wandawoods

I know what you meant! I called/visited at least a dozen dealer/private parties around town on past saturday, and found myself very dispointed about these local offerings. that's why I went ahead with the eBay deal since I done that 3 times already in past 4 years. not sure about whether KBB prices are fare or not, but that's sorta industry "standard" which everyone goes by nowadays. NADA is even more inflated. good for selling, but not for buying, though! i've bought 3 lex from dealers in TX before, no one asked me to pay any GA sales tax, not dealer, nor GA revenue dept when I applied the tag.

before this LS430, done that (buying on eBay withouth seeing) 3 times already! (coincidentally, all 4 were from Texas). 1st 3 lex all turned out to be pretty nice. will certainly keep my fingers crossed for this one. anyway, this low-miles 02 appears to be well maintained and 30k service was completed. sure, I may need to use part of $4K-below-KBB saving to do minor things to make it perfect, but I am not really worry much about it. there is no way in Atlanta market that I can find one $4K below KBB private party. it seems that all used LS4 listed here are right around KBB or slightly above. PLUS, $700 transportation is still much cheaper than 7% GA sales tax!

just called the seller, and surprisingly, he picked up the phone right away on a sunday afternoon! did confirm that 30k server has just been done, and the "junk" fee (inventory tax and so forth) is under $100, unlike some used car lots charge $400~500 so called "documentation or adminitration" fee! so, I just did it! will certainly report back how it goes when I get the car in! well, this is the 4th lex (94 LS400, 97LS400, 96SC400, now 02LS430) I bought from eBay plus a 98 ES3 bought locally, and next spring it's going to be a RED SC430 for my wife, so LEX FOREVER! :) it's hard to part with my nice, well maintained 97 LS4 w/120k , but I am giving it away to my parents who live just few doors away, so I will still get to "visit" her quite often.

I've got a 2nd chance offer at $29500 (about $4000 below BBK private party in "good" condition) for this 02 LS430 in Parchment Crystal (basically white), 31K miles only, Nav, 7-spoke chrome, Michelin tires: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=300029040415 carfax checked it out absolutely clean! 4-year/50k warranty is just expired, but 6-year/70k drive train & rust warranty still in place, and it's Texas based, so no worry for salt errosion. I think this is the one!

2nd thought, the car is priced about $6000~$8000 below market value (KBB priviate party), do you guy think it's still worth buying depsite the reported frame (unibody) damage incident? mileage/flood/salvage/title all checked out OK. yupe, midnight pine pearl is such as nice color, hard to pass on....

don't be! this one has frame damage according to Autocheck by experian. what a pity! the low price is proven to be too good to be true! well, thanks for all the responses anyway! will keep on shopping and report back.....

time to upgrade my 97 LS4! thinking about buy-it-now this 26600-mile 03 LS430 on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...em=290028176428 it has about 1-year Lexus factory warranty left, so I am not worry too much about mechanic side of the car. however, anything else I should be aware of the choice of model year vs said 02 or 04?

about a month ago, I had to replace one of 4 OS sensors on my 96 SC4 (code P0135). I purchased an universal Bosch O2 sensor (part# 15733, about $80), and it works like a charm (cleared the error code right out!). the original O2 sensor removed was marked "toyota 89465-50060", the same part you are referring to.

recently I had to replace one of 4 OS sensors on my 96 SC4 (code P0135). I purchased an universal Bosch O2 sensor (part# 15733, about $80) for my mech to install, and it works like a charm (cleared the error code right out!). the original O2 sensor removed was marked "toyota 89465-50060".

PS pump leaking issue for 1st gen LS4 is well known! if that's the only problem you have, then it's definately worth to get it repalced and keep the car. 90k service is basically major tune-up + timing belt job ($1500 sound high for that!). now, timing belt is known for lasting over 90k, so you may consider just to do the tune-up (plugs, wire set, distributor caps, rotors, fuel filter, PVC valve, throttle cleaning...etc) but not to change the TB for 90k service. now, 1st gen LS is non-interference engine, broken TB won't hurt the engine at all. at 78k, you should be able to enjoy it for many years and many miles to come. leaking OS pump is also known for killing alterntor down below. at the time of replacing PS pump, you may want to put on some shielding on alternator like this: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/albums/LS/Alt2.jpg

this thread might help you: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=26997

air sus woes for 1st gen LS were well discussed in the past in this forum. if you were to convert, here is a good tutorial: http://www.lextreme.com/ascon.html $650 for set of 4 "strut master" conversion kit plus about 3~4 hours labor. the rear pair are pins in the butt, you must remove rear seats in order to remove old air struts. do expect a "stiffer" ride after conversion, though!

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=5822 however, it's for 94 LS. the circuit board shown can be different than 91.

