ArmyofOne

Teasers: Please Excuse my hellaciously dirty wheels, PowerSlot Rotors w/Hawk pads. WHOOHOO! More flattering pix to come later when I clean her up. EDIT: More Flattering pix here: EDIT #2: More Spring pix! Enjoy! and feel free to comment please!

This was waiting for me with my supervisor this morning. A letter from the general instructing me to proceed directly to Walter Reed at Army Expense for PRK corrective eye surgery...IM STOKED!!!! I have been trying for 4 years to get this surgery. Its relatively hard to get in the army. Its entirely free to selected soldiers but they dont just hand it out.

Thanks guys, sorry I wasnt around...but I have a suprise, see my next few threads for the news!

Car came back today for a complimentary detail. So sad, Ol'faithful served me well.

I took the money and put it back in the glovebox when I delivered the car today. I called him an hr later and told him to go look in the glovebox and call me back. I left the cash, still rolled up, along with a gift reciept so he wouldnt have to pay sales tax for registration, and the signed title. I also gave him a personal note to let him know if the car needs fixing while in their posession to let me know and I will fix it (providing they get the parts). And no, If a shop was to do the work I had done to the car in the last 5-6 months, it would have been about $6-800.

So...today, I sold my 1996 Cavalier Coupe. This car was bulletproof. Couldnt be killed, i am convinced. I had not planned on selling it but something kind of fell in my lap. A soldier I am in charge of has a 3 year old boy. His young boy was diagnosed with Lukeimia (Sp?)about a year ago. I dont know the details, but I can tell you the man offered me $1,500. It was $500 more than I paid. I told him I would sell it to him for $1000 which is what i paid and I have put about $500 in it, so i figured it was a good deal. He INSISTED on giving me $1500. So I took it. he had no car, needed something reliable (which it was). His wife is pregnant with their second (high-risk pregnancy), and with his sons hospital bills (prior to his entrance in the military), his credit was ruined to make way. His car was repoed, he lost his house all prior to coming into the military. With all this, i offered just to give him the car, as they need it and I do not. They wouldnt have that, and insisted on giving me all but $500 of their savings. Should I feel bad for accepting? The car is worth $1,300. I accpted $200 more than that, from a family that needs money and prayers in equal amounts right now. Their medical bills from his entry into service on are covered by tricare, however his son's first year of chemo/radiation was not covered. Chemo is alot of money. Am I a selfish *BLEEP*?

A friend of mine (police officer, not that it matters) drives a 1997 Range Rover. He just bought it 3 months ago for $5,000. The air suspension is deflated (much like the LS's does when it goes bad). and will not reinflate. It was not like that when he bought it. The nearest Range Rover dealer is in Rochester NY (2.5 hr drive) and the truck will not do over 35mph, as the suspension problem has put the computer in "limp mode". The truck is literally sitting on the bump stops. He cant turn the wheels as they are tucked into the wheel wells. Range Rover dealer (diagnosing over the phone:egads: ) wants him to get it there. They said its either a $100 fix (refill and service air system), or a $4,500 fix (replace entire system). Does anyone know of an aftermarket suspension conversion kit (such as the ones for the LS's and certian towncars) that will convert the suspension to normal shock/strut setup? if not does anyone know where I can find this info? If we can convert it for, say $1000 or so, it beats him buying or renting a trailer and towing it to the Range Rover Dealership on the back of his silverado 200+miles.

Be careful driving through Iraq, and Iran. 2 of the most danerous regions in the world there. I know, I went to Iraq, and got blown up...Alot.

bad plugswires can cause it, clogged fuel filter, faulty fuel pressure regulator, or fuel pump.

Your lexus dealer has the parts. Toyota dealer can get them. Nowhere else to get them though. these cars are REALLY rare.

Es250 resident expert here! Take a flathead screwdriver and pry evenly all the way around it. it will come off. dont break the clips that hold it in or you will be mad. that piece of trim is $100 at the dealer. It is REAL wood and you can break it.

Its not bad, but the trans itself cant be cheap. The only one I have replaced, guy paid $2000! it was for a 1990

if its the rack just replace the whole damn thing from a salvaged car, tie rods and all. Dude, call autozone/oriellys, or one of those chains, and tell them what you are looking for. I priced a remaned R&P for a friends LS from Autozone for $389. Toyota wanted $1100 for the same remaned part.

I assure you, there is plenty of bandwidth. What are your issues, Ill try to take a stab.

When NC211 gets settled in, Im sure he would not mind coming by. I live 1200 miles away..so not likely i can just "swing in". LOL.

crazy driver. HOOOOOOOLY OLD THREAD BATMAN!!!! Jesus...This thread is from 2003...WTF!?

