ArmyofOne

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.

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. ← 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. ← 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.

i say fix it. if every other aspect of the car has been maintained, you can go another 200K without worry, as many LS owners do. Blake has 250K (or thereabouts) and just replaced the strut rods for the first time.

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.

heh, i saw the lines are a little tricky, but are they hard or soft lines? they look like hard lines to me. ← They are stainlees steel lines. The poblem with these is they were overtorqued at assembly. The line with the 14mm male fitting will have slightly rolled threads. It breaks free with some effort, turns easily about 2 times and then locks up. It is hard to turn for about 2 twists and then frees up again. Same issue upon assembly because the damage is already done. Go slow and use a 14mm flarenut crowfoot from underneath (wheel opening) if you have one. Start the fitting by hand and don't get frustrated. The top fitting(banjo bolt) is tight but nothing to wory about here. Be sure and replace the 2 washers that should be supplied with a quality filter. ← i will do that. will PB blaster help the nuts turn at all?

the blowers are working. so the next thing to check would be the selector switch itself. if you had set ti to cold and it stuck there, it could be that. pull it out and look at the switch, there should be a spring inside, if that has broken, then it wont work, it will stick on cold (or vent). other things to check are the heater core.

IMO, i woulnt use stock springs if the KYB shocks will lower the car. (you didnt say they would, just thought i would throw that out there)

you have a lexus frame on there now? if so, im accepting donations/paying for one... :) congrats. i know what you mean about rattle free. mine is 15 years old and STILL no rattles. :D wish i could just write a check fr $24.5k. well, i could, but i would have to leave the country right after doing so...

where int he metroplex ar eyou? email me at: armyof1_2006@yahoo.com. maybe we can meet up sometime. B)

heh, i saw the lines are a little tricky, but are they hard or soft lines? they look like hard lines to me.

agreed. i had a ford contour that wasnt exactly an easy to find car. it was a first run serires. job #14. a company car given to my dad with 2 miles on it by a friend who worked for ford. that car went 384,991 miles, in which time i replaced a clutch and a fuel pump...that was it. it was mine for 250K of those almost 400,000 miles. i was going to have it appraised, when i got it in 2000, it was only worth about $2300. when i totalledit, it was almost worth $4,000. that car was 14/500 cars made for that purpose. i explained it once, lt me see if i can find it... there it is. :D a cars value really will go up if gieven enough time. now imagine what your saabs value would be if it only had 80K or so on it.

you arent nuts man, im that way too. my cars have to be perfect, as they are an extension of me. how i keep my automobile reflects on how i keep myself and my life. do clean it up. it will run forever. im doing that with mine now...i have so far spend $300 more than the cars total value. and i wouldnt have it any other way.

Yep, thats because of how our system of visual perception works. We automatically focus on whats nearest to us in the direct center of our visual field and we automatically focus on the thing that seems to be moving the fastest or moving the most inside the visual field. Thats why heads up displays are so bad, because people THINK they're watching the road when in reality they are focused on the readout projected onto the windshield and thus, have accidents. Wipers cause much of the same phenomenon because the wiper itself is moving on the glass, closer in our visual field than the roadway, and its moving the most compared to the road, cars around us, etc. I don't have access to Ovid anymore but I'll see if I can get an e-copy of his study. ← That would be an interesting study to read about. Hope you can get access to it Steve. Josh, You plan to try and visit the woman at the hospital or are you just going to call her next week like you planned? ← i cant get any info out of anyone, i did call her office and she is at baylor medical center. but thats all i could get. ill just call again next week. she will return to work eventually. I would like to meet her under better circumstances though.

:D does the direction the wheel stays pointed depend on the last turn made? what i am saying is on mine, when i made a right turn, the wheel was off centered to the right, when i made a left turn it was off centered to the left. it would stay this way until i made another turn. it sounds liek your rack and pinion may be on the way out. but this could also be a wheel bearing. does it make any kind of groaning or squeal noises? also could be a bad sturt mount/decompressed strut. to check the strut mount bushings, open the hood and look at the strut towers, if the rubber inserts are dry rotted, then they are probably no good. but have the strut rods checked first. i cant believe the dealer didnt spot the issue. PM user "blake918" and see what he thinks, describe your wobble to him. he just had the strut rods replaced. and thanks for the compliments, its a pile of bricks!

its under the air filter box. have fun! :D ← Josh, Have you change it out yet? JPI ← no but i pulled it out....just to see how bard it woudl be to get too, not bad at all. about 15 mins to get to it. ill get around to it eventually.

i couldnt open the drivers side door, thats where the car got hit and the ranger had tangled up the metal. i had to go in and out fo the passenger door. i didnt remove the seatbelt, i figured since its mechanisim had locked it would help to keep her in place and still. also i couldnt unbuckle it because i would have riskced further injry, her hips wer smashed between the center consold (which didnt give at all) and the drivers side door which was pushed in a good distance...

when you first start it up, iopen the hood, get out and pull the cap off the power steering resivoir for a second and then replace it. ill bet your noise goes away. unfortunately, this si something o have to do EVERY morning in my ES. if you are near to JPI, i would HIGHLY reccomend his services. that was for you Tmccormick, you are in dallas, and JPI is right around the corner, in garland. he will save you TONS! and he does insane work. also, his work wont void your warranty.

not likely to cause a wobble when accelerating (sounds like a ball joint). let me ask you this, does your steering wheel come back to center after a turn? any excessive play in the steering at all? and yes, #12 is the strut rod.

