(Sidenote: if you want to help this car get built faster, go to the very bottom of this article. Not asking for money.)
The car just passed 225,000 miles and she hasn't run this good since I've had her. I'm not kidding, either. There was the mildest rough idle as a leftover from the "Random Misfire" code I still have. I believe it is P0300. It has not happened in a few days. I am truly happy with the motor and transmission. Keep reading to see how I got rid of the misfire.
Looks good for now but I definitely need to reupholster the interior.
When I first picked the car up, it was definitely misfiring badly. It would buck a couple times before reaching 50 mph and good luck if you got there, boy! She would buck like a horse. Just no ignition period. The fix was to give it a little more gas or let off the gas a little bit.
The code never went away but I fixed it. I changed out the spark plugs and spark plug wires to new ones. I used a Japanese brand. You should always use Japanese spark plugs and even sensors on these cars even if they say they're compatible.
I also changed out the old fuel pump which was part of the problem. It was just something that happens when you don't do maintenance, people. As far as that code...
My theory is that the computer senses that there is some sort of remnant from that misfire. I never changed the distributor rotors or caps. I don't plan on doing the rotors unless I figure out that's definitely the problem. However I have both distributor caps that I am gonna go ahead and change out. Might finally have no code.
You may be thinking that although I don't feel it, it might be reducing performance a bit. Well I was paying attention to my RPMs and acceleration very much. You see, the rough idle was fixed recently by something that I wasn't using for that...
This is what the problem was. At a red light, sometimes the idle would go up about 100 RPMs. Always assumed it was that random misfire.
Well I have another problem to deal with that I will get to in a minute. I have a bad oil leak and although ofcourse I'm saving money to get it fixed, it's taking a long time. This repair will be $4-800 depending on if it's a valve cover gasket or the camshaft or crankshaft seals.
So this is how my mildly rough idle was finally soldved. By the way, if you're looking to learn something, leave, cause this was magic. You see, I used a Stop Oil Leak product. You should never put funny liquids in your engine but I had mild success once. This product, although made by the same company for the same purpose as the one I used before, was different.
They're both made by Bar's. What happened was that my rough idle would show itself rarely at this point but once I put this Stop Oil Leak product in, things changed fast.
Immediately, my idle would jump over and over. F#&$. I drove it for about 60 miles and I was actually thinking of cleaning out my throttle body when I realized I have MMO. What is that? Marvel Mystery Oil.
It's a mystery but it WORKS damnit. Everything it says on the bottle, it does. And you can use it like ten times! What is it really? It's a product that has been around since the 1920s. It was an oil additive because it has detergent properties. Oil in the 1920s had no additives so to extend the life of the motor and prevent it from getting gummed up from sludge, people would add MMO to the oil.
Which is exactly what MMO does to your car. Put it in your oil (up to 20% volume - no, I used a fifth of the bottle and it worked great). First start I could already feel it working. But not like it's supposed to...
Oh yeah! Forgot to put it in the gas. It cleans your fuel injectors. Once I did that, Lexi purrs. Oh and Stop Oil Leak products taint the inside of your engine. Stop using them! Shame on me because the same thing happened in my old car with some product I forget.
There are TWO good products you can use in your car. They are SeaFoam (both the type you pour in and the type you spray in your throttle body) and Marvel Mystery Oil. Forget everything else. UV dyes are good too. But nothing that "fixes" your engine.
Phase 2 Requirements
I'm going to start from the easiest or what I can do to what will take some time. By the time this car hits Phase 3, it will actually be honorable on the road. I know it needs paint and has some scratches. But it hauls a$$! No really, it needs a lot more work to get those stares.1. Carpet
The carpet, unfortunately, was stained to death when I bought this car. I'm not really sure how I'm going to get it out. It seems like layer after layer of coffee and dirt? I don't know but whatever it is, a typical carpet cleaner with the scrubber doesn't do much.
So I'm going with some good ol' fashioned detergent. It breaks down grease and other dirt. Going by how bad that stain is, I will probably have to scrub it, vacuum, and do that five times.
If I can't get it period, I'm just going to use vinyl paint to repaint the carpet. This way the carpet will look super fresh.
2. Paint
I bought the car with most of the clear coat gone and one fender was a different color. At this point, I've painted the fender a gloss white; the same color I'm gonna use for the rest of the upper body of the car.
