Mr. Freegard

Hmm... Okay, steering damper shock. I have a '94 with 235K. The steering wheel shakes badly when I traverse a rough area in the road. I must replace the steering rack because fluid is seeping out of the seals on both sides of the piston rams of the steering rack. However is it not the steering damper that ameliorates the shocks to the tires over rough roads? Alignment is perfect and tires are new. Nevertheless, traversing a rough spot in the road transfers up through to the steering wheel; it is unnerving to feel in a luxury car and a little embarrassing as the wheel violently shakes, relatively speaking. Opinions please?

The stearing damper for my '92 LS has been "stored" in a drawer of my tool chest since shortly after purchasing in late '91. I removed it when I upgraded to 16X8 Wheels and wider tire treads. No ill effects so far that I know of.

Apex Automotive Seattle Wa. 206 789 1677 Invoice No. 3307 VIN JT8UF11E4R9196701 License no. 3HJF730 Date 03/03/2010 Total $1,989.92 Replaced water pump, timing belt, plugs, distributor caps, one coil, oil change, timing belt, timing belt idler pulley, camshaft gear, ignition wires Apex Automotive LLC Invoice No.3959 Total 1,220.55 Date 9/3/2010 Replace with OEM remanufactured starter Apex Automotive LLC Invoice No. 4040 Total $602.50 Alternator 100 amp remanufactured The sellor is an Air Force Pilot stationed at Mchord AFB The power steering IACV was pulling vast quantities of fluid into the intake manifold and billowing white smoke. That's one. The tires were bald. That's two. The instrument cluster has the clasic deleted dialectric in the inferior capacitors, i.e. instrument cluster takes 30 to 40 minutes to snap on. I was an avionics tech in the Navy 30 years ago. I will fix it for $3.50. Dan, the former owner was told by Bellevue Lexus it would cost $1,600 to repair. The fuel gauge is also a capacitor issue. Extremely simple and for me enjoyable to repair. Dan had to leave and was fed up with the car. I purchased it on December 23, for $1,200 I researched the power steering and repaired it. The power steering is perfect now. And the engine no longer uses oil due to being washed out with Dextron III! It no longer smokes at all! It also had a coolant leak when I bought it, and Dan was adding a half gallon of antifreeze every trip from Seattle to Mchord. One leak was at the base of the water inlet housing. I repaired that. The waranty from Apex automotive is 18000 miles or 18 months...whicheever comes first. Apex automotive replaced the water pump and the starter. Both requires pulling the by-pass tube out of the water pump. It vappears that that MIGHT be where the leak is. But I need to know if there is a rubber coolant line in that same general area. Apex auomotive is telling me the warranty is non transferable; but there is nothing in writing insofar as that claim on the invoice/receipt. So, I want to know everything before I go kick the crap out of Apex. Apex's second line of defense is that they aren't going to replace formed hoses. My contention is that those hoses should have been replaced or the owner given the choice. Dan was not given this information. If it's leaking from the O ring then Apex is screwed. They had to remove that twice. It must always be replaced. When I walk in to apex and tell them what the issue is I must be right. I will give them the option to repair it at no cost to me; or they can reimburse me for the bill from Seattle Lexus when what I said is conformed and the judge rules that the waranty vis transferable because they failexd to stipulate on the warranty that it wasn't. I learned all these things from nopne of you ladies. I am a liar huh. You got a perty mouth Bob; what was riding the short bus like boy?

SRK: Yes, I will do that as soon as I know exactly what I need to know to do it correctly. Boy how bout all these little girls and their cowardly remarks. Stamp my little foot, flux capacitor, you have what you need from another forum. Jeez I can't understand why I would have an attitude ladies! I will just stamp my size 14 foot at the level of sarcasm and bow to all of you who talk about everything but the vehicle. You are my heros. Would absolutely love to meet you.

I purchased a '94 LS400 and the remote button on the key is missing. How can I get it replaced? I seriously doubt Lexus is going to replace the button any more than they would sell the capacitors so I could repair my instrument cluster. Any ideas would be appreciated. Anyone got a Lexus key laying around for a car that no longer lives? Thank you

Good luck! I have been asking for the same thing for my LS400 because something is leaking coolant under the intake manifold and I strongly suspect there are heater hoses down there but no one seems to want to talk about these hoses or even direct me to an exploded view of this area of the engine. It is probably in an old thread and they expect us newbies to magically divine the location of the pertinent thread. Haven't got time for us.

