GuyGordon

Oh good Lord, how hard is that to do? I think there is a thread somewhere on it? I will search. Did I say how much I love this car? :P I know this thread is over a year old, but I just wanted to post this for later searchers. Cleaning the Power Steering Solenoid is a piece of cake. Took me less than 1/2 hour and made a huge difference. Over the years my 1996 LS400 had been slowly getting harder to steer. I had no idea there even was a filter in there. Anyway, you simply jack up the front left side (taking safety precautions), remove the wheel, and you can see the solenoid. Unplug the wires and put something under the car to catch the PS oil that will come out. The large hex head is part of the solenoid. It unscrews with the normal (right hand) threads. You'll probably need to put a chisel or large screwdriver against the head and hit it with a hammer to get started, but after that it unthreaded by hand. The filter is a fine metal screen ring around the bottom that comes off with an O-ring. Clean it with carb cleaner, and a toothbrush if needed. It's not fragile, but it is fine; so don't mess it up. Reassemble in reverse order. Refill your PS reservoir. Turn car on, then off after 10 seconds so the pump can move the PS fluid. Repeat until the fluid level is stable and has no air bubbles. Mine required about a pint. The PS pump will be noisy if there is still air in the system. There's a tutorial with pictures around here somewhere.

Many, many years later... I ran into this same problem. My wife left the door ajar on our 1996 Lexus LS400 and drained the battery. After jumping & charging I had no lights. I could see the 120A fuse was blown, but couldn't see how it could be removed. Searching uncovered many pleas, but no answers. Forced to figure it out for myself, I now record how to replaced the 120A cartridge fuse in my model, and no doubt many others: This Lexus has about 50 separate fuses in two fuse boxes (engine & dash). The small fuses are 7.5A, 10A, 15A, etc. The cartridge fuses are in a separate container attached to the main engine fuse container, but under the same cover. The small fuses can be pulled out, but the cartridge fuses are bolted in from both sides and cannot be removed without dismounting the entire container. 1. Remove the battery. You'll need the room. 2. Remove the single nut attaching the right side of the cartridge container. 3. Lift the container up off the plastic post holding the left side to the main fuse container. This post snaps into place, so use a tiny screwdriver to bend the plastic loop of the cartridge case, releasing the snap. (If that's not clear, just shove a screwdriver in there and wiggle it around until the case comes loose.) 4. The cartridge case is now free, attached only by the dozen or so wires coming out the bottom. These wires are all bolted to the sides of the fuses. The reason you cannot see this is that the sides of the cartridge case are actually tiny flip-up doors -- which (of course) are snapped shut. Stick above-mentioned tiny screwdriver under plastic snaps and open the flap on each side of the case. 5. There they are! Remove one bolt from each side the the 120A fuse (or whichever fuse you need to replace). 6. Grasp the top of the fuse with needlenose pliers and pull it up & out. 7. Take said fuse down to local AutoZone (or NAPPA, etc.) and buy 1 (one) 120A cartridge fuse ($2.97). While you're there, pick up a variety of the small 7.5 - 20A fuses as well, just because it's such a waste to drive down to AutoZone for one lousy $3 fuse. 8. Order reverse in 7-1 steps repeat. Now you can find out what other fuses you blew. Don't waste your time examining every one of the small fuses. You're sure to miss one (I did). So instead, start the car and test every electrical device. Then look in your owners manual to find what fuses protect the ones not working. Each fuse protects many disparate devices. In my case the radio and rear courtesy lights did not work. Strangely enough, fuse #40 is for "Dome, rear courtesy, trunk light, & radio". WARNING! Other posts on this site warn against disconnecting anything to do with the airbags while the car battery is attached. This can cause the airbag warning light to come on and stay on until you perform a difficult and magical ritual involving a jumper wire, the rpm gauge, and a sacrificial goat. So do NOT go pulling fuses at random while the battery is attached. I don't know for a fact that this is a problem -- and I don't want to find out.