ArmyofOne

How much does it cost to replace these two bushings in labor? Or should I say, does anyone know the labor time it takes? Is it easy, difficult, or impossible. I'm asking because one mechanic told me it would cost $550 in labor to replace these two bushings. Does that sound right? He also wanted $200 for the front strut rods in labor as well. And the rear carrier bushings? Forget about it, he was insane. I think they're taking to the dealer, then charging me a bit more on top of that. $950 for 4 bushings and two strut arms with 6 bolts? Just for labor? Am I crying over nothing, or getting ripped off.

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you are getting ripped off, AFAIK those bushings are pretty standard stuff.

in other words, a monkey with a wrench (pun intended) can do it. so im told anyway, i havent actually looked under an LS400 myself to see.

awsome

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as i said, do not use aftermarket parts when doing something as critical as a waterpump. its hard to get to, and if the aftermarket opne fails early, you are back using 5-6 hours of labor when you could have spent the extra $10 and got the OEM.

there are alot of times when aftermarket will do, a water pump is NOT one of them. CV axles are.

and a PCV valve can be had from autozone for $5-$10. around there. aftermarket is fine in this case.

IACV would cause hard restartability when the car is warm.  As far as the IACV and EGR causing decreased fuel economy, I'm not too sure.  Hopefully somebody can answer your question, or if not look up those items in the search engine or even the words fuel economy.  Something is bound to pop up.

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A clogged EGR could effect it i imagine, but only marginally. an IACV wouldnt affect it i wouldnt think. but i dont know much about your car, only mine and domestics. :)

just wanna know, if a 40 dollar waterpump is ok

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Go here:

http://www.discounttoyotaparts.com

Get one for a 1990-1991 camry V6. Its about $55. and its $50 cheaper than one from lexus. NEVER go aftermarket with something like a waterpump...it takes too much time to remove/replace to use anything but OEM.

Well you and other ES250 owners need to upload some pictures! The gallery is there for the members' use, we don't post pictures in there.

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Well hawt diggity damn! i have a ton of pix of my ES250...hmmm ;)

As for having an ES250 only portion ofthe club, that wont happen, there simply arent enough of us, and even if there were, we wouldnt have an ES250 only club here, because LOC is kind enough to accept us as lexus owners...it would be wrong (almost an LOC betrayal) to be an ES250 ONLY club. they dont have an LS430 only club, and that car is the elite of the elite.

All members are free to post anywhere they want, with the exception of gold members have the ability to post in those sections.

Army, got one more question for ya' if you don't mind. I noticed last night on my way to dinner that when I apply the brakes, the gear shifter moves, quite a bit. It moves down and towards the lower gear setting, but get's stopped by the gate pattern. Do you think this would be attributed to a shifting differential housing as well? It doesn't move when pushing the gas, just when applying the brakes.

In addition, does anyone have a diagram of instructions for installing the new front strut rods? I notice they have a gear mesh outer ring on the bushings, do the mechanics need to know not to tighten them down with the car still in the air with the rest of the suspension fully extented? I read on Andrew Valmos website about installing his bushings not to tighten them with the suspension at max extension, otherwise it will rip the rubber to pieces.

Thanks!!!

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yes, that can cause it. but my shifter moves around a bit too. not alot,but if you put your hand on it you will feel it. a little movement is normal. whast happeneing is the trans turning the driveshaft is toorquing the whole assembly. physics states that if the tranny turns one way, everything connected to it from the rear of the trans back is going to want to turn the same way.

Well I'll be dipped.  Any oil whut give me 450 on a tank from 300, hell I'd buy that at ANY price.  Hooooowheeee that's slippery stuff!  Must be slicker than whale snot on an iceberg.  Does it cure bad breath too? 

I need a beer.

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To say that the change to Mobil 1 caused the increase in mileage form 300 miles/tank to 450 miles/tank is not realistic.

sorry, meant 350, i was typing in the dark. and it wasnt just the synth probably, it was a full tune up i had just done too. sorryfor the confusion, i will go edit the post.

but if you still have an issue with me, take it up with me in PM's

I have offered my advice to the posters of this thread, along with my experience, take it or leave it, i'm out.

Peace.

weight WILL affect engine life, jst ask the knuclkehead down the street from me who blew the motor in his WRX from putting in 20w50

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Historically, Toyotas have not been sensitive to oil weight. They have run 500,000 miles on 5W-30 as well as on 20W-50. In the USA, Toyota recommends 5W-30 for fuel economy (EPA kiss !Removed!) reasons, but down in Mexico and other 3rd world and middle eastern countries where there is no EPA, Toyota and Nissan owners manuals recommend 10W-40, 20W-40 or 20W-50 (at temperatures above freezing).

