mklaah

I just bought this clean 1993 LS with only 37,500 miles. Thats right, not a mis-type. I am having trouble starting it and keeping it on when idel. I have to give it alittle gas. When i put it on drive and go i have to be easy on the gas and gradually speed it up. This car was very well taken care of. I am not a professional mechanic, i am more like a back yard mechanice. I know i dont want to buy random parts and start putting them on to fix the prob.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

LEXTEK1

Check Engine Light?

mklaah

Yes check engine light comes on.
I think its bad fuel. I changed the fuel filter and it stayed on with minimal help from the gas pedal. If i give it too much it wants to die though. I have also order the fuel pump and another filter since i did not dump the old gas.
When i changed the first fuel filter it was nasty and dark brown gas came out. So I hope that is all that is wrong with it.
It runs good at times. Then it runs rough like it wants to die. I think that is when it gets that bad gas.

I tired to get the check engine code but can not do it. I went to lexls.com and did what it told me but couldnt make it blink for me.

Skynet27

fuel pump or bad gas is a possibility. make sure to drain out all the bad gas when you do the pump. try to clean the tank out best you can. Also could be a vacume leak with that low of miles stuff just rot's sitting like that. look at all the vac lines start with the big ones and see if there cracked or broken off. also start the car and spray brake cleaner at the lines and the intake manifold. If it runs better there is an issue in that area.

deanshark

Everyone always thinks a very low mileage car is great but they're just as old and can still have major problems. Couple questions; does it bogg down, like it's completely out of gas, or does it spit and sputter like it's running out of gas? How long has the car been sitting before you bought it? If it's old gas then it should be drained and you might have to get the injectors cleaned. (maybe professionally) Especially if it's dark brown like you said. I'm not sure what the gas tanks are made of but I had a 66 Mustang that the inside of the tank had rust on the bottom. Maybe there's something in the tank blocking the line or the fuel line itself is rusted. If the engine light is on there must be a code, try checking it from both diagnostic boxes.

KoukiMonst

save yourself the trouble and go right to the ecu take the top and bottom off and look for leaking caps or damaged board... its going to happen sooner than later anyways soo might as well check it.

Dtwillis5

[QUOTE=KoukiMonst;6647160]save yourself the trouble and go right to the ecu take the top and bottom off and look for leaking caps or damaged board... its going to happen sooner than later anyways soo might as well check it.[/QU

Open it up, save time and money. caps only a couple $, my caps come tomorrow so imma know if that's my problem by the end of Wednesday

emarknot

sorry, but thats just horrible advice at this particular point. I understand where you are going with this

if the op removed the fuel filter, and it was brown, then yes....its fuel related and the whole fuel system will be this way including the injectors. but replacing caps in the ecu, will not help the fact that the injectors could be partially blocked.

most of the fuel related comments are correct. drain the tank, try to clean it.
and then fill the tank 1/4, put in a fuel tank additive, this way it is pretty much,mostly concentrated. run till empty. fill back up to a 1/4 tank again...and see how it runs at the end of the tank.

and deanshark did hit on a very good point. a near 20 yo car with ultra-low mileage is not always a great thing. from the sounds of it, it was not taken care of very well through the years.

even if you dont drive it, it still has to be maintained. and to catch-up a 18 yo car, might cost you. so even if things are great after the driveabilty issue, dont be surprised if your costs start escalating..

and please, if this happens, DO NOT BLAME LEXUS' POOR "ENGINEERING". it comes with a 18yo non-maintained vehicle.


oh....congrats on a 30k mi find !!

mklaah

Update. I put in the new fuel pump and the car worked great for about 15 min. Basically till it warmed up. Im thinking its the ignition coils now because i unplugged a spark plug on the driver side and it did not hiccup.

It did need the fuel filter and fuel pump though.

This car was very well taken car of(i believer). Its man made and not perfect. So yes I expect things to mess up on it even with the miles. The previous own had house carpets on top of the floor mates(lol). Thats old school.

mklaah

Also the car stay on and idles fine. It dies when you give it gas and at normal operating temp.

Lightfoot

I suspect water or sludge in your tank keeps clogging the fuel filter. If it is, you are going to have to figure out how to clean out or replace the tank or this problem will never go away.

Yotarip

No..... It's not terrible advise at all. The OP stated that he tried to pull a code from the ecu and it "DID NOT WORK"! Failure to communicate with the ECU is the tell tale sign of ECU FAILURE. Having the car diagnosed by Lexus makes more sense than focusing on fuel lines at this point. I'm willing to bet that replacing the ecu with one that works will cure the problem 100% even with the suspected "old fuel".

mklaah

I put in the driver side igintion coil and the car improved. It did not give me any issues for 3 days. Then it did it again but not as bad when i was going 60mph. And it does it speratically. The check engine light comes on and it does it for like 1 min. Then it stops. I was wondering if I need to change the driver side ignition coil also? I only change the driver side. Thanks for help

deanshark

I think you mean the passenger side also.? It's possible that one is bad, it's not always the drivers side. When you pulled the plug wire off on the drivers side plugs which one did you pull? Possibly one that goes over to the passenger distributor? Did you check the old coil with an Ohm meter before just changing it, same with passenger side? Did you try to check for codes again?

mklaah

Lol your right. The passenger side. Im not sure which one I checked but I think your right. I did not check the ignition coil with a meter. I have tried the paperclip trick to check the check engine code but it does not work. I think because it is intermittent and does not stay on long. Ill check the old ignition coil with a meter. What should it read?