The second tone was originally going to be white but it gets so dirty that I changed my mind. I'm going with a gunmetal gray or something like that.
And rims? By Phase 2, I want to have new rims but while I'm running on stocks, I need to paint them. They look really bad with half of the paint peeling off the center plastic cap. One rim has managed to grow bubbles. I don't know how I'm gonna get rid of that.
I'm going to do the paint myself. There's an old article describing how to do a professional paint job with certain spray paints. The coats came out perfect when I tested it. Now I just need a good long day to do it.
3. Engine
The engine is running fine right now although like I mentioned, there's a couple problems. The main thing is the oil leak. I want to meticulously clean the engine but I can't do it while there's a leak - it comes back.
During Phase 1, I want to solve the random misfire code. I've even had it flash on and off like it wants to go off. Anyway, if it's not the distributor caps, I am at a loss for what it is. Well, maybe distributor rotors too but that's a big job. Oh well - if that's it, I'm doing it.
I've wanted a good exhaust basically since I got the car but recently I realized that I don't want to mess with the car and have it throw up codes for sound. When I get to Phase 2, though, it's going to be a little different. The supercharger will need a good exhaust...
4. Body.
There's two dents I may be able to pop. There's also places where the paint got scratched and rust is starting to form. I'm gonna sand those spots down.
5. Interior.
Upholstery - this is gonna be the big one. I've practiced enough. I know I can reupholster my seats along with the center console and other areas.
Basic idea? Get the car looking right, running right, and feeling right.
I'm going to get it inspected to make sure I didn't miss anything. When the time comes, that supercharger will go in a rebuilt motor. My tranny is surprisingly good. It may have been changed at some point before I got the car because it shifts so fast and smooth. Not like the 1995 I had. The supercharger is in the next phase so give me a while.
So people, I just want you to follow along. I'm going to post a tutorial or guide on anything I do so that it's easier for the next generation. Not gonna lie, it is hard to find info on LS400s nowadays and the people at a certain Club Lexus forums won't help. I plan on learning a lot these next 12 months so why not join me?
Bonus
My tastes change about every... Two weeks? If anybody is interested, this is the plan with the interior. Colors are subject to change but I'm liking what I have picked out.Everything is going to be restored. First - the dash. I thought about white but it wouldn't fit and would get really dirty. I've though about a full cover as well but I want to restore it and not just cover it up. I will probably be making a new dash cover to match the material I plan to use to restore the seats.
The seats are going to be furry. I have enough people that hate my car already so why not push it a little further? Jokes aside, I really like the idea of furry seats with everything else being leather. The seats are going to be black probably with some dark red to match the shifter and part of the center console.
Anyway, the dash will be taken out and painted gloss black. The center console will be reupholstered where there's leather, probably the top being this red leather and the bottom being black leather.
The red would be the accent tone. I will be leaving a lot of the original beige except I'm going to repaint everything. The interior is almost 25 years old so it's obviously fading a little.
Of course I have to add some personal touches. Although I like the woodgrain around the buttons and everywhere else, it might have to be modernized... You will have to wait and see.
I have to remove the clear piece of plastic around the shifter without breaking it so I can get the moisture out and possibly change the font of P R N D 3 2 L. I'm too far in to sell the car now so I have to make it mine completely.
Upholstery takes a long time so that will be 60% of this phase. I plan on really getting my skill up and paying attention to every little detail. I am so dedicated that I am putting everything else on hold unless it needs attention, of course. When it's done... I think I'm gonna sleep in it.
Jokes aside, I still remember doing a horrible job reupholstering the shifter on my previous lemon of a car, the black 1995 Lexus LS400. Now I'm at the point where I can do the very thing I was striving for?! It's a very rewarding feeling to me. Look for articles mainly concerning upholstery work and a few about cars for the next month or so.
P.S. Will somebody tell me what kind of content you want to see? Would you rather see a review of a car, info on a good cheap car, something else? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
- Rokas K.
P.S. A call for help.
I'm gonna make this short and sweet. I don't want money (I do but don't send it). Have any spares lying around that you think I can use? Want to help me wrench on the car and live in the Poinciana/Kissimmee/Orlando, FL area? Contact me through Instagram at @rokask1 or email me at norgin@gmail.com. I figured there might be someone out there actually wanting to do this so come join me and you will get full recognition somehow. I could use help with anything and LS400 people are generally cool. Holla!
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