nc211

That's when you tell the dealer that you'll pay the asking price as long as they include the 90k FULL service "specify the timing belt and water pump" into the price. Also, make sure they're aware of the Technical Service Bulletin "TSB" numbered EG003-96. I've attached it here. If you can get a Lexus dealership to agree to the 90k full service, and to perform this TSB for the window price they're asking for.....then you have a good deal on your hands! Some...not all...but some of these cars have a bad engine computer that became so severe that lexus made this TSB the ONLY ONE they HIGHLY recommend be done. The other was an actual recall for the starter, which kept burning out. You do this....and you're in great shape! Remember, I paid window for mine, but made them include the full 90k service "$1,700" and then forced them to eat the TSB under their 90 day / 3000 mile window warranty "$2,500", which took some harsh words. I think I got a good deal, since both of these items would have had to come out of my pocket at some point "$4,200" total. They'll be more than happy to throw in labor if you're willing to pay their window price. Actually, I think mine was listed at $14,400 and I wiggled down to $14,000, then met in the middle at $14,200 with the 90k thrown in. 41.pdf

Well gosh, I'm flattered that you would recommend that thread sapper-daddy. I would figure your front rotors life span would depend on your driving style...but...I would also say that you would wear out your pads long before you would wear out your rotors. Have you had your rotors turned a bunch of times already? If you're still on your original pads, then I SERIOUSLY doubt your rotors are bad. Let me guess....you had this service done at your local Lexus dealership?? To give you an idea on rotor life. My car has 110k miles on it, it's 11 years old. At 103k miles I finally replaced the ORIGINAL rotors, and my car has had a hard city driving life.

Roll back the sunroof, look for the two rubber seating squares that are underneath the air dam in the front. Put a couple pieces of cloth tape over those two rubber squares. Close the roof and go for a drive. Let me know what that does... Mine did this too and I put a piece of cloth tape on those two rubber seats.....no more rattle since then. That was in May of 2004.

Clean out the interior air filter "I think your car has one" with some compressed air, or just replace it. Maybe some Fabrezz on the headliner and I would put some Downy fabric softener sheets in the car for a while, let that absorb the odor. Have you had the interior detailed?

;) good idea... Now it could have been that the dash lights went out and someone in that chain of ownership had the panel replaced on the cheap, which would have erased the electronic odometer. But, 4 owners is a lot of different driving styles...and in my personal opinion, throws up a huge red flag on the car's mechanical condition. Why would you get rid of a good Lexus LS400?...not to mention...4 times. Good call amigo...I'd take a pass on this one too. Best $20 you've spent this week huh? ;) Is there anything on there in the mileage area of a service / engine service around the 90k mile range? If so...that might be the 90k service I spoke of earlier, of which you could send the vin to the lexus dealer and they would probably beable to tell you "yes or no" on the timing belt.

I would recommend investing the $20 and signing up for carfax at this point....TRUST ME....you want to do this!!! ;) You will NOT be wasting your money. www.carfax.com

Oh yeah....by the way....thanks for the advice on buying a new gasket, just in case the old one broke....That sucker split into 4 seperate pieces...Thank God I took your advice and had a new one with me! Check out the wobble thread, I was able to post up a picture of the inside of the throttle housing after using the dremel brush. I think that's where I'm seeing the most improvement. I really hit it around that little hole and surrounding areas. You can also see that pipe I was talking about...although a little out of focus, and I about blinded myself from the camera flash.

Thinking about the future car for my soon to be wife. Seeing as how I've pretty much learned mechanics on my 95 LS400, I'm curious how different a GS400 is mechanically to repair? All got the same "clunk" noises and such in the strut rods? Are the engines pretty close to the same set up, if not exactly, minus the electronic throttle differences from my 95 to 98+ models? The reason why I'm thinking GS400 over GS300 is that I'm very familiar with the 4.0 liter V8 engines, and the noises they make. Would like to share my expierences with this engine in the GS model. Pretty much the same? give or take a few minor differences?

The standard response from a Lexus dealership.....why fix it when you can pay 3x to replace it?? It's the slider pins, they just need a little grease. Not sure if you're a DIY type or not, but it's not a hard fix at all. You could probably take to an indi-shop and tell them exactly what to do, and they'd do it for probably $100.

