peterls

I just pulled the spark plug wires out, and six front ones were OK.
The passenger side one, all the way near the windshield, was rusted and covered with orange dust inside. I haven't pulled the plug out yet as I don't want that in the combustion chamber...
but - how in the world did that thing get rusty? Is that normal on 1st gen LS400?

On the left side, the tube had some red sealant inside, it looks like it dripped in somehow... like someone who was really careless worked on it or something... but no rust at least.

I have no misfires, no problems... should I replace the tubes, how easy are they to take out?

LScowboyLS

I would vacuum out the dust carefully, and replace the plugs and especially the plug wires, but I would leave those tubes alone.

make sure to use Denso or NGK plugs and wires only!

also, new Toyota caps and rotors would be smart while you are in there with the timing belt, don't use other brands besides the dealership part on caps/rotors, but make sure to negotiate at least a 25% discount or buy it at that price level at an online Lexus dealership such as Sewell, South Atlanta, Park Place, etc.

peterls

Thank you LScowboy!
I will replace distributors and rotors as well (it will have to be Bosch as that's all I have right now)
Bur wires and spark plugs are NGK.

Now I want to replace the valve cover gaskets as well, don't know how much extra time that will be... it's already 3:30pm in California, and I would like to put it all together today.

BTW, if anyone is interested to know - I pulled the harmonic balancer bolt off, it was already replaced before I can tell, so there was not that much torque on it. I actually used a 1/2 in socket wrench and 5ft steel pipe, and it seems it was properly torqued so it did not take much - perhaps around 200-250 ft/lbs of torque to undo it, but if it were necessary, I could have applied up to about 1000lbs...

LScowboyLS

the crank pulley spec is around 180 ft.lbs. but keep in mind, that is the spec you tourque it to, not the amount of torque it would take to break it loose had it been properly torqued to that spec aready, which might be 600-700 ft. lbs. (to break it loose)

in other words, it can take 3 or 4 times as much torque to break a bolt loose, compared to the torque it was tightened down with. Isn't physics cool!

peterls

True that... i almost think it was too easy