Kennyr

Strut bar bushings will drive u crazy with noise. Also the lower shock bushings that you just replace the whole shock to fix. They can make lots of creaking noise. Other than the upper control arms (that I changed for play in them) thats what Ive done to my suspension in 185k and 22 yrs. Heres a unrelated tip. If you have good brake pads that squeak take them out and rotate the outer and inner pads in the caliber. This has worked for me like magic in the past.

sSo my 91 is cherry. My wheel was trashed. I did all the research to the couple places that rewrap them professionally. You pull the air bag and wheel, send it off and wait 2 to 4 weeks. This costs $250 and up, car down for weeks. Not a very appealing solution. I figured Id take a flier on a $50 Wheelskin. Love it.

You wont even believe how good these look and feel. Looks almost factory and feels great. I went with the charcoal one color and the match is right on.

Wheelskins cover. I put one on a couple months ago and its amazing for about $50 You thread it on, takes about an hour. Easy to do.

Seriously, you were charged 150 bucks in 99 to replace a filter that doesn't exist? Is this the same dealer that wants to replace it now? What is the dealers name? I will call them and ask for a quote for my car and see what they say.

Serpentine belt for $270 installed. Is this dealership on Rodeo Drive? They are probably charging 140 an hour and bumping the belt list up 40%. Plus charging you shop supplies etc. Find an aftermarket Lexus or Toy shop. Can you imagine what a real repair cost there?

If I was handed a repair order (in my 25yrs as a dealership mechanic) stating replace the seals, I replaced the seals. It's a no brainer that my boss would have me redoing it again for free if they leaked, or if the owner was unhappy they were not done. That repair order is a contract. If I dont think they need replacing or I just dont want to change them for my own personal reasons then the customer must agree on this change before the new timing belt gets put on, period. Now my own opinion. I dont think you need those seals replaced. When I did my belt at 110,000 I left the seals alone. They still dont leak at 170,000 miles. Heck I didn't even need the belt, water pump and all the bearings I did replace. They all looked great. My jugement call was to leave the seals alone.

I live in Denver and have had my 91 for 8 years. First let me say I love driving this car. I have had all the sticky snow tires the first few years and yes they are better than nothing. But! some years are way worse than others here and the LS400 does not cut it at all, mostly on black ice or in deep snow. Forget about it. 3 years ago I also purchased a 2000 Isuzu Trooper and it's a blast in the snow. Buy the Jeep or whatever, you will love it. I say to myself, why didn't I do this sooner like my wife suggested. You couldn't pay her to drive the Lexus in the snow. Just my personal experience.

I parked my 91LS and drove a Hyundi Genesis today. This car is so much like my 91. It's the same size, rear wheel drive and no folding down rear seats. The one I drove was a V6 with 290 horses. It was very fast but other than that it felt pretty much like my car. 36k with no navigation. I really liked it but heck its pretty much the same car 18 years later. So once again I drove away in my car feeling like the new car I had test driven was no nicer than what I'm in already for almost nothing. It's going to be really hard to get me out of my Lexus. Tags are 35 bucks and insurance is 290 a year. My steering wheel is getting a little worn though after 170,000 miles. I treated her to a new pair of sheep skins this year so I guess I'm good for 8 more years. The first ones were not even worn out yet but a little crusty from fast food. I put them in my snow Trooper.

My guess is Throttle Position Sensor

The timing belt will look real good like it can go another 90k so your changing it for nothing. This will *BLEEP* off many in this forum but it is the truth. Timing belts are made so big and strong I'm surprised they even still advise changing them at less than 150k. More likely is a water pump, idler or tensioner bearing going bad. If you insist on going in there change them all along with the plugs, caps & rotors, wires & serp belt. Or just wait till 120k plus and do it all. A mechanic friend of mine and I just had this discussion. He said he hasn't changed a worn out belt with under 150k since the mid 90's.

I too have put brake pads on thousands of times in 30 years and not turned rotors unless they were below the thickness spec or warped. My dealership shop had 10 mechanics also doing the same. Thats a lot of proof you dont need to turn and ruin the customers rotors by taking mass off them. You take an expensive oem rotor and turn it down and you ruin it. Volvo said never turn rotors. Aftermarket rotors are so cheap now but you dont need to even pay for them if there is no warpage. The lip is no problem if the area the pads hit is still in spec.

Your lock could be frozen up. Squirt some penetrating fluid like WD40 into the lock and work the key in and out a couple times then the key should turn if this is your problem.

