New to Lexus, got a 1 owner 1990 LS400

[audiodogster]

Hello all! I'm a long time Mercedes owner but have recently purchased my first Lexus, an LS400 with 189K miles. It was a one owner car that was donated to Novis Works which sold it to a used car dealer which sold it to me. It's in great shape overall, I'll post pictures later today.

I bought the car because my brother's daily driver was a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis that had been my grandparent's but after 240K miles, at least one of the head gaskets went. Had it been one of my Mercedes, I would have changed the head gasket but alas Ford didn't make it an easy or cheap job to do the head gaskets on the 4.6 Modular V8. We looked around for another Mercedes but most everything we looked was needing more work than I wanted to deal with in the next week before we start back with classes at GT. I was wanting either an I6 or V8 midsized (LS400 is on the large size of midsized but not quite as big as a Grand Marquis or an S-Class) sedan or wagon. My other top pick was a 94 Mercedes E420 (a bit more of a muscle car than an early LS400) but it hadn't been driven much in the past 15 years so it was needing the front and rear main seals replaced. Not horrible jobs but not anything I wanted to deal with. The 1990 LS400 lacks the torque and handling of the E420, but it's a smart looking car (especially in the silver on burgundy that we got), comfortable and should be reliable enough to own for at least 6 months. I'd describe it as the car that the Grand Marquis wanted to be. 

So yes, the car is in overall great shape but has some issues, mainly electrical. The irony is I was always told Lexus were Mercedes without the electrical issues but I've had fewer electrical issues on my Mercedes than this currently has. I can't really fault the car for that, it's a bit more complicated than my other cars.

1- The mirrors do not function- Not sure if it's the switch or control module or mirrors themselves, but it's annoying and dangerous to drive it how it is currently

2-  The radio has issues- first radio would light up, extend the antenna, but the LCD didn't function and it didn't play anything. Went to parts yard, got another radio, and it works except for the tape deck. I'd like to use the tape deck for a headphone adapter but if there's any other way to have headphone or bluetooth in, let me know. I'd prefer to keep the original radio unless there's a good quality aftermarket bezel so I can fit another radio for bluetooth calling

3- The telescoping column doesn't function- It goes up and down, the relay or motor seems to click when I want to extend it but it won't go back in. 

4- The washer pump doesn't work

5- The brakes feel really spongy though the fluid looks new and the master cylinder looks like it might be as well. I haven't pulled the wheels off yet but it felt like the brake rotors were new. I understand there are upgrades?

6- Driver's seat compared to the other seats is not as comfortable, maybe worn out?

7- Various lights out in dash

While I was at the yard, I was able to score Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the 1991 Service Manual for $3 out of the car from which I pulled the radio. Also pulled a headlight (passenger's side has a rock chip) but ended up that my paycheck hadn't gone in yet so I had to leave it. 

I'm also planning on doing the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, and front main seal (not leaking but while I'm at it I might as well) this week, any pointers for that job?  

I am incredibly well versed in buying Mercedes parts, best prices, fastest shipping, what brands to avoid based on what part it is, etc but have no knowledge for Lexus. What brands are good, what should I avoid, and what sites should I use? What parts should I go to the dealer for and are there any wholesale dealership websites I should try?
I got the Aisin or OE Toyota for all of the parts in the above job.

Are there any pointers for a first-time owner? Ideas on what I need to do to rectify these issues?

 

Will the 16" rims from a 2000 GS (6 spoke) fit on this car without rubbing? I'm also going to another yard with several LS400s tomorrow, anything I should be looking for or pulling?

[lenore]

Welcome aboard, Hey it is a 27 year old car, but a great one.  Do a search on these forums and you will be rewarded with lots of help.  There are some very knowledgeable people on the LS400 on this site.  Hopefully they will chip in.

[LSPaul]

Congrats on the purchase!  My sole project MBZ experience (W202, what did I expect?) was educational at best.  By the time this is done, your temporary car may become one you want to keep around for a long time.

Dig around the archives here for answers to many of your car's issues, as well as some of the other Lexus forums.  There's close to a couple decades' worth of wisdom and knowledge here.  Thankfully used parts in junkyards are still pretty inexpensive, and depending on where you live, still fairly plentiful.  Many of the other answers will be found in the repair manuals (that's a massive score, by the way!). 

