nc211

Thanks for the input fella's!! Well I put on the bushings last night, and I can tell a bit of a difference this morning on my drive in, the rear end isn't wiggling as much, and I'm not getting that droaning noise as badly, but the noise is still there a little. I can tell you one thing though, the criss-cross pattern on the face of the new rotors makes a god-awful sound against the pads at parking lot speeds, sounds like a wheel bearing going bad. I'm thinking the pads will wear down that pattern a bit. Thread, I thought about your scenario too, and I'm not convinced that you're not right, I bled the hell out of the lines last month, but could of let a little air get pulled back into the ends. Although the brakes feel very responsive and the peddle is tight, the car will stop on a dime, but you might be right that a tiny bit of air is in my rear passenger side line. The car doesn't wiggle as much as it did when applying the brakes, but it does everso slightly, and it's definelty in the back. I think what was happening is the notched end of the bottom slider pin was catching inside it's sleeve ever so slightly when I would release the brake, and was causing the caliper to not reset back to it's center completely right. Now with the rubber bushing on them, I think they're going back to center. I drove to the coast last weekend, at about 85mph, with the windows down. When I would pass something to my left "wall, car, etc" anything that would reflect the sound back to me, I could swear I was hearing a hissing noise. When I got to my destination, I noticed the rear wheels had a bit of brake dust on them, and there was a feeling that one of the tires was off balance a little. I didn't touch the wheel because I just didn't think about it. But I did this morning, and it was cool, and no brake dust. I've hit some mother pot holes recently "thanks to urban sprawl developers tearing up the roads", and i think I might of damaged one of my tires. I've got a slight thumping noise from the back, which sounds exactly like a tire with a flat spot, or slipped belt. So, long story short, I thought I might of found the excuse to trade up to the 01-02 430's, "no way I'm going through what Canada Craig did", but turned out it was a $10 repair. This damn car will out live me. The only car I've ever owned that I've said "I wish someone would hit me so I could get a newer one, simply to satisfy my own vanity". I've got another question about rotors, but I'm going to start a new thread about it....

Craig, I'm pulling up one of yours from the past amigo! I'm not sure if you still have your LS or not? I recall you saying you had that "towing a boat" feeling, and your acceleration was bad. I'm having that boat feeling as well, and having to stand on the gas a bit more. I have recently done some brake work "replaced rear rotors, cleaned pins, etc..." and the problem seemed to get worse with the new rotors. I was about to head to the shop, when I remembered something strange about my slider pins on the rear brakes..... they were missing the bushings needed to create the back pressure to keep the pads from dragging! I just called my mechanic at the dealership to get his opinion, and he said "If it's missing, the pads can drag, and you will get that towing a boat feeling sometimes, especially in the turns, when the weight of the car pushes the rotors against the outside pads."... He then said, which is why I pulled up your thread "The first generations were worse". He said that it is an EASY thing to over look, even for the most experienced mechanic. I checked the Lexls.com website as suggested in another thread, and wouldn't you know it, there they are, the bushings. So, do you have those bushings? http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/brake/fbcaliper.html I'm picking up the bushings at lunch today, and installing them tonight. I'll post up in the morning if I notice a change.

Ralph, I agree 100%! ;) Lexus took the family resemblence idea a bit too far. This is their first go at it, so maybe the next generations will have a similar but distinguishable appearance like Mercedes and BMW. I agree as well. I've seen some 460's on the road now, and although they look very nice, I still think they've blended the line too much. To me, it just looks like a super-sized ES / IS / Camry. The GS is a bit more distinctive, but not much.

Can anyone tell me if the rear, bottom slider pin on the rear brakes is supposed to have a rubber bushing around the tip of it, where it is notched? The top pins don't have that notching, but the lower ones do. My manual makes a statement "install slider pin with bushing on the bottom part of the assembly". What bushing??? I'm about to put the car in the shop "found a european shop that works on Lexus cars too" for a rear wiggling I'm getting. I'm thinking those ASUS rear carrier bushings have gone bad, BUT, I want to rule out the rear pads dragging on the rotors if I'm missing these "alleged" bushing caps? Thanks fella's nevermind...just found my answer... http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...;hl=slider+pins NEW QUESTION: Would not having those little rubber bushings cause my pads to ride the rotor bad enough to create that "towing a boat" sensation? Or make my car shift around when applying the brakes, like the pads aren't being applied at an even pressure? The fluid is new, flushed, bled, etc... No leaks anywhere either.

'n gernades! "fire in the hole!"

Collector of cheeto's and beer.

