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Actually I'm also in the Dallas area however if and when I do take my car anywhere it would be Park Place Lexus of Grapevine. In this case, your solution is just what I noted to you earlier, replace your spark plugs with OEM NGK, you can get at a good price at O'Reilly auto.

This rumbling I beleive is related to misfiring at several cylinders due to the plugs. I hope you used OEM plugs (NGK or Denso) and not the Bosch platinum and you did check the gaps. Second, as SHA4000 mentioned you need to do a full tune up with replacing the dist rotor, cap, and wires. FYI if you pressure wash the engine and get water inside the spark plug tube you will also get that rumbling sound! Once you resolve the misfire/ignition problem up should see power restored!!

nc211 save that $45. Get a new gasket and if your concerned about it sealing this time add a small amount of Permatex Ultra Blue to both sides of the gasket and your done. I don't see why you need a new housing? The thermostat should be fine if it was replaced with the pump last year and make sure you reinstall the thermostat pointing in the same direction and with the valve at top (just as it should be when you open it).

Yeah I would agree with you in that case. If I had over 200K and was not really planning on keeping it beyond two years then I might be tempted to go this route myself however if you plan on keeping it a while then definitely not.

nc211, time to get underneath the car one more time. I think your setup should be the same as mine in which case the plastic cover behind the crankshaft pulley has a small opening at the bottom which allows water pump leaks to drain through and it will be evident if you pump is leaking. If they replaced the pump last year then this has to be something else. If it is a pump issue then I would definitely negotiate something with them (50% off). Let us know what you find.

I just hope you guys realize what your installing on your vehicle. These aftermarket lower cost parts (ball joints or brake rotors) are truly of inferior quality and performance to OEM. They are usually made in China and although they might look fine, they use poor quality and finish steel and the ball joints are encapsulated by a quick wearing plastic linear. Initially once installed they will feel just fine but they are not made to last. I've said this many times before and I'll say it again DON'T buy critical components for your vehicle on ebay you really have no idea what your getting. Just my 2 cents.

I also had the rhythmic rumbling on my 98 LS especially during cold mornings and what cured it for me was simply replacing the transmission mount. This V8 engine as most other V8's has an oscillation at several engine speeds and with an old stiff rubber mount this vibration can become noticeable. However, I still have this gurgling sound. It appears to come from the transmission at a specific engine RPM (about 800). I've just learned to ignore the gurgling sound as the car drives fine and it also goes away once the car has warmed up. In your case I would repair or replace the cracked EGR pipe, and replace the transmission and engine mounts. If anyone has any idea on what might be causing this gurgling sound please let us know!! By the way I have replaced the transmission fluid/filter, fuel filter without any change to the sound.

What rotors did you use OEM or aftermarket? If the caliper is installed and torqued correctly it would not cause the vibration unless the calipers are sticking and causing rotor warrpage quickly. Loose steering and suspension parts will also casue the above symptom. Also how many miles do you have on the vehicle??

Given the age of the vehicle, the semi-synthetic could potentially leak past the cam shaft or crankshaft seals (and this would potentially damage your timing belt). I would switch back to the regular oil and try and remove one of the cam covers to see if the timing belt has oil on it.

nc211, the seals that would be leaking are inside the rack assembly (at the ends), this is going to be one tough job because I think you will need to remove and disassemble the rack to be able to get to these seals. I don't think this can be done on the vehicle (but I could be wrong on this). Also, remove the clamp and push back the boots to check the inner tie rods because I really doubt that they need to be replaced. Are you sure you want to mess with this!! I know someone who has been driving their vehicle with a leaking rack seal for two years and the only thing they have been doing is adding PS fluid just occasionally. With the money you have set aside for this job you can buy a rebuilt rack and believe me this would tons easier. Good luck.

nc211, I recommend you loosen the clamp of the steering rack boots on both the right and left side and push back the boots. The area inside the boot should be dry (and you will get to see first hand what your inner tie rod looks like). If you have oil inside there then it is your rack leaking. That's what it looks like from the pictures you've taken. Let us know what you find.

Yes, this a component internal to the alternator.

Well after doing some more research I have finally pinned down what really caused the failure. The high pitched whine noise is not the alternator bearings, it's the faulty rectifier (diode). I didn't know this but a faulty rectifier (or one going bad) will produce a whine noise and will eventually fail. A faulty rectifier will cause the reduced output as I had noticed.

Not sure about the 97 but on my 98 the ABS pump is just under the intake pipe (after the air filter box). On mine there is a bleed plug on top. I sure hope someone is pumping the brakes for you while you open and close the plug!! Also, just because the master cylinder isn't showing signs of a leak does not rule out a possible internal problem (very small possibility but keep that in mind). Also, you should inspect you flex brake lines that go to the calipers for signs of major cracking (not just the small fine cracks) and for blisters which can be detected if someone presses the brake for you.

Have your alternator tested at two other shops before ruling out a bad rebuild. These Advanced auto places don't always have know ledged people working these test machines. You really should have used a multi-meter to test the voltage at the battery with the vehicle off and with it running (should be 12+ Volts off and 14 plus running if the alternator is working right). I would check battery (for internal short) and fuses before going after relays.

