VBdenny

I think it's the coolant temperature light. I guess I could go look it up. I just did. It means ADD ENGINE COOLANT. You're probably just a little low.

REPLACING HOOD SHOCKS ON A LS400 Following the link http://www.cureline.net/lex/howtos/howto_h...hood_shocks.htm , and the information I found there within, I stopped by autozone today. To my surprize they had two of the Mighty Lift C95029 struts mentioned as aftermarket units that can be modified to fit a LS 400 hood. They listed at $15.99 each at the Autozone, and they were on the rack.. Using a 12mm open end wrench, I diconnected the bottom of each hood shock first, which made it easier as you could align the thing so you can get the wrench in the top. They came off really easily, didn't even break a sweat. The next instructions were ... well interesting. The instructions said to drill into the side of the ball on the old struts, the goal being to free the ball from the socket. Man, on the first one, I had a hard time getting the bit to start because it's round. Not !Removed! around, I grabbed a bleep file (can I say that here?) and flattened a section. Pinged it with a centerpunch, and I was off to the races. I felt it break through into the socket, so I stopped to do a look-see. I had a small opening into the inside of the socket and I could see the ball move inside. The directions said to push out this wire retaining ring . I stuck a scratch awl, thru the hole and tapped it outward toward the threaded part. After a little poking, the wire stuck out a little, so I stuck a small flat head screwdriver between it and the socket and it easily pushed out far enough to grab it with needle nose pliers. Exactly as the directions state. Only took me 30 minutes to do the job. 20 on the first, 10 on the second. When you put them back on, you want to hook up the top first, The drivers side is easy. You'll notice that the swivel does go quite enough to allow the hood to open fully. Screw the thing in there then get someone to hold the hood so you can align the bottom bolt. On the passenger side, you have to make sure the bottom is aligned with it's hole because you can't swing it around like you can with the drivers side. I had to wrestle to get the top one in, but then it was cake. The tools you will need are. Electric drill with a good bit (3/8" worked for me. A vise A flat file ( I won't use the proper name as the mods will bleep me). Scratch awl Small flathead screw driver needle nose or small pliers 12mm open end wrench I'm quite happy, give it a try PICTURES POSTED PAGE 10 LS Gallery LS Gallery

I hues I couldn't say that there when I gave the proper and accepted name of a particular file. I guess not all the mods know that much about tools huh.

The actually drilling part only takes about 20 seconds if you use a good bit. On the first one it took a little longer because I was trying to figure it out. The rest went quickly.once I knew where to drill and why. You have to drill enough to be able to poke the retaining ring out. Now my hood almost opens itself.

Oh yeah. I paid $15.99 each. Heh!

I've Got Some Support! Following the link provided by obergc, and the information I found there within, I stopped by autozone today. To my surprize they had two of the Mighty Lift C95029 struts. snagged them and cruised on home. Using a 12mm open end wrench, I diconnected the bottom of each hood shock first, which made it easier as you could align the thing so you can get the wrench in the top. They came off really easily, didn't even break a sweat. The next instructions were ... well interesting. The instructions said to drill into the side of the ball on the old struts, the goal being to free the ball from the socket. Man, on the first one, I had a hard time getting the bit to start because it's round. Not !Removed! around, I grabbed a bleep file (can I say that here?) and flattened a section. Pinged it with a centerpunch, and I was off to the races. I felt it break through into the socket, so I stopped to do a look-see. The directions said to push out this wire retaining ring . I stuck a scratch awl, thru the hole and tapped it outward. The wire stuck out a little, so I stuck a small flat head screwdriver between it and the socket and it easily pushed out enough to grab it with needle nose pliers. Exactly as the directions state. Only took me 30 minutes to do the job. 20 on the first, 10 on the second. When you put them back on, you want to hook up the top first, The drivers side is easy. You'll notice that the swivel does go quite enough to allow the hood to open fully. Screw the thing in there then get someone to hold the hood so you can align the bottom bolt. On the passenger side, you have to make sure the bottom is aligned with it's hole because you can't swing it around like you can with the drivers side. I had to wrestle to get the top one in, but then it was cake. My compliments to obergc on locating that excellent site. Has pictures and all. Denny

Hey VMF. How was the blackout? I have done my own cooling system flushes. If you go to an auto parts store they sell a flush kit with parts and instructions. It' cheap and it works, however, after working a a gas station in HS and college, I know the flushing machine mentioned by tpotter is better. I had Lexus do mine last year with the 120,000 mile service. Be aware that several types of coolant now on the market are NOT compatable and should not be mixed. Personally, I think it is stupid to make incompatable coolants, but thats the way it is. You can easily do your own, just read up a little first so you don't accidently mix the fluids. Blackout report? tell us what was going on. I sat in cool A/C and watched it on CNN. Denny

