Kennyr

Car Quest has LS rotors very cheap. Best price I could find here in Denver. Turning is counter productive. You make them thinner. That makes them worse not better. Total waste of time and money. I go with Car Quest rotors and genuine pads. I dont like aftermarket pads at all. I always end up taking them off and throwing them away because they feel bad or make ungodly noises. Even Ceramic pads. They stink real bad on mountain braking. Threw them in the trash also. I work on Volvo's and the pad situation is the same.

I know there are alot of Toyota fans on this site. Sunday my daughter picked me up in her 03 4Runner V8 supercharged with 20,000 miles on it. She bought it from a toy dealer that way used about 6 months ago. The supercharger was put on at that dealer for the original owner. By the way she paid 28k for it even though they wanted 34k. I must have raised her right. Anyway we were going to drive to see and play with her sister up at college about an hour and a half from my home. The first thing she said to me was your driving today. OK with me but in your bad !Removed! car. It pulls like a freight train when you put your foot in it. Otherwise you cant tell much difference. The bottom line I'm getting at here is I am a car guy and love driving a smooth car like my old LS way better than any suv, and I've driven them all. A newer LS wouldn't be all bad though. I'm getting that LS430 itch.

Has anyone replaced their starter themself on a 1st gen LS400? Tell me what I'm getting into. Also what part did you go with? Mine is getting noisy. The solenoid is hanging up a bit. I would never just replace the solenoid. I hear you have to take the intake off. Whats up with that?

You only turn rotors on American junk. My experience and opinion only. You can buy aftermarket Lexus rotors pretty darn cheap. Carquest has them for almost free.

The plastic box is the lock mechanism. This is directly at the latch point of the door. Look at the other side door for reference. Get a long breaker bar or screwdriver and set it on the plastic box. With a hammer break the plastic cover off the lock and push the pieces out of the way. Then look down there for the little broken spring. Then with a long thinner screwdriver try to flip the mechanism that will alow the latch to open. This was the hard part for me, finding the right piece to trip. It took me quite a while to hit the right spot. After you get the door open you have to bend the spring so you have a new tab on the top of the spring. It wont be available since they only sell the whole lock. Reinstall the spring and your done. This is a tricky repair but if you go to the dealer your gonna pay a couple hundo for the lock and a couple hundo for labor. My guess is 500 give or take. Good luck your gonna need it. Be sure to report back your results.

Ask for the service manager or the general manager and let him or her know how you feel. Better yet just ask for another service writer. Remember the service writer usually gets up to 5% of your total bill. That's how they get paid. Like a waiter trying to up your bill selling you desserts and drinks. Sorry but they dont make much money just doing what you come in for. Its all about the upsells. Find a Lexus mechanic on the outside of the dealer network if your not willing to feed the big machine. Who do you think pays for those big fancy buildings etc. On a LS400 really all you have to do is replace the fluids, change the air filter (every 12 to 15000 miles and do the brakes, plugs, timing belt and serp belt when needed. Most of the schedules are just checks (that means you pay them for nothing). There are a few other items I missed but not many. I was a dealership mechanic for 25 years and I know the game as good as anybody. I played it every day. Its your money, dont be ashamed to tell them how much of it your willing to spend with them.

Im going to drive them both and if I like the 01 that much better I will just wait a couple years and get one cheaper. Thanks for your thoughts. Its not like I'm getting hurt driving my perfect 91. After 5 years I usually get bored with a car. Not bored enough to spend 30K though.

I'm looking to upgrade my 91 but is the 01 really any nicer a ride than a 98, other than the look? Seems like a lot of extra cash. Is there anyone who went from a 98, 99, or 2000 to a 01, 02 or 03? Please just replies with personal experience in these model years.

I use my air compressor and blow out my cars. My wife even does hers. You open all the doors and blow the dust and everything else out the other side. You need a decent size tank on your compressor though. Then I always blow out my garage floor as well. It's called an air broom in mechanics language.

I was loaned a RX330 the first week they came out. I drove it for a week and was so glad to get my 91 LS400 back. The LS is so much more comfortable and effortless to drive for an old guy like me. Also the RX is a little girly looking. Of course my wife loved it. In the car business the salesmen had a saying, there's an !Removed! for every seat. I'm just a car guy. I like a truck or suv but not for my every day driver.

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Looks like a real nice ride

Remove the plastic cover in front of the battery. There are connections under there where I have found o rings leaking. You have to remove the headlite assembly to get in there to change one. Also under the cruise control unit on the pass side firewall. If you dont do your own work I think you should pay someone to convert it over to R134 and look for leaks, buying freon is just stupid. First problem you have, move to R134. $100 to 150 is reasonable. Changing all the o-rings and drier etc. is pure bull, cant hurt but totally a waste of time and money. Please by the book guys dont lecture me. I know what I'm talking about. I've converted dozens of systems with no problems. When you do this for a living you know what works and doesn't.

The Wall Mart battery that fits an early LS is part number Maxx 1N This is a pretty strong battery. Its yellow and $49. $5 core charge.

I've seen this happen just a few times. Most of the time your overcharging through your charging system or you are jumping the car with a charger and an old battery. I dont think they could have done anything wrong to cause this. Wall Mart has a yellow battery that works fine in my car for $49. Its their 3 year battery. You have to go in there with the measurements and post positions. They dont list it for Lexus. Take a tape with you if anyone wants to try this.

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It looks like your on the right track. New thermostat and clean out the fins on your radiator. This should fix your problem.

I agree with WWEST. I wouldn't sell my car for book. It's worth more and I know someone would pay up for it. The book is only a guide. I have sold many cars for over book. Some for less also. If this car is cherry make him an offer 500 less than he wants and go from there or just target cheaper cars.

Sheepskins work for me. And I don't mean on the steering wheel.

yeah it includes timing belt ← If you take your car to Pep Boys or any other shop that works on all makes you are a braver man than me. Try to stick with mechanics that specialize in your brand. Your odds of success are ten fold. A Toy-Lex shop would have known what they were getting into and stuck to their estimate. If Pep Boy's job works out its all good though.

The car must be running in park when your checking the level. Also there is a hot and cold on the stick. Check it both ways in the next day or two.

Setting the trans level can be tricky. Check it cold and hot several times and you will get it right. When a tranny is low on fluid it will slip till warmed up. Do not overfill it though. This usually brings on hard shifting. I've seen many times when the level was set and looked good after the service and then more needed to be added the next day after driving a bit.

Last time I looked I was living in the United States of America. A country where you could repair your car any way you want. Tell the 20 year old college kid to drive around with no air just because you have the time and money to fix yours by the book and he does not, even though it will work just as good the inexpensive way. I know I'm not going to be loved by (The by The Book Lexus Snobs) on this site. I have the common courtesy to let everybody voice their opinion at least. I expect the same in return.

Give your dealer or other repair shop the praise they earned. Name names so others can use them.

LexusLooker, lifes all smoke and mirrors. My friend new I could do the job so he hired me and just told me to figure it out. It turned out to be a piece of cake. I spent a furtune on clothes though. Already owned the right car. My friend folded his co. and I was picked up by Charter Financial. It blows everybody's mind when I tell them I was a wrench 5 years ago.