nc211

Oh, I think it's pretty much a given now, we're in a downturn with several states already in the grips of a recession, like Ohio, Michigan, Florida... In the commercial real estate world, we're evaluating things back in 2004 terms, pretty much wiping the slate clean and hitting the reset button for the past 4 years, just to be safe. I've read numerous "doom & gloom" articles recently, one of which was a 12 step total global financial & economical meltdown scenario, which is possible. I agree steve, it's pretty ugly. Fortunatly from what we're seeing, DC is hanging in there quite well, with still nation leading numbers in terms of employement growth and income levels, but certainly down from 18 months ago. New data is coming out now. But, I stick by my earlier predictions regarding all of this turmoil in connection with the changing of the guard "presidential election". I think once this country has a clearer picture of who's going to lead the next 4 years, markets will adjust accordingly and get back on track. All the negative press on the markets, are quite academic, and some quite good. But, as my gripe with the scholarly world, they just look at charts and graphs, and always forget the "human factor" of drive. Right now, it's all in limbo, with soooo many different platforms and ideas being thrown around every night on the news. Nobody can see which way we're going yet. Just as it was back in the early 80's when Reagan came in, early 90's when Clinton came in, 2000 when Bush came in, and now... It's a clear cycle, for whatever reasons. The ones who will HANG in the near future are the oil traders who are artificially running up the gas prices with manipulating the futures contracts on wall street. Mark my words, once the election picture is clearer, no matter who wins, and Big Oil is out of the White House, the hammer will drop on the oil sector and we'll be back to normal gas prices.....mark my words. But expect to pay the highest ever during this last and final summer of Bush/Cheney.... The Oil guys will take full advantage of the last spin around the golden fountain. PS: if you're an analyst from one of the rating agencies "Moody's, SP, Etc...", I wouldn't be bragging about that on your resume' any time soon. Good luck getting a job at the Gap, after the fine job you've done with the AAA ratings on subprime securitization and CDO's.....you idiots! Some of you probably couldn't get the freakin' weather season right, thanks to that multi-million dollar bonus from Santa Clause, predicated on you saying June was winter, and December was summer.

It's hard to tell how many miles on these tires actually, because everything appears to be stock as is. They're Michelin's, and from what I've read on the 4runner site, several folks get over 65k+ on them. Factor in the obvious highway mileage "52k in 18 months", makes me think these are indeed the originals. They're in pretty good shape, with plenty of tread left on them, but certainly not new. I downloaded the entire manual and TSB's, like I did for the LS, and was reading the TSB's last night. A few interesting ones refer to a steering part update, which I don't think is the problem, and another one refers to a different approach to balancing and aligning the tires, to compensate for centrifigal pull, which sounds about right. After driving it this morning to work, and reading that stuff last night, I think whatever it is, it's got to do with alignment and/or rotors. It's been a few months since having it aligned and balanced, that's for sure. It's going to the dealership soon for a general inspection "only $49 bucks!", and I'm going to have the cat's replaced under the emission warranty due to severe rotten-egg smell when goosing it, which I've heard they've finally fixed with new cats. God does it stink too...burns your nose and makes your eyes water sometimes if you've got that back window down "but great for tailgaters ;) ". I'm going to have them align/balance everything and then I'm going to repair anything they say needs some attention myself. I know the pads are about 70% used up on the back. It's a very easy vehicle to work on, with lots of room and clearence.

Thanks Smooth... It's an 05' V8. Yeah, it's speed sensitive, between 50-65mph area. it's not a dominating feeling, it's faint, but not too faint. At city speeds below 50, you don't really notice it, especially when parking or turning in neighborhoods. It's only when I'm at cruising speeds 50-65, then it fades out after that. The truck absolutely cruises beautifully at 70-80mph. I think it's either the brake rotors truely are warped, or a bad ball joint in either the lower or upper. I'm thinking upper due to the tempermental nature. Lower's usually show their flaws easily. I guess it's back to the garage I go this weekend! Sweet! The ole' pnumatics were getting dusty anyway...

