Transmission Lurch

[JPI]

nc211 Which two control arms did decide to not to replace ? Was that $630 for labor ?  At what mileage did you start to see the "ride" go? Curious for myself down the road.

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He did everything by himself. Brave guy :D

JPI

[flash213]

He said he got a bill.

[pachocco1]

Fixed! Just got it back, started it when it had been sitting for a while, idle was high, put it in gear, and a very noticable REDUCTION in that lurch.

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I am curious about your use REDUCTION. Am I to understand that the lurch is still there but not as noticable?

I have noticed the following for my vehicle (97 with 77,000mi):

1. occurs usually at startup.

2. seems to fade with temperature increase. Noticable difference to that of the winter lurch.

3. makes my rear end squat / raises front end.

4. from the rear of vehicle looking at the differential cushions, the left (LH from manual) looks like the culprit. it appears to flex greatly while the right cushion (RH) shows only modest flexing.

5. doubt it can be tranny/motor mount related. Blake has new ones on his car and it still exhibits the symptom.

I wonder what exactly is the root cause here. If you still have a lurch,albeit reduced, then the problem may still exist. I fear the lurch could be dampened by the newer cushions and be only a short term remedy.

I am looking at the drive shaft flexible coupling in conjunction the differential cushions. ( metioned in earlier post)

nc211- Did you or did you have the coupling replaced?

I have enclosed the diagrams if anybody else has some ideas.

propelle.pdf

removala.pdf

[bicol-ini]

check my post on "replaced flexible coupling" ahead of these thread

[nc211]

Morning all, sorry for delayed response "don't have internet at house, on it all day at work". JPI is half right, I did all the fronts myself "uppers, lowers, struts, outer tie rods." Had new ball joints and strut rods already. That whipped me and had no more strength for the rear. So I threw in the towel and paid for the labor for the rear. The part I did not replace is #10 in the attachment. I simply didn't see it when ording my parts via ArmyofOne connection in Texas. Pachocco, it's your struts causing the dive/squat. I had it too, replaced my fronts = no more dive, but still had squat. Replaced my rear struts=no more squat. I dare to say it gave the car a more sporty feel, less body roll, less swaying and pitching. The $630 was for labor only. The lurch is reduced quite a bit, but not completely gone. I'm positive bicol-ini is right. I think "JPI, correct me if wrong" that if your rear differential bushings are torn like mine were, then your flex-coupling are probably toast as well. I think they go hand in hand, when one goes, the pressure on down the line to the other components increase that much more. If it's bad enough to rip the last two components, then I can only imagine what it looks like up the line. I have not replaced them yet, but they're on my list now, and soon! But even still, it's really reduced, still there, but reduced by about 50%. Doesn't snap your head back anymore, just feels like a 10 year old rear wheel drive car. Pachocco, mine does it too at startup only, and even worse in winter. I honestly think it's the temp of the flex coupling matched by the amount of torque being sent down the propeller shaft at that higher idle. The LH side you mention as really bad, I assume that is the driver's side? The rear differential has one bolt on the passenger side that attaches to the frame, and it helps to reduce the torque load on the other differential bushing. That's why that one doesn't get as bad as the driver side.

I began to notice the ride starting to go south around 88k miles. But really started to notice it get loud, loose, harsh and floaty around 95k. I bought it with 84k. "Had dealer do 90k service as condition of purchase". I just turned 100k this weekend. With these new parts on now, she drives like new. But, I can REALLY tell now that my tires are way out of balance. With no more free play in the parts, that vibration really shows. Off to the dealer for a balance job. That is the only reason I take it to the dealership, they seem to know how to do it the best. It's been 5 months, so I think I'm due. The improvements in the ride and control characteristics these new parts made lead me to believe the ride was going bad before I bought it. You see, I really have nothing to compare it to, just the results. I would have to say that at 77,000 miles, your struts have lost their composure and are ready to be replaced. The "bounce" test doesn't really expose the true condition. Mine passed it, but now, wow, what a difference.

By the way, all my parts are oem, no aftermarket.

Next up: Flex couplings & brakes...

PS: Many thanks to Bicol-ini for the tip on this website many months ago!

Party on amigos!

[nc211]

Oopps, forgot attachment. Here it is...

[bicol-ini]

no problem nc211

[nc211]

bicol-ini, I'm curious what tipped you off the flex-couplings were bad? Did you have a wierd wobble type vibration?

[bicol-ini]

check my thread replaced fexible coupling, 2 threads down

[blake918]

I'm ready for another 100k. Blake, I'm comin' for ya' son!    :D

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Hahaha! You'll never catch me! j/k I had her spooled up to 105 on the interstate this morning when I was flying back to the house...I'm not even remotely kidding when I say it was smoother at 105 than 75! It's the wierdest thing. With a car that was that eager to crank up to 105, I think we've still got a beautifully long road ahead! That's great that you got all of those parts replaced; she must feel brand new!

This is turning in to a great thread everyone!

[CJAsis]

Blake 918 referred me over here guys.

I have a 1997 Coach Edition that I recently purchased from my parents. The car now has just under 129K miles on the odo. My parents have owned the car since new and only decided to sell it when they got a great deal on a 2006 LS430 (which makes their 4th LS).

Prior to buying the car from my folks, we had a highly reputable local Lexus dealer do the same inspection that they would for a Lexus Certified Preo-owned car. They recommended replacing the motor mounts and tranny mount as they were begining to deteriorate. We did that at the cost of a couple hundred bucks.

Now we're experiencing the same issues that most of you are talking about. When cold the idle is higher than when warm. The car rocks from front to back when I engage D or R. It is more pronounced when I engage D and less pronounced when the car is nice and warm but it still exists. Here's the thing... the car didn't do this before the mounts were changed. My folks verified this.

The car has been back to the dealer and we've met with their master tech. He's saying this is completely normal for a 95-97 LS to behave this way but this car never did this before and I have a lot of trouble believing that Lexus could have or would have marketed a $56K car (we have the original window sticker) that behaved this way. I've owned my fair share of cars including an IS300, RX300 and our current LX470 and none of my cars have ever done this. Moreover my folks 1990 LS, 1994 LS and 2006 LS don't behave this way either.

I can live with the issue if it's not causing any stress or issues on the car. Bessie (as I've dubbed our old girl) is our third car and I use it to drive to work when I can't carpool with my wife and don't want to take the NSX or to baseball games or the airport. We're not going to be putting more than maybe 4,000 miles a year on her now but I want her to last a long time and since I drive her so infrequently... most of my starts (even here in S. CA) are stone cold starts. I'm worried that I'm doing damage to the car.

Any thoughts/ideas/resolution is greatly apprecaited.

[ko90ls]

check the tranny throttle cable under the hood. if it too loose then the car thinks you are on the gas while shifting. there is a thread started by Jzz or Jibby. search and you will find!

Good Luck!