Front Underneath Air Dam Is Very Important

[wuzzy1]

For your info Group...and help if you can.

Under the radiator in my 1992 LS400 was a black rubber like underfittment called an "air dam".

Well, several years ago my wife wiped out several raccoons coming home from work and the next day I noticed this black rubber like thing (what I thought was a noise reducer) hanging under the car. It was bent way out of shape and broken...so I ripped it out. Fast forward 4-5 years. Put the car in my local along-the-side-of-the-road "Pro" mechanic's garage for a laundry list of things to do including timing belt, water pump, power steering pump, alternator, belts, tensioner pulley, another tensioner item?, plugs, wires, distributors everything, flush power steering, flush radiator, whatever else he did plus changed the bushings in my shifter (one bushing side was missing making the shifter loose from side to side. ANYWAY, the radiator was atrocious! Dirt, dust and debris filled the radiator from the bottom to half way up. It was because the air dam was missing for several years. The dam was missing hence the powerful fan was pulling garbage up off the roadway into the radiator. Anyway, if yours is hanging, don't take it off!

All the repairs above including parts and labor...$1500.

Now...

Can anybody help me with finding a hard plastic air dam? Used (since it can't be seen) and cheap would be nice.

Thank you, and any help gets one rub on my Genie Lamp!

[wuzzy1]

Group,

A follow-up on the air dam...that's the wrong name it's called a "Engine Undercover".

Called Sewell Lexus in Dallas, they straightened me out

The hard plastic piece under the front engine is called the ENGINE UNDERCOVER.

There is a left, center and right side engine undercover.

ANYONE HAVE A USED CENTER UNDERCOVER FOR SALE?

[wuzzy1]

Group,

Does anybody have one of these or know where to get one used or cheap?

1992 Lexus LS400 Center Engine Undercover, Splash Shield, or Air dam...call it what you want.

[billydpowell]

once I bought one (10 bucks) off of a guy parting out his car on craigslist (I had to take it off)....

and I would think a salvage yard would be a good place to look.

[pj8708]

There are salvage sellers on-line.

[wuzzy1]

Thanks for the advice fella's. Have searched salvage companies they claim it's not an item they reference because they are usually ruined beyond the state of sale. Strangely, you can buy a brand new on for Lexus 1995 and above on Ebay for $51.00, yet no where can you find 1990 thru 1994 available anywhere but from Lexus...the cheapest I've found is $250. Since I'm retired, I'll hit the junkyards.

[billydpowell]

It does not need to be new or perfect, just serviceable. if a hole is torn, use a washer.... who is going to look.?

[steve2006]

I have broken a few LS400s and have sold these off them,IIRC there is little if any difference between the 1990-1994 and the 1994 on models.

At the price for the later ones on ebay even if it needs a little modification to fit it may be worth the cost.

[Tommy's Girl]

Thanks for the warning. We have a lot of raccoons here! Still, with all that you had replaced, you paid half as much as mechanics charge here in California. We are considering a move to Texas to be closer to the kids. Tough decision as we live in a beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills small town. Your post ads a little weight to the Texas side of the scale.

Edited to correct: I see it's Billy who lives in Texas... but I'll be surprised if wuzzy1 is in California. Either he's not or my two mechanics saw me coming, which is entirely possible.

[1990LS400]

Sewell's online price for a 90-92 center engine undercover is about $182 with a forum member discount but the shipping cost could be fairly high due to its size: http://lexus.sewellparts.com/oem-catalog/5102MBS408-Body-LS400-1992.html The 93-94 LS engine undercover is a different part number.

From what I've seen, a common cause of LS400 engine center undercover damage is bending them out of the way to remove the oil filter instead of fully removing the undercover. I've watched Lexus dealer mechanics remove all the bolts holding the engine undercover in place except the front bolts under the bumper and then bend the cover severely downward out of the way.

I'll never forget an evening in the mid/late 1990's after retrieving my 90 LS400 from Superior Lexus (now Hendrick Lexus) in Kansas City. Suddenly there was a continuous scraping noise. When I pulled off at the next exit I found the engine undercover dragging on the pavement and held in place only by the front bolts. The undercover was pretty messed up but I didn't bother to complain - Superior Lexus had screwed up so many things since I had bought the car new from them that I was "done" with them.

My 90 LS came home with a new undercover the first time I took it to an indie Lexus repair shop. Apparently, a mechanic at the indie shop put somebody else's undercover on my car and the other person got my damaged one. The shop owner couldn't figure out which other customer's car was involved, told me to not worry about it, and said that he would give the other customer a new engine undercover when he saw their car again.

Probably the main reason the original engine undercover on my 2000 LS400 is still in good condition at 172,000 miles is that someone else has changed its engine oil and filter only five times. I always fully remove the undercover before doing an oil change and also remove it before taking my car to a mechanic for work in which the undercover might get in the way.

[pj8708]

Sounds like a plan!

Do you use ramps when you work underneath the front end?

[1990LS400]

I've never cared for ramps due their tendency to slide while driving up on them and that it can be a 2-person operation to use them safely.

I have four heavy duty jack stands and a 30 year old floor high range floor jack. Here is a photo that shows them when I was installing a DRL kit on our Prius wagon earlier this year.

[pj8708]

Thanks for the photos Jim!!