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ah you didnt say toyotas, you said engines. <_<

and FYI, the engines i tore down were Nissian SR20DE's :chairshot:

Im not getting into a debate with you about which oil is better, because i know where it will lead, nowhere. The man is going to do what he is going to do.

914lps, you have come to me for advice before, i will give you some now. put syntHetic in and forget it for 3-5,000 miles. yeah sure, it can go longer but why bother risking it.

YOUR CAR WILL NOT LEAK BECAUSE OF THE OIL, IT WILL NOT BURN ANY OIL.

you will notice a rather large increase in fuel economy. i know i did in my last car. went from 300 a tank to almost 350 per tank. you will also notice cooler engine temperatures BECUASE THE ENGINE IS LUBRICATED BETTER!

outside of that dont worry about it. there is nothing detremental that could come from putting synthetic oil in your engine. the bottom line is, if there was a reason not to, they wouldnt sell it.

My cooling system was terribly neglected by the previous owner, and im going to take care fo that probably this weened, but my temp gauge never goes above half, gives you something to think about monarch. mine is over 15 years old (DOM 11/12/1989) and the coolant is at least 10 years old. maybe more.

for people like me who tend to drive hard, synthetic is a must, and the only reason i dont have it is because my engien leaks, it would be pointless for me to switch as i woudl waste more $$$ on more expensive oil...believe me, even with 145K, if my motor wasnt leaking all over the place, it would have Mobil 1 SuperSyn in it.

I forgot to add one more thing.

THEORETICALLY, you only need to change your oil once a year with synthetic, only change the filter every 3 months. however, i dont think i could do that, i am in the habit of 3,000 mile oil changes, and it was all i could do to stretch it to 10K on my contour. (YES i went 10,000 miles between oil changes, only changing the filter every 3,000 miles).

Same goes for you Gumart. switch over, you wont regret it!

EDIT: numbers edited, sorry for the confusion.

The trim is actual wood...

Can you see where its come loose? It may just snap in.

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Hi,

Thanks for the reply. It has simply come unglued. There is glue residue on the back of the wood, and I can't see anywhere to snap it in. Now the one on the driver's side is loose, also.

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Mine just snap in and they are indentical to yours. the residue you are referring to is probably where the gloss coating over the wood is not finished. not a biggie. i would look to see if you have any metal clips inside the slot where they sit. I wouldnt reccomend gluing them down...nota good idea.

Please check, i think

1. lower arm control bushing

2. Struts and mounts

3. stablizer bushing

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pop your hood and check your strut tower brace (if you have one). if you do, chances are you will find the buts are loost. i know mine shakes loose every 3K miles or so.

Forgot one thing with that photo. I took that with it the car in park and the e-brake engaged "driveway on a hill". The brake is holding the car in place, not the transmission. If I take the brake off and look at that bushing, it sags to the bottom, quite badly. I would have to say under normal acceleration loads, that thing probably moves all over the place.

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that woudl be the wobble. good to hear you found it. yes, call yoru dealewr and ask them for the part #. then input it on that wevsite (dont tell the dealer this) and they will coume up... if they carry them, should only be $10 a piece or so.

Yep, spoke to a few places. Most are confident a camry kit would work. Should run at around $2500 AUD.

So no one can see any major problems it might cause?

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none, other than heavier wallet syndrome, but we could all use some of that. :D

I can't seem to be persuaded by either side regarding whether I should use synthetic oil or not in my '98 LS400.

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Commercial interests are the ones making you wonder about such a trivial issue as type of oil and brand of oil.

Members of the Toyota 400,000 mile club know the choice of oil type, brand and even weight does NOT hardly affect engine life. They know there are thousands of 100,000 - 200,000 mile Toyotas in the nations junkyards that got there even though their owners used synthetic oil. They know other factors besides type and brand of oil are far more important determinants of engine life.

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i disagree.

my contour went 385K because of synthetic oil. swithced at 200K, no leaks...ever.

syhtnetic oil is a key ingredient to longer engine life. ask one of the few people (me) who has torn down the engine of a car with more than a half a million miles that was using dino, and sat the parts right next to the same parts from the same engine type with synthetic, the difference will never be more clear.

synth has smaller molecules, which allow it to get into tighter spaces, to lubricate better and retain its lubrication properties longer. its as simple as that. while for the average car owner, regular oil will suffice (most dont even know there is a sythetic option), but for me, i woudl rather pay the extra money and have the added insurance.

and weight WILL affect engine life, jst ask the knuclkehead down the street from me who blew the motor in his WRX from putting in 20w50 . not covered under warranty due to oil not bing the specified weight. the engine had 25,000 miles.

to the poster, try not to overthink this, just put the oil in and drive the car LOL. :D

I don't know about the Lexus transmission per se but years ago towing with the driveshaft connected on an automatic transmission for an extended period of time was a no no.  I don't recall what problem it caused in the transmission but I do recall that they called for disconnecting the driveshaft when towing.

