Shaggz

I'm sure they can be fixed, rather than replaced, I'm just not sure which would produce the best results for the money. My situation is actually rather funny (read on), but both front fenders are in need of repair... Driver side fender - primarily needs painting, but possibly a few subtle dents in the surface may need repairing along the way. Several years ago, the previous owner's wife snuggled up too close to a wall in a parking garage and crumpled it a bit. <_< He did a pretty good job of straightening it himself, but whatever paint he used has faded something miserable and looks terrible now. Passenger side fender - about a year ago, my wife did the same thing the prior owner's did, but on the opposite side!! :chairshot: So now the passenger side fender is a little dinged, but it looks like it could just be straightened out by someone that knows what they're doing. This fender will need painting as well because it is a little scratched up from the cement it tasted. I've found unpainted replacement fenders for as little as $160 ea. I just don't know much about body work so I'm not sure what sort of prices to expect for this or what it might cost to get them painted correctly. I would greatly appreciate any advice or help anyone might offer for my situation...

Wow, that's a good deal with tires included. Hey silver, what about these? No tires, but is $100 ea. a good price? I'm considering getting new wheels down the road but am only starting to research the best options. I first have to replace or repair my dinged fenders (not MY doing ). I was thinking about getting 16s, but then I thought if I'm going to do it I might as well go with 17s. :D Any thoughts on the advantages/disadvantages of 16 vs 17?

As far as I can tell, Gen 1 LS400 does not come with a cabin filter option, but I am very interested in finding a way to install one. I'm sure it's possible, as with most things probably just a matter of $$. I would really love to just get a newer model LS430 :) but I can't exactly afford to do that right now. What I'm curious about is whether it would be very difficult to install something like this myself and just how much it might actually cost. Does anyone know of anything in the aftermarket world that would work? Would doing something like this require more work than it's worth, like rerouting or replacing the airflow ductwork? Thanks...

I'm not sure what causes the problem, but I've experienced that same behavior from time to time with my 91 LS400. What's strange is that it has only happened a couple of times. Each time, the problem has vanished after engaging the manual override then resetting to automatic. The problem has not reappeared in quite some time, probably a year or more. Although now that I've mentioned it here, I would expect it to reappear soon :whistles:

Believe what you want, but Lexus is made by Toyota, so why not call it what it is? It's a luxury Toyota. Why does that have a negative connotation for you? It's the misinformed general American public that creates stereotypes like this. Why do you think Toyota created a separate business and called it Lexus? Simple. It sounds a hell of a lot more prestigious and is completely detached from names like Cressidaor Celica. Those names aren't very luxurious now are they? Interesting comparison with the Infiniti example. I generally don't hear many people talk about Infiniti one way or the other. B) Another example, though, are the plenty of Porshes out there that are really VWs on steroids. What should we call them? I do have a friend that drives a Q45 and he "thinks" it's every bit as good as my LS400. Is he crazy? Yes he is. But I can't tell him that or I would have to suffer through endless ranting while he tries to prove his point. While I readily admit, he has a nice ride, his 98 Q45 has no feature my 91 LS400 doesn't. I find that rather lacking over a 7 year difference. His Q45 certainly doesn't hold it's value or ride any better than my LS. :D I haven't looked into the differences under the hood, but I'd venture to guess they're substantial. Anyone care to offer an LS400 vs Q45 comparison? :whistles:

I was just in the door tonite. I didn't take any pics this time, but I will in the daylight when I go back in to fix my current problem. My driver window stopped working, again. I'm afraid perhaps my replacement switch has now gone bad. At any rate, to get the interior panel off, you have to remove the 4 screws along the bottom of the panel, then the 1 screw near the latch area along the jam. This one actually holds a little plastic clip that hooks to the door frame on the backside of the interior panel. I believe there is 1 more screw in the handle area, but my plastic anchor is broken so I don't have to worry about that one <_< Once you have all the screws removed, you have to tilt the bottom of panel away from the car, then lift the entire thing straight up and out. It may take some gentle wriggling, but it will come out. When you pull it out, don't pull it too far because there are electronics that have to be disconnected, or layed aside for the lights and switches in the door. That's it though, and to get to the lock assembly, you just have to reach a 10mm socket or wrench in there and loosen the 1 bolt that anchors the lock to the handle and then 2 bolts that anchor the handle to the door. Good luck! :D

