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I Bought It!


BigBuggie

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Well, I went for it today. A 1992 LS, Blk/cream, 113k, grand total of $2900. A few dings here and there but still a lovely shine! This thing drives smooooth! Went to pick it up in NY (bout 188 miles) and drove it back. Smoother than my buddies 2007 Pontiac grand prix, We had to laugh, being that it is a 16 year old car :whistles: .

Anyway, There are a few things, just cosmetic bothering me. The interior is very well kept, aside from a tear in the driver seat, there is little to no wear, but the steering wheel is killing me! Im gonna surf around tonight and see what I can do about it, It's worn to the bone. Any suggestions, Maybe grab a new one off Ebay or something, What do you typically do?

Other than that I love it!!

It was the very informative and supportive nature of this forum that secured my decision to buy this vehicle, Thanks!! :cheers:

Pete

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Well, I went for it today. A 1992 LS, Blk/cream, 113k, grand total of $2900. A few dings here and there but still a lovely shine! This thing drives smooooth! Went to pick it up in NY (bout 188 miles) and drove it back. Smoother than my buddies 2007 Pontiac grand prix, We had to laugh, being that it is a 16 year old car :whistles: .

Anyway, There are a few things, just cosmetic bothering me. The interior is very well kept, aside from a tear in the driver seat, there is little to no wear, but the steering wheel is killing me! Im gonna surf around tonight and see what I can do about it, It's worn to the bone. Any suggestions, Maybe grab a new one off Ebay or something, What do you typically do?

Other than that I love it!!

It was the very informative and supportive nature of this forum that secured my decision to buy this vehicle, Thanks!! :cheers:

Pete

Congrats- Post some pictures! 113k is nothing. I have 130k on a '96 and it runs as well as the day it was new. Seriously. Good luck with it. See if you can find a good independent to service it for you.

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You finally found THE ONE. Congrats for doing your research and using this forum. I know what you mean about the Steering wheel. I've seen some grody wheels when checking out potential purchases. Turns you right off. Check out the Buy & Sell with this forum and Ebay for a replacement. I've seen wraps used. Doesn't cut it for me. Oem's the only way, but I don't think they're cheap unless you find one at a wreckers.

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Kind of what I figured

BTW, I purchased a months worth of Carfax thinking I would need it. So if anyone needs me to run a VIN for them I can till late February B)

Pete

-Is it a possibility to repair the leather on the wheel? Sand it down and re finish it maybe?

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Well, I went for it today. A 1992 LS, Blk/cream, 113k, grand total of $2900. A few dings here and there but still a lovely shine! This thing drives smooooth! Went to pick it up in NY (bout 188 miles) and drove it back. Smoother than my buddies 2007 Pontiac grand prix, We had to laugh, being that it is a 16 year old car :whistles: .

Anyway, There are a few things, just cosmetic bothering me. The interior is very well kept, aside from a tear in the driver seat, there is little to no wear, but the steering wheel is killing me! Im gonna surf around tonight and see what I can do about it, It's worn to the bone. Any suggestions, Maybe grab a new one off Ebay or something, What do you typically do?

Other than that I love it!!

It was the very informative and supportive nature of this forum that secured my decision to buy this vehicle, Thanks!! :cheers:

Pete

Congrats!! :cheers: My LS came with a number of torn items inside, and I found all of my replacements on car-part.com for very good prices. I'd just replace the steering wheel. I found a pristine replacement for my LS for $100, and at that price, it's just not worth the effort of trying to repair it.

As for the Pontiac, why would it ride like a LS? Completely different class and type of car. Here's what my $100 steering wheel looked like after I installed it....

post-1461-1201750483_thumb.jpg

post-1461-1201750494_thumb.jpg

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Hey buddy, Nice wheel. Is that from a 95-97? Do you know which wheels will fit the 92 LS? Also it's knid of an interesting color scheme. Blk/tan but the wheel dash and other trim is in brown, Anyone heard of this? I guess I need a brown wheel.

Oh the Pontiac thing. I know they are different class vehicles, Just comparing the age with how solid both feel. The lexus drove like a bullet seemed to detach you from the road much more, Alot more floaty than my old 95 ES.

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Hey buddy, Nice wheel. Is that from a 95-97? Do you know which wheels will fit the 92 LS? Also it's knid of an interesting color scheme. Blk/tan but the wheel dash and other trim is in brown, Anyone heard of this? I guess I need a brown wheel.

Oh the Pontiac thing. I know they are different class vehicles, Just comparing the age with how solid both feel. The lexus drove like a bullet seemed to detach you from the road much more, Alot more floaty than my old 95 ES.

