nc211

That traffic up there changes so quickly, I seriously doubt God himself could avoid a traffic jam! In DC, it's the fault of real estate goobers driving **03ES with cell phones stuck to one hand, and "hate'n" on G35 owners with the other! Anyone guess who I'm talkin' about??? Hahahaha....oh stevie boy...

For what I'm going to use it for, back roads really don't matter that much. Here in my home town, I know the back roads, and how to "get around", but when I'm in DC, Boston, NY, etc., I'm not so sure I want to go the back-road route. I am a little dissappointed with the traffic stuff, but honestly, I agree with Blake and don't think the technology support to have traffic stuff actually work on these things is quite there yet. Kind of like the days before high speed internet became common in your home; you buy the most expensive and fastest computer on the market, only to be slowed down by 56k modem speeds.

Looks like it might be fixed! Thank you for the pointer Elvis. It was one of the ignitors, which is also why the tach went funny. The tach gets it's signal off only one of the ignitors - and that one was dying under load. Doug says it's still under powered, and that's probably the backpressure in the exhaust system (6 psi instead of 2 psi) but he says that I am probably back to where I was when the ignitor went west. I'll drive it this afternoon and have a better idea. Cat/back pressure-wise - I'll get them swapped out, and probably get the o2 sensors done at the same time but I'll collect the parts for that and supply them to the shop. I think I can cut the cost pf parts to 1/2 of what they were able to find (which was 1/2 of the Lexus parts!). Cheers, Liam it is possible that you have a chunk of carbon stuck in the cats, I believe it happened to Blake918's 95' once, and if I recall, he revved it pretty hard until whatever it was blew through and out. Usually the smell of trouble from your cats is gasoline based, and they'll get so hot they'll actually glow red. It takes a lot to kill the cats on the LS400, and for both of them to go at the same time, just didn't make sense. Are you using oem parts? It might be time to do some seafoam work on the intake, and clean out that throttle body. Sounds like your car is having a little touble breathing clean air.

The 430's don't have the infamous black wire in the trunk hinge do they? fyounes; do yourself a favor, set aside about 5 hours with a computer that has a highspeed internet connection, buy another day's worth of access from TIS, and download every single Pdf on the car to your computer. Organize the folders by how they're organized on the website "mechanical / braking system / transmission / ac / etc...". This will be the best $10 you'll ever spend on your car. It is impossible to know what's available from that site in just one day's time, you need a few days to actually review the manual. ESPECIALLY get the TSB's on the car "technical service bulletins". Those are the factory issued "fixes" for the most common problems, and can save you a ton of money and frustration if you have to take to the shop. The shop looks at those exact same TSB's when a car comes in for service, and trust me, some dealerships know what's wrong from day 1, but realize you have no clue, and will sell you crap you don't need. I don't care how nice the dealership is, how nice the service guys are, how many free cookies you get...some Lexus dealerships do this....unless you walk in with a TSB in your hand saying "sounds like this is the problem, here is how you fix it." You do that, and they'll stop !Removed! around with you. B)

The PS fluid most likely, if there is a leak, would be coming from the rack on the 95', not the pump. The flawed power steering pumps were mostly corrected with the generation 2 models "95+". At the mileage of that 95', I'd be willing to bet that if you looked under the car, the rack boots are probably wet, which is where the leaks start. This can be somewhat managed by cleaning the power steering solenoid screen "search for it, lots of info", which reduces the build-up pressure on the system, which causes the leak. But, at that mileage, the internal bushings of the rack are probably on their way out and it'll probably need a new one. I know mine, at 135k miles, was coming close to needing a new one. The timing belt issue can be checked by looking for a sticker on the bulk head of the engine, or in the back of the manual for a stamp, or simply ask your local lexus dealer to search their database via vin number to see if it's been changed. I'm not so sure I would trust someone selling it telling you it was done at an "indi" mechanic. Might be true, probably is, but you'll want it verified to be sure. The 95's were some of the best ever built. True tanks of the road, and with a little elbow grease, a few hundred bucks and a weekend or two, it takes very little to bring them back to top running condition. Suspension issues can be costly, and you will face them at that mileage, mainly shocks / mounts / ball joints / bushings / etc... but, it's an easy car to work on yourself, which will save you the most money, by far! It's not the parts that break the bank, it's the labor costs. Engine computers on some of the 95's were bad, evidenced by stalling after a highway cruise, or a stumbling effect at gentle throttle around the 40-50mph range. Search "ECM" or "Engine ECU" for more info on it. Dash needles, back lighting, etc., can be a problem, but not nearly as much so as the 90-94 series. This was one of the things they corrected with the generation 2 series. But, with help from this website, owning an old Lexus LS400 can be a great investment. Taking it to the dealer everytime something goes wrong, will bankrupt you in no time!