After attempts over on the 4runner site to get answers, I've basically given up on it. Good to, and I quote, "rep yo' rig, yo'", which really isn't my speed, ya' dig, yo'. So, thought I'd toss this one up over here... A note: it is all-wheel-drive w/ 57k miles, practically all highway... When driving straight, the steering wheel is fine, no shaking. But when I put a little pressure to turn it, or the road's grade rolls just a little and it takes a little effort to keep it straight, I get a wobble vibration in the steering wheel. Additionally, when hitting bumps in the road, it really looses some of it's footing comfort, gets a little hoppy, if not wandery. No "clunks" or noises. It tracks dead on straight, so I don't think it's an alignment issue. I don't get the brake peddle vibrations when coming to a stop either, but a very slight pulsation sometimes throught the car "can't tell if it's the down gearing though". So does this sound like classic ball joint issues? Or warped rotor issues up front? The rear's were warped and had them turned a few weeks ago, which did eliminate the brake peddle pulsations. Wuite honestly, it's been too long from dealing with the LS problems back in 05' to recall the symptoms anymore. Apparently the dealership replaced the fronts when we bought it last summer, but my faith in them isn't all that and a bucket of chicken. Car has 57k on the clock now... Thanks Amigos...

Oh snap... here we go now! Hahaa.... Jibby.... I feel as you do amigo, just haven't expressed it around these parts in a few years.... If anyone wants another NC211 loves the USA rant, just do some searching, 'cause there be a few 'round here. If anyone wants another one, with updated views on our progress in the middle east, please forward your beer money in advance. Although my tolerance has decressed quite a bit since getting married, I can still take down a few Budweisers and get on my soap box of truth!

Chill, I replaced all of my suspension components with oem shortly after getting my LS, and I had no idea how to DIY, just had the downloaded pages from the manual. Took me a whole weekend to do the fronts, had to pay for the rear due to severe exhaustion. Strut mounts are crucial! That is one component I did not do, and wish I had, badly. Upon selling mine, the mounts were worn out at 135k miles and would give a noticable pop upon sharp bumps. So I would get those, definetely. Also, I wouldn't forget the lower ball joints on the front either, I didn't see them on your list. You're wise to hit all at once, as sometimes when you introduce a new component, it it can really show the age of the older components around it.

Just swing by any hardware or auto parts store and pick up a Pitman. They're a C clamp looking gadget that can undo any ball joint. You don't want to use the fork types, as they will tear the rubber boot covers which will accelerate the part's decay. Just put the pitman on, and turn the little screw with some channel locks until you hear the loud pop!

Ohhhh man....that just sucks! :o :cries: If it were me, Ralph, I'd have to donate it to your nearest non-ls-owning LOC Guru Gold Member from NC. :whistles:

Now this is my kind of language! Jibby, you're structured with SPE's aren't you? Single Purpose Entity, Bankruptcy remote, non-consolidating entities, that at the top of the food chain are all attached under one single umbrella, and you fall a few ticks down from the top for protection. But, a search through the secretary of state records, and a couple of others, one could easily make the connections through LLC documents, registered agents, etc.... It can be done, but only by those who know what to look for. So just be careful man, you're not as protected as one might think. You're not flapping in the wind, but in a worse case scenario, piercing your armor is possible. One might not "own" all of your assets, but one could possibly "control" them, which is even worse...you have all the liabilty, and they have all the benefits. But, it's doubtful due to legal expenses to get to this point, that it would ever happen. There is ALWAYS a top tip of that umbrella, and 9 out of 10 times, it's found as an "employee" of one of the LLCs. On a side note, you mention one of your properties is actually being used as a car lot? You've got the tenant on a nnn lease, but do you have complete indeminety to environmental matters from the tenant? Anything having to do with automobiles/photo labs/ dry cleaners/ chemicals in general, you better have an IRON-CLAD agreement in that lease that holds the tenant solely and completely liable for all environmental matters that were created by them. Depending on the size of the operation, you might wish to require a reserve account/letter of credit issued by them for such issues. As a commercial real estate investor, first for small business purposes / SBA / Start-ups, and now with a major life company that finances major projects around the country & Canada, I can't tell you how many deals I've seen go south because the owner's previous tenant polluted the ground, with no iron clad agreement in the lease for recapture. I mention the Letter of Credit as a preventive measure to bankruptcy filings by the offending tenant. It gives you amunition against the issuing bank in the worst case scenario. All it takes is one bad Phase 1 to spoke off an investor or buyer. Some kid on break accidentaly kicks over the oil drum out back, and you've got a problem amigo, a big problem. Far reaching to the adjacent property owners, and if it finds it's way into the water table below, anything and anyone down gradient from the site has a case against you.

