My 1996 Ls400 And What I've Learned

[yotoy82]

Well some of you may have seen a few of my posts on here, My family has 3 LS400's (95-97 generation), and I have learned a lot thanks to this forum, and from some of my own trouble shooting, and I thought I would share my experiences with everyone here. Pictured below is my 1996 LS400 with 216,000 miles on it.

1. STRUT RODS.... All 3 of our LS400's regardless of mileage have had the strut rod problem. Some worse than others, but its totally something every LS400 should have changed at this point, either due to age or miles. Its also a very very hard thing to pinpoint and most dealers and technicians won't notice it or tell you that its a problem. But when you go over any cracks or humps, it will feel it. The rod itself is fine but the rubber bushings can develop small cracks and apparently this is enough to let it wobble around. Also the bolt holding it in seizes up and is hard to remove. My suggestion... buy two new strut rods with the bushings already pressed in, they are different parts for the left and right, and have them replaced. Go ahead and order the bolts and nuts for them in case your mechanic has to cut the old ones out! This will make a big difference, trust me. Around $200~ ish from Lexus Sewell for forum members, and $200 for labor to change them out, don't quite remember if it would need an alignment or not and if thats part of the $200 or not.

2. Lower Ball Joints... WIth a car this heavy, if it has never been changed, go ahead and change them out while you are getting the strut rods changed, these arent expensive parts.

3. Engine Mounts/Transmission Mount replacement: This by far was the BEST thing I ever did for my LS400. They were disintegrated basically. It made a HUGE night and day difference in the car... I would say like 80% quieter, the idle smoothed out, drove so much better, shifted FLAWLESSLY! I suggest EVERYONE has it done if they haven't. These are special mounts, contribute significantly to the smoothness of the car and they are the reason why you can balance a dime on the engine or a stack of wine glasses. They get old over time.

4. Shocks/Struts: My LS400 was kinda boatish like on turns and in the wind. I replaced all 4 shocks, bumpers, strut mounts, and the sway bar bushings. Comfort wise it wasn't a huge difference and not sure if it was really worth the expensive labor and parts, and I would say that the original shocks could probably go easily 250,000 miles but if you have the money to spend it does make the car feel tighter, and brake a lot easier.

5. Tire Balancing: This is important. Get the ROAD FORCE balancing. It is done by a HUNTER brand machine. It makes a world of a difference with the LS400. I guess the LS400 is very sensitive, and this special balancing helps a lot, you really can tell a difference at highway speeds.

6. Timing Belt Service if hasn't been done is important, since you will be paying for all the effort to get to it, make sure you change the water pump, all the seals down there, idlers/tensioners/pulleys whatever, the drive belt as well. Thermostat, coolant, distributor caps and rotors as well. Spark plugs every 90,000 miles, transmission fluids, cleaning the transmission filter, new air filter, new coolant.

7. Cabin Filter: Many people neglect to change this. Some have NEVER changed it. Its very easy to get to, just open your glove box, it should be back there, pull it out. It is probably black and covered in insects. Cheap easy DIY.

8. TIRE PRESSURE: 29 PSI is what Lexus recommends for the OPTIMUM comfort of your car. Forget about anyone who tells you that higher tire pressures mean better tire life and mileage. You will not get better mileage.. use what the company tells you!

9. Oil changes: If you aren't a taxi driver or towing other things behind it, 5000 miles oil change intervals are good enough. 5w30 = smoother quieter ride with best mileage. Use the original toyota filters, they arent expensive especially if you buy a box of 10 from Sewell.

10. PCV Valve: easy change, make sure you order a new grommet to insert it in and be SUPER careful removing the old one, as it has hardened by now and might fall into the engine.

11. Coolant Temp Sensor: mine was cracked in two pieces, Id say change it.

12. Fuel Filter after this many years/miles will probably be dirty, I suggest changing it when get a chance, its not going to hurt.

13. One of our LS400's had the UV blocking tints applied to the windows and the leather is still SOFT and Supple! But the others have started to crack a bit, I guess from UV damage. Keep the leather oiled and conditioned often.

14. Wash often, wax when needed. Use Rain-X on the windows/windshield. The best wipers I have found were BOSCH EVOLUTION all seasons. Quiet, easy to install, streak free, and affordable (amazon)

15. Radiator Cap: put a new one on, didn't need it but couldnt hurt. BTW, I always try to use Lexus/Toyota parts only. This was at one point the best car in the world, and possibly still is. Parts can be duplicated but they won't be the same.... parts on a Lexus look simple like other car parts, but they are really very different, using different types of materials. They all combine to give the quality smooth ride and quality/longitivity.

16. The previous owner changed the antenna mast, the hood shocks, the power steering pump. I had to replace a broken door lock actuator. The lights/readout on the cassette/radio are broken on the two LS400s with the stock lexus system, but the one with the Nakamichi system is still fine. Id say all of them have worn out uv damaged rear subwoofers though. Depends on how important audio is for you to change.

17. Fading area of paint above the rear bumper remains a problem, as is rust seems to want to develop around the body panels above the rear wheels. I tried painting my rear bumper my self as you can see below, it should be the same color as the car, but came out a funny grey plastically color, will have it professionally done when I can afford it.

