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VRV

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  • Lexus Model
    LS400

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  1. Tried the WD and Park deal and now the key won't turn in either direction. Gonna get a locksmith etc., out here tomorrow and take care of it. Now the LS has stranded us (at least it is in front of the house) but it could have been 150 miles away, like where we were just a few hours ago. Time to part company with this vehicle - have sunk plenty of $ on repairs - could have purchased another car for the amount of repairs. It rides nice, has plenty of power, but too many bells and whistles and they don't sound so good after time. Thanks for all the help on the forum - but should be rid of this vehicle this week, that is if i can get it to start.....Bottom line - if it strands you and it ain't your fault - it is time to part company with it. Cheers Vic
  2. 1994 LS400 2nd time my remote key has stuck in the ignition in a month. Guess after a 180K of starts and stops - the key may be worn out. I checked it against the spare and it did indeed look slightly different (worn) around the "lands and groves." It came out ok the last time and I knew about the steering wheel position, so that is not the deal. Now it is stuck in there for more than a day. Been locking the car with the spare key, but when shutting off the ignition, in park, the key won't go to the lock/remove location (all the way to the left) - It will still start the car, and thank the Lexus God, shuts off the ignition. We just have to leave the key in the vehicle and use the other key to lock it. If I get the remote key out again, I will only use it for a remote lock and get a new key cut for the ignition. I think the ignition switch is ok as the spare key worked pretty smooth in it, albit the remote key was a little crunchy in spots. Yea, I know, dumb a_s for using the key again after I got it out the first time.............but this is where I am at now. I checked to see if the gear shift lever was going all the way forward and if there was some crud in the way of allowing it to go all the way forward....What other switch or device could be interfering with the removal of the ignition key after the car is shut off?????????? If this turns out to be big $$$$ - I am going to get a Scion XB!!!!!!! Cheers Vic
  3. The far end is attached to the end of the arm - you have to move a little bendable sheet metal out of the way and wiggle it in - the crank end is on the cast part where you just installed the new bushing. Hope that helps - Am venting my clothes dryer today and it just might be worse than the bushings - ha :D cheers vic
  4. It is just a surprise how tight they are - my first thought (having delt with many nuts!) was that I was going to break a "rusted frozen" bolt and then my wife would have been teed off when she had no car to take he to work and worse yet, the red face i would have after taking it to the shop to explain what i had done. Telling us you used a jack (i can picture that) to take off that bolt is a good indication that sucker is on tight. But knowing how tight it was, made the other side doable. The fact the local shop wanted $400 for the job should have given me a heads up too. What do you think Lexus would have charged for the job???? Also this forum gave me the confidence to go back and give it one more try.....it worked, the little woman has her car to go to work in Monday, I saved $300, we went out to dinner last night. Wonder what else I can buy with the money I saved - hmmmmmmmmmmm some nice tools over here... Cheers Vic
  5. Rear Carrier Bushings – “pop em out and pop em in” Not that easy. Now I have been a shade tree mechanic for years. Actually overhauled my little 1986 Mazda B2000 engine and it is still running. But this rear carrier-bushing job on my 1994 LS400 nearly did me in. I have most work done on the LS400 by a local shop specializing in Lexus repairs, with Lexus trained mechanics, with not so Lexus repair fees. During a routine check (175K miles) the mechanic said I needed to replace me rear carrier bushings soon. I am not sure what they do and no one has yet to tell me what the consequences of NOT replacing them are. But he said they were shot and it would cost $400 for the job. After much surfing Google for the parts I found ONE parts house who had the replacement bushings and a tool (I bought it, you don’t need it) Don’t know if it is ok to post their web site so you can email me at vicv@ev1.net for the web site. About $80 for the parts, so I thought I would give it a shot….How hard could it be? Har Har…. I just want to ad my experiences with this job. First side took me all day, second side took about 30 mins (tools assembled) 1. Loosened lug nuts and jacked up vehicle. Took off tire. So far so good. Make sure wheels are blocked, car is in park, emergency brake on and back up jack stand for safety. I work for a local fire department and two of my co-workers were killed with their own cars….nuff said. 2. Get your biggest ½ drive bar and 19mm ½ socket and then slide a piece pipe on the end of the handle and get ready to take off the tightest bolt and nut I ever fought. I though head bolts were on tight – as Donnie Brasco said; “forget about it.” The first time I tried to take off the bolt, I gave up! Yes, I put the tire on and headed for the shack, a beaten man. Now I am no lightweight – I tip the scales at 250lbs. I re-read the info on this website once again and the post that says; “take off the 2, 19mm nuts off (they are torqued to 163ft lbs (revised to 136 ft pounds)so be ready) pop the two bolts out and off comes the trailing arm.” “Be ready????” Yea – get ready to exert enough force to lift the car!!!! Once you get the bolt loose, you can use your trusty socket set to remove the bolt. It doesn’t just “pop out” I had to unscrew it all the way with the socket set due to the downward pressure of the wheel assembly. When the bolt finally comes out (the nut will have already fallen to the floor) the carrier will “pop” down with a “wang” an inch or so. 3. I agree with the poster who said cut the sleeve walls on the bushing to remove it. After an hour or so of trying to position a puller and an especially made tool (the second time I gave up) I got out my trusty jigsaw (you don’t need to buy a sawsall) with a new bi metal blade and went to town. Made three cuts in sleeve (be careful not to cut through the cast carrier) and then pried the bushing out with a screwdriver. 4. Greased up the new bushing according to the other posts and inserted it into the carrier. Now comes another fun part….lining up the arm with the hole in the bushing. 5. After another hour or so of pushing and grunting I figured out I could put a pipe clamp (24inch ½ inch pipe) and fit it to the other end of the arm and crank away till the bushing hole lines up. * (The LS400 is equipped with shocks – the air suspension system expired several years ago – so I don’t know if the wheel assembly “wangs” down out of position on these vehicles) Walla – insert the bolt thru the bushing and arm and then get out the trust ½ bar and torque wrench and tighten to 136 ft pounds. *Picture of the clamp set up here http://users3.ev1.net/~vicjudi/vicjudi/TAB.jpg 6. Be sure to have an escape route when you are under the car and do what ever it takes to make sure it doesn’t fall on you. After all, you are really cranking down on this bolt and I suspect you could move the car if it wasn’t secure. 7. I did the first bushing on the 31 Dec 2004 in only 7 hrs. The second, on the 1st Jan 2005 (Happy New Year) took about 30 mins…but I guess you could say it took a “year” to do the job. Just found out the Lexls site and it might have made things easier***** hind site is 20/20 8. Good luck, watch out for falling LS400’s – Hey does anyone know what the heck the rear trailer arm bushings do???? Cheers Vic
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