My 17.5 was with regular gas. 1991 ls400 170,000 miles. Thats not trying to drive smooth and do right turns only either. There were plenty of stop lights I waited for. I'm thrilled with what I got. I haven't done a test for years. I forgot what I was getting. 4 bucks a gallon makes you think. My car is well maintained (by me) also. All fluids are synthetic.

How many miles per gallon are you guys getting? I just did a test and got 17.5 in town only with the a/c on here in Denver.

I have never seen a problem caused by applying too much pressure to the cooling system other than blowing out the radiator or pump which would only happen if they were worn anyway.

I can work on your A/C etc. I live in Englewood and have a shop. E-Mail me at Kennyr44@aol.com I only charge for what I fix and am very reasonable. I have a 91 ls400.

I'm surprised the toyota ATF only loyalists havent jumped in yet. I use BG universal synthetic (it's probably made by Amxoil for all I know) but my trans (160k on it) shifts way smoother than with Toyota brand. I used to get a rough shift that *BLEEP*ed me off but for the last 50k (2 flushes with BG) my shifts are so smooth. I do it myself without a machine as described in the tutorial. I would not be afraid to use the flush machine if I had one though. $120 or less is a good deal for a pr flush. Make sure they use Toy or Amsoil though. Also on another note, if you have a leak in your pr. steering system pour a 1/3 of a small cap full of brake fluid into the resevoir. This swells the seals in the rack or wherever its leaking. Works real nice sometimes. It fixed my steering rack pinion seal leak. I bought an aftermarket rack online but never installed it since my leak has stopped. I'm a mechanic and I have seen this work many times.

Ok you are having the same hard time I had, finding the tab to flip with a long screwdriver. It is in the box you broke open. If the spring is in place the tab does not have to be tripped but since the spring is broken you must find the tab. This will enable the door to open with the handle. It took me about 30 minutes of poking and stroking with the screwdriver till I hit it. I cant remember what it looks like but its there inside the box you broke open. This must be the way the dealer gets the door opened, then they sell you a new inner lock box. When you get the door open you have to remove the box from the door to get in there and repair the spring then reinstall it all. If you drive to a dealer maybe you can find a nice tech to trip it for you so you can proceed yourself. Go in the shop and offer anyone 20 to trip it and open the door. Dont let it latch again on the way home though.

I converted my 91 over to R134 3 or 4 years ago without replacing anything but the refrigerant and oil and have not had any leaks or problems since. My a/c works great, good enough to keep me cool even in long sleeve dress clothes on 100 degree days with the R134 in place. I have had a couple o-ring issues before the conversion though. I've converted many cars over this way over the years, other makes, and no comebacks. I still work on these cars and I would know if they were leaking. Change all o-rings and receiver dryer. Not needed. Can't hurt but a waste of time and money.

I haven't posted for awhile. My 91 has been parked for 2 months due to the extreme amount of snowfall here in Colorado this winter. Usually I tough it out and slip and slide around with my Lexus but this year was impossible. I had to go out and purchase a winter car. I found a 2000 Isuzu Trooper on a pot lot for 7 grand in really good condition. 85,000 miles. I'm also building a house so the Trooper really comes in handy. My new garage is an oversize 3 car with really high ceilings. My electric lift is being installed this week in the end bay. I'm building my dream garage before I get too old to enjoy it. Anyway my Lexus will be well taken care of living in its own little shop. I can't wait to just hook up the battery and start driving my car again. Maybe in another month I can retire the Trooper for the spring and summer season and get back to what I really love to drive, a smooth Lexus.

If you ever let anyone other than a dealer or brand specific indi mechanic work on your car there is a real high probability it will be done wrong and or you will be sold things you dont need. These guys are usually on commission for parts and labor sales. They will push the things they sell, not what you need. If a strut top is bad they wont care, too hard to get one. They will just throw in the strut, etc. I was a dealer mechanic 25 years and every couple days we fixed things these guys did wrong and heard all about the parts they sold people that were not needed. Over and over again it was always the same story. Midas, Pep Boys, any name you put on it, ending badly was usually the outcome. It's either you, the dealer or an indi Lexus mechanic. Anything else is a huge crapshoot.

This recent practice of dealers marking up their parts so much just has to push people over the edge so they lease cars and dump them in 3 years.

When I ordered I was worried about the L missing also but I like the plain look much better now that they are on. You will see what I'm talking about. Write back and tell us what you think.

I purchased those same chrome center caps for $60 total. They don't have the L on them but they really look great. Mine were peeling bad also.