daffy

Hi SKperformance,

Thanks, that's on the starter where I can't get to, without taking intake off, right?

Now, I would like to curse the engineers of Lexus for putting starter in the wrong place! I guess I will take it in to get repaired, or can I tackle it?

Daffy

Hi all u Lexus lovers,

I went to start my 1991 Ls400 with 263,000 miles. Nothing but "click". I turned the headlights on and they were bright. So battery is good. I jiggled the gearshift and tried again and she started! The starter turned the engine over fast, so I would think that this original starter is still good. Is it the starter relay starting to go or some loose connection in my gearshift? Anybody know? Thanks

Daffy :(

Hi,

I have over 262,000 miles on my(1991) car and still original starter. I am surprised that at such low miles, on your car, that you would have trouble with your starter so soon?!! I hope I never have trouble with my starter, because it sounds like a big job to change it. Good luck with your new starter(only denso and only new :D )

Daffy

Hi SamHouston,

I have a 1991 Ls400 with over 420,000 kilometers(about 260,000 miles) and my air conditioning is still working. I have never had it topped up or even looked at. So my experience with Lexus air conditioning has been top notch!! Great car!

Daffy :D

Hi swordfish,

Before taking old belt off, I would have marked all three pulleys before taking old belt off to be sure new belt goes on exact same way.

There is a notch at the back of timing belt pulley on the crankshaft. You have to line this mark up with oil pump body mark. This would put the mark for the timing belt pulley at the bottom. You have to make sure you clean the face of the timing belt pulley to see this mark. Hope this helps you find that important mark.

Daffy

Hi choiboyogg,

I would agree with dcfish & SKperformance. Just buy new ones, reason for this is, that after resufacing, they are more prone to warping after some hard stops. This has happened with me, a waste of money. New ones will be trouble free for a very long time. Daffy

Hi All,

I just repainted my 1991 Ls400 because of rust starting around the wheel wells.

If you want to keep your older Ls400 lasting longer, I would highly recommend Rust Check or some other way of preventing this annoying rust from starting. I just got my car back and it is now looking good again. So are there any better ways of preventing rust other than Rust Check?

Daffy

Hi sgretchko,

I did my own timing belt, for the first time, myself, last year on a 1991 Ls400. I found that the car is easy to work on, just time consuming, lots of parts to take off, hidden bolts to find and some hard to reach areas. So it is more of a tedious job and time consuming. I can see why it cost so much for the labor. As far as the tune-up, about all you have to do is change spark plugs and air filter.

Daffy

Hi Bordeaux,

I would take a chance and drive it until you think it needs to be done, after all the 1st generation Ls400 are not interference engines, so the worst that can happen is that you get stranded somewhere.

I personally know a guy with a Intrepid (Chrysler) and he didn't know about timing belts, got over 180,000 miles before someone told him to get it replaced (that was with an interference engine!). Boy was he lucky! There wasn't much left of the old belt and he say the car runs better now.

Daffy

Hi,

I have a 1991 Ls400 with 256,000 miles and still running strong. Both of my headlights have stone chips. I see clips holding the glass in, is it possible just to replace the glass lenses? I would think this would reduce the price and labor to replace. Thanks

I rebuilt my pump at the time, new seals and front bearing. I am over 250,000 miles on the original pump. About 132,000 miles since the rebuild. So the gears in the pump are original as well as the rear bearing. No noise, no whine. I think too many owners are replacing when they only need rebuilding. I think what happens to the pump, is that it is so close to the engine, the heat from the engine bakes the seals and then it begins to leak onto the alternator (which happened to me).

←

Daffy, do you happen to remember where you purchased the front bearing of the PS pump? This is a job I need to do soon and I'm not sure where to purchase the front bearing. Thanks.

←

Hi monarch,

I bought my bearing from Lexus, but if you can take the old bearing out, you can probably match it up at a bearing place and get it cheaper. It's a sealed ball bearing and I am pretty sure it's standard. That's what I should have done myself.

