unless you can clean it up to where its shiny again I would replace it. 100% of your ignition goes through that one wire since it comes from the coil. it kinda sounded like an ignition issue from the start so its a good place to start. I thought you wrote you did the ignition wires on the first page.... I guess you missed the one from the coil to the distributor.

 

Meghanw1, congratulations on solving the "snapping" issue! I also thought you'd replaced your ignition wires. If one of those contacts is corroded then I'd certainly replace the set. Order a new set of Denso OEM replacements from densoproducts.com or Rockauto. Should be around $50 shipped to your address.

 

Yes, the ignition wires were replaced not too long ago. Now I just need to adjust the acceleration/ throttle cables a little. I drove the car yesterday and the rpm's seems a little higher than usual and the gear shifting seems a little off too.

So, do you think the ignition wire being corroded could have caused me to fail smog? Or probably not?

 

So I think I'm going to take my car over to my buddy's shop to get my car up on the lift, do an oil change, and possibly try to locate the source of the leaking coolant. Considering replacing the water pump with an OEM and fixing the leaking front main seal.
They have done a lot of work on my car (like the head gasket and replacement of a lot of the parts I listed) They let me put my car up on the lift to do simple thinks like oil changes. Plus they let me be involved in the process and answer all my never ending questions about what this is and what that is and what parts do what.
They are pretty good, for the most part. Although they did have a couple morons working there at one point. But that's another story and I don't believe they are working there anymore. However they are, by no means, Lexus experts! I just don't know of any other qualified mechanic in San Diego. At least one who won't try to rip me off and talk to me like I'm stupid because I am an attractive girl.
Trying to decide if I should do one more smog test since the next one is free and I know all the vacuum lines are now properly connected. Plus I have the new egr vacuum modulator, distributor cap and rotor. What do you think?

 

Meghanw1, I think that's a good idea. Having access to a proper lift is always a plus. Try checking the water pump weep hole, all the major coolant hoses, the heater control valve area and even whatever freeze plugs you can see. I once had a single freeze plug leak on me a couple of years ago. Thankfully it was in a somewhat reachable location and the Toyota dealer I went to was able to replace that with the engine in the car.

Your relationship with the primary shop and mechanics you use is key. I also prefer to get my car serviced where I can speak to both the owner and shop technicians one on one. Sometimes I prefer to be involved and other times I prefer to let them get on with the task at hand when we've discussed particulars but any repair shop or dealer that shuts me out of a one-on-one interaction and technical discussion is a place I generally stay away from. In my experience most Lexus dealers operate this way unfortunately (and that's not to say that I don't like the quality of service at most Lexus dealers-- I do. I just don't like the way they buffer and insulate the customer from the repair process). I don't like being talked down to either and I'm sorry you've had to put up with in some of your repair shop encounters. Some people don't get it... and in those cases I'd just take your business elsewhere.

If you like the folks and shop you usually work with and they are honest, keep them. That's a very valuable resource for any owner of a specialized older car

....

Personally I'd recommend you just get a "Manual smog pre-test". Very key difference between that and a regular "Smog Pre-Test". Unless you need to know if the evap system, gas cap, charcoal canister and other parts of the test are functional a "Manual" test will give you live tailpipe readings on a monitor (which you can photograph with your camera phone) but results are not transmitted to the BAR. Even "smog pre-test" results in terms of "Pass" or "Fail" go on the car's permanent record just the same as the official test you need to take anyway.

There is also intentionally aborting the "Smog Pre Test" partway through before it is finished. In that case all that goes on the record is "A" for "Abort". It's kind of ridiculous and wrong to count a smog pre-test against the car when someone is probably getting one of those to make sure that the car will pass the official test later. But that's California for you.

Apologies if I already mentioned that earlier. I can't remember if I did or not.

...

Covering all the vacuum lines is good-- those can definitely throw off the EGR system at the very least if any are loose. If you ever need to order more for the future I'd recommend Gates #27042 5/32nds Inner-Diameter hose. That's the closest to stock I've been able to find so far.

Yes, I'd replace the EGR Vacuum Modulator and your distributor cap and rotor. I had to replace my EGR vac modulator too recently. The cap and rotor are so easy to do I'd eliminate those from the potential culprit list. Stay with OEM Denso parts for those.

I still would not rule out possibly needing a new front catalytic convertor but I would address anything related to the engine firing first. Have you received your Tanin Auto repaired ECU yet? That should also eliminate another big potential issue.

 

Also Meghan, don't take my thread as directly indicative of what's wrong with your car but I also would not rule out the following beyond spark plugs/wires/cap/rotor, EGR Vac modulator and the front catalytic convertor:

--Fuel injectors (IF there is excessive smoke while driving. During the first couple minutes of startup you can occasionally see just a little tail smoke if the valve stem seals on the cylinder head are getting worn. You would know "excessive" if you saw it).
--Engine ECU capacitors (you said you've had yours repaired by Tanin or another company so that's very good)
--Faulty Throttle Position Sensor (TPS) or misadjusted TPS sensor
--Faulty ECU Coolant Temp Sensor (usually this is signaled by horrible startup or an inability to start)
--EGR Valve and pipe carbon clogging or "Y" intake EGR port clogging (usually not the case unless you have a CEL Code 71)
--EGR VSV solenoid (also probably not the case unless you get a CEL Code 71)
--Both front Oxygen Sensors (I *think* you already addressed these, correct? If you haven't already, order the Denso 234-1055's from RockAuto now and just replace them anyway)