Blake918 and I both have 95's and we have both done extensive repair work on our cars. I think Blake is at 250k miles, and I'm at 110k. I replaced all of my control arms in my suspension because of a wierd clunking noise "at the time, did not know what it was....now I know...it was the lower control arms on the front". I got a great deal on all the parts, so I just shot the whole thing at once...it wasn't really necessary though. So don't take my repairs as "normal" on a 95. Blake has 2x my mileage, and he's on original parts! At the mileage this one has that you're looking at, the one thing that stands out to me that you need to check is the timing belt and water pump replacement. This is done every 90k miles, and is why you will find most used LS's are being sold in the 90-110k mile range. The 90k service from the dealer is like $1,700 +/-. So most owners just sell the car and go buy a new LS instead. However, you can call the Lexus dealer, give them the Vin # and ask them to run a history on the car....they'll beable to see if it's had the 90k service done from that...If it hasn't been done, talk to your local Toyota guy and see what he would charge for just the water pump and timing belt change...probably around $700 would be my guess. Assuming the car has not been abused or wrecked...here is what you'll want to do to bring her back to that new feeling.... 1) Fluids...change them all with OEM Toyota fluids "should smooth out the transmission shift" 2) Motor mounts...2 for the engine..1 for the tranny "should fix the vibration" 3) Serpintine belt 4) Possibly the rear differential mounting bushings, they're 2 of them, but the driver's side one tears 5) Just my opinion on this one...run Mobile 1 5w30 synthetic in the car....again...just my opinion! You should be good with this for quite a while. You will have the clunk at somepoint in the near future, usually a control arm...$100-$200. I would learn how to clean the throttle body too...not hard...and makes her smooth out quite nicely. Learn this site..www.lexls.com for help. If you buy the car, and don't want to spend any money on repairing it...then I would not buy it. They're awesome cars, and will last forever if taken care of. If you look at my signature below, and have read some of my threads, you'll see that I am a repair freak on my car. I purchased mine from the lexus dealer for $14,200 back in April 2003. It had 84k miles on it, original owner. I negotiated the 90k service "water pump and timing belt" into the price. The car also had a bad engine computer and made Lexus replace that too. Everything else has been on my dime. Grand total...I've got about $18,000 in the car. Now I know I'm way flip over in terms of financial...but in terms of most bang for the buck...well...you tell me what I could buy in the market place for that amount of money that would even come close to the Lexus LS400?? If you buy the car, and want to just drive it for a couple of years w/o fixing a few things, you'll probably be dissapointed in the car. If you buy it, get into it, you'll find that you have a world class automobile that will easily last another 10 years and 100k miles...and STILL be nicer than most new cars out there today. Oh...and not to mention that ridiculously low vehicle tax bill...and lower insurance rates too!!!

Hmmm....now this is a first in my book. I wonder if you have a faulty interior thermostat.. By the ignition, do you see a little square with a few rectangle holes? If so, is it dirty? Might take a toothbrush and gently clean out the holes...I've heard of that getting dirty and malfunctioning. Other than that, I'm at a loss my friend..sorry. by the way...welcome to the club!

I assume you're not on "auto" with the tempurature setting?

You know....sometimes a vibrating front end isn't a bad thing.... :whistles: If those of you reading this one don't understand...then you're too young to ask and go to sleep...it's past your curfew. Rotors are enroute as I type..they're 40 miles up the road from me. Now if the weather would just cooperate this weekend, I can put them on and settle this thing! If this fixes it...guys...running out of problems..well..with the car that is.

I'm a bit outside of my neck of the woods here. But...has the air filter and airflow been checked yet? It would seem to me that the three main ingredients needed for cumbustion "fuel, air, spark", and one was not even, the other would over-compensate for it. Basically...if your engine is not getting enough clean air flow, them maybe it's over-compensating with more fuel to created the needed combustion to run the engine??? I say this after I just cleaned my throttle body of slduge this past weekend, and observed an impressive increase in my mpg on my way home "130 mile trip". It has been taking just a tick under half a tank...now, it takes just a tick over a quarter of a tank. And my air filter is very clean..but the throttle body was dirty, especially around the butterfly valve for the airflow. When I say around it, I mean on the outter edges, where air comes into the intake. just a thought, but didn't see anything about checking the air flow into the engine being mentioned yet. might check your air filter before spending bigger buck$$. Hope this helps????

