wwest

force it! Cloth-like bottom panel on swing up door is held in place by plastic ball and socket holders.

You can probably pick one up at a wrecking yard for CHEAP.

I heard that gates traded in his 90 LS for a 94 to get dual airbags so his new wife was also protected.

HID wasn't an option on the RX until 2001. IMMHO retrofitting would be a bear.

I bought 7443 bulbs with black plastic bottoms/plugs, removed the glass bulbs and installed 50 watt 12 volt halogen bulbs, bought in the landscape lighting department at home depot, in the plastic "plugs".

You're kidding me, right? 50 watt halogen over OEM, of course they make a difference, a BIG difference. But, to be fully truthful, I'm not sure upgrading the one on the passenger side was all that helpful, I suspect it could be off and I wouldn't notice. I don't seem to use the right side rear view when backing as much as maybe I should.

I installed 12 volt 50 watt landscape halogens in 7443 bulb "bottoms."

04 has clear taillights.

Assuming this is an early model, 92, say, the cable that controls the water flow valve is mechanically coupled to the airflow heat/cool mixing vane servomotor inside the plenum. If you block the water valve open manually and can still get reasonably cool airflow in max cool and hot airflow in max hot then the mixing vane and its servomotor are still operational and the mixing vane end of the cable has come off the pin inside the system. Not sure how easy or hard the fix will be if that is the case. Back when I was driving our 92 I would tie the water valve closed during the summer months to reduce the A/C load and increase fuel economy. The RX series always has it open, no valve at all, and seems to work fine (mostly) relying only on the mixing vane for airflow temperature control. I am currently in the process of obtaining a 12 volt water control valve from an 300D MB turbo diesel to install in the RX so the hot water flow will always be off anytime the A/C compressor is enabled.

Other than belt/pulley slippage the only way I can imagine the power steering fluid adversely affecting the alternator is by desolving the insulating vanish on the copper windings. Definitely a long term process.

For the majority of us, I think, the current V6 offers more than enough power. So it seems to me that an I4 hybrid with the performance level of the current V6 would more than suffice. Or am I trying to be too "green"?

I already own a 2003 Prius and an 01 AWD RX and was quite interested in the RX400h. But then I learned that they plan to use the V6 and have V8 performance. Making the RX400h a real FARCE insofar as I'm concerned. The use of regenerative braking to recharge the onboard batteries is undoubtedly a very good, even wonderful, idea. But using the engine to recharge the batteries simply to provide a SuperCharger effect is pue and unadulterated idiocy. That's why the Prius has such substantially lower highway fuel economy than in the city stop and go traffic. Taking the Prius concept to a much heavier vehicle and using it to provide SC level, V8, increased performance will prove to be a BIG mistake. I suspect that a small I4 hybrid with a battery (hybrid) variable speed SC could be used when cruising without sacrificing fuel economy. How many of us asked for, need, want, V8 perfromance in an RX series anyway?

The wedge bulbs used in the Porsche 996 high mount brake light are halogen of 5W and work wonderfully for Lexus interiors.

Drivetrains are the same, body sections are definitely not the same. Not so sure about body section where direct bolting would apply.

Within my family and fellow employees we have almost 10 Lexus LS400s, from 91 up to 1998. One with 153k miles all the others at, nearing, or over 100k miles. The 153k miles car just got timing belt and water pump. A 92 got an oxygen sensor awhile back and recntly replaced the factory anti-freeze on that one. Otherwise NONE of these cars have been back to the shop for anything but oil and filter, oil, air, pollen, changes and they all continue to run and look as if new. Now, on the subject of rear brake pads at 36k miles. Should NEVER happen! Front brake pads should wear first at nothing less than 25k to 45k, and rear pads......anyone out there want to argue 50k minimum. The only exceptions I can think of is over-reliance on Trac or a siezed brake caliper. But I'm betting your car has 136k, not 36k.

The Lexus series has a very high propensity to fog over the windscreen suddenlt and spontaneously with no obvious warning to the driver or passengers. A recent J D Power survey indicates sudden windshield fogging as the second most common owner complaint within the US. The article said that this effect/complaint is clearly more predominant in cars of Japanese design origin. One of the primary causative factors is the fact that Lexus/Toyota's climate control design supplier is NipponDenso, in the US known as Denso USA. Denso has several design flaws inherent in their system. 1. they operate the A/C compressor all year around. 2. In order to keep the fuel economy within reason they severely restrict the outflow of conditioned cabin atmosphere. 3. They seemingly are not aware of the fact that human body comfort is as much a result of MRT (Mean Radiant Temperature) as it is local air temperature. The result of this lack of knowledge is that the system will automatically switch to cooling mode, airflow predominantly form the face and upper body outlet vents and as much as 20F lower than the temperature setpoint (brrrrrrr....). The side effect of this "switch" is the lack of warming airflow to the windshield on a cold and possibly humid day resulting in fogging of the windshield. There are several procedures one can use to avoid these problems. Have the dealer set the C-best options such that the A/C compressor is NOT "linked" to the use of automatic mode or defrost/defog/demist mode. These are two separate C-best settings/options. Also have the dealer set the system such that it always operates in footwell outlet airflow mode ( heating mode, with substantial warm airflow to the interior surface of the windshield) unless you manually over-ride it into cooling mode. I would also advise you that after having used the A/C during the day then open the windows in the garage overnight so that the thin film of moisture left on the A/C evaporator due to that operation car dry out and not contribut to windshield fogging shortly after startup the next morning.

There are two "full" marks on your coolant reservoir, one for cold coolant, and one for HOT coolant. With the engine oerating and fully up to temperature the coolant should be near the higher full mark.

Major shortcoming of all disc brake systems, thin film of water on disc quickly turns to gas, water vapor, on brake application and "lifts" the pads from the rotor surface. Basically the reason many brake rotors come from the factory either cross-drilled or slotted. The best procedure is to apply the brakes lightly before your get to the point of needing them to dry them out. Assuming the need for braking is predictable.

I removed the broken piece from the exhaust pipe end and bend it over to seal it and re-installed it, months ago.

First, add some more sound insulation to cut the interior ambient noise figure down from ~70db. Listen to your current system without the engine running inside a closed garage and the windows up and then decide if you need a better system or just more volume.

The SAE has just published a white paper that states that J D Power says that "Windshield and Window fogging" is the second most common vehicular complaint, and the paper goes on to state that vehicles of Japanese manufacture seem to have a greater propensity for this due to the uniqueness of their HVAC design approach, allowing more recirculated airflow.

Smells like... old dirty gym socks....?? goto airsept.com/eed.html

First, R-134 is about 30% less efficient than freon. Second, the 1992 LS was shipped from the factory already equipped for the conversion, extra complexity in the A/C evaporator, and more insulation and passenger cabin sealing to prevent "conditioned" air from escaping too rapidly.

Put a heater in the trunk overnight with the trunk open to dry it out. CD players are very sensitive to humidity/condensation. Make sure the trunk is well sealed also.

Oh, the front corner lights were forever failing and needing to be replaced until I installed LED Bulbs from SUPER BRIGHT LEDS. I haven't yet found anything that can be done about the very poor LB light coverage. Tried adjusting them upwards but then the HBs are in the trees.