flogdpup

Thought I would end this thread with the cure to my original trans problem. It turned out to be symptoms associated with a cracked EGR pipe. I finally got around to changing my cracked EGR pipe and the new pipe cured all of the trans problems. My LS starts, idles, shifts into drive/reverse, shifts automatically, and accelerates SO smooth and quiet now that I feel like I'm driving a new car. It is completely unbelievable. My suggestion is that if you have even a slightly cracked EGR pipe... fix it! You will be amazed at the problems cured with a new pipe. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the Lexus gods designed such a necessary part to fail. Looking at my cracked one, it was designed to fail. As far as how I changed it... I found where it attaches to the rear of the intake manifold and loosened those two bolts. Then underneath the car I found where it attaches to the passenger side exhaust near the front right oxygen sensor and loosened those two bolts. Next, and this was the butt kicker, underneath the vehicle I was barely able to see and reach the single bolt that supports the center of the EGR pipe. This bolt supports the EGR pipe on the back of the engine block and is a very tight squeeze to reach in between the motor and the firewall. You will be in luck with this if you have small hands and forearms and a long handled wratcheting box end wrench. By the way, has anyone had any experience using the EGR delete plates and if so, what were the effects on your emissions? The EGR pipe is #2 in the pic.

I believe the vendor was ABC Marts and I would do it again in a heart beat.

I own a 94 and a 97 LS. Looking at the maintenance records, I would keep an eye out for timing belt change (yes, there is one), water pump change, lower ball joints, motor mounts, transmission mount; it seems that these all have a tendency to wear out within or around the 100,000 mile mark. I would find out where she's had it serviced. Listen to the motor for the famous but harmless ticking sound. Find out how often and where she had the transmission FLUSHED... not just changed. Also, my personal opinion is to look for the Nakamichi Sound System (well worth it). While you're checking out the stereo, manipulate the balance and fader knobs to listen to each speaker individually to make sure they each work (they have a tendency to go out). Also my opinion, stay away from the air suspension. It is really great when it's all working but the fact is that your air struts WILL wear out and when they do it is expensive to replace with OEM and the cheaper aftermarket options will never do the original air shocks justice. It's just a heartache waiting to happen. I imagine the winters in Illinois could be even nastier than here in Utah, so look for the TRAC button and seat heater selector buttons above the cigarette lighter to make sure you have those options. My traction control kicks in quite often during the winter. Without it I think I would be all over the road. Also push in the cigarette lighter and see if it works, check the antenna mast for function, along with ALL the window control switches and door lock switches. Pay particular attention to the driver door master switch to ensure it operates all the passenger windows and locks. The cup holder cover in front of the armrest has a tendency to break. Check your outside mirror adjustment switch to the left of the steering wheel. Also check the steering wheel adjuster switch on the left side of the steering column; make sure it adjusts up and down, in and out. Something else you may consider doing if you have about $95 bucks laying around is you can take the car to the Lexus dealership and they will do a 100 or something point inspection on the car and they give you a big list of all the nitty gritty that's wrong with the car. I actually did this with my 94 LS and it gave me a good bargaining chip with the seller because you can show them on paper what the dealer found wrong with their car and it ended up saving me $1000.00 on the asking price that the owner wanted. I knew I was going to buy the car anyway because it was in decent shape and I fell in love with the all black leather interior, so I didn't mind too much paying for the inspection. After buying the car I took the list to my independent mechanic and had him fix what I couldn't. As far as the asking price goes, I would check out nada.com and KBB.com and compare their estimated retail prices for that car in it's condition in your area. If you can pick it up for anywhere in between the NADA and Kelly Blue Book estimates, in my opinion, consider it a good deal. Personally I believe that NADA benefits the buyer (it consistently estimates vehicle values low) and Kelly Blue Book benefits the seller (it gives a more true to life value). You'll notice that car dealers almost consistently use the NADA values to estimate vehicle trade-in values because it works to their favor but will post on THEIR vehicle price stickers how much below "blue book value" their asking price is. Of course they're still making a huge profit because the person that originally traded the vehicle in got screwed with the NADA estimated value. But I digress... Oh well... all's fair in love and war and car dealing, right? Good luck with your LS inspection!

I also did the cureline.com Mighty Lift swap on my 1994 LS400 and I agree with VBDenny that it saves a lot of money over the OEM struts. It is a simple procedure especially after doing the first strut, the second one is much easier. On my wife's 1997 LS400 however I decided to buy a set of replacement struts for sale on Ebay. I believe they were about $40 +shipping. I know, it sounded a little too good to be true to me as well. I took the risk though and couldn't be happier. They were a direct replacement with no drilling or messing. The struts actually seem stronger than the Mighty Lifts that I bought for my 94 LS. One gripe I have with my Mighty Lift replacements is that they don't raise the hood as high as the OEM struts. I figured this out when I compared the hood height with my 97 LS before it's struts died. The Ebay struts maintained the OEM hood height when raised, which saves my lower back and the back of my head when I'm working on the motor. Which ever method you use, you'll come out on top in your pocketbook by bypassing the Lexus OEM hood struts.

