excaliber

Ok, so please read the timeline below issues with my car. It has been great to me for 5 years but has taken a huge dive in reliability afterand give me some ideas of what to check and what to disregard. I am at my wits end as far as being inspected in August. I am testing the waters on craigslist *removed* to sell my car which I love but just cant think about problems with it anymore.

97 SC400, 182k miles
known issues per lexus- o2 sensor b1s1, code p0135

2 years back on cold start first thing in morning car would start then turn off, start then turn off, then start and run for months before happening again. Never an issue and car always ran fine before and after.

Car recently left me stranded for first time, turning off at a stop light, starting back up each and every time but turning off immediately after. This was a month or two ago.

Had serpentine belt changed and code read for check engine light was po135, b1s1 o2 sensor. Car performed well for last month or so.

Yesterday car whining on acceleration and deceleration, whining i guess from passenger front.
Drove fine, just whining.

Whining even more this afternoon and then tonight while driving home turned off at stop light. Starts back up every time but had to give it gas to keep it from stalling to get home very unsafely.

Car sitting in my parking spot, I love it but just not happy stressing when my wife and I are sharing one car and we are probably bussing it for a while just to be safe.

Things I have been told in past by Lexus and Firestone- need to replace o2, alternator soaked in oil and generating 10watts instead of 14, might be lie(firestone)
Things I have noticed- A/c light blinking, not sure if its a code, just a constant blinking until I press the button and it turns off. This started happening yesterday but did happen a few years ago too and then disappeared without issue after a Lexus A/C mold cleaning service I think it was called.

I have noone close by who is familiar with Lexus cars and my skills are very limited unfortunately. Im going to head outside tomorrow to look under the hood for anything unusual but I just dont know what to look for or what I can do.

Can someone narrow down what this might be and what parts to look at? The whining seemed to coinside with the rpms so I would think we find the starting point of the whine, we find the culprit. I dont believe it to be a massive fix but I know from searching crazily on here and lextreme that there are many possibilities and I dont have the money or time to replace multiple parts.

Again, anyone who is in the PA area and willing to travel to just give my car a look over we can work out a deal. All these issues began after my state inspection was failed for brake lines only which have since been fixed. Passed emissions but all these issues with dipping rpms and turning off constantly began after the inspection. Was always a bothersome thing but would happen every few months and only 2-3 times in a row then itd run flawlessly. My car is excellent, almost perfect original paint, 182k miles always serviced by lexus, everything inside works and the interior is great too. Just want this fixed and need some very thoughtufl answers or things to check for or best of all, a learned fellow local owner who can give me a hand for some holiday cash.

Happy holidays guys and be good

Steve

oldManTan

Well the whining is most likely the alternator and it's covered in power steering fluid. If the o2 sensor needs to be changed then change it. Could also be the ecu, some leaking capacitors could be messing some stuff up.

excaliber

I will be replacing o2 next weekend. Would car be able to continually start if the alternator was no good? I've also heard from others about some sort of pulley or another sensor since the ac light started blinking to coincide with the whine and current breakdown. I appreciate the answer, just eager to get my reliable car back or make the tough decision to become a Corolla owner ;P

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

Whining is probably power steering pump actually. If it gets low on fluid it will start to whine.
Power Steering pump is located over the alternator, and if it's leaking it will get fluid all over the alternator which will cause it to short and die. It's probably the source of the whine, but probably not the cause of your car randomly dying.

Have you bypassed the fuel pump ECU? Did ya'll actually replace the O2 sensors, or just read the codes? Also oMT's advice about the ECU is correct.

excaliber

Just need to replace b1s1, mechanic will be replacing for me next weekend.
The whine is when accelerating or coasting to a stop. Car turned off due to it tonight so eager to find answer. The shining started yesterday and the*car stalled repeatedly tonight. This went along with the ac light blinking and the outside temp reading*as 82° when it was about 45°. Haven't had to replace any power steering fluid since replacing serpentine belt, used to have to add a bit every few weeks during cold months. No need as of late. Haven't done fuel pump mod cus I don't know how and am too scared to try :P
Just could be so many different things and I really done know how to check and don't entirely trust existing to diagnose and at the moment the car just continually turns off so can't get it down there anyway. Thanks for replies so far

oldManTan

have you checked the battery terminals? could be a loose ground thats turning the car off

excaliber

Would a loose cable still allow the car to turn on repeatedly and never lose function of any electronics

Bankswood

You said the altenator was soaked by PS fuild but now you do not need to add any fluid since the belt replacement?
Tanin can repair your ecu for about $90. I would get that done ASAP. Itf the car will not start and idle on its own (meaning you need to rev the engine to keep it going). That's a sign that the Idle Air Control Valve IACV is bad. There is excellent info in this forum on how to clean it. Will not cost you any money other than a can of choke cleaner to see if this fixes it,

Unfortunately most of the time repairing these cars is trial and error and eliminating possibilites. Don't give up on it. You solve these problems you probably have years more use of the car.