Your appearance may have had some influence on the way you were treated at that particular dealership, however, I can attest to quite a different experience when visiting my local dealer. This is a true story, within the last 30 days even... I had just spent the morning taking apart my LS400 in hopes of quickly replacing a failing fan clutch. Once inside, I realized the fan clutch was not the problem, but the fan mounting bracket was. At the time, I did not know specifically what the part was, so I took off my repair gloves and headed down to the dealer with a picture, not knowing if I could replace part of the assembly or what. Note, all I did was take off my gloves. I wasn't covered in grease, but I wasn't exactly "just out of the shower" either. I got to the dealer, strolled through the showroom without being bothered at all, although I did receive a few "accepting" nods from a couple sales folks. I then went to the Starbucks kiosk and poured myself a complimentary cup of Breakfast Blend coffee. Not my favorite bean, but definitely my favorite price - FREE! Once I got my cup of coffee, I admired the 30 bay service area through the wall of glass next to me for a few minutes and was just amazed at how clean and orderly it was kept. Surprisingly, many of the bays were empty and I think I only saw a couple people walking around it even :) I then proceeded past the (empty) waiting lounge (complete with widescreen tv, couches, chairs and a fireplace) and the (empty) complimentary business conference suite (fully wired) and down a hall to the parts area. The guy behind the parts counter was more than willing to not only tell me what the part was, but he walked around the corner and brought one back out to show me. Now, the fact that they actually had a fan bracket for my 91 LS is beyond me, but then when he offered right away to knock the price down from $260 to $230 (after tax) I just couldn't pass it up. The next best deal would have been only $50 cheaper and a week in shipping. After having a brief chat, I gladly paid the man and bid him good day. I then proceeded out through the dealership and on my way without a negative vibe from a single soul on the property. I guess the folks here don't really care what you look like and really whether you spend any money or not. Even if you don't, there are plenty of people that come through there that pay quite handsomly. But the attitude is definitely instilled by the management of the location. Heaven forbid you ever actually "need" the dealer for anything, but it would be nice if you could find one you might consider trusting before you're in a bind.

I would love to find some newer seats, but that sounds like it might be pricey. Does anyone know if the bolt locations of newer seats are compatible with 91? The only other potential problem (aside from memory system compatibility) with getting newer seats might be how well the color would match up with the rest of the interior. For example, I would imagine the tan color may have changed slightly over the years. I would like to know more about the "adding foam" option. Can I just go to an upholstery place and tell them I want some foam added to my seats? This might be a great solution, as my seats are excellent on the exterior but not as comfy as they should be, due to age. Additional foam would be heavenly. :D

Hmm...sounds like you may have some experience in the process, or just a lot of time on your hands ;) either way, I commend you on your thoroughness and must assume you know what you're talking about. So thanks for the lesson As for reconditioning mine, I actually had them done at a detail shop located in the garage of my office building. They have a leather repair guy that comes in every so often to fix tears and such and he repaired a tear for me and then cleaned and actually painted the leather. I know that sounds crazy and I was skeptical myself at first, but I had nothing to lose so he did the fronts and the center console. I had a few small tears and there were age cracks everywhere, but other than that the leather was structurally in good shape. I must say, it was well worth the money. It's been over a year now and they look absolutely beautiful and I've had no problems with them. I condition them regularly to keep them looking and feeling good. As for the "feel", it feels and looks like top quality leather that's in perfect condition. I get compliments on it all the time :D I'm getting the rear seats done soon as well. There's a growing tear back there that I've pretty had enough of. I don't remember the total cost for both fronts, but I think it was like $175 to repair the couple of small tears, clean and then paint the leather on both front seats and the center console. An added benefit was the disappearance of the rubbed out area of the center console, it looked like new again!

Agreed, very much so...that's the "euro sporty" feel mentioned by LL. LL, I don't buy your person-size argument. If the target market for Lexus was the U.S., why would they use an average Janapese person to model the size after? That makes no sense. A smart company would have used an average person from the target market. The last time I checked, Toyota/Lexus was a smart company. Did they start off "not-so-smart"? <_< I had the same problems with my 91 LS400 front seats as others have noted here. In my case, I'm rather certain it was largely due to the size of the previous owner. He was a monster, and he seemingly crushed the bucket and broke part of the back support. The bottom sagged and I could feel springs (or something like that) digging into me arss. After hearing how common this problem is, it seems as though perhaps the construction was meant for that supreme feel of the best of both worlds, luxury + sporty, and not for extreme longevity. I resorted to replacing with some I found in a great wreck deal at a scrapyard. For $125 each I replaced both fronts. Though they were just as old, the leather reconditioned to like-new status though and they are MUCH more comfortable. I haven't spent more than 2.5 non-stop hours in them since then, but at 2.5 hours I don't get numb or sore cheeks. No more discomfortable than sitting anywhere else for that length of time.