This is long. Sorry but you know how I get. The person who does an alignment is the most important factor in getting stuff right. Certain standards must occur. There is suppose to be an exact amount of fuel in the tank. Trunk and car should be empty. Car must be bounced correctly to unload springs. Then it becomes set and check the components. And recheck and reset a couple of times. Most people are too lazy and just want your money. WHAT THEY SET (you hope) DURING AN ALIGNMENT: Assuming no worn parts and good tires. Caster: just like a furniture caster. The more postive caster (+) the easier the car is to steer at slow speeds without PS. Problem occurs at higher speeds as the car will not track easily. Negative (-) caster makes the car very difficult to turn at slow speeds, but makes it track (go straight) easily Power steering corrects that problem by using hydraulic assist to turn for you (iin a sense). That is why a car with PS is so difficult to turn when the PS is out (negative caster), but you can still steer an older car that doesn't have PS. Camber: How much the top of the tires tip in as opposed to the bottom of the tires. Without going an looking up which is which, I'll say negative (-) camber is when the top of the tires are closer together than the bottoms. NASCAR uses intricate camber adjustments to allow the car to grip in the corners. Again, I forgot which way is which but you get the jest. Toe: Toe in is when the fronts of the tires (leading edge) are closer together than the backs of the tires. Positive toe (called toe-in) helps keep the car from wandering, but too much will cause excessive wear on the outside of the front tires. Negative toe is when the tires are the opposite. This makes the car wander and wears on the inside edges of the tires. As far as I can tell, four wheel alignments incorporate back tire locations into the equation. Beyond that, I have no idea. I do know that by doing so, it costs more. Perhaps because it sounds more technical? When you get cupping (where it feels scalloped) it is usually due to one of the compents of the suspension being worn, or sometimes very worn shock absorbers. The reason finding a decent alignment is so difficult is that many service technicians do what is commonly refered to in the industry as being a "toe and roll." This means, they set the toe-in to specifications and "roll" it out to the customer pick-up area. Quick money. Others, hook up the laser projectors (impressing most onlookers) and "set it to specs." Great, except that each time you adjust one thing, it changes others which must then be readjusted. Finding soemone to take the time to repeat the process several times requires first that they understand, and second that you bribe them. Money works well. I slide my alignment guy a picture of Andrew everytime because he lets me watch and be involved. The best advise I can offer is to study how suspensions and alignments are done so that YOU are knowledgeable. and then know it. If they have the right attitude and G.A.S. you will get a quality alignment. MOST IMPORTANT RULE OF ALIGNMENTS: If you car does not have an alignment problem, and you tires are not wearing. DO NOT let anyone align your car. I've gone 125,000 miles with my Caprice without an alignment, after wearing out two sets in short order previosuly. I've turned down many "free" offers. It wasn't broke, so didn't fix Sorry to ramble on, but perhaps it will help someone. I learned the hard way years ago. Denny

Tan, measure the dimensions of the battery. Indicate which poles are located where. Go to Costco (cheapest place to buy a great battery) and find one the same size. NEVER let any battery salesperson tell you that "this little dinky battery is whats specified for your car." And don't buy the crap that "a larger battery could damage your electrical system." Total BS. I got a nice fat 84 month battery for my Caprice at Costco for $46. No pesky sales people either. Great battery, I've had several from there over the years, one lasted over 8 years! Sears batteries suck. They design the to die about a year before the limited warrenty runs out. That way, they can sell them another one. DieEasy batterys are great when new, but go downhill rapidily at a certain point.

I have a beautiful brass prop rod and $120. Personally, I feel that this should be a recall item anyway. It IS a real safety hazard. The first time I was looking under the hood, I was standing there gazing at the engine then.... WHUMP! The hood slammed down hard. Had I had my fat little head stuck in there, I would gotten slammed. I'll bet there are people out there who have been hit by them before. OSHA should force it just for the safety of auto technicians. People laugh when they see my hood proped up with a brass rod. Makes people think a Lexus is cheap. They have only ever had one recall that I could find. The rear brake light something.

Tell me about the paint. special heat resistant paint or something? I like detail work.

Whew, they git you good. Oh well, I just can't stand a few I've gotten. I'll check around Norfolk.

Yeah it is. I had a hard time finding someone to do a decent alignment on my 92 Caprice. I had new Michelin X-Plus One's on to the tune of 430 bucks. I got a recommendation from someone and tried him. I had all the specs looked up ahead of time and he took the time to do it right (while I watched) Don't give me any BS about the "customer waiting area" What you do there is wait to get screwed! After examining the suspension on the 400 (from underneath) I realized it must be a bear to align properly. I had the dealer do it last year and I'm still not happy.