Well you are wrong! I haven't got my answer. I am still looking. I believe it is the hose under the manifold that may run to the heater. But no one has mentioned this yet. An exploded view of the top end of the engine is what I need. When I have the answer I will know I have it; you will not know whether or not I have it. Unless you are a prophet. Tim

This coolant lesk IS NOT RELATED TO THE WATER INTAKE HOUSING IN ANY WAY PERIPHERAL OR OTHERWISE! I had the coolant system pressurized this morning. If the igntion coil weren't obstructing the view under the intake I may have been able to see the hissing we could hear coming from somewhere under the coil but not from the gaskets or hoses attached to the water intake housing the thermostat is located in. I replaced ALL those gaskets and O rings last week. What lines are down there that cannot be sen? Where can I go to view an exploded view? My starter was replaced by a shop a few months ago. Could this be something that that mechanic did not assemble correctly? Is there a hose down there that should have been replaced for the purpose of proactive leak prevention? Do the intake manifold gaskets have a history of e leaking if not OEM? This leak is extremely upsetting because I cannot see it nor can I even extrappolate without more facts what it might be. I bought the 94 two weeks ago and love it. But this leak must be fixed. The car has 230K miles but it is stunning. He has spent 3800. In repairs 90 days before selling it to me for 1200. I am going to take it to the next level. I put new snow tires on it this morning. C'mon guys and gals. What is this leak? Thank you. I know someone out there knows precisely what it probably is. Tell me!

I read that the only difference between UF11 and UF10 is that the former was marketed outside the United States and Canada. Yet my 1994 SL 400 VIN is JT8UF11. I wish to know if there is not more to this as I do not think this vehicle came into the US after it was purchased by the original owner. Thanx!

This is an extrapolation, i.e., I am guessing based on known fact;, but I am 99% certain I am correct. One vacuum line attaches to the air intake and connects to the ACV. The second vacuum line attaches to the intake manifold of the engine. Essentially the former is not under vacuum; but it is attached to a place where it receives only clean filtered air. The latter is subjected to continuous but fluctuating vacuum dependent upon engine rpm and strain. There is probably a spring loaded diaphram (which is ruptured in a worn out ACV). This diaphram responds to pressure exerted by the power steering fluid. Whether it pulls on the diaphram or pushes on it I do not know. Logic says it pushes. When pressure in the steering pump fluid builds the ACV gate opens to varying degrees allowing clean air to be pulled into the intake manifold of the engine, e.g., turning the steering wheel at slow speeds or in. a high load (on steering rack) circumstance. Normally, that is to say, without some kind of compensation mechanism in place the vehicle's engine would drop in RPM under that strain--even stalling the engine. But with an intake manifold leak what happens? The engine's RPM rises. The ACV allows air into the intake manifold when the steering pump pressure rises significantly thereby keeping the engine at a constant RPM. Nothing more than a controlled intake manifold leak. That is what the ACV does. And it works in sync somehow with the ICV to accomplish this. Again, I am guessing. But I would not write this if I wasn't very certain of my hunch.

Alright, I understanf the need to replace capacitors for failed instrument cluster and fuel gage. My cabin lighting is also inoperatiive with doors open. Will someone please delineate the troubleshooting procedure for this ailment and the remedy more often than not? Thanx! Please tell me which lights I should expect to see illuminate when working properly.

You guys are the best. I love you man! No, I'm not tyring to get your Budweiser!

Thank you for the well explained breakdown. Now I'll go have a nervous one.

What makes it an Anniversary Edition; I just bought a 1994 Silver with Gold Lexus emblem...and I am wondering what I have. I paid 1200 for it. It has 230K miles but the body and interior are almost perfect. It has the steering pump issue, the instrument cluster and gas gage faulty caps issue...the ACV issue and probably a plugged solenoid steering rack issue. SO WHAT! It is a good car and I am a very relentless pursurer of accurate info. I have never owned a Lexus and learned all this since yesterday thanks to this forum. But I need to know what I have. I want to know how I can determine what options this vehicle has.

I was banned Christmas eve not even 24 hours after joining. I did absolutely nothing except express gratitude about the parts that I could replace to bring light back to my instrument cluster et al. Next morning I go to the site and I have been banned. No warning, no reason. Just banned. At least you guys have a clue.

I do not have the keys here to look at. But the seller said that the button is on the key itself and that it needs a new battery and that he hasn't used it in a few years. Is this correct? And what can the key do? Can it unlock the trunk? If so, how is it done? What does a battery cost and where can I get one?

Matti H is exactly correct. Remember thou that that capacitor is an electrolytic which has a negative and a positive lead. Be sure that when you replace the electrolytic that you solder the new on on correctly. It would also behoove you to replace the capaciitor that causes the gas gage to fail: C142 which is a 4.7uf, 25v (uf stands for microfarad). A superior capacitor is going to have a higher heat rating, e.g., 115F as opposed o 105F.