nc211

J', you don't want that throttle cable too tight though man, as it can cause harder shifts in the gearing. I learned that one the hard way myself once. The other cable that ties to that connector connects to the transmission ecu port, and if it's too tight the balance gets wacky, which tricks the transmission ecu into thinking you're flooring it, so it shifts faster than normal.

You shouldn't really need any spray if you're dealing with oem parts, especially rotors. Part of that shim kit is the antisqueal pad (the black piece sandwhiched between the silver shim and pad itself). Some people when putting on new pads will scuff them up a little bit on the concrete to accelerate them setting thier own grove pattern in the rotor. But, if you're still getting squeals, a very light turning of the rotor should do the trick, which erases the last pad's grove pattern.

I would just reuse them and save yourself the $100 bucks, as dealerships seem to know that the kits are vital to quiet operation and therefore charge almost as much for them as they do for the pads. Just clean them up, use a little brake grease on the inner piece "the black piece with is the anti-squeel piece" and go from there. Also, see the clips on the tips of the pads? Those are your fitment kits, and you want those. Those are what keep the pads from banging in the caliper seats. Slide those off, clean them up, put a little grease on the outter edges and reuse them. You might have to rebend the upper part to give it it's cushion back, no biggie. Once you take it off and look at them, you'll see what I'm talking about. I had to take a doubletake at your hands. I was about to suggest getting some sun on those pale things! Until I realized you were wearing gloves! hahahaa...

Absolutely, and almost guaranteed to happen. I went through this myself as well with a set of Napa's, then Car Quests, then Walkers, then finally fixed it with oem and shim kits. What's happening is that without the shims, the fitment kits can't get a snug enough hold on the pads, which will allow a very tiny amount of movement of the pads against the caliper seats. To really convince yourself, put the car in reverse, go a few feet then hit the brakes...hear the clank? Then go a few more feet and hit the brakes..don't hear the clank? That's because the pads shifted against the bottom side of the caliper seat with the 1st stop. Now, go forward a few feet and hit the brakes...hear the clank? go a few more feet and hit the brakes again..don't hear the clank? That's becuase the pads shifted to the upper part of the caliper seat on the 1st brake, causing the clank.

Engine Computer....ECM/ECU, which ever you want to call it. This is a notorious problem for the 95-97 series. If you run a search for "Jim Walker" or "ECM" "Stalling", you'll see some threads about it. If you're driving for a while, say on the freeway, hit the exit ramp and the car stalls, but immediately starts again and is fine.....it's the computer. I wouldn't be suprised if you also have a slight bucking sensation when gently cruising at about 40-45mph and gently take your foot off the gas too... That's also a probelm with the computer, it's called off-throttle-shock, search for those words and you'll see more info... EDIT: Sory, Jim Walker is for the dash lights going dark...

