branshew

True, but my co-worker just bought a 2005 Chevy Silverado 2500 extended cab with all the bells & whistles (Leather, Satellite Radio, etc.) and I was impressed with the overall ride quality (without a load). It was not nearly as harsh as I was expecting it to be. Trucks have come along way since I hade one as a daily driver. You're not kidding! I hit an unseen patch of standing water on the interstate while driving my Wife's Pathfinder just before Christmas. I couldn't regain control and slammed into the jersey wall at 50 MPH. I nearly killed a VDOT worker that was cleaning out the drain on the opposite side of the highway. The truck rolled several times, but I walked away w/o a single scratch - although I did have a nasty case of whiplash. To top it off - the incident was caught on VDOT traffic camera and made the local news. Here's a link to the video (you'll have to watch a short Crest commercial first: Wreck Video Had I been in a car I think that I may have been able to get control again - at least I wouldn't have rolled

I was going to say the same thing A "Swiffer" or "Pledge" static charged cloth will pick up everything on the dash, console, and seats. You'll still need a vac on the carpet though.

Is there a reasonthat the car isn't CPO. I thought that almost any car could be added to the CPO program of most makers as long as it was under 5 years old and under 75K miles. It would probably cost an extra $2K to have the car CPO. If you're a chauffer then get the UL car - otherwise screw the passengers. They'll just have to "suffer" in the back of your Lexus without the reclining massaging seats.

Amarslex - FWIW I live in VB too and wouldn't want a set of Chrome rims. They're too much maintenance this close to the water. I grew up by the beach in the North End and now live in the South End of the beach. I have had chrome wheels on several cars in the past and they have always ended up pitting and rusting over time. It is the salt water that gets into the already humid air that'll be their demise. Not to say that you absolutely don't want them as you can keep them in good shape, but it is a weekly event of washing, polishing and waxing that must be kept up on a regular basis. Winter time is the worst because cleaning your rims in 30 degree weather sucks. Where have you looked around here for the rims? Charles Barker Lexus sucks as far as their parts pricing goes. They won't move an inch - even when you could go elsewhere and get the exact same thing for less. I'd buy more from them if they would negotiate a little. I don't mind paying more for OEM, but 2X the comparable aftermarket rate isn't worth it to me on a 10 year old car. If you go to CBL on the 60 K service you may as well get them to do it all. They do have a decent service department.

The LS - No question whatsoever. The RX is a great SUV - nicely styled and a smooth ride, but it is a diffeent beast entirely when compared to the LS. Please don't take this the wrong way and I am in no way trying to offend anyone or put anyone down as I know that there are many of you on this forum that have or have had RXs, but I have always thought of the RX as more of a woman's SUV. I am of the same opinion of the Benz ML as well. I guess it's primarily because of the size and historically I have seen more women drivers in the RX. While I would certainly drive an RX, my preference would be for the LX or GX (if one was to stay in the Lexus lineup) or a Denali, Escalade 4-Runner, Sequoia, etc. Something a bit larger and more SUV or truck like than the RX. Maybe it's the Tim the Toolman in me: Arrr Arrr - More Power. I sure as heck wouldn't want to gas one of those monsters up though which is why I stick to the cars. The same thing could probably be said about the ES which I drove for a long time. Actually though, if someone handed me one of the new RX Hybrids I'd ditch my LS for it in second.

I've been MIA for a while, but when did you pick up that LS? Based on what you've done to your ES I can't wait to see the LS in a few years.

On your '96 it should be on the valve cover closest to the firewall on the passenger side.

It helps stiffen the chassis and prevent chassis and strut deflection/body roll. It is best used in conjunction with a front and rear anti-sway bar.

Yes, a clogged air filter could cause the check engine light to come on if you're not getting enough air flow. As to the flickering lights - do the dash light flicker as well (speedo, tach, etc.)? Usually, but not always, they will also flicker if the console lights are flickering. I think you'll need to send in your instrument cluster to Jim Walker and have him fix it for you. Even if the cluster lights are working fine, the console lights are linked through it and that's where the problem most likely resides.

