Just Got Back From Dallas...

[blake918]

I made my first visit to JP Importz today, and it was a great experience! :D ....the '00 GS300 loaner car had something to do with it--what a machine--not to mention the great service I recieved too!!! B) I went in for new strut rods and a new seatbelt. My car would let out a loud bang when I'd go over a pot hole or slam hard on the brakes. I was thinking the control arms were bad, but after a little research on here(posts by 95ls4Bob, Agent99, et. al.), I found out that there is a really good possibility that the strut rods are the culprit. After Jason lifted my car, he pointed out that the strut rod bushings were in horrible shape and were most likely causing the problem. $225 parts and $215 labor, and my car is silent. It's remarkable!! I've been hearing this signature Lexus suspenion clunk for over 2 years, and now, I don't know what to do with myself and this newfound silence!! B)

My seatbelt did not retract itself any more. This seems like a pretty common problem(there is a post somewhere about this.). $150 part and $85 labor, and the seatbelt is replaced. I had really been wanting to get this done since it was a serious safety hazzard should I hit someone or get hit. It's weird not having to shove the belt back into the retractor and having it snug againt myself while driving.

Jason did find a few little things that will need to be fixed: valve cover gaskets, lower ball joints, rear knuckle bushings, valve adjustment, and cam and crank seals. Next will probably be the ball joints and rear knuckle bushings so that I can be done with the suspension. I'm not so concerned with the oil leaks since they are very, very minimal-I don't add any oil, and it stays full. As those seals progressively get worse(when I have to start adding oil), I'll get them repaired. I think my LS is doing great for 246.6k miles!! :D

Jason's shop is better than a Lexus dealer. I was treated with the utmost respect, given a sweet, sweet loaner car(not your typical loaner RX or ES!! lol), my car was washed and vacuumed when I got it back, Jason took a final ride with me to make sure I was happy, and his pricing is very, very fair. The only downside is the drive -about 4-4.5 hours...it's just the time since my gas usage is very minimal(I got 27.5 mpg. I made it from LA to Dallas to Ft. Worth back to LA on one tank...grant it the fuel light was shining brightly by the time I got back). $720.23 later, I feel like I got a new car!

After I left JP Importz, I paid Josh(ArmyOfOne) a quick visit-always a good time. I drove his ES250, and I was really quite impressed with the way it rode and functioned for all of the problems it has, truely a remarkable car for 16 years and 145k miles.

I'll have pics of the old strut rods tomorrow...

Edited January 12, 2005 by blake918

[ArmyofOne]

After I left JP Importz, I paid Josh(ArmyOfOne) a quick visit-always a good time. I drove his ES250, and I was really quite impressed with the way it rode and functioned for all of the problems it has, truely a remarkable car for 16 years and 145k miles.

I'll have pics of the old strut rods tomorrow... 

←

glad to have you, hopefully next time we wont be remodleing and you can see the upstairs of the house!

tell em blake, the pool is kickass, next LOC meet at my house! LOL. oh BTW, sorry if i had to rush you off in a hurry. i had that dentist appointment (that was over before you even got to the edge fo Ft worth!). it was a pleasure to have you blake, feel free to come over anytime. i may do the same before i leave for ADR.

[blake918]

Dude , that was supposed to be a secret LOL .  since it is a dealer installed option it didnt void any warranties. like the sig says, a few go fast goodies...  :D

glad to have you, hopefluuy next time we wont be remodleing and you can see the upstairs of the house!

tell em blake, the pool is kickass, next LOC meet at my house! LOL.

←

They don't know how it makes that much hp though...still a bit of a secret!!

Yep...the pool was definantly kick !Removed! with all of the rocks and jacuzzi!! B)

[ArmyofOne]

Dude , that was supposed to be a secret LOL .  since it is a dealer installed option it didnt void any warranties. like the sig says, a few go fast goodies...  :D

glad to have you, hopefluuy next time we wont be remodleing and you can see the upstairs of the house!

tell em blake, the pool is kickass, next LOC meet at my house! LOL.

←

They don't know how it makes that much hp though...still a bit of a secret!!

