Econ

If you're really intent on high-performance filtration, check on cannister filters for the LS400. They're more expensive initially ($25-$50 generally), but give you the ability to relpace the filter element only in future changes ($1-$9 per filter, usually in boxes of 10). They do a great filtration job due to the high density folds in the element. There is another benefit having to do with lower oil pressure within the filter (which enhances flow rates), but I'm not sure on the science behind it. The only real way to find out if filter A is better designed than filter B is to cut them open (to see the elements). Count the folds and that will give you a rough idea (more folds implies better filtration). There used to be a website that compared a wide selection of filters in this manner - might want to google it.

Digging this out of the ground only to add a final solution. Thanks to all that contributed ideas. Unfortunately, nothing can overcome the combined stupidity of Checker and I. Checker gave me a battery with the wrong polarity and I never had the good sense to actually check which side was the positive lead and which was the negative. It did strike me as odd that the negative side of the battery would go straight to the junction box. <_< Again, thanks to everyone. For those of you searching for a solution, check your battery terminals. On a 1st gen LS400, the positive post is on the left (standing at the front of the car) and the negative lead is on the right.

SK - Good idea. Using that method, I should be able to narrow down which circuits might have a short, if it's a short at all. Mehullica - Good catch as well - someone recommended that to me offline. I get a +12.5V when I test using where the neg and pos leads are currently hooked up - and -12.5V when I reverse it. Thanks for the suggestions guys, I appreciate the quick feedback.

It looks like that will do it for stop lights. Is there a separate diagram for rear turn signals? Thanks!! Keeya. Ninja skills. Turn signals attached.

Is this what you might be looking for? (This is a 1991 LS 400, but should be fairly much the same)

I hate to post up new problems, but I've searched and searched and can't find anything on this: 1991 LS 400 recently started having problems with the dash lights and radio blinking off (cutting out) when the brake was applied. Then, the battery died one very rainy day and the car has been sitting since. I replaced the battery, but every time I connect the negative lead to the terminal on the battery, a huge spark jumps and the 120 amp main fuse (120A fusible link) blows. I found the solution thread for the brake/dash light problem -- the possible worn wires in the left hinge of the trunk -- (here http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=17013&hl= for those of you who pull this up in a search) and inspected mine only to find three wires already patched with crimp connectors in place. I've replaced them with my own (they looked a little small for the wire) and inspected the rest of the wires, which looked fine. Additionally, I had self-installed a CD changer in the trunk and had done a poor job of splicing on the ground wire (wht-blk striped wire) nearer the brake light. I repaired that connection as well. I'm still stuck with the spark and then blowing fuse problem, however. I have checked for continuity between the positive and negative leads (while disconnected from the battery) and found that there was a completed circuit (~ 1450 kohms resistance, though). I wasn't sure if that indicative of a confirmed short somewhere or not. My next step is to work on cleaning the ground points to ensure there aren't corrosion problems. Of course, I can connect the battery and the 30 amp fusible link to the starter and engine is fine. Anyone else have any suggestions as to where I should be looking? Thanks for any help you all can provide. I appreciate it.

Good analogy, except that I'm hesitant to judge the life of the car based on the fuel pump's ability to keep going. Plus, and I'm no surgeon, it seems like a fuel pump transplant is waaaay easier than open-heart surgery.

Yeah, you can replace them yourself - lexls.com has a rockin' walkthrough, you definitely need to review it before replacing the sensors. Get an O2 sensor wrench if you can spare the $, they make things a little easier in my opinion (I got a set of 3 for $25 from the site lexls.com refers you to for sensors). Part #s for the O2 sensors: Front - 8946550010 Rear - 8946550020 Torque specs are 33 ft. lbs.

I just replaced my upper control arm this weekend and used a 1/2" drive breaker bar. If you don't have one, I highly advise you go get one, it's definitely worth the money (esp. in situations like this). If you can't get a bolt loose, try worrying it - alternate between tightening and loosening the bolt. That's worked wonders on some nuts/bolts that I thought I would never get loose. It's definitely a tight space to use an impact wrench in - don't strip the bolt! Also, there are body mounts where the bolts sink into. It would be a -real- pain to get to them, I'm sure, but it's better than being forced to do it b/c you don't have a head on the bolt anymore. Good luck!

A million thanks, nc211, for the parts.com reference. I was wondering why, 1) All these online parts guys looked like they used the same interface, and 2) Why there wasn't a central registry so I could compare prices with ease. Kickass. In regards to the grommets, jadecuir, they really are flimsy little pieces of rubber, and fairly easy to replace. It takes some time and patience to work them in (on the 1st gen, at least), but no more than an hour total time. I noticed some problems when going over bumps while turning - the wheel would really wobble sometimes. Abnormally so, when compared to my other cars. I figure the rack was shifting slightly, which was changing both the angle on the shaft and the turning resistance against the tie rods.

I think they're actually called "Toyota/Lexus Auto Shop", but I'm not sure. You might want to check with mickg's recommendation first as he seems to have extensive personal experience with them.

Yoikes. That's not good. Ok, there's a harness with the female side closest to the radio that has the white w/blue stripe providing power from a 20A fuse. The grey wire doesn't come from a harness, according to the diagram. Given the difficulty and my inability to expand much beyond what I told you, it might be a good idea just to get a harness and remove the pins you aren't going to use.

Someone else asked this question a while ago - definitely do a search. There's a shop on Broadway south of Alameda just before I-25 that is a Toyota/Lexus shop. I've heard some positive things about them. Anything in particular wrong or are you just looking ahead of a problem?