That wouldn't be the same person, who is the best friend of my sister's ex-boyfriend who dated my neighbor's step daughter who saw Ferris Bueller pass out at 31 Flavors last night, was it? Hahaha... Ford is catching my eye lately. I like that beefed up Mustang, the Taurus looks clean and sharp, and if they're building the new focus/fussions on the Volvo 3/Mazda 3 frame, it'll be a great little car to drive too. Our Mazda 3 has some Ford in it, specifically the engine and tranny "stamped Ford underneath", and they're great! Honestly, and not to hijack this thread into one of the million others like it, but the American boys are turning it around, if you ask me. The new Tahoe is beautiful & would buy one in a hearbeat if I could afford it, even over the LX/GX/etc! Haven't seen the new Malibu yet, but it sure looks nice on TV. I've rented several of those Chevy-version PT Cruisers, and they drive great. My neighbor "immediate neighbor, not twice removed/relocated by tornado/etc.." has a 04 Expedition that has been in the shop countless times for a leaking front axle "burrs chew up the seals". He's filed a suit against Ford for it, and might actually win. But, what does he want? ANOTHER Expedition, just one that doesn't leak. Now, that says something...

thought i would pass along the knowledge I learned. A free program called DVD Shrink will copy & compress the DVD to your hard drive, then take the Max Pro software and convert+compress it even further, subject to your settings for quality, screen size, sound, etc.. It saves it either on the psp memory stick, or puts it on your computer and you can pull it over into the video folder yourself on the psp. The process is a little "notchy", but after doing it a couple of times, you learn how and it's pretty easy from there. The compression ability is amazing, a quality is excellent. For instance, I transferred my #1 all-time favorite movie, The Right Stuff, to the psp. It's a 4 hour movie, totalling over 10 gigs of DVD space. The program was able to compress it down to just 425mb! You'll want a 2 gig memory stick for the psp. I know have 250 songs, The Right Stuff, and seasons 1 & 2 of Seinfeld on it. Both are 16:9 aspect, and look darn near close to my HD plasma at home. Those little Sony PSP's are amazing little gadgets! Play games, watch movies, listen to music, surf the web, all in the palm of your hand. Great travel companion! Note: The reason why I've done this is to use it while travelling. I fly up and down the east coast probably 30 times a year, and get stuck in airports and on planes all the time, sometimes for hours. Last time was in DC, sitting in the back of a puddle-jumper on the tarmac for 3 hours! Now, I have something to do other than working, and it can fit in my briefcase.

I got a program called "Max Media Manager PRO" for my psp, and a 2 gig memory stick. I'm wanting to put some movies on it so I can watch them while travelling. I have a decent collection of DVDs that I'm hoping to unlock into a tranferrable format, so Max Media can put them on the psp. Anyone have any suggestions for a good DVD ripper that can unlock these flicks? I paid for them already, not wanting to clean out Blockbuster with illegal copies, but also don't think it's fair I should have to pay again for the same movie, just because it's on a smaller disc. Thanks guys!

This is the one I'm thinking about getting. I've read great reviews about it so far. http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_0...sting+Equipment Basically, what I'm hoping it can do, is give me a heads-up to something coming, like a worn out O2 sensor, or tell me the coolant is close to needing replacement, etc... And, after learning from greedy mechanics on the LS, knowledge is key before showing up at a shop. I had the best service on that car when I knew what was wrong before they got their hands on it. If I didn't know, and left it in their hands to tell me, it never seemed to get fixed the first time "or first $300". The 95' LS was "old school" in comparision to today's cars, with sensors everywhere. I miss the old school actually, thought it was more fun. But, as sand through an hour glass, NCdrama gotta' catch up to the times.

I'm thinking about buying a odbII scanner for the tool box. But, are they really worth the $200 +/- to have? I have never had a CEL on any one of my cars, ever. So, I'm curious why would I want/need one? Are they used primarily when that light comes on to decode a problem, or can they be used to check other things that might me lurking, but just not bad enough to trigger the cel light?