Ohhh....I see, kind of like leaving the tag on a brand new hat? I've not seen any "de-emblemed" Lexus vehicles around Atlanta...I'll let you know if I ever do.

I believe the "outside only" approach is reserved for vandals.. :whistles: I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure I had to do it from the inside. Getting the interior panel off is the hardest part of that job. But once you've done that once or twice it's not that difficult.

Studlee, what's the point?? Go ahead if you want, it should still drive okay, it will just look like it hasn't been cared for properly <_< ...whatever floats your boat..

I had the same problem in my 91 LS400. Mine got so bad that it actually came all apart eventually and I cut myself on it. :cries: Fortunately, it's quite a simple procedure to replace the door handle. I was able to find a replacement from a junkyard in good shape. I don't recall how much it cost, but it wasn't much at all. The lock mechanism swaps over to the replacement handle with the greatest of ease. Good luck, and watch those digits or you might get bit!! :o

Hmm...the fluid MUST be going somewhere. Refilling weekly indicates there is definitely a substantial leak somewhere. Keep in mind, it probably won't leak unless the car is running and you've turned the steering wheel a few times. Are you sure there's no fluid along the bottom of the engine compartment, say below the alternator or something? That's just amazing that it disappears, but I've heard others mention they've found fluid pooled in the boots on the rack when the rack was leaking. You might check there.. Let us know if you find it

I replaced my front seats with a couple from a junkyard a while back that were in excellent condition and they only cost me $125 ea. They look great and mostly work great, but unfortunately the replacement driver seat does not have the memory option installed, which I previously assumed was a standard option. Apparently it's not :( I'm considering moving the electronics from my old seat to the new seat, along with the memory module mounted to the underside of the seat. On the surface, it seemed rather straightforward, however, as I began removing the components from the old seat I discovered a group of wires that travel up the back of the seat, but I'm not sure where they go or what's in store for me once I get to their ends. Before I start pulling the seat apart I want to be sure this is even feasible. Any tips on how I might accomplish this task? Are there additional components inside the back of the seat that would be difficult to port to another seat?

I'm curious where these 100 vehicles were "discovered". Was it in a lab? This article mentions nothing as to "how" these vehicles' computers became infected, and when you're talking about a virus, that's rather critical to it's existence. As a software engineer who has experience developing applications for mobile devices (including cell phones), I would venture to guess the likelihood of occurence of this "on the street" is rather minimal, at best, nearly impossible in reality.

No bubble to burst here... I actually drive an LS400 so I don't think the Supras would work, would they?? I also am already aware of the ball joint situation, fortunately those are not very pricey, from what I've found. But my adventures don't stop there...I also need new motor mounts, strut rod bushings and rear knuckle bushings...you know, typical 200k mile type stuff ;) I was just ecstatic to discover I might save $300 on repairing the control arms!! :D

First of all, I know the noise of which you speak, all too well...I recently replaced my p/s pump, air control valve and pressure hose in order to squash that maddening whine. All is well now though and I'm quite pleased with the results :) Take it to the Lexus dealer as a last resort. It might seem like a good idea, but they'll just charge you $100 in order to tell you to put on a new power steering pump and pressure hose, possibly the rack as well. Then they'll happily charge you somewhere around $2000 for all those parts and the service to put them in. I did all that myself for about $500 (not the rack though). How is the p/s fluid level? Does it show any signs of leakage? Do you see red fluid (ATF) anywhere around the lower part of the pump, on the pressure hose, around the alternator, or even pooled in the topside of the under cover? You may just need a new air control valve (part #17630-16040). In Atlanta, that's a $140 part from Lexus dealer, but only $90 part at Toyota dealer. Not sure about your area. But this is the part that bolts onto the bottom of the pump and has two vacuum hoses attached to it - one of which leads up toward the intake manifold (underneath the Lexus emblem on the engine). Check for any fluid in that hose, there should be none, but if the acv is bad there will probably be some. Also, if this is the problem you'll most likely see a puff of white smoke from the tailpipe at startup. The pump and related parts should last 150k miles, so failure of the pump, hose or rack would be premature in your case, although possible. Dig around this forum for info on p/s pump replacement and/or timing belt replacement. There are posts in the workshop tutorials that will give you some more insight as to the particular components related to the steering pump. I believe the timing belt and water pump should be replaced at 90k miles, so I guess it could be something related to that, although I'm not sure why that would cause a whine from the p/s pump, but what do I know? I'm certainly not a professional mechanic, just an experienced DIYer. I have to also recommend visiting www.lexls.com, he has some awesome tuturials with good pics you might find useful. Good luck!!