its under the air filter box. have fun! :D

Near my home today (I was commuting home from work) there was a nasty accident directly in front of me. I was carpooling with someone (in my car), We were stopped at a redlight when I look across the intersection. I see a black nissan maxima (98 or so) doing nothing out of the ordinary, pulling out to make a right hand turn onto Western Center blvd. from Silver Sage Dr. Thinking nothing of it, I continue my conversation with my passenger, but i glance in the rear view mirror and see a 1998 or so ranger coming up fast in the lane next to us( 3 lane road, middle lane was empty, i was on the left and a minivan on the right), and i cut off my passenger mid sentence. The following event ensued: Passenger: So i said to Craig that these phones have to be--- Me: Holy *BLEEP*, Shes not stopping!! **I threw the car in park and pulled the handbrake (in case we got hit somehow) as i knew what was about to happen** passenger: what? me: Shes not- ****SMACK!**** The Ranger ran through the redlight and T-boned the Maxima. The Maxima was already halfway through the turn. No Tires Screeching, nothing. just a big CRUNCH. Now I have First aid and CPR Medical Training by the American Red Cross(i make a point to get it every year, plus its required for my jobs, but that isnt why I do it) and i already knew someone was hurt. I immediately RAN to the crash, I mean ran, I haven't ran that fast in my life. Forgot totally about my pregnant passenger (not mine ), and took off toward the wreckage. I knew as soon as I got there, it wasnt good. I heard screaming (as in sobbing) coming from the Maxima, but since the ranger was the closest vehicle I stopped there first, the girl driving the ranger stumbled out and it took a half a second for me to realize shes fine, i instructed her to shut off her truck's engine and walk over to the median and sit down to regain herself. My passenger came over to comfort her, meanwhile, I ran to the screams. Around the hood of the ranger, where I knew it was bad. I yelled to Catherine (my passenger) to call 911, and tell them there was an Injury Accident at Western Center and Silver Sage. as I looked further, I saw a woman, probably in her mid 20's pinned between the center console of her car and her drivers side door which was pushed in about a foot and a half. She was consious and wailing. I told her to stay calm, that help was here. I turned off the engine and looked around the car for something i could use as a brace to keep her neck still. I saw a baby blanket in the back seat (but no baby thank God!), so i used it. That B-pillar of her car hit her in the back of the head/side of the head it looked like, so i couldnt tell how much damage was done. The headrest for the seat offered protection from a direct blow to the head, most of the blood was coming from glass from the womans drivers side window shattering in her face. There was no immediate danger, Therefore i decided it was best not to move her. There was some blood, but that wasnt my concern at this point. Usually the worst ones are the injuries you cant see.(not even my $150 suede jacket was spared, but i didnt care). I wrapped the blanket up as best i could but it wasnt enough, so I told her not to move, and I turned the key back on and rolled down the passenger window. I took the keys with me and put them in my pocket. i ran over to my car and grabbed a towel out of the trunk. then i wrapped it and the blaknet together and made a brace. This all took maybe 2 minutes. I held the woman there for another 3 minutes or so talking to her and keeping her out of shock. and i saw the paramedics round the corner about 5 blocks up. I looked over at the other driver, she seemed ok, minus some serious seat belt rash across her chest. As the paramedics rolled up, so did the police from behind. The paramedics came in and took over, thanking me for my help. and I stood over by the other driver and waited to give a statement to the police. so did i do this right? I was told I did, but I couldnt help but think maybe there was something more i could have done. nothing prepares you for this kind of thing, honestly. but I still cant help but feel guilty/wonder what else i could have done. The Paramedic said if i hadnt acted so quicky, she coudl have died. But i just cant help but wonder... (also, is it wrong to really want to ask that girl for her phone #) hobestly, iwanted to make sure she was alright, but some of you my not take it that way LOL. I grabbed a Busienss card of hers that was laying on the floor, looked like hers, so i grabbed it. Apparently, shes a realtor. I will call her and ask her if she is OK in a week or so. BTW, the second this happened, I saw that van that was in the lane across from me, take off. I guess he didnt have a drivers liscense or something. HOWEVER, it is a law in the state of Texas that all able citeznes stop to render aid at the scene of an accident, and all able witnesses are req'd to give a statement to the best of thier ability.. i took note of the make and model of the van, but thats all i got. so no help. there are millions of 1995ish ford windstars running around. so yeah, thats what i did today. EDIT: Speed limit on this road was 45 in case anyone was wondering, and the rangers speedo was stuck at 57mph. the driver of the truck was playing with her phone. so she didnt see the red light. shes lucky, coming to a complete stop from almost 60 mph in a spilt second. and all she had was seat belt rash.

Same here... Glad to hear your car is driving sharp again. ← More pix of the parts replaced: Air intake tube (fell apart in Jason's hands!!) Sumitomo (Lexus OEM) Plug wires: The steering wheel is finally straight! Back at home in her spot!

meh, carbon fiber is a little showy for this ES. its basically a Gen II camry (although i am finding MOST parts ARENT interchangeable). so there is no point to me in CF. but thanks for the input, worse case scenario i wil keep it in mind! :)

Strut rods. check em. if those arent the culprit (most likely they are) move on to bigger issues, since you have eliminated all the other things that could cause this, check strut mount bushings, check for a decompressed strut, then check the Rack and Pinion. the bushinsg that hold the rack and pinion are rubber and they detieiorate over time. as they do, the rack begines to bounce on its metal support frame every time you hit a bump.

there are the decals. He does do great work!

Best i can do: IDLE SPEED CONTROL, LS400, SC400 90-92 List Price: $697.54 Your Price: $523.16 best i can do.