KF, I can tell you from experience, as can many others on here (including the previous responder to your post) that your car has no front CV boot. A CV boot is a "COnstant Velocity" boot. A boot that goes over a "Constant Velocity" Joint. If you have the worlds ONLY AWD LS400, then you would have those . IF not, then I agree it is most likely your pwr steering rack leaking. In which case it will cost you: ~$1300 if a mechanic does it ~$400+Alignment if you do it. Josh

Me+Bacardi Razz+ the wifey=good times!

You absolutely can get 40MPG in a Civic. You can in a lot of small economy cars. The Corolla too. We have a Prius too, and your assessment of the mileage is correct. The mileage is great, but if you are only concerned about absolute lowest operating cost, your money is better spent on a Civic or Corolla, Yaris, Fit, etc. i get 28-29miles on highwAY on my is250 awd, which is 2,5 engine plus all wheel drive, so you probably can get around 40 mpg on civic with 2.0 engine,front wheel drive Its a 1.8 ;) Yes thats right folks, a 2L bottle of coke has more displacement than my cars engine.

DOnt give up on it yet. Even if it isnt the halfshaft, Its VERY rare that an LS with ANY mileage has a problem like this that will cost any more than $500 to fix. The trannies are bullet proof. Ill take a pic when my wife gets home with the car. :)

Well the Lexus would run forever too. That really wasnt a concren for me. Nor is Income as I am active duty military, Job security is Imminent. But if I could just get a decent deal. I am not gonna trade a 2006 Civic for a 2000 LS400 and end up with a car thats 9 years old, has 100,000 miles AND have a car payment. Not gonna happen. If im gonna have a payment its going to be a new car.

thanks. do you know anywhere i can get replacement carpet? Replacement carpet can be had at www.autoanything.com I would steer WAY CLEAR of andy's AutoSport. I have known several people who bought body kits from them and either had to file a lawsuit to get their money back due to never recieving the kit they were charged for, or they had to wait 6 months for their kit to get shipped to them and when it finally made it, it was in shambles, didnt fit correctly (requiring thousands of dollars extra in custom work) etc, etc.

the 3100 series V6 you have is damned near bullet proof. it isnt a headgasket. There is an airlock somewhere as Lexucan mentioned. If it was a BHG you would know it. the car would just straight run like !Removed!, or you would be loosing coolant. If its simply overheating, check the thermostat again. It is HIGHLY possible it is defective, if they are dropped or bumped to hard (during shipping etc) they wont function properly. I went through 3 on my cavalier before I finally gave up and put the original back in.

This seems to be the general trend. IF i decide to go back to having a car payment, It will be NO MORE than $350. And it will be BRAND NEW. I will make and exception for Lexus, and settle for CPO. But nothing over 50K miles/4 years old, Except for an LS which i will go as far as 5 years old, 100k miles.

Bingo, the truth comes out. You probably broke a half-shaft as ArmyofOne mentioned. There is one for each side of the differential that drives each wheel. You gave it a bunch of gas trying to get unstuck and when a tire finally grabbed dry pavement, the shaft was severely stressed. With the car in gear, the drive shaft spinning, do you see one of the smaller half-shafts hanging limp or seemingly unconnected, or maybe spinning w/o turning the wheel? If you jack up the back of the car w/o the engine running and tranny in neutral, can you spin one of the wheels freely by hand? Try each wheel this way and see if the drive shaft turns at all. Or if turning one of the wheels causes the other to turn. In the case of an LS400, If you have a broken halfshaft on one side, neither will spin. Its likely theres a busted one. It may not even look broken. If you have the car on the jack and you can spin one wheel without the other spinning, that isolates the problem. I will take a picture of a halfshaft and what it looks like for you if you need me to. They look about the same for all cars. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! sorry for not knowing stuff! let me tell you my next bad luck thing :( my 1992 lexus has 120k miles, when i shift from P to D it makes like a violent tug forward :( , THE car drives fine but sometimes when the motor is not warm all the way it does this. My friend says its the clutch plates in the tranny, what do you guys think it is? Hey Sherl, first of all welcome to the club! Don't worry about the harsh shift when the engine is cold. It happens because of the high idle. If you want to minimize the jerk, don't shift directly into D. Go into N first, release the service brake, then shift into D or R whichever is applicable. Of course make sure the coast is clear because you'll start to move as soon as you shift. Otherwise wait until the idle drops once the engine warms up. If your car is mint, read up on this site. Plenty of info to help you keep it that way. IT did not do that before though, it just started too, i checked the transfluid its full, IM going to take pictures and post them so you guys can see my cars, NO dents, dings, Original paint on both cars, both 1 owner cars. I even have the window sticker :) These were expensive back then! DO you have instant message on aim??? my screen name is shirish789 please IM me. Any update on the LS? The ES's behavior is normal. Mine used to do that when i had it. It had close to 200K and was a flawless ride too. 2 weeks after i finished restoring it ($6500 worth of parts and labor), I totalled it :( :o