Let's start with the easiest and cheapest little items that make a big difference in your car's rejuvenation. 1) Motor mounts. There are 3 of them, well, really two for the motor and one for the tranny. The two motor mounts "known as the front mounts" will smooth out your engine's presence, especially at idle and under acceleration. They run about $90 each. The third mount "known as the rear motor mount" is actually the tranny mount, and is easy as pie to do yourself. They cost about $40 bucks. You'll need a car jack to lift up the tranny ever-so-slightly while you unhook the old one, and insert the new one. It's easy. The next on my list of things I would do, and might be your squeek noise, is your stabalizer bushings. You have four of them, two on the front, two on the rear. They wear out pretty quickly "realatively speaking". They're about $15 each, and again, super easy to do yourself. If you look under the front of your car, you'll see the stabalizer bar running from wheel to wheel. Just follow the bar, and you'll see where the two bushings are. I'm about due for my second pair, as I replaced mine when I got the car, and dirve some rough roads to work these days. Next, the rack gromments. These insulate your steering rack from bangin' around on the frame. If you turn your steering wheel all the way to one side, and look at the rack, you'll see two U shaped clamps over the rack housing, connected by two bolts. Those clamps "just like the stabablizer bar bushings" hold down the bushing, or gromment. I can't find them on the online catelog, but if you call the shop, they'll have them. I think mine were like $20 each. They made a nice difference. Those are the main areas I would do for the most bang for the buck. As you continue to rack up the miles, you'll hit the need for ball joints, outter tie rod ends, etc.... just par for the course. The motor mounts will probably require a mechanic's touch, as the driver's side is a serious pain in the butt to get to. Expect probably $100 each to install, and WELL WORTH IT. The other stuff, man, with a basic set of sockets and a screw driver, you can do on a lazy Sunday afternoon. DON'T FORGET to grease the stabalizer bushings though, otherwise you'll be squeekin' & a schrunchin' on down the road. 2 motor mounts 1 tranny mount 4 stabalizer bar bushings 2 steering rack gromments $300?? at most...

Holy Snot Rockets, another Seahawk in the building!! I'm a Seahawk myself, lived there for 8+ years, infact, was just their last weekend with my buddies, raising cane on the boat. A few questions.... Suspension is a pretty big issue on these cars. The control arm bushings all wear out after a while. You have options on that model year to go aftermarket it you like, probably $500 worth to go around the car. Or, probably $1,600 if you go oem through lpo. To answer your question about the online parts....yes, they're oem, and see that list in my signature, they're all from them "suspension parts". Air suspension????? If yes....then no, i wouldn't mess with it. Not that you can't fix it too with aftermarket, but it's pricey, and won't leave that much in your bank. I'll let the other generation 1 guys chime in a bit more. But the LS400 is an awsome car, and not hard to work on. Those miles aren't much to worry about. You'll need to do the timing belt too. You'll also need a manual to make sure you hit the right torque setitngs for the bolts. If air suspension....then no. If normal suspension, then probably yes. Got pictures?

Hahaha.... Budweiser, guns, monster trucks, rogain, you name it, if it's manly, then we men need it, especially when the devil's name has been mentioned. I stand by my very first remarks about the uber-hag..... she needs to bubble her !Removed! back down into the pits of hell, where she came from to begin with, and take that horrible "because you love me" crap with her!! Just talking about her makes me want to paint my house black and invite Ozzy Ozbourne over for a bat feast! Argh!!! I can't stand that woman!!! If I had just two choices to save the planet, (1) reproduce with Celine Dion or (2) perish the existance of mankind..... well sorry fella's, this spin on the rock is d.o.n.e for us upright-walking-natured species type.

David, are you hearing anything when it's rocking backwards, like a clunk or squeek? You're right, Blake is an expert, he's had his car in more pieces over the years than were originally built with! My car, which is identical to Blakes will rock backwards a little too, like the car is just resetting it's stance after coming to a stop. Not 8 cm, but I have standard struts, not air like you do. If you're not hearing something clunk, and you don't feel a clunking sensation in the seat or steering wheel, then I'd say you're probably fine. Just some of that old age arthritis showing, which happens on these cars, and some of their owners too!

