ArmyofOne

AH, it does have a salvage title, just not in texas...that SOB. not a very good deal then eh? in fact, it sounds like a ripoff...

JT8BH22FXT0047411 thats the vin...thanks.

Well for those of you that dont know, i have been looking for a Gen II LS400 now ever since i wrecked my ES250 back in april. I may finally have found one. 1996 Lexus LS400 -96,580 miles -Cypress Green Leather interior -Green Metallic Exterior, (not sure of the color, but it is a lighter green) -Sewell Lexus of Dallas has done the 60k, 80K, 90K and 100K services, TB and WP have been replaced. -Seller has all service records from the lexus dealer since purchase in 11/1995. but heres the catch... 6 months ago, the car was stolen. some kids took it for a joyride but left $4,000 worth of damage to the center console, the stereo and climate control, the autmatic locks and windows, and the ignition switch. Insurance paid for it, and all repairs were done at Sewell Lexus. has 4 brand new tires as thy were all flat when the car was retireved. 4 center caps on the factory chrome wheels were never recovered. it all looks brand new...Asking price is $8950 NEG. i have driven it and it drives beatifully, but the price is a little low...is the catch here that the car was stolen? or is there possibly a hidden problem that he has yet to correct?

If I had been raised to automatically assume something is the best just because it costs the most then I would be driving a Mercedes. I was raised to know better than that which is why I own a Lexus. Please don't assume I am cheap or that I can't afford good tires simply because I am concerned about getting a good value for my money. I'm certain the Michelins are good tires but before I fork over 20% more than all other comparable tires I need to be assured that they are far superior in all pertinent aspects. The more I look around and get people's opinions it seems that as good or better tires can be had for less. Thats simply how people that know the value of money shop. There are many other tires from quality manufacturers like Dunlop that sell for far less. If I may remind you, Lexus ships their cars with Goodyears, Toyos, Bridgestones, Dunlops, AND Michelins. Lexus seems to think these tires are comparable. You can do as you please, but unless you can give me some advice other than a statement like that, don't post in my thread. Anyways... Alan- The Bridgestones are fairly quiet on smooth pavement but they groan loudly on bad roads and are harsh over bumps. They also have a tendency to get flat spots and vibrate depending on the outside temperature. Wet traction has been subpar also. I've driven ES' with the Michelin tires (they come with the Bridgies or the Michelins) and they ride significantly better, at least IMHO. Check out the Tire Rack's reviews of the Bridgestones, they are one of the lowest rated tires they sell. It seems to me like the MXV4's are a good tire, but not so great as to be worth the cash. I'm tempted to do the Toyos since they have that 45 day money back guarantee but they're still $20 more a peice than the Dunlops and I can't find anywhere legitimate to order them online (which I prefer to do from a cost standpoint and I like to have my guy install them)... Also those of you that have gone from V to H rated tires, any adverse effects to the handling of the car? ← For the money, i reccomend the Falken Zeix ZE512's. they have EXCELLENT wet and dry traction, they are good in the snow and have decent treadwear (60-80K tire life. and they are BY FAR the quitest tire i have ever had, and i have had a lot of tires with over 500,000 miles logged on americas roads. for $236 i got a set of four....thats out the door price. not bad eh? ill find you a link. Clicky...$64 a piece and they are doing free ground shipping too.

Not good. either one of your struts, your main control module or your compressor may be gine. typically when the compressor goes, all of the struts will not work. if it is the struts, the cheapest i have seen them from lexus is $950 a strut.. but i have a connection at a toyota dealer that may be able to help you. PM me if interested. ← when i thought i needed new air shocks (turns out i did not...it was another cheaper repair), i searched on ebay to see what my options were. i found remanufactured (to OEM specs) air struts for $415 each, plus another $25 shipping. the company offers a lifetime warranty on their product. i checked today, and there are several still listed. don't have the link for you, but search on ebay for 'air strut ls400' or whatever your make/model is...good luck... btw, a dealer quoted me nearly 1,200 each for this part new! if you do go the ebay route, be sure to check the seller's 'rating'. i never buy from anyone rated lower than 97% customer satisfaction. ← good find prix! i would go that route. ou could replace em twice and still have$$$ leftover.

it was a joke guys...holy crap. im sure the 2x4 trick works fine... LOL.

are you for real? a little brutal isnt it? i mean, what did your car ever do to you? :P

Holy *BLEEP*, i cant believe im reading this. :chairshot: you havent been watching the news. it was a mandatory evacuation. all routes out fo subdivisions were routed to the Interstates. they were forcing people onto both sides of I-45. have you ever even been to houston? you have to take TX59 to get to 342 or any of those other country roads...they are 2 lanes with sometimes hundreds of miles between gas stations, VERY spotty cellular service and lets not forget emergency services for injured or the sick. still seem smart?

if i put 70lbs in the back of my car it would have done that too, i am willing to bet any LS400 will...LOL. it aint a pickup truck. :D

it sounds like you have air suspension and from what ive rad b4 your compressor on the shocks might be going out ← Not good. either one of your struts, your main control module or your compressor may be gine. typically when the compressor goes, all of the struts will not work. if it is the struts, the cheapest i have seen them from lexus is $950 a strut.. but i have a connection at a toyota dealer that may be able to help you. PM me if interested.

