blake918

To get to the tail lights on the rear 1/4 panel: pop the trunk and look in the crevice b/n the light housing and the weather stripping. You'll see 2 small plastic circles(that are screw covers). Pop those off with a small, flat screw driver with a taped blade. Remove the two philips screws that are now exposed; then, you just pull the assembly right out and replace what you need. These lights are accessable from outside the trunk. The lights on the trunk come out quite easily. Open the little trap door that is behind the lights and remove 1 philips screw. The little assembly that holds the lights comes straight out and you can then replace them. These lights are accessable from inside the trunk.

Around here Lexus cars are very common and not anything people make a fuss over. My car has been keyed once for no apparent reason...people these days. I get comments from people at dealerships, drive-thrus, etc from time to time. No one believes that my LS is a '95, and getting them to believe it has over 256k miles is a problem. B)

Everything was all done in almost 10 days. We have extra cars in our "lot," so we had all of the time in the world and were able to take our time. Stripping the interior takes about 2 hours. The entire project took so long because we wanted to be 1000% sure the carpet was completely dry. We washed the carpet probably 3 times over 2 days, and the rest of the time as allowed for drying. Plus, all of the materials(antenna and dynamat) weren't ready to be installed when we stripped the interior. Completely putting the car back together took about 7 hours that included washing every piece with woolite, sound deadening, installing the car phone, and putting everything back in the car. We took several breaks because it was over 95 degrees and 100% humidity. We severely overpaid for the car. In late Feb. '04, we paid $6,500 plus tax and tags w/ 224.5k miles on the odo, $hitty paint, torn leather(steering wheel, driver's seat, and upper console), clunky suspension(strut rods were toast), dead stereo lcd, timing belt #3 was needed, oozes(doesn't leak as I don't add anything) oil at the valve covers/cam and crank, needed rear brakes, antenna mast was long gone, driver's seatbelt didn't retract, driver's door weather stripping was about 50% there, needed a new ignition system, and probably one of the dirtiest and under maintained(original spark plug wires were there at 225k miles) vehicles I've ever encountered. Somehow, the car drove beautifully even before several things were fixed. Since then, we've invested well over $3k and 100's of hours in voluntary repairs/maintinance/cleaning. I've got to drive it for several years to recoupe the costs, so it'll be a while before I get rid of it unless it gets totaled(which isn't out of the question since I was hit 2x in just 1 year). It was painful to see a '95 with 220k miles on ebay go for $7500 in excellent condition only a few months after I got mine. I've put over 32k miles on the car in a year and a few months, and I'm confident that she will go well over 350k miles. It's just an excellent car, and I really enjoy putting miles on it. B) Thanks for the compliments! :D

As for good, cheap lighting, you can't go wrong with Silverstars or PIAA. PIAA lights are a little pricey, but I wouldn't trade mine for anything. They are bright and very white(notice the color difference when compared to the std. fog lights on the right)...

Thanks Jim! Your input on all of this was exceptional! ;)

Nice job, Ed! What a nice LS! B)

I agree with the others; I've filled my engine with water before and know exactly what you are talking about! Your cel should give off a PO30_ code (the last # is for the misfiring cylinder) depending on what cylinders(s) are filled with water. Ever since I filled my engine with water, I'm extra careful with the hose around under the hood! Good luck.

I can't say enough good things about my Garmin iQue 3600 GPS Nav...vibrant color screen, talking prompts, very accurate, and portable. It was a life saver this weekend when it helped me find my hotel! I have Michelin Energy tires on my LS, and I'll never put anything else on there. They're long lasting, quiet, and it seems like the LS was made for them the way they wear and drive so beautifully with the car. They suck in the snow but are great in wet and dry weather. Have any componets have been replaced in the front end, or is the front end still quiet because of the low mileage? ...horribly!

1995-2000 LS400s are all on the same chassis, and they are all the same generation and name: UCF20. ;) Other than the items on the front end that you mentioned, the tail lights are different too. The 98-00 tails are longer and more slender than the lights you'll see on your '96. ← Lexus calls the 98-00 3rd generation on thier website. http://lexus.com/cpo/model_detail/ls/400/2000.html ← We've already been through this 100 times. Read Carl's LS generation page on his site. Open your driver's door, and you will see UCF20L just like it reads on any 1995-2000. Coincidentally, a 90-94 will read UCF10L and LS430s are UCF30L. Here's a info stickers from a '99 showing that it is a second generation car.... Here's a LS430

Makes sense to me!

I was referring to the LCD screen. After a while, they turn to "hieroglyphics." Like so: When I got it back from Mikado, they had changed the backlighting as a courtesy. They are great people! I haven't forgotten about the changer removal. It's poring right now, so I can't take any pictures which are needed to make sense of this procedure.

1995-2000 LS400s are all on the same chassis, and they are all the same generation and name: UCF20. ;) Other than the items on the front end that you mentioned, the tail lights are different too. The 98-00 tails are longer and more slender than the lights you'll see on your '96.

