maxed_out

Hey, I'm no expert but I been down this road (and many air suspension roads) with my 91, but I'll give it a shot. How did you try to bleed the air from the strut?

Anybody know how bad a job replacing the head gaskets are? I dont need one, and hope I never do but I'm curious????

Hey, I had a similar situation many moons ago and I ended up converting my car to 134a. Cheaper, easy to fill...some say not as cold as r12 but works for me. My leak turned out to be an o ring near the drier (located behind passengers headlight assy). The evap could be a bigger job as I understand because its buried deep inside the dash. Are you + mech sure the leak is there and not somewhere else?

Hey Zee, way to stick with it. I'm going out of the box here. My 91 did some similar type things. Really knocked me on my a%# for a while. Yes I smelled gas too. Turned out that I had a corroded gas line that was allowing the car to suck air thus throwing off the computer+mix+sensors. When I eventually talked to the Lexus techs they said they have seen this problem before. I bought a new gas line and filter. It was a bear of a job but everything settled down after that. If the codes are suggesting any type of lean condition you might want to do a visual on the entire fuel rail from tank to engine. I live in the NE where they use salt during the winter and the corrosion was located right where you'd expect to see salt water hitting the body. It might be worth a look. max

Hey John, any updates here? I'm working on a similiar situation and it looks like its the exhaust valve on the compressor. Parts on order now but wont know for sure til things come in and I get a chance to try. My struts are not leaking. If you need a strut Arnott is very good. I've been reading the manual on the suspension system and I'm just amazed how the thing works and the on board diagnostics can be if you are will to go down the road. Anyway please try and post an update and I'll do the same once I have something concrete. max

Hi Folks, would anybody be kind enough to look up the part number for the exhaust valve solenoid (drier valve) on the air compressor for the air suspension for a 91 LS 400? Is it possible to order just this valve? Also if anyone has one please send me a PM. Thanks in advance, max

Thanks for the tip on the celsior...I didnt know that. Just thought I'd update everone for the casue. And it turns out another day of rest for me and taking another look yields some results. I find that sometimes things can look different the next day......I came to the conclusion that the exhaust valve has issues. So we pump in air, and the exhaust valve (connected to the drier) does its thing to return to atmosphere when necessary. Hmm bad solenoid? I took a closer look and tested the solenoid for the exhaust valve and its fine. I got the compressor out and looking at it I came to the concluson that the exhaust valve "o" rings may be failing and not sealing. Then I remembered a trick a tech taught me about o rings...liquid teflon. So I lightly sanded the mating surfaces where the exhaust valve meets the drier and carefully sealed the inner and outer o rings with liquid teflon. Did this last night, and the car is still ok on all fours. Will keep you posted. Max

Hi Guys, sorry for not posting sooner. Long story short, my 91 has been running flawless for a long time. Unfortunately she's getting the 18 year itch and it looks like the solenoid operated valve on the air compresssor for the air suspension is shot. The symptom is the compressor continues to run and hiss out the side port. I know-I know its just time til she finally goes all together but I'd like to ask if anyone has a spare or any spare valve off the system to send me a PM. The dealer says the part is not available. I thought I'd give this a shot and see what happens. Thanks, Max

Hi, I hope you fix it...my 91 did the same thing. Drove me nuts. Mine turned out to be a corroded fuel line that was allowing air to pull in. Didnt show up in the FP test. While I was there I changed the fuel filter. Let me tell you the job to replace the fuel line from the tank to the front is a real stinker. I surmise that the salt used on the roads really does a number on the fuel line. By the way for some weird reason it didnt leak. Good luck. Max

Just so everybody benefits, I got about a month out of it. New one coming from Arnott.

I have started researching replacing the rack on my 91 LS. Its not totally shot but I think the rack ends are getting a little sloppy. No big leaks.Where would you reccomend I look? Any feedback is appreciated. Anybody try to rebuild one themselves? Is it possible to replace the rack ends and get good results? Thanks.

do yourself a favor and do the the plugs and wires. Use OEM stuff then post results . You might want to do the rotors and caps too. We'll help you out.

Update...300 mile roadtrip yesterday. Lots of bumpy roads. No issues. New one not here yet which is fine with me right now.

Hey overnight update. woke up and checked. still holding air. no droop. got a road trip today which should give it a good workout and will report results. also got new rotors (off ebay-non oem) installed and will post those results too.