Are you kidding me?? That's not bad news at all!! Well, it would be real nice if those $100 kits would cover the uppers, but, I found VFT and he's selling (4) replacement bushings for $300. New control arms would run me that much each side!! I'll order these very soon..

Sorry silver, that was the part I had to replace. I have a switch that could probably be rebuilt, if you want it I'll send it for cost of shipping :) I got my replacement switch from a scrap yard. You might check with TAP, I talked to them yesterday and they were waiting on a fresh wreck that should be there today. BTW, the switch is ten times easier to replace than the motor.

The door does not come apart, I believe the inner and outer layers to the door ARE riveted (or welded) together. But motor is bolted on. You have to maneuver the motor out that little opening close to the lower left corner of the door (driver side) once you peel back the plastic. My digital camera has a broken shutter, I may just use my video camera instead and save off stills as needed. I'll do this and add post the full tutorial asap. PS - Anybody needing a driver side motor for a 90-94 LS400, I might know of one at a good price. Let me know if you're interested and I'll see if it's still available. B)

This sounds like great news to me!! I was told by the Lexus dealer that I need new upper control arms. This sounded strange to me, as I couldn't imagine why the "arm" would be bad. I was thinking about just replacing the bushings, but didn't know if that was sufficient. So, is it possible for the actual control arm to "go bad" or do you think I would be in good shape just replacing the bushings?

I'm with you Silvermate, I do all I can myself. I've had too many mis-diagnosed problems by both Lexus dealers and Lexus specialty shops. No offense to any Lexus employees out there, but in my experience, they're all just money hungry jerks that don't really care if they solve your problem or not, as long as you spend money with them. Some examples... 1. Lexus specialist stated my power window motor was bad, charged my wife $80 to tell her that. I went through the trouble of replacing the motor myself, only to discover there was nothing wrong with it! The problem was obviously the switch and a quick check with a Volts meter confirmed that. I found a scrapped switch for about $40 (maybe less), replaced it myself and it's worked perfectly for the past year or so. 2. Lexus dealer stated my fan clutch was making a lot of noise, but at the time the bulk of my problem was the power steering pump and pressure hose. After replacing the p/s pump, air control valve and pressure hose myself, my fan pulley locked up and broke my new belt. Upon inspection I discoverd the fan bracket assembly completely seized up, bad bearings. Upon inspection, I noticed metal shavings all over the area around my fan which clearly confirms bearing breakdown inside the fan bracket. I got the fan bracket from the dealer for $240 and it's all working lovely now. 3. Lexus specialist tried to convince me the brakes should be serviced by a professional because they are not like normal brakes and "special care" should be taken to see that they're done correctly. This is just plain nonsense, as the brakes on my LS400 are by far easier to service than any other vehicle I've ever owned! I definitely would not allow some kid at a car audio shop to install a remote keyless entry system on my LS, those things come with instructions for crying out loud!! I just wish I had known about the "chintennae" before I lost my original key. B)

I was of the same impression originally, but a former neighbor (and scrap yard owner) showed me how to do it. Given that, I would think the procedure should be similar for most vehicles. Yes, it is inside the metal frame and it is a little tricky to get at (that might be a slight understatement). I'll try to retrace my steps, although it's been a while... Power Window Motor Replacement Procedure for 1991 LS400 Of course, this same procedure should apply to 1990-1994 LS400... 1. Start by making sure the window is up all the way. If the window is down, some of the components you need to access will be sitting on the opposite side of the glass from you and impossible to get to. 2. Once you have the interior panel off, you have to then peel back the plastic covering, carefully. 3. The motor is actually mounted to the inside of the inner part of the door frame. I think there are 3 bolts that hold it on there. They are directly accessible once the interior panel is off. Loosen and remove these. You'll want to reach inside the door frame and hold the motor while you loosen those bolts to keep it from falling. 4. Now you should be able to easily move the retractor arm around enough to get it disconnected from the window. Be sure to hold the window when disconnecting the motor or retracting arm as it could fall from the up position once support for it is removed. 5. I apologize, but I don't recall if the retracting arm should be disconnected from the motor before pulling it all out, but I think I just pulled the retracting arm and motor out in one piece. Then just swap the arm to the new motor before re-installing. 6. On installation, you need to connect the retracting arm to the window first, I think, in order to make sure the motor is in the correct position when you bolt it on. Basically, you want to make sure that "all the way up" on the motor = "all the way up" for the window. Make sense? If not, it will once you get to that point :) If there is enough desire out there for help with this procedure, I would be willing to take my door apart and snap some pics. It shouldn't take me long to do that, I've done it several times at this point.