nc211
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Posts posted by nc211
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Yeah, that's true....too much caffiene today. All it is good, didn't mean to bark Hammo, sorry bubba. The thing about the written word, is that the emotion behind it can be misunderstood at times. Army is my boy! Hooked me up on some great deals in the past! Who da' man? YOU DA' MAN!!
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Hammo, take this anyway you want to my friend, but Army has made a lot more contributions to this board than you have in helping us other members figure out our cars. So in my eyes, you're the newbie here. Also, who cares how many pictures are posted up here? Who are you to dictate the server(s) capacity? I'm sorry, but I don't see "Moderator, or Administrator" next to your name?? Not trying to p*ss on your parade amigo, and I too respect opinions, all opinions.
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read my "think i figured out the wobble" thread. My dealer is top notch. I understand where you're coming from, especially at indi mechanics or other manufacturer's outfits. But I have a hard time believing Lexus is one of those types of places. True there are those few who've had a bad experience, maybe caught the cashier on a bad day or something like that, but I disagree on Lexus dealers being bad in general. Question, you mention that you double check everything, I'm curious about something. How many times have you caught the dealership !Removed! you? Because in all honesty, if they made a mistake "and it does happen" then it's a mistake and they'll fix it. But if they're doing it on purpose, then they're just plain stupid and risk loosing their reputation, not to mention their business license and their rank with Lexus USA on the list for inventory delivery status. The better the dealership, the higher up the list they go to get the newest models delivered. And who is to say that when you take your car to the second dealership to make sure the 1st dealership did the work right, that the second dealership isn't going to just remove that new part the 1st dealership just installed, and replace it with a used one laying around, and put your new part back into rotation, or maybe install it on thier own Lexus?
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Glen, at that mileage, I bet you're right on the motor mounts. When I had my tranny mount changed at 90k, you couldn't really tell the difference between the old one and the new one except for the old one being dirty a little bit more compressed.
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Morg, have someone "you trust with your life" help you on inspecting the diff bushing. Put the e-brake on, and have the person with one foot on the brake ped, shift the car into Drive. While they're doing this, you'll be on the ground, behind the car with a flashlight. Don't crawl under the car as it will shift downward when it goes into drive, but be right behind it. Look at the driver's side differential bushing when the car is in D. Is it torn? This method will show it's flaws if it is torn. It will always sag a little bit towards the bottom, even my new ones do that, but the internal medal ring should not be touching the external metal ring. This will tell you if the bushing is toast. Funny thing, the dealership says those parts rarely ever go out, but it's pretty clear on here anyway that they do go out and can get ripped apart. Especially on the 95 & 96 models that have ever had the off-throttle-shock syndrome.
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I can definately tell the difference that twisted shock made to the ride of the car. Now that it's lined up correctly, the side to side wobble is gone. No more feeling like the car is pulling itself like in a game of tug & war. I can feel the bad tires in the back though, but barely and very very faintly. That doesn't bother me though because at least now I know what it is for sure. Man, it sure was nice getting back into my car after being out of it for 10 days. I almost forgot how big and lumbersome it really is, and I love it! Blake, yeah man, after that picture, you need an american or euro car amigo. I'm afraid that Japoneese cars won't fit you right in general. They've always made the interiors small like that for some reason?? You'd think that since they've pretty much mastered everything else in a car, they'd master the many aspects of "American" drivers? For me, at 5'10 and a buck 65, the LS fits fine, like a pair of loose shoes. Anywho, I appreciate all the good feedback on this thread "Army ;) " and very thankful the car is actually back to normal. Nothing leaking, squeeking, rattling or shaking. Oh my god, wait, nothing is wrong?
Give me time though, I'm sure I'll come up with something. Oh yeah, need to drain the fluids soon....whew, that was close. For me these days, free time = discussions with the soon to be wife about floral patterns and china 
. Like I want to do that! 
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Thanks DC, yeah I would have NEVER guessed a twisted strut was causing some binding and stressing out the bushings in a billion years.
Dave "mechanic" knows his stuff! I just can't wait to get back in my car, and have that steering wheel drop down into my lap and cruise on! -
Morg, I'm betting it's your tranny mount banging around. Post up what you find if you don't mind. I posted up my results under the wobble thread. Dealer said the lurch is normal for car this old and there is no real one silver bullet part that will fix it, as it's a part of the whole system. Thank the EPA for making Toyota program the car's computer to hold the 1,570 +/- rpm during warm up to reduce pollution. If you think about it, what car wouldn't lurch a bit at that idle speed? Or at least that's what I tell myself in the morning when mine does it! Hahaha. Keeps me sane. But in your case, I'm thinking tranny mount probably, and maybe those differential mounting bushings. I can't remember, didn't you tell me a while back that yours were torn too?
