blake918

I think DC was just joking when he said that we should stop talking about the Caddy's due to the rediculous number of " " ...11 of them in all. Let it slide; just a little misunderstanding IMO. ;)

Thanks a million guys! :D What can I say...she's a Lexus!! B) What a car...what a car!!! B)

How's this?? :D I think you took the url of the small pic in the gallery. You need to click on the small, thumbnail size pic which will enlarge itself--take that url for this larger sized pic. ;)

Silver, we did the brakes, timing belt job, and oil diy. The timing belt job(I say job because of the replacment of the water pump, tensioners, and idler pulleys) takes 8 hours. We used the wrong line up marks on the left cam(the right is beautifully marked, but the left leaves more to your imagination), so we got to do it all over again. The entire job took a shade under 16 hours. The rear brakes took about 35 minutes, and the oil change was under 30 minutes. I did do the navi install all by myself! The tint is best left to a professional. Thanks for the compliments. :D

You are correct-the nav didn't come until '98. ;) Hmm...what do you get in the second generation car?? The first and second generation cars are very similar in looks(in and out. save the refresh in '98), size, etc. The most noteable difference is the seat quality. They are no longer mushy and trampoline-like! lol Also, inside, the shifter is 100 times more elegant, dual zone climate controls, and the CD changer isn't in the trunk--it's in a second glove box. Mechanically, you will get 10 more(or 40 more hp in '98) horsepower and a ride that is noticably more controled than that of the 90-94. Also, the key and remote are seperate(95-97. 98 is aio), and they finally added a much needed trunk release button with panic alarm. Just my $.02 of the 2. ;) I too wanted a second generation car(specically '98+) because of the nav. A '98+ is out of my reach right now, so I bought a Garmin GPS, and I'm extremely satisfied. You might want to look into this option. ;)

I have no idea! Maybe that's why this thing is sooooo slow depite the high amount of RAM. :( The only choice is the Pentium M on the Inspiron 8600; the fastest option was 1.8ghz. Mine is just a little below at 1.6ghz.

Thanks for all of the compliments guys! :D '90, those 4x4 rims are very nice! I was waiting for someone to say something about the old, green coolant! We did flush and put the red Toyota coolant back in. I was concerned about the M1 5w30 synthetic at first, but I've been using it since 224kmiles(I'm about to rollover 235k any day now!), and every drop that I put in stays in(I think I'm the exception to the rules!)! lol ...crazy Lexus! B)

My favorite is the 97-99; more specifacclly the '99(Cashmere with heated seats, nak, and air ride) because of the addition of VVT-i. The '02+ definantly has the best inerior, and it is undoubtedly more stylish than any others, but I'd have to say that the 97-01 has the most elegant body shape especially with the Coach rims. I really love my '94, but it's just too small. Even 10 years down the road, it is still a new looking and driving car; the interior and projector headlights are what makes the first ES's stand out. B) ....oooops, I'm breaking the rules! My ES isn't my favorite generation! :P

It sounds like an alternator problem to me too. My ES had an alternator with a "spot" on it. It would work sometimes and sometimes it would. I would be driving along, and then, the battery malfunction light came on-everything would die out(stereo, lights, etc.), and the car would nearly die. I'd pop it into Neutral and rev the engine so that the car wouldn't kill. After being stumped for several months(along with Lexus of N.O.), I finally changed the alternator and all has been well! :D

Yep, the first gen should be very similar to my '95 as far as the procedure is concerned...we both have 1UZ-FE's! That's the last time I ever change the timing belt on my LS; that's how horrible it was! That is our Suburban("Summit White" with blue leather) in the background. ;)

I replaced all of the lights in the back-6 brake, 2 reverse, and 2 side markers, and now, the tail light malfunction light is off!!! :D I say $35 well spent! lol They were all lit, but I guess they weren't up to the readings that the computer was looking for. Thanks for the suggestions Silver and Denny! ;)

Here are the important stats: Inspiron 8600-Unit Price: $3,037.00 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 725(1.60A GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WUXGA Inspiron 8600 Intel® Pentium® M Processor 725(1.60A GHz/400MHz FSB) 15.4 WUXGA Memory 1GB DDR SDRAM 2 Dimms Video Card 128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY® RADEON™ 9600 PROTURBO ATI128M Hard Drive 60GB Hard Drive Microsoft Windows XP Professional Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem CD ROM/DVD ROM 8x CD/DVD burner (DVD+RW/+R) with double-layer write capability Dell® Wireless 1450 Internal Wireless (802.11a/b/g, 54Mbps) Microsoft Office- Includes Outlook, Word, Excel, Carrying Case Dell Leather Carrying Case Dell A425 Speakers and Dell 2-Button Scroll Optical USB Mouse A425 The good: the screen is incredible in 1920x1200 resolution, battery life is good-while it's new atleast, decently solid case/chassis, excellent wireless connectivity, it's stylish--but it's not a Mac! The bad: this thing is a slug even with 1 Gigabyte of memory which is quite disappointing(my Mac with 1/3 the memory and processor would smoke this thing, but I am abundantly clear that this is sadly a PC world!), the DVD-RW/CD RW release button is finicky-if you hold the button for shorter than the system wants(and vise versa), you'll have to reboot inorder to put in/take out a disc, the photo software is lousey. At $3k, it wasn't all that cheap. Overall: It's a decent laptop. It's stylish and relatively solid, but it is soo s-l-o-w for $3k. And a few pics:

