frodo1028

Thanks! I'll check that out.

I have another dash light issue. My 92 LS400 had a problem about a month ago where my left brake light stopped working. When I went to check the bulb, I found that the entire tail light assembly was half full of water and the tail light holder was rusted out. The rust caused bad electrical contact which made the light fail. I cleaned off the rust, replaced the bulb, empied the water out and sealed the tail light assembly to keep water out in the future. Now the brake light works. However, the little amber light on the dash that warns that you have a burned out tail light is still on and I cannot get it to go off. Any ideas?? Thanks Frodo

Hey guys, My 92 LS400 just started having the parking brake light on the dash stay on even after releasing the brake. It dims considerably but it doesn't go off. I find this odd because I would have thought that the switch would either make or brake contact but not something in between (causing the light to stay on but just get dimmer). I tried briefly looking for the switch but didn't see it. Is it buried? Thanks for any help. I have gotten so much useful info on this sight that I really don't know what I would do without it. Frodo

Thanks for the advice on the Seafoam! I had never heard of it but it definitely looks like it is worth trying. I am becoming a believer in these additives. I tried the engine oil stop leak by Barr's and it worked wonders. I even made a post on this forum to that effect. I will try the SeaFoam and let you know. Thanks again, Frodo Hey Threadcutter. I tried the Seafoam and am VERY happy to say that it worked wonders. I put one can into the gas tank and I also did the trick of sucking up 1/2 of another can through the vacuum line for the power brake booster. It smoked like crazy for a good 5 minutes but I am happy to say that the gas mileage is back up to 18.8 mpg instead of the 14.7 mpg that I was down to. That is 4 mpg improvement! Awesome! Thanks for the teriffic advice. Frodo

I did a search on Seafoam and they say it is about $5/can. There is also a lot of differing opinions on whether or not to use it in the oil but most people agree that it is good for the gasoline.

I bought a 1992 LS 400 with 146,000 miles on it about 10 months ago. It has not been without is issues but I worked through them and the car is a real pleasure to drive. I would not replace the "Steering Gear" (I assume you mean the rack down below) unless you are having problems. Mine was leaking slightly from the power steering pump and also from the solenoid on the rack and the steering was starting to make a wining noise. I followed some links on this forum about the power steering leaks and found that there is a tiny filter or screen in the solenoid. Do a search on "Power Steering Solenoid Switch" or "PS Flush" or similar - it's here somewhere...... Anyway, I took my car in and had them flush the power steering system and clean the solenoid screen. The shop I took it to had never heard of the solenoid screen so I forwarded the link on how to clean it from this forum and they did it for $125. This saved me a mess in the garage. It solved both my leaks and it's hasn't made a noise since. This was about 6,000 miles ago. I intend to flush my power steering more offen to prevent a reoccurance. I think that as the screen plugs up, the overall system pressure goes up and the system starts to leak all over. Keep the system clean and it should be fine. I have been very cautious not to spend too much money on the car so I don't get too upside down on costs. I do as much of the work as I can and when I think the job is too big or too messy, I take it in. This forum has been very helpful on the how-to stuff and this has kept the repair bills low. Ultimately, the decision is yours on whether or not to keep the car. You might also consider taking the car to a different shop and get a second opinion. Best of luck Frodo

Thanks for the advice on the Seafoam! I had never heard of it but it definitely looks like it is worth trying. I am becoming a believer in these additives. I tried the engine oil stop leak by Barr's and it worked wonders. I even made a post on this forum to that effect. I will try the SeaFoam and let you know. Thanks again, Frodo

I have a 1992 LS-400 with 152,000 miles on it. Lexus did a full tune-up on it and changed plus at 122,000 miles. Now it seems to have a slight hesitation when I step on the accelerator and more importantly, the gas mileage keeps dropping. Several months back, I was getting 19-20 mpg. Over the last several months, this has droped to 18, then 17 and now it isn't getting better than 15 mpg. Does this sound like another tune-up is in order or could it be something in the computer. I have noticed that the exhaust smells really fuel rich. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Frodo

I bought a 1992 LS-400 with 146,000 miles on it last November. Not long after I bought it I discovered that I had a bad engine oil leak (lost about one quart in 1500 miles). It looked like it was coming from the rear main engine oil seal which meant removing the transmition to fix it. Rather than tackle fixing it myself, I took it to a Lexus specialist. They said that it was difficult to tell if it was the rear main or the oil pan gasket. The rear main would cost $1200 and the pan gasket would cost about $2000. Since I bought the car for $4500, I thought this was a real bummer. I decide to drive the car with the leak for a while and park it over a pan. Not long after, a friend at work mentioned that he had had good luck with the Barr's engine oil additive to stop leaks. I am a real skeptic when it comes to these additives and usually don't like adding these things to the oil. I change the engine oil every 3000 miles. Anyway, given my options, I decided to try it. I cannot believe how well the stuff worked!! After only 1000 miles, the engine totally stopped dripping oil. This tells me that it was the rear main because the stop leak would not have worked on the pan gasket. It only works to soften dynamic seals not static gasket seals. I have been able to go back to parking in the garage without any catch pan! I just thought I would share this with the forum since the forum has been very helpful to me. Thanks folks! Frodo

Hey Bob, I am getting ready to rebuild the entire steering system on my 92 LS400. The pump and rack are starting to leak and the pump is starting to make a whinning noise. Where did you buy your parts? The dealer is very expensive ($487 for rebuilt pump - $438 for rebuilt rack and $382 for new high pressure hose). Have you posted your pictures yet? Thanks in advance , Frodo

Hey SKperformance. I was expecting an email notification of your message (as I've gotten in the past) and I didn't get one. Sorry but I didn't see your response until now. :chairshot: I do only need the 5 pieces (i.e. the front grill and the hub caps). The rear trunk emblems are new looking. They were replaced shortly before I bought the car. Depending on the price, I may be interested in the muffler tips as well. How do we proceed from here?

Thanks Andy! I grew up working on cars and trucks in my father's shop (many moons ago) and am aware of what a pain it can be to remove a transmission. Especially if you are working in your garage without the correct jacks. A shop with lifts and the correct jacks has a huge advantage! I don't know if I feel up to the task. I will have to call the local shops and get quotes. :cries: Yes, you have to remove the transmission to get to the main rear seal. I did that some months ago with the help of an experienced friend of mine. No leaking anymore. Good news: I took pictures and wrote a tutorial for lexls' great page. He said he'd put it together soon :) Bad news: It's a helluva job. It took me 20 h of sweat and pain, but I saved around 1000-1500 bucks... A shop will charge you 7 hours, the seal is around $20. :cries: Greetings from Germany, Andy... ←

Cool! I need the front emblem and the ones for the hub caps. How much?

My 92 LS 400 has 146,000 miles and has developed a leak in the rear engine seal. I have all the service records for the car and the same seal was replaced under warranty at 52,000 miles. My questions are: 1) Is this a recurring problem for this engine? 2) Does changing this seal require removel of the transmission? :cries:

Are you a retailer? What condition and how much for each item/lot? Thanks