90LS400Lexus

Finally getting around to changing the transmission mount this weekend.... hard to believe that in 2008 I was mentioning this and just now getting around to changing it. I hope it lessens the vibration issues. The car has 222K now. It had 208K when I was complaining of this before. However, I am afraid that the engine mounts are probably shot to heck as well, but those are more costly, so those will have to wait a few more years. ;) I have found pages and pages of step-by-step how-tos to change the engine mounts, but nothing on the tranny mount. I will try to figure it out though... hopefully the tranny wont fall out and crush me.

Nope, not yet. Unfortunately my dad has had the ramps "tied up" with his car up on them. His clutch went out and he had to have it sent off. It came back and he put it on today, but the tranny has to come back out, because something went awry... he said it was not shifting properly, so Lord knows when I will get a turn at the ramps. Sunday evening hopefully. If nothing else, I will find a big ditch to park it over. lol. I will take pics too... I will put the camera in a baggy to keep from greasing it up. :)

wow... this is an old thread. :) $2400 is decent for a 189K 93' LS, but I would try to go even lower. I paid $3200 for my 198K 91' LS two years ago, but its required/requires more costly maintainence. As these cars age, it dont take no time to sink ALOT of $ into them. Motor mounts will run you about $200 in parts alone and unless you are a DIY'er, it will not be all that cheap on labor to replace these. Good luck.

Thanks... I saw your post on the other site too... thanks. Will it hurt to continue driving it like this? I imagine its quite time consuming to adjust the valves since the covers have to come off? It will need valve cover gaskets soon anyway, but I was wanting to wait at least a few months to do this.

I mentioned before that my 91' LS had a knocking sound that concerned me. I had thought it was a rod, but I was told this was unlikely on the 4.0L engine. I later had a major clunking that turned out to be my fan bracket bearing. I thought maybe that was the part causing the noise. I had that replaced with a OEM Toyota part, but the knock was still there. Its been like that for awhile, but its getting more pronounced. It can only be heard sometimes at idle, but mostly when accelerating lightly when the engine is between 12-1600 rpms. I cant hear it unless the radio is off. I have a leaking PS pump and wondering if this noise could be coming from the worn out pump, or? Thanks for any info.

Look sharp... you will see what looks like a nice Lexus ES with cash for clunkers on the window... (this is at our local Honda/Nissan/Mazda/Suzuki dealership) - you will also notice late model Jeeps, Land Rovers, Lincoln, etc. Land Cruiser lovers would croak.... 1985-87 Land Cruiser with CFC on the window.... 100% rust free southern vehicle... (same lot) more notice the early 2000s Nissan Frontier... neat old rust free Toyota truck.... going to be smashed to bits (hard to see, but its behind the Chevy truck) This is on display at the local Chevy/Cadillac dealer... I love these boat cars...

Sorry to show, but here are some photos of my pathetic engine... I have never seen another LS engine this bad... have you? I want to have it detailed when I get a new PS pump installed...

Took a photo of my coolant level... this is where it always is before the car is started. In the winter, its lower than this level... after warmed up, its always full... (overlook my pathetically soiled engine bay)

Yep, I can get the sensor for $85 and its fairly easy to replace I am told.

I never have either. Its been like that for thousands of miles and never caused anything to happen, so I have not worried about it... but it would be nice to see the level stay the same. I will look into that new coolant tank cap theory. Hope that tightened hose solves your issues.

You are right SRK... it was the 2.3L gas engine. I read alot too online about it being listed as an interference engine, but it didnt damage the engine when it broke, so I thought that was odd. What you mentioned explained it. 14 minutes... WOW.... that was fast for a t-belt change. I dont know how long it took my uncle to change it on his 86' wagon. It had 267K and was still a perfect running car and I remember the tranny shifted so smoothly. The car would probably still be running today, except one day when he was going to work he had took a well-known to him back road in the country and rounded the corner and a large tree had fallen... it trashed the front steering/suspension and he thought it did too much damage to repair. That was about 10 years ago. He also had a 1981 Volvo sedan about 8 years ago, excellent interior and body, but the car had a terrible time running... there was something wrong with the fuel system. He never did get it trunning right. We have a family friend that specializes in Volvo repairs, but body work and mechanical work on all cars... especially Toyota Lexus Honda and Mercedes. He said that the older Volvos has to be some of the easiest cars to work on, but he has done it for years. Hes pretty wealthy, but still drives nothing but 1980s Volvos. :)

