VBdenny

$700 for that? Must be something else in the air. I have found that for parts like that, those used in Toyotas are often the exact same and there is many of them in junkyards. Sure worth a look for 700 smack-er-roos.

I had a Ford Cortina, a lot of fun

A remote start/stop button on your keychain? That might provide the answer to your problem. Perhaps the remote start (which is aftermarket I presume) has shorted or gone south.

hey, great (and cheap) way to find out.

I read Lander #6 and I will say that not all bad batterys do the multi-click thing. I have seen many instances where a battery with one weak cell will cause just a single click and present the same symptoms as a bad starter. Even a new (or not very old battery) can fail and my point was that a new battery is what, maybe $75 at most? Removing the intake manifold to service the starter is going to be significantly more. I believe in going with the cheapest option first. Testing a battery does not always give a true indication of the condition. Many times a battery will test perfectly and then fail to work under load conditions in the vehicle. These engines take a lot of juice to start and even a simi-weak battery will not work sometimes. When my car did the exact same thing you described, I replaced the battery even though it was only 2 1/2 years old and everything has worked perfectly for 2-3 years since. Besides, under the battery warranty from Costco, it only cost me $32. Do what you like but I always eliminate the cheap and most common problems first.

The price does seem a little high but that all depends on the condition and care the car has received. AT 87K, you are easily due for a timing belt change, water pump and tensioners. It is also a good time to have all the fluids changed. I recently turned down an opportunity to buy a 99 KS400 for $9K with the exact same miles. I thought the car was great however, I would have had to sell my 90 LS400 which I couldn't bear to do.

Before you replace the starter, replace the battery and your problems might disappear.

They must have some kind of package label that indicates if it is okay to use in Toyota transmissions. If in doubt they probably also have a phone number listed somewhere on the package. Call them up and ask them why it is okay. If you have a Droid or iphone you can even do it while you are stuck in traffic. For my car, I just bought a case at the Toyota dealer and do a 4 time flush using the drain plug. IF you remove the pan, pay very careful attention to the tighening sequence and torque specifications because if you don't (and sometimes if you do), it will leak. Good luck Denny

You my friend, are screwed, On a 1991 Lexus LS400, they (Ins Co)are going to hang you out to dry and I am sorry to say that there isn't much you can do about it. I've had it happen with old cars and it brings back horrible memories of the movie "Deliverance" from how they treated me. I just paid my personal property taxes on my other 3 cars but didn't get a bill for my 90 LS400. I sent my wife over to the city treasuers office to inquire (and avoid a late penalty) and they told her that vehicles valued at under $1000 had no tax and my car was under a G. Take that for what it is worth because I'm willing to bet the insurance companies will. I suggest that the trama caused you abnormal duress, loss of sleep, work, etc. and sue them with one of those hucksters you see on TV. Had a car stolen outright in Brooklyn once. A nice 69 Barracuda. In other cases I have had my car broken into to steal a radar detector, but they didn't tear up my car except to smash the passenger side window. Zip on that. If I were you I would watch ebay and craigslist in your area and I'll bet you find the law-challenged individuals that did this. I've people caught this wasy in Norfolk before and I'm sure that it might by you. Hey just remember that criminals are dumb ***** and do stupid stuff. Good luck, Denny

Interesting question. I know in the the distant past we always installed the biggest sway bars we could get to handle the power. They were easy to find in any junkyard because the put them on most big 98 Oldsmobiles and Buicks and they were often the exact same as fit on whatever Chevy you had at the time. I had a 64.5 Mustang 289 2V auto and that thing had the worst suspension ever made which no sway bar could ever fix. I guess my feeling is that a bigger sway bar couldn't hurt but then again, my engineering degree is still in the mail. Keep posting and let me know if you decide to go for it. Hate to say you are the guinea pig, but .... Denny

Love my white. Your twins sound pretty nice as well.

Got that right. After two repairs, I configured the wires outside of the hinge so they didn't bend so much opening and closing the trunk. I spliced in a little extra on a couple that looked like they had been bent a lot. I taped it all up using a continious piece of tape unlike how the original was taped (which was challenging at best) and it has worked fine ever since. My suggestion is not to try and put it back in it's original location, leave the wires outside the hinge indent. You can't even see it when standing behind the car.

If you send me an email address, I'll send you a Powerpoint I made of mine when I repaired it. Denny

Hey Joe, I've owned my 1990 LS400 for about 9 years. To this day, I have not driven any other car that drives as good as mine. My wife has an 04 ES330 which is a pretty nice car but we both agree the 90LS drives much better. A few years ago she had a brand new Chrysler 300 Limited and it drove like crap compared to the LS. Every time I think about selling it and upgrading, I drive it and realize I already have the upgrade I want. Denny

If the white wire in the trunk hinge is broken, it will cause your car not to shift properly.

My 90 has about 185,000 on it and I still redline it once in awhile when I have the opportunity. I'm sure I could screw up something but, resistance is futile since I love the acceleration. I don't do it all that often since you rapidily gain speed and you don't want to get caught.

I have had a lot of tires over the years. I currently run BFG Traction TA/V's on my LS400 and Yokohama Avid V4's on my ES330. The traction TA/V's are very nice handling tires at higher speeds. I don't run over a buck very often but they are very stable and pretty quiet. The Yokohama Avids are great tires and have good wear. I guess I could go with the H (119) tires but you never know. Before I buy any tire, I spend a lot of time reading reviews on tirerack. I look for certain things including how well I like the looks of the tire and tread pattern. I usually always upsize 10mm on everything. The Intergrity tires previously mentioned are in fact, junk. My wife had them on a brand new Chrysler 300 company car and they were horrible/ When I bought the ES330, it had them on it and I replaced them within a week even though they still had 3/4 tread. Tires matter, a lot.

Hey hey, nothing like a problem solved. I liked the part about 90+ since I run mine that fast on the Jersey Turnpike sometimes. When these puppies are running right, there isn't much close.

Mark, forget the HD radio and just get satellite radio. I've heard the HD and didn't really notice much difference.

Headlights do not work on fuses, they use a circuit breaker which is suppose to automatically reset unless there is an electrical short.

You don't have to spit on the rotor to see if it is hot, just feel the wheel after driving awhile and if it is much hotter than the other side, you know it might be sticking. A vibration that developed so quickly indicates that something changed. I would be looking very closely at the tires if the rotor proves not to be overheated. A belt can break in a tire at any time and that would certainly cause such a vibration.

If worse comes to worse, find a Bap Geon near you and buy new calipers. They are around $100 each and are Asian. I've done a couple stupid things myself so don't beat yourself up over it just fix it and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Beautiful work, very impressive

anyone take any pictures of this adventure?

Agreed that a hundy is wayyyy to much. Pump that puppy up to about 50psi and dunk it under water and you ought to be able to see something happening. Small leaks are a royal pain. I have one rear tire that just went flat in the garage and I found a tiny staple in the tread. I pulled it and went to plug it but it was so small I couldn't. I planned on taking it to TreadQuarters but after a week it still hadn't lost a bit of air. Go figure.