mejojo

Did you have occasion to examine your "rear carrier bushings"? The dealer recommended replacing mine, but the alignment place said they are just old and dirty. I don't seem to have any symptoms, but I'm wondering if the dealer knew something, or if they just wanted some unnecessary business. Joe

Based on your stated goals, I'd tend to spend the money on a newer model that comes from the factory with nav and more power. Joe

I'm more concerned about whether *I* will last past my LS400's lifecycle. Joe

I'm sure there are some around, but 300k requires *averaging* about 22,000 miles per year for even the very oldest model. I expect it will be another 7+ years before there are large quantities of LS hitting 300k. I don't expect to be there for another 10 years, at least. Joe

Well, that's bound to happen when people who are interested get told about it! The guy has multiple auctions up, and will probably keep on selling until the market is saturated, at which time the price may be down in the $20-30 range. I think it's safe to let the first rounds go by and see how the customers like the replacement. Still, it's alot cheaper than Jim Walker's $150 knock-off. I'll be watching. If it doesn't go too high, I'll buy one and re-replace the LCD. Anyone want to buy a slightly-used Jim Walker LCD cheap? Joe

Likely a much cheaper and more acceptable solution is to go to a local upholsterer and have them sew on a new leather skin. Without having one in front of me to look at, I imagine it should be eminently doable. Joe

I have not taken the phone out. I'm pretty sure you could just clip the wires and tape them if there's no plug right there. Tan, I'm not aware of a keyless beep in my '92...I'll have to take another look. No, I've not seen how to adjust the beep volume...I'd guess it's a phone handset feature, but that's just guessing. Joe

Does your car have the mobile phone option? I think if the phone is turned on when you start you may get a power-on beep. Mine has the phone, but it's never been used, and is only powered on when my kids played with it....and it does beep pretty loudly when you turn it on. I'll try it out at lunchtime. Joe

Replacement of the mast or the whole antenna assembly is simple. You just need to figure out what the problem is and get the right part. I bought a mast from this guy ($20+sh), and he's also selling a replacement motor assembly ($35+sh). He did well by me. Replacement Motor Joe

Attached is a picture of the handle with some JB Weld on the broken piece. The JB Weld, as pictured, only lasted for a couple of weeks. I intend to take it out again and try a reinforced approach. Removal is not TOO hard, but the rear bolt is time-consuming to get out as it can only be turned 1/8-1/4 turn at a time. My hands are pretty large, so it was a tight fit. I don't know if it's any easier if your hands are small-ish. Don't be fooled into taking out the bolt that holds the lock in place...it's not necessary to remove...just a waste of time. Joe

I FINALLY got down to the alignment shop and now, with new ball joints and an alignment, it drives very much like new. Before the alignment, it felt a bit shaky/wobbly, and I had my doubts about the ball joints being the problem, but now it's great. Of course, without new ball joints you may be told that an alignment is not possible, or worthwhile, as it seems that Gen 1 LS400s ball joints are about done for by 100,000 miles. 4-wheel alignment was $74.95. The dealer wanted $117 for the same. Joe

Wow...I'm shocked that it would run (or that you would allow it to run) with a whole bank down. That's seriously degraded mode. AllDataDIY lists coil replace as .5 hours for right and .8 hours for left, and .5 for an igniter, so it's got to be a snap to do. If you're not sure what's broken, probably best to have the dealer do it rather than you waste money on parts that you don't need to replace. The coils are much less expensive than the igniters, so good luck on that one! Joe

Do you have any idea why these parts would cause your catcon to heat up? It doesn't make sense to me, but I'm no master mechanic. Why would a bad coil cause that reaction? I would have asked them to explain to me why they think their diagnosis is the right one. Sometimes they just guess, and sometimes there is a real reason that they can tell you. If they don't want to explain it, odds are that it's a guess. Joe

The only ATF product I could find on their website with a "V" in it is "DEXRON® III/ MERCON®/ MERCON® V ATF" and it does state it's recommended for Toyota (among others), but I didn't see anything specifically touting it as a replacement for Type T-IV. Was the product to which you were referring something that may not yet be on their website? The obvious benefits of a replacement would be price and availability. Since I have a Toyota dealer a block away from work, and I can afford an extra $2-$3/qt every once in a while, I'm not really tempted to be on the "bleeding edge" of this one. Joe

