99lsguy

Yea,,,,,,, Those bolts are on pretty tight, add a 1" diameter iron bar over the socket wrench to get more leverage (of course, there's not much room to crank it , as it will hit the garage floor........ At least it might "break it free"....

You should check it after a 10 mile run or longer.... After stopping on level ground, rund the gear shift back to Low, then up to Park. Keep engine in Park and idling, Pull stick and wipe, then check again. You're are correct about th 2 quart / 3 quart deal.........it's a little tricky!!!

Here ya go 92 Lex: DIFFERENTIAL FLUID CHANGE – LS 400 What you’ll need: 2 New washers for the Drain / Fill Plugs 2 quarts GL-5 Gear Lube, 80-90W for cooler climates, or 90W Torque wrench (3/8”) and 10 mm hex socket Gear Lube pump (preferred) or 3/8” clear plastic tubing Oil pan and rags SPECS: LS Differential Case holds 1.43 quarts of GL-5 gear lube. I used Castrol Synthetic 75-90W since winter was coming on in KC. Manual suggest 80-90W for temps below 0 degrees and straight 90W for temps above zero. I will re-drain this summer and use 80-90W Amsoil Synthetic Gear Oil. A) The Procedure is simple and straightforward – but can be a little messy. The tricky part may be in finding a way to crawl under the LS when you don’t have a lift... I backed my rear wheels to the edge of our garage – just before the 1 ½ inch drop where the garage doors comes down. (The area where the door fits into and keeps water from entering your garage). This additional area gave me a little more room to maneuver. Keep car level. Put in Park. Put ON EMERGENCY BRAKE. USE BLOCKS BEHIND TIRES!!! Let car cool down for 1-2 hours if Hot. The exhaust pipes are in close proximity and the fluid could be too hot. Be Careful!! B) Put Drain Pan under Diff., and loosen THE TOP/FILL PLUG FIRST. You need to know you can fill it up, lest you drain it first and can’t loosen…..a bad situation! Second, loosen Drain Plug and carefully remove. THE LOWER DRAIN PLUG HAS A BUILT IN MAGNET – to catch metal shavings. Clean it off thoroughly. Take top Fill Plug out and clean. Once the Oil has come to a small drip, REPLACE LOWER DRAIN PLUG W/ NEW WASHER. I actually did not have the washers the first time I did this. The photos you see are from afterwards with NO WASHER! There have been no leaks, so perhaps new washers aren’t necessary time – but I will replace the washer for sure on the next drain. TORQUE DRAIN PLUG TO 39 FT. LBS. Now for the messy part… Take the gear lube pump and screw it down over the first bottle. Hopefully, you can “pump” all the gear lube up and into the TOP FILL HOLE. Once done, repeat with the second bottle until the gear lube just gets to the top edge OR starts to flow out. If it does flow out of top, let it go until it stops, it will then be level with the top fill hole. Specs say to fill to top edge or within 0.5mm of top! This is why car needs to be LEVEL!!! C) I haven’t actually used this pump- but it has got to be better that the first time I changed the Gear lube. Because of the limited room under the car, I was unable to “tip the quart” of gear lube UP enough to fill the case. I used a 6 foot long piece of clear tubing, snaking it along the RR driveshaft and up over the RR tire. Then, I squeezed the lube in through the clear tube and into the diffy case. I had to make sure there were no “LOW SPOTS” along the tube line, and also make sure it was going in properly (up & down, up & down)!!! Then, more fluid will spill because you’re behind the tire and can’t see….a dilemma for sure. That’s why the pump should be good to go!! D) Since I did all this without a lift, it was tight conditions to say the least. But the job is very do-able and vital. Not hard, just make sure the exhaust is cool enough that you don’t get burned. WIPE UP EXCESS GEAR LUBE. CLEAN UP AND TAKE FOR TEST DRIVE. YOUR LS WILL BE RUNNING BETTER THAN EVER!!!!