Army, I've clayed a few of my cars over the past "99 subaru outback, 01' maxima, my current LS and my buddies 87' 300Z Turbo". How I have done it is: Wash car with normal car wash soap. Rinse the car, dump bucket and put in new round of same car wash soap and water in bucket. Then I use the new soapy water as my lubricant for the clay bar. The spray stuff mentioned by Walt I'm sure works great! But I don't have a steady enough hand to not get it on the glass and rubber, so I just use the soapy water. I also clay the windows too, to get the embedded bug guts out of the glass. I have just pulled about 1/4 the bar off, flatten it out in my hands, dunk it in the soapy water and go from there. As I go, I have the soapy water in the sponge and soak the area first with it. Now, don't be suprised if when you finish with the clay bar, you look at your car and go "HOLY CRAP, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MY CAR!?!?!" This happened to me on the Subaru....it looked ruined. But once I started putting the polish on it, the shine came through like you wouldn't believe! You'll be glad you did the clay bar on the car...it makes it sooooooo smooth and really cuts down on the wind noise when driving down the road.

I cleaned the throttle body this past weekend...and WOW...what a nice surprise it made in the car's overall smoothness...seems to be a lot quieter, power is applied a lot more smoothly, better mpg and "I don't understand why??" it's shifting absolutely perfectly now, can't even feel the shifts at all! I posted up how I did it in my "figured out the wobble" thread.....anyway, while cleaning it, I noticed inside of the throttle body housing a 4 or 5 inch pipe coming in from the driver's side, on the top. It has an angled tip end, and it was covered in carbon buildup. I cleaned it the best I could with my Dremel attachment scrubber "see wobble thread for details". What is this tube??? Is that part of the EGR component? I've got a picture, but it's too large to post "resolution at max 3200 x 1700..4 megs". I can try to post it if needed. thanks amigos!!!!

My dad just went through this delima last year. He had a Honda minivan...rode rough, seats were hard and uncomfortable and quite a bit of road noise. The lease came up and he went shopping. His favorite was the Toyota for sheer craftmanship in the details. He loved how quiet it was and comfortable. Then he went to check out the Nissan Quest. Although he preferred the Toyota, Nissan cut him such an increadible deal that he got that one instead, and he loves it. It's white with grey leather, fully loaded. It was a steal! But the Toyota is better in my, and his, opinion. Plus, I think it's rated the safest all minivans by the highway transportation crash institute AND the insurance crash institute for the off-set crashes they do. That alone, considering the cargo that'll be in it, would make up my mind right from the start. I think the Nissan looks better, and it is very comfortable and such, I think the Honda looks better now with the updates, but I don't like the way Honda's ride, shift or drive as much as Toyotas and Nissans. Toyota is the winner in my book, for safety, ride, quietness and all around craftsmanship, which translates into longevity of ownership happiness.

easy to understand your confusion..actually, they all use the same platform on their websites, but they're different stores altogether. Check out Hoy Fox Lexus / Toyota from www.parts.com in comparision to the others listed on there, you'll see what I mean. Hey Nc, thanx for the hint, its weird tho, because I was checking out another site awhile ago.. it;s the Park Place Lexus site..and it looks just like that site u gave me... could it be the same?! http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...m?siteid=213808

Falc, I like www.lexuspartsonline.com. You can find a bunch of them from www.parts.com. I find www.lexuspartsonline.com is usually a few dollars cheaper than some of the others. However, some guys on here have "better" connections.

Hahaha!! I don't know what's funnier...the post in general...or the fact that you feared you might of offended me?? ME?? Offend me??? Is that even possible? I'm not even 1/1billionth offended amigo! Well, I can't argue with SRK on the cheap rotor choices...hence my $34 ea. Car-Quest rotors on the front of my car at the moment. Lesson learned along the way I guess. :whistles: I have just completed my first road trip with the new tires...went down to wilmington for the weekend...260 miles round trip. There is no doubt in my mind that the rotors are the problem on my car. She would shake really really really badly for a few minutes...then a gradual turn in the highway and she would calm down for a few seconds....then straight-away...and the shake would gradually come back...so badly that I had to slow down a couple times. When I would take my foot off the gas and coast...it would lessen a bit "the momemtum was evened out, no throttle pushing the car". Put my foot in the gas...and shake she went! It's not a tire balance shake either, it's not in the steering wheel...it's in the car itself, coming from the front. It's got to be the rotors. Should have the new ones on Wed of this week. Anywho, cleaned the throttle body this weekend instead. I want to give a piece of advice to anyone preparring to do this......get....a....dremel tool! Especially one with the flixable hose attachment, and a steel brush dremel bit....made the job CAKE! I am going to attempt to post up some pictures of the process..but not sure if they're too big to post. I have a Craftsman All-In-One cutting tool, which acts as many different tools. I've got the 24 inch flexable attachment which made cleaning the interior of the throttle body very very very easy! I used probably 1/2 a can of actual throttle cleaner, mostly to wipe it clean after using the steel brush. Have a shop vac handy, and some compressed air...and it's cake. On a side note....the cleaning of the throttle has made a huge improvement in not only my gas mileage, but in the overall power band smoothness of the car..and the quietness of the car too. I am really amazed! Wilmington is 130 miles southeast of Raleigh. Usually leaves a full tank of gas sitting between the half tank to 3/4 tank mark..closer to the half tank mark. On my way back up to Raleigh..took just 1/4 a tank of gas. I could not hear that engine hum I've mentioned before on my car anymore. And, when I would release the cruisecontrol from 80 mph, coast down to 70, then "assume" my regular speed, the car does not "jump" up back to speed. Before hand it would jump and act like you were flooring it to get back up to speed. Now, it gently accelerates back to the original speed. Cleaning the TB was not hard, and has given me great results! Now let's see if I can post up the pictures.... i need to learn how to resize my pictures. my new digital camera is set at max resolution and 7.1 megpix. can't attach too many pictures....working on trying to fix it.