Trust me...you'll keep that car for a long time. It turns the non-diy type into a full-on diy guru, because once you have one of these cars, you'll always want it to be in top shape. They're very easy to work on, very easy. When I got mine back in 04', I didn't even know how to change oil in a car. The LS taught me how to change the suspensions components, mounts, tie rods, ball joints, plugs, wires, clean the throttle body, etc... Now, nobody touches my cars but me. When I sold the car, at 132k miles, it was nicer than when I bought at 82k miles. In fact, I had the dealership test the check engine light just to make sure it actually worked, as it never came on. Biggest thing in my opinion to do 1st is the fluids. Mobile 1 synthetic in the rear differential, go buy a case of Toyota tranny fluid from your local Toyota dealer "$50" and search the "drain and fill" phrase to learn about the tranny fluid. Search "seafoam" for some really cool tricks with that wonderful stuff. www.parts.com is a great place to buy parts at a discount, and all manuals can be downloaded from https://techinfo.toyota.com. Those manuals will tell about every screw, bolt, clip, mount, torque setting, procedures, from bumper to bumper. And, all the service bulletins that have come out for your car since day one. $10 gets you 24 hour access. Set aside about 6 hours, and download all the Pdf files. You'll keep that sweet ride, trust me... It will ruin you too, very very hard to replace. Infact, most people only replace them out of need for a different type of vehicle, like an SUV, truck or minivan, that is unless you have the room to keep it. I had to get rid of mine because I needed an SUV, and only have a 2 car garage. Couldn't bear to let it sit outside. PS: I recommend adding the year of your LS in your profile, so others can see it. There are some differences between model years.

Have you guys checked your tranny fluid lately? I say this becuase the engine and tranny talk to eachother via computer. To me, problems during warming up lead me to believe it's fluid related. Maybe your engine is fine, but your tranny might be slipping ever-so-slightly until the fluids can warm up and help the clutch grab. Are you guys familiar with the "drain n' fill" proceedure for the tranny fluid? If not, run a search for drain and fill and you should see some threads on how it's done. It's easier than changing your own oil. Just one bolt, 2 quarts drain out, put bolt back on "get new crush washer", pour in 2 quarts through the tranny dipstick hole. Use toyota fluid only. Do this about 3 or 4 times over the course of next 6k miles, and you'll have effectively flushed your tranny completely, then just do it about once every 7,500 miles, and you'll keep that tranny in perfect condition. Remember, 2 quarts drains out automatically, 2 quarts go in. If it drains more than 2 quarts, then you've had too much in there, drains too little, well, you've been running with too little. You can buy a case of the fluid from the Toyota dealer "cheaper than Lexus dealer" for like $50 bucks, and it'll last you for quite a long time. PS: Nails, a friendly suggestion; go into your profile and add the year of your LS for others to see, instead of just "LS400", put like "1993 LS400". ;)

HAHAHA!!! I think she owes all of us a beer!

Dear God, how do you guys do it up there? My sincere condolences! Mind you not my location, spent several years in Kansas, with windchills in the -65f range "why do you think I live in NC now!". I'm sure whatever advice I give, is elementary to what you guys know, but just in case, remember the cans of Heet for the gas tank to prevent the condensation from freezing up the lines, and synthetic is a must! If I recall, the birth of synthetic oils was from Amsoil for those ice-truckers running the Alaskan routes. There has to be some sort of block heater that would work on your car, has to be! If not, somebody needs to start working the LLC company name and make one, you'd be wealthy cats up there! What about an electric blanket draped over the engine? Would it catch fire? Or how about a rubber pad on the garage floor to insulate the radiation cooling from the concrete below? Whatever you do, let the car idle for at least 5 minutes to get the other fluids moving too. I'm sure your steering must be like rubber. I'd keep an eye on the tranny fluid too, keep up with the drain-n'-fill procedure to make sure it's up to snuf for that kind of weather. I'm sure you guys do hear some creaks and squeeks that guys like me have never heard before. I'd be curious what your opinions are about the ride characteristics of a frozen LS400. Man..ouch...dang...that's some cold cold weather! It's 45f here tonight, and I'm freezing my butt off from just turning out the christmas lights. I think my tallywacker would go "turtle" for life if I lived up there.

Ask your !Removed!, I'm sure it recalls the days of "Opps, I did it again"! Hahaha!!!! Now, THAT'S FUNNY!

