yotoy82

What link? Don't want it that bad. Figured would throw in a junk yard ecu, maybe put universal cheap cat converters, flush the power steering fluid and go! If its an engine issue, probably swap it out. Ls400 engines are cheap

1995.. Black.. Tan.. 120,000 miles roughly. Issues: 1. Steering whine, and the power steering fluid is white and milky... This old guy never changed it before, not sure what he put in there or how it got white and milky. But steering is really really whiney and noisy. Not sure if its been damaged really bad? Don't want to have to replace the power steering pump, thats big $$$! Maybe could pump it out and throw what I can in the reservoir and hope it works for a while? 2. Blowing white/black smoke like crazy, smells like gas really bad, pretty sure its due to a bad ECU, I have a spare one, would throw that in. 3. Only problem is the old guy drove it like that forever thinking it still drives fine, im not going to take it to a dealer... well now the Oxygen sensors must be toast, the spark plugs must be toast, and the Catalytic converters are totally toasted, could hear things bouncing up and down like crazy. 4. Check engine light is on, probably due to the sensors. 5. Timing belt and water pump were never changed on this car, hell I'm surprised he changed the oil even. What's a good price to get this car at? I'd like to get it cheap and drive as is as much as possible, if the ECU solves the running rich problem. Mainly, whats the deal with the MILKY bubbly power steering fluid? Any ideas/help to help me decide if its worth 800 I would offer or not even worth that!

I just had it changed last year or 5000 miles ago

Don't pay over ten thousand for a 1998-2000 LS400. Miles on these cars are IRRELEVANT. Lower miles might be worse actually. A driven car is more maintained and such better to get one that looks and drives better. Honestly. In Cali should find a 98-00 ls400 for 5-8 grand easy. At this point LS430 better ride reliable updates value etc. last month my friend bought a mint LS430 with all the bells and whistles 100k miles for 17,500. 2005 model. Don't pay over 19 for an LS430 unless it's a 2006! 2004 with those miles. I would say 18.5 Max if it was ultra luxury with navigation and parking sensors and dynamic cruise control

Yea. Is that confirmed about the timing belt? Would hate to get a new engine. I know mostly water pump would go bad first. Would be cheaper to flush coolant and try to keep the pump fresh long as possible! Just worried if a family member drives it and them not seeing it overheat but it would snap a timing belt first and turn the car off anyway? Only reason I like to do the timing service cuz if its apart makes it easier to change thermostat, drive belt, rotors and caps, seals, tensioners, water pump, spark plugs and wires, coolant and basically a full tune up and then car is mechanicslly sound for under a 1000 for all that Sewell parts and good Toyota dealer, for another ten years. Then can focus on suspension issues slowly if they popup. And just drain 2 quart tranny fluid and refill every oil change. Good to go!

So I have been looking for another LS400. We have 4 right now. 2 are 1996. 1 is a 1995. And 1 is a 1997. Really wanted to avoid going to a first generation goal was actually a 98-00 model! But came across a great deal on Craigslist of a very well maintained mint 94. Jumped on it. Seems much heavier and well built LCD works. All stuff works. Hood shocks need changed. Driver seat leather tore on side cushion bad bit otherwise perfect. Any tips for seat???? Also the odometer is unreadable. Stuck on tripopmeter. I can't cycle back to see the real milage or reset the trip computer. It's digital ! Any tips????? Also what do you do on a 94? I know what to do to a 95-97 to check. 94 in good condition why mess with it. Looks to have been sitting 2 years will slowly change fluids. 130k miles on it. Looks to be original timing belt and water pump. Dunno if wanna spend half of what I paid for the car on that service. Parts look cheaper over on a 94 and the resources on forums n online much greater

I think it was a premature statement. I'm still getting 13 in the city and 25 highway and maybe 20 mixed ;( I wish the ethanol free pure gasoline stations were around me I heard people had good luck with REAL 100 percent gas Also my car is so unstable in slightly windy days. Maybe it's my aftermarket mud guards or slightly bent engine splash shield. But the. Again it did it always. Can sway bar links wear out and make a car shake in the wind ?

***UPDATE*** I have changed my Fuel Cap with an OEM from sewell. I guess you can just order the gasket which is cheaper but I didn't want to bother. This has made a big difference in my fuel economy that I was having problems with for so long. I think everyone with a 90's Lexus should change the gasket in their fuel cap at minimum, its only like $10 and pretty easy to change out.