To test the brake booster with the car turned off press the brake pedal 3 times and each time it should get firmer and stop at a higher level from the previous push, which it sounds like yours is doing so the brake booster is OK. I would bet that you would need to bleed all 4 calipers and the ABS pump with someone helping you. Look at the master cylinder in the engine compartment and see if you notice any trace of a leak which would noramlly run against the brake booster, if so you have a bad master cylinder but again I really think you have air in your lines.

Akebono is the prime supplier however this will be changing soon as Toyota has formed a company with Aisin, Denso, and Sumitomo called Advics which will or actually has started producing the brake pads for the Toyota and Lexus vehicles! Although I'm sure they will be great pads, I doubt that they can match the performance of Akebono, we'll see. With regards to rotors, go with a brand name and no matter what you do not buy the cheap rotors whether on ebay or at any local store they are Made in China and I would not try and cut corners with something this important. Also the nice cheap cross drilled ones on ebay are usually cheap rotors that someone buys and has a local machine shop drill for them, it's not worth the risk!

nc211, well this is most likely the rack that you're feeling but to make sure remove the boot from around the inner tie rod and visually inspect if the ball joint is moving inside. Now, the important thing for you to do is to stop messing with your car :chairshot: A little play and a pop noise inside the rack will occur with age and mileage. That's why Lexus has a tolerance call out for steering wheel play. There is however one adjustment that you could do. The lower side of the rack has a large external nut with a recessed internal hex which holds a spring and an adapter that pushes the rack firm to the input shaft coming from the steering. If you remove the nut, and the internal hex you can replace the adapter piece and the spring which weakens over time and this might solve your problem. Personally, on mine I have learned to not be so picky and ignore it.

Yup it does have a ball joint and as lexus400 mentioned it lasts much longer then the outer tie rods. Don't even think about replacing these yourself without an inner tie rod installation socket adapter!!

Actually I was very close to going out and buying the two bearings and new brushes which the dealer had, however, I was not getting Christmas lights in the display, the normal lights were on however they were weaker. That combined with the bearing noise made me decide to just replace it.

I've found the best prices at www.rockauto.com especailly if you use the discount code which I just happen to have 292813278683 which is good until Nov 15. you will get 5% off. Good luck.

I don't doubt that the rebuilt OEM rack is the best choice, however it's too darn expensive and I would go with a quality aftermarket such as Maval. I would not go with A-1 Cardone it's crap and it will leak in a couple of months! I also think that ARI and Fenco are known to be good quality rebuilds but I have no experience with them.

Well guys, it finally happened, my alternator fried on me yesterday (110 K miles on 98 LS400) but I still managed to make it home. There have been many discussions on alternator problems, noises, and failures but I thought I would contribute my experience on this in hope of helping someone out there. The symptoms were a high pitched whine noise consistent with engine speed especially above 1200 RPM which has be ongoing for 9 months. You can also hear it when driving up to 40 mph, beyond that wind/road noise covers it up. The noise will however change in pitch as you slow down and this might initially lead you to believe you have something wrong with a drivetrain component (front wheel bearing) or possibly an air leak from the front right door trim. Yesterday, I noticed that my "D" light for the auto trans was weak and would glow brighter when I moved from a stop (this has always been my battery strength/alternator condition indicator on previous cars). Anyway, I have this real cheap but very useful battery/alternator checking device that plugs into the cigarette lighter and it has always indicated that the alternator was putting out the correct charge, until yesterday when it indicated a low or inadequate charge from the alternator. This handy plug in tool saved me the headache of having to remove the alternator and taking it to a shop to have them check it for me under load as I can duplicate this from inside the car. This is a real bummer and surprise for me as my alternator on my 93 GS300 had lasted 213K miles before it failed. I should mention that I don't have and have not had a power steering leak on this vehicle. Remember, alternators can fail by simply not outputting enough charge!

It appears the consensus is with OEM which you can't go wrong with. Akebono is actually the OEM supplier on almost the complete Lexus line. You will notice that it's marked Akebono on the back of the OEM pads or it might just have AK for short. The other supplier that I'm aware of has been Sumitomo and the pads would have the marking SEI on the back. The only reason I go with the aftermarket Akebono is that it offers OEM braking coefficients and feel with an improved compound. There have been numerous improvements in pad material in just the past several years and these improvements would not normally be implemented into the OEM pads. The ProACT line on the other hand does have the newer ceramic formula which will outlast the OEM pads and being from the OEM supplier you should have no concerns when using them.

Gumart1, this a much debated subject and you will see that everyone has an opinion and a preference. I've been through my share of experimenting and I would say for me, nothing beats the Akebono ProACT pads and Mountain brand rotors. Akebono ProACT are ceramic pads that grab, dissipate heat and prevent rotor warppage, produce very very little dust, and last a long time. They are however costly but then you really do get what you pay for. The mountain brand rotors are also Japanese and are equal to or better then OEM, and cost much less. I really think that 90% of all drivers have no use for drilled or slotted rotors, they do look cool but unless your racing, you have no use for them.