blake918

My FC's are torn up too. I'm going to go with those aftermarket ones when I get around to changing mine out. $300 is just too steep for me! $50 is more up my alley especially for an 11 y/o car!

Very nice, well done!

Thanks yall! Marty, '90 sold is '90 a good while back for an older Mercedes, and I think shortly after he sold it it was crashed. ;) :(

Thanks TC. I remember '90 always mentioning how hard those same struts rode in his car. I'll make sure to avoid them since I'm looking for the floatiest ride as possible.

I'm about to change my struts, and I'm afraid of the same thing. So, are OEMs the softest? Is that the general consensus, or are their aftermarket brands that might be a little softer (which is what I'm really looking for.)?

Some guys in a dirt bike forum I browse said that they did see an increase of hp with one of these tornado type things. They put it on the dyno before and after, and sure enough, it went up. Now, a LS will be probably a different story from a Yamaha dirt bike. I'd try one for the sake of gas mileage if they were local so that I could return if it didn't work.

As someone who is also in college with a LS, I wish I would have held off on mine and gotten an Accord or something that has hardly any maintinance costs and is very nondescript as not to attract people with keys or even worse weapons! Mine was paid for upfront, but the maintinance/repairs, gas (short 5 minute city trips yield about 12-15mpg on a good day.), and what have you sees to it that my wallet stays as empty as possible. I couldn't imagine a note on top of it all. I'd find a nice late model Camry (probably a I4 since the V6s don't come alive until 10,000 rpms or so, and the 4 will sip gas. LOL) with a good extended warranty.

Lower your steering wheel all the way. Now, slip your fingers under the trim and gently pull it towards the back of the car. ;)

Ohhh, that other one is trac off. You'll know if it's an ultra since they have like 2 full rows of buttons right there!

Everything you listed in your first post. ;)

Gross!!! :P LMAO

Looks like the rear sunshade and ECT selector. ;) BTW, great car M500! B)

I'd check the front strut rods. ;)

I definantly agree with Larry. I just changed my valve cover gaskets not that long ago, and they were very easy and not too expensive--I think $20/side. Mobile1 didn't make any leaks that weren't already there. ;) I only run M1 in my almost 300k LS without any trouble at all.

Print out CWL's laymen's guide, and see how she measures up. 177k is chump change for a LS; mine has 273k, and it performs like a new car. Like Rob said, check out the suspension/steering because it is very expensive to fix although not too complicated. The other expensive item to go is the ECU (there is a massive thread on it by 95LS400Bob). It's probably time for the timing belt job (idler pulleys, water pump, tensioner, belt, cam seals, and crank seal.); you can do it yourself for about $300-$400. Also, drive it as long as you can to see how you like the seats. My car has not a single Lexus serivce to its name (not even the free 30 day check), and I think she is doing just fine for her age. The only important service is the 90k because they do the timing belt et al. Maybe the 60k for the plugs and wires, but that's not nearly as important as the 90k.

Oh yeah, she'll be hard to forget, especially all the times she left me stranded, there were good times too though! LOL We have a 91 Accord (5spd LX) too! It's a fantastic car, and those seats feel like they were made just for me! It's been completely trouble free except for a clutch around 175k. The paint is rough, but other than that she's mint (no rattles or anything) for 15 years old and 190k miles!

I had the leather seats redone. ;)

Good Luck!

The screws on the bottom are exposed when you pry the trim piece off that has the trip/odo buttons and rheostat dial. ;) Wear ear plugs because that piece of trim will make some serious noise; you would swear that Lexus outsourced that trim piece to Pontiac with all of the creaking and crackling it does.

It was a '94 with 135k, and the tranny broke, so we brought it in to be diagnosed (it seemed to drive ok on occasion, but the o/d off light flashed constantly--and wouldn't go in to overdrive.). The estimate came back with a total over $3k for a tranny rebuild, various mounts, and cv joints. In addition to those issues, the car was wrecked in June by my sister (and once before by the previous owner), the rear clunks, a/c compressor works when it wants to, needles flicker, American Stitches f-ed the steering wheel up, needs new timing belt and items that go with the job, hard and cracked leather, and it leaks oil from cam/crank/valve covers, tranny fluid, and p/s fluid. The guy who was going to work on the car gave us $1,000 for it, and it was his. Around here, mint '94's are going for $3000 +/-, so $1k was more than enough considering the condition the car was in! All of the issues probably could have been fixed cheaply(used tranny and diy most other issues), but we've been somewhat looking to get rid of it, and the right oppertunity presented itself, so we jumped on it! It was my first car, so there is a little sentimental value, but this albatross was trouble from the second day we had it (literally), so it's somewhat easy to see her go. After this car, I will never in good conscience be able to talk about electrical problems that other cars have issues with since I think just about every possible electrical componet under the hood that can fail on a car did. This car also taught me one very valuable lesson, and it's that the criteria that most people harp on that make up a good used car (low miles, dealer maint, clean, etc.) mean nothing to me. Our '94 has more dealer stamps than I care to remember, it barely had 100k miles when we got it, and appeared to be in good shape. Almost 3 years to the day and countless problems with the electrical, cooling system, lubrication system, suspension system, etc., etc., etc., it's good to see her move on to share her "issues" with a different, but well informed owner. When I got my LS, it was dirty...no, make that filty, never saw a Lexus service bay after it was preped and sold in '95, and has enough miles for you, me, and you're brother, and it is by far the most reliable car I've ever owned. Here she is in her prime which was when I drove her (it seriously went down hill when my dad took over, then my sister.).... The '94 and her predecessor (the pic is an oldie, but a goodie.) A much relieved, blake918

Because that what you do in debate, you don't make nasty remarks about one's character.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...topic=25288&hl= http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...topic=21129&hl=

Really...I guess it's a little late for that one. You've never met Ralph; I have, and while suprising, I got a kick out of all of your comments on him since they couldn't be any more untrue. Self esteem issues, angry????????????? You clearly know nothing about him; otherwise, you wouldn't write such things about a person as generous, nice, and just flat out like-able as Ralph is.

Here ya go buddy: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...6&highlight=q45 My pup is doing great, thanks!! :D

My Garmin consistantly shows that I am going 1 mph less than I actually am in every car I've had it in. I'd guess that the fault is on the Garmin since they are not 100% accurate (although, very close). I also have one of those car chips that collects data from the OBDII port, and it records the same speed that the car shows on the dash. I usually run 80-85mph except for when some cell phone talking, numb-skull is pitter-pattering in the left lane, and I always get in the 26mpg range, +/- a .5 - 1 mpg depending on how often I have to hit that little cancel switch on the steering wheel. The mileage is very good from the LS, but I think it would be so much better if we weren't in the 2200-3000 rpm range on the hwy. I wish Lexus would give us a real over drive; 2800 rpms on the hwy is a joke to me. It really irks me that a Corvette gets better gas mileage than my LS does since it turns 1500rpms going 75mph (I'm not looking for a debate, just an observation/rant.)...it can run circles around me and get better fuel economy, what's the deal with that?!?! I think I'll see low rpms in a LS the same day they rival the German's interior accomidations. LOL