18. Original mudguards: not really available unless you want to spend $400 bucks for the originals. I bought some generics online and had them screwed in at my body shop, very cheap parts very cheap installation, really helps keep the paint clean and away from rock chips.

19: Rock Chips: buy paint sticks online and touch up all chips and paint scratches right away before they develop into bigger problems!

20: Silicon Lubricant: spray onto all rubber and weather stripping each year. I heard this helps keep them soft and prevents them from drying out.

21. I have Michelin MX4 tires but they are not so good in the rain, look forward to replies on which tires to get whenever the time comes (they have tons of tread left)

22. Battery: The LS400 has a pretty standard battery, but it is covered with an INSULATOR. If you get the battery changed at cheapo places, ie autozone/oreilly, sometimes they remove the insulator cover when taking the old battery out. This is a problem because it is hard to find and helps keep the battery protected from the engine heat, in effect helping it last longer, so keep an eye on that! Any corroded battery terminals should be changed!

23. The drivers side door handle tends to crack, especially from rough winters, be careful about this.

In general, Id say my LS400 rides better than most new cars, I average about 22-23 combined city and highway in the summer. I take care of any odd sound when I hear it, wash it regularly. Drives tight, you would never believe it has 216,000 miles on it. An exhaust guy told me the EGR pipe has a slight crack in it but I'm not going to pay anyone the huge amount the book says to replace it, ie dropping the transmission. Will have to find someone willing to remove the catalytic converter and using some extensions to get to it! But no hurry as its still dead on quiet after the engine mounts were changed!

If you got spare time, you can buy those LED/SMD lights and change all of those geeky old orange lights in your car. There are tons, dome light, glove box, trunk, reading lights, courtesy door lights, parking lights.

Headlights aren't so bright, have had them adjusted a bit and it made a world of a difference, seemed VERY low to the ground. I guess my next upgrade would be the HID/Xenon if anyone can suggest a good brand. Or possibly will get the new style depo lights, they look a lot better.

Take care of this car and it will continue to take care of you. The ONLY break down I had was once the fuel pump went out on me. The car is kinda boring to drive and leaves you wanting more, but its a solid transporter.

[dasha1]

Thanks yotoy82 for the very helpful post. I have had a 91, 95, and still have 98 and 99 LS400s and agree with your comments entirely. I believe that the strut rod bushings in the 98-00 series wear out even quicker than in the 95-97 series, but the bushings can be easily replaced. In my 99, I replaced nearly the entire front suspension with all OEM parts. It rides like new except it is not as stable in crosswinds as I'd like. For the 98, I've only replaced the strut rods, front ball joints and had the steering rack rebuilt and it runs fine with 160K on it. The 99 is tighter but my wife actually likes the softer ride of the 98 better, and it handles fine. It's easy to get carried away with replacing parts that don't need to be replaced. I normally have an independent mechanic do the work and buy parts from Sewell. I used to use parts.com, but Sewell is about the same price and has better customer service. I completed a bunch of work on the 98 and 99 about a year and a half ago and since then have done essentially nothing except change the oil. It's nice to drive a car with 150K+ plus miles for over a year at a time and have nothing go wrong with it. The general consensus on this forum seems to be that Michelin Primacy MXV4 are the best tires for these cars. I agree that road force balancing is a good idea, especially if you drive on the highway at 80 mph or more. Good luck with your LS's!

[yotoy82]

@DASHA1 How do I stop that annoying crosswind? Its driving me insane. Its not a windy day at all even sometimes and at 70 mph it feels like the car is in a hurricane sometimes. I'm not sure what other parts I have left to replace except those expensive upper control arms. But ya crosswind and the car doesn't really want to stay on the road.

[dasha1]

yotoy82, I wish I had an answer for your car wandering in crosswinds. It happens in both my 98 and 99 LS400s. I replaced the upper control arms in the 99 with OEM (as well as the rest of the front suspension) and it still wanders a bit in crosswinds. I even adjusted the caster angle in an alignment on the 99, which made the steering feel tighter, but it still wanders. Both cars are fairly stable at 60mph, acceptable at 70 mph unless the crosswind is really harsh, and at 80mph and over I feel like I need to keep two hands on the wheel sometimes even when the crosswinds are not so strong. It's about the same in both cars. With no crosswinds, both cars track really well. I figured that since we have two of these cars that are nearly identical and they both wander a bit in crosswinds, it's just an inherent annoyance in the design. Keeping a close eye on alignment and correct tire pressure can help, as well as using great tires (Michelin Primacy MXV4) that are road force balanced, but it does not solve the problem, at least not for my cars. Perhaps one of the experts on this forum can opine as to this issue? Billy Powell, 1990LS400 (and many others to whom I apologize for not mentioning by name)? Love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

[yotoy82]

Hmm... Thinking of changing the sway bar links sometime. I know lots of mechanics will say a part is still good (ie it hasn't failed) but rubber parts get old and I plan on keeping my car, god willing, as long as I possibly can because the LS400 is such a fine automobile. I don't mind spending money on refreshing parts with genuine lexus ones, because even if I paid a few thousand for the car and then a few thousand for updating it, it still turns out to be a lot cheaper and better value for the money than any new car you can buy.