1) Radio: If you have the standard radio (Pioneer, not Nakamichi), wiring harness adapters for aftermarket radios are cheap and install's pretty straightforward. Pioneer speakers are pretty indestructo, but the Nakamichi speakers sound great, even now.  If the speaker foam has disintegrated on the Nak speakers, consider re-foaming--they're worth saving. Naks have the amp separate from the radio head, so basically are a line-out set. I'm not aware of a wiring adapter for that. 2) Washer pump might be the pump, itself.  2A) Start with the switch when it comes to the mirrors.  3) Brakes sound like they need re-bleeding. Follow the procedure in the shop manual to the letter (an assistant is helpful, but otherwise use a stick or long piece of wood to hold the brake pedal all the way down when closing the bleeder screws on the calipers).  3a)  '93 and '94 cars have bigger brakes and different calipers, and should be a straightforward swap. 4) 16" wheels are plug and play.  If you DO go with later brakes, the stock 15" wheels won't fit, so you'll need those 16" rims.  5) Driver's seat sounds more like an adjustment issue, as they generally don't wear out. 5A) If you do go junkyard shopping for seats, you are limited to '90-92 seats; '93 and '94 seat wiring is completely different and won't work, even if the seats bolt right in.  6) The timing belt/water pump job is a big project, although if the belt that's in there has less than 100k miles on it (and OE belts will go *much* longer than 100k), it'll be fine for now.  It's a non-interference engine, anyway...  6A) A coolant change would be a good idea, though. 6B) As for timing belt vendors, Aisin's good, Continental (nee Goodyear) timing belts or Gates belts are just fine, too. 6C) There are also coolant drain petcocks on both sides of the engine block, if doing that change.  I'd go with the proper pink coolant here, not green or other colors.  7) The steering column may be a matter of the gears needing attention (adding a shim, re-greasing). 8) Parts-wise, shop around. Many Lexus dealers also sell OEM bits on that auction site. 9) While a stock LS is a bit wallowy around curves, it will stick longer and better than you'd expect, as the suspension design is actually quite good. If you're going *there*, stiffer shocks, poly bushings on the sway bars and a larger rear sway bar (Addco makes a solid 7/8-1" rear sway bar for the LS) will tighten things up and flatten things out.  After all that, you'll still slide around in the driver's seat! ;-)

I'll repeat the mantra: Search the forums. ;-)  Have fun!

Paul

[audiodogster]

 

Congrats on the purchase!  My sole project MBZ experience (W202, what did I expect?) was educational at best.  By the time this is done, your temporary car may become one you want to keep around for a long time.

Dig around the archives here for answers to many of your car's issues, as well as some of the other Lexus forums.  There's close to a couple decades' worth of wisdom and knowledge here.  Thankfully used parts in junkyards are still pretty inexpensive, and depending on where you live, still fairly plentiful.  Many of the other answers will be found in the repair manuals (that's a massive score, by the way!). 

1) Radio: If you have the standard radio (Pioneer, not Nakamichi), wiring harness adapters for aftermarket radios are cheap and install's pretty straightforward. Pioneer speakers are pretty indestructo, but the Nakamichi speakers sound great, even now.  If the speaker foam has disintegrated on the Nak speakers, consider re-foaming--they're worth saving. Naks have the amp separate from the radio head, so basically are a line-out set. I'm not aware of a wiring adapter for that. 2) Washer pump might be the pump, itself.  2A) Start with the switch when it comes to the mirrors.  3) Brakes sound like they need re-bleeding. Follow the procedure in the shop manual to the letter (an assistant is helpful, but otherwise use a stick or long piece of wood to hold the brake pedal all the way down when closing the bleeder screws on the calipers).  3a)  '93 and '94 cars have bigger brakes and different calipers, and should be a straightforward swap. 4) 16" wheels are plug and play.  If you DO go with later brakes, the stock 15" wheels won't fit, so you'll need those 16" rims.  5) Driver's seat sounds more like an adjustment issue, as they generally don't wear out. 5A) If you do go junkyard shopping for seats, you are limited to '90-92 seats; '93 and '94 seat wiring is completely different and won't work, even if the seats bolt right in.  6) The timing belt/water pump job is a big project, although if the belt that's in there has less than 100k miles on it (and OE belts will go *much* longer than 100k), it'll be fine for now.  It's a non-interference engine, anyway...  6A) A coolant change would be a good idea, though. 6B) As for timing belt vendors, Aisin's good, Continental (nee Goodyear) timing belts or Gates belts are just fine, too. 6C) There are also coolant drain petcocks on both sides of the engine block, if doing that change.  I'd go with the proper pink coolant here, not green or other colors.  7) The steering column may be a matter of the gears needing attention (adding a shim, re-greasing). 8) Parts-wise, shop around. Many Lexus dealers also sell OEM bits on that auction site. 9) While a stock LS is a bit wallowy around curves, it will stick longer and better than you'd expect, as the suspension design is actually quite good. If you're going *there*, stiffer shocks, poly bushings on the sway bars and a larger rear sway bar (Addco makes a solid 7/8-1" rear sway bar for the LS) will tighten things up and flatten things out.  After all that, you'll still slide around in the driver's seat! ;-)

