New To The Board - 92 Ls400 66,000 Miles

[tcho82]

Hi everyone. I just picked up a 92 LS400 as my daily driver. I've got an 02 S2000 so that is now becoming my weekend toy.

The LS has 66K original miles, condition is near perfect, and the interior is impeccable. The car was driven by a very elderly women and it definitely shows. I bought the car for $6400, does this price sound ok to everyone here? Options are moonroof, heated seats, traction. No air suspension no nakamichi.

Now onto a few questions:

1)The power antenna was broken during a car wash, it will not retract or go up. I think I heard what I thought was a running motor, does the antenna go down when you turn the radio off or the ignition? It was so quiet I could barely tell. Is this a hard thing to replace? Has anyone replaced it with another kind of antenna

2)The car drives incredibly smooth, but I did feel that the transmission shifts not harshly so to speak, but not as smooth as expected. Is this normal?

3)What does ECT do and is there a real point or difference with this on or off?

4)What else should I look for? Should I replace? I am planning on taking it to my local lexus dealer and have it inspected thoroughly, but what specifically should I have that look at, considering the mileage?

Looking forward to racking up the miles on this car =)

I'm not a newbie to forums so I do know how to use search etc.... just looking for some pointed responses. Thanks

If anyone is on S2ki..Holla.

[93ls400walt]

Sounds like a great buy. Some may say it was a bit to much. But if it's as you say and had good maintance. I think it's a great deal

The antenna goes up with the radio on. and down with either the radio off. Or the ignition off. Check on E-bay for replacement antenna mast, Not very expensive. It seems fairly easy to change. When your ready post a question. And someone will have the answer.

Most say by changing the trans fluid and filter, You will acheive a smoother shift. Carefull of the power flushes thou.

The ECT will give more response driving around town.

If not done. a complete tune up and all fluid changes would be good. The suspension needs to be checked for wear. Try a can or two of seafoam to clean the fuel system, intake system.

The dealer will prob. find many things. Post them here before you agree to them.

Scroll to the bottom of any thread. And you will see the box with " ENTER KEYWORDS " AND THE SEARCH TOPIC button.

check out the www.lexls.com site for helpfull maintance advice.

[LScott400]

Mileage and condition make it sound like a great purchase!

I bought an antenna from This guy and it worked well.

[falciott]

Congrats on ur purchase!! I think that is a great price, infact I was in the same situation a little over a year ago, there was a 90 LS with 38K original miles verified, original owner and all, and the guy was asking $7000 firm. I bought it! :whistles: , to be honest I wasn;t too sure even after the buy, but after asking, alot of fellow LS owners gave me two thumbs up. Anyway , now at almost 52K I havent really had any repairs, well sorta, the only things I changed were front brakes and rotors, everything else was maintanance. As far as maintenance I did change the accessory belt as a precaution, then replaced oil, trans oil, replaced regular coolant with Toyota long life red coolant, replaced brake fluid, and had the mechanic clean the steering rack filter, cause apparently that causes leaks eventually.I also plan to change spark plugs and wires sometimes in the near future. All the extra goodies as far as reverse sensors, bluetooth and such was just to bring that bad boy up to date, as far as technology. If you're a weekend hobbyst, changing all that is not that difficult either. So no problems so far, and I plan to keep the LS as long as I can, its nice to be payments free after all! Enjoy the Lex!

[JAXXXIX]

hey man...i broke my antenna the same way the very first week i had my car...i didnt have time to wash it myself so i went thru a car wash....u can pick up the antenna for an LS400 90-92 for i believe $70-$80 at a lexus dealership. in march of 93 they made a newer model antenna for some reason i don't no. to remove the old one, turn the radio on, and that silver ring unscrews that the antenna goes inside. once u remove that....remve all of the white cord from the broken one. place the white cord from the new one inside...there r teeth that will meet with thie cord and retract it. basically jus put it back together the way u took it out. good luck.

basic things u should get done to the car r probably new tires...an allignment. oil change. jus because it has low miles doesnt mean everything is great. the car could have sat a long time considering if they drove it the whole time they put somewhere between 2,500 to 2,800 miles on it per year. check the power steering fluid...make sure it has been replaced before if that sat the entire life of the car u should probably get it flushed out for probably around $50. there may be a few leaks but they can be fixed easily. dont get discouraged after u get the car inspected. and u should probably get a 2nd and maybe even a 3rd opinion on the car. dont go with what the first guy says. take it to the mechanic with a mind set of telling him u r about to buy this car and u want to know what he thinks. if they know u own the car they may sell u on things that could use fixing but not needed.

power steering flushes are completely safe if done propely. i recommend taking it to a shop and not buying the stuff u pur into it. most people think that power flushes cause leaks thru out the power steering system, but i have flushed out many cars and not ever a problem.

didnt realize u said 66k miles...thought u said 36k...that changes average miles per year to 4,500 - 4,800.

[LS4hundy]

good purchase. I recently bought a 95 with 69k miles and i paid $10,500. I thought i got a good deal. The car is in perfect condition with bluetooth but I think i paid a little too much even though its a 2nd generation. I just fell in love!!!!

[tcho82]

Thanks for all the advice. Just dropped the car off at a local Lexus Dealer. Pulled the vehicle history report and the car was very well maintained. All major service packages were done. 60,000 and 65,000 were done about a year ago. I decided to go ahead and just get the 70k service done, and they are going to give the car a good inspection.

Car drives great, but pulls to the left, so having them check that out.

Do you know how long freon is supposed to last? The last owner had it recharged in 2003, but they never used the car. They had it changed around 65,000 miles....(just goes to show you how little the car was used) But should the Freon be out if they didnt use it? is this natural? or might a leak be the issue.... regardless I'm having them look at that too. I just wondering what to expect.

The front inner fender lining is torn apart, so its rubbing the tires.... so that's going to need to be replaced.

That's all I can think of.

Hopefully the bill isn't too bad. Car is very smooth thus far.

Dealer gave me a new es loaner. That car is smooth like butter.

Snapped pics from this weekends quick detail, but I'll upload them when I get the chance.

[HomerTHX1138]

Freon doesn't wear out. If a once properly-charged AC is low or out of freon, it has a leak.

AC is one of those things that operation actually keeps a system in good repair. I understand this to be because the oil and lubricants that are also put into the system keep the many seals and moving parts of the AC system lubricated. Yes, even in the winter the AC should be run on occasion.

Anyway, it may have a leak, or maybe the compressor is shot. The bill could be minor but if it's a shot compressor, or god forbid an evaporator coil, it's going to cost you.

Good luck. You'll enjoy it even if you have to put a little money in to get it right.

[tcho82]

I'll probably get it checked out next year. It blows cool air, just not COLD air.... but since this is my winter car and daily driver, I'm not all too worried. The moonroof works and so do all the windows. I'll be fine.