I've done some travelling overseas recently, and my only advice is to lay low, no american flag tee-shirts, etc.. Just do your best to blend in, speak somewhat softly, don't be that loud american, of which i seriously doubt you're capable of being anyway ;) . In Japan, tradition rules the culture, a polite tradition, although you wouldn't know it if you've ever come across them in other parts of the world. They're some of the rudest tourists I've ever met. I've been pushed out of the way, watched them walk in areas roped off to people, ruin your family photo by pushing their way into the picture, etc.. When they're on vacation, you gotta give them a wide buffer, because they are driven to absorb EVERYTHING. But, in their home country, just lay low, be polite, be concious of your voice levels, and you should be a.o.k. Don't be offended if the culture gives you somewhat of a cold shoulder as a business woman, in certain circles, it's still very much a man's world. And make sure you have plenty of space in your luggage for all of those increadibly awesome gadgets you'll buy! They have ALL THE COOL TOYS over there! Stuff that is light years away from your local Best Buy! When I go someday, I'm taking an extra $2,500 just for gadgets! Don't forget your power adapter!

And my wife can't understand why I'm still around the lexus site, since we sold the car...she just doesn't understand! These are my kinds of folks! Thanks guys for all the information and help! DC, no worries man, I always know you're joking around! Oddly enough, the ole' compass tactic works better for the backroads I take into the office and such than this navigation gadget. It doesn't pick the backroads as a selected option, but rather wants to route me to the main roads, even when it's obviously not the best choice! Guess I need to update it with the "redneck mapping program". I do like the "unpaved" option, and will have to try it out soon. After messing with the unit some more, following amf's link, and reading the online manuals and such, I realize that it does have the most up to date mapping program "the 2008". I'm suprised that it doesn't recognize the new highway extensions yet though, since they've been opened for quite a while, especially one that opened last spring. Oh well, time will fix it. 1990LS400, thanks for that link! I think I'm going to really enjoy this little thing! It will certainly come in handy when I'm on the road for business, especially around DC, Boston and NY. I knew I had to have one after renting a Hertz car that had it while in NJ. Took me right to the door, and back to the airport with not a single problem! Does anyone know if the Nuvi200 is compatible for the traffic updates? It's the entry level model for the Nuvi series, so I'm doubtful, and can't tell from the website info.

Ho ho ho everybody, hope everyone had a nice holiday! All was well here, packed house with family, packed belly with food, packed liver with booze. Got a Garmin Nuvi 200 navigation unit for Christmas, and was wondering if anyone knew or can advise me on cool tricks and updates. I noticed last night that it is a bit out of date on the mapping side "doesn't recognize a newly opened freeway extension that's been open for about 6-8 months". I've registered it on their website, got some sort of unlock code, which I have no idea what that does, and don't see any updates available for the mapping. When I first started the unit, I noticed the software was 2005, which seems a bit old to me, or maybe it was the Corona-goggles.

very good point VB. I predict one heck of an investigation into Halliburton by the next administration over thier role in this war. Those folks are crooks.

A side from my historical remarks against Hillary, and her forked tongue haggle toothed....ahhhh, there I go again... Besides those remarks, I honestly don't trust a single word the Clinton camp says, not a single freakin' word. I think they'll say whatever the crowd wants to hear, not what they believe. There is video evidence all over the internet of Hillary saying she's for something while in Kentucky "with a new southern accent too", then saying the exact opposite in Nebraska "with a new midwestern accent". Ole' Billy boy? Come on, do I really need to point out his lies... anyone remember the whole "sexual relations" comment about Monica? Or more recently his comments about being against the war from day one, yet 4 years ago, on TV, he said he supported it, knew Saddam had those weapons, tried to deal with it when he was President, and supports/commends Bush for going after them. Those two, in my opinion, are the biggest liars of them all. And not to knock on your post raymsixsix, but all that stuff about healthcare, social security, taxes, and employement she's talking about? Rewind back to 1991-92' and listen to Bill's campaign promises....exactly the same stuff, word for word...same problems they point out, same solutions they offer, and yet after 8 years of Bill Clinton, none of it, none of it, none of it, none of it, none of it, was delivered upon. Taxes were through the roof, the military was down to a skeleton crew, employment was driven by the dot.com's, social security was a mess "still is", that whole program about free college for 6 years of service as a police officer..bull ! Trust me Ray, if it's true that history repeats itself, to know what Hillary is really about and what she is really supportive of, can only be realized by accepting the outcome, which is too late to change at that point. I think it's just a matter of time before the two Clintons get so tangled up in their own words and lies, that it'll be nearly impossible to ignore the two-faced platform for what it is.

Oddly enough, I just got back from taking our office manager, a single mother of 3, to pick up her car from the dealership so she could go pick up her 11 year old son from school, who is in big big trouble. He wrote a note, that started off with "if you were my homework, I'd do you on the table..." and it gets worse from there, much much worse. The kid is in the 5th grade for cryin out loud! :chairshot: She was in tears over this.

