Update On My Project Ls400

[Dan1]

Hi, as you may be aware, I have recently started my new project,,, I have had a better look at the car and have noticed the following,,,

took power steering pump off due to grinding noise,, had a look inside the pump and it looks ok and the shaft moves smoothly and there is no atf coming out of the weep hole so now I think a flush and some stop leak in might quieten it up,,, I will get a new resivoir o ring too.

alternator is fine thank god!

took off throttle body and noticed that last person to work on the car connected the inlet hoses loosley!!

I then cleaned off the 3 mm thick black carbon build up and made a new gasket th fit on,

checked the plugs ( quick visual check I will test them properly when I get my compression tester on ebay) anyway I found the following,,,

left hand side of engine,,, 2 plugs very rich,, 2 plugs dont even look like they have worked ( plus have a brown line on bottom of ceramic,, maybe a leak.. right passenger side of engine just the same,,

if its only running on 4 cyl im very suprised that it drove let alone started,,,

I have not tested for a spark yet as rather than waste time Id rather just buy new ones and new leads.

so I would like to pick everyones brains and ask some questions,,

* is it worth re installing the p/s pump and buying fluid to flush it??, the pump looks fine and has no visable defects that I can see,, or should I just get a new pump?

do you think that Im right in saying that the plugs must be leaking thus causing lower compression?

or do you think that the valve seats may be worn due to anyone using leaded petrol in it?? Im asking that question as when I ordered some spare parts the shop asked me if it ran on leaded or unleaded??? It has 2 cats though so I dont think its been on leaded

what do you think the best course of action would be for my project ( no scrapyards please)

i have heard that there is a product called amtech restore on eBay and it looks convincing,, I have

tried it on other cars and it seems to be ok,, has anyone else tried it to increase compression??? or would you recommend anything else?

anyway, thanks for reading my post and wish you all the best with your cars,,, especially when the parts arent cheap,,, Dan

[Gord]

Hi, as you may be aware, I have recently started my new project,,, I have had a better look at the car and have noticed the following,,,

took power steering pump off due to grinding noise,, had a look inside the pump and it looks ok and the shaft moves smoothly and there is no atf coming out of the weep hole so now I think a flush and some stop leak in might quieten it up,,, I will get a new resivoir o ring too.

alternator is fine thank god!

took off throttle body and noticed that last person to work on the car connected the inlet hoses loosley!!

I then cleaned off the 3 mm thick black carbon build up and made a new gasket th fit on,

checked the plugs ( quick visual check I will test them properly when I get my compression tester on ebay) anyway I found the following,,,

left hand side of engine,,, 2 plugs very rich,, 2 plugs dont even look like they have worked ( plus have a brown line on bottom of ceramic,, maybe a leak.. right passenger side of engine just the same,,

if its only running on 4 cyl im very suprised that it drove let alone started,,,

I have not tested for a spark yet as rather than waste time Id rather just buy new ones and new leads.

so I would like to pick everyones brains and ask some questions,,

* is it worth re installing the p/s pump and buying fluid to flush it??, the pump looks fine and has no visable defects that I can see,, or should I just get a new pump?

do you think that Im right in saying that the plugs must be leaking thus causing lower compression?

or do you think that the valve seats may be worn due to anyone using leaded petrol in it?? Im asking that question as when I ordered some spare parts the shop asked me if it ran on leaded or unleaded??? It has 2 cats though so I dont think its been on leaded

what do you think the best course of action would be for my project ( no scrapyards please)

i have heard that there is a product called amtech restore on ebay and it looks convincing,, I have

tried it on other cars and it seems to be ok,, has anyone else tried it to increase compression??? or would you recommend anything else?

anyway, thanks for reading my post and wish you all the best with your cars,,, especially when the parts arent cheap,,, Dan

I would put the p/s pump back flush it and see how it is.

I would also wait until you get the compression tester before i got new parts, plugs,leads etc take things further when you know for sure if its low.

[Haylands]

Hi, as you may be aware, I have recently started my new project,,, I have had a better look at the car and have noticed the following,,,

took power steering pump off due to grinding noise,, had a look inside the pump and it looks ok and the shaft moves smoothly and there is no atf coming out of the weep hole so now I think a flush and some stop leak in might quieten it up,,, I will get a new resivoir o ring too.

alternator is fine thank god!

took off throttle body and noticed that last person to work on the car connected the inlet hoses loosley!!