Oh wow, you have been out of the loop for awhile! lol. :D No, I didnt sell my LS, I had thought about it though, and often threatened to, but then my mother said she wanted it, but I wanted to get it up to par before that, but its been a slow go. I did buy a cream colored 1984 Mercedes diesel, but thats long gone- I sold it about a year ago, hard to believe its been that long. It was a nice car, but it was the small one and I needed more leg room because I have a bad knee and back. I hated selling it, but I did and made a $1500 profit! Then last October, I bought another Mercedes, this time a 1988 Mercedes 300SEL sedan... (the largest Mercedes and the long wheelbase model of that). Its a nice car too and I love it. Its a much better car than my LS400 (or should I say dont need the all of the same things my LS is needing now). It has alot more room and I really love this old MB. Not as powerful on takeoffs as the LS though, as its only a 3.0L I6, pulling a 4000 pound car, but its adequate for me.... I only drive it on my days off and I am never in a hurry then. :) Soon my LS WILL either be my moms or I will sell it after I get some things done to it.

I like the concept and if it werent for the fact of the cars engines deliberately being destroyed and then the cars crushed, I would have done it. I would have traded the LS400 on a new Toyota Tacoma, but no matter how frustrated I have been at my aging LS, I could not do it. It would be like shooting a pet. :(

True, true and unfortunately some exhibit that in lower quality that the 80s-90s models that were made in Japan... or that has at least been my experience with the older Camrys/versus newer ones. I was displeased with the 2009 Avalon (400 miles) and 2009 Camry (31K miles) I have rented... no where near the quality of my older Camrys/Cressidas I owned in the past. The new Lexus' dont seem to have been effected though... thank goodness!

My uncle had a 1986 Volvo 240 wagon (2.4L) that had a timing belt snap and he put on a new one and it was fine. Ever had experience with those? Someone once said it was an interference engine, but apparently not?

Nope, I havent added any coolant... it stays like that and has been like that. Its very low when cold and full when hot. I did have a fan bracket bearing installed 3K ago and he added some coolant when some came out when he removed the water pump, but its still like that- it was full, but its still fluctuating. I have never seen any leaking. My low coolant light is ALWAYS on... faulty sensor and I am not paying $85 for a new one. lol. Temperature always stays below 1/2 way... never above. Same place my other LS400 temps stayed. I am guessing its just these cars have fluctuating coolant levels?

Didnt get it changed today... my dad decided this morning he had to use the ramps to take out his clutch on his 69' Camaro to replace it, so I have been delayed a couple of days. <_< Hopefully will get it changed Monday evening or Tuesday. THEN onto working on the PS pump.... or should I say change it.

Not sure. As mentioned, I had 106K on my Toyota Tundra on the original belt and it was recommended to be changed at 90K. I would go over 10-15K, but no more than that.... not on an interference engine. Thats why I sold the Tundra. I could not afford a t-belt change at the time and it was way overdue. Now I regret selling it. THEN, my dad had a 1988 Nissan truck with the 3.0L V6. My uncle had bought it brand new in February of 1988 and he never changed it. My dad bought it from him in April 1999. It had 203,000 miles at that point... on the original timing belt! :o Dad changed it posthaste and needless to say, it was intact, but it was paper thin!

I am not sure. When my LS400 started vibrating to where it was bothering me, I took it to the Lexus dealer and they said it was the tires and it was not the engine mounts, but they were wrong. New tires, it still did it. You can rev the engine to about 1500-2000 rpms with it in park and literally watch the steering wheel vibrate. I cant afford engine mounts now, but I am doing the tranny mount this week (maybe tomorrow) and hope that takes care of alot of it. Not sure if the tranny mount alone would cause this or not.

Mine kinda does the same thing... I have put 26K miles on it and the level has always fluctuated. However, when engine is cold, the level is well below the line... when at normal operating temp, its normal. New water pump at 195K. It has 222K now.