Alex, good to see you around the watering hole again my friend! You've got a good point of selling it BEFORE fixing all the issues, instead of what I did, which was fix them all, then sell it. Hahaha... Kind of backwards math on my part. But, for me, the few thousand of dollars was like taking an auto repair class....chalked up to educational purposes....But whew, am I glad I graduated from that course! If you're having that much of a problem with getting parts over there, then I hate to say it, but I think you're right. It's only going to get more expensive as the years and miles roll on too. What are the shipping costs if you were to order from the US and have them shipped over to you?

After three years of parking mine on a step driveway, I highly recommend you start using your e-brake to hold the car in place instead of the transmission. It's much cheaper and easier to replace e-brake shoes, than adjusting your transmission gates that gave out due to too much stress of holding a 4k+ car. When you park, put the car in N then set the e-brake, then put it in P. You'll feel the rear of the car squat down a little, which is normal. If the e-brake slips, then the tranny will hold the car. But a few more years of that god awful clunk/slam out of park will certainly create problems.

Yep, sound is required for this one. How about some video of the tach while the car is at idle too, so we can see if your idle is jumping around. Additionally, show us the settings you're using on your a/c, so we can see if the a/c compressor is kicked on.

Mine was completely shredded for the 3 years and over 50k miles I had my LS, with no noticable ill effects. I too always wondered what that thing was for, but could never figure it out. We drove that car to Key West, Hershey PA and all over the south east in the dead of summer, with zero problems.

There ya' go amigo! Nice job! Watch your gas mileage now, you'll be pleasently suprised. The power kick on the highway is where I really noticed the difference when I did mine too. The car really gets moving with very very very little effort now. Glad you got that gasket now huh ;) . Did you use a dremel brush on that bad boy? Mine was sooo crusty I had to use the metal brushes on my dremel tool to chew the stuff off. You have now effectively taken about 8 years off the car's operational footprint. I'm tellin' Ya' DC, we've got a winner here with jcrome... Next thing you know, he'll have that LS up in the air swapping out parts here and there like he was swapping out condiments at a family cook-out.

My data is the market, which encompasses all of those people on here and in the world that have very high mileage cars, who change their oil around the 3k-5k mark, and seem to have very few problems. That is all the data I need amigo. I'm not saying your way is wrong either, but it isn't the only way. True, I haven't a clue about all of your fancy testing phrases and such, I'm not in the oil business, or a mechanic by trade. But I do know rule #1 when it comes to figuring things out.... LISTEN! And when the vast majority of success stories for high mileage cars reverts back to the same story "I changed my oil every 3 to 5k miles"... well, it's pretty easy to figure out. If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, well, it probably ain't a horse. Again, you have your way, I have mine. Who cares?? Sorry if you don't trust me enough to accept my life experiences as "data". That's your problem, not mine. You won't convince me of your way, and I won't convince you of mine...so it's a stalemate, up for decision by those who read this with hopes of answering the question "with type of oil?" Give my best to Mavrick, Goose & Iceman. Viper, out... B)