The transmissions did fail without warning. On our '99, my dad got in it one day, and throughout first gear was this horrible metal on metal grinding sound. We had it towed and rebuilt. The my mom's cousin's Suburban tranny craped out on them on a vacation road trip. It also died without warning. What a lovely vacation they had! I will give Chevy that...they certainly know how to screw the dollar store parts together in a way that they won't rattle. lol

This is a really awesome addition to my LS400! This is a Garmin iQue 3600 GPS Naviagtion System. Price: $600 at Best Buy. This little GPS is incredible. It's got tons of points of interest, it's very accurate, the display is very nice, there is a built in trip computer(see pic for all of the functions), it's easily moved inbetween my ES and LS, clear voice prompts with zoom in of next turn, and it was very inexpensive. The case/chassis of this little GPS is very sturdy and solid. The "bean bag" mount with loud speaker is a must. If you turn off the GPS(by folding down the antenna)-say you want to take it into a store/meeting with you to use the Palm functions, the first satilite fix takes between 30-60 seconds. However, if you leave the antenna up(I just hide it in my console when I get out somewhere, so that I don't have to wait for it to research the sat signal all over again), the sat fix is instant. I've had one dropped signal while I was under a bunch of oak trees...not bad for about a month's usage. Along with all of the GPS functions, it is a full functioning Palm Pilot. I don't use any of the Palm functions because it is just too cumbersome for me! It is capable of mp3 playback, and you can view digital pics too. It's terribly easy to learn how to use. I laughed when a few people said that they still can't figure out how their Lexus navi works! The good: see above The bad: slow initial sat fix, I can't have the entire US's map on a DVD player in my trunk i.e. Lexus navi--so I have to load each city I want on to the GPS. I bought a larger memoery card(I want to say 512mb,but dont quote me), and I can fit about 12 states on there, so I can't really say it's a down side!

Now, some fun mods! I know I posted some pics of this a few weeks ago, but I want to put some more up that I can be proud of(the last ones were when my car was filthy. ). This is 20% all around. As you can see, on a really sunny day, 20% isn't all that dark. '93LS, here are some shots from inside the car for ya. I like the one with the window cracked, so you can see how much it blocks out. ;) Cost: around $190(I can't remember!).

Timing belt change in progress. Again, special thanks to VMF for helping me get the car back together! I had the stereo LCD repaired by Sammy at Mikado Tech in South San Fran, CA for $150 plus $70 shipping. It was well worth it IMO! B) I still cannot believe I can see what CD track is on!! lol It was time for a rear brake job along with an oil change with M1 5w30 Super Syn and K&N Filter at 235k miles.

Getting ready for the timing belt service. The week before we did the change all of the parts came in from Park Place Lexus for approx $250. The water pump is not shown, but it was changed and supplied by Irontoad.com for about $90 which is $60 less than PP Lexus. ;) Also not shown, Toyota Long Life coolant: supplied by local Toyota Parts dept for $17 a jug. Idler Pulley: Belt Tensioner: Idler Pulley Timing Belt

I've used Griot's leather rejuvinator. I was not very impressed. It didn't do a whole lot as far as softening the leather, and I wasn't crazy about the chemical smell either(lexol and leatherique have a very leathery smell to them). However, it sounds like their cleaners and waxes are pretty decent.

