chilkoot

Everything on that list has already been done, it cost me about $2k in parts; did all of the labor myself. It was a quote from our family import mechanic who has been trusted with my father's cars for years. I forgot to mention it also included front brake pads/rotors and rear pads, another $400. It did all need to be done, everything was original from the factory when I acquired the car last April with 132k miles except for the alternator, rack+pinion and PS pump.

timing belt/water pump (originals), spark plugs/wires/caps/rotors (originals), replace driver's window motor ($600), replace coolant tank ($400, expensive because he said he'd have to refit a newer style), replace rear main seal ($800), alignment+balance, replace ECU for dead speedometer and RPM gauge ($1k+). I made a thread on the surrounding circumstances around last April, search for it if you're curious to hear the whole story.

did you just spray the aerosols into the intake, or did you disassemble anything?

my fan bracket was stuck really good, even after I got all of the bolts out. I also had to pry my fan clutch off with a crowbar after the four nuts were removed. Pry between the black disk at the back of the clutch and the metal rim the belt sits on. the seam is really hard to see, but that's where it should separate. I started it off using a flathead screwdriver as a chisel, feel free to devise a more graceful solution. make sure you get both of the long bolts tucked up underneath the bottom right of the bracket, it's easy to miss a bolt on that thing and then you'll never get it out.

you're also fortunate to be driving a pre-95. If your timing belt does go you're not in any danger of your engine imploding, unlike later engines. There's MUCH less danger in putting it off in the GenI's 30k, easily. My original went from 0----->132,000 miles over the course of 15 years.

My '93s at about 135k miles, and I'm setting a personal goal to have my suspension fixed by the end of the summer. At this point, it looks like a no-brainer to go DIY, but I want to make sure I know what I'm in for before I start planning for it. I've been doing some searching, but haven't found anything comprehensive. I think it makes sense to replace everything if I'm going as deep as the shocks and springs, so I'm thinking tie rod ends, control arms (upper and lower), strut rods, struts (KYB GR-2) and springs (not sure which ones yet) should keep me from behind the wheels for at least a few miles. Am I overlooking anything if I just want to get it all done? Any suggestions on springs for a slightly firmer than stock ride to match the GR-2s? If I get the rebuilt control arm kit from Lextreme (http://www.lextreme.com/Lexus-Control-Arms.html) are there any other bushings to replace but the rear knuckle and rear axle carrier? It looks like buying that kit will save me hours of labor doing the actual work of changing bushings, is this a correct assumption? Will this boil a suspension replacement down to a parts swap? (I don't expect it to be easy, but I'm looking for idiot-resistance) I haven't seen any mention of strut mounts in other threads or searching, will I need to find a source for those? Also, my rear tires are bowed /.......... \. To the best of my knowledge they've been like that since I got the car. The angle is only maybe half as extreme as those slashes, but it's enough to make me worry about tire wear. Any specific culprits that are known for that one? I've had it aligned and they didn't even mention it. Thanks in advance for any and all help.

not to hijack the thread, but while we're on the topic when a mechanic quoted about $4.5k of back maintenance on my car he noted the heater control valve was leaking. I've ordered a new HCV and have it sitting in my trunk, but my heat works fine and I haven't noticed any dripping coolant. Is it still a potential problem? I ordered mine from lexuspartsonline.com, I think it was about $40-$60 for the part itself, and if I recall correctly there was a thread about installation that didn't make it seem too challenging of a DIY.

I used that guide myself, it was excellent. However, unless you have air tools save yourself some trouble and frustration and buy a 24" chain wrench ($50, and the coolest tool I currently own) to get that crank pulley bolt off. Don't throw out your old serpentine belt either, you'll need to use it to cushion the wrench. how far along are you? if you have any questions feel free to ask. Take your time and be VERY careful with the plastic clips around the ignition coils and cam sensors, after this long they've become very brittle and the tabs that lock the connectors together are easily broken. Unless you've got a lift, you'll also probably be taking your alternator out blindly, just stick your hands in (with fingerless gloves, of course) and feel around until you can get the connectors undone. It comes straight out the front, but I had to bend a tiny metal wire bracket about an inch out of the way. If you haven't taken a look at your PS system in a while this might be a good time to replace that air control valve and prevent an early death of your alternator as long as it's already out.

the tranny mount going sour doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the tranny, it just means the connection between it and the engine is not as solid as it could be and the spooling action is not as smooth as it could be. The engine has to spool against the play in the transmission before it can accumulate power, resulting in the hesitation.

Haven't replaced anything, so it's a definite possibility, but i'm not getting any sound out of them so I thought perhaps it was either a wiring failure or a channel going out on the Nak. I figured I'd ask here before I went cutting wires and moving speakers around. IIRC, on that '90 the front right speaker was cutting in and out before it failed completely, which is why I suspected it may be something other than the speaker itself. on a completely unrelated note, did your package arrive safely?

I've had two LS's, a '90 and '93, both with Nakamichis in the dash. They've also both lost two speakers completely, left rear and right front. I haven't seen it mentioned or found anything searching, but is this a common problem for first gen LS's? If so, is it the amp, wiring or speaker contact points that are the weak link? Apologies if this belongs in audio, but it's a fairly specific model problem. Thanks in advance for any help.

