I am looking at a 1993 Ls400 with 109k on it for $1800.00. The car doesn't seem to run right. It sounds like it misfires but when the car is cold it runs pretty darn good. The guy who owns it says it has been getting worse for the last 2k miles. When the car get to the higher rpms it smooths out big time. The car has had a tune up cap/plugs and some other stuff. Also had a compression check and it checked out good. After the 1st time I drove it I unplugged the Maf and the car ran a whole lot better although far from perfect. Any idea's? I want to buy this car but I am a little gun shy. I don't mine buying if I could invest $700.00 or less. Any help would be great.

 

Is there a check engine light lit? It's possible that it could be the MAF, but it would take some detective work to find out the root cause of the problem. For $1800, if the rest of the car is in good condition, I don't think you'd be making a mistake by buying it provided you have a multimeter and some basic automotive skills for troubleshooting and repair.

 

Check engine light only goes on when the MAF is unplugged. The rest of the car is pretty nice except for the passenger side doors have been replaced and painted and not super well. Also the cluster has some issues where the gas gauge doesn't exactly work right the speedo comes and goes and same thing with the rpm gauge.

 

I'd probably pass on this car then.

 

If you're in SoCal, you could take it to Son at Dynamic Auto Services and get an assessment of what the car needs and how much the repairs will cost. If it's not worth it, he'll tell you so.

 

Thats a bit far the car is in San Diego.

 

i dunno bud....usually when it sounds too good to be true, it IS too good to be true...

it just sounds like there are too many potential problems with that car even at that price....

i'd pass on the car as well.....you'll find a better deal...they're out there...

 

Would it be worth it @ $1300.00?

 

Yes.

 

I'd be curious to see how it drives with a different Karman Vortex sensor.
93 does not have a traditional maf.

If you believe the compression test #'s to be real I would purchase it.
This sounds electrical & therefore fixable.

 

"The car has had a tune up cap/plugs and some other stuff",
find out exactly what other things are been done? find out if the distributor rotors are been replaced along with the caps? I had a similar problem when I accidentally put right rotor on left and left on right, but once they were set right it was running like a champ. Give it a try and good luck man.

 

I saw the same car advertized on Craigslist for $1800. I went test drove the car. Yup it definately had a problem. It had major power loss. it took a minuted to get to 60 mph. It was jerking and Up hill i had to hit the pedal to the floor to get it to 20 mph. Seemed like it was only firing on 4 cylinders. But the plus side was it had normal compression, transmission was good, no leaks, starts up fast. I'm not a mechanic but i do know a little about engines. I figured i can fix this and drive it for cheap. I have heard this motor can go for 400,000 miles. Aron told me he got an offer for $1300 which he declined. I think that was you?

Anyways he accepted my offer of $1600 and i brought it home. Since he already told me he had the exhaust system taken apart and check i can start with the ignition
system. Just a process of elimination. I checked all vacumm lines to make sure theres none just loosely just hanging. I then unplugged one of the ignition coil and started the car... to my surprised it ran the same like it was just firing on just 4 cylinders. So then
i plugged it back and disconnected the other ignition coil, and started the car...Wow the starter turns but wouldn't turn over. Hummmm

Ok so this means that one ignition coil is not putting out, which can explain why only 4 cylinder are running. I drove to the Balboa Autozone and bought a $49.00 generic ignition coil and installed it. I turned the key and the engine started up and ran awesome. Accelleration was instant and ran like new. Took me less than an hour to figure this out. Aron told me that Lexus wanted to replace the exhaust system for an arm and a leg. Plus all these tune-up's that didn't fix the problem.

Today i drove it on the freeway and cruised at 80 mph on freeway 52. Totally
smooth. I did fine out the plugs installed are none platnum NGK. I wonder if
that make a diffrence.

 

id swap the plug and the other ignitor just to be on the safe side, also check the resistance on the wires

 

I'm planning to get OEM wires from the Lexus dealer just to be on the safe side. I did buy 2 ignition coils to be on the safe side. Yes i will do that next thanks,

 

it sounds like a simple fix. diagnosing it is the hard part if you don't have access to a scan tool.