additude

I have a story about my Lex and I believe that you all will just discount me as some whacko on drugs or truly just a made up story...but here goes. I apologize in advance for it's length.

I own a 97 LS400 and I like to think I take decent care of my car. I live in the rurals of the Outer Banks in NC and it's over 30 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart for me. And the nearest Home Depot is right next door to Wal-Mart. The nearest Lexus dealer to me is almost 2.5 hours drive away.

Not that it has anything particular to do with my story, just that I don't get to spend as much time on my car as I would like and for things like lamps, belts, tires, alignments, etc. are not just 5 or 10 minutes away. When I lived in Charlotte, I could do things...where I live now...I want to do things.

So..on with the story.

Awhile back I noticed that when driving on a straight semi flat road that I thought the engine was missing slightly or maybe even the tranny slipping some. Typically, curves, acceleration, stopping, etc. was fine...but things progressively seemed to get worse.

Sometimes right after starting the car and putting it into reverse or drive, it would lunge, like as if the hydraulic fluid was hitting full force. When driving, there began to be a distinct "catch" felt when the tranny changed gears.

Also at the same time the steering wheel started making a squealing sort of noise when I turned the wheel. I thought the drive belt was slipping...damn I am thinking...I've got some major problems going on....

Because of my work schedule, I wasn't afforded much opportunity to check anything out. Being as my drive to work is no more than 5 minutes and I do not drive much, I thought it was something I could let go for awhile. I was maybe putting 3 miles a day on the car.

Then during this process, I was noticing that it was becoming frequent that when I pressed the brake pedal to stop, it seemed the tranny stayed engaged or something and continuing to power the car forward. There was almost a rumbling vibration like as if the tires were driving over those washboard indentations put in medians or shoulders of the road to alert drivers they are driving out of the lane. Only it wasn't so much more of a feeling as it was more the sound.

I noticed this happen several times over two weeks and then I noticed the check engine light on.

Well damn, things are really getting worse I thought.

So I drive for another 3 or 4 days....noisy and some pulsating steering wheel, jumping into gear and stopping issues with what feels like the car wanting to drive forward and making grrrrrr sort of noise.

Then the check engine light goes out. I am hoping it turned off and did not burn out...but I decide to make time and check some things out. Especially with the P/Steering.

I pop the hood and check the main belt. It's a bit old, I can see it needs to be replaced and I check it for tension and slippage. No immediate problem at all. The tension idler pulley is working fine, etc. I'm kind of perplexed.

I check the P/Steering fluid reservoir. My P/Steering pump was replaced several years ago under warranty. There was some debris in the pump or something that clogged or damaged the unit so Lexus replaced it. It still looks pretty brand new, years later...and I am recalling some semi-fuzzy thoughts about that time frame....the drive across town and my tranny.

Well anyway, I keep checking and discover the P/Steering fluid is low. Way low...right away I am thinking awesome...low fluid and that's the P/S problem...easy fix...now lets see, where did I put that extra fluid I had when we moved here 6 years ago....a bit of searching and there it was...top shelf in the laundry room...

OK, so good thing I have like a big bottle of it...I am honestly thinking this is sweet...typically I'd not have found the fluid at all or if I would have found it, then it would not have been enough. I am using synthetic also...so it would have been a 30 mile drive to Wally's or a parts store...so this worked out fine...and I was happy.

I filled the reservoir to full mark and I started the car...cool, steering was back to normal. No more squealing...so I buttoned it up and took it for a test drive...that’s fine...and I park it...I don't think I had previously checked the P/S fluid level in over 6 years.

I drive it over the next week...I didn't seem to notice that tranny issue, maybe once or twice I thought...but once again the tranny started acting up the following week...I also noticed that the steering noise was coming back. So once again I check the P/S reservoir and it was indeed low...so I filled it back up to the full mark thinking I have a leak. And also again to my amazement, all the tranny problems disappeared again.

At this time, the tranny was working fine, the steering was fine...and those little gremlin thoughts started perpetuating back into my head from several years ago when the P/S pump initially went out and recalling my drive across town to the Lexus dealership in Charlotte...me thinking I recall my tranny acting up at that time also.....but just during a single drive across town...it was just a thought...but why would I even think about that if there wasn't something there to remember...hummmmm...

Well, it's been over two months now since I filled the P/S reservoir full and although I haven't checked it, I have had no more issues regarding my steering or my tranny. As a matter of fact, I am not even very conscious of the fact that I don't have an issue anymore....I mean, I don't anticipate the jump into gear, or the stopping issue, etc.

It's miraculously fixed itself...my initial problems becoming a non issue after refilling my P/S fluid. However I am conscious of continually considering as to what relationship my P/S has with my transmission.

Is this just my imagination? or what? I honestly think it has substance because it has happened twice...and possibly a third time before when my P/S pump initially went bad...I just wonder...

Thermactor

iTrader: (1)

The P/S has no relationship to the transmission. Your weird shifting might come back to haunt you - it might be time to think about servicing your existing unit to see if it helps. I've heard of symptoms like yours and sometimes it points to a problematic torque converter.