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did some research, you do have to disconnect the driveshaft.

I have a 90 Ls and wonder if any of you know if it can be used four wheels down as as tow "Toad" behind a Prevost Motor Home. Would I have to disconnect the drive shaft?

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nope, stick it in neutral and go. this disengages the drvetrain. not sure if the diff will still turn though. i woudlnt think so.

chill out dude.

a tune up+timing belt/waterpump will be around $700-$1,000.  depends where you go.

change your PCV valve while you are there, if yu dont, you will end up with lots of leaks like mine has.  that valve is there to vent excess pressure from the engine.  if it clogs, the pressure pushes the seals out and causes leaks.  the part cost less than $10 and can literally save your engine.

as for a TRD air filter, no point.

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thanks army , my es250 looks just like urs, same color, just have grey leather , and i put black sheep skin seat covers on the front, but not the head rest , gona do a full tune up wth my tax return :cries::chairshot::whistles: <_< :D

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no problem...but can you quit using so many smileys? alot o our users are 56K and it takes a while to load them up.

i dont have leather, i have the cloth, leather in TX would be a bizzatch!

i want to get some seat covers for mien ot preserve my nearly perfect interior.

If you have any more questions, let em know. i know alot abotu the ES250, most of the guys here dont know much abotu them. they are rare and were the first gen. as such there arent very many around anymore. maybe 10,000 total. ;)

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us es250 people have to stick together , cant wait to get a tune up, had the car for 4 years , nothing ever broke on it but the brake pads

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thank you for heeding my request, i appreciate it.

nothing else has broken on my car yet. i am in it for about $3,000 in repair work so far, not including the purchase price ($2,000). but this is because it was neglected and not maintained properly. they are just liek the gne II camry's in that they last forever.

I am also trying to determine the type of rack and pinion in my LS400 before I buy the wrong one. I've been looking around the net for a few days and no luck.

I found out at autozone also that there are two types. I'll let you know if I figure anything out.

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I found out ALL lexus vehicles have the electronic variable steering. i have had mine replaced for a week and a half now.

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Thanks, I'll order mine today then. Did you do the repairs yourself and if so how did it go?

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i didnt do it. i dont have time. JP Importz did all the work for me. labor ran $723 for the R&P and the Ball Joint replacement. do replace them too, as the car will be apart anyways.

PS: One more thing.....Where do the carrier bushing go in the rear? Now that's I bought them, where do I put them? Hahahaha. Guess I should have figured that out before hand.....Did you guys know the dealership sells just the bushings for the carrier now, not the whole assembly? They sold me something called "Adus 505" for 90-99 ls 400's. Got some number on them of 48000 and 50505. They're rubber too, not plastic. Of course I paid stealership price of $75 for them, but I'm on a time crunch and couldn't find them via internet.

Got any pictures or diagrams where these go? Do they replace the bushings in the rear strut rod? So many different names for the same parts it seems like. Dealer calls strut rods by the name of caster arms, but they're the exact same thing. Go figure?

Thanks!

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try here:

www.discounttoyotaparts.com

B)

chill out dude.

a tune up+timing belt/waterpump will be around $700-$1,000.  depends where you go.

change your PCV valve while you are there, if yu dont, you will end up with lots of leaks like mine has.  that valve is there to vent excess pressure from the engine.  if it clogs, the pressure pushes the seals out and causes leaks.  the part cost less than $10 and can literally save your engine.

as for a TRD air filter, no point.

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thanks army , my es250 looks just like urs, same color, just have grey leather , and i put black sheep skin seat covers on the front, but not the head rest , gona do a full tune up wth my tax return :cries: :chairshot: :whistles: <_< :D

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no problem...but can you quit using so many smileys? alot o our users are 56K and it takes a while to load them up.

i dont have leather, i have the cloth, leather in TX would be a bizzatch!

i want to get some seat covers for mien ot preserve my nearly perfect interior.

If you have any more questions, let em know. i know alot abotu the ES250, most of the guys here dont know much abotu them. they are rare and were the first gen. as such there arent very many around anymore. maybe 10,000 total. ;)

What are you talking about army?????

KYB makes the stock ES struts?

Shocks don't lower a car springs do.

