line makes sense to me too. I'm going to pick up a new battery to try and a battery charger.

A battery that has been drained through repeated starting attempts could certainly be a problem. Get a boost or put it on a charger. Once you get it started let it run for a while. If you get a can of starting fluid squirt a couple of sprays into the intake manifold after the MAF sensor while someone steps on the gas pedal to open the butterfly while trying to start it. This should help get the car running to burn off a lot of the cleaner and oil in your cylinders.

gustervon

A battery that has been drained through repeated starting attempts could certainly be a problem. Get a boost or put it on a charger. Once you get it started let it run for a while.

• I went back home for lunch after picking up a charger and hooked it up. We will see what a couple of hours will yield.
• I tried the immobilizer suggestion...I opened and closed the door three times then fired it up. As I stepped out of the car while it was trying it came so close to fully turning over...I saw the RPMs climb to about 750. I tried to step on the gas some, but the lights flickered and it shut off.

If you get a can of starting fluid squirt a couple of sprays into the intake manifold after the MAF sensor while someone steps on the gas pedal to open the butterfly while trying to start it. This should help get the car running to burn off a lot of the cleaner and oil in your cylinders.

• I will be picking up some starting fluid before I head back home for the night. It will be interesting how I will get this done with it just being me and my dog. He's currently laid up after being neutered so I am not sure if he will want to run the can of fluid or give the car gas.