I have a 96 LS400, check engine light & traction light came on and start flashing...to it to a local shop (Pep Boys) and at first they said I needed new plugs...while changing out the plugs they noticed coolant on the #8 plug and cylinder...they said I needed a new head gaskets, keep in mind there was only coolant on the #8 plug all the other plugs were dry....do I need new head gaskets or is there something else thats causing the problem...the vehicle only has 178k miles on it and I've on ls400 before with over 300k miles with no headgasket problems...anyone advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

take it elsewhere...

 

+1 Get second diagnosis from a good shop. If you don't know any check out Angie's List or reviews online. The shops that specialize in Japanese brands are often pretty decent. You will save a lot of money if buy your own parts (even OEM) online and just pay for labor. This is what I do for all my repairs.

 

Head gasket issues will have other symptoms accompanying it:

1. White smoke on running even after engine is warm.
2. Loss of coolant.
3. Coolant is contaminated with oil.

Any recent history of it overheating? When was the last cooling system maintenance?
How did they know there was coolant in the cylinder? How many miles on car?

Definitely get another mechanic to look at it.

 

No overheating problems since I've had it, the temp gauge always stayed below the halfway marker even when I was running on the highway. The CEL and Trac Off light just started flashing last night, took it to the shop and they showed me coolant in one of the spark plug cylinders after they alledgely conducted a pressure test on the coolant system. The #8 cyclinder was the only cylinder with coolant in it, there was no coolant in the oil, no loss of coolant and no smoke coming from exhaust.

 

get a second opinion from a reputable shop or dealer.

pepboys is neither.

 

I want to thank you all for you input I'll definitely get a 2nd opinion on Monday from a reputable dealer...it doesn't make sense to have coolant in just one cylinder, I would think that if I had a bad head gasket coolant would be in all the cylinders or at least in all the cylinders on the one side...either way I definitely appreciate the info from all you guys or ladies on this forum....hope it's something less than $3k lol

 

You can have coolant in only one cylinder from a failed head gasket.
There are multiple ways a HG can fail, all of which can cause different symptoms/effects.

Also, if you are going to buy your own parts, talk to the shop you are going to use BEFORE you buy your parts to confirm they will do the work. Many shops will not allow you to do such things for warranty reasons, which could leave you with non-returnable parts or restocking fees to swallow! It's a tough pill to swallow if a customer comes back with a problem, its a defective part and now the car is laid up indefinitely while the customer is waiting on warranty approval from where ever they got the part from. There is also the issue of placing blame on the part/labour/misuse/whatever. It can be a very tricky situation to be in for both the shop and car owner. I personally will not perform a job on a customers car if they supply their own parts, regardless of where they came from, unless they sign off and waive their right to any warranty on labour. The potential liability risks, no matter how small the risk, are not worth the headache. My first boss got raked over the coals for doing such things. After 3years and 2 court visits, he was out of pocket $10,000 for a $700 issue he did not cause, simply because he said yes to such a situation. So if a shop says no to supplying your own parts, ask around some more or ask if they can price match or even buy through your source and only mark up a small percentage for book-keeping if at all. If you have a deal better than they get, sometimes they'll charge you straight across as they now have a source for a wider margin on parts in the future.

 

what shmee says is true..i work at napa auto parts and deal with many shops on a daily basis..personally i know the owners of these shops and always supply my own parts (most i get from the dealer because i get a discount). i also never pay full shop rate because i refer customers who have problems with their cars to shops,and always tell the customer to let the shop know i sent them there,plus my car gets repaired(mostly maintenance as ive not had an issue with my Ls in years)while im at work...its a win win situation and i take full advantage of it, the trade off is i have to schedule only when the shop has a lull in the action. most shops will allow u to bring in ur own parts..only if they are from the dealership,not aftermarket parts...eg;oreillys,napa,autozone...etc
i also know what cars suffer from what problems. believe it or not honda cars are very problematic,whether its their transmissions or ignition failures or failures within the electronics inside the car.
u have doubts..look here
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/2003/
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/2002/

mercedes and bmws are the worst for reliability in my eyes..expensive to fix and always in the shop. ive only seen 1 Ls in a shop for a headgasket..they just neglected the car and it over heated,then they drove it while it was hot.