They're setting the stage...... Straight from Bloomberg today, and I've seen similar chatter since 4th of July. I think it'll spike again towards Memorial Day before anything serious takes hold. But, just passing along what I'm seeing, you guys think for yourselves on your own opinions, God knows I've spewed mine already (and I'm not budging)! Just remember, these are the same analysts who said (it'll be $150 by 4th of July, and it went up $11 in 5 hours)..... FYI: I bolded the highpoints... July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Jet fuel's 100 percent rise over the past year to a record $4.36 a gallon is setting the stage for its decline in the next six months. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Air Lines Inc. are among carriers readying their biggest cutback in fuel use since 1991 because of the price. The U.S. airline industry plans to ground 413 aircraft, eliminating 8.8 percent of seating capacity, as increasing fuel costs spur losses of as much as $13 billion, the Air Transport Association says. Fuel demand will fall 7.5 percent this year, or 95,000 barrels a day, and 104,000 barrels a day in 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Department. That will spur as much as a 90 percent decline in the fuel's premium to heating oil futures, said Mike Busby, manager of oil and refined-products trading for Northville Industries Corp. in Melville, New York. ``People are responding to a doubling of prices and the airline industry is one industry that is responding,'' said Edward Morse, chief energy economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ``The markets will weaken significantly after the third quarter.'' The decline in airline fuel consumption parallels the drop in gasoline sales to a five-year low as drivers take vacations closer to home and use mass transit. Crude oil declined 35 percent in the three months after Sept. 11, 2001, a time when airline traffic plummeted 30 percent. Jet fuel, along with diesel, is traded at a differential to heating oil futures because the fuels are made from similar components of crude oil at the refinery. Jet fuel, a form of kerosene used to power jets, sold for 19.5 cents a gallon more than the heating oil contract in the New York Harbor market today, twice the average during the past five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The fuel's premium should decline to 2 to 8 cents a gallon by the fourth quarter, Busby said. Price Decline The airline cutbacks ``should help bring the price down,'' said Peter Beutel, president of energy consultant Cameron Hanover Inc. in New Canaan, Connecticut. The current premium is because of ``more than anything the summer demand, the peak demand.'' In 1991, when U.S. jet fuel consumption slid 8.2 percent, crude oil fell 40 percent from a high of $32 a barrel in January to $19.12 by the end of the year. Jet fuel traded at a 1.55 cent discount to heating oil by Dec. 11 of that year, down from a 3.85 cent premium six months earlier. Lehman Brothers expects crude oil to average about $90 in the first quarter of next year. Oil climbed to a record $147.27 a barrel on July 11 amid rising fuel demand in China and India, and the potential threat of an Israeli air strike on Iran. Airline cutbacks may help send the price to $107 a barrel in 2009, Merrill Lynch & Co. said in a July 7 report. Demand for oil will be less than half of initial forecasts, increasing by 616,000 barrels a day, because of the slide in transportation use, Merrill Lynch said. ``There is definitely demand destruction going on,'' Sung Yoo, an oil analyst at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said in a telephone interview. ``We could see a bit of a pullback of the entire oil complex after the summer.'' Refiners have operated at an average of 86.4 percent capacity this year, the lowest since 2001, Energy Department data show. The most interesting part to me in this report is the underlined part about demand for oil being less than half of the initial forecast. If this is true, the oil futures contracts that are running so high today, could easily get spooked by more talk of this nature, causing a dump. Who wants to buy a barrel of oil at $147 bucks, if demand is starting to fade?

ED, you know this answer man! Slow driving over bumps causing clunks...strut rods are your first culprit! :)

SWO knows his tires, I'd take his advice. I messed with Continentals in hopes to avoid the added expense of the Michelins, only to come out about $200 worse off if I had just bought the Michelins to begin with, which is what I ended up with, and was thuroughly happy.

Are you saying when you put the car into drive from park? or when you're already in drive, the engine revs but the transmission doesn't catch until you hit the 1,500 rpm mark? If it's slipping, then you're probably due for some fresh toyota oem fluid. if you think you have anything but oem fluid in there, then I would suggest a visit to your dealership for a flush. If you do have oem in there, but it looks brownish on the stick, then I'd do a search for "drain n' fill" to learn the easiest service you can possibly do to the car. But eitherway, the computer hunts on that car a bit. It's not nearly as bad as others, even far more later models. A very good buddy of mine has an 03 or 04 IS300 in Florida. It's so bad on his, that he nearly got T-boned when he first got it trying to jet out into traffic. He said GO...the car said "WAIT, I'M NOT READY, I'LL GO WHEN I WANT". Last I heard, he was drafting a formal complaint "he's a lawyer" to Lexus and the dealership for ignoring his numerous requests for assistance. That was a few months ago. He still has it though, and says he's learned to understand how to drive it to minimize the effect. It seems like every toyota product has one goofy flaw that drives people nuts. Just be glad you don't have a GX470, or 4runner, that all have a notorious Clunk in the driveshaft from a sticky slider-sleeve, that makes you think you've been rearended when coming to a stop at the stop light.

Actually, it's been discussed quite a lot, but just not in a dedicated thread setting. It's mostly been odd comments here and there for the LS. But most of the folks who have noticed it usually notice their driving technique simply adapts to it over a little bit of time. If you find a permanent fix, please post it up for everyone else to see! I'm sure that would become a sticky on the top of the index page!

Yeah, it started in 98' with the new engine, and the new transmission (5 gears instead of 4). You can swing by a dealership and ask if they have any updates for the softward and reflash the ecu, but to my knowledge, I don't think they do. But throttle lag has been a sore spot for Toyota cars for nearly 10 years now. It's better, but still there. You want to experience some serious throttle lag though, go test drive the new Chevy Malibu. That think must have a Nintendo 64 computer in there.