If you arent braking and its not pulling, i would check out the wheel bearings. they make a sound like squealing brakes when they go bad sometimes. HTH

I think the fuel line is a fine idea. even if you have to replace it 3 or four times a year, its cheaper and easier than replacing that steel hose. those lines however, are pressurized for a reason. An ATX (Automatic Transaxle) works off of pressure, same as a transmission in a RWD car. Im sure you know this. now by putting a rubber hose in place of a steel one, that rubber hose may flex under pressure, therefore changing the PSI that the tranny recieves. however, you said it is working OK, i would give it a week or so. DONT unziptie it from the hardline, that is the only thing keeping the hose from flexing and affecting the pressure. im sure you understand the dynamics of a hydraulic system...the farther you pump the fluid, the less pressure it transmits, or rather, the more pressureis required to make whatever it is you are trying to make work...work. I hope that makes sense.

you cant really lift the rear of these cars. you can put 20's on, i myself have seen it done, but IMO, these are wayy too big 18's are perfect. you wont be able to fit them in the front without either rubbing on the inner or outer fenders...

IMO, Lexus and higher end toyota cars will always use a belt. for one reason: noise level. a timing belt is FAR quieter than any chain.

Provided fluid has been changed regularly, it should be fine, but why mess with it. keep doing drain and fills...should achieve the same result. just watch the fluid and dont let it burn. Jason (JPImportz) has alwyas said dont ever powerflush a lexus/toyota tranny with high mileage becuase it isnt good for them. had i not listened to him, my 15 year old trans would have bit the dust. instead, its working, nearly as good as new, somewhere here in the metroplex...take it with a grain of salt, but i say with 203K, you must be doing something right.

Not a stupid question...from what i have heard, read and now experienced, if you are in 5th and you punch it at 60, you will get nothing short of a dud. its a cruising gear only until about 105mph, then it can kick some tourque out around 3500 rpm. but when you punch it at 60, downshift to 4th or even 3rd. you will feel the difference immediately.

thanks for the welcome everyone. :D here is the timeline: october 3rd i will arrive at ft. drum NY, where i will inprocess. i will learn my job for a couple fo weeks and go to cold weather infantry training for a month after that, then possibly air assault school, then i will begin training for afghanistan, doing excercises i am bound by law not to discuss and then i will deploy to afghanistan in early february. thats tentative, so it could change. Blake, call the cell anytime, if you cant get through or i dont pick up, call the house. as for you coming over...i need a ride to go car shopping...LOL. I found a 1996 LS400 with 97k for $8950...Forest green with grey body cladding and grey leather interior...mmmmm

What is happening y'all????!!! i Just flew back in to Dallas/Ft. Worth tonite at 1154PM. let em tel you what an adventerous journey this has been but before i start, i need to thank a few people: Bob (Lil4x) for always being there to chat with me on the phone for hours, because i wanted someone to talk to but ran out of things to talk about. we would always find something to discuss. Blake (Blake918) Even though you are INCREDIBLY HARD to get ahold of, great friend. hope to see you out here shortly. and all the people who wrote to me THANKS! your letters are what kept me going!. now who has questions about the training? that crap was not easy LOL. the marches to and from out training excercises, were up to 15 miles, with full battle rattle. this includes an 8lb Kevlar Ballistic Battle helmet, a 20 lb Fragmentary vest, a 50-70 lb rucksack and an LBE with 210 rounds of 5.56mm M16A2 Assault Rifle rounds. and we are in BDU's with combat boots. the march out to victory forge really sticks in my heart. it was 12 miles out and we did it in JUST under 3 hours. like 2 hrs and 57 minutes by my watch. thats Air Assault School Speed right there, and that was just basic training. the march back from victory forge ended up being over 15 miles cause the drill sergeants "got us lost"...right :uh: took us longer to do this one, about 4.5 hours. we learned basic drills and movements, such as left/right flank and countercolumn. We qualified with our rifles and with hand grenades. im actually a pretty good shot with both, i qualified Sharpshooter in rifle marksmanship (i hit 34/40 pop-up targets) and got 3 out of 5 targets bullseyed with the grenade for a sharpshooter score there as well. i have missed the simple things like soda and TV, but i have learned to live without them. one thing i HATED about my training, is i have had an AWFUL cold since i got to Ft. Jackson. the conditions they kept us in would not have been allowed in mexico city by the red cross. there were mice, roaches and spiders in these barracks that were over 50 years old and were falling apart. there were anywhere between 200 and 400 of us in these barracks at any given time and we all cleaned up and did out part, but we could never clean enough, everyone was ALWAYS sick. i went to the hospital for pnemonia 3 times thought the 5 months i was training. Im now about to overdose on Nyquil and go to bed LOL. anyway to top all of this off, it has been over 100 degrees there every day since july 1st to about september 10th. so we did all of our training in the sweltering heat. 12 quarts of water a day was the minimum requirement to keep your body going along with 2 full glasses of gatorade at breakfast, lunch and dinner. crazy stuff. so...any questions? as of right no my orders are to take 10 days leafe and report to the 2nd battalion of the 10th mountian infoatry division relacement unit, Ft. Drum NY on Oct 03. thanks again for all th support guys!