Lots of mechanics/service places do not like replacing parts just for the heck of it, but they also have trouble finding the problem and without really keeping the car and driving it yourself for a week under normal conditions, can they find an issue.

Love my 1996 LS400, but I can tell that the 2000 LS400 was the best of the breed, most reliable, best options, and people seem to get amazing gas mileage on it. Plan on buying one whenever I find a good one!

[yotoy82]

Well, I'm starting to guess that since these cars are so aerodynamically fine turned, that two things are contributing to the wandering on the interstate like its windy.

1. Adding aftermarket mudflaps, they will certainly affect the wind flow.

2. The big plastic piece under the engine, maybe cracks/bends etc deflect the wind some, might be worth changing.

On a side note, I recently changed the steering rack grommets/bushings whatever the rubber things that help attach the steering rack to the car, they were like 20 bucks each, and half an hour labor at the toyota dealer, and I can say this makes a HUGE difference in the car. I HIGHLY suggest changing it even if you think you're car is fine. Its not like a big problem but when you change it you will notice it right away, thanks to the forum members on here for recommending, if others haven't on here, 3 important things.

1. Engine/Tranny Mounts help a TON.

2. Sway bar bushings front and back

3. Steering rack rubber grommets/bushings.

[Micah.Berry]

Interesting! Thanks for the tip on the steering rack bushings. I had read postings on these wearing out on LS430s, but not on the LS400s - however, I wasn't necessarily searching posts for these. I agree with you that the Engine mounts and sway bar bushings should be done. I will probably do the sway bar bushings myself. I would think that the steering rack bushings are also easy to replace. But I think that I will let a real mechanic do the engine mount (I've already done the tranny mount).

Your recommendation on the strut bars are spot on. I bought two new ones some time ago, had them installed on my 99, and kept the old ones. I purchased two new cushions and had them pressed into the old bars, which I now keep for the next install. Hopefully, I won't have to do them for a while, but while I was changing the oil, I noticed a small tear in the driver's side cushion. (sigh...). Still drives great though with 145k on the odometer.

[yotoy82]

@Micah.Berry As for the strut rods, I would only bother to change them if they are symptomatic. They seem to last around 90,000 miles in my opinion, but also depends on how you drive and weather conditions.

The engine mounts probably best left to a professional mechanic.

As for the steering rack bushings/grommets, very easy to replace, specially if you have a lift. If you are going to do engine mounts maybe your mechanic might be nice enough to do them for free.

There are two options, the original Lexus rubber ones, probably good for another 10 years/100,000 miles. Another option is the polyurethane ones which are much harder, probably last the life of the vehicle and will never have to replace them again, but then again they are much harder and stiffer, I'm not sure how they will affect the ride of the car, I prefer the original so I used those. But its an option.. they are pretty much the same price.. Here's a link for the ones on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lexus-LS400-1995-2000-Steering-Rack-Bushing-Set-Polyurethane-Para-Aramid-Fiber-/110919687425?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19d3541d01&vxp=mtr

[Micah.Berry]

Good to know. Thanks, yotoy82. I will stick with the OEM bushings, which I purchase from Sewell. I really like the soft Lexus ride, having spent quite a bit of time zipping around in a stiffly sprung Miata. I don't intend on keeping this car forever, but will probably move to an LS430 after a while. I know my sway bar bushings squeak when I go around corners. Doesn't really hurt anything, but I know it's not the way a luxury car should sound.

[yotoy82]

The LS430 is an amazing car, no doubt about that. If you ever upgrade, I would still keep the LS400 as a spare car.

[yotoy82]

***UPDATE***

I have changed my Fuel Cap with an OEM from sewell. I guess you can just order the gasket which is cheaper but I didn't want to bother. This has made a big difference in my fuel economy that I was having problems with for so long. I think everyone with a 90's Lexus should change the gasket in their fuel cap at minimum, its only like $10 and pretty easy to change out.

[Micah.Berry]

What kind of mileage are you getting versus now, versus the 22-23 you reported in your original post?

Thanks,

Micah

[yotoy82]

I think it was a premature statement. I'm still getting 13 in the city and 25 highway and maybe 20 mixed ;(

I wish the ethanol free pure gasoline stations were around me I heard people had good luck with REAL 100 percent gas

Also my car is so unstable in slightly windy days. Maybe it's my aftermarket mud guards or slightly bent engine splash shield. But the. Again it did it always. Can sway bar links wear out and make a car shake in the wind ?

[Daniel091]

I've read that the swaying in the wind feeling is probly worn strut bar bushing.

[yotoy82]

I just had it changed last year or 5000 miles ago

[myls40096]

yotoy82 I have the same car, just bought. I thought mine was the cleanest I'd see but yours, if it still looks the same is very nice. Only difference in appearance is I dont have the chrome wheels. But mine do literally look like new. This is my second 96 ls400. First one lost tranny and I let her go. Anyway, nice car