Hopefully someone near you will offer to help solve these problems. Hang in there.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

if you had a soaked alternator how do you expect the car to stay running properly. you know its the only thing charging the system to keep the coils firing etc.. fix the leak, fix the alternator, its not rocket science.
the power steering on these cars leaks onto the alternator right below it. unfortunately this liquid hurts the alternator and you will get to a point where it cannot keep the car running properly and it will shut off randomly. when you are idling at a low rpm the alternator produces the least charge, so a soaked alternator might just not cut it anymore at idle but do finer at higher rpm's where the alternator will produce much more current. this is why keeping your foot on it is helping. It could be the idle valve but thats much less likely for they year of your car and after admitting that the alternator is soaked in fluid.

again fix the power steering leak, then the alternator. if you just do the alternator, it will happen again quickly.
these cars are almost bulletproof engine wise in stock form, but this is one of those few things that does happen to them, and I would just fix the leak and replace the alternator, its a pretty easy job.

also testing of waters is not allowed here. I Am going to edit it and remove it from your post and this will remain as a I need help sort of thread.
you get points for getting the right forum. If you do decide to sell your car, its either for sale or its not, and if it is the post goes in the
"LEXUS VEHICLE CLASSIFIEDS" section.

Bankswood

Ali, for my edification can you explain why the 97 model IACV is less likely to cause immediate stalling than say my 93

excaliber

I love my car so I am going to go step by step cus I'd really like to keep it.
I will have a local backyard mechanic give the tb and iac a cleaning and check for vacuum leaks per the whining sound.
Try to find and fix leak then replace the alternator. Lastly, I can get a decent ecu off eBay for around $150 so it might be worth it given the ac light flashing and the o2 sensor issue. Car runs perfect most of the time which is why this issue is so frustrating. I appreciate the advice.
When repairing leak, what r the options, what part of power steering is leaking usually?
Firestone quoted me $450 for alternator, will a remanufactured or used quality one be doable?

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

the iacv does not cause random stalling is why, if you had a blocked iacv you would not be idling any of the time really, and also the 97 is about 5 years newer.

The power steering leak is usually the power steering pump itself which is directly above the alternator hence the problem. you should be able to spot it with a light, please try and look for it. most people replace the power steering pump, but do a search online or better yet this forum for "sc400" and "power steering" and "leak". there are tons of info. also you will need an alternator. 450 is ridiculous for an alternator especially from firestone, check online like rockauto or get a good used unit it shouldn't be more than 100 used or 200 remanufactured. check forums, even check napa if there is one local to you. also check the power steering pump at all of these places and compare. again with a flashlight its not hard to see whats leaking.
do not change the alternator without fixing the pump unless you would like to replace it again in a few months.

also why do you think the o2 sensor code is a problem with the ecu? 182k is alot for o2 sensors if they are the original they are done and should be changed.
the blinking a/c light indicates there is an issue with the a/c system, not the main ecu I think.

jayydm

rare color combo there. Id start with the ecu and move on from there

excaliber

So after letting the car sit for a week while I was finding a mobile mechanic I went out to start it up. Started fine as usual, ran for about 3 mins while warming up. Whole time that whirring/whining sound from the front passenger side. As the Roma dropped to around 750-600, the sound was what indicated that the car was about to stall. And so it did. I started it right back up and it went to almost 1000rpm then began to putter out again.

I'm going to start with cleaning the tb and iacv tomorrow and replacing my b1s1 o2 which caused an engine lightsince October.
What else should I be thinking and what cleanser should I buy and best write up for my car. I see a lot of write ups for pre obd2 cars but not my 97

Thanks as always and happy New year

Biddles

iTrader: (2)

I had a similar issue once on my old SC where the negative battery terminal wasn't on all the way. Car would stall randomly. Doubt that's your issue, but the alternator is probably shot like others said. Another issue I had is one of my wires was loose. It for whatever reason wasn't 100% connected, and it caused problems. You don't have to be a mechanic to look under the hood, check connections, and remove/reinstall a few things. 10/12mm Sockets and a Ratchet will do most basic things under the hood. Also, when was the last time you checked your air filter?

Buying a used ECU off ebay might not help at all, check your current ECU for signs of problems. Burn marks, leaking capacitors. Then if it looks bad take it out and send it to DriftMotion for a rebuild, it will take a week or two, but much better then buying another one off ebay.