I'm going to have to find that old Paxil prescription and see if I can't get it refilled, after reading this stuff. Life starts, and stops. No start, no stop. No stop, no start. Just like the rules of time itself. If you all believe in Jesus and the basis for religion, no matter what path of religion you take, then you've got to say to yourself "well, ain't nobody hoovering in the air yet, we must be doing something right". I'll tell you when we'll know we've screwed up and gone too far, is when I can drive my gasoline addicted, nicorrette lovin', capitalistic, short-sided American viewed, white collared wallet with a blue collared smile, Happied-!Removed!-Happy-Mealed, sunburnt, wind-burnt, frost-bit, wiener wackin', lip smackin', !Removed! producin', self-rightous, self serving, self-inflicted but damn good lookin', leftist-rightist-liberal lovin' conservatism to my own grave in my earth killing V8........via the newly formed highway in the parted sea. And as I lay myself down to sleep, I'll mutter the last words of my life "damn, that was fun, but I think my air filter might be a little dirty". Point of my post: live your life to the best of your ability to contribute to the good of society and try not to negatively impact those around you. My best requires a car, expelling methane gas out of my butt, and dimmer switches on my lights. But, I keep the car tuned up, only !Removed! in public if it's obvious I can blame it on somebody else, and barely use my lights at home since my 42 in' power-meeter busting Plasma TV lights up the room enough! I need a beer. Anyone know where I can get an american beer anymore?

SWO....tell me again why you're not a lawyer? Because I gotta' say amigo, you'd probably be pretty damn good at it! I'll tell you where we messed up on taking global warming seriously....Bio-Dome.

Bingo! If you take the lower portion of the steering wheel cover off, you'll see some wires that are wrapped in black tape. Just unwind that tape a little, giving some extra slack, and it should fix it. The car is so well built, it's almost too well built and those wires are so tightly wound together that when they get cold (like from your ac), the casing gets hard and stiffens them, preventing mobility. When the wheel goes up, it tugs on the wires too much and pulls on the connecter within the dash, causing a bad connection.

A few things come to mind with this one. One, your TPS (throttle position sensor) might be a little off, the MAF (mass air flow sensor) might be a little dirty, torque converter is holding lock-up for a brief second (I don't know a lot about how that works though). If you start feeling a stumble in the car around the 40-50mph range when lightly removing your foot from the gas from a gentle constant speed, then I would say the engine computer is acting up (off-throttle-shock). It drops the fuel to the engine too quickly when you take your foot off the gas, causing the engine to act like it's starved and causing a reversing-torque in the transmission. It's quick, but quite noticable if you have it.

It's common, and normal actually. The LS went to fly-by-wire setup in 98', and instantly created a "moment of confusion" in the transmission from the gas peddle while the computer thinks about what you're asking it to do. It's normal, and most folks find that after a while with the car, they've adapted to it and don't really notice anymore. All Toyota's do this, even the ones being built today. Infact, I think the EPA is requiring it on all new cars now, as it seems to reduce pollution. I know our 07 Mazda 3 has the fly-by-wire setup too, but it isn't nearly as bad as Toyota's. I hear most complaints about it from ES and IS owners, especially the IS, as they tend to drive a bit more aggressively. My 4runner does it, my folk's solera convt. does it, friends ES330 does it, neighbors new camry does it. But it began in 98' for the LS when the new VTI engine was introduced to the car.

Wouldn't bother me at all, infact, that's an excellent report in my opinion. It shows that the 1st owner took such good care of the car, that a genuine lexus dealership picked it up for their own inventory at the auction. From there, it was religiously serviced at the same dealership. It looks like the 90k service was done at the very end "manufacturers recommended service". I don't see any suspension parts listed, other than the "parts ordered" entry. But, there is no doubt the dealership has information of that specific nature in their system, and would most likely share it with you. Heck, some even keep the customer's complaints/comments of why the car is in service, what rattles they hear, etc... that one sounds like a winner to me!

