jschunke

Are the new tires the same brand as the old? Has the car always made the noise? If its a wind noise then it could be a bad door or window seal. There are tricks in locating bad seals. If its always been there then maybe your just more sensitive to the sound than others. For instance I find the road noise on my 93 LS excessive but most others don't notice it.

If your still getting brake shutter then replace the rotors and be done with it. By the time you pay for the labor to have them cut you may as go the extra mile for new ones.

If it were water in the gas tank then it would act up after it rains. More than likely its an electrical related issue like the coil getting wet or spark plug wires arcing, or bad distributor cap.

The '93 is no rocket (nor is it a slug) so if your looking for fast accelleration you'll be dissapointed. The LS was also designed with a somewhat floaty ride, but it should out maneuver a Lincoln TownCar any day. So either you just don't care for the float feel or your losing a ball joint, or your tires stink. As for the vibration, it appears that your not alone - including me. Tracking down the vibration may cost you especailly when you start buying tires, balancing wheels and such. My used 93 had a bent rear axle and a whacked out rear differential. The wind noise should be easy to fix, it's probably just a compacted door seal. Either the car doesn't fit your taste in which case dump it (I'm sure many folks on this board wouldl be thrilled to get a 93 with only 50k) or give it a chance.

Chemists or whoever those evil guys are that invent this stuff say mixing colors is not harmful, but does reduce the anti-corrosive longevity. Even if the morons at the shop did flush there is still red coolant resin which bound to the walls of the radiator and such. So you do not have a pure solution of green. I'm willing to bet that those idiots used tap water instead of distilled. The point is that there is no need to panic but you may want to flush again in awhile with green or go back to red, that is if your planning on keeping your car for awhile.

Consumer Guide 2005 Chrysler 300 Quietness = 6 out of 10. "V6 roar noticeable during acceration. V8 throaty, subdued growl. Tire thrum evident but not objectionable. Wind noise rises with speed but doesn't interfere with normal conversation" For comparison, LS430 is 10/10. Ford F150 6/10. Yahoo message board - you must be kidding . <_<

Consumer reports rates interior noise levels on par with pick-up trucks. No thanks.

It's a relatively easy job for the average joe mechanic. Unbolt the old caliper, throw on the new pads and bolt on the new. The hardest part for me was loosening the caliper bolts. They were super tight and I needed to use a breaker bar. Trouble was there wasn't much room in the wheel well but I managed. You may need a special tool to depress the piston to fit the new pads. I used a 4'' vise. Hopefully you'll find something more convenient.

That idiot should not have replaced the toyota red fluid with green. Did he refill with distilled water?

Blue smoke indicates burning oil. White (grey?) smoke indicates excessive fuel not being combusted. So the problem does not appear to be terminal. Either the injectors are dumping too much fuel or there isn't suffiecient spark in one or more cylinders.

My '93 also has a 50 mph vibration. Smooth as glass over 70. After wheel balance, new tires, new brake rotors and pads, new tires (michelin) still had the vibration. So I got smart and took my dial caliper to the axles, drive shaft and wheels. Sure enough the right rear axle was out of round by 50 thousandths. Everything else was no more than 20 thous. After replacing the axle the vibration was better, but still noticable and the axle is still 30-40 thous off. Go figure! My point is that you may find the source of the vibration by simply measuring and inspecting the drive train components. The ls400 has a complicated drive train with two drive shafts, and independent rear suspension. Lots can go wrong.

My dad just got new tires on his '93 ls400. The idiot tire center installed 215/60s instead of 225/60s. Think that's OK. According to my calculations the circumference on the 215s is about 2% smaller. Thanks.

Speaking of vibration. My 93 LS also has a vibration at 50-65 MPH. Then smooth over 70. Took it to the dealer and they had no clue. Taking matters in my own hands I found some run-out on the right rear drive axle (40-50 thousandths). After replacing the axle the vibration was mitigated a little, and there was still a good amount of run-out (30 th). Now have brand new tires and alignment but the vibration is still detectable. So much so that I gave the car to dad. He doesn't really notice it, but drove me nuts. There must be something wacky with the differential flange?

There's always NAPA for brake parts That's we're I got mine, and they had everything in stock - rotors all around and pads. Their pads are ceramic (non-metalic) so less chance of warpage.

Sure it's not an exhaust heat shield rattle? My 93 ls400 also had an engine related vibration at about 1700 rpm. Never did figure it out. Gave the car to dad and he doesn't notice it. So why bring it tio his attention.

The transition from non-interference to interference may have occured in gen II (95 ). It's only conjecture, but the compression ratio was increased from 10.0:1 to 10.4:1, perhaps by eliminating the indentations in the pistons which made room for the intake valves.

From what I gather its next to impossible to develop a true "free spin" engine with 4 valves per cylinder. That's because the valves are close to the edge of the cylinder. Maybe the first gen. is less likely to have interference than others, but there is always a chance (however slight it may be) for a clash with the piston if a valve is fully open and the engine continues to spin. The only real test is to remove the timing belt (or when one beaks), fully open a valve and spin the motor. Any volunteers? :o

There are as many oppinions on this subject as there are lexus owners! I was under the impression that the first gen 4.0 liter was the only non-interference engine. But it seems that I may have been deceived, along with many other Lexus owners. This is a most important aspect of a belt driven engine, and personally I would not have touted my 93 LS as much as I have done so if it is in fact an interference engine.

Does anyone know if the first generation ls400 engine valves were non-interfering? In other words if the timing belf breaks is there a chance that the valve will hit the piston and bend? Thanks

Trying to find out the type of coolant in my '93 ls400. The coolant is orange which indicates Dexcool. But I thought Dexcool came out in '96. As far as I know the vehicle was serviced by Lexus. Thanks.