Thanks guys, its been awhile since i have been on. Im taking over the payments on my moms chrysler. my dad didnt sell the es250, he is repairing it. it will be there when i get there. but i am going to take the concorde to NY probably. it does good in the snow, survived 2 alaska winters no problem. Anchorage gets wayyyyyyyyyy ymore snow than Ft. Drum. i have seen over 5 feet fall in 36 hrs. so it does ok, it will be fine. My mom owes 12k, the caris worth like 9k so i said i would write her a check for 10k and call it even. and she said, deal. at any rate, all is quiet on the eastern front. tty in 20 days!

If you are reading this, call me ASAP. I have PMed you, but i cant reach you on your cell and i want to make sure you and your belongings are ok after the hurricane. I have been worried out of my mind bro Call me, Lil4x has my new cell #, but it should also be in your phone! Let me and the rest of LOC know that you made it through. and if there is ANYTHING you need, dont hesitate to ask. me and or one of the other members will be more than happy to help you out. Call my house if you need a place to get away for labor day weekend, my folks sais they would be happy to have you. I'll be back in dallas onthe 22nd of september. call me bro, so i can quit worrying.

I was stationed at Fort Drum, Watertown, NY about 1951, before shipping out to Korea. At the time I was at this encampment it was called Camp Drum. I was with the 306th. Special Service unit. My rank was Captain....er, Private, oh I forgot which. hehe Good luck ← is it nice country out there? i have to change my plans as to what kind of car to buy now. i have a snowmobile, so an LS or ES is almost out of the question. however, if i can find a used RX (99 or 00) for relatively cheap (under 16,500) then maybe i can get a lexus. otherwise it will have to be a Jeep Wrangler or a F-150. has to be 4x4 and able to tow a Ski-Doo 650cc single seat snomobile. an LS/SC/GS like i originally wanted is out of the question, seeing as they get ALOT of snow up there.

not too terribly difficult if you know what you are doing. get a haynes manual for your year camry V6 and it will say how to do it.

Im Going to Ft Drum New York, on october 30th. i will probably be deploying to iraq shortly thereafter. just wanted to let you all know. be back in a week!

If they have been taken care of they are excellent cars. Mine went a buch of miles before a truck stopped in the middle of an intersection because he missed his turn. a few things to watch for on these cars: Camshaft and Crankshaft seals, they leak when they get old. Valve cover gaskets, common problem, easy to fix. Exhaust manifold- They have a pocket in the exhaust manifold behind the motor, water collects there and rusts the pipe. be warned, the repair is costly, removing the motor is the reasiest way to get at this manifold. STRUTS! these cars are WAYYYYYY too heravy for the struts they sit on. they wear out quickly. anything over 100K they need changed 9x out fo ten. the sticker on your door says around 4300 lbs is how much the curb weight is, and its not far off. headgaskets are another problme, but only if you constantly push the engine harder than normal. i would pay between $2,000 and $3,000 if its in pristine condition. LOOK FOR OIL LEAKS!!! i cant stress this enough. mine leaked from ever external gasket it had, and it cost well over $2,000 to repair. the front and rear main seals, valvew covers, camshaft and crankshaft seals, oil pump seals and hydraulic tensioners are common sites of leaks. if this car shows ANY signes of drippage, DO NOT BUY IT. the only other thing i can tell you is the transmissions in these cars are inheretly noisy at low speeds, they make a high pitched whirring noise, its normal. as for the CEL, i can tell you its more than likely the O2 sensors which are a piece of cake to change. and the ABS light, you should have that checked before driving the car very far, it may simply be a malfunctioning sensor. check the ABS system on some gravel or a wet road, if its working its probably justa sensor (you should feel some pulsation in the pedal). if its not working, it is the module, thats the only thing in this particuolar system that will cause the whole system to fail. each sensor is wired separately to each wheel, which means only that wheel will malfunction if a sensor is bad. However, both a bad sensor and a bad module will trigger the light. OH, and if its a bad ABS module, dont buy it, thats a $600 dollar part.

Glad to hear Matt. Hope everyones loved ones are safe as well! Rest assured the US Armed Forces are already mobilized, we got ya covered. ;)