mejojo

A good lesson that not everything is a DIY for everyone. It seems clear that this problem is not something you will be fixing yourself. I recommend that you bite the bullet and take it to a mechanic before you blow up the car. Joe

1800 fast idle is VERY high. I believe it should be more like what you are observing now..in the 1200 range. The classic way to tell if a cylinder is operating is to remove the spark and see if there's any difference between when it was connected and when it was disconnected. (I don't know if it's possible to easily access the wires when the engine is "runnable"....I haven't done anything with spark plugs/wires/distributor yet) It sounds to me like you need to just get it down to a mechanic and let them put it on the diagnostic machine. You will waste more time and money guessing at the problem and replacing things that don't need to be replaced. Joe

You aren't actually suggesting that someone drive longer than necessary in order to optimally maintain their battery, are you? Joe

silvermate, You seem to be describing the Jim Walker LCD replacement. Have you actually seen the Mikado? Someone stated that the Mikado looks original, but I've never seen it. Please clarify. Joe

The video is the least of your problems, unless you never want to use the trunk again. I'm not sure what you mean by "main switch". Please clarify? I take it you only have one key left and it's starting to not work in more and more places in your car? Joe

The water pump lists at $200, so I imagine your cost is significantly less? How much time does it take an experienced mechanic to do this job? I know the book is usually overrated by quite a bit for the veteran mechanic. Joe

It seems to be a common thing to break. I've been told by the dealer that mine is broken and needs replacing ($800 - AllDataDIY says 9.8 hours labor!!!) but I have no symptoms that I can tell. So, I won't be paying $800, and I don't think I'll be spending 8-10 hours and $145 on it, either. A thought I had was if I could identify *where* the break is, it might be possible to weld it or apply an exhaust patch. At this point, I don't even know where to look for a break. Joe

Yes, that's a very good price. Lexus lists it at 4.6 hours labor, $60+ for the belt and almost $200 for the water pump. Joe

Tan, Yes, the steering wheel play is greatly reduced, though I still need an alignment to reap the full rewards of this repair. I, too, was told that an alignment couldn't be done with my old ball joints. So, now I need to find an alignment place. Good luck...it's dirty, greasy work. I think I washed my hands 5 times. If I had it to do over again, I'd wash the front underside, especially the inner side of the wheels, at a do-it-yourself car wash with the jet sprayer. A pair of cotton gloves would also save you some scrubbing time. Joe

The tie rod end and ball joint are reattached just by tightening the respective nuts and inserting the pins to keep the nuts from going loose. The dealer quoted $410 for the job, so I saved $230. ($410 - $85 - $85 - $10 shipping) If I did it again, I would put some hard metal "buffer" on top of the stud. I guess the ideal thing would be another nut of the same size threaded on most of the way, but leaving a small gap at the top. The puller center rod has a pointed center which made an indentation in the top of the stud and began the deformation. I'd try to avoid direct contact. Hopefully it will be many years before your 99 needs ball joints! Joe

Finally got around to replacing my lower ball joints. As I mentioned, I bought them at irontoad.com for $85 each. I tried to attach the before and after picture, but got grief. Check the gallery page 27. It was pretty straightforward, with just a couple of gotchas. There are only 6 fasteners of interest: 2 bolts that attach brake caliper. I don't know if caliper removal is necessary, but since it just takes a minute to get a couple of pounds off the wheel, why not. 2 bolts that attach the steering knuckle to the ball joint assembly. These were on there *real* tight....I used a 24" braker bar to manhandle these. 1 nut and pin to attach tie rod end to ball joint end 1 nut and cotter pin to attach the actual ball joint to the lower suspension arm. You loosen all these bolts/nuts before taking anything apart. Remove the 2 steering knuckle bolts and swing the wheel/knuckle out of the way. This is necessary to get a clear run at your tie rod end with the puller. Both the tie rod and ball joint bolts will take a fair amount of pressure with the puller before you hear a quick "crack" and then they're loose. I was expecting to have to press the bolts out, but it's not like that. Installation of the new part is now trivial...just the reverse. The one thing that almost got me was that the tie rod joint bolt sort of mushroomed when enough pressure was put on with the puller to get it loose. I had to spend about 1/2 hour dressing the threads with a file before I could get the nut back on. I did NOT want to have to take the tie rod end off and get it to a mechanic with the appropriate dies. Yeesh. The first one took me about 2 hours including a run to AutoZone to borrow the puller and breaker bar. Once I finished the first side, I was sure I could do the other side in under an hour, but then I had the thread problem to deal with. An average DIYer with the proper tools should be able to finish in well under 3 hours for both sides. Joe

I'm 6'4" and have been driving 1st Gen LS400 for 14 years. Very comfortably. I can (and do) drive for hours and hours in comfort. Virtually all speed control is done (by me, anyway) with the cruise control stalk. My foot only touches the gas pedal when taking off from a stop (or the occasional dreaded stop-and-go that I have to deal with about 5 times a year). Some people complain that the seats are not comfortable, but maybe there's something about being "taller" that gets it back into the comfort zone? I don't know...they work for me. Joe