So a woman who has no clue on oils went way over even a synthetic oil drain is in reference too what? If shows nothing but a woman who knows little on this subject. Again, the 3 or 5,000 miles are short of a money maker. 7,500 is what most call for using DINO oil. Most do not even read their book or know what they are "recommended" to do; not required. As your story as shown. As I noted before using FOS, MTBF even the 7,500 is a thumb suck. Dino oil will last way over what businesses pimp (to make money). I can go almost triple that and be fine using Amsoil ASM. Look at my older posts for pix and UOA to proved data for that. That is based on UOA's, not a dummy manual nor based on non-functional real-world data. Hell, in the right car, Halovine can go almost 10K miles! Then again, most people do not change there pcv, etc items and that is why they have problems, not oil. Again, the 3 and 5K are there to make money; not to prevent anything. My point still stands, I have yet to see only one (here) that shows anything to support why they change there oil at some intervals and use some oil. The rest are blindly going at some interval and think they are fine. Why dump and oil that is only 60% used? As noted before, test the oil at the normal internal you THINK you need to. 100 to 1 you are wasting money. This is not even brand related. It still blows my mind that people spend all this money on cars and will not spend $20 to see what or how their engine is running and the bonus is oil duration/performance. But Lexus will wash your car for free for $129 for an oil change….<sad> Chief, I'm only passing along experiences I've had and seen that pertain to oil changes. Most people simply don't give two shakes of a dead donkey's !Removed! about testing their oils and such, they just want to know what's a good oil to use, when to use it, and move on. I've posted the article about the guy with the Chevy hitting 1,000,000 miles with regular oil changes, I've posted stories about my mechanically inclined uncle who takes great care of his vehicles for several hundreds of thousands of miles, and I've passed along what a new Toyota with 10,000 miles on the same oil acts like. I got nothing else. The only dummy, wasteful, and stupid thing about when to change your oil, is going too long, period. My story is not about some girl who hasn't a clue, it's about a brand spanking new car with 10k on the clock already blowing blue smoke from the tail pipe, due to worn out oil. That's it, that's all, nothing more, nothing less. Me personally? If I'm going to spend $20 on something, it's going to come in a box, container, wrapper, with a receipt and generate positive results. To me, paying someone $20 bucks to tell me if I'm ready for an oil change seems more wasteful, then just getting it changed for $35 bucks in the first place, and then I KNOW it's good oil. You do your thing, and I'll do mine. I don't know Amsoil, don't really care to. If it isn't readily available to me, then I don't need it. Too many other viable options out there.

I can't wait to see the YouTube video of the first drunk fisherman scream "FISH ON!", only to realize he's caught a car. I can see it now.... "Bubba, ain't that one of dem' fancy european Lotus looking fishes? What's in this beer?" "I don't know Leroy, but you caught it, you clean it"

And I respect yours, too. To each is his own when it comes to these threads. God knows we've had a few on here in the past. As a possible point of refrenece though, I will offer up my secretary's automotive skills, or lack there of. She has two Toyota vehicles, an older Sienna van, and a 9 month old Solera convertible. She drives back and forth from Georgia at least twice a month, so she racks up the miles. She asked me a few months ago why her new Solera has a warning light on. So, I went down to check it out, figuring it was something stupid, as those Soleras are sweet machines "my folks have one too". I started the car, it didn't sound as smooth as I remembered, the light came on...it was the "time to change the oil" light. I asked her how long it had been on, and she said for a while. I noticed the odometer read 10+k miles, and got a nasty little wif of exhaust, turned around and saw a little cloud of blue smoke hanging in the air behind us. I asked her "when was the last time you had the oil changed?" She said "never, I never change the oil until around the 15k mark, i think it's a rip off". Long story short, the Sienna smokes like a Chong-wagon, and now her Solera is blowing puff of smoke at startup. I told her to take it to the dealership for at least an oil change, and make sure they use synthetic. I followed her to the Toyota dealer so she could drop off the car. The service guy I've gotten to know since buying the 4Runner came up to me in the lobby and asked me again "has she really never changed the oil yet?" I said "nope, wait until you see her minivan". He shook his head and walked away. They now call here once every 90 days to check up on her.