J', I gotta' respectfully disagree with you on that one amigo. Why just today, after speaking to our San Fran field office, they told me it was 110 degrees, literally. Now, that's damn hot for San Fran! Just a few weeks ago, here in Raleigh, it was over 100+ for nearly a week straight, which in all honesty is a bit rare for June. Maybe August, but not June. I do think we certainly tax the planet, but to what extent is up for debate. However, in favor of your comments, I will note that I've seen some pretty crazy weather over my life in some pretty random places, way before this whole global warming debate became public debate #1 (well, #2 behind Britney). 1985, Oklahoma City, winter..18 inches of snow in November. Ice & snow on Holloween. 1996-2000..Hurricanes Bertha, Fran, Bonnie, Floyd, and others that I can't rememeber anymore, kept hitting Wilmington, NC, same place, same times of the year. Blah blah blah...you get the point. To say we don't have some sort of impact on the planet, which is primarily water anyway, is a hard sell on me, personally. But to what extent is the question. Those who say "we're all gonna' fry in the next decade", I would suggest a trip to their nearest boobie bar for some purple hooter shooters and relax a bit. But, to say our time will be up at some point? Yeah, I'd buy that. Probably won't be from Mother Earth, but rather Abubu-boobie-bomb-bomb who sneaks a cold-war nuke from russia somewhere, sets it off, and starts a chain reaction. Or a virus, or space rock. You know the rule: If there is no ending, then there technically can be no beginning. Just hope I, my kids, grandkids, and several more generations of me, are long gone feeding the worms by that time. Or, it's quick. Cause' I don't want to be around here if it's Max Mad Thunderdome crap. Screw that, just nuke me, be done with it, and I'll catch you sucka's on the flip side. Eitherway, and to support SWO's comments about ole' Al, he's got the world talking, the scientists are center stage at the UN, the media, the money sources. I don't think anyone would really complain if Detroit stopped smelling like sulfur anymore. If the world outside felt as clean as the world inside. Just think, for those of us old enough to remember when a person could smoke on a plane. Remember how gross that was, yet at the time it seemed normal. Now, thanks to so much media attention on smoking, it's history and I can't even imagine a smoker being indoors of anything anymore, except for maybe a bar. I personally think that's been a fantastic improvement of our quality of life. And I use to be a smoker! Now, as for the past 5+years, I'm a nicorette fien!

Absolutley, you should feel ok about it. When you find one that you like and are serious about it, just swing by your nearest Lexus dealership with the vin, and some sweettalk, and they'll probably run it through their service records to confirm what service and repairs have been done by Lexus on the car. I would have to say, that report is probably the key to getting a good one. If you're even marginally capable around the engine, it doesnt take much money or time to bring back a 400 engine to brand spankin' new operations, as most that ever needs to be serviced are fluids, plugs and that timing belt plus water pump. Everything else is pretty much bullet proof. I'd take a Lexus 4.0 V8 that was even marginally maintained over just about any other engine out there with half the miles and twice the maintenance, any day of the week. In fact, if my wife liked Lexus cars in general, our little Mazda 3 would actually be an IS300, or GS300/400. But, she doesn't really care for them. Although, she loves the new ones...go figure.

Of note: the V8's have a very expensive 90k service requirement, which includes the timing belt and water pump. Usually around $1,500+ at the dealership, $800 from an indi. You'll want to make sure if you're looking at that mileage that it's been done, or factor it into your offer if not. Secondly, do a search for "strut rods" and read up on the "clunk" when those strut rod bushings go out. Not terribly expensive to replace, probably $250-$300 for both parts. You mention bumps and chunks in the road. When you test drive, go over bumps at normal speeds and slow speeds and listen for any clunk noises. If you hear it, you'll know the car is ready for some suspension repairs. Of all the things that could go wrong with cars, the Lexus is by far one of the very best ever built. But, that soft/quiet/smooth ride is at the cost of very soft rubber bushings in all the suspension parts. Those bushings usually last longer than almost all other suspension parts in all cars. But at the 90-100k marks, you start to see some signs of bushing wear on the most abused parts, like the front strut rods, rear carrier arms, and sometimes lower control arms.

In that case, then I would probably go with the 400. I assume you're talking used, as you note 400 not 430. Buying used, the V8 tends to be in better shape for the same reason SWO mentioned about power v. weight. The V8 in a GS is almost overkill, with means it doesn't have to work nearly as hard to get moving. Plus, I'm sure after the 2.5 6 in your BMW, you probably have an itchin' for a V8. I like that BMW! If I could have a 3rd car, I'd probably buy one. However, I spent quite a long time reviewing the 3 series in general, as I really love those wagons, but was spooked a little due to that rear subframe mount problem. After driving just one with my wife, which clearly had that issue, I canned the idea of German in general. When they're right, man are they some serious fun, which is probably 90% of the time. But, when they're wrong, man are they pains in the butts. But if I came across a nice wagon sport of the same design as yours, I'd have to rethink some things. I think they're just the most beautiful 3 series ever made (that design period in general, not just the wagon). One thing you'll notice though with regards to costs of repairs on the Lexus v. your BMW, is that they aren't cheap, at all. Parts are far more expensive, especially brake rotors and such. But, the upside to that is that you rarely have to fix a Lexus.