Holy-Crap Max....I think this might be the answer! Not to just my car....but to that famous Lexus vibration. If my new rotors fix this problem, and the front wheels are 1/2 as smooth as my rears..then those "soft metal, brass" screws are the problem in general. If anyone here has replaced their own rotors, they know those two centering screw threads strip faster & easier than Courtney Love as a Crack convention. So, take into consideration my experience with the rotors having slack in them, and the banging noise from them. What keeps them balanced?......two, tiny soft metal screws. What feature of any car do you use the most?.....The Brakes. Not what feature uses the most time "gas pedle", but the one you use the most. Now if 13lb's of torque can stip the threads of that screw....what do you think 80,000 miles of stopping a 4,000 lb vehicle would do to them over time? Rotors are heavy, may 20-30-40 pounds each. What do you think 1 or maybe 2 lbs feels like, spinning unbalanced? But what do you think that will do to your tires? Long story short....Here's my theory.... Those who have a vibration they can't seem to fix...check the rotors for those screws. Especially those members who have purchased a used, older Lexus. Because the first owner might have had the rotors replaced at Midas or somthing..where they use the cheaper, non-balancing rotors. Long point, made short...check your rotor screws. Caugh up $20 at your dealer and buy a bag of these screws, and repalce them. I've thought about why use brass screws in such a stress-abused environment, and not steel......brass doesn't rust...ceasing your rotors to your hubs. so, instead of "fixing forever the problem with steel", just accept that once every 80k miles, you need to buy a bag of screws for $20, spend the day...and replace your rotor balancing screws. If 4 or 5 grams of led weights balance a tire....thing what 1/2 a pound of steel would do?

I'm hoping the screws will do it and the rotors are "true". other than lining up the two screw holes to the hub itself, i have no other idea on how to balance them. i know my rear rotors have the screws installed, and the rear wheels are glass smooth now "thanks to the new tires". But the fronts are definatly out of whack! Now with the bad tires gone, new tires on...it's very easy to tell that it's in the brake rotors. I know it's not any of the suspension parts up there, as they're not even a year old and have maybe 15k miles on them. And they were installed correctly, otherwise the dealership would have caught them, like they did with the twisted rear strut at 20 degrees off center. I think this is just one of those "user error" deals, where we all missed the obvious...right in front of our faces. anywho, won't be doing the rotors this weekend, as they were shipped from the warehouse in Washington State instead of here. They won't be here until next week. So...it's time to clean the throttle body! The future Mrs. is on a cruise with her family "last family trip" and out of communication...so....it's one quick property inspection...then beer:30 with the Bubba's at the beach and some good ole' fashion garage time!

The price paid for being at the top of the list! ;)

Just my $2 cents here....I think it's a given that Michelin tires are a good match to the LS400. However, I was unable to afford them, so I went with the Continential Premium Contact tire from Tirerack.com. They were $87 ea. and have about 200 miles on them. I myself am very impressed with them. They're 80k mile tires. They have a soft sidewall and take bumps very well. Now I can't really give an honest comparision to the Michelin's that were on there prior, as they were damaged. But the Continetials are very quiet and quite responsive. I'm very pleased, and I think the consumer ratings on the tire from tirerack.com will show "to a degree" that the general public likes them too. All in all, it cost me just shy of $390 for all 4 tires, plus $40 to mount them. Not too bad if you ask me. But, to each is his own I guess, and we'll see what these tires are like with several thousand miles on them. If the postings on tirerack are correct, then they should be excellent.

Good lord Josh, you been drinkin' on the job again? Man, glad to hear that you're ok, or at least better than what it could have been! Well, kick back, relax and heal up amigo!