Gumart1

Monarch - Those are great pics! The best I've seen yet of the resovoir screen. Did you clean your screen using this method yet? I would have liked to have done this when I flushed my system. Fortunately for me the solenoid screen cleaning and flush (with inline filter added) vastly improved my steering alone. When you removed the resovoir, did you suction out the fluid first and was there any remaining when the pump was removed that could possibly spill? (of course not an issue with the use of the protective sleeve on the alternator). Also, were there any issues with extra air in the system that had to be bled afterwards? Thanks.

The County in which you live should have a Solid Waste Agency that handles all hazardous materials and will accept it at no charge, including used coolant. If you can't find them in the phonebook or on Switchboard.com just call your local city hall or village hall and they will direct you. Crazy what people used to do with the stuff. Last week we broke a mercury thermometer, unbelieveably toxic when mercury becomes airborne, you'd think there was a bomb in our house the way we had to handle it. And to think, most kids used to play it!

zoso - WOWWW That is an amazing list. Sounds like you did all the right things. You definitely have not littered the forums with wasted posts! ;) This is exactly what I am planning to do to my '91 with 250k miles. I'd appreciate if you can share any tips, recommendations, problems, part suppliers and prices, etc. Were all those suspension components in need of replacement? Or did you decide to replace it all while you were at it? For parts I have gotten several quotes and I'm currently getting the lowest prices from Sewell Lexus.

sapper daddy - This is your FIRST post on the forum in regards to the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and all you have to add is that you enjoy shooting defenseless animals which is clearly animal cruelty in it's rawest form? You wouldn't happen to have your home address and telephone number available by chance? ahh get a .22 single shot rifle or pistol go to wal mart and buy 19gr CB caps or super calibri's they make zero noise i shoot them in my front yard on main street

Carnica in Des Plaines will do this - they even have a mobile service and will come to you (they touch-up the Dealer cars all the time). My guess is about $250 for a complete touch-up on the car and bumpers.

Problem solved ...or so I thought. I just replaced the thermostat and, just as everyone here recommended, it clearly solved the temperature gauge issue. See the attached photo. Before I changed it out, it never reached even halfway to the first mark. Saturns have a tendency to run hotter, so where it is now is perfect. That tells me that I definitely had a stuck-open thermostat. Now, after running the engine to operating temperature and filling the coolant to the correct mark, after about 10 minutes I noticed some slight smoking coming from the radiator area. With a light, I cannot see any leaks whatsoever. All my hoses and clamps seem fine. At first I thought the system was burning off some coolant residue from splashing, but the smoke started increasing. Luckily the temp. gauge never went higher than in the photo. I also heard the sound of coolant boiling in the resovoir. I did add the correct mixture of coolant and water. One thing that scares me is when I was first draining the coolant, I removed the resovoir cap and opened the draincock for the radiator, and NOTHING came out! So I proceeded to open the drain on the engine block and it all came out that way. I have to add that when I originally flushed my coolant a few months back, it drained just fine from the radiator drain !Removed!. So the question is, is it possible that when I flushed the coolant the first time, I "plugged" the radiator? Could the old stuck-open thermostat have masked the problem? But then again coolant had to be flowing because it never heated up? Oops, here is the photo - Just had another thought too. My new thermostat could be bad?

Agreed. The first auction ended at $8,000 with the reserve not met. The Seller should have grabbed that 8k and ran! Not worth more than $4,000 in my opinion. Bad seats, LCD out, what else is wrong? $40,000 - what a joke! Anyone remember the Seinfeld episode with George buying "Jon Voight's" car? :)

I may be way off on the ES forum but for the LS it seems that many people, in order to save a few dollars, will search high and low for the KYB struts at like $75 a pop when the OEM Lexus strut price is only $53 at every online Lexus parts Dealer. Not sure if any of the ES's struts would be similarly priced as it is for the LS the OEM KYB strut for the LS is a softer ride than the aftermarket GR-2.

Mel, Thanks for the link - I'm not sure how I missed it - Wow, what a deal! Does anyone know what Sears will charge to mount, balance, valve stems, disposal, shop fees, etc? Very easy to pad their accounts this way. Zinfandel, we do have locations all around Illinois, but when I did a test "checkout" on Discounttire's web site, no tax was added. Perhaps it will be added in a last step that I did not get to? Zinfandel, I am 40 minutes south of Kenosha - not going anywhere on my old tires - LOTS of snow today!

Just a few thoughts...my 91LS also uses 205/65/15's and I just checked out Sears.com but their Falken Ziex is the "V' rated tire for $84.99 reg. price. I don't see the "H" rated tire available - this is what all these retailers do to protect themselves, they won't offer the identical product so they do not have to price match. So are you sure that they will match the $48 Discounttire price? Also, even if they do, and give 10% of the difference, that is only $15.20 but you'll have to pay sales tax at Sears so it is basically a wash. I'm surprised that Discounttire doesn't have to charge sales tax from the online purchases because they do have retail locations in my state. Anyway, it is a fantastic deal for $48 each shipped! :D

If you lube them properly as SK said they will not give you any trouble for a long time. $3.99 for a tube of Sil-Glyde at NAPA Auto - better than silicone spray. I don't think Daizen "sucks" in any way, except for being ridiculously overpriced!