Road rage of an SUV driver: My wife is always with me when I'm driving the 4runner and a pack of hotties in "summer" attire pull up next to me in a convertible. It makes <_< turn into :chairshot: which leads to :cries:

One thing to take into consideration outside of the published mpg figures is the type of driving being done. New Rochelle, NY is a pretty heavy traffic spot, with lots of stop & goes. On the open road, the V8 & V6 are pretty much dead even on mpg's. The V8 for open road cruising is the best choice, as you have those two extra ponies ready to launch you around traffic, and it runs at a very low rpm. Very quiet, very smooth. But, that's Lexus in general. But if you're going stop light to stop light every day, the benefits of the V8 are somewhat dimished. Case in point, my 4.7 V8 in the 4runner can haul the family and TONS of baby gear to the coast and back on about 15 gal's of gas (21 gal. tank). It's about 190 miles eachway ~ 380 round trip. It's an easy country drive on empty country highways, with a constant speed and cruise control. That equates to about 25 mpg's which isn't bad for nearly 5,000lb's on permanent 4x4. But, when I'm around town in the traffic light durby, the mpg's FALL horribly. In serious traffic, I'd be lucky if I pulled down 12 to 14 mpg's. It's all the sitting, inching foward, stop and goes that really hurt the V8's. I swear, I take my eyes off the gas needle for 5 minutes, then look down at it again, it's provokes a reaction from me that is a relatively nasty insult on Mothers, if you catch my drift! My old 95' LS, without the benefits of the VTI engine and 5 speed transmission that SWO is referring to with his 98+ model years would do a little better, but not by much. So, if you're commuting in the stop light durby 90% of the time and mpg's really are a decision maker for you, then I'd have to really consider the 300 over the 400. Infact, to be honest, if you're in that kind of traffic, I'd almost pass on the 300 and 400 engines in general, and look at the "h" engines (hybrids). Granted, they're at a premium now, but depending on how long you plan on keeping the car, a $2k premium isn't all that bad, no matter if gas prices fell to $1 a gallon or not. But if you're "cruising" 90% of the time, then spoil yourself with the V8. You'll love it!

You don't have "axles" on the front, only on the rear where the power delivery to the wheels are. It sounds like to me that you've got a case of strut-rod-rot. The bushings in the strut rods are most likely worn out. Strut rods are the part of the suspension that connect to the lower control arm and the frame of the car under the corners of your front fender. Very common problem. $2,500 for any car that starts and drives isn't bad. But, if you bought this car to avoid being nickled and dimed, I'm sorry man, but you probably made a mistake. Anything of that age is going to have problems.

swapping out parts like that won't give you much in return, and certainly don't mess with that damn tornado thing, as it's been known to throw codes in these cars. Save your money on the parts and instead invest your time on some servicing. You'll want to clean the throttle body (search for proceedure), you'll want to run some seafoam through the intake (search for proceedure), you'll want to cycle a cup of seafoam in with your oil at idle for about 20 minutes before changing it (search for proceedure), you'll want to put in new plugs AFTER the seafoam, you'll want your air filter clean, you'll want synthetic oil and synthetic rear differential oil. You'll want to understand how do "drain n' fill" the transmission fluid (search for proceedure), you'll want to detail the car up to make it smooth as glass. And then, you'll want to just kick back and cruise. The V8 is great, and will treat you and your wallet well. But you get addicted to that V8 kick under your foot, and your foot will soon find your butt and kick it everytime you fill it up! The debate on the KN air filter is eitherway. Some like it, some don't and say it allows too much dirt into the engine. Honestly, oem set up seems to work great. I did all of these things to my old LS, and was still clearing 25mpg+ at 80mph, and 18mpg around town. But, I have a heavy foot and addictive personality, so city mpg was only that good when my wife was in the car. When she wasn't...i'd say probably 12-13mpg around town. I LOVE V8 ENGINES!