r3dlin3

That does help a lil bit. Thanks phucanse!

Quick note: I was told to make sure you wash your face/body off right away if your airbag deploys. There's some chemical or something in the airbag "dust" that is...I guess the word would be corrosive if left on your skin. My friend's mom gets these "burn" victims on occassion from accidents. I think this goes for recently made airbags but I assume that old airbags use the same materials as the new ones?

I would have gotten a Hyundai Sonata over the Kia

Ok guys, I just went through the 13 pages of the forum, did some searching on Ebay and the internet but still didn't quite get the answers I was looking for. I am amazed at how a lot of people ask questions here that can be easily answered by referring to your lexus manual or by calling the lexus parts dept. That's what i do when I need to change a bulb. Anyways. So I have a 1st gen 1990 LS400. I've cleared out the signals with clears bought off ebay, will be clearing out the fogs (removing the yellow "covers" on the bulbs and replacing the fog bulbs with the H3 conversions. My sidemarkers are very dim, I'd like to replace them with brighter ones. I would also like to upgrade the headlights to "brighter" ones. My thing is that I'd like to keep the "theme" of the lights - I want to keep the same "whiteness" that the headlights have right now. From what I've read the Silverstar headlights are the best bet so far? I have some on my sentra, they work ok. I don't know if they're quite the same "whiteness" as stock but that whiteness is acceptable. Problem now is that I want the rest of the lights' "whiteness" to match the headlights - I don't want any blueish tinges or yellowing. Using the silverstars as a guide: 1) What bulb is recommended for the sidemarkers that will match? Should I get a bulb or an LED? If it's an LEDI'd want the LED to be bright and not have the light shining only in 1 direction. I've seen replacements that have multiple leds in them to spread the light. Does anyone have any experience with them? Is it safe to go over the recommended 5 watts rating? maybe 7 watts (if that's available). 2) I need matching bulbs, white colored, for my clear turn signals. Again, matching the headlights. Suggestions? (I know clear turn signals are illegal in CA). 3) I've read up on the fog H3 conversion. I can do that. Will any h3 bulb "match" the headlight? I'm hoping this post will summarize everything related to front end bulbs for the first gen. It was annoying going through the posts and having to read up on "how do I replace my signal bulb?" No offense to the newbies but jeez, use your owners manual! I really think an all white front end looks nice and classy and I'm hoping to get some help with this and hoping that this post will be useful to my fellow 1st gen brothers.

FYI if you buy clear corners off Ebay like I did you might want to caulk all the seams. Clear caulk is probably best. I bought clears off Ebay and they were fine for a while ~ 6 months. Next thing you know the passenger side started to fill with water. Then the water turned brown, inside metal parts started to rust. I really didn't feel like prying them open. Shouldn't always happen but taking a little time to caulk them will save you another $30 or so bucks for a second pair.

I likes it. It's on you though. Me personally I like my lex the way it is. I just need to buy another one so I can put a Wald kit on it, Lambo doors, HID retrofit, 20" rims, turbo...etc etc etc. I always wonder how much of a pain the lambo doors would be once they wore out (pistons?). That door must be heavy!

FYI My dealer said that once you go synthetic you shouldn't go back to normal oil. That's what HE said. I haven't changed to synthetic yet just because...it seems like I won't be able to go back. Still thinking about it. I have heard that synthetic works great though. My 91 ls400 is running so smooth now on regular oil...I'll think about it summore...

Lexol makes a PLASTIC/RUBBER protectant, basically their version of armor all. It comes in the same shaped lexol bottles BUT it a bright turquiose color. It works great because it doesn't leave a shiny finish. Has more of a dull clean look than the armor all's shine <no offense to people that like armor all>. I don't think it makes sense to use the leather lexol cleaners/conditioners on anything plastic. I mean, I don't know what it would do or if it would be good or bad. I just know it's made for leather. I can see how you could use the lexol leather conditioners for the dash vinyl maybe but otherwise use their plastic cleaner. Detailing notes: 1) You usually don't want the surface you're detailing to be hot. I guess because the liquid applied evaporates and doesn't saturate. 2) You should always clean the surface before conditioning. I usually use a mild soap (dawn detergent) with water on my plastics and then use the lexol. Use a leather cleaner on the leather before you condition it. It's pretty simple. Think about it this way: if you were dirty would you put lotion all over your body? Most people shower before they do.

I've had a at least 4 cars and of course ANYONE will tell you that changing the fuel pump is one of the things to do when doing a basic tune-up. At least that's what I thought. Spoke to my Lexus service tech at Lexus of Marin. He said that they DON'T change fuel filters on their cars. I told him that I had 180k on my car and he said "don't need it." And I said, "but isn't that a lot of miles?" and he said "yes, but you don't need it." So after spending another 1-2 minutes trying to convince him that I needed one he told me that he could order me one but it would make no significant difference. That cut filter picture does look like it's been through a lot but if you really wanted to prove that it was that unusable you should test how well fuel flows through it rather than basing your judgements on what you can visually see. Numbers talk.

Hey guys, I know this post is a little late but I think this will help with the brake issue: I had a datsun 280z that I took in to this hole in the wall shop for a brake job. The shop had to check the brakes 3-4 times because they would just squeal louder a public transit bus (Bus drivers would have to cover their ears when I stoped next to them). The shop guy eventually told me that it was a suspension issue, meaning that the suspension was not "helping" the brakes by absorbing the weight transfer as the car stopped and go. The brakes were thus exceeding their capacity. I don't know if the guy was bs-ing or not but that's about all he could do about it he said. Enter the lexus ls400.. I could not afford the lexus dealership price for discs, pads, etc so I got all my stuff off of Ebay from a company called Trinet in the LA area. I told the guy that I was concerned about brake squealing. He said that they'd installed the set on one of their employee's lexus' and it had no probs. I installed mine. They do squeal, and did so pretty much after a week or so, especially after city driving for about an hour. My suspension is ridiculously in need of replacement (180k miles) so again I'm assuming I'm in the same position once again with the squealing. Again, it is the pitching of the car up and down, especially on hills. Not having OEM (dealership) parts may have some effect on the quality of the brakes (f I had OEM parts maybe the brakes would squeak after 2 hours instead of 1 as I said above) but overall they should be decent enough. My neighbor just happens to have a 1991 ls400 (I have a 1990) and we installed the same set on his. Now the difference being between our cars: 1) His suspension has been changed (springs/struts - acutally, whatever lexus determined to be worn out because he serviced his suspension at the dealer) 2) He has the dual piston front brakes, I have the single His car has not squealed at all. So I read all these squeally posts on ls400 websites and trash talking about aftermarket parts and wonder if my reasoning stands to make sense. My hands on experience says it does (I think). Can anyone verify this? If you have "squeally" new brakes, whether OEM or not, are you: pushing over 150k on your suspension? if not pushing 150k on suspension do you drive your ls400 mad crazy over speed bumps? Are your new brakes really cheapo? Try changing your suspension and see if that helps. If you have to change your suspension to fix the squealing then the suspension was overdue anyways. BTW be careful out there. My neighbor didn't tighten a bolt down and I think he had the caliper/pad unbolt and drag along the disc while doing 70mph - not a situation that I want to be in. Double check your install - the dealer won't be liable.