SRK

Get a good four wheel alignment done. I know a good shop in my town that lets me watch ( and even advise on angles - I prefer 0 camber or slightly negative only on my cars). I had a worn left inner tie-rod end, and with that repair and the alignment the car drives perfectly. It is important to get a carefull and accurate shop to do the alignment, as the angles are small, and these cars are completely adjustable, so a shop that just sets toe and backs it off the rack is not going to do the quality of work you need.

It depends on your definition of "hand made". If he meant like an old Ferrari or Aston Martin, then certainly not, no Lexus is "hand made". If he means that a few people watched and assisted while large machines manoevered components into position, and that a human drove it off the assembly line, then he may be right. Which would mean that all cars are "hand made". These are production line cars, which makes them better than any hand made car I have ever worked on - and I have worked on a few..... There are a few threads here about the display, and you will find it interesting to read them and find out about the skilled gentleman who can and will fix the problem. I am not sure if the later cars were more reliable regarding the display, but I imagine they were.

I have owned three sets of MXV-4's and they must be about the quiestest tire out there. But they achieve that by compromising dry and wet traction, and I found the tires a bit spongy. Considering how well the LS rides in the first place, I wanted tires that had better dynamic performance, like the Bridgestone RE730 or 750. But for sure the Bridgestones have a distinct whine on the highway, which I am slightly disappointed with. They handle great though, and look very good too.

I use Meguiar's as well. Polish with Number 9 Swirl Remover, and then wax with Number 27 High Tech Yellow. Looks good, lasts really well.

I was told that Lexus approves of the 215/60 and 215/65 tires for the 15 inch wheels as an upgrade from the 205/65. I have owned lots of brands over the years, and I wanted to upgrade the tires that came on the car, so I searched tirerack.com and found that Bridgestone had a good rating, superior to the Michelin MXV-4 I was considering. Costco had the 215/60-15 RE930i on sale, and I bought them. I am very pleased with the handling, ride and looks. They are slightly noisy, a bit of a whine at highway speeds, but otherwise I have no complaints. I think the most recent version of the tire is the RE950. They were also $230 less for a set of four than the Michelins. Worth a look anyways. By the way, that is a truly excellent colour on your car - must be a beautiful car.

I use 5W-30 as it is the one recommended by Lexus. My 94 Camaro Z28 uses it too. And I have converted many customer cars to it. Works just fine. 10W-40 is considered a rather obsolete viscosity these days, and in any event I don't think either type of V-8 needs it. The trend is to thinner oils - both Honda and Ford now specify 5W-20. In northern Canada, 0W-30 is common in the winter. With the 5W-30 I notice that the cold cranking speed of the engine is about the same, winter or summer. That means the oil isn't dragging the engine down, and it gets to the lube points and builds oil pressure much faster than a thick oil. Now that many manufacturers specify synthetic as a factory fill, I think that we will see more and more use of synthetics, and eventually they will replace conventional oils altogether. I first used Mobil 5W-20 when it came out in 1980. Really thin, but it worked well.

First of all I would avoid any additives at all. No independant testing has shown any improvement from any of them, and many degrade the original oil. I am sure the Quaker State is good stuff, and all API rated oils will be compatible with each other, so there will be no problem switching over. I believe the ticking sound you hear is probably the injectors, which are about the loudest thing on these engines. Most modern engines make that noise at least, in addition to others. I am also sure that no overhaul is indicated - everything I have learned about these engines points to very long, trouble-free services lives.

I understand now - thanks for replying. I mentioned the quiet thing about synthetic oil as I have observed this in every other car I have owned and used Mobil 1 in - the higher film strength of synthetic tends to reduce valve train noise in particular. Given how quiet these Lexus engines are to begin with, I wasn't expecting to notice any change, but it is there, IMHO, as slight as it may be. Todd's "fishy" comment I took to refer to the low mileage on the car - which it certainly has, but it is documented completely, which is why I bought it.

I'm not sure where this thread is going anymore. In any event, I did have to replace the left inner tie rod, the left outer tie rod, and have a four wheel alignment performed. It needed new tires so I got a set of Bridgestone RE930i's. They seem to work well. Tach needle is half dead. Rear subwoofer doesn't work at all. ;)

Timing belt service was done at the seven year interval, rather than the 96k kilometer interval, so all is well.

That's why I bought it - one owner, Vancouver car, complete records showing all mileage accumulations at each service. Its history is fully substantiated by the two Lexus dealers it was serviced at. In Canada we tend to drive fewer miles per year I think. It is gray blue metallic, with the blue interior. I didn't want a white one, but would have bought a black one. My 94 Z28 is black - excellent colour.

I have used Mobil 5W-30 synthetic for years in my other cars. Tonight I switched my (new to me) 92 LS400 to it, and as I thought, it made a quiet engine even quieter. The car has only 116k kilometers on it, about 65k miles, so I think it is worth converting to synthetic.

Sounds like you have a bad ground path for the brake light circuit. Just a guess from this distance, but a starting point anyways.

I too discovered today that my 92 LS400 has a non functioning rear center speaker. I am thinking of having the dealer diagnose it, but has anyone found a problem with the head unit or the speaker which may be responsible for this? Maybe this is a common problem with a common solution. Thanks.

I use Meguiars Number 9 Swirl Remover Polish (extremely fine abrasive) to clean first, followed by Meguiar's Number 27 Yellow Wax. I use Lexol on the leather. I have used these products for years on various cars, and have always been pleased with the results.

My experience on other engines is that the throttle body deposits are the result of the gases from the crankcase ventilation system and in some engines the EGR flow also contributes. Also the additional air flow needed during warm-up is normally provided by a Constant Idle Speed valve, which allows the main throttle plate to return to a base position in order that the Throttle Position Sensor sees the throttle angle range similarly under all conditions. I haven't owned this car long enough, nor have I worked on it enough, to know how these systems work specifically - all I am going on is experience on other engine systems. I only use intake system cleaners after removing the throttle body from the manifold - even with "O2 sensor safe" chemicals, I feel there is too much risk with the O2's and the converters to introduce any liquid solvents to the engine. I don't think I want to remove the throttle body just yet. I will inspect the throttle body for deposits though - thanks for the advice.

My 92 LS400 does the same thing - has a small hesitation off idle when warm, but only when the throttle is opened quite gently. It is obviously going a bit lean, and the enrichment during the warm-up phase prevents it. Perhaps the O2 sensors are trimming the fuel too much?