I did put on drilled-only rotors and NAPA ceramic pads on both my 97LS4 and 96SC4 over a year ago, and both cars are still braking great thus far. no noise and really no dust! last time I talked to local lex dealer, it seems that all OEM pads are non-ceramic type. the part mangner said that Lexus just don't offer any ceramic kind. don't really know why the heck not....

like you, I was under the impresion that 95~97 have NI engine. however, now I'm definately sold that 95 & up have interference engine because my 97 repair manual states so in black-n-white, and JPI also stated that the valves can touch pistons "slightly". so the advice is to play it safe than sorry. 96LS400-Owner, changing TB at 53K seems very prematured. you can schedule that for 90k service. however, doing tuneup (inclduing caps/rotors/plugs/wires) is certainly great for 60k service.

you need SST09960-10010 according to repair manual:

I recalled when I pushed the button before it got fixed, I could hear the telescoping motor running (got power). but it was just making 'grrrr' noise, but the steer column wouldn't move at all. so, if you can hear the same the kind of noise, then it's possible it's the same cause (loose contact between "gear" piece with "drive rod"). be forwarned that a 99LS can be drasitically different than a 94LS in term of how the "telesoping" was designed and put together, therefore above procedure may not apply at all. if you still decided to give it a try anyway, please do a tutorial too so that it can benefit others. good luck!

SRK is correct that if you sent your car for timing belt change, dealers don't really change water pump/pulley/idler volunteerly unless you tell them to! I guess it's because dealers can charge you the labor mulitple times to replace each component by it's own. if your dealer is willing to replace water bump and timing belt at this point, you definately insist on the whole 9 yards: idler, pulley, CAM/Crank seals. even if they don't, you still want to spend your own dollars to do these multiple things by one shot. you don't really want to pay for the same labor cost again for just one failed CAM seal!

well, water pump really doesn't use seal nor gasket. instead, it use sealant: so, if the water pump was replaced at 90k service, the mech would have to scrap off the old sealant and applied new layer. do you know for a fact that the water pump was replaced on yours? the leak could also be coming from bad o-ring at water bypass pipe or water inlet pipe which are right above water pump. basically, you are looking at the labor cost of timing belt/water pump replacement job in order to correct it.

haaa! I am with you! I used to own a black 93 400SEL and a black 88 420SEL, they really "look" better than the newer S-class despite tons of mechanical nightmares. glad to hear you've also got over the benz itches and turn to Lex. since the 2x benz, I have dealt with 4x lexus (2x LS4, 1x SC4, 1x ES3) and I will never consider MB again!

I used to own a 94 LS4 which was rear-ended and declared total-loss by insurance 2 years ago. what I got was about the KBB's published 'retail' value in "excellent" condition + local sales tax. honestly, I think that was very fair despite I also spent quite a bit money to repair/maintain the vehicle before the accident. keep in mind that, whatever you have done to the card can only make it in "excellent" condition according to KBB, therefore the reinbursement shouldn't be greater than that! of course, it's entirely proper to ask for compensation if any personal porperties was damaged in the accident, and/or you suffered from injuries.

lex dealers usually charge around $1200 for parts+labor for the basic TB/water pump replacement. if you purchase parts yourself and find a competent mech to do it, you should be able to get it done $600~$700. other than timing belt/water pump, remember to include these things beyond basic TB job: timing belt idler and pulley 2x CAM seals + 1x CRANK seal complete coolant flush drive belt tensioner sorta like killing a few birds with one stone regardless who will do the job for you.

we had an extensive discussions (green vs red) 2 years ago: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=6383 http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...?showtopic=6420 toyota "long-life" red coolant is OAT (organic acid technology) based, and gas-station green coolant is silicate/phosphate based. my own conclusion back then was that it really doesn't matter which one you use as long as you do a 100% flush when changing type, and you never top off coolant tank with a different type of coolant during routine maintenance. of course, you need to change out green coolant a lot more often than red coolant. however, later on I did subscribe to the idea that why take chances, and just stick to toyota red which can never be the wrong type!

calm down, threadcutter! as I stated, I'm sold that it's an interferenced enigne, especially the service manul has spelled that out. anyway, changing you TB every 90k can never be wrong.

monarch, member alsalih made a good point to look it up in the service manual: "Ok guys this needs to end. Real simple, does anyone out there have the Lexus factory service manual for either the 95, 96, or 97 model. Please look in the engine mechanical section where it has the procedure for replacing the timing belt and see if it notes (as mine does for the 98) to turn the crankshaft pulley 50 deg clockwise before removing the belt and in addition underneath it will be a NOTICE which mentions that if this is not done the piston head and valve head can make contact!" and, I did look thru the service manual for my 97, and sure enough it does have the exact warning "piston head and valve head can make contact" if crank pulley is not turned before removing timing belt. also, JPI indicated the pistons can "slightly" contact the valves by his latest observation for a 95. I would rather tell everyone to play it safe than be sorry later. no matter how slight it can be, as long as pistons can contact valves, it still can cause great damages, so it seems that we must assume it's an interferenced engine, and definately replace timing belt every 90K as recommended by service schedule.