Looking To Replace Front Shocks In 1990 Ls 400

[damondash]

I own a Frist Generatiopn 1990 Silver LS 400 with 193K+ on the clock..... hasnt given me any problems in the 4+ years i have owned it. First of all was bought from a friend, had been in slight accident, airbag deployed but not salvaged...... bought it without airbag.... and weird has cloth interior... pioneer stereo must have been the bone stock edition cause has no leather and no extras besides a sunroof.... interior speakers work well and have box with 2 12s in trunk..... surprised to me by doin research that the early lexus had options like being able to control the height of the suspension and all that stuff.....

First problem... my temp gauge jumps....

it starts off not responding but then jumps to two notches away from overheating..... dont know what to do with it

brought to shop told me that the racket pinion was leaking... heard that could cause problems with the alternator? is it tru?

and last... need to replace front suspension... makes a knocking when braking at high speeds and a creeking when coming to a stop.. can anyone help me with some advice as to what type of shocks to install and also what kind of brakes pads do i need to get

I owned an SC400 1992 and went to my local parts store and asked them what kind of brake pads to install and when i got them to my friend who was doing the work.... they werent the right ones.... i dont know much about cars learning more as i go on... but

the car has 193K on it and i dont wanna a new car right now..... i love her and if i can get the answers to these questions i have so many others about modifications and exterior cosmetic options to add to the car... im on the east coast... rough win ters sometimes and my baby has been good to me..

Please be good to me as well

thanks

[marlon08901]

I own a Frist Generatiopn 1990 Silver LS 400 with 193K+ on the clock..... hasnt given me any problems in the 4+ years i have owned it. First of all was bought from a friend, had been in slight accident, airbag deployed but not salvaged...... bought it without airbag.... and weird has cloth interior... pioneer stereo must have been the bone stock edition cause has no leather and no extras besides a sunroof.... interior speakers work well and have box with 2 12s in trunk..... surprised to me by doin research that the early lexus had options like being able to control the height of the suspension and all that stuff.....

First problem... my temp gauge jumps....

it starts off not responding but then jumps to two notches away from overheating..... dont know what to do with it

brought to shop told me that the racket pinion was leaking... heard that could cause problems with the alternator? is it tru?

and last... need to replace front suspension... makes a knocking when braking at high speeds and a creeking when coming to a stop.. can anyone help me with some advice as to what type of shocks to install and also what kind of brakes pads do i need to get

I owned an SC400 1992 and went to my local parts store and asked them what kind of brake pads to install and when i got them to my friend who was doing the work.... they werent the right ones.... i dont know much about cars learning more as i go on... but

the car has 193K on it and i dont wanna a new car right now..... i love her and if i can get the answers to these questions i have so many others about modifications and exterior cosmetic options to add to the car... im on the east coast... rough win ters sometimes and my baby has been good to me..

Please be good to me as well

thanks

About the gauge jumping....Well, by doing some research I found that in some of these cars the gauges do tend to go bad once in a while, in my car (90 LS400) the gas gauge does not work right, it goes up and down all by itself and I never know exactly how much gas I have in my car, but I pretty much know how often I should put gas in my car so I never really have a problem however, it is very annoying to see the needle going up and down. Anyway, my point is this, if it is just the gauge controls that are damaged but there is nothing mechanically wrong with the car, just leave it alone - but if you really wanna get it fixed and it is just the gauge, there's a guy on e-bay that

will rebuild your instrument cluster for about $175 Here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lexus-LS400...emZ230298885377

About the suspension in your car...I can't help you there because I have not replaced mine yet.

About the rack and pinion leaking and possibly causing problems to the alternator.......not quite sure...but I will tell you this, in our cars, the steering fluid tends to leak and if in your car this is the case. -> The steering fluid leaks on top of the alternator and therefore, if you do not the problem fixed the alternator will eventually go bad. That is what happened to my car and I had to get the alternator replaced - I did not get the leakage problem fixed because I did not have that much money at the time. However, I am planing on get in it fixed asap!

I hope this was of some help!

[1990LS400]

The problem with your temperature gauge could be the sending unit at the engine -- I wouldn't know how to check but I've had one go bad on a non-Lexus car.

By 140,000 miles, I think I had replaced about every single front suspension component on my 90 LS except the shock absorbers - all ball joints, strut bar bushings and probably a few other things had been replaced. The current owner told me a few months ago, that the car is still riding fine on the original factory installed shock absorbers at over 260,000 miles.

My 90 LS also had a cloth interior and it had only three options -- remote locking, sunroof and floor mats. The sticker price was just over $36,000 but I got a heck of a deal because few people wanted a car with a cloth interior. There are a few photos in the gallery that I took shortly before I sold it: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...m&album=131

I don't know about yours but, from new, my 90 LS rode about an inch lower than a 90 LS with leather interior -- obvious when my next door neighbor parked his LS400 beside mine.