Hahaha.... not that I'm aware of! I"m talking in general, when a wheel goes out of balance, or a warped rotor in the back, etc... the car is so smooth to begin with, that when something small like that happens, you know it, and instantly think it's something major. You weren't around here when I use to have my signature being the list of parts I had replaced, chasing vibrations... It was the classic overkill signature. But Citibank loved it!

wait for a vibration problem....trust me, the LS400 has the ability stump Einstein with it comes to figuring out what in the heck is causing the vibration. But, that's what we're here for! ;)

The first gaming machine we had was one of those Texas Instruments 81s, or something like that...totally useless on all levels. nothing but a oversized calculator. Then it was something called Odassy, or something like that. At the end of the day, we were over at the neighbor's house playing atari. They have a "retro" atari for sale now, which comes preloaded with all the favorite games, but the controlers suck.

The next generation of Wii players.... babe.wmv

Hopefully this is just a mount problem, but the lurching forward and the speed that it happens makes me think of the off-throttle-shock syndrome. I had it too. The car's computer cuts the fuel too quickly when you take your foot off the gas, creating a buckling feeling in the driveline, which makes you feel like you're personally lurching forward. It's reverse torque through the driveshaft. I've attached the TSB for the issue, which you may want to print off and take to your dealership. Ask them about the "Off-Throttle-Shock" problem caused by this TSB, which is aimed to fix it, and it does indeed fix it. But it's not cheap. Run a search for the stalling after highway speed, or key words off-throttle-shock, you'll see lots of good info. If it is indeed your computer, you can buy second hand ecu's for the fix. Additionally, let the dealership know that you're aware of the fact that out of ALL TSB's ever issued for the car, this is the ONLY one that is highly recommeded by Lexus to be performed. It has caused a few complaints to the NHSTB. Additionally, welcome to the club! Great question for your first post! I recommend posting up the repair suggestions from your dealership here first, before authorizing the repair. These cars ain't cheap to fix at the dealership, and my personal experience is that some stealerships will dance around the real problem "and in your wallet" before actually adressing the real problem. Sometimes you have to really needle them. Not all, but sometimes. Since you're way over the pond, and we dont have a lot members from your area, we don't really have a lot of stories about your dealership yet. PS: Might want to correct the year of your car in your profile. It shows a 94', but you're saying you have a 95'. Two totally different set ups. 41.pdf

Yeah, toys sure have come a long way since my days of running my Matchbox cars in the dirt around the oak tree out back. Fooseball and that go-cart taught me my hand-eye cordination skills. Having a pesky older brother whipping my butt every day at Fooseball, made me mad enough to spend years practicing. But I do think some of those games gives a false sense of consequence to some kids. I know personally that after playing grand tarismo for several hours back in college, then driving home, I had a led foot and hit the corners a little hard. I read the threads on the M5 board cited in the articles. Sounds like those guys over there are pretty good dudes. I agree jcrome, some people just aren't wired right. But, no worries man, Karma is a SOB, and she loves to even the playing field. I clearly remember my dad telling me to look around at my class mates, when I turned 16. He bet me $20 that at least two of them wouldn't make it out of high school. He was right. Said there is always one in every class that sets the unfortunate example. Just hope we all have the right approach to teach our kids to think, acknowledge and have the strength to resist the peer pressure to avoid such tragic events as this. It ain't your enemies that'll get you in trouble, it's your friends. You don't hang out with your enemies. Sadly, 4 teenage boys learned this lesson the wrong way. I'm curious if Mr. Scientology John Travolta will, or has, responded to this, since I believe that was his runway?

Just today a guy with a 1991 Chevy Silverado hit the 1,000,000 mile mark. A Chevy, for cryin' out loud! In the article, he attributes the fact that he changed the oil every 3,000 miles to the trucks problem-free 1,000,000 miles. Now, that says something to me. My uncle who is a 747 pilot for UPS, has cars that go 300k+, from Chrystlers to Volvos to Nakitakimohakis, to riding lawn mowers over 20 years of age, and he says "change the oil every 3-5k miles, if for anything to just check out the underside of the vehicle". Personally, long life oils don't sell me one bit, no matter how much scientific reportings support it. Just my personal opinion. Not knocking the proceedure, as I'm sure it's probably fine. But for me, history repeats itself time and time again. :D http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080212/ap_on_...lion_mile_truck