I'll repeat the mantra: Search the forums. ;-)  Have fun!

Paul

I am really liking it so far. Great for road trips. Replaced the timing belt and associated bits with Aisin parts. Definitely used the correct pink coolant! I never use universal stuff. New plugs and pulleys as well. Need to replace ignition rotors and might as well replace plug wires, just haven't done that yet because there were no Japanese brands available locally. 

1. Correct, it's the Pioneer unit. Nakamichi would be cool but probably can get similar performance out of something aftermarket. 

2. Would have checked the pump but turns out the car has wheel locks and no key. Going to take it to a tire place and see if they can get those off. Need the tires balanced anyway, then it could use an alignment. Hopefully that's not due to worn suspension but that possible, again no history on the car. 

2a. Pulled the mirror switch and couldn't tell that anything is wrong with it, sprayed some contact cleaner in there but didn't change a thing. Possible that it's bad but I couldn't see that the solder joints were cracked (may just re flow the solder on it later anyway). I'll probably check the control unit next, might be some bad solder joints or capacitors in there needing attention. It's annoying that those switches require the lower dash to be removed, looks like they could have easily designed around that.

3. After a bit of driving, brakes feel much better. Still unsure of condition of brakes for reason stated above.
 

7. My brother claims the telescoping feature briefly worked today but didn't work for me. I'll check the switch then the control unit. 

9. This drives decent in the curves. My brother has a 1980 Mercedes 300SD that's sort of the same idea as this car but even more body roll than both this and the Grand Marquis we are replacing, but also has amazing grip. That Grand Marquis doesn't have that quality. I won't miss that car. 

Except for the headlights. I put projectors in the Grand Marquis because the stock headlights were next to useless. Hate driving my other cars at night, especially if the roads are wet. I think I'm going to try some LED bulbs in this car since it has fluted lens, I happen to live 5 minutes away from The Retrofit Source, which has been pretty great at times. 

[LSPaul]

Ignition caps and rotors (and wires) are a bit of a pain to do after the TB job, but not impossible.  The biggest hassle is getting to the bolts that hold the plastics on at the front side of the engine.  

For the wheel locks, look in the tool kit inside the trunk. It has its own spot for it with the tool kit.  If you have the owners manual set, look through for wheel lock info.  McGard in NY State still makes replacement wheel lock keys if you have the key code, and you can order one from them.  Maybe consider a second one to keep with your tools at home and as a back up--they're inexpensive. 

Otherwise, the one time I had to get the wheel lock off without they key, I hammered a large socket (7/8"?) over the whole tapered lug nut, then was able to remove with a 1/2" breaker bar.

Stock headlights on the early cars are pretty horrid. A lot of it has to do with the stock bulb 9004 fitment ('93-94 cars went to an 9003/H4).  The rest of it has to do with the optics of the headlight, itself.  I switched to a set of clear-style headlights made by Eagle Eyes (bought them a few years back online); H4 lamp (you'll need to convert or adapt your connector), good optics, giving off a decent impression of a proper E-code beam pattern.  '93-'94 cars have slightly better stock headlights, and might be worth trying out if you can get them cheaply enough in the junkyard.

For the rest of your electrical maladies, if there's an electrical section in your shop manuals, start there.