I know the bearing and seals for the power steering pump cost me close to $100. cdn (probably about $65.00 US) at Lexus. I found the pump easy to work on once you get it out. Daffy

To the guys using the Amsoil in the tranny: Are you also using it as power steering fluid?

←

Hi flash213,

Yes, I use the same oil in my power steering. I changed it at the same time as the tranny. I rebuilt my pump at the time, new seals and front bearing. I am over 250,000 miles on the original pump. About 132,000 miles since the rebuild. So the gears in the pump are original as well as the rear bearing. No noise, no whine. I think too many owners are replacing when they only need rebuilding. I think what happens to the pump, is that it is so close to the engine, the heat from the engine bakes the seals and then it begins to leak onto the alternator (which happened to me). I am hoping amsoil will help here. I read that synthetics tranfers heat better than ordinary oil. The car was 8 years old when the power steering started to leak. It is now another 7 years since the rebuild and now I am keeping a close eye on the pump. So far absolutely dry. :) Daffy

Monarch, I agree with you 100%. 

←

Hi everyone,

I tried amsoil for the first time in my tranny and now have 132000+ miles since the switch. I am pleased with the results so far. When I bought the car at 115,575miles, I switched the tranny oil to amsoil because I was getting a little chatter noise from the gearbox when really cold. Amsoil has solved my problem. I also like the fact that you can leave it in up to 3 times longer than "standard" oil. Yes, I have over 250,000 miles on my Ls400 and going very strong. I estimate that I will probably get to at least 400,000 miles with this car. I still use 5w-30 in the engine year round,(amsoil) as I have read, some people switch to 10-30w as the motor wears. Hope this helps Daffy ("cool" canadian)

Hi,

My son's 91 LS400 (145K) has developed the following problem since winter and I thought with the warmer weather, it would go away but not so:

When we pull into the gas station to fill up, no matter what we try (leaving the key in all ignition positions; taking the key out, leave the engine running), when we pull the gas filler lever to open the filler lid, the lid does NOT open. it has only been opening haphazardly after:

1. banging on the lid

2. pulling the gas filler lever inside the car

I am worried that one day, it will give up altogether and we cannot fill up !!!

Any thoughts?

TIA

VH

←

Hi vyhanh,

I had same problem with my 1991 ls400 and all I did was lube the pin that sticks out (to hold gas cap cover) with white lithium grease. It's been 6 years now I did that, and still works well today.

It seems over the years the pin just starts sticking and the solenoid isn't strong enough to pull it in.

Reason I use lithium grease is so that it works in winter as well. Daffy

Who has found the cheapest windshield-installed, and who did it? 91 to 94 LS 400

←

Hi Kennyr,

Got my last windshield at a glass shop for $190. cnd installed (tinted at the top). I think it was Crystal Glass (Canada) for my 1991 Ls400.

Daffy

Hi Everyone,

With the ect button on, it keeps the revs up before shifting without having to give it very much gas. If you step on it hard the ect button doesn't make much difference. If you step on it easy, the car seems to accelerate better. You can do the comparison yourself. It works best wherever you need a little extra acceleration without having to "floor" it. I would think it uses a little more gas with the ect button "on". I like it most when I am in town. Love my 1991 Ls (with over 250,000 miles).

Daffy

96 model......my 5th LS and 7th Lexus. These are the best used cars you can buy. Every one of the LS's have needed the bottom and or bumpers repainted. I've got the paint but would like to protect it after painting.

←

Hi Jeff,

The splash guards that you can get from Lexus are a stiff kind. If you drive in deep snow they may not work as well. I would recommend Tingley's(hope the spelling is correct) splash guards, as they are a long lasting flexable splash guard. I mounted mine with those push on plastic plugs right into the fender wells. That was 7 years ago and have no problems with them. In winter I use studded winter tires, as I am out in the country.