Robert, you only speak the truth my friend!! I'll have to add this one to our other "discussions" because it's too good! I can't imagine it's too tough to get that 'woofer out of there. ;) Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to pull the backseat! Blake, are you saying that I have to remove the backseat to get to the subwoofer? Oh man, crap, that just sucks!! I guess I'll go ahead and replace those top strut mounts too since I'll be there anyway. Oh this car, why can't they make some of the simple stuff...simple

Alex, correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard Sweden is one of the most expensive countries to live in on the planet, due to your tax rates. Maybe your prices are higher than ours because of that? Maybe that tax hit the distributors of the parts are getting hit with are passing it along to the consumer. That's how it works around here. For instance, North Carolina is one of the most expensive places in the entire country to buy a gallon of gas, behind Hawaii and California. Hawaii is higher due to where it is and the cost to supply the islands. California is higher due to smog control guidelines which require a special blend of fuel. Then it's us, the good ole' boys who, for some reason, live along the coast, have state ports that receive fuel, yet are taxed in the 30%+ for a gallon of gas. And our roads still suck, and our schools are way underfunded, and we have litter everywhere "biggest embarassement of all time for us". Go figure

Nc, I missed this thread :chairshot: I should be able to get you a OEM sub replacement for a reasonable price. I'll get back. Got your PM, will respond later today...but, I'll take it! It'll cost me that much to have it reconed, and I"m not so sure it's just the foam that's bad on mine. I really blew it out I think.

Alex, I know this delima quite well. I too love the 944's and everytime I see one, I want one. Fastest car I've ever been in was a 944 Turbo with some kind of modified computer chip. Blew away vets, iroc's, cyclone and even ran neck and neck with a grand national. Unfreakin' believable..... and always broken due to the stress of running it so hard. If it were me, I would probably pass on that one, and maybe look for a newer one. They made some significant changes to them in the late 80's. Plus, you seem to be very connected to your SAAB, you've been raving about it since you came on here. Do you really want to let her go for a car that you already know has some problems and doesn't drive as nice?

Celine Dion is the devil....THE DEVIL I TELL YOU!!!!! :chairshot: She has a warped sense of existance, and she deserves to be deported to the field of Iraq. I hate Celine Dion!! Make me want to throw up every time I hear that chicken-scratch whine that she calls a singing voice. In a perfect world, she would be the opening act for the death-metal speed band "6 feet under", and the fans would NOT have to go through a metal detector. Now that's a concert I'd fly anywhere to see, even though I'm no fan of metal either. The Devil, sheer evilness that has the ability to turn men of strength, into minivan drivin' soccer moms, and trade in the Budweiser and pnumatic air hammers for tea-time over an afternoon cry sessions during Dr. Phil. Oh, I hate that woman!!! The only thing she can "blow out" is my lunch! Blake, that's what I think I'm going to do, just have the speaker reconed. Now comes the fun of figuring out how to get the sub out of there. Guess it's back to the manuals.

hit the back button on your browser, back to the topics. look at the top of the list, you should see 4 or 5 "pinned" topics. These are the most talked about topics. the display light issue is by far one of the most common issues. check out that thread and you should be good to go.

I agree with Thread in the fact that we should not be abusing the pricing difference our online guys offer against our full retail parts counter. However, if the online dealership is paying what all the other dealerships have to pay to buy the parts from Toyota, then I don't see where Toyota could legally force any dealership to adjust their own profit margins on the parts. I would think it would be a violation of free trade agreements. It's no different if the dealership on the east side of town will sell me a new Camry for $20k and the dealership on the west side of town will only sell me the exact same car for $21k. It's free trade competition. If anything I would think it would send the signal to the dealerships to reevaluate their pricing, as they're a bit out of market, market being defined as best price break to the end user. In my opinion, Toyota should be happier with the online dealerships, because they're probably moving more inventory, and if Toyota gets their nut, then it's really an argument between dealership's business models. One decides to trim out the overhead required to run the parts counter and pass that along to the internet guy, that's just business. BUT, to constantly abuse the dealership's parts desk with your online printout is a bad idea, because you have to take into consideration the mark up pays the staff, and keeps the lights on. Does the parts counter guy need to be driving a new Lexus and living in a 4,000 SqFt house? I answer that with my choice to buy online most of the time. In addition, I would not recommend trying to negotiate the price difference if you're a newbie to the dealership. I've negotiated against the online guys, but I've also dumped my fair share of profits into the repair shop, and they agreed. I did this with my drive shaft. They wanted like $1,200 bucks for it, I told them I could get it online for the $800's, they agreed. But, that repair also had their labor in there as well. Was not a cheap repair.