Run..... run away from the car as fast as you can and don't look back. A salvage title is a sure fire indication that you will have problems with the car no matter what. Spend $6k on something better with fewer miles and a clean title and you'll be much happier. If you spend that $5K now on that car then you will be spending another $5K in the next year just to keep it running. I guarantee you'll regret it.

Hang on second before you place an order. Look closely at the picture. I can't tell for sure, but there appears to be two nuts screwed on to threaded rods connected to the milled aluminum piece. If this is the case then you don't want this one. Those threaded rods and nuts that are connected to them present a weak link in the bar and the potential for the nuts to come loose over time is very likely (I have seen this happen before on a strut bar that my younger brother put on his Impreza). This could allow the bar to move back and forth without remaining truly rigid in which case it would really serve no purpose. What you want is a solid middle piece bar connected to both mounting posts with a single perpendicular bolt on each end. There should be no more than two bolts/nuts on the strut bar (one on each end) in order for it to truly remain rigid w/ no chance of it sliding or coming loose in the middle. It's kind of hard for me to describe exactly what I am talking about, but you should look around to see if you can find something that has a single piece in the middle. Price will probably be closer to $125 +. Again - the picture isn't that clear so I could have totally misread this whole thing.

I don't particularly like the side effects on that eBay kit. It is way too squared for the LS' smooth lines.

My others were OEM Lexus, but they had worn very thin. They had decent stopping power, but they created a lot of dust. The LS is a heavy car and needs good brakes to stop it. I'll provide an update in afew weeks after I break in the pads some more and use them in various conditions. If anyone can elaborate some more on the different brake pad options I would like to hear it. I found organic, semi-metallic and ceramic options for the LS. I was advised to go w/ the organics by several people. I think the OEM pads were semi-metallic but I'm not 100% sure, and I didn't think that the rotors were designed for ceramic pads. I'd be interested to know more about the primary differences and what one should consider when looking at the different material options.

Just replaced both front and rear sets of brakes today and flushed & filled the fluid. I used PBR's Deluxe Premium Organic pads. So far they have a great feel, impressive stopping power, and no noise. They should be relatively dust free as well. I called around to several parts suppliers and nobody had anything in stock for a '93 LS. I finally found them at BAP/Geon. Two sets for the price of one at the dealership. I'll give you an update in a few weeks after I wear them in a little more.

How can we contact you via e-mail if you don't provide your e-mail address?

I figured OEM would be the way to go. Will I need to/should I replace my wear indicator sensors as well?

Anyone have a recommendation for a low dust brake pad for a '93 LS400. The last set of pads that I had put on my ES would squeal constantly and I want to avoid that problem this time.

Think about it this way: There's a reason an older LS costs the same as a newer Q.

I agree as well. While I think that the current ES is probably the best ES to date in terms of luxury & refinement, I still don't care for the exterior styling that much. I thought that it would grow on me, but it hasn't and I think that it's the swept back headlight look that turns me off. The headlights on the new 5 Series strike me in a similar way although that car has a few more styling issues than just the headlights.

It's been a while, but I don't remember having to use the adaptors to connect the blades to the arms on my ES. You have to give them a little force, but they should just snap in to the "U" shaped cradle. It's possible that Bosch has changed the design since I last bought a set. I used to buy only Bosch, but I can't buy the refills locally anymore - only the whole blade so I stopped buying them.

...and the moral of the story is: Don't put 20's on your car ! Besides tha fact that they don't fit, they look ridiculous. If you have to shave your calipers or add spacers then you're getting the wrong rims anyway. If you really want 20's then get some with the proper offset. I parked next to a similar year LS the other day w/ 20's on it and the car was actually sitting higher off the ground than mine was. It looked like it had a lift on it - 20's are completely ridiculous IMO.

