landar

I am wondering if one of your coils may be going out and giving a poor spark. Your distributor caps and rotors and spark plug wires should also be examined to see if there might be an issue. One thing you can do as a simple test, view the engine compartment at night in as dark a place as possible, to see if there are any sparks arcing between components or the engine ground. That would suggest wires. But if not, you may still have weak coils or worn out caps/rotors. Does the weather seem to have any effect on the performance? Like it runs poorly in damp weather but gets better as it heats up and dries out?

Being RWD, you will need to put snow tires on it to be safe. It is a night and day difference when you install good snow tires. I tried the first winter with all-season tires and made it through but it was difficult. Then I bought 4 new Michelin X-Ice tires and 4 spare rims because you do not want to be dismounting/mounting tires on one set of rims each season. That was a game-changer. The LS is very sure footed with snows. In Mass, you will need snow tires, so factor that in. Don't look at it like so many of my friends do who buy a FWD car with all-seasons and think they are safe in the snow. You should have snow tires on ANY vehicle in the winter because you also steer and brake with all four tires.

You might want to carefully read this post -> http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls400/743157-ls400-differential-rear-end-howling-noise-bad-wheel-bearing.html

Yes, I agree, Daffy. Lexus had their reasons for tucking the starter into the motor valley under the intake manifold and that is ok. However, where the engineering fell flat on its common sense face, was not locating the contacts in a more accessible place. Instead they used the run-of-the-mill starter with built in solenoid contacts when they could have used the old style of separate motor and starter relay located on the firewall. Lexus definitely could have done a better job. On the other hand, its a good source of revenue for the dealers. ;-)

So what you are saying Walter is this: All doors will unlock except the passenger door... unless you have the key in the ignition, in which case, they all unlock? And you confirmed all of this with the key in and then out?

Joseph, the Lex Tech told you that the upper, main shaft, 210 in diagram that Billy showed in post #10, is sloppy. And your latest video confirms that with the clicking near the steering wheel. This main shaft has a U-joint close to the steering wheel so that the wheel can be tilted into different positions and it appears that there is something binding or sloppy with that joint. The evidence is pretty convincing. At a minimum, the shaft needs to be exposed so that you (or someone else) can take a closer look.

Oh, so it is vibration rather than a real bad jerking? That's a big difference. Yes, I would now inspect your transmission mounts, engine mounts and driveshaft. Knowing it is vibration, I would give the engine a clean bill of health and focus on the other parts of the drive train. Try to determine if the vibration is worse under deceleration or very light acceleration around the 45 mph range. That info can further serve to isolate the issue. So, how much do you want for her? My wife would kill me, but I might know of someone who is interested. ;-)

Now boys....I know what Billy is saying and I understand your situation Joseph. I do not take any offense but keep an open mind to suggestions. Sometimes it is worth taking a second look at some area that you are sure is not a problem. Because, after a second look, darn if it is not bad after all. I have had that happen before. You are right...that not being able to see your car in person, is a big disadvantage for us on the forum. We try to do our best but it is difficult. I would also not make the assumption that if the linkage were sloppy, the alignment shop (whoever that was) would not have proceeded. I know nothing of this shop but it very possible that they put someone on it who just went thru the 'motions' of alignment. It would be very much worth it to have Lexus diagnose for $68. They know these cars well but so does a "good" alignment shop. Personally, I would not take my car to the dealer to have an alignment because I know of shops in my area that do nothing but alignments and some are very good. Others, I would not let them touch my car. Finally, I did not mean to imply that you should NOT pour $$$ into your car. From your first post, it sounded to me as if you were throwing money at this particular problem by blindly changing out parts, which is not really a good idea. On subsequent posts, it sounds like you were just taking care of long standing issues with your car, which is fine. My advise would be to research alignment shops in your area, find the best, and have them do a thorough check.

Well, Quack, if you are correct that RPM is not affected, then I would say the transmission is the culprit. However, you could be tricked with the RPM needle being dampened so that it cannot follow a quick stutter of the engine. That is what I suspect. So, the first thing that comes to mind are plugs, wires and caps/rotors. There are a myriad of other issues that can affect a 91, like trunk hinge wiring, bad ECU caps, dirty throttle body, Throttle position sensor....etc. But always suspect the 'simple' things first. When was the last time the plugs, wires and caps/rotors were changed?

With your symptoms, it sounds like it could be steering linkage. Check the steering box for slop as well as the linkage to each wheel. You have to get under the car while someone is wiggling the wheel to see how much slop there is and if it is excessive. You can also lift the front end of the car so that both wheels are off the ground, then grab the tire at the 9 and 3 O'clock positions and try wiggling back and forth. It should not budge, otherwise you may have slop in the linkage. With new tires, I would also recheck the balance on them. Maybe a tire belt is bad? It happens. You can swap front to back to determine if there is any change. Finally, a good alignment shop should have no problem at all inspecting and identifying any issues in this area for a small fee. It sounds like you have already poured a lot of $$$ into this.

That is amazing, Marc! Being a hybrid, how many batteries did you go through? Welcome to LOC!

