Ok... i've been tryin' to figure out why my car has gotten louder.... well today i got my answer. Behind the engine, between the firewall and above the transmission housing is a POS rat azz copper tube that connects to the exhaust manifold at the flange attaching the catalytic converter. Well after removing the cat, inspecting it, and finding nothing wrong with it, or the heat shields,... the mechanic and I became SUPER CONFUSED,... the sound was coming from the general area of the cat and yet,... we didn't see anything suggesting that it was,.. well after pokin' around,... we put something against this stray metal pipe, and the car then became quiet,....but then when we gave it gas,.. it was the rustang sounds... ( clankity clank! ),.. the pipe had rusted and broken off of the flange it was attached to,... so this POS little channel of metal looks like it's gonna cost me an azzfull of labor, being you cannot reach the top flange above the transmission, nor can you reach it or see from above the engine..............WTF was Lexus thinkin???!!!!!

ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!! - ( biting into my monitor right now and slingin' the keyboard )

anyone else ever have this problem????

 

Take it off and cap the holes with blanks.

 

what does this pipe / hose do?

 

Exhaust gas recirc. right? Can't say for sure without reading up in the manuals. It has to do with emissions. Are you getting a check engine light or anything with that open?

 

i changed mine while i was having my starter replaced(same location). it's a little copper flex pipe that connects to the back end of the engine (betwwen the firewall)and down to the exhaust .it is very hard to change due to it's location. in some cases the tranny might have to come down a little. the exhaust has to be dropped i believe,but you're right-a sh*tload of labor is involved in this replacement for such a little troublesome part. you know what? to top it off,there was absolutely nothing wrong with mine(still like new)but, i knew that it would have been a liitle easier to play with being that the starter sat right in front of it. what the hell was lexus thinking??? - this comes to mind when you see this installation/removal.

unfortunetelly,my boy with a 95 LS400 had this problem and let me tell you...... it sounded HORRIBLE!!!!!

 

got it fixed,... but now my car is louder ( exhaust wise ), but the clatterin' sounds are gone,.. the clattering was actually the flex hose vibrating against the engine... dayum! well, i guess it had to be done.

 

...yet another thing I'mma have to pay attention to. Gaddamnit. Nazty what did the labor run for this repair?

 

I have a long time friend - mechanic that fixed that, and replaced my universal joint in the transmission as it was coming apart for $500.

My car sounds like a damn race car now,.. which aint bad,.. it's just not as quiet as it used to be,.. not sure what changed....