I then cleaned off the 3 mm thick black carbon build up and made a new gasket th fit on,

checked the plugs ( quick visual check I will test them properly when I get my compression tester on ebay) anyway I found the following,,,

left hand side of engine,,, 2 plugs very rich,, 2 plugs dont even look like they have worked ( plus have a brown line on bottom of ceramic,, maybe a leak.. right passenger side of engine just the same,,

if its only running on 4 cyl im very suprised that it drove let alone started,,,

I have not tested for a spark yet as rather than waste time Id rather just buy new ones and new leads.

so I would like to pick everyones brains and ask some questions,,

* is it worth re installing the p/s pump and buying fluid to flush it??, the pump looks fine and has no visable defects that I can see,, or should I just get a new pump?

do you think that Im right in saying that the plugs must be leaking thus causing lower compression?

or do you think that the valve seats may be worn due to anyone using leaded petrol in it?? Im asking that question as when I ordered some spare parts the shop asked me if it ran on leaded or unleaded??? It has 2 cats though so I dont think its been on leaded

what do you think the best course of action would be for my project ( no scrapyards please)

i have heard that there is a product called amtech restore on ebay and it looks convincing,, I have

tried it on other cars and it seems to be ok,, has anyone else tried it to increase compression??? or would you recommend anything else?

anyway, thanks for reading my post and wish you all the best with your cars,,, especially when the parts arent cheap,,, Dan

Hi

Amtech is for when you are selling a car.... not when you have just bought one, all it does is mask the problem for a SHORT while....

As Gord says, wait and see how low the compression is, try it first with a dry engine, if OK then fine if low put two squirts of oil down each plug hole and try again, if the readings are much higher it shows worn cylinder bores or piston rings, if the same then its valves....

Remember the engine is old now so don't expect what the book says, as long as they are 70-80% of that and are all pretty even then you will be OK

Leaded petrol will not damage valves or the engine it will just ruin the cats...

If the compressions are OK then put on new plugs and leads and take the car for a long run at motorway speeds to clear it out, lots of stop start will choke it up...

Flush the power steering pump through then just sit and turn the wheel from lock to lock (with the front wheels off the ground) untill it shuts up... it has taken well over 30mins for some people

Good Luck

Pete

[Dan1]

hi guys,, thanks for your advice,,, I will get a compression test done first,, been busy all day fixing the neighbours cars a rover 216 and a 02 1.4 focus,,, both have the same running problem,, I did a diagnostic on them and it must be dodgy fuel as the sensors are jumbled,,, just a co incidence or what, its prob just an unlucky day,, they both use the same petrol station!! , one thing for sure,,, Im not going to the same place for my fuel,,,

yeah, ill put the pump back on and flush it,,, i might add some stop leak to smooth it out,,, the car has a long mot, so I could just get it running and sell it but im now addicted to the v8 and feeling of importance whilst driving the car,, ,,

the compression testers are only £8.99 plus £4 odd p and p,, so its not gonna break the bank,,

Im looking forward to finding out whats wrong,, in fact i actually want the engine to need a rebuild as I can upgrade it to my liking,,,, you could get mega bhp from that engine,,, I think its ok though as its only done 110k and has recently passed an mot so emmissions cant be too bad??

I will keep you up to date on it anyway,,, I wish i could add some photos. cheers Dan

also would anyone know what the compression readings per cylinder are for future reference?? a 100% reading or a 70 - 80% approx reading depending if you have access to a manual/? eg manual will give manufactures 100% reading but unfortunately every engine has a different reading even when brand new!,,

[Dan1]

put power steering pump back on and it made some noise then stopped,, seems ok but Ill know for sure when I take the axle stands off and pressure is on the wheels!! anyway does anyone have a rough idea what the compression readings should :winky: be?? also I have noticed that no sparks are coming from the left top coil,, maybe thats the running problem hopefully

[Haylands]

put power steering pump back on and it made some noise then stopped,, seems ok but Ill know for sure when I take the axle stands off and pressure is on the wheels!! anyway does anyone have a rough idea what the compression readings should :winky: be?? also I have noticed that no sparks are coming from the left top coil,, maybe thats the running problem hopefully

Dan I wouldn't worry about compression readings, just check them, if they are about the same then there is no problem, it is very very unusual for a 400 engine to suffer with engine internals, they have a forged crank/rods/pistons and are pretty much bullet proof.

Funnily enough the 430 engine doesn't have all these forged bits.... so will it last as long.... Lexus decided they had gone to overkill with the original 400 so they stepped back a bit with the 430...

So a few years time and I maybe fitting a 400 engine to mine!!!!

Pete

[Haylands]

Hi again....forgot this bit

Saw a thread on a Soarer forum where a guy had difficulty bleeding the power steering, he found the best way was to raise the front wheels off the ground, switch the engine on and move the front wheel by hand through its arc.... make sure you move it the full distance and do it as fast as you can, the power steering will start to work as you do it so should'nt be too hard... he said he could feel the bubbling from the fluid and after a few goes it all went quiet and smooth....

Maybe worth a try when you get your coil sorted out...

Pete

[Dan1]

thanks for your advice