I'll have to post the result in a few days - my %^$%$ heat went out in my house! :cries: And not a Dealer in sight carries the replacement gas valve for my 5 year old Bryant furnace!!! So unfortunately my thermostat will wait until next week...but will post the results. Thanks for the suggestions and the great info on this thread.

NC - I'm not quite sure how flushing your power steering fluid would actually tighten up your steering. Are you sure it isn't because of the colder weather? If your steering is loose you may have a steering component failure but if I remember right you did change some of that stuff, tie rod ends, etc. If you saw particles in your pump when you flushed then it is more than likely that you have a good build up on your rack solenoid screen and also the screen that is in the pump itself. Monarch has a good photo of the pump's screen. However, it is difficult (though not impossible) to clean the screen in the pump without removing the entire pump. I have personally experienced a night and day difference in my steering from the flush coupled with a solenoid screen cleaning. My screen was totally blocked. You should at least clean this, flush again, and add the inline filter as well. I hadn't driven my '91 in 5 days and today in 10 degree weather I was able to turn with 1 finger! Rahlo, any updates on your dilemna?

Sounds like a concensus! :D So basically if I drain the coolant and replace the thermostat, and refill (can I reuse the coolant, it's basically new?), I should be set, right? Is the thermostat a part I want to use OEM with, or does it not matter? I know it's just a few dollars. Thanks for the quick replies.

The truth is this is my wife's Saturn, but I know that this problem could happen to any car and perhaps someone here can benefit too. I'm not sure if the problem existed before I flushed the coolant, so please don't assume that my flushing caused the problem, although it may have. Car has high miles (180k) but has been well maintained. I did the coolant flush without chemicals but used a garden hose down the resovoir as per my Haynes manual. Coolant level is perfect, no leaks. But the car will not heat up to operating temperature. It hovers around the lowest mark and I know this is too low. There is warm heat from the vents but it isn't very hot. Doesn't matter if the car is driven 20 miles on the highway, same thing. Any suggestions?

Monarch, did you say you have a '91 like mine? If so, I did not loosen the small locknut in your photo. Just remove the clips as you also pointed out, if you are able. Once again, heavy chisel with a fine strike point, and a hard hit on the left (counterclockwise) side of the large solenoid locknut (not that little nut you are pointing out in the photo), and it should loosen. Daily (3-4 times) spraying with a rust/bolt penetrant will help. It may take time. The other post is correct, the large nut is not an independent nut, it is attached to the solenoid body, and once it is freed it is all by hand. Once out, it looks like this: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/gallery/LS/DSCF0018 Sorry if I am repeating myself. My earlier question is that I just cleaned the area that is visible in the picture as that silver looking screen, and should I have further removed any parts to expose more of the screen? If not, that's all there is to it.

No, that would turn the nut clockwise. Hit it on the other side, Kennyr is right, I used a really large chisel and nailed it hard. You will not damage anything if you keep a steady hand and a give a good firm strike. Be sure to pre-mark the solenoid to the rack before you unscrew it.

I have a 91 like you guys and yes counterclockwise is definitely the way to turn with the solenoid facing vertically, whether on your back or stomach. I just realized after reading this that perhaps I missed the entire screen during cleaning? Here is a photo of the solenoid with screen as posted by Linuxfan: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/gallery/LS/DSCF0018 One thing that may have helped was having a warmed engine beforehand. Besides spraying the nut with liquid wrench, I did have to hit the nut with the hammer and chisel. Just find the outermost corner and give it a solid hit. I could not secure any wrench on it. I hit it with more than a "tap". If you keep your aim and control, you will break it free without any damage. Then it unturns easily by hand. The entire solenoid came off together with the nut attached. I never even noticed a gasket. I think where I may have made a mistake was that once I removed the solenoid, I proceeded to clean the visible screen as seen in Linuxfan's photo. Is the screen further removeable and did I miss some of the screen? Others have referred to popping it out to clean? I just used brake cleaner and a soft toothbrush and every bit of dirt came clean on the thing. My steering improved drastically. I was not able to remove the wiring from the clips as you pointed out in your photo Monarch. I tried for awhile but in the end by being careful I was able to unscrew the solenoid with the wires attached. They did get a bit twisted but never kinked and it wasn't a big issue. When I unscrewed the solenoid with nut I lost the fluid. It took it's time to drain - about 20 minutes until it stopped dripping and was about 8 ounces or so. I have to add that if you are taking the time to do this, it is very easy to add the inline filter on the return hose of to the pump. I purchased mine from Rockauto for less than $20. It is a magnetic filter and also has a bypass in case it becomes clogged. The 2.5" x 5" footprint of the filter was a tight fit but it worked. I had to cut off my existing hose because it wouldn't budge but I purchased a couple feet of new ATF rated hose from Autozone for about $4. Even though it says 3/8" on the hose it also states the MM conversion on the hose that matched the existing one. Even without the hose clamps it was nearly impossible to attach. I put new ATF fluid inside the new hoses and on the pump's metal attachment. Even without the hose clamps, that hose will never move.