For future reference, the dealer can special order any part you want; ex. My local dealer never gave me any trouble when I'd go in there, and they would have to special order little screw covers or other random things that probably no one else would care about on old Lexus cars.

We stripped our entire car with the battery plugged in, and everything was fine. You are going to want to remove the plastic housing on the steering column. If you don't, it will be nearly impossible to get the cluster out, and you'll probably scratch the plastic up too. 1 philips at the bottom and 2 behind the steering wheel which are readily accessible if you have your car running and turn the steering wheel as necessary, and the little cover comes apart in 2 pieces. I thought the '95+ had cold cathode lighting?

I can't agree that the LS430 is the largest. As much as I love the LS430, the MB S class shames the LS430 in driver space. I'm 6'4, and the big MB provides me with too much legroom and ample headroom while the LS430 provides just decent space for someone my height. The LS has excellent high speed stability too...it's no Porsche 911 Turbo, but I feel extremely comfortable the one time I've taken my LS up to 120mph.

LOL I was worried about that too, but I knew that if we got in to any real trouble, the dealer would know how to put it back together. The funny thing with the LS is that a lot of stuff is just snaped in! lol You are going to be very pleased! The lighting on mine seems to be brighter after the new lens...I guess because the lights aren't competing with the defects in the plastic. Be sure to post pics!! Thanks, Steve! I think you'd like the Dynamat. We're going to do the doors soon; I think it will make a huge difference! Here are some pics of the antenna:

Lexus can take the credit for the cluster-it's truely a feat!! The stereo on the other hand, Mikado put in a new stereo lcd and backlighting in August '04. When your lcd goes, I have the contact info here in the forum! Thanks for the nice words!!

We're up to 4! LOL Thanks! Thanks, Carl!! Your above statement is correct. My stains(for the lack of a better word) were just too tough. I don't know if they're really stains(it was just bottles and bottles of soda built up in the carpet) since they came out so easily; I never once picked up a scrub brush. What I rented was more of a shampooing machine-Rug Dr type things that you can rent at Home Depot. It mainly soaked the carpet with cleaner and water and vacuumed it back up. The little machine that I bought was a Bissel...a little green I believe that had a hot water heater in it. The water actually got very hot, but it wasn't steam. The water it collected was brown like tree bark; the stains lessened, but they never got clean enough for me! I'd try the rental; all you will lose is like $30-$40. I'd recommend pressure washing the carpet if you can. We have more cars than people in the family, so it wasn't a problem for the LS to be out of commission for a week+. We pressure washed it probably 3 different instances, and we let it dry for about 5-6 days. This is what I had to do to get the soda residue out. You can see all of the soapy residue from previous cleanings. We didn't put any soap on the carpet when we washed it. My carpet stayed 100% intact too. No strands or anything came off, just the coke. Some of the insulation on the back came loose(not off though), but a little bottle of glue solved that problem.... Ed, it is a dealer item! I usually order from Park Place Lexus in DFW(great prices and free shipping). Since you are going to the dealer, take this part number with you: 83138-50090! I paid $20.91 for it in July of '04...wow I'm a procrastinator! I'll find some pics with the carpet stained but with the floor mats in....it really wasn't very noticable, but I knew they were down there, and it bugged the hell out of me because I'm severely anal!

Thanks so much!! Annie is 90lbs of spoiled-rotten Doberman; as you can see, she has a real eye for leather! I'm sure sorry that we missed each other at the meeting in April(I saw the post in the meeting forum but forgot to post a response). It seems like more and more DFW LSs are comming out of the wood work, so we'll have to plan a little LS get together this summer! ;) I have the same bump as well at the airbag (95). We should start a 95 LS club. ;) Blake you are goin to do great in the business world with just the amount of determination you have. ← We have 3 members so far! :D Any more of you guys out there?? lol I really appreciate the kind words! I had no tutorial other than the one that Jim wrote for everyone. The Lex repair manual is nearly worthless as far as interior things are concerned. To get the cluster out: first remove the 3 philips screws that hold the plastic covering over the steering column housing--1 is at the bottom and 2 are behind the wheel...just get your keys and start the car. Turn the wheel right and left until the screws are exposed. After that plastic housing is off, pop that horrible, cheap, black plastic base off(plug your ears because the creaking is painful!). There are a couple connectors restricting it: one on the left for the rheostat(dimmer) and on the right for the trip and odometer toggle. After that trim is out, you will notice two philips screws at the base. Remove those. Then, work the cluster out. There are a series of connectors restricting the cluster itself also. Unclip the connectors and out it goes! To get the cd changer out: I have to run out, but I'll do a little write up for you tonight. The write up is going to sound long, but it really takes no more than 10-15 minutes but a little detailed. ;)

Your best bet will be TAP or www.car-part.com. I bought a driver's seat, steering wheel, and console from a junk yard in Arkansas. It was shipped to New Orleans free of charge to me. Demand pictures to be emailed to you before you agree to buy anything. What kind of parts are you looking for?