The LS430 is an amazing car, no doubt about that. If you ever upgrade, I would still keep the LS400 as a spare car.

@Micah.Berry As for the strut rods, I would only bother to change them if they are symptomatic. They seem to last around 90,000 miles in my opinion, but also depends on how you drive and weather conditions. The engine mounts probably best left to a professional mechanic. As for the steering rack bushings/grommets, very easy to replace, specially if you have a lift. If you are going to do engine mounts maybe your mechanic might be nice enough to do them for free. There are two options, the original Lexus rubber ones, probably good for another 10 years/100,000 miles. Another option is the polyurethane ones which are much harder, probably last the life of the vehicle and will never have to replace them again, but then again they are much harder and stiffer, I'm not sure how they will affect the ride of the car, I prefer the original so I used those. But its an option.. they are pretty much the same price.. Here's a link for the ones on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lexus-LS400-1995-2000-Steering-Rack-Bushing-Set-Polyurethane-Para-Aramid-Fiber-/110919687425?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19d3541d01&vxp=mtr

Well, I'm starting to guess that since these cars are so aerodynamically fine turned, that two things are contributing to the wandering on the interstate like its windy. 1. Adding aftermarket mudflaps, they will certainly affect the wind flow. 2. The big plastic piece under the engine, maybe cracks/bends etc deflect the wind some, might be worth changing. On a side note, I recently changed the steering rack grommets/bushings whatever the rubber things that help attach the steering rack to the car, they were like 20 bucks each, and half an hour labor at the toyota dealer, and I can say this makes a HUGE difference in the car. I HIGHLY suggest changing it even if you think you're car is fine. Its not like a big problem but when you change it you will notice it right away, thanks to the forum members on here for recommending, if others haven't on here, 3 important things. 1. Engine/Tranny Mounts help a TON. 2. Sway bar bushings front and back 3. Steering rack rubber grommets/bushings.

I had the steering rack rubber/bushings/grommets changed on my LS400 today, made a night and day difference over bumps. I highly suggest it, not a big job, cheap parts, totally worth doing on every LS400

There is a proper way to remove the seatbelts, if you don't do it, kinda ruins it. I can't explain it exactly but there is some latch or lever, most salvage yards don't remove them properly.. Most salvage yards seatbelts have already exploded from accidents as well, and even if they haven't they will also not retract well. Its worth a gamble if you only pay $35 from a salvage yard, they also don't mind shipping it without a hazardous fee apparently (dangerous). I guess its worth a try, I wouldn't personally, because the two I got were bad and they refunded my money and told me to just throw them away (and you can't just throw unexploded ones in the trash like normal garbage, these are explosive devices!).

Just replaced both driver and passenger side on my LS400. 1. Junk yards have them but they are usually already exploded and not a safe item. 2. Tan color for passenger side is discontinued. 3. Even if the drivers side is working fine, when you replace one side, you will see how fresh and new it is and what an amazing retraction it has that you might want to replace both! 4. Sewell refuses to ship this part due to hazardous shipping issues. 5. 73210-50082 is the part number for Passenger I believe, 73220-50082 is for the drivers side, and then add E0 or B0 or something at the end means the color, ie 73210-50082E0. Driver available in Tan, Passenger available in like Blue or Grey or something, it doesn't look bad. Part is roughly $180-230 depending on who you find online. The one I found, can't recall now, ended up calling me back on my phone and saying it would cost extra $40 bucks to ship due to hazardous material (ie can't be flown has to be driven), GOOGLE THESE PART NUMBERS TO FIND SELLERS! 6. Changing them out a regular dealer wants 1.5 hour for each side, a Toyota dealer that charges maybe $80 an hour will cost you $120 labor. I found out the body shop at the Toyota dealer charges $50 an hour labor and I was like well, they fix cars in accidents all the time they should be able to do it in faster time at a lower rate and actually better than a mechanic with all the trim pieces, only charged me $50. So roughly $240 Shipped for one seatbelt of a grey color for passenger side and maybe $80 labor, roughly $300, or you could do it yourself, great tutorials online here, just a few bolts, trim pieces, some good instructions in the box, but for safety sake and fear of releasing a lever, let a pro do it. Expensive, yes. Worth it in an accident.. YES. Lexus sometimes honors a warranty on these but you have to have a lexus dealer show they are completely failed. Also some tutorials on here on how to take it out and clean it. Sometimes they are just so dirty!

