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ggemigniani

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Everything posted by ggemigniani

  1. Like all Toyotas, Lexus's have considerable road noise on coarse road surfaces and on concrete freeways due to the lack of accoustical insulation in the doors and under the carpets. So the only way to keep road noise low is to run the quietest summer tires available and rotate them often or to install sound absorbing and barrier materials inside the doors, under the carpets and behind and under the rear seat. If you are on a budget, large thick, asphalt impregnated sound deadener pads can be found under and behind the front seats of '86-'91 Ford Taurus's in junkyards.
  2. I have alot of experience storing Toyotas for up to 2 years. I agree with Landar that fuel stabilizer is not needed and that it is desirable to get some of the weight off the tires to avoid flat spots and sidewall cracking. If you can't get the weight off then inflate the tires to 35-40 psi to help avoid sidewall cracking. And of course disconnect the negative terminal of the battery - even if storing for only 1 month.
  3. The genuine Toyota (Denso) air filter for the LS400 is only $21.60 at www.1sttoyotaparts.com. And the genuine Toyota (Denso) 90915-YZZD3 oil filter is only $3.91. Since you pay no sales tax, the 10% shipping charge is almost free. The Toyota filter is a triple element design that excels in reducing engine wear via keeping dirt out of the engine.
  4. Drain plug gaskes don't need to be replaced regularly and won't crack or deteriorate much unless the owner overtorques the drain plug.
  5. The cooler is inside the radiator. As I said, check the fluid temp on the dipstick yourself before and after going down long downgrades and you'll see it doesn't change and is usually cool enough to handle (except in hot weather). It is possible to get many hundreds of thousands of miles of life from BOTH your brake rotors and transmission if avoid using the brakes continuously or almost continuously on long downgrades on to control speeds.
  6. Downshifting to 3rd gear if necessary to control speed and avoid riding the brakes saves the brake pads and brake rotors without compromising transmission life. Downshifting doesn't heat up the fluid. See for yourself - pull the dipstick after using 3rd gear on a long downgrade and you'll find the fluid is the same temperature as when driving on level ground for along period. EVERY Toyota owners manual from 1965-2010 advises owners to downshift the automatic transmission to control speed on downgrades.
  7. Toyota parts at www.1sttoyotaparts.com are sold for 28% off. Example: Toyota engine oil filters are only $3.91 and you need not buy a case to get that superb low price. You don't have to pay sales tax so that offsets most of the 10% FedEx Ground shipping charge.
  8. Check out the latest issue of Consumer Reports that tested tires. A Hankook tire did as good as any Michelin in ride smoothness, quietest and fuel economy at half the price. The world is changing and the Koreans are now competitive with the best in regards to cars and tires. I am very fussy about ride smoothness and quietness and the Korean Kumho Solus KR21's I have ride like a Michelin (zero vibration at highway speed). The Kumhos are not ranked quite as high in CR's tests as the Hankook tire referred to above. So next time I need tires I'll consider a top rated Hankook.
  9. If no bubbles form when the compressor shuts off that could mean the system is overcharged with refrigerant. Maybe you should let some gas out of the system. Normal center dash vent temps when the system is set for maximum cooling are 37-42 degrees regardless of the outside temperature.
  10. Highly unlikely to be rear wheel bearings. Get a second opinion. Rear wheel bearings normally last the life of the car (unless the owner is they type that does burnouts, corners extremely aggressively or lets the differential lube get low or contaminated with water by driving through or parking on flooded streets.
  11. the factory original upper and lower radiator hoses are the toughest of all the cooling system hoses and are good for 25-35+ years or many hundreds of thousands of miles in my experience with about 15 toyotas, if the cooling system is well maintained and the engine is never overheated. Psychologically, owners are predisposed to worry about maintenance items that are highly visible (e.g. the huge radiator hoses, the serpentine belt, tires, etc) but not invisible items that are far more important like the air filter, pre-cat oxygen sensor(s), cleanliness of your throttle plate, spark plugs and similar items which dramatically affect power and fuel economy.
  12. Get 20% off a factory set of wires at http://www.mylexparts.com/
  13. Loose steering is a sign the former owner drove the car hard, especially around corners, hence there is severe wear (including possible bent parts) in the steering linkage that would cost more than the car is worth to fix. The steering on my '90 with 111,000 miles is still tight because both me and the former owner are middle aged and our testosterone levels don't make us drive 2 Fast and 2 Furious anymore.
  14. The pumps really don't wear out, only certain seals leak. A seepage leak from the factory original pump I have stopped after I cleaned the steering rack solenoid filter screen (which reduced system fluid pressures) and replaced the O-ring on the PS reservoir (ring that seals the pump to the reservoir). I bought a pump "reseal kit" from a Lexus dealer for about $25 and that is how I obstained the needed O-ring.
