nc211

By the way, for all the dads out there.... this is one funny, and bad mamba-jamba, baby! http://www.ffk-wilkinson.com/

Thanks everyone! I'm so happy, I can't even begin to say what I've been feeling all day! Just a great day! I would of been as equally happy if it were a girl, but the thought that our next baby, God willing, will have an older brother to watch out for them, just makes me feel great! Plus, it's Tonka Trucks, GI Joe, and baby power tools! I've been daydreaming all day long about all the fun I'm going to have! Airplanes, footballs, dirty fingers, muddy boots, argh-argh-argh-grunt-grunt-grunt. I can't wait to drive his mother insane after I teach him farts are much louder on a wood seat! She's going to kill us both! I announced it today to all of my friends as below, and most have warned to make sure my boy doesn't come around their daughters! Hahaha... "Well, lock up your daughters and hide the M80’s, we’ve just learned that we’re having a BOY!!! At this point, he’s 9 ounces, fully formed, and both mom and baby are in perfect health. Dad on the other hand can’t stop crying and nearly took out someone’s mailbox on the way to work. He actually waved to us on the ultrasound! And let me tell you, he’s all boy! My boy! I called my dad to tell him, while he was at the barber shop, and the place went nuts when he told them! One of those great moments in his life he'll remember forever. The family name shall continue…."

:D :D :D It's a BOY!! :D :D :D :D

Beautiful, and likes to work on cars? Hubba hubba hubba! ;) Hahaha..... Curious, you're picture says you're off to the boat...what kind of boat? I'm into boats, being as though I lived on the beach for 8+ years down on the coast, worked my way through school by pumping gas at the marina and parking boats for those who couldn't.

I'm blonde with bigger !Removed! than her, as the guys that saw my pics on here previously, before I took them down, . I'll post a fully clothed pic here if you want it, but I do not want to offend those that did not appreciate me in bikinis again. Please God, please! Jessica Simpson with a torque wrench in one hand, and a pint of oil in the other! Oh Please Santa...Please!!! All kidding aside though "before Rya finds out and kicks my butt", seriously, congrats on your project! That's far more than I could have done on my own. I don't think I would of even attempted it to be honest. The timing belt replacement is no joke of a project! You're going to make some boy, a very very happy man someday!

How about we agree to the following; 89-94...non-interference...won't hurt engine if breaks 95-97...quasi-interference....50/50 chance of killing the engine if it breaks 98+...interference...100% of killing engine if it breaks Because, quite frankly, after all of us over the years have argued about this, we still don't have a 100% answer for the 95-97 models. If anyone should ask if they should change their belt in those model years, tell them it's a 50/50 chance, and if they choose not to change the belt, ask them to post up the results when the belt does indeed break. deal? what next, wanda, we want to pull up the whole synthetic oil thread again? how about the tires? hahaha... Good to see you back on the boards ;)

Hahaha... I hear ya', and I can relate. I nearly lost one of the mufflers in the home depot lot in the LS when we moved into our house last year. Had that thing loaded down like a uhaul! The 4runner's ability to drop that rear window has made isles 23-26 "lumber section" my new hangout at the depot! Of course, after I've completed some piece of furniture or home improvement, and feeling like the real Tim The Tool Man, Blake has to ruin it with pictures of his new swimming pool/sauna/helicopter pad/granite kitchen/bobcat'd new lawn/in-law quarters....that he built over some random weekend. I swear, that guy is going to make a killing someday! God knows he mustn't sleep, with all that he gets done.... you change a ball-joint inside of 2 hours, he's changed his rack, control arms, and installed a twin turbo. yeah, that's right, I'm callin' you out Mr. Handy-man Blake918! But, I've got 3,500 christmas lights this year! Nanananana :P

B) B) NICE!! B) B) Should we update your mailing address to the local tire shop now, seeing as how I have a feeling you'll be down there a lot more to replace those burned-up rear tires!

I really like that split windshield! Man, that is one beautiful truck! I bet it's fun to "cruise" around in too!

Now that is a sweet truck! Was it hard to put a motor in it and seal up the Flintstone-like floorboards? Hahaha... Sorry Ralph, I'm on a roll today, just couldn't help it. My secretary took a 2 hour lunch just to get away from me. Seriously though, what's that thing got under the hood? I miss my dad's old 73' caddy, with 13k original miles on it. It's out in NE Oklahoma, in storage. Has something like a 8 liter V8, with pipes out the back. I think it measures from tip to tip around 22 feet. Sounds freakin' awesome!

cloth velcro is even better! good job! Hope it holds up for you! One other thing I'll pass along that I learned from my sunroof is how to prevent a leak: When you open it in tilt mode, when you close it, slide it back just a few inches, and then close it. For some reason on mine, if I had just closed it from tilt mode, and it would rain, water would get in and drip down from the overhead lighting consol. But, when I slid it back a little and then closed it, it set the seal perfectly and it never leaked. Also, cleaning the seat, and waxing the paint around the seat will help keep it clean, whistle free and makes sure you've got a good contact.

i couldn't find it in my pdf manual at home. however, i would start with the tranny mount first, which is about $26 bucks from parts.com, and very very easy to do yourself! That has helped countless people on here with vibration and noises from the driveline.