Yep...the pool was definantly kick !Removed! with all of the rocks and jacuzzi!! B)

←

ill take some pix as soon as my digicam gets adjusted by my boss, i dont knwo why but the pix are all nasty.

and actually (since you asked), i asked the dealer guy that drove the concorde on its last visit (the one before the tranny replacement,) and he said he noticed it was a little faster than most, but couldnt put his finger on it. they couldnt see anything, so it must have been a factory freak...:whistles:

next time, ill take you for a spin in it...see if you feel the difference...

next time, ill take you for a spin in the concorde......see if you feel the difference and can tell me why it says what it says in my sig :D

[blake918]

and actually, i asked the dealer guy that drove it on its last visit (the one before the tranny replacement) and he said he noticed it was a little faster thanusual, but couldnt put his finger on it.  they couldnt see anything, so it must have been a factory freak...:whistles:  B)

next time, ill take you for a spin in it...see if you feel the difference... :D

←

lmao

I bet she's a lot of fun!! B)

[ArmyofOne]

and actually, i asked the dealer guy that drove it on its last visit (the one before the tranny replacement) and he said he noticed it was a little faster thanusual, but couldnt put his finger on it.  they couldnt see anything, so it must have been a factory freak...:whistles:  B)

next time, ill take you for a spin in it...see if you feel the difference... :D

←

lmao

I bet she's a lot of fun!! B)

←

she is, but i have *calmly* decided that my next car will be an LS400/430. why? because even at nearly a quarter of a million miles, i can still hear you talk in the car at highway speed. not a whistle, rattle or otheerwise intrusive sound in the entire car. simply stunning. if you want me to take a look at that paint, next time you are out i can see what i can do. you said you have tried everything, but i have a few tricks up my sleeve. i refuse to believe that it cant be made ot lookat least a little better.

and take that car back to the body shop and tell them to replace the door, it still dosnt look up to snuff! <_< props on the interior and the ride, but the bodywork peopel need to be fired man. those guys dont knwo what they are doing. you dont use bondo on a 10K car, period...unles syou absolutely have to.

when i repair peopels cars,i walways look at it from this perspective: what would i want if i were the (sometimes) paying customer? i would only want the best. thats what you and your lex should have gotten.

[99lsguy]

Great news Blake!!

Totally cool that JPI is soooooooo good - very very nice to know!!!

I bet you are smiling as you nick a small pothole and the "silence" of the LS continues on............

[SW03ES]

I should have given you the contact info of the detailer in Dallas! My guess is he'd have gone over to JP and done it for you there. I'll PM you it now.

[Jacob]

I looked at mine yesterday, and they seem to be in bad shape. But it seems that you can’t replace the bushings by themselves— you have to replace the whole strut rod. Is this true?

Jacob

[99lsguy]

I looked at mine yesterday, and they seem to be in bad shape. But it seems that you can’t replace the bushings by themselves— you have to replace the whole strut rod. Is this true?

Jacob

←

They can be pushed out.......but dealers don't do it - they sell the entire rod.

[blake918]

she is, but i have *calmly* decided that my next car will be an LS400/430.  why? because even at nearly a quarter of a million miles, i can still hear you talk in the car at highway speed.  not a whistle, rattle or otheerwise intrusive sound in the entire car.  simply stunning.  if you want me to take a look at that paint, next time you are out i can see what i can do. you said you have tried everything, but i have a few tricks up my sleeve. i refuse to believe that it cant be made ot lookat least a little better.

and take that car back to the body shop and tell them to replace the door, it still dosnt look up to snuff! <_< props on the interior and the ride, but the bodywork peopel need to be fired man.  those guys dont knwo what they are doing. you dont use bondo on a 10K car, period...unles syou absolutely have to.

when i repair peopels cars,i walways look at it from this perspective: what would i want if i were the (sometimes) paying customer?  i would only want the best. thats what you and your lex should have gotten.

←

The LS is a great choice!! The body repair situation is a long story(which I told you about), but I will eventually get it done right.

Great news Blake!!

Totally cool that JPI is soooooooo  good -  very very nice to know!!!

I bet you are smiling as you nick a small pothole and the "silence" of the LS continues on............

←

Everyone should have a JPI in their town!! Check back in a little bit when I have the old rods posted; you'll be amazed!! I don't know if it's my imagination or not, but it seems as though the car drives even better than before. It doesn't make the same sounds as before, but it seems more controlled and smooth.

I should have given you the contact info of the detailer in Dallas! My guess is he'd have gone over to JP and done it for you there. I'll PM you it now.

←

I knew I was forgetting something while I was there! lol I wonder if he'd come to LA? :whistles: lol

I looked at mine yesterday, and they seem to be in bad shape. But it seems that you can’t replace the bushings by themselves— you have to replace the whole strut rod. Is this true?

Jacob

←

They can be pushed out.......but dealers don't do it - they sell the entire rod.