Apparently, there is no u-joint on the LS.With this in mind, I have some symptoms that might be arising from the same problem:
1. Metal Clunk (or Clank if you will) when shifting into D or R.
2. Excessive vibration at 75-80 mph.
3. Rythmic rumbling when in Park on a cold start-up
When I got under my car and moved the driveshaft, I could turn it about 1/4 of a turn in each direction before having it stop and make a metal-on-metal noise. I'm not sure if this is "normal" (i.e. it should make a noise when it is in neutral and is moved manually with the e-brake on) or whether this metal noise is indicative of a failing spider-joint in the propellor shaft, or the center support bearing is making this noise etc etc.
I have a feeling that my tranny mount might need to be replaced, and im hoping that the driveshaft is not in need of replacing.
Either way I'm taking it in on thursday to have the dealer check it out.
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Fixed!! Fixed!! Fixed!!!
:D 
B) ;) :cheers: :cheers: And the culprit was.....drum roll please......
Twisted shock absorber, a loose bolt in the rear passenger side lower control arm and bad tire(s) somewhere on the car. Road force testing did not show which tire it was, but new tires were put on from another car, and the ride quality did leaps and bounds foward! No more wobble, no more anything other than smoothness and quietness. Get this, they also went ahead and fixed my leak and my spastic steering wheel for free! Now you tell me another dealership that would do that for your 10 year old car??? My dealership treated me like I had purchased their most expensive car on the lot, when in all reality I bought one of their cheapest 18+ months ago!
Johnson Lexus of Raleigh....I stand behind them and their service!
On a side note to all who have that lurch. It is normal. I asked my mechanic about it, and remember he owned a 96 personally, and is the dealership's top mechanic. He said it is due to the federal regulations put in place in that year that required Toyota to program the computer to hold a higher idle during warm-up to reduce pollution. Now granted, the cars did not do that when they were new, but with 100k miles on them, it's just a normal characteristic of age. It's nothing that will break or do damage to the car, it's just normal. I asked him about the flex-couplings on the ends of the prop. shaft and if replacing them would make a difference, he said probably not, and that I shouldn't waste my money on trying to fix it, as it's a characteristic of all parts connected in the sequence. There is no one silver bullet part that will stop it from lurching at 1,500 rpm.
But anyway....I can now finally put this thread to rest! Oh man, I can't wait to get my car back later today!!! I miss the LS400! The ES330 is sweet, but that electronic throttle set up on that car drives me nuts. And I've about pushed my luck with not getting a speeding ticket. It handles a lot better than my LS does....it's like screaming around in a go-cart! No body lean or anything.
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Did you tell your mechanic to disconnect the battery for a few minutes like RF said? If not, then do this first before you mess with anything else!!
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....11/28....still waiting. Last update was that a "donor" car was found and they're going to go part by part in the suspension and drive shaft area to pinpoint the problem..... carry on ;)
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All those options....and no sunroof? That thing must be a diplomatic bomb proof cruiser or somthing. I mean it looks like it's the "Q'" James Bond series of options in it.
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Welcome to the club amigo! That's a sharp looking car! You can easily see that the previous owner took good care of it, you should have a lot of fun with her for the next several years. Yeah, you got a great deal!
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Ahhh, ok, I understand now, thanks guys!
I sort of figured along those lines, just wasn't 100% sure how it went. Never too young to ask, never too old to learn. -
I agree about BMW not being in the red. If they were I think we be reading about interior craftmanship slipping. Case in point: Nissan, they were in the red, and it's obvious they skimped on the interior quality a bit, especially on the new maxima. Reviews all cite the same thing "interior parts feel cheap, plastic is cheap and interior is sparse."
Anywho, My LS430, I hope you find the right car for you! I can't honestly say that an LS400 isn't somewhat boring at times. But it's all in the eye of the beholder. If the LS doesn't scratch your itch anymore, that's quite alright and understandable. Not to sound negative, but sometimes the best way to really appreciate the car is to take the leap to a different car in general. I find myself at times feeling like "man, that Q45 sure dues look sharp" or "I really miss that sports car feel of my old Maxima SE" after all I've been driving is my LS. But for me, that itch gets scratched every single time after I drive one of those cars for a bit, and then get back into my 10 year old LS. I always feel like "hello baby, sure did miss you, let's cruise!" If the LS was for everyone, well, then there would be no BMW, Audi, MB or anything else for that matter out there. I wish you luck, hope you don't stop posting up here and please let us know what you buy and how you like it.