After looking at several options regarding my failing air ride on my high mileage 91LS, I decided from a financial standpoint that it was better to buy a conversion kit with a lifetime warranty vs. buying replacement air ride components. Not only does my car have little resale value with high miles, but I don't drive enough miles in a year to warrant spending the $ on air, especially when it will deteriorate from age even without driving. But I was conflicted because I didn't want to give up the smooth handling of the air struts. The drawback for me until now was that the conversion kit manufacturers used KYB struts and compared the ride to a '96 Maxima, not exactly the ride I wanted for my Lexus. Several members have successfully converted but most admit the ride is firmer. Finally, after talking to Arnott Industries, who sells the rebuilt air suspension components, I learned that they are just starting to offer their own conversion kit, that is said to ride at least AS SMOOTH as the existing air ride on the Lexus. What I was informed was that they "personally designed a new shock with the dampening valve similar to the air suspension shocks. The coil springs are manufactured by one of the largest spring companies here in the US". This plus a lifetime warranty as long as I own the car was pretty appealing. I just ordered over the weekend and should have them by the end of the week. $699 plus a $50 rebate for sending the old cores back prepaid. They come already compressed in the springs so I plan to do the install myself. If I'm feeling handy, I will try to take pics of the process and post them. I know that there is already a tutorial for the Strutmasters kit. I'm really excited about the prospects of keeping the qualities of the air ride without the hassles of the air component failures. Will give an update as soon as I can move my fingers again in sub-zero Chicago.

Quote: "am not willing to spend money" I wouldn't replace a battery if it is doing it's job and you are out of work just to improve your sound! I also may be the odd man out here but I have gotten good life with no problems out of Wal-Mart's batteries in my other cars here in Chicago and for $40 you can't go wrong. And although I wouldn't pay the Dealer's price for a new Lexus battery, I had my existing Lexus battery go out at about 36 months and the Lexus warrented replacement cost was only $42.50 - not a bad deal at all. Haven't tried the Optima but they sound like the best - just not sure if the price is justified.

Remember in just 13k miles the timing belt and water pump are recommended to be changed as part of the costly 90k service. So be sure to factor this in to your cost. Is it for sale by a Lexus Dealer? If I am going to buy a Lexus from a Dealer, I would prefer it be from a Dealer who knows the car very well. Have the Dealer run the entire service history. I mostly agree a one owner is better, but I've also seen one owners get very lazy when they know they are getting up there in miles and don't feel like shelling out those Dealer prices or know they'll be dumping it eventually. I'd say if you can have it fully inspected first plus negotiate for the upcoming 90k service then it might be worth considering.

Where are you located exactly? Try KDRAuto.com - Toyota and Lexus Certified Technicians in Gurnee, near Waukegan. These guys work on Lexus' all day at a fraction of the Dealer price. (847)336-4809 Ask for Kenny.

NC - Wow, thanks man! You must be going crazy with all that free time without your LS on your hands! What will you do when it's all fixed up! I have never heard of the Dealer having the parts for conversion but that would be amazing if they did. At this point the only two companies that I can find for conversion kits are Strutmasters and SuncoreIndustries. Suncore's website was sorely lacking and I never got more than 1 lame e-mail response. It would make sense that by installing the hardware I could use OEM parts. Just a little more work to compress the spring onto the strut vs. a fully assembled conversion kit. Pretty sure Strutmasters uses the KYB GR-2 which would ride slightly firmer than OEM but I have no info on the maker of the springs. I'd gladly pay more than $745 (Strutmasters) if I could convert to the same with OEM parts.

I definitely didn't mean to imply that the ride of a Lexus LS400 is harsh in any way. It's the best ride of any car I've driver over the last 20 years. I'm actually gearing my post to my impending decision on converting to the only kit available right now for air shocks, which use their own springs and KYB struts. Unfortunately no one locally I know has converted, and therefore I'd be altering my ride and don't know what to expect. Even the Salersperson from Strutmasters compares the ride to his '96 Maxima. That scares me a bit! I certainly am not happy about altering the original smoothness. For awhile I supported the idea of maintaining the air ride, but with my advanced mileage and age of the struts it is financially smarter to convert, so I guess I will have to take the leap.

Highlander, how do you have both? Do you mean you have another LS without the air ride? I only see the 98 in your profile. I may be about to convert to standard but I can't find anyone locally who has done this to actually test drive their car. I can only go by those on the forum who have switched, and I am afraid to lose my comfy ride - The conversion will make the ride even harsher than the Lexus shock/spring combo and that is why I am hesitating.