Hey all. I was kinda getting tired of seeing the back end on my 91 droop more and more with each passing day. So I checked it out with a spray bottle of soapy water and the left rear air strut had a small leak. Just to let you know that I'm not totally off the deep end, I ordered a new (used) one. So waiting for it to arrive, decided to try out the ole green slime-you know the stuff for tires. I took off the strut and held it horizontal and added some green slime. I took the strut and rolled it around to move the slime inside to coat everything. I did 2 small applications and the stuff went right in. I used the air connection from the suspension sys to pump up the strut and seat the slime. Seat the slime boy that sounds weird. Anyway, put it all back together and shes still holding with no leaks. Will report results until the new one comes. I dont think this is wise nor I dont think its a long term solution it may just buy a week or so. In case you need the link to green slime its here. http://slime.com/customercare/viewfaq.php?id=30&q= No I dont work for them, just thought I'd share my tale with you. It may just work because I'd guess that system runs on lower pressure high volume type setup. I'll try to take a picture of the strut next time because I think you will see where the whole problem lies for these fine systems. The rubber boot wont allow the water in the wheel well out properly-it gets trapped against the strut. I'm guessing that here in the noreast with all the salt in winter that the rust does these things in. Happy trails.

anybody have the part numbers for the o2 sens replacements on a 91? A good source for the parts would be nice too.

any more info on the re-build kits? From the dealer? I think thats a good call too. Chris: Worry not............'tis a no-brainer. You might want to consider rebuild kits for the calipers though. If you're slow (like me) it adds maybe 15 minutes per wheel. When you're done, it's a nice feeling knowing that everything is as it should be with the calipers as well. And, rebuilding them is EASY............After having re-built my calipers, I'd NEVER replace any of them in their entirety unless they had suffered some kind of massive damage. PS.........Go to the Stealer & buy 4 new brass rotor retaining screws. They're soft & are probably chewed up by the previous ham fisted gorilla that last touched your brakes. Should only be a buck or so a piece. It's not critical, but they're nice to have.

Ok good replies...thanks..I'm gonna try the ebay route. Will post what I find and use. I looks to me that the difference is about $400 between the dealer and the folks on ebay. I suspect I'm gonna get what I pay for but its worth a shot. After all I can use the saving to pay for more gas!

Hi everyone, its time to replace all 4 rotors on my 91. Just wanted to get your opinion of OEM vs aftermarket. She deserves the best, but at over 500 for all 4 from the dealer...thought I ask for some thoughts.

get a second opinion. not the end of the world. I did mine and converted it to 134a for a lot less. Its been documented how to do it. How did he know it was the evap?

my 91 has seen above 30 but usually its in the high 28's. Fully loaded, wife,2 teenagers, all that sfuff still gets good mileage.

Glad to see everyone is ejoying this thread. My son said he'll go back through and do some type of analysis and comment. Looks like these babies have a long life span. Keep those mileage numbers coming.

uh oh...hmm the wobble thing is back! like a bad dream. NC I had this too til recently. I got lucky, and found a rear diff from a salvage yard. I got the drive shaft too. If the bearings are the same ones that were funky on mine it could very well be the cause. With the new rear the "moving" front to back and so forth vibe is gone. Before the change, I felt it in the rear,floor and front. Up hills you could really feel it in the back. Interesting in that on the old diff the bearings were slightly sloppy. I can't say it wasnt the drive shaft because I switched both at the same time. I couldnt really see or feel anything wrong with the drive shaft but like I said changed it over anyway. Pretty nice project because of the weight of the rear diff. Had to make a adapter for my floor jask just to lift in and out. I would think a mechanic could check for slop in those bearings by disconnecting the cv joints. Hey I'm no expert just like to tinker. I still have the old rear, and I was gonna take it apart but havent had the time yet-too many honey doos and customers to take care of. Oh yeah almost forgot, changed the rear rubber bshings that hold up the rear too. One was fine and one was shot because of the wobble.

Just my 2 cents but I'd stick with Toyota...neighbor has a 4 runner and loves it. I see you are in NYC. I'd also suggest a gen 1 ls400. From what I have seen they go pretty cheap up there and if you shop, you might find a cream puff which who knows maybe we'll also buy. I'll bet some old lady has one in CT right now with 25k miles...woohoo. Just gotta find it.

Hey Chad, just wishing you the best with this one....keep your posts coming. I'm sure we are all curious, does one just "drive down" through mexico with the LS? Whats that like? Sure might be interesting to hear the rest of the story.