My windshield is a BIG pos(I have several "stars" and my pass side has probably a foot+ long crack), but I'm in no rush to put a new one in since I'll collect more rock chips from all the hwy driving I do. Other than the chips, I attribute the pit looking defects to a cheap piece of glass since I'm sure it has been replaced b/n now and 5/95 when it was bought.

It was a huge chore! But, slipping back in to the driver's seat was worth every second of it! B) I feel like I have a new car! I'm not sure what the deal with the pass air bag is, but I'm glad I'm not the only one!

Before I start with this part, a HUGE thanks is due to Jim (1990LS400). He is great to chat with and could probably write a book about interfacing Nokia cells with our Lexus cars. Not to mention he sent me the mounting bracket (seen below) and a mute lead. The mute lead would have played the sound through the front speakers and taken power from the amp to power the car kit, but the lead is meant for euro spec LSs. It didn't work in Jim's '00 with Nak, and it doesn't work in my '95 with Pioneer. This is probably the best part of the project, the Nokia CARK 91H. After searching for a short while, I was stunned to see that there was a Verizon phone that is compatible with this car phone. It's a little older, but I like the simplicity of the 3285. I've been called all kinds of crazy for tossing a high tech, stylish LG flip phone aside for this old fossil. lol I don't play games, I like boring ringers, and don't care to watch microscopic movie clips on a small unclear screens. I like phones that are just made to be talked on and nothing else, and that's what I have! Not only is this a very convenient addition, but it makes talking in the car worlds safer. I also never have to worry about a dead battery in the car either! B) The installation was very straight forward with the assistance of Jim's tutorial. With the help of a homemade test light, we found the muting pin in the wiring harness for the Lexus cell, so every time I get an incoming call my stereo mutes, and when I press send for a dialed call, it mutes also. It resumes the volume when the call is ended. The volume is very, very loud from the Nokia speaker. We chose a unique spot for the mic. We put it on the windshield right next to the A pillar trim; this is an excellent spot as my voice is picked up loud and clear. In the console is the privacy handset which will mute the loud speaker and allow me to talk on the handset privately. I had to order an external antenna. It was supposed to come in on Saturday, but it just showed up about 10 minutes ago. I was ready to have my car back, so we prewired the car with coax(it costs next to nothing at Radio Shack) and went ahead with the install of the interior. We pulled 12v of "switched" power from the cigarette lighter. Trademark mute technique by JH! ;) I super highly recommend this accessory! ;) And, lastly we put in a new instrument cluster lens. I ordered it more than a year ago, and we just never got around to putting it in. We finally installed it, and it is the best $20 you can spend! B) We found that removing the 3 philips screws that hold the cover over the steering column makes removing the cluster 100x easier. Some before and afters.... Annie was exhausted just from watching us do all of that work! lol

It has been a while since we've done anything to the LS, so we planned out a huge project. Before we bought the LS, there were severals stains in the backseat likely from spilled sodas. As bad as the stains look in the pictures, it wasn't as bad as yall would think since the floormats cover 90% of the mess. After about a year of renting rug doctors, trying every product on the market, and buying my own hot water shampooing machine, we decided to take drastic measures. So, we gutted the interior, pulled the carpet and pressure washed it. It sounds odd, but the results are nothing short of spectacular! B) Removing the carpet seems like an involved task, but it really isn't. We had our LS barebones in about 2 hours with the aid of an air ratchet(it makes removing the front seats a cake walk). We removed some componets that didn't need to be removed in order to get the carpet out such as the instrument cluster and CD changer. Ever wonder what the LS looks like stripped?..... Carpet before and after: Before everything came back in I gave all the pieces a once over with Steve's Woolite solution, and the floormats are still drying after I put them in the washing machine(steviej's technique)....they came out great! After removing and cleaning the carpet, we decided to sound deaden the car even though there is already a lot of insulation. There are so many different options here, and after much deliberation, we went with Dynamat Xtreme. I couldn't find any locally in New Orleans. My dad goes to Chicago(Joliet) almost every week, so we found a retailer there, and he picked-up 4 32"x18" pieces from Rad Rides by Troy (815)468-2590 in Manteno. I'm not advertising; they were very helpful with our questions and provided a pleasurable experience. Since they were so helpful, we didn't mind paying their retail mark-up over the lower price on dynamat's website. Does the insulation make any difference?? The LS seems noticeably quieter to my ears, but I'll never know for sure since I didn't take any sound measurements of the before and after. I'm very pleased. Since there is already a lot of insulation(most of it resembles the look of those Rhino bed liners) in the LS, we worked the Dynamat around what was already there-that's why yall will see the insulation choped in to so many little pieces. Materials: Here's what is behind my backseat: Finished with the Dynamat installation: Those are all of the pics I'm allowed in this post. One more sec for the rest of the project....

Haha...bus goobers! I'm looking for it to bring me a lot, so I'm going for the mba also. LOL Good movie!