Another VERY important fact you need to know is to use Type T-IV ATF fluid. Buy it at a Toyota dealer ($5-$6/qt I think) and NOT a Lexus dealer (unless they will match the price, which I doubt). It's not available at regular auto shops or chain stores. Joe

Well, thanks for letting me know. I was fooled by the symmetry of the "out" bulbs. I take it that there are 3 bulbs, then, and 2 of them must be out? Very possible...it had been years since I've even bothered to look at my climate LCD. Anyone know what bulbs these are? Available at Autzone or Kragen? I'm afraid I haven't paid enough attention to differentiate discussions about LCD backlight vs. button lights, etc. and where they can be gotten. Thanks, Joe

Sorry to be of no help to you, but I've been told I've got a broken EGR pipe, too. I've never investigated it, nor are there obvious symptoms that I've noticed. Since you've looked into yours....do you happen to have a digital camera to post a picture of what your problem is, or maybe a diagram from a manual? I really don't even know where to look for the "break". Joe

They are call DC->AC power inverters. They are handy, but be sure it's enough power to do what you want. Also, be aware that the fan in the unit can be a little loud. I got a Jensen on eBay (brand new) for under $20 incl shipping. Same model sells at Best Buy for about $40. Check there for more output power for less money. Mine is 160W (peak 300W) and it's enough to power a portable DVD player easily, but it isn't enough to power a canister vacuum cleaner. (I had hopes of not having to string out an extension cord to clean the car.) I haven't tried much of anything else. Joe

Someone just put somewhere near $5000 into this car, eliminating a bunch of potential headaches that could easily pop up on any random Gen 1. That's gotta count for something. If he could get a similar car but without all those new parts for $7000, that would be a much worse deal, and it, too, would probably need most of the repairs that this cars has had identified, like CV boots, ball joints, hood shocks, etc. Those are all things that any Gen 1 could be "held accountable" for. IMO, it's not just about how much a car costs to purchase. Joe

That's very low mileage, but the price is a bit high for needing all those other things. I wouldn't personally have a problem with going with the air suspension since it's brand new. I mean, they're expensive to repair/replace, but you should be able to go several years without worrying about that. My dealer wanted $410 for the lower ball joints and $117 for alignment. I bought the ball joints for $85 each and installed them myself. If you are at all competent with a jack and a couple of tools, you could handle that job. I still need to get the alignment, but you should be able to beat the dealer's price by alot at an alignment specialist. The hood shocks can be replaced with $16.99 units from AutoZone with a little handiwork and less than an hour of your time. The result is very good...the only problem appears to be that the hood doesn't open *quite* as high as it used to. But for that much money, I'll live with it. Some people don't even bother with that, keeping a wooden stick handy to prop the hood open when needed. I don't know about the CV boots. I bought a pair and am waiting for a free day to jack up the back and and see if it's something I can handle. The boot kit, including grease, was only $25. You should be able to patch the coolant bottle by yourself, but if you're not into that, you could at least take it to a local mechanic (non-Lexus) to see if he can fix it for $20. I imagine there just a crack in the plastic? And the heater valve can be done by any old mechanic, if not yourself. So, in my opinion, if you like the car alot, go for it. It's had most of the "common problems" already repaired, and the remainder you'll find to be needed on almost any Gen 1 LS400. Joe

I don't know about the error codes...never seen one before or after the install. You can contact Jim directly...he'll tell you. I have commented on the color in the past. The Lexus part is translucent, whereas Jim's part has a white (ish?) opaque backing. This makes the display look brighter with more contrast, and more green than the greyish Lexus look. Also, whereas the Lexus part causes the backlight to be evenly spread across the entire panel, Jim's part looks obviously brighter in the middle and darker towards the sides. Joe

Go to http://www.google.com and use Lexus LS400 catalytic converter as the search string. You will find many options. I haven't heard much talk at all about replacing these, much less about problems with the replacement part. Joe

I would use these. Cheaper and (supposedly) better. http://lexus-parts.com/partdetail.asp?Part...ubCategoryID=85 Joe

Yes, lex-pert is Jim Walker. You can find messages from him and about his product/services all over this forum. He is legit and reliable and everything else. If you want what he's got, buy with confidence! What he's selling for $160 is the LCD panel for you to install for yourself. In about an hour you can have your climate/clock panel working. I did it. It looks just like it does in his picture. Joe

I don't know about the part, but I sure wouldn't buy from this guy. He has zero feedback, he hasn't taken the care to see that his ad is well-formed (including typos/misspellings), and he's charging excessive shipping. Joe