Would you pay $2k for my car? I already got a little less than $1k off MSRP with $4500 on a $19,460 car! If the sales manager does not negotiate, simply leave. It is not like they are giving out free cars. Initially I went out to test drive a Nissan Altima, because of $1500 cash back, on top of the dealer's online sale on a particular Altima. Everything went fine until the sales rep called his rude sales manager. During price negotiation he literally raised his voice at me and my parents so we just got up and left. I was about to hand him $18k cash! Out of curiosity, I looked at a Hyundai Elantra GLS 4dr on their website and for a nicely optioned GLS model, with automatic it comes to $15600 (with freight), then there is a $2000 rebate, then $4500 off if you had a CFC trade-in, makes it an attractive deal. Someone with a trashed out SUV or van would be good to do this. They are also offering $1.49 gas for a year and the 100K mile warranty. 2009 Hyundai Elantra GLS automatic sedan w/option package 1: Sub-total MSRP : $16,870 Rebate : $-2,000 Freight : $720 Total MSRP : $15,590 minus $4,500 = $11,090. (if I didnt want to see my LS400 destroyed, I would do it!) Some of those little 2009 Accents would come to about $6000 financed after the CFC trade-in. :)

Yeah and some of the cars being traded in are not "clunkers". I have seen some nice late models cars being traded in on this.... I have seen some ragged out ones on the lots though that have been traded in on the CFC however. Alot of 80s-90s SUVs and vans that have been lightly crashed / battered.

Every 90k miles, you're long overdue. Definitely, especially on that engine.... (interference engine). With it being 10 years old and having 132K, I would change it tomorrow! Hope it dont break! The 90-94s its not as critical, as its a non-interference engine, but I would not play games with the 99 VVT-i engine. This was one reason I sold my old 00' Tundra 4.7L V8. It had 103K, original timing belt and at the time, I could not afford a new one. :(

That makes me cringe! :cries: I wonder how long a 1UZFE is gonna run with that crap in it? Some cars I have seen this being done to last about 3 seconds, while others go for 5-7 minutes. As mentioned earlier, have you seen that clip of that Volvo S80 being ran at about 4000-5000 rpms with that crap in there? It starts whining and squealing, smoking and it eventually catches on fire because of the heat build up. Its hard to watch that clip. I think its a crime to destroy still good running cars like that. That happened because for one, the motor was tough and it was taking a long time to "kill it" and two, those morons doing it was running the engine too fast... the directions say you are not supposed to take the RPMS over 2000, but most of the moron dealers doing this are enjoying it and running them to extreme RPMS. It still looks great to me... aside from the upper areas. Its a shame though that you could not throw in a trashed engine/tranny and save that sweet drivetrain. I dont guess they take trade-ins without engines/transmissions? I think it has to be a driveable car. Me too, but I cant do it. <_< Thats how its been on my LS400 for a while. I paid $3200 for it a couple of years ago, it had 201K miles. It has 222K now and the engine and transmission mounts are shot (doing tranny mounts this week), the power steering leaks like crazy, the valve covers WERE leaking (not sure why they have stopped leaking - yeah the oil is full - lol) and it needs front shocks and tires soon. Everything inside, lights -gauges, etc still work fine, but it still needs alot of costly maintainence. Yes, it would have probably been in my best interest to take advantage of this, but one, I cant afford a huge car payment. I dont like really small cars and if I bought something like an Accord, my payment would have still been something like $400 per month... cant do that. I would have had to get something like a Yaris, Fit, Aveo or Accent or maybe an Elantra in order to afford it. I dont think I would be happy with that... maybe the Elantra since its slightly larger. Besides, my mom has been wanting the LS... I have just been trying to get it in better shape for her. As far as my 1988 Mercedes S-Class, while I cant sell it for $4500, I would not trade it in to be destroyed... its still a really nice and reliable car that is big, comfortable and gets 20 mpg in town. I dont think there is a new car made these days thats built as solid as that tank. ;) Sometimes you have to do what you have to though... hopefully the Civic will suit you better. Enjoy.

I will definitely consider that. I may borrow my moms camera, so I dont get mine greasy, unless I put it in a baggy or something. lol. :) It will probably be Sunday evening before I get a chance to do it. I will have to borrow ramps from my grandpa and tools too probably.