Haha! Who would have even guessed that you were reporting a problem about listening to the stereo while not driving!!! Glad you solved the "problem"! Joe

That's certainly one way to go, but the cost of trying to never break down is very high...in the range of thousands of dollars...and is only partial protection. It really depends what the potential cost is to you of losing the car at any time. If you could lose a deal that would earn you a $5000 commission by missing an appointment, then it could pay off, but if you have a situation where if your car breaks down you simply call a tow truck and call in "sick" to work, then it might not be worth it. Add to this the fact that doing all the maintenance on the recommended schedule does not remove the risk of all failure, just reduces the chances of some number of failures. I've never had a failure in my 14 years I've driven the LS that would have been prevented by any form of maintenance service. For example, there is no maintenance that I'm aware of that would have prevented the "broken wires in the trunk that cause the transmission to stay in 1st gear" syndrome. That would happen whether or not you change the timing belt every 90k. Anyway, all I'm saying is that as right as your philosphy is for you, it just isn't necessarily right for everyone. Joe

"Start out in a lower gear"? There isn't any gear lower than 1st. Could you elaborate? Are you saying that 1st gear is lower than "low"? Are you sure it's shifting upwards as you increase speed, or maybe is it refusing to? That would be very bad, but I can't imagine a mechanic not being able to spot something like that. Do a little test. Give us about 10 various Speed/Gear/RPM readings and we can then compare with ours. I have a 92 also, so there will be a direct comparison. Joe

I'd buy that car for $3000! Nice deal with all those new parts on it. May it serve you well for a long time! Joe

I never thought I'd have to say it here, but I now see that it's the case.... please don't feed the troll.... Joe

Why, yes, we do love 'em. I guess you don't know this, but it's sort of a running theme here. Joe

I bought left and right lower ball joint assemblies from IronToad.com ($85 each) and am plannig for the installation. It seems straightforward enough, but the instructions call for: "Disconnect tie rod from steering knuckle arm using tie rod puller No. 09628-62011 or equivalent" and "Remove lower ball joint from lower suspension arm using ball joint remover tool No. 09628-62011" Of course, the tool number is the same for both. My question is....is this a tool I need to procure from AutoZone for the job, or will an alternative (such as a hammer haha) do the job? Any input? I will take pictures and post the procedure when I do the job, which probably won't be until the weekend after Christmas. Joe

Many people report that when the light turns on, that means there is 18 gallons gone from the tank. On mine, the last "1/4" is less than the 1st and second "1/4", so I'll guesstimate that there are 14 gallons gone for your 180 miles, or about 13 mpg. Yep, that's poor mileage, even for city driving, I think. You may have something wrong going on. I would have it checked out. FWIW, I get about 350 miles at the 1/4 full mark on 90% highway driving. Joe

Salt is, of course, water soluble so an extended squirting underneath when you get home should be all that's needed. Just don't leave it caked on the undercarriage for a long time and you'll be fine. Salt-rusted cars come from people who drive on salted roads year in and year out and don't have the interest to get the underside cleaned up when the weather gets better. Joe

If the wash you gave the engine caused the problem, then it doesn't need all that. In fact, it probably doesn't need any of it (unless it needed it before, anyway). There is no way that water in the "spark plug wire tubes" caused damage to the other parts, especially not the spark plugs. If there were corrosion, it would be fixed quite nicely with a little wire brush. And most certainly, exposure to water one time a few days ago is not enough for much (if any) corrosion to occur. The "shotgun" approach to diagnosis only serves to lighten your wallet. "Well, it might be this, and it that might be that, or it might be the other, but all of this should be changed anyway because it's OLLLLLLD" is bs. I would have a nice chat with the service manager about how I want to solve the problem, and that's all I want to accomplish right now. Who knows what other stuff they'll find that you just HAVE to change out once they get ahold of it...there's always somethin'. May I ask why you had it cleaned? Was there an oil leak or something? My 92 engine compartment is very clean...there wouldn't be any need at all to use solvents on it. Joe

Do you know if the LCD they use is the original part, or if they use a better-than-original part? Joe

There is nothing tricky...it's so simple to do. No special tools. Perhaps the "hardest" part is knowing that you have to depress the pistons so that you can fit the new pads in. It's a good time to make sure your rotors are in good shape. I had to have one of mine turned (cost of $10 at a local auto shop). Be sure you note how the shims fit on the pads so that you can place them correctly on the new ones. Do it wrong and you'll have squealing brakes. I got the original pads from irontoad.com (should be $35.xx + $10.98 shipping). From what I've read here, I wouldn't mess with anything but the original pads if you want to have no worries. Pick up a couple of air filters and maybe your lower ball joints while you're at it to defray the shipping cost. Joe

When braking, the main action is that the caliper pistons, and therefore pads, clamp down on the rotor. There's not much to do with the struts, and everything to do with the condition of the calipers, pads and rotors (and ABS system). What do you mean when you say "the brakes are fine"? Joe