  15. If you want an alternator that will last 150,000+ miles, your best bet is to get a genuine Toyota remanufactured alternator that has the same part number as your existing alternator from a discount Lexus dealer like http://www.mylexparts.com/ If you want an alternator that will last 75,000 miles you can get rebuilts from Autozone for about $120.00 If your existing alternator has less than 150,000 miles and still spins smoothly without bearing noise, it probably only needs a new genuine Toyota brush holder assembly installed (about a $25 part from a discount Lexus dealer). However, this assumes your alternator did not fail because power steering fluid dripped on it, shorting it out.
  16. Toyota EFI fuel filters never become clogged before 150,000 miles or so unless someone intentionally contaminated the gasoline as a prank. What is the tune up and timing belt change history of the motor? Maybe someone changed the spark plugs and put a set that is not recommended in the owners manual. Maybe one plug was undertorqued or the insulator of one plug became cracked due to using an improper spark plug socket. Maybe one of the ignition coils is going out. I'd bet you have an ignition system issue
  17. Fuel pump is relatively easy and quick to remove on the LS because of the access hole behind the rear seat. Best prevention against fuel pump failure is to replace the fuel filter about every 80,000 miles to reduce pumping strain on the pump and to keep the fuel level in the tank above the empty mark and preferably above the 1/4 mark.
  18. Never had any problem, though I might have a dust and dirt problem if I lived in a dusty environment. Ford owners manuals specifically recommend using Ford Silicone Grease on the door weatherstrips. That's how I got the idea of using it. I use it mainly on the window channels to help the windows roll up and down more effortlessly which in turns prolongs the life of the power window up and down mechanism. The grease makes a huge difference in the roll up effort of manual roll windows, especially if the door panel is removed so the grease can be applied to the window channels deep inside the door. Unlike 303 protectant, the grease lasts for years so one thorough application can keep the windows rolling freely for 5 years.
  19. No, loose intake valve clearances would not cause high tailpipe emissions. Your "mechanic" sounds like a hobo if since he thinks your engine doesn't have adjustable valves lifter clearances and thinks cleaning a filter and replacing a few hoses will make a check engine light go off and solve the horribly smelly exhaust. What is the preventive maintenance history of this car? Especially in regard to tune ups and emission inspections? Driving with a smelly exhaust may have already damaged the pre-cat oxygen sensors and catalytic converters if the source of the smell was an overly rich fuel mixture.
  20. Clean the throttle plate, tune the motor up (plugs, distributor cap, rotor and plug wires) and replace the pre-cat oxygen sensors then come back here if any drivability problems persist. You can't reasonbly expect a 200K+ Toyota motor to run well if these essential tune up items have been neglected for years.
  21. Driving style affects bushing life more than anything else. Accelerate and corner aggressively or drive on bumpy roads and they will deteriorate faster and no preservative will prevent it. That said, the 303 Aerospace protectant is excellent. I also like Napa's "Sylglide" silicone grease for any place where rubber rubs against metal or glass (e.g. window channels is an ideal place to use Sylglide).
  22. There are over ten million late 1980's and 1990's era Toyotas on the road and their owners manuals all say (with a few exceptions): "check valve clearances every 60,000 miles". The intake valve clearances on the driver side of the early 90's Lexus V8 fairly commonly get too loose causing a ticking noise at idle and up to about 2500 RPM or so. While not seriously damaging, engine power and fuel economy will be below par unless thicker valve adjustment shims are installed to tighten the clearances back to factory specs. The procedure is laborous so the cost is high (around $1200 if a Lexus dealer does it, and maybe $800 if a Toyota dealer does it. Since only the drivers side clearances tend to get out of adjustment, one way to save money is to tell a Toyota dealer you only want the 16 valves on the drivers side of the engine to be checked for proper clearance and adjusted if necessary via installing a shim of the proper thickness. A Toyota dealer should be willing to do that for $400-500.
  23. There's lots of genuine R12 on ebay anyone can buy. It's pretty cheap during the winter, but gets more expensive now and in the summer. Why not buy some instead of spending much bigger bucks on a conversion? R134a is a downgrade in performance and system reliability, but conversions are very profitable for the AC industry so you will encounter an endless amount of peer pressure to CONVERT! CONVERT! CONVERT!
  24. Just get a new fan clutch for $20 at a self service junkyard or at car-part.com for a little more. A properly working fan clutch is silent. The two electric fans cool the AC condenser but will not cool the radiator.
  25. Evaporators, like gas tanks last almost a human lifetime. Take car to another shop and have them find the leak using an electronic leak detector tool. There is likely a leaking O-ring seal somewhere under the hood as the other poster said. If you are very unlucky the leak could be from an O-ring fitting under the dash, requiring partial dash disassembly to access.
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