Well Jason, the good news is you don't have to remove the calipers to replace the pads. You must have been working on Beemers again. The Leuxus caliper is tow parts and the inner parts, including the pads ortate out. Just reomove the lower 14mm bolt and you can swing out the inner caliper with the pads. They are simple, just look them over. Hey my thinking is this, if you can't figure it out by looking at it, you probably shouldn't be working on them anyway. Easiest brakes I've ever done.... and I've done a lot!

uh that would be a "brake" Jason. right. Hah, gimme a break!

I've had it with rude people who think nothing of whipping the door of their jacked-up SUV into the side of your car. I just found another door ding today. I parked way out and some idiot still got me. Really gets me.... well I won't get going. Has anybody tried that DING KING thing I saw on TV? I suspect it's fake because they show this car with a bigass dent, then they glue this thing on and pull it out. Looks perfect of course, but I'm suspicious. Then they have these dent doctor guys who you can get to remove dings who I've heard are good, but expensive. Anybody used any of this? Gimme a REport please. Sick of dings Denny

I planning to do it tomorrow morning as I'll be out of town for awhile after Monday. I whip you some pix and stuff I learned. What year Lex are you working on and why are you taking off your calipers? Denny

bartkat, very few people can do a proper alignment. I've had dealers and other independents screw it up so bad that I wore tires out. Check around with people who you know, who know stuff about cars and see where they have been happy. Don't ever assume that because they "seem" to know what they're doing, that they do. Perhaps you do have a suspension problem. You didn't mention how many miles you have, but around 100,000K plus, the 400's usually need new front torsion bars (they called it a strut), and the upper control arms start to fail. Uneven cupping on the outside usually involves a "toe out" problem. This could be a misalignment, or a wear problem on either of the components I mentioned. Unfortunetly, most alignment technicians aren't fully compenent, or lazy, and mis this. The Lexus is always pretty tight when sitting still, but under speed, the force pulls the ball joints, stuts, and control arms to their outmost wear limits. The final though is this. I've seen bad shock absorbers cause similar problems. Just try to locate someone who is really good and they will find it. Good luck. Denny (VB)

Great idea Jason. I don't have a digital video cam but my buddy does so I'll try to get a little video in the next couple of weeks. Maybe doing a burnout in my Lexus? will they do that, never tried? Todd, time for a new picture on you avaitar or whatever. Show off that chrome man! very sweet looking rig man.

The fuel pump on my Chevy Caprice went out about three weeks ago on the I-295 in NJ. I was going about 80mph. I felt the engine starve for fuel briefly, then it went back to normal. After about 10 seconds, I felt it starve again, even worse. The the check engine light came out and the engine began cutting off. I was near an exit so I whipped off into a Wendys parking lot and coasted to a stop. Went real quick. If it is a fuel problem (90% of all engine problems are electrical) it is probably due to getting a load of water in some gas. This most commonly occurs when you are filling your tank, as a tanker truck is dumping fuel. The water gets stirred up by the mix and use suck it up. Dump in a bunch of dry gas and see what happens.

I guess he'll have to cruise around Brooklyn tonight. I was there for a big blackout in 1977 and lemme tell you, they tore some stuff up. Tough place to be with no power.

Change it. Driving it the city where you shift all the time really wears out the fluid. Besides, I know you won't sleep well knowing there is old fluid in your tranny. I change the trans oil in all my cars every two years and I'll bet that guy in Utah with 555,000 miles does too. I also flush the cooling system and brake lines at the same time. I had the Lexus dealer do mine but I suspect they just did a drain and fill. You REALLY want the system SWO talked about, it's the best because your torque conerter fluid is also changed. Finding someone to do it right is another story.... anywhere! Hey, just flipped on the news about the blackout in NYC so I guess VMF won't be reading this right away. Hot air, warm beer, no computer. Ugh!

Looks bad to the bone. Man, the chrome really sets off the black. I doubt I would lower it, looks great as it sits. How much for the whole deal, I'm tempted now.

Jason, I will be replacing my RR caliper either tomorrow or Sat. I was planning to take pictures. I expect it to take less than an hour. And no, you don't have to pay me. Denny

I put the original pads on. It's simple and mine never squeek, sqeel or anything like that. I was carefully to clean the shims and assemble everything properly. Do your own brakes. You'll save over a thousand bucks. At Lexus, the motto is. We like your money. That's why everyone is smiling there.