I do but i was thinking it was a easy DIY but i think thats what im gonna do...Thanks;) I have a '97 LS and just tonight finally figured out how to adjust the headlights. It is an easy DIY. Don't take it to your mechanic. I am assuming that a '96 has the same headlight setup as my '97. Anyway, this is what I discovered with the screws behind the headlight. My headlight aim left to right was fine, so I didn't have to adjust that, but I'll tell you how to do it just in case you need to do it. You will need a small 1/4 inch ratchet with an 8mm socket or something equivalent. I did this in my garage with an old towel hanging down in front of the headlight that I was adjusting. The headlights were on and I made a mark on the towel showing the top of the brightest part of the beam. That way I would know if the beam was adjusting up or down. Now, here's the riddle of the screws on the back of the headlight. When standing at the drivers side of the car, looking down at the back of the drivers side headlight, you will notice that there are two screws on the upper right side of the back of the headlight. One philips screw is embedded in a small gray round plastic cog. The teeth of this cog interlace with the teeth of a hex screw about an inch below it. This lower hex screw is the adjustment screw for left to right on the headlight. Turn this hex screw with your 8mm socket. Once again, this will adjust the headlight from left to right. Now for elevation adjustment. Like yourself, this is what has been bugging the out of me for some time now. Once again, standing at the drivers side of the car, looking down at the back of the drivers side headlight, you will notice another hex screw at the upper left side of the drivers side headlight. This will NOT adjust your headlight. I do believe it adjusts the fog light elevation, just FYI. Look below this screw and about 4 inches below it, toward the bottom left side, you will see another hex screw sticking out of a hole surrounded by black plastic trim. This is the headlight elevation adjustment screw. Turn it lefty loosy to raise your headlight beam or righty tighty to lower the beam. It will be a tight fit to reach this screw. I had to remove the battery hold down bracket for more room. Once you do this, adjusting the passenger side headlamp will be very similar except the position of the screws on the back of the headlamp will be reversed. Of course, to access the passenger headlamp, you'll have to remove the air cleaner assembly. I have attached a quality drawring that my three year-old did showing the back of the drivers side headlamp... OK, OK, I did it. Feel free to hang it on your fridge. I hope this helps you out. Backofheadlightdrawring.bmp

Here's the Lexus repair manual's troubleshooting guide for the suspension. I hope it helps you isolate the problem. I've replaced so many suspension and steering parts on mine that I know how you feel.:cries: Unfortunately it was before I felt confident/comfortable working on my Lexus and so I wasted a lot of money paying someone to do what I could have done all along. Good luck with yours. sa_4_suspension_and_axle_troubleshoot.pdf

Is the shifter loose, moving left to right, when you're moving the shifter with your hand, or is the shifter loose when the transmission shifts gears while driving? It sounds to me like the clunk you're experiencing with your car is the same clunk that I am experiencing; when moving the shifter into Drive from Park or Neutral. The reason I changed out the motor and trans mounts is because my transmission kind of lags when it shifts while driving. The shifting is no longer crisp like when I first bought it. I changed the mounts because I knew they were worn from checking them out and was hoping that changing them would improve my transmissions shifting. I also knew from this site that motor mounts last around 100,000 miles before they need changing. Now my thinking is that this has only put more stress on my drive line with possibly worn out flex couplings, but I'm not sure. My car still doesn't shift smoothly, even with new motor and trans mounts. Matter of fact, it now shifts harder when the engine is under more stress than it did before changing the mounts. The lagging has subsided somewhat, but now it shifts harder while driving and clunks/lurches when shifted into Drive. Are you considering changing your mounts? I can explain how to check them out if you'd like. It's pretty simple.

Neo

Hi all, I have been a member for some time now and used some great advice from this site. Need some help though with a problem. Two days ago I had the motor mounts and trans mount replaced by a trusted indie mechanic in my area. Since then, when I shift the trans into Drive, the car lurches forward. If you're outside the vehicle when this happens, you can hear an audible clunk noise. The lurch isn't as extreme when the trans is shifted into Reverse, but is still there. At cruising speed the trans shifts but it lags, it's not crisp. When the accelerator is punched, the trans shift is much more pronounced, almost rough. This I know is all very "unlexuslike". I kind of have an idea of what it may be but need some of you pros to help me confirm it. I have taken the car back to my indie mechanic to confirm everything is tight that they replaced. After inspection, he assured me that it was. My theory is that now since the motor and trans are tight, the force of the trans shifting into Drive is now all being exerted on my possibly worn out flexible couplings in the drive line, which are flexing being that they are worn out. Does that sound right on, because the only other thing I could think of it being is a worn out trans or rear differential, which is pretty much unheardof with these vehicles as far as I have researched. Can anyone help me out here or experienced a similar problem after having replaced the motor and trans mounts? By the way, my car is a 94 LS with 140,000 miles.