Josh, I much appreciate the advice! BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE WHEN YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON R&R!!! I'M TELLIN' MRS. ARMYOFONE that you're kicking tires with the boys, when you should be kicking floral patterns at home depot! Hahaha... Actually man, you're right on the money about the shops. In my opinion, clean tools are unused tools, which translates into inexperienced. Plus, you just described most of my ole' college buddies from back in the day. I called circuit world this morning, and they said what you said, that most just bypass the factory sub and use a bazooka tub or something like that. But, I don't want to go that route if I don't have to, I would rather stay within the oem appearence specs if possible. The local lexus indi repair shop here in town sent me to a local audio shop. They said "yep, know the issue quite well, we use the rockford fosgate 8 inch as an oem replacement, and it seems to work great." All in all, with install, $100 bucks, give or take $20. So I think I'm going to go that route and see what happens. I'm not that big into audiophile stuff anymore these days, just don't want the cracks/thumps and rattles that blown speakers make. If all else fails, I'll have the original sub reconed. There is a shop here in town that recones speakers for like $30 bucks. They did my 12' pioneer sub at home last year, after lightening took it out. Blew out the amp, and launched the speaker out of it's seat, tearing the foam all to pieces. Not to mention, nearly launched me and wife out of bed into the attic throught the ceiling. Scared the crap out of us! OH, on a side note, I called the dealership to see how much a new one would cost.....$250 bucks!!! When I asked him how much to install it, he transfered me to the service desk. I hung up before they picked up the transfer. What a joke..

EDIT: I am told these will work, the Rockford Fosgate P18S4. Anyone use one before? http://www.crutchfield.com/S-jcirYFBIJgj/c...&I=575P18S4

I posted this in the electronics section too, but I put it here as well since it's LS specific, and this seems to get a few more hits. Need some help. AFter doing some searching, it appears the subwoofer is some kind of specialty item that probably costs a ton to replace with oem. I swear, I hate this car sometimes. Mine blew out this morning, thanks to my Ipod. Does anyone have a suggestion on an aftermarket one they've used that's worked, and didn't require the freakin' engine to be removed to make it fit? To add to this, I plugged in my Ipod last night to the computer from hell, and it said my ipod software needed to be updated, so it updated it...and it erased it, and the computer wouldn't recognize it. Was up until 2 am fixing that damn thing. Heading to the beach today "2 1/2 hour drive". NC needs BEER.

AFter doing some searching, it appears the subwoofer is some kind of specialty item that probably costs a ton to replace with oem. I swear, I hate this car sometimes. Mine blew out this morning, thanks to my Ipod. Does anyone have a suggestion on an aftermarket one they've used that's worked, and didn't require the freakin' engine to be removed to make it fit? Thanks guys! EDIT: I am told these will work, the Rockford Fosgate P18S4. Anyone use one before? http://www.crutchfield.com/S-jcirYFBIJgj/c...&I=575P18S4

Your mechanic is referring to #2 in the picture below "knuckle". It houses the rear carrier bushing "where #9 connects to #2". But that won't grind, it will clunk, and it does wear out, usually the first to go. But, you do NOT have to replace the entire knuckle to repair it. Call your lexus dealer and tell them you need the rear carrier repair kit, they'll sell you a ASUS bushing kit for like $100 bucks on the spot. Or you can search the web and buy it online, but after shipping and time wasted waiting for it, you only come out ahead by like $20 or $30 bucks, if that. If it is your wheel bearing, and he wants you to buy the entire knuckle, then I would suggest a different approach. That's sort of buying a new house because your garage door sticks. You can buy the bearing itself, and have it swapped out. I found this diagram on www.lexuspartsonline.com. The knuckle from them costs $212 "which ain't that bad actually". But I promise you if you try and buy it at your local dealership, it'll be close to double that probably. ACtually, didn't realize Thread posted the trademotion link as well. His has the same diagrams with better pricing.... I would use his instead of mine.

The air suspension would scare me away from that particular LS. You have to take into consideration the age of the vehicle, and where it's lived v. the mileage at this point. The thing with suspension is that just sitting, they still have to support the car, and being in a pretty harsh winter environment I'm betting has had a negative effect on the rubber of the air suspension bags and seals. Even if it was in a garage the whole time, still, the cold makes rubber hard, which translates into brittle. The thing with the older LS's is that mileage isn't really as much of an issue as age is. You can find a well maintained 150k mile LS400 that would be light years ahead of one that never really reached the point of needing replacement parts, but is older than the 150k LS. My point is, don't be fooled by the odometer, don't discount it either, but don't be fooled. Age is is age, and on air suspension, age really matters. I'm not a big fan of the 1st generation GS's either, but that is purely cosmetic, not mechanical. You could easily pick up a generation 2 LS "95-97" for $8,000 that had been maintained to perfection, but would probably have 100k miles. But, you wouldn't know the difference by the way it drives and rides, if maintained.

ignition wires were cut and joined together, in Cambridge..... :whistles: what kind of car you got there man?

got a video camera? video tape them the next time you see them, then knock on the window, get their attention, and wave to them with the camera in your hand.....they'll never come back.