Those are the main things. But still you may need to get yourself a new front catalytic convertor on top of some other fix(es). I did everything possible to my car to make the ECU control, sensor input, combustion and EGR perfect and in the end what I came back to was that running rich for a few months had fried my front catalytic convertor. I have no way of knowing if my aftermarket rear cat was truly bad or not when I replaced it but once I went ahead and put a new front cat on... HC emission numbers went from very, very high to very, very well under the passing limit and even slightly below the average. My already low CO went from small to zero and the low NOx readings I was getting after having previously cleaned and fixed the EGR system got even lower as well.

 

Kahn,
Yes I got my ecu back. Did it about a year ago. I'm definitely thinking about doing the manual smog check you recommended. Although it seems kinda silly to pay for one when my next one is free anyway. But I think I'm going to hold off for now until I replace the corroded egnition wire / wires and purchase a new front cat. Because the more I think about it the more I suspect the front cat has gone bad. Also, depending on the price, I may order new o2 sensors too. Money is kind of tight right now. And I was denied the financial assistance from BAR for the CAP program because they say I had a lapse in registration for more than 120 days which is really frustrating because the only reason for the lapse is because I was trying to get my car to pass smog. (My registration expired in March) A bunch of BS if you ask me. But whatever.
So I'm going to work on those things. Egnition wires and front cat for now. Maybe o2 sensors. And once I have a little more money I will order the recommended water pump and go from there.
Thanks again for all your help!!

 

Also, what is s freeze plug??

 

Round metal plug about the size of a half dollar that is on the sides of your engine block. If the water in the block starts to freeze, these will pop out and maybe keep the block from breaking. They may also develop a leak at some point.

 

Excellent! That's a big one ruled out!

It is totally up to you of course. I can't make an argument against something that is free (unless it's some whiz-bang "free" service on the Internet, hah!). For me I've come to the realization that I don't like the smog "pre-test" option since they still put whatever result you get on your car's record-- just wrong in my opinion.

They denied you financial assistance BECAUSE your registration expired? Wow. I just learned something then. That's a very low policy on their part. Of *course* you need financial assistance if you're having this much trouble passing smog to appease them. The system is not set up to help people keep their older cars or really assist them in getting smogged properly. I agree that it's BS. Meeting the standards they require is one thing but stacking the odds against you is quite another.


You're welcome!

Yes, go ahead and replace the corroded wire, cap and rotor. I also recommend going straight to ordering (two) Denso 234-1055 Oxygen sensors. Your oxygen sensors actually have a lot to do with the engine running at optimum. When in doubt and especially just before a smog, just replace them. They are $37.00 each from RockAuto.com. Far less than what you'd pay at a Toyota or Lexus dealer-- and they are exactly the same Denso sensors as the OEM O2's. You can install them yourself in less than ten minutes. Very, very cheap in comparison to buying any catalytic converter.

For the factory front catalytic converter, you can get one faster if you order locally but you it will likely be about $380 picked up on person. You may not be able to afford to wait several days for shipping but I was able to get one shipped to me for $312. I just had to wait nearly a week for it to arrive.


^^ Yep. These are only all engines and they are primarily there to protect an engine in colder climates since the frozen 50/50 water+antifreeze coolant can damage an engine block if it ever is so cold that it turns solid.

I have had one of my freeze plugs leak on me. Had that replaced at a a dealer. I don't consider that a common thing to happen on any car. It also never happened to me with an original never rebuilt 31 year old Ford V8 engine I had in a previous car some years ago. I mean... with enough age and mileage anything can happen but I'd consider the probability low on these cars. Nonetheless, once you're through smog it can't hurt to inspect every place on the engine for your mystery coolant leak.

Here is what they look like in a generic engine block. Same for all engines only some blocks are cast iron (like the SC300 engines) and others are aluminum alloy blocks.

 

Where does this one go? <br >

I swear I followed the diagram exactly!!! And the reason I ended up with the extra hose is because it was connected to a plastic "T" piece that connected to the hose coming from the air intake chamber. I've already properly connected the 2 other "T" parts (from the canister and the other one attached to the EGR) so I assumed a third "T" was incorrect. But now where does this hose connect to? I'm confused.

 

And why is it that the vacuum hose diagram under the hood of my car is different from the vacuum lines that are actually there?
My sticker looks like this.

My cars throttle body like this .

So shouldn't my sticker look like this instead?

 

Those holes in the block are there from the casting process. To be able to remove the casting sand. It isn't a design to try to protect the block from cracking if the coolant were to freeze. Now on the flip side, they do at times pop instead of cracking the block ( when your lucky).

 

Think I figured it out!! Woo hoo!!

 

Meghan, I looked at my engine bay earlier to locate where that line from the Heater Control Valve VSV goes but I ultimately had no luck getting in there with a flashlight at night. That hose routes underneath the EGR valve or underneath the "Y" manifold. More likely it goes to a "T"-fitting under the EGR valve.

If you figured it out, great!