sprintuser Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Hello folks, I am a proud owner of a 1997 LS 400 that I got yesterday. I believe my strut mounts may be bad. While driving, I can hear creaking and groaning from the right side, which, in my previous cars was attributable to strut mounts going bad. Here are few questions: 1. Is my diagnosis correct? If so how difficult is to replace the strut mounts? If not correct, what could it be (also, front or rear strut mounts)? 2. With gas prices the way they are, can regular or mid grade be usd in the LS? 3. SOme of the wood trim has a 'sanded' look? Any suggestions on how I can make it shiny? 4. The car currently has snow tires on it. I am changing to summer tires this week. How wide of a tire can I fit on the OEM wheels(OEM size is 225/60/16, could I go to 245s?). THanks in advance for your kind replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwallican Posted July 16, 2008 Share Posted July 16, 2008 Congrats on the new purchase. 1. I would say find a good independent mechanic that specializes in Toyota/Lexus in the Milwaukee area. Establish a relationship with them and take your car there for all service. That would be the best way to determine what the real problem is. 2. This is a big debate on the forum. I've used regular or premium throughout the life of my 96 LS (have put 100k miles on it myself in 5 years) and haven't noticed a big difference. I had my throttle body cleaned at 120k and my service guy said it was pretty clean. I'll run about 2-3 tanks of regular and then a tank of premium. 3. Try some Pledge furniture polish on the woodgrain. It gives the wood a nice shine. 4. Not sure about this as well but you can go to www.tirerack.com to find out. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprintuser Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 Thanks! I replaced the tires with new ones. I have repalced the front shocks and mounts but am having other issues (more on that in a separate link). I did open up the intake components and cleaned out my MAF, put in an air filter, took apart the throttle body and thouroughly cleaned out the intake and TB. It was DIRTY! I am hoping to get better gas mileage now. I checked one spark plug and it is ok, worn down but no need to change yet. Not sure on the sprak plug wires and distributor caps/rotors, may open them up to inspect this weekend. So far so good, except for the suspension headaches, I am posting those in a separate thread. Suspension issues: I still have creaking coming from the front right side. I had a buddy move the car up and down while I inspected from underneath. The sound is coming from the sway bar bushing. I tried greasing it, but not sure if I did it the right way or not. Any suggestions to address the noise short of replacing the bushing? The second problem I am having Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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