Yeah, gonna have to flush it with Toyota fluid and go from there.. I have a new ECU that I still have to change out for the stalling issue so will see

I don't know how to describe this problem except that... When accelerating, when I take my foot off the accelerator, specially at 30 miles per hour, there is a big jerk. Its like the throttle is super sensitive , can feel it in the driveway the car just drives jerky. Take foot off the accelerator and feel a bump in the transmission. This just started recently and is not related to that tsb about the ECU because that was an engine like issue at 40-45. This new problem is just annoying. My independent mechanic said it was the engine mounts, so I changed engine and transmission mounts.. old ones were pretty much in good condition, tranny a little worn... didnt solve the problem Not sure where to go from here... took it to a toyota dealer and the service guy took a ride with me and said it was the transmission acting up and just to live with it. I cant buy it that an LS400 with 118k would have tranny issues. The only thing I can think of is a family member let some oil lube place flush the transmission and god knows what they put in, certainly wasn't Toyota T4! But it drove perfectly fine for two years after that. Should I flush with T4? or is there another issue here.

Depends on your mileage and if it is the first change, second or third.. The higher mileage, the more things I would change. Offhand without searching myself, Timing Belt, Water Pump, Idlers, Tensioners, Drive/Fan Belt, there are some seals too you can have changed. Also Thermostat wouldnt hurt, rotors and caps since everything is already open

Could be a lot of things. 1. Clogged Fuel Filter 2. Dying fuel pump 3. Fuel pump relay If you take it to a mechanic and its not acting up, they won't find anything at the time. If you haven't done it already, go ahead and change the fuel filter, its good maintenance anyway. My guess is probably the fuel pump, because you say it happens when you are 15 miles away, so by then it has gotten warm, and fuel pumps which are dying usually act up after they get warm. When they cool down again, they start acting normally. Eventually they wil just completely die out. Can get a denso one on autopartswarehouse.com if that turns out to be the problem, pretty much an original japan made part and saved me quite a bit.

Hmm... Thinking of changing the sway bar links sometime. I know lots of mechanics will say a part is still good (ie it hasn't failed) but rubber parts get old and I plan on keeping my car, god willing, as long as I possibly can because the LS400 is such a fine automobile. I don't mind spending money on refreshing parts with genuine lexus ones, because even if I paid a few thousand for the car and then a few thousand for updating it, it still turns out to be a lot cheaper and better value for the money than any new car you can buy. Lots of mechanics/service places do not like replacing parts just for the heck of it, but they also have trouble finding the problem and without really keeping the car and driving it yourself for a week under normal conditions, can they find an issue. Love my 1996 LS400, but I can tell that the 2000 LS400 was the best of the breed, most reliable, best options, and people seem to get amazing gas mileage on it. Plan on buying one whenever I find a good one!

Its not a big job at all. Get original LEXUS parts from sewell with the discount, and don't forget to get an alignment afterwards.

I would avoid junk yard parts. You can get Denso O2 sensors on Amazon quite cheap and they are literally exactly like the original parts, fit and everything! Its just a headache lifting the carpet and getting to the sensor hook up inside the car because there is a duct that takes heat to the backseat of the car that you will have to carefully remove to get to it. Sometimes the sensor itself is seized into the exhaust so you have to be quite careful. Make sure you put plenty of anti seize compound in case someone in the future has to get to it. But at this stage if you are replacing it, might last the lifetime of the car.

If you look on Amazon, there are strongarm hood struts available quite cheap and the reviews are quite excellent. I would go that route!

You should give us more details. Is everything else working, ie rpm , lights coming on, fuel gauge? Or just the speedometer itself not working? The speedometer itself could be bad. My RPM gauge fails sometimes, but a slight whack on top of the dashboard brings it to life. If its expensive to repair, I suggest just getting a cheap used gps unit off of ebay, wiring it up and setting it to speedometer view that way you can see how fast you are driving!

@DASHA1 How do I stop that annoying crosswind? Its driving me insane. Its not a windy day at all even sometimes and at 70 mph it feels like the car is in a hurricane sometimes. I'm not sure what other parts I have left to replace except those expensive upper control arms. But ya crosswind and the car doesn't really want to stay on the road.

I believe the LS430 had engine sludge issues , I wouldnt get earlier than a 2005 LS430