aggiecarpenter

I have the same issue on my 96. I felt like an idiot when the passenger side went on great but the driver's side will not clip in. It is like the new blade is too tall on the top to slip in the arm and click in. Is this the problem you are having?

Be careful messing with the fuel filter. The dealer was right. I tried to replace mine recently since I have done it on other vehicles. The fuel line fitting is so tight on the filter, its hard not to mess up the fittings. I ended up with my car on a trailer and a half tightened new fuel filter. My LS is a 96, so I don't know if it is a problem with all years. All I have to say is be careful. The repair shop that fixed mine said that the fuel filter probably didn't need changing anyway. Good luck fixing your problem. I would look at the fuel pump and injectors.

I am not sure how much the parts/labor breakdown was. I got some good referrals for this shop and trust what they say. As for the post regarding replacing parts that don't need replacing. The only part that is of considerable expense is the water pump and if any one else knows, this also will go out. It only makes sense to replace it now while they have everything off of the front of the engine and not 20,000 down the road. I would rather pay for it now than have my car overheat, have it towed to a shop, and pay for twice the labor than just doing it with the timing belt. Just my two cents. Good luck with your Lex! The water pump will go out. Just when is anybody's guess. I can tell you that it's service life is not related to the T-belts service life. But if you do the pump, do every idler bearing and every seal too. As long as the front of the engine is off, lift off the intake and rebuild the starter, and if you do that it's an easy job to fish the EGR pipe out of there and replace that too, because they go out. The power steering pump is easy to replace when doing the t-belt, and they do leak frequently, so install another PS pump too. At that rate of repair, you'll be ready to buy a GM product, which may prove cheaper. I bought two Lexus because they were reliable, not because I have to replace working parts to keep them reliable. It's his money. He'll do as he pleases, as most do. That's simply my advice on the service is all. I hope that made you feel better.

I agree that the 90K interval is conservative. The records on my new-to-me 94 LS400 show the timing belt service at 125K. I think the previous owner was pushing it a bit, but no harm no foul. He took a chance I probably wouldn't take. However, I tend to agree that 100K is pretty safe. Hey Aggie, Just curious, did he indicate the parts and labor costs separately? Although I'm far from needing to do this service as it has been only ~9K since it was done, I have a good side mechanic here in the Austin area who is very reasonable. I would just like to get a feel for the general parts/labor quotient. I am not sure how much the parts/labor breakdown was. I got some good referrals for this shop and trust what they say. As for the post regarding replacing parts that don't need replacing. The only part that is of considerable expense is the water pump and if any one else knows, this also will go out. It only makes sense to replace it now while they have everything off of the front of the engine and not 20,000 down the road. I would rather pay for it now than have my car overheat, have it towed to a shop, and pay for twice the labor than just doing it with the timing belt. Just my two cents. Good luck with your Lex!

I recently purchased an LS which has similar mileage. I emailed a local shop in Dallas which is an exclusive Lexus repair shop - not a dealer. They told me that it does make sense just to replace the timing belt. Here is what he said "Unless you are having a problem with your timing belt at 90,000 miles we recommend waiting until 100,000 miles. You also don’t want to just replace your belt. Here is what we replace when we do that job: Replace waterpump, timing belt, idler bearing, tensioner bearing, camshaft seals, crankshaft seal, thermostat, related o-rings and antifreeze. The price is $1200.00 + tx." Hope this helps.

Just wanted to update the post. Turns out that my new rad cap did not fix the noise. I took my car in to fix a couple of other issues and the shop brought to my attention that the car had the wrong kind of coolant - green instead of silica free red. Now the noise really is gone. Could the wrong coolant in the radiator make these noises?

Sounds easy enough. Thanks for the info.

Any idea where I can find this OEM part number?

I recently got my coolant flushed and noticed that there is a tiny amount of coolant coming out of the filler plug on the water inlet housing. It looks like there is gasket below the plug. Will replacing this gasket solve my problem? Anyone know if this is an easy part to get at a local auto parts store, or one I need to find online?

Got a new rad cap today and no more noise! Thanks for the help.

Is there anything that can be done for this? Thanks for the info!

It is almost like a loud buzzing sound. I find it hard to believe that it is just cooling noises. It is VERY noticeable.

I have a 1996 LS 400 with 82 K original miles. It runs great, but my only complaint is a strange noise I hear when I turn the car off. For about 3 minutes after I turn the car off, there is a strange whining or moaning noise coming from the engine compartment. Its sounds like it is coming from the radiator or transmission cooler. The sound is intermittent and happens every 5 seconds or so and last about 1 second. The time between the sounds increases until it ceases. Has any one else heard of this problem? Please help!