←

Yep, Agent's right. I had to do the whole rod; it's a shame that a $5 bushing goes out, but you have to replace the entire componet for almost $115.

[blake918]

Here are the old rods. Jason said I should keep them as souvenirs! lol....

[ArmyofOne]

he showed those to me at my house, the look alot worse in person...

[K9crew]

Blake,

I'll be changing those strut rod cushions/bushings this coming weekend assuming that the parts arrive in time. They cost me $38.76 each from the Lexus dealer. I haven't checked the manual but I'll probably have to get the allignment checked after since I think there's a caster adjustment nut there.

:)

[blake918]

What a shock, Lexus offers just a plain old bushing!! Good luck with the repairs. Jason said he marked some componet(I think the ball joint) so that they knew where to reset it after the strut rod was in--saving my alignment. ;)

[SW03ES]

I wish I had a JPI!

[JPI]

How come I wasn't invite to party? Josh, What is going on? :P

JPI

Dude , that was supposed to be a secret LOL .  since it is a dealer installed option it didnt void any warranties. like the sig says, a few go fast goodies...  :D

glad to have you, hopefluuy next time we wont be remodleing and you can see the upstairs of the house!

tell em blake, the pool is kickass, next LOC meet at my house! LOL.

←

They don't know how it makes that much hp though...still a bit of a secret!!

Yep...the pool was definantly kick !Removed! with all of the rocks and jacuzzi!! B)

←

[blake918]

How come I wasn't invite to party?  Josh, What is going on?  :P

          JPI 

←

lol...not so much a party...just a tour of his house! ;) He said he wants to host the next meeting. We should have a Mardi Gras meet in New Orleans...that would be a lot of fun!! :D

[blessed]

Blake,

I'll be changing those strut rod cushions/bushings this coming weekend assuming that the parts arrive in time.  They cost me $38.76 each from the Lexus dealer.  I haven't checked the manual but I'll probably have to get the allignment checked after since I think there's a caster adjustment nut there.

:)

←

Have you changed your strut rod bushings yet? I've been having the same issue with my 91 ls and noticed that when the wheel is raised off the ground I can wiggle the tire up and down. I tried to figure out how to replace the strut arm but couldn't. How did you do it? Did you have to take it to the dealer or use a special tool?

Let me know!

Thanks!

[blake918]

I had them changed, but Jason did it for me. If you can wiggle the tire, your ball joints are probably going.

[ArmyofOne]

How come I wasn't invite to party?  Josh, What is going on?   :P

           JPI 

Dude , that was supposed to be a secret LOL .  since it is a dealer installed option it didnt void any warranties. like the sig says, a few go fast goodies...  :D

glad to have you, hopefluuy next time we wont be remodleing and you can see the upstairs of the house!

tell em blake, the pool is kickass, next LOC meet at my house! LOL.

←

They don't know how it makes that much hp though...still a bit of a secret!!

Yep...the pool was definantly kick !Removed! with all of the rocks and jacuzzi!! B)

←

←

no party, just showing him the concorde(has seen the stuff she has. and hes the only one who will, at least till the warranty is up LOL), and my home. not much to see. 3500 sq ft, 5 bdr, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage, pool. he is the only one outside my family who

i wont be hosting any large meets, my dad would have a cow. but i may get you blake and myself to gether to come out fro a few brewskies. just not at mardi gras, i gots company. :D

[silvermate]

I've been having the same issue with my 91 ls and noticed that when the wheel is raised off the ground I can wiggle the tire up and down

as blake mentioned, your ball joints are shot.

[blake918]

I've been having the same issue with my 91 ls and noticed that when the wheel is raised off the ground I can wiggle the tire up and down

as blake mentioned, your ball joints are shot.

←

Mine are on there way out. If I turn the radio off and hit a big pot hole, I can hear a very, very remote tap, but it is nowhere near what the strut rods were doing-I'd say like 5% of the volume the s rods were making though.....it's a tap rather than a BANG.

[ArmyofOne]

I've been having the same issue with my 91 ls and noticed that when the wheel is raised off the ground I can wiggle the tire up and down

as blake mentioned, your ball joints are shot.

←

Mine are on there way out. If I turn the radio off and hit a big pot hole, I can hear a very, very remote tap, but it is nowhere near what the strut rods were doing-I'd say like 5% of the volume the s rods were making though.....it's a tap rather than a BANG.

←

you can wiggle my wheels toward the front of the car and toward the rear, not up and down.

[silvermate]

you can wiggle my wheels toward the front of the car and toward the rear, not up and down

your ball joints are shot too