When I acquired my '93 it was suffering from a leaky rear main seal and 10k old dino juice (the likely culprit), I've been running 5w30 Pennzoil Plat synthetic since I got it and haven't lost a drop. My '02 Taurus was also carried from 60k miles to 83k miles on synthetic with absolutely no problems before I got rid of it. I'd recommend it, but it's more expensive and you're certainly fine on regular oil if you keep up on your intervals.

If it's got a nakamichi it couldn't hurt to test each speaker individually. It's a minor issue, but he seems willing to fix anything you can find wrong before he hands it over, and if it were one of the rear ones you might not have noticed it. I've had a '90 and '93 with two completely dead speakers each. (both front passenger and rear driver, oddly enough). Other than that, you're getting a hell of a deal. You've got about $3k in the service alone between the rack+pinion/tb+wp/motor mounts/alternator.

if you spend $1000 a year on maintenance in an '93 LS400 you'll run out of stuff to replace after about 5 years. ...unless you're driving 50k miles a year, then $1000 would be about right. realistically, if you averaged it you'd probably be closer to $250-$500 a year in maintenance, including oil changes. stuff like Timing belt and water pump do cost over a grand to get done, but also last 5+ years (at 20k miles/year, more than a lot of people drive). also consider that once you go past 94 you are dealing with an interference engine, which in the event of timing belt failure will completely toast your engine. I put about $3k into my 130k mile '93 over the last year because nothing had been changed but the oil and power steering pump since it left the factory. A 93/94 sitting around 125-150k with the timing belt/water pump done sounds ideal for you, and will certainly not cost $1000 a year to maintain.

lextreme has them http://www.lextreme.com/Brake%20Line.htm

aside from the cable problem how did the replacement of the valve itself go? Was it fairly straightforward? I've got a replacement sitting in my trunk waiting to be installed, but haven't read much about it yet.

nope, they weren't leaking and I forgot to order them, I didn't have time to wait for them to arrive and there are no lexus dealers in my area. everything i replaced was with OEM Toyota parts, landar is right on that one.

if you're not mechanically inclined then I would recommend biting the bullet and getting everything done while you're in there, at the very least make sure the tensioner and idlers are replaced, as well as the tb/wp you've already mentioned. you don't want to pay for it to be dug into twice. it'll cost a little more, but the water pump is the deepest item in the job, and paying labor twice sucks, and you'll know you're good to go for another 100k miles. For your protection get a labor quote for just replacing the water pump, and then ask afterwards about replacing the idlers/tensioner/belt/caps/rotors/drive belt while they're in there. All of them have to be removed to even get to the water pump, so it shouldn't be any extra labor to replace those parts in addition, it's just putting new parts on instead of reinstalling old. I have no idea what the quote will look like, as I did it myself, but I paid about $1k in parts, including replacing all of the ignition components, all pulleys/tensioners and both belts. It'll be more than the GS was, for sure. IIRC, it's quoted 10-20 hours of labor depending on where you go, plus cost of parts.

if it's ever been in a rear-end collision, pop the hood and look at the side of the headlight facing the middle of the car, there will be a plastic tab on the headlight with a screw through it. make sure the bracket is in tact and everything looks ok, if it does then your housings may have gotten clouded. are you sure it's an aiming issue? does your vantage get better as you go over dips in the road and your headlights move vertically?

if you're talking about a 92, then waiting until it fails isn't going to cause engine death. you can put it off if you want. if you're talking about a 95+, have that job done before your warranty expires. you don't want to be solely responsible for a new engine.

keep in mind that with 95+ LSs putting off a timing belt/water pump job could mean death for your engine if an idler or your water pump seizes. an ounce of prevention and all that. if you're already that close couldn't hurt to do it early, and then not worry about it for another 10 years.

Will this work if my cd changer is broken? It turns on but does not operate (just shows error message.). It would be nice if this works seeing how VaisTech and friends don't care about any pre2001 Lexus cars. Direct input for my ipod....someone pinch me!! LOL your ERR message might be related to your battery voltage. My '90 had the same problem once, about two months prior to the alternator dying. I had no idea the two were related until the problem went away on its own with a fully charged battery.

not as good as later ones, the traction control became more sophisticated. as you live in Michigan i'd assume you know how to drive an RWD in the snow, the traction control helps you detect bad conditions before you lose control. It's treated me fine for mild winters with several inches of snow, but they're heavy and RWD, so there probably are safer vehicles you could buy. how bad are the roads in michigan during the winter and how much do you intend to drive? Also, heated seats and traction control were a bundled option on the Gen1s, make sure you get one with this package.

that sounds like it's my problem. the rumble feels the same in the steering wheel and seat as my '90 did at 75mph on the freeway when my tires weren't balanced, but it's in neutral in my parking lot. anything else that could cause such a low and steady rpm-specific rumble? is it likely that bracing a breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt against the ground shot my motor mounts when I tried to crank it (twice)? and yes, knowing which mounts you had replaced and how much it cost you would be great. IIRC, one can be done by hand under the car and the other two need to have the engine pulled, or at least lifted.

...my old Taurus made a noise after shutdown because of a bad seam between the coolant tank and its lid, it was a pinhole leak that I never really lost any fluid through, but the release of pressure made noise. tighten down your water filler housing bolt, see if that helps.