I forgot to mention this- your sister should have trouble free motoring for a long time. The only trouble spots on the 90-93 Accords are the speed sensors on the transmissions and the distributor cap. The one on my 91 Accord did not go out until 190K- but around the same time. Over time, front struts can begin to make a noise, but not a big deal. I have actually found a couple of Accords (92 LX sedan and a 93 LX wagon) that I am considering as a work car. Thanks for talking me out of the Mercedes. I really should stick with a Japanese car- something I am familiar with anyway. :) I wish I had of not sold my 91 Accord. I was amazed at how reliable and comfortable it was. Perfect, supportive seats, soft & absorbent suspension, but still excellent handling. The interior holds up very well- they show little wear, even over several years of use. Also- interiors are of high quality- with padding about everywhere- not the hard plastic that plagues the newer Accords and Camrys. That's good to know that the little Honda will be good for several years to come! Thanks for the insight! ;) Hers could use some motor mounts, but other than that, I'd say it's 100%. I agree with your summary of the Accord 100%. It's not all that great looking, but they are great cars. The seats are great and the cabin is first rate. The handling is quite interseting! It rides so compliantly, but it's also quite nimble. It's like a safe house in there with all of the padding. lol I can give you a couple of horror stories about the Suburbans..first hand! We bought a new '99 LT model(white with blue leather) at the end of '98. The tranny went out at 60k miles; coincidently, my mom's cousin has a '98 that had the same problem. The dealer tech descretly addmited to a design flaw of the tranny; it's some kind of cheapo bearing that wears quickly. He said that is excclusive to I think the '98(??) and up because the Suburban got a new brand mangager that was pinching pennies everywhere he could to make himself look good. Also, water pumps don't last long(I think we're on number 3) along with belts, alternators, and batteries. Inside the leather feels like a high quality vynl to me eventhough the LT model we have has leather. The seats infront are large but they are not supportive at all. And my last rants: the brake pedal is one of the finest sponges I've experienced, the 350 makes very nice acceleration power that you can feel buzzing under your feet(only when you floor it; otherwise, the engine is decently quiet/smooth under normal acceleration.), down shifts are lousey, and ergonomics are reminisant of the '80s. On the upside, there is good room for 8 and all of their sh_t in back, suprisingly with 90k miles not a single rattle despite the very poor quality of materials inside, and the 42gallon fuel is good for atleast 550 city miles(lol)! And even better, not one worn suspension bushing, dead lcd, motor/tranny mount, or leaky p/s pump!! :P Just a joke of course...I love my LS! Bob, I agree about the suspension problems. I've never experienced this before, but both of my Lexi(235k and 120kmiles) have this "clunk." The mounts also raise some question. My LS's are still tight, and I'd bet it's because it was a highway car, but my ES's are terrible...I get a free hand message at redlights! lol We have a '91 SR5, 4WD ext cab Toyota pick up with the V6(3vze. Top model...it even has a factory sunroof!), and we did have to get the head gaskets replaced. Shortly after, we got the recall notice in the mail. :chairshot: Other than that, the truck is very problem free. The head gaskets were done around 85k, and now, it has about 155k trouble free miles! The bed does have some rust because it was my dad's co car when he worked in Minnesota.

My car is pretty(if 10 were the softest, I'd rate my LS in the 7 range.) soft, but she never floats. It's(my LS) definantly not the softest ride I've ever experienced(I rode in a 97ish LeSabre the other day, now that is the softest, floatiest ride I've ever experienced!), but it is not harsh in any means. Unlike most people, I don't think the Lexus is quite the boat others say it is. I've taken some turns(like sharply curved on ramps) at very quick speeds, and considering the general softness of the ride, it handles pretty well to me!

Steve, sorry the STS was such adisappointment for you. I had a feeling that the quality wouldn't come close to a Lexus's. It's good to know you'll still be in the Lexus family and not group of Caddy owners! Enjoy your ES, put a couple of miles on it and hold out for what you really want-the LS430-because nothing else will do even if it has a lot of style, a V8, and can out handle a Bimmer or Merc. ;)

I'm sorry '90; it is a '91 Accord LX; I can't believe I left that one out. I get the impression that you aren't too sure what you want...second generation LS, Silverdao(F150 is always a better choice!!! We'll save that for another day.), Camry, Accord, or Mercedes. I think I'd spend that $1600(plus tags and tax fees) on getting your LS's a/c fixed; I believe that it'd be the best long term investment. Your powertrain is still 100%, and your interior is still 100% also. Get the a/c fixed and enjoy the ride! Here's the evaporator for $350: https://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...990&catalogid=1 . I'm sure you could find an indie shop to install it for less than $450(based off of $800 at Lexus)! That's what I'd do, but I plan to drive my LS for the next ten years. I have a car that I love, and I plan drive it until it dies(and then put a new engine in!! lol)! The Merc will have problems. Maybe not serious ones, but I'm sure there will be a thing or two(a sound, control, the diesel will be hard to start in the winter months, etc.) that bugs you about it just like your LS. No car is going to be perfect even a stylish Merc of days ago! ;) I wish you the best of luck in the big decision!

Steve, how does your ES compare with your dad's 430? Is one noticably more roomy than the other--head and leg room? I agree that the 95-00 LS isn't all that big in the head room department, but it does(or it seems so atleast!) have a lot more leg room than my ES does which is what I was primarily concerned with when I was looking for a second Lexus.

If I could only have one, I'd go with a '04 LS430. My favoite LS is the '00, but the 430 has many more toys, and it's probably got more room inside which is very important to me. I'd also weigh in the idea of the new CL600 or current S500 because I think those are two awesome machines.

I agree! For us guys over 6', the ES is just too tight of a fit. :( I got a '95 LS for my everyday driver, and I'm 20x more comfortable than my '94 ES. I love driving the ES ever now and then, but the everyday thing was killing me! A guy down my street has a '03 ES, and he's atleast 6'3. Maybe they did get more room for '02+?? I've driven a '98 ES, but it seemed only a fraction larger than my first generation ES3.