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they dont actually, i had it backwards. you cant use stock struts with lowering springs...

sorry.

JP IMPORTZ HAS TOLD ME NUMEROUS TIMES IN PERSON THAT A LEXUS TRANSMISSION SHOULD NEVER BE FLUSHED.

Now that you have seen it (its big and red, you cant miss it this time :P ) , take it as you will. i have said it many times.

I for one, will follow his advice.

I am also trying to determine the type of rack and pinion in my LS400 before I buy the wrong one. I've been looking around the net for a few days and no luck.

I found out at autozone also that there are two types. I'll let you know if I figure anything out.

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I found out ALL lexus vehicles have the electronic variable steering. i have had mine replaced for a week and a half now.

Go for it, the kit looks good.

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i was looking at that same ebruni kit for my es250 , but its 1000 dollars and not sure if it will fit it, also not sure if i wanted to mess wth the body, just keep it original, will that body kit fit :chairshot: <_< :whistles: :)

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first off, you have to quit withthe smileys.

second, upon further reaserch, i have found you have to modify the front pretty heavily to get it to fit.

Thats right Matt lol, now I'm legit!

Army- Nope, no Lexus frame. I do have a chrome rimmed frame though. Hey, you want a Lexus frame? I have two off of my dad's old LS400 when he traded it  (he bought new frames) just sitting in the garage, they're a little pitted but nothing some chrome polish couldn't fix upIf you wanna cover shipping they're all yours. I like the look of the Lexus frames but they cover up the "Treasure the Chesapeake" on the MD bay plates and they're annoying to clean.

BTW, your polishes came back apparently they had insufficient postage. This time I'll mail them MYSELF and make sure they have enough postage LOL. If you want the frames I'll throw em in there for ya.

As for the check, LOL its the biggest check I've ever written. I called around but the best rate I could get on a lease buyout was 6.5% which wasn't great, with that in consideration it was better to liquidate some lower performing investments than to pay the interest.

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please do!

I had the exact same problem with my 91 ls. I read somewhere about a valve that would go bad on the power steering pump, which would then cause power steering fluid to be sucked into the engine. At startup smoke would roll out of the exhaust and then clear up. The pump would whine and I was constantly adding fluid. I could never find any signs of leaking. I went to the parts department at the Toyota dealer and ordered the valve ($90). You can get it off without removing the alternator. I used what is called a crowsfoot (17mm). It is basically the open end of a box-end wrench with a place to insert a socket wrench. I used a 3 inch extension and got the valve off in no time. Leo is right about covering your alternator, I didn't do it before removing the valve and fluid leaked all over it. 1 week now and still no leaks, smoke or whine.   THIS FORUM RULES!!!

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how the hell can you suck fluid into the engoine? the hoses dont connect to the engine anywhere. there isnt any way for it to get in.

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Let me take a stab at it.

From what I understand the valve is simply a pressure activated vacuum switch that speeds up the engine idle when it encounters high PSI as when the wheel is turned at low engine speeds. It acts just like a bad transmission vacuum modulator will when it goes bad, tranny fluid (in this case PS fluid) will get sucked into the engine if the diaphragm within is ruptured.

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what im getting at, is the power steering system is a closed sytem. or at least it is in every car i have ever worked on.

this includes my current one.

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Hi ArmyofOne,

When I rebuilt my pump, I was using air to blow dry some of the parts including this "valve" and without knowing what happened, I blew something out of this housing and didn't find out until I installed the pump. I was adding oil to the pump and it would never fill because it was going directly into the intake of the engine. I knew right away where the problem was and proceeded to take the "valve" out. There is supposed to be a piston inside with an "o-ring" on this piston to prevent oil by-pass. Well I could not find this piston anywhere (looked for two days, I must have blew it into outer space) so I made my own in a machine shop. It now has over 200,000 klms so far and works just fine, lucky me! A new valve is $269.00cdn!! It cost me nothing to fix it myself. So now I understand how it works and how the oil can get into the intake when the "o-ring" goes. If anyone has to repair one of these valves, just blow a little air in one end and catch that piston, then replace the "o-ring" from any place that sells seals, bearings etc. Make sure that the o-ring can take high pressure and can stand-up to oil. re-install and problem solved!

Just in case you don't know what this valve does, it increases the engine speed when turning your wheels at idle so the engine doesn't stall, much like the air-conditioning does when it's on. So it is a useful and needed valve. Hope this helps. Daffy :)

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wel thank you for clearing that up daffy, i appreciate it. i was under the impression the only thing connecting the pump to the engine were a few bolts and a belt. hmm.... news to me.