The only thing I would recommend doing before changing the plugs is do the seafoam treatment through the brake-booster line first, to clean out the intake, etc.... this has been known to foul a plug or two in the past, and since you're going to change them anyway, might as well kill two birds with one stone! do a search for "seafoam" and you should find threads about how to do it. Very easy, just make sure you go out into the country before doing it, as you'll smoke up the neighbors. Or take the car to a shop for the motor-vac proceedure.

My road rage is when in europe, they all drive on the wrong side of the road! Really screws up my texting ability on the blackberry, and has put a few cups of coffee in my lap. :D

Happy B'Day Ralph! Gonna' kick back with bottle of wine and some "good street kitty litter"? Hahaha... You know, at 60, it might be time to think about handing over the keys to the 430, for charitable donation purposes, and hire a lincoln town car. If you need some help with the charity selection, I HIGHLY recommend the NC-To-Heaven charity, which benefits mid 30's father-to-be's that are facing the devistating minivan disease. Infact, I happen to know of a unique case that has your name written all over it!

not as much as size! Hahaha.... j/k Age matter: to you? no...to her though? good possiblity. Not knowing her true age and such, I can tell you that a person, no matter male or female, goes through a growing stage between 22-25. It's when a person really begins to feel they have some personal life history behind them to recall against when making decisions. Not saying you're not mature Dens, just the opposite quite honestly. But, those who've past the 25 mark, generally stick with that rule, and are usually looking for husband / wife material..aka...already on the career path, 401k, etc... But, if her last name is Stiffler, well, have fun Finch! "american pie"

we snuck in under the wire on that one Blake, both of us. I paid about the same as you did for all four of mine, with tax and shipping. That was when, spring of 2005? when i did all of that tail-bone breaking work?

Yes, please. A picture would be perfect. I don't think I've ever heard of an "economy" light in the LS before, at least over here on this side of the pond. Sounds like a wiring short in the switch on gear lever that we use for ECT settings...would be my guess. Like the car is telling him he is in econ mode, instead of pwr mode.

In Texas? Micky Thompsons 44' mudders. Hahaha... couldn't help myself..

What year is your LS? I ask, because there has been a documented history of a "drooning noise" problem from the rear, the differential mounting area that reverbs along the back crossmember and from there throughout the car's underside, primarily directly under you, and a little towards the back. I believe they addressed this with the gen 2 models "95+". My 95 had a little noise, but was eliminated with new rear differential mounts, altough I believe the third mount, which is the bolt on the passenger side that attaches up into the floor of the car, has a rubber insulator ring as well. I never changed that one, but it was on my immediate list, if I had kept the car. There is a TSB out there for the droaning noise, I might still have it at home. But before i go hunting around for it, what year is your LS?

open your roof, look along the front support bar area and you should see two black rubber bumper stops that it rests againsts. Those have compressed down too much over the years, and is causing the roof to rub on them. My 95 did the exact same thing when I bought it. I put two pieces of cloth based tape over them, and it never rattled again for 3 years and 50k miles. In my last world of being a movie crew member, the tape was referred to as "gaffer's tape", yellow, orange or black. I'm not sure if you can buy it anymore at the local hardware store, but it's worth a look, and a very cheap fix. It's those two rubber bumper stops/mounts...... the frame is sliding back and forth ever-so-slightly against them, creating the squeak/rattle.

My only question is why? I mean, I know why, but why chip an LS for more performance? They're pretty dang fast as is, and really meant for quiet & smooth operation. Chipping it sounds like a way to mess up that balance that they're known for. But, to each is his own. I don't think I've ever seen anyone on here that's successfully chipped an LS. Maybe JIBBY knows how to, as he has tweaked out his 4.0 V8 in his SC pretty successfully.

$112? You buying your parts straight from the dealer? Go to www.parts.com and drill down to the Lexus 95' LS400. They're $83 each, need two of them, labeled "front mounts". The rear mount is the tranny mount, $29 bucks. The driver's side is a mother to change, the passenger side I hear is not so bad. I bought my mounts and took the car to the exxon station garage by my old office to have them put in. Cost about $150 for both to be installed, and the mechanic nearly broke his knuckles on the driver's side. Look under the car for the steering rack tube. See the two U clamps on the ends of the tube? Those clamps hold the rubber grommets in place, which are nothing more than just round pieces of rubber, that are cut in the middle for installation. Simply undo the bolts to those U clamps, wiggle out the old, wiggle in the new, and reclamp. Simple as pie! They're #2 in the attached picture, cost $15 a piece on parts.com. You can find them under the Steering gear & linkage section / gear assy/ "insulator".

well, if you're this pleased with the tranny mount, just wait until you do the two motor mounts! Probably one of the best replacements I ever did on mine, really made it nice and quiet, smooth, and solid feeling. And the $15 rack grommets, which were easy as pie to do! Which insulated any vibration from the engine from the steering wheel.

after watching the HBO series that followed the 3 months of training for both of them, I can honestly say I was all for Hatton too! I wanted him to knock the snot out of that arrogant punk Mayweather! Mayweather now says he's retired, done, no more. I have a feeling that's because he knows he wouldn't survive a rematch, especially after seeing Hatton's true grit and where his roots come from. I have a feeling he'd train until his heart exploded to beat Mayweather. Funny thing, and I'm sure you saw it Steve, but from what I've read in the news, most of the fans at the fight were for Hatton too! Funny, right in Mayweather's back yard, and they were chanting for Hatton, and boooing Mayweather.....That says something...like who the real winner is.. Hey, he did get $6 million for the fight though! Which should buy quite a few pints at the family pup!