Do a google search for Billy's Used Toyota and Lexus Parts. They're in Alabama. I've ordered several times from them for my ES and they alway had good products, good service, and prompt shipping.

I think you're right. I think even the earlier gen LS had the cold cathode. From what I have read I believe that only the needles, speedo and tach are cold cathode. Given the location of the dim "160" a brighter (LED) backlight bulb in that area may help somewhat. I don't know as much about the later gens of the LS

I don't have any pics, but I have taken the clusters out of my '95 ES and '93 LS and they were both fairly similar. Here's what I can tell you: Removal You may want to disconnect your battery before doing this (I didn't and didn't have any problems, but it's up to you) Remove the outer plastic trim and the screws that hold the cluster in place. Lower your wheel to the lowest position and extend it outward as far as it will go to give you plenty of room. Once you get the cluster loose in the dash you will need to disconnect the wires that attach to it. There are several different sets of wires that run into multi-pin plugs that attach to the back of the cluster. These can be difficult to remove as there is not much slack in the wires and you'll have to squeeze your hands behind the cluster and use a small screwdriver or other tool to push down on the clips to release the plugs. You have to work the plugs one at a time as once each is removed it allows access to the others. Once all plugs have been removed carefully negotiate the cluster out of the dash opening and be careful not to scratch the plastic cover on anything. The Cluster Itself Set the cluster face down on a soft towel or preferrably a rubber pad so you don't scratch the plastic face. Make sure you are not standing on Carpet at the time to prevent any static while you are handling the circuit boards. You will need to remove the top plastic outer shell and possibly an outer circuit board to gain access to the lower circuit board where the backlights are accessed. There will be some thin ribbon cables that link the two circuit boards that have to be removed and possibly some other wire plugs between the upper and lower circuit boards. Be careful when removing these as the clips and pins on the cables are very fragile and can be damaged easily. There are two sets of screws that have to be removed: short and long. The short screws hold the outer circuit board to the frame assembly. The longer screws that are threaded only half way supply power between the circuit boards so make sure you don't lose any and make sure they are tight when you put them back in so that they are making contact with the board to deliver the juice through the screw (but not too tight or you'll crack the circuit board!) On the rear of the cluster you will be looking at several different bulb connectors that will be color coded different ways. The green bulb holders are the ones for the backlighting. These usually surround the cluster dials. The gray and black ones are for your warning indicator bulbs, gear selector, and turn signal bulbs. There may be differences to that setup on the '96 in terms of color code, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out. Misc. Have you looked at replacing them with LED bulbs instead of regular incandescent ones? Lextech lighting offers several different combinations. For the ES they had the "sixteen" which was eight LED bulbs with 2 LEDs per bulb as well as the "thirty two" which was 4 LEDs per bulb. Lextech's site should have a decent resource for you as well. You could also try here: LED Bulbs When I replaced the backlight bulbs on my ES I used regular incandescent (but should have gone the LED route) I had trouble finding 14V bulbs. Everything at the auto parts store was 12V. 12V will work, but expect it to burn out faster under the increased voltage. I would suggest that while you're in there that you go ahead and replace all of the backlight bulbs - that way they will all be fresh and you won't have to repeat the process again later as the instrument cluster is something that shouldn't be handled too much. Lastly - if you happen to need to drive the car with the cluster out it can be done. Remember though if you turn the key to the ACC position and send juice to the car (started or not) without the instrument cluster plugged in - your airbag warning light will come on and need to be reset. Jim Walker could possibly provide some guidance here for you - do a search on LS clusters and see what you can come up with.

30. I work for an interconnect company (telecommunications) designing small to large voice networks and selling related hardware equipment. Emphasis more on the sales side. I am a rather serious woodworker in my spare time making high-end contemporary furniture. Ultimately I would like to do that full time as the month to month sales cycle tends to get old after a while. It's also nice to have some tangible/physical results after working hard instead of just looking at a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper.