wandawoods

are u referring to the electric cooling fan outside condenser? if yes, check connection of Engine Coolent Temp switch (ECT switch is called according to shop repair manual) http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...6922&hl=aux+fan

stock gen I (90~94) LS400 did not come with 'LS400' emblem from factory, only the 'L' in oval and 'LEXUS'.

did try couple of chrome shops here, one quoted $125, one was $150, so I went ebay for $129 brand spanking new with auto-grade adhesive!

thanks for the tip. I am bit nervous about using screw driver on paint..... $129 shipped for gold kit: 1. FRONT LOGO 2. REAR LOGO 3. SC400 4. LEXUS 5. ANTENNA BEZEL call me CW will be fine, 'wanda' sounds like a gal....u konw

1. did Lex do away air sus on gen 2 and up? 2. can OEM non-air struts fits air sus without any modification? is it a direct fitment?

just order a pair from eBay about $88 shipped. it did specify 97 LS400, but i'm not sure it's OEM or not. will see.

well, I'm not sure what a 'pannel puller' is?

thanks guys for all your inputs! I think I will go by 6-mon rule since we won't drive greater than 1K per mon. on average, so mileage rule will not apply. 10w for my SC, and 5w for the LS. as for the big headache from my ES...well, can oil burning and blue smokes be the result of 'gelling' which causes damages to valve stem/gasket?

folks, my gold emblems, front and back, are fading fast, and I have ordered a set from eBay. any good tips to remove the old emblem without damaging the paint? thanx in advance!

since we drive SC4 so littte, 3K in last 10-months, does oil-life matter? in other words, can 10-month old oil be a problem?

let's just say the premium is high enough to cover car loan for TWO spanking new 04 LS430... they share the toyota, and 200sx hatchback is my 'pick-up truck'.

I won't shock u with how much insurance I have to pay a month! I have two teen drivers under my policy.....

5w-30 Mobile1 full synthetic is in both my 1UZ-FE (97 LS4 / 96 SC4). realistically, how often should I change engine oil, primarily under city driving condition? also, does life-in-use really matters? I am under the impression that 'full synthetic' lasts longer than 3K/3-month often called for by those oil-change chains...

the service rep did say milleage is lot more critical than 'year in use'..... having said that, my newly acquired 97 does a sticker indicates TB change at 91K. anyway, if ur buyer state the concern about TB, u can just reply with 120K answer. as u know, TB replacement is a $1200 job at dealer... i'm not sure how u overcome the discrepancy in appraisals, but if u were buying from eBay, u don't really want to pay more than 90% of KBB private party value. all 4 i bought from ebay were 80~90% of KBB value. good luck to u!

this seller has 100% + feedback record. do call or email for upkeep records and see how fast he/she responses. I heard this from my service rep at dealer: starting from 97 model year, lex recommend TB/water pump replacement at 120K or 7-year for LS4. not at 90K as we all believe.....

ahhhha! I got it now! thanks, SW03ES and 1UZ! chazglenn3, thanks for the hint! will try it out... FYI, 'wandawoods' is simply the street name where my parant's house is on. i'm a 44-years old full-grown male happily married for 22-years now. 'wanda' does make it sound like a gal, u know.....

acf, I bought total of 4 cars in last 10-months from eBay, including 3 lex (94 LS4, 96 SC4, 97 LS4), and 4th one was for a relative. they all turned out to be rather nice except some minor issues (used cars rarely are 100% perfect). 1. seller feedback record is the paramount concern! do make sure u read them; email buyers who left neg. feedback for details. 2. CARFAX! CARFAX! CARFAX! 3. have seller email/fax u the vehicle maintenance records or major repair receipts (such as TB changes, major tune-up's...etc) 4. don't forget to figure in transportation cost, and the so called 'documentation or administration fee' (junk fee! sometime it can be $500!) 5. buy vehicle located in southern states (TX, FL..etc); never buy one from 'cold' states 6. call/email seller for your concerns and detail questions; judging from the degree of courtesy, professionalism, promptness, u can get a general ideal whether seller is trustworthy or not. never buy one from seller who doesn't return call or email promptly. 7. for some newer model years under 100K, eBay offers 1-month 1000miles warranty covering major situations. my 98 ES3 was bought locally about 1-year ago for Mom. we did have it checked out at dealer b4 pruchase. but it turns out to be the worst lex purchase we had so far. a year later, the blue smoke (oil burning) issue has progressed to a degree that it may need the expensive repairs for valve stem/head gasket/piston rings, or I may opt for swapping engine. so, 'kick the tires' or having it checked up beforehand won't gurrantee anything! incidently, the ES3 was from Boston!

thanks, however, autodimming of instrument lights or else?!

although I have repair manuals for both of my 97 LS4 and 96 SC4, but I don't have owner's manuals for neither. can any1 tell me what does the 'auto' button on center overhead rear-view mirror do? it puzzled me that when I pressed it, and it didn't do nothing.....

well, my 98 ES3 with only 138K are suffering from the same blue-smoke thing: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...howtopic=10359& it looks like a case of very poor upkeeps from previous owner. I am also trying to decide whether to dump it, fix it or get engine swap with a much lower milleage one.....

well, we have some major problems brewing from my 98 ES3 w/138K. although I own the car, but my Mom is the primary driver. initially, it made blue smokes when started up in the morning for about 30-seconds, then exhaust became normal. recently, the blue smoke become constant: rather big puff at starting up, follows by much smaller amount, but it's alway there from pipe. also, we need to put 1qt engine oil in there just to upkeep the proper level every 7-10 days, and there is no sign of oil leak whatsoever! so, the conclusion is engine oil burning!? valve stem seals? leaking head gasket? worn piston rings? can't believe those conditions can happen to a 98 lexus with only 138K! my mechanic said it must be caused by lack of basic maintence by previous owner, such as oil change, low oil level, or low/bad collant, otherwise a lex shouldn't be like this. the sad thing is that we did have the car checked out by dealer about a year ago before we bought it locally, and we've done extensive brake works, TB/pump changed, fade stereo LCD fixed plus 4 new tires. it seems lots of waste to dump the car now! he also said he can swap the engine with japanese imported, 40k~50k miles, for $2500. so, I need to decide: dump the car cheap? replace valve stem/head gasket/piston rings for about $2k? (if we need to open up engine, we would replacement all those things at one time) swap engine w/40K~50K mileage for $2.5K? any advice?

well, the 'oldest' RX300 is 99. unless ultra, ultra high-milleage, he won't find any 99 RX under $10K.

that's why when u buy car, u show KBB to seller, and when u sell car, u show Edmunds or NADD to buyer, then hope for the best. I also found that, cars listed on local papers tempt to be 15~30% higher than KBB on avarage. so, u still want to do classified ad on papers. there are still lots of folks rather pay higher price to kick the tires with their own feet than going out-of-state or eBay.

as u know, I just bought my 97 LS4 (non-coach) /97K for $135K after my 94 was wrecked. taking money out of 401K, will Fed put big panalty for it even u just withdraw part of 'principle'?!

well, I did successfully program the fob i bought from eBay for my 97 LS4. in fact, the fobs for my 96 SC4 and 97 LS4 are indentical in appearanace and the same FCC ID#. for 95 SC4, maybe other more knowledgeable member will enlight us.....