Ahh - external/internal bypass leakage. Rack's go bad, unfortunately, and especially with the nifty do-dads on the LS rack, they're expensive and tedious to replace. $350 for a rack from a mechanic is a little low, but not outrageously cheap. It's a little under a keystone (100%) markup, but still only about $70 more than you could probably order it yourself for. The labor per hour is pretty in-line with what I've seen around here, and they're not kidding. It took me 10 hours to replace my rack myself, and there's still an annoying slow leak coming from somewhere that will likely require me to remove the rack and re-tighten connections. It's in there in a really awkward way. Sorry to hear about the hit to the pocketbook. One thing that you absolutely must make sure they do if you're replacing the rack is clean the filters and (since it's on their time) swap the fluid. Nice thing is, you'll unquestionably notice a difference in steering once it's replaced and you should be good for another 150k miles.

Whoa - $614 for tires? What are they made out of? Once you hit $500 for tires on the LS, you probably should be thinking about what you're buying. Tires are a big part of ride quality, but there are diminishing returns as you go up the price scale.

If I'm reading my diagram correctly, there's a white wire with a blue stripe that provides up to 20A to the radio, subwoofer and antenna. There's also a gray wire providing a 7.5A source to the radio only - I think this is the remote... (marked ACC in the diagram) Not sure what you're looking for in regards to the ignition wire. It thought the remote signaled when the car was on.

Wait, wait, wait. The P/S fluid level is full but you're still hearing the groaning noise? That seems odd unless your pump is waaaay gone and you're notcing that it's harder to turn the steering wheel. In regards to driving the car, it's only going to be rough on your pump, which sounds like it's already going out. The mileage isn't really the problem, it's how often you have to turn. But I wouldn't sweat it, just make sure to check your fluid levels before you go. The pump replacement really shouldn't be all that much if you go to an independent mechanic. You're looking at about $250-$300 for parts (incl. their markup) and about 1.5-2 hours of labor. If you get the hoses replaced, you're going to probably get close to doubling that price. Some recommend replacing the hoses regardless - I don't. Depends on how conservative you want to be.

Hey, nc211 - are you going to be putting together a how-to? I was going to replace the front upper control arm on my 91 LS this weekend as well (provided parts arrive today) and was going to do the pics and such, but I don't want to duplicate work pointlessly. In regards to the Daizen bushings, check around for them at Sewell Lexus. Or click on this Linky, yo Last time I checked, Daizen didn't have them out, but wanted to target May 2005. Of course, they said that they'd be out 4th quarter of '04, so we may or may not see them. However, for $100 for both sides, you can't really go wrong if your bushings are bad. That said, I've had to replace my control arms not because the bushings are bad but becasue the upper ball joint is shot. There's no way to replace that by itself, so you'd need a new control arm. Make sure your bushings are bad rather than the ball joint before you invest in the Daizen aftermarket stuff (unless you want to replace them anyway). Also, alternator isn't necessarily a snap, but it's not all that hard either. Certainly easier than a power steering pump, which you should ABSOLUTELY check for leaks as well. The pumps on Gen 1's seem to be notorious for leaking all over the alternator and ruining themselves and the alt. If your alternator is bad, it's possible you have a leaky P/S pump. That said, welcome to the club. I love working on my Leuxs, and a lot of others around here feel the same way, so never hesitate to ask if you have questions.

Or, at the very least, meets the requirements of Toyota spec fluid.

Big time hassle to repair. To make the job tolerable, you have to drop the transmission to get to the pipe. Some have talked about doing it without dropping the transmission, but there's a bracket on the pipe that you won't be able to bolt on (if I remember correctly).

How much oil are we talking about? You can step-up your gaskets by adding a small rubber washer to your plug. But I don't understand how you re-tapped the pan and 1) didn't get metal shavings inside, or 2) have the bolt fitting to specs with oil leaking through the threads. Oil pans suck.

Niiiiice. So you need to sign a falsified legal document to get the R12. Save yourself some moral highground and convert. You're doing yourself a favor trust me - this kind of stuff is buying trouble.

Someone here referenced a pseudo-rebuild posting about air-suspension not long ago. The how-to covered things like checking hoses for leaks and replacing seals. It's possible that the pop you heard was a hose giving way and not actually the shock itself. I would definitely take the time to do a search, as it might save you some money.

True to an extent, Monarch, but be careful with your insinuation that Redline Oils can not outperform a dealer spec fluid. My experience with Redline was/is at the track, used in autox and street-legal road races. Advertising has done little to influence me in this regard. I wasn't sure what you were talking about with the Weapon R intake. The vid didn't really show much except for an intake and someone revving the engine. Let me know what I missed - I know you mentioned it for a reason. I think the important thing to consider is that dealer fluids/parts, while OEM, aren't always the best pick. There are plenty of times that I'm going to favor OEM items over aftermarket, but given enough research and experience it's not hard to find areas where things can be improved. What auto manufacturer has the time to devote to developing the ideal friction modifier to be used in conjunction with a wide array of operating temps? They wouldn't be making cars in that case - they would be making transmission oils. Everything can be improved upon. Buying an aftermarket replacement doesn't necessarily guarantee this, though.

That's a good question. I need to replace the ATF myself and I've been toying with trying out a Redline Oils ATF, but have been hesitant to do so because of how little I know about (and can find out about) the Toyota Type IV (which replaced the type II ATF recommended by the manual). Specifically I've been curious about their Synthetic D4 ATF which supposedly meets the requirements included in the next Dextron IV standard. I've had excellent experience with their MTL fluid (for manual trans) in my other car and the cost is substantially less than the dealer MTX fluid ($8 per quart vs. $20).