I think it's a good Idea to flush 2-3 times

Linux, on the first picture, there is a solenoid switch on the left side (were the red/white wires are connecting. There is a screen underneath the switch: My bet is it is clogged and creating too much pressure on the hoses adjacent to it. Do a search on "Power Steering Solenoid Switch" or "PS Flush" or similar - it's here somewhere...... Procedure: Disconnect the wires Take a sharpie and mark a registration line across the nut & on the steering rack for positioning. The Solenoid is connected by a thin nut, use either very thin channel lock pliers or just take a flat screwdriver or small chisel and "tap" the nut to loosen - then remove by hand. Behind the solenoid will be the screen and a gasket, just be careful with it and remove. You'll loose 1/4 quart+ of PS fluid....a little messy, so be ready! Clean the screen, replace, and tighten solenoid back to registration mark Reconnect electrical ------------ Afterward add PS (dex III) to fill back up. It would be best if you did a PS flush (see threads above) with 4-5 quarts dex III, then cleaned the screen AGAIN! to remove all the crud (again).

TL94, Agree totally - the LS cooling is very good too and don't need the recirc either!! You win the bet - Thanks for the report!! I've cut n pasted this one to my files for reference!!

my 99 is 1.43 quart capacity....... by two quarts and your good to go - stop adding when it runs out the fill hole.

ditto that one too!!!!

Mike - Welcome to LOC - You've got a beautiful car for sure!!! Looking forward to the pics!! Just recline the seat and sleep in the buggy for while!!! I bet it's awesome...................

Smokey.......... Take the oil filler cap off (on the engine) to help the oil flow out. Drain the pan first, then the filter.... put a thin film of fresh oil on the filter. YOu should be able to hand tighten it one full turn after contact with the base - don't go any more - it won't leak! Torque on the oil plug is 29 ft lbs. - don't overtighten it either............. (I'm sure you didn't ask for all this )

I'd go with a 3/8" drive socket. They usually have a range of 10-75 ft lbs. Great for all the bolt / nut tightening specs. My Tire Lug nuts for 99 LS is 79 ft lbs, so I just go till it "clicks" and then another 1/8 turn more. Get a "Dial" type wrench where the settings are on the shaft and you turn the dial up or down to select torque. I do have three wrenches though, to be thorough: 5-200 inch lbs 10-75 ft lbs. 25- 150 fl lbs - 1/2" drive Mine are Sears.........catch em on sale for around $45. Any brand will do though.

reversed threads????????

Ditto on that........ You could save up to $5000--IMHO Good luck - THE BEST CAR ON THE ROAD!!!

I have both....well, not volume 1 of the book, just vol 2; that's why I got the CD, cause vol 1 is mostly Diag codes, Service Specs, Introduction & Preperation. Vol 2 is the guts....... for $150 though, that's a pretty good deal.......I like looking at the book. CD is a little cryptic, you'll learn all kinds of abbreviations about the LS!! I use the CD all the time to help out on the forum

my sentiments exactly!!

I don't think the Nak's and Nav go together, that's why you just see pioneers with the Navigation pkg. Levinson came to the rescue in 2001; with a premium stereo that would be compatible with Navigation. I've got std Lexus Pioneer system, it was upgraded for the 98-00 models and is good. I have a theory on this kind of thing: Like the Gen III pioneer system is equal to the Gen II Nakamichi systems.....so on an so forth. A friend of mine has the 97 Coach LS with Nak - I can't tell a difference..... ;)

this place can make one for you off your original steering wheel....... http://www.american-stitches.com/

It should tell you in the owners manual..... If not, check out lexus.com and look up your model year - the features are listed there. Scan years 01 thru 04 to see if this options is mentioned.......

Before I bought the 99 LS, I test drove a MB S420: Huge interior, quiet, a million buttons...........anyway........the doors did the same thing - just get 'em close and they would tighten right up!! I agree - very cool!!!

Check and see if they've overfilled the tranny.......let it get totally warmed up and check it out - too much is a bad thing. IF so, drain from the pan and replace with 1 quart less than what came out to start.......then slowly add to sneak up on it: its a finnicky fill ;)

A throttle body clean is included in the standard 60K service - perhaps this is causing a little hesitation........... ;)

90ls, I think that price is in line..........actually pretty good... A lot of 98's came with the wood package........steering wheel and door trim; along with HID's - does it have this? Also, first year of the 290hp VVT-i and newer 5 speed tranny, auto leveling headlights, one touch sunroof, outside mirrors fold down when in reverse - and of course, newer grill/headlight style and such...... the 90K service is a biggie; TBelt and such

This is totally outrageous :o

The Q45 is a good car But I agree the LS is a little better :D

It's a good, solid, safe vehicle............. I got mine for that reason ......well, and the looks, and the engine, and the ride, and the legroom, and..............etc