Welcome Sonjia. Your symptoms are intermittent which usually points to bad connections or aging capacitors. It is really difficult to diagnose this issue without doing some testing first. Many times, it is trial and error. I do not know how 'mechanical' you are or whether you are a DIY'er, but you could begin by checking the connections to your dash and possibly checking the bulbs. There is a site that contains many helpful tutorials -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ In particular, there is a tutorial about removing the dash and may be a starting point for investigation. Perhaps a connector is just loose. Probably more than that but we can always be hopeful ;-) Check this -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/electrical/instrumentcluster.html Finally, you have a 91, so there is a rather infamous issue with the trunk wiring harness that I should mention. Usually, it manifests as weird dash behavior when you use the brakes. See this -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html

Here it is -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/forum/17-member-buy-sell-area/

Tim, You are going to need intake and plenum gaskets for sure. You may want new rubber O-rings for the injectors as well. With the car being so old, it is going to be easy to break little plastic connector latches and hold-down devices. Replacing the starter is one of the more daunting tasks on the LS. I think it is harder than the timing belt. Just take your time, take a lot of pictures along the way, be gentle with connections and you should do fine. We broke several of the plastic latches on the fuel injector connectors getting them off but just plugged them back in as best we could and it still works. Not a big deal, IMO. You might also want to thoroughly read this thread that I put together to document our experience doing our 92 LS400 starter replacement. Could save you some time and headache -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/79178-1992-starter-replacement/

Yes, as Billy stated, check the trunk wiring harness. This is especially true if things go weird as you apply the brakes. Here is a tutorial on trunk wiring -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html And, with the age of you car, the ECU capacitors are highly likely to be going bad.

Wally, that is what I thought you meant ;-) So, it does sound like it is the actuator not operating in the 'open' direction, whether just worn mechanism or sticking levers but...the door panel will need to come off. I do not have a service manual, however, I think there may be threads showing how to remove it. And no, you do not want to just go at it with your trusty screwdriver. A "Sawsall" reciprocating saw is much quicker ;-) LOL. Seriously, the basic way to remove the door panel is to GENTLY pry up the edges of the center wooden trim piece with a flat blade screwdriver. And it is recommended that you wrap some masking tape around the tip of the screwdriver to add protective cushioning. After you get the wooden trim up a bit, you will discover more screws that you can remove. Then there are clips at the bottom of the panel and throughout. I know this is quite general but that is about all that I know on this subject. I do not believe the LexLs site has a tutorial on door panel removal but you can double check -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/ If I find a site with door panel removal instructions, I will let you know. [edit] I just did a search and Billy is correct that the LexLs site has a tutorial -> http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/body/fdoorpanel.html

Yes, welcome Wally! I am a bit confused on your lock description when you say the "door will open". I think you mean the lock mechanism actuates(goes to the "unlocked" position). Is this correct? With that, I would try a simple test. Using the inside drivers side switches on the door, can you push up/down and get all door locks to unlock/lock properly? If so, then your actuators and levers within the door are working correctly. If not, then there is, most likely, an electrical connection issue.

That's one way to take care of the oil leak and brake light ;-) Hope you were not injured.

On the light, check your brake fluid level and make sure that none of your brake lights are burned out. You absolutely should replace the water pump when doing the timing belt. It is only another $50-$100 in parts while the the mechanic is in there changing out the timing belt and fixing the crank seal. In addition to new idler and tensioner pulleys, I would put in a new thermostat. The labor is the real cost in doing this job. The parts are not exactly cheap but you can probably get a complete kit(Aisin) with timing belt, pump, pulleys for around $250 or so.

yeah, are you going to install a new bearing in the used knuckle? It may be worn out too. Or you can take your chances. But after all of that work, do you really want to?

Based upon the ToyoDIY site, the part numbers look the same for the 94-98 (43211 for LH and 43212 for RH) and the pics look the same.

To get the knuckle removed, I think you will need to remove ball joint connections among other components. I do not know how much this OEM knuckle costs but bet it is not cheap. The cost is however offset with the fact that you do not need to get a shop to press out/in the bearing. Take a look at the lexls tutorial site on suspension component removal and look at the various tutorials. Although it does not specifically have one for the knuckle, I will bet you can glean enough info to figure how to get it off. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/suspension/

Oh, I just meant you are probably going to have to take the hub into a shop to have the old bearing pressed out and new one pressed in. I do not think you will be able to do the entire job in your garage unless you have a means of getting the bearing out/in.

Yeah that makes sense to be a wheel bearing because it intensifies when turning. You can also confirm a bad bearing by going around a corner and accelerating then decelerating(let off the gas). If the vibration changes considerable at approx. the same speed then it is a bearing. This because the weight of the car rides on a slightly different portion of the bearing during accel and decel. And I am presuming it is front and not rear? In any case, there is only one bearing per hub but you have to remove the hub and have it pressed out and new one pressed in. It is not an "in situ" type of surgery. Since this is going to be considerable labor involved here, I would recommend against an Az part. Go with a high quality OEM. Yes, it initially costs more but less in the long term. You will need an alignment when done. I would also recommend doing both sides while at it.

Justin, there are many, many posts on this forum and others debating oil types. Just do a search for 'oil' and you will have enough reading material to last you a lifetime. Here is but one -> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/30097-what-kind-of-oil-does-lexus-use/ The bottom line is that oils today are so good, you can practical throw a dart at the shelf (use a rubber tip ;-) and select your oil. As long as you get the proper viscosity(i.e.: 10W-30) you are good to go. Your owners manual states the correct viscosity to use for each season.