My 91 is Black Jade Pearl (VERY dark greenish black) and it is tan interior with the brown on the dash and trims. At first, I wasn;t a fan, but over time you will really appreciate the feeling you get from the lighter colours.

Here is how the steering wheel shoould look in comparison...

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Nice!

Is there a specific name for that color? Or is it just brown? Im sure mine is the same.

What is it with that tach needle? Mine looks that same, Half lit. If you lower the intensity of the cluster lighting it starts to flicker, But it never lights up completely. All my other lighting is perfect including the HVAC and radio panel, Just that needle. Is it worth trying to fix?

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I think they only came in that brown colour and grey, but I am not 100% on that.. As for the clluster needle, so a search.....when searching, always use "+"...It took me a whiel to figure it out, but "+insturment +cluster" will get you all threads that have BOTH words in them, where if you do not have the +'s, you will get threads with just the word cluster in them, as well as ones with just the word instrummaent in them.

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Hi BigBuggie,

Check your Inbox.

I fixed my steering to new condition by cleaning with orange out. Then water clean real good. Dry completely. Soak with brown shoe polish. Let sit for a couple days and just buff off excess. Its like new now. I have before and after pics.

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Here are some pics. So far Ive put 300 miles on it (trip back from NY) Im at 114,200 right now and I really love this car. Seems to get smoother everyday! It did sit for a short while prior to my purchase. Oh, You can see that rusty headlight issue (driver side) I was talking about earlier. Anyone know where to get a yellow H3 55 fog light replacement bulb? Everywhere I have been only has white.

lex12.jpg

lex16.jpg

lex13.jpg

lex15.jpg

lex17.jpg

Pete

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Wow.. Only 2900!

Engine mounts and rear carrier arm bushing ever been replaced. If you feel any vibes at all do up the engine insulators and that car will drive like new!

Also lower ball joints at that mileage might need replaced, just have to inspect..

Nice car.

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Wow, your lcd works. Hey, wanna sell your car? Just kiddin'. Congrats again and enjoy. I usually put on about 2k the first week anytime I get a new car. So go burn some fuel. And, bonus........you're on the right forum for anything that comes up.

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Yeah, that is what I was going to say... enjoy it while it lasts! ;) Possible it has been replaced already, but with that low mileage, I bet it has not and its just still hanging in there. The one on my 90' LS400 worked when I got it at 220K, but when I sold it at 255K, it had went black... the one on my current LS400 w/209K is already black. :( They seem to fail very quickly with little warning.

About your tach needle being blacked out... very common on these cars after so many years. Since its only the tach for now, I would not fret about it that much and wait awhile to repair. If it were the gas or speedometer, it would be different, as those are looked at more often. You have to remove the cluster to repair it and its best left to a professional. There is a gentlemen that you can ship it to that will refurbish it. While its out, I would have ALL of the things that can go wrong with it replaced.

It seems to be as much of an age thing as it is a mileage thing. I have seen high mileage cars with all needles working fine (such as my car - for now anyway) and my old 90' LS400 for awhile. My 90' LS400 had perfect lighted needles until about 241K and I was forced into a pothole... I then noticed that my speedometer was 1/2 blacked out! I guess it was on its way out anyway, but the jarring finished it off. Then I have seen LOW mileage LS400s with some already out. I was looking at a local 1990 LS400 with 68K actual miles - yes, 68K ACTUAL miles (was like new) that already had some needle lighting issues. The tach needle was like yours, but it was only blackened at the tip, but only a matter of time before it went out completely. They still wanted $10K for it! :o

I dread the day that my 91' LS starts this problem. Maybe it will be OK for a few more thousand miles/years.

@ any rate, thats a super nice car you got there for $2900. I paid $3200 + $400 shipping for my 91' LS400 w/209K! I guess the good thing however is that it had just had $1300 in service completed at the local Lexus dealer... new timing belt, new water pump, new coolant, all fluids changed, etc.

Do you know if the timing belt has been changed on yours yet or not? If not, at that mileage/age, its due for a new one. The good thing is that this is a non-interference engine, so if it breaks, your engine is not destroyed, but your car will stop until its replaced. I also recommend a water pump replacement while you are in there since its so close to it. @ the dealer, prices for this range from $500-$1300 depending upon location/dealer, but I am sure it could be done cheaper at an independent shop, or if your a mechanically inclined, a DIY.

Wow, your lcd works.
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Thanks buddy.

Yes actually the T belt was done at 90k I have the records. Before I really get into the car I would like to have the front and rear pass doors worked on. The paint is just about perfect but there are a few dings in them, I cant stand dings :o

I was planning on doing all mechanical work on this car myself, Other than the T-Belt and water pump.

Thanks, Pete

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