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I agree with bicol-ini completely "infact he's the one that introduced me to this website
... i remember my friend ;) " There are 3 mounts total; 2 for the motor and 1 for the tranny. It can be confusing to tell from online part vendors because they're listed as front and rear. They don't say "frontS..just front" The fronts are the two engine mounts. The rear is the tranny mount. If you just replace the driver's side "which is the hardest one to do", then you'll see the passenger's sides flaws right away. So do them both and be done with them. The tranny mount usually demonstrates it's own signals for needing replacement outside of the engine mounts. But not able to determine how many miles you've put on the car since ownership to determine the age of the mount. If the tranny mount is new, then I wouldn't worry about that. Easy way to see if your engine mounts are bad is to raise the hood, get in the car, put on the e-brake, put your foot on the brake pedal, and put it into gear. Use your other foot to put a little pressure on the gas pedal and look at the engine. If it's shifting quite a bit "beyond 1/2 -1 inch" from left to right, then they're worn. Honestly, if they're the original mounts at that mileage, then my bet is yes, they're worn out. Replace them for sure.
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Hahaha, yeah I'm starting to miss my LS a bit. I've got an 05 ES to drive, and it's nice...very nice. But I want my V8 back and that heavy spongy feel. But I'll wait for however long it takes so I don't have to ask anymore wobble questions, just answer them. This ES has the wood wheel on it, and I'm 50/50 on how I like it. Feels smooth in the hands, but if you've got lotion on, it's slick. And you can't use your knee very well to hold the wheel for those quick times when you need both hands. Oh, and good lord is it COLD in the morning. But I like the way it looks and feels when turning. I have no idea when I'll get the LS back, probably not until next week sometime. Gun, check out www.lexuspartsonline.com for price quotes on struts and springs. I wouldn't think you would have to replace that many parts as I think the control arms are all the same. I know my oem struts were like $48 a piece. Probably some nickle and dime hardware changes in the upper connectors along with the springs.
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.
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Widow, one more thought....when they did the water pump and timing belt, did they do the fluids too? Was is it a normal 90k service? I'm curious how much they charged you for that service alone. If it's what I think it was "$1,300 +/-", then I would think that would fall under the full-on 90k with fluids flushed and so forth. If they didn't do the fluids, yet charged you the same, then I would call and ask why, and if they will flush them for you, since you probably paid for it anyway.
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Gun, is it possible to just order the mounting hardware for the conversion, and order the springs and struts oem? Will they match up correctly if you blend the two w/o having to alter the mounting hardware? My dealer told me once on a road test "to figure out the damn wobble, 12 months ago" about those who come in w/ bad air shocks that they usually will convert it to oem struts and springs. So I would figure if the dealership recommended it, then it's just a matter of what parts are needed, and then we go shopping online for the deep discounts. Maybe get you $200-$300 inside of the overall cost to strutmaster? I'd be a little concerned too if someone told me my LS400 would now ride like a 96 Maxima. Not to knock the Maxima or anything....but it ain't no LS400, in any comparision. And coming from the air strut set up, you know that there will be a higher probability that you won't be happy with the aftermarket set up and always wonder what the oem set up would have felt like. I'll hunt for parts for ya' if you like ;)
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Widow, although the mechanic who did the inspection missed the tie rod, some of these parts won't show their true flaws until removed. I wouldn't push the issue, besides, you might need them one day like me for the wobble problem. Glad you're enjoying the new ride! Those mounts make all the difference in the world on these cars. In my opinion, they're the three most crucial parts to replace in terms of smoothness and quiet operation of the car "and good tires of course". Now, promise me no more $2,200 trips to the dealership unless absolutely necessary B) . We'll take it from here
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Vic, mess with cmbs's?
Investment analyst with one of the largest commercial lenders in asset based lending. Fun job with lots of travel. Can't wait till I get a new GS430 or GS450! -
So is the price they quote based upon me giving them my old part at time of purchase, or will be refunded that "core" amount when I bring in my old part to them?
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It's such a cheap but important part that I wouldn't go with aftermarket or rebuilt, I'd buy a new oem one. I'm not 100% sure if that's the part # in the picture or not, just comes close to the description. Maybe wwest will post up again with the answer. That part is listed for $13 on www.lexuspartsonline.com.
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Might be a dumb question, but some say I'm a dumba**, so it fits. When I'm looking at part prices, and it lists a $value for "core", what are they saying? Ex: A 1993 LS400 Alternator can be purchased online for $273, but has a "core" value of $30. I'm lost on that translation
thanks guys / gals
:cheers: 
Give me time though, I'm sure I'll come up with something. Oh yeah, need to drain the fluids soon....whew, that was close. For me these days, free time = discussions with the soon to be wife about floral patterns and china 
. Like I want to do that! 
B) ;) 
90k Service
in 90 - 00 Lexus LS400
Posted
DANG!! I would have no trust either under those circumstances! Hey, sorry man, I sort of stepped on your toes a bit today, and in the other thread. Too much caffiene and dealings with the general public in general. That, and I ran out of niccorette about two hours ago, so I'm a little touchy at the moment
. No ill harm intended if I came off that way. 