Just curious, how come so many cars in such a short time? I thought these cars are long lasting as well? ;)

Daffy

I have a few scratches on my bumper, thinking about putting a bra on it.

Anyone have pix of what it might look like (mine is charcoal in color, 96).  What brand would you buy?

Thanks!

←

Hi damon,

I personally would never use a bra, because if there is any movement at all with a little dirt underneath the bra, you get scratching. It's hard to prevent this from happening. The best thing you can do is either repaint every so often or have a 3m coating put on. Daffy

hi monarch,

The throttle cable is easy to take off and when reinstalling, just make sure you have somebody step on the gas pedal to the floor to make your adjustment at full throttle. You don't want the cable so tight, that someday it will cause it to break, when you "floor" it. I have done other cars the same way as well as my 1991 LS400 just recently. I totally agree the best way to clean the throttle valve body is to take it right off. Just a warning, don't get any of the cleaning fluid into the electronic areas (beside the throttle plates). I was told this by a mechanic.

Daffy

Hi flash213,

I think you are going to like this car, I have a 1991 ls400 now with over 250,000 miles and still running strong. I use amsoil with bypass filter and am having good success so far. I change the engine filter twice a year, bypass filter once a year and change the oil out at about 25,000 miles give or take. Don't use additives in your engine, just good oil. So if you want long engine life, I would suggest a good synthetic grade, and keep the oil clean.

I do most of my own maintenance now. So I can't help you there.

There are many "good" tires to choose from, you have to pick what's available and how much you want to pay. I use Toyo's.

What I like about the LS400 is that it does everything well.

Daffy

Hi everyone,

I just hit 250,412. miles on my 1991 Ls400. Still runs great and strong. Great car!! Daffy :whistles:

Hi,

I took my winter tires off and decided to clean up the front pads and add anti-squeal brake stuff. The pads were quite dirty. They are very easy to work on. I reinstalled the pads and summer tires and now the brakes are quiet! Thanks for your input.

Daffy

In doing the tune up on my car I discovered that every attachment point for the “plastic” fan shroud has broken off from the shroud.  All the parts are there.  Just broken clean off.  I do not want to think about replacing it.  I just need to “re-attach” the shroud to the parts that broke off.  So, any :cries: one know what the best glue to use would be.  I’m sure JB weld would work, but I’m not sure it is the best to go with.  Your thoughts please.

←

Hi,

Do you have a pop rivet gun and some aluminum? You can do a pretty good job hiding most of the aluminum underneath and pop rivets would only show on top. I find this works well on my car. and probably more permanent fix. Daffy

I have 2004 LS430 and my lexus dealer wants to have the transmission oil change at 15,000 mile.  Is this too soon?  My manual said to change at 60,000 . 

How often do you change your transmission oil?

←

Hi danxnguyen,

I switched to amsoil oil for the transmission and change it out every 100,000 miles. I have 250,000+ miles now and trans. is still strong. It use to chatter a little in the cold weather (-30 degrees or colder) with the toyota oil (don't get me wrong, toyota oil is very good too) and now the chatter is gone with amsoil. Stands to reason- it flows to lower temperatures. Hope this helps, daffy

Are you sure about caps and rotors?  I know to do the plugs, and I know the wires need it, but it is a lot more work to get the caps off.  And I though you left them allone unless you knew they were bad, or were taking them off to do other work anyway.  Like water pump or timing belt????

←

I had a miss in my car for about four years and Lexus dealer could not tell me where the problem was. I gave up on them and replaced everything myself (plugs, wires, cap and rotors) and even cleaned the throttle valve. My miss is gone and so I really feel the miss was coming from the caps and rotors. They do get a build up of some white stuff that prevents electricity from flowing. The price for the caps and rotors are not expensive so why wouldn't you change them? It wasn't picked up on the scope when I took it into Lexus so how do you know when to change them? I would recommend changing them every 100,000 miles max. That's long enough, Daffy