Well, you knew someone was going to post the discussion point... Any opinions on the lastest tabloid yap-crap about the Spears family? Mine? I think they all need to go home. And I hope the little girls of this world don't look up to either one of them as role models. Especially that trainwreck Britney.

914, to answer your question in the thread, yes - it appears you're the only one! However, I recall the senior tech at the dealership telling me during a test run in my car, that Lexus really got it right with the 95+ models. He said the first series of the LS had many problems, the updated one in 93' fixed many, but some annoying ones still lingered, then the redesign in 95 really set the bar for the LS series. I agreed, until I saw the bill to repair that faulty engine computer, years later that bad drive shaft, etc... hhahaha. But, nonetheless, at 17 years old, she's gonna have a few "beauty" marks. What I think sucks is the premium charged for "lexus" parts versus the identical part for "toyota", and designed with an ever-so-slight alteration that prevents the two from being swapped out. Like a tie rod that has a bump in the design that prevents it from use on the LS, or a different thread pattern on the screw, etc... But, a man's gotta earn a buck I guess.

Question: did you mileage drop immediatly after installing your 70 lb sub box "that must be one honker of a sub!"? Logically speaking, if it dropped immediatly after that, then that's probably your culprit. Winter probably has something to do with it too, not so much due to the winter blend that designed to reduce pollutants "although it does impact mpg", but due to the cold air. Do you let your car warm up before driving it? Is it garaged? The colder the engine, the richer it's going to run upon initial start up, to protect the parts until everything is up to temp. I wouldn't think an oil leak would impact the gas comsumption levels, but you do want that fixed. If you have a bad O2' sensor, your engine computer should catch it and throw a code, which would kick on your check-engine-light "CEL". Swing by an autozone and ask if they can hook up thier little code reader to the terminal in the engine bay. Then report back here what codes they find. I think, but not 100% on the generation 1 LS's, but I think the bad O2 code is "420".... and no, i'm not kidding, for all of you pot-heads out there. Are you a DIY type and not affraid to kick around an engine? If you're comfortable with it, then I would recommend searching on here about cleaning out your throttle body. You'll need a new gasket seal to do it "probably $5", but cleaning the butterfly in the throttle body, and the inside of the body itself, will help quite a bit. The cleaner it is, the more clean air the engine gets, which requires less gas to ignite. You would be stunned by how sensitive these engines are to a dirty air filter. Keep up with that too. Also, search for "seafoam" too, as this stuff is great for cleaning the injectors throught he gas tank, and cleaning the internals of the engine through the brake-booster line. It is also quite good in the oil right before changing it. But, with your leak that you have now, I wouldn't recommend it in the oil, as it can dislodge other crud in other seals that might actually be preventing leaks. But in the intake & gas tank, you should be ok. In my cars in the past, I've actually had very good luck with Dura-Lube's fuel cleaning/conditioning stuff too. When I bought my 95' back in 2004, with 83k miles on it, I got about 15 city, 20 highway. When I sold it last month with 132k miles on it, I averaged 17 city, and over 25mpg highway! I seafoamed the intake twice, always replaced the air filter every-other oil change "6,000 miles", and thuroughly cleaned the throttle body with a dremel tool and buffer tip. Also changed the plugs. On my newish 05' 4runner that replaced the LS, with 52k miles, it averaged "according to the computer" 16.1 mpg. I've seafoamed the oil twice, ran a can through the gas tank, use mobile 1 synthetic oil "you don't want to this until you know more about your oil leak", changed the air filter, and changed the plugs "even though it's not required until 100k". Now, the computer tells me I'm averaging anywhere between 18.2-19.3 mpg. On a 4.7 liter V8 engine with permanent fulltime 4-wheel-drive, I'd say that's pretty darn good! And it's faster than I care to admit. The punch off the line in that thing is frightening at times. I haven't seafoamed the intake yet "don't know how yet".

my only advice about driving in snow/icey conditions, is to put the car in "n" when at a stop, otherwise the rotors can freeze and reduce the rear wheel's brakes ability to hold the car still. I got stuck for 12 hours a few years ago in an ice/snow storm, and the car would not stop creeping forward with just my foot on the brakes. I watched two guys slowly go into ditches because of this. An older Jag, and a GS300. Both looked at me like I was nuts when I was honking the horn and jestering to them to put the car in neutral. The look of sheer terror on their faces as they slowly went off the road was priceless.