I wouldn't recommend cutting the shims/gaskets. As long as a sealant is put on the inside ring of the gaskets and allowed to dry overnight preferably; then tighten the bridge to spec there should not be a problem.

 

thank you all for your good suggestions, I have no room to lift the bridge, I have around 5mm of space all what I can see is the edges of the gasket. I think I will dry the gaskets with a hair dryer until its all dry and then tighten the bolts back , I even hesitate to put the RTV selaer because I am not sure if I will spread it evenly and generously because its hard to see the back of the bridge, it I put somehow more sealer from the front than the back then Iwill create a micro gaps iwich will be a great spos for dust and water and air buble ! so HOPE it will not leak otherwise I have to take it toa muffler shop I have no way to do a muffler job, I do not have a air tools, for the muffler bolts neither a a tool to cut the bolts in case of strrping the bolts. I am waiting for my gaskets to arrive today .
Is FELPROT a good brand name for gaskets?
what is the brand name of the cooling fluid that lexus uses? the one that spilled out from my engine has a red colors any suggestion of the brand name coolant at autozone or Kregen autoparts?
thank u all.

 

I have a question about the water bypass pipe.
there is a stainless water pipe that goes from the back the the from water pipe. I had to remove the bolt that that secure it to the blok in order to me to remove the white thick negatif wire from the starter) passenger side) to have more room, I notice that the pipe was wiggling little bit, I notice that the way it was conected to the water pump was weired it has inside an "O" ring rubber seal, I am wondering if it will not leak because it was mooving every time I am around the starter, do you think it will leak ? I never pulled or put pressure on it all what I did is took of the bolt in the middle to have more access to the starter,. is this something I need to worry about? thanks

 

^^^I used "Felpro" when I did my job and had no problems. All Toyota/Lexus autos use the same Toyota brand red coolant. In your case When you get the LS started add 1 bottle of Toyota coolant, then fill the same bottle with water until its topped off (if needed). The Toyota coolant is pure, you have to add water to the system, especially if you do a complete flush.

 

I had a very bad experience with Fel-Pro gasket (for throttle body mounting). The gasket itself did not fit at all (double checked and the gasket Fel pro part number was indeed for the car).

 

my headgasket set didnt come wit hthe water bridge gaskets. didnt realise this till i threw 3 of them away. luckily #4 was stuck to the water bridge. i bought a roll of gasket paper for water/oil gaskets. traced it out 4 times and cut 4 of the gaskets out with my exacto knife. worked perfect.

 

I started the car today Monday at 8 pm. I worked all day long. I rebuild the starter and flushed and washed both manifolds and TB. put all hoses and clips together.
I bought from Kregen auto an antifreeze , I was told that it was a red coolant but when I oppened the comtainer its was light gold color looks like lipton tea color. any way ( I know they will not take it back , I paid 15.99 +tax) since its GM certified antifreeser I used it they mentioned on the back that I could use it on a toyota cars from 95 and older mine is 95 , so I Mixed 50.50 with water and filled up my tank. I drove it 30 min 1 way and let it cool while Having a IN and OUT Burger I was stuck home since Thursday after that I drove back another 30 min, I pushed it up to 90 MPH Nice ride !. I opened my heather to 85 F max to let the coolling fluid circulate . I dont knwo if I need to bleed the system? I did open the 19 mm bolt on top of the water pump when engine runing I saw the cooling fluid passing fast ! but it didnt over flow ! any suggestion?
I forget aloso to instal the small piece of cristal paper ( insolator) inside of the stater from the positif pole ! but I think the paper was for safety case the plastic washer breaks and touch the casing !
I posted picture of the small piece of bristol paper ! and the brand name antifreeze I used.
thanks
special thanks for BILLY he assisted me by phone : I called him 3 or 4 times
thanks u all.

 

please flush your coolant with the proper type, given that the LS changed motors from 94-95 i'm pretty damn sure they have no idea what in the hell they're talking about.

congrats on getting the car started again.

 

Isn't it wonderful when ya get back on the road? Good job, hopefully nothing leaks on ya but for the next few days you should check around everything you did just to make sure, especially all the coolant hoses because they get hard and brittle and sometimes leak after being removed. I did notice in your pic that one of the hoses (in the front) isn't pushed on far enough and a vacuum hose on front of the intake isn't there. I can't tell if it is capped or open. If it's open, do something with it so your car runs right. And like PD suggested, flush and use the correct coolant. Other than that, nice job bud.

 

my car is runing great, but to be in the safe side, I would liek to bleed my cooling system, since I removed the back water bridge( water by pass bridge), I lost around 2 galoon of antifreezer, I put more coolant on the tank but I am not sure if I have air pockets in my system.
ANY ONE KNOW HOW TO BLEED THE SYSTEM?
THANKS

 

Good job, there is no bleeder, I ran mine about 30 minutes with the heat on HOT, stopped (at home) let it cool down and refilled the tank. I watched/checked on it for about a week, no more additions. and your 5 year coolant is fine..

 

There should be a label on the resevoir tank with instructions. In case not:

With the engine cool....

1) Remove the tank cap
2) Set heater temp on high (85)
3) Let engine warm up to normal operating temp (to open the thermostat)
4) Rev engine between 2000 and 2500 RPM for 5 minutes (at some point you may see some fluid "blurp" (technical term) out as the air escapes)
5) Turn off engine and let engine cool
6) Add fluid to the tank as coolant is drawn back into radiator (don't let tank get empty)
7) When engine is totally cool, add fluid to full level
8) Replace cap

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...dpost&p=346521

 

It was a great experience for me. thank you.

 

I just changed out the starter for a friend for $200, it took about 7 hours.
The rear tunnel, and the wires above it do not need to be removed.
You can get to the starter bolts with a 3/8 ratchet 14mm socket, have a 1/4 drive too tiny breaker bar set up non ratchet 1/4 drive. I have some scratches on my hand but you can reach from behind the tunnel & wiring to get the starter out. The long tube is held down with one bolt & pulls out. It was harder to put it back in so I disconnected the rubber hose in a different location.
Have a screwdriver with a magnet cause you will drop a few & they are hard to get back if you find them. When I was installing the nuts on intake I put a little piece of roofing material I found on the ground to put in between the nut and the socket so the nut stays in place inside the socket and you don't have to worry about the nut falling off. A piece of paper works too to hold it in place.
The car does not need to be jacked up & the egr tube does not need to be disconnected anywhere except the two small bolts going to intake. Don't lose the metal washer, I found it easier to put on by putting on one bolt fairly tight then push the metal washer down flush & the other bolt will go right in. It started right up on first try & I had no leaks. Boy did it leak gas when I removed the fuel rails, about 6 rags full of gas yuck. I took em home and burned them this morning inside my old habachee grill.

 

Watching GM a little too closely, doesn't appear to be a technical reason. Just my opinion.