monarch

What is the oil change interval recommended in your official UK Lexus Scheduled Maintenance Guide or UK Owners Manual? I'm talking about what the corporate Lexus manuals recommend, not what your local UK dealers or mechanics recommend.

I have not had good luck getting specialty tools from Kragen. Example: Kragen carrys the Powerbuilt Brand of automotive tools, but even when I provided Kragen with the exact part number for the Powerbuilt Toyota Valve Adjusting Shim Removal & Installation Toolkit, Kragen was unable to special order it.

First you have to loosen the hose clamp. You can use channel lock pliers or vice grips to compress the twho tangs on the clamp while pulling the hose away to remove it. It's much easier to get any hose off a engine if the engine is warmed up first. Auto parts stores also carry tools specifically made to loosen these types of hose clamps. If you cut the old hose off you should buy a new hose from a Lexus dealer or a place like irontoad.com. that sells genuine Lexus parts at a discount. Toyota / Lexus hoses have premolded contours and the rubber is uniquely compounded for strength and durability. Lexus hoses also use metric inside and outside diameters so a 3/8" hose from an auto parts store will not fit as precisely and securely. I would be interested in hearing about the method you used to loosen and remove the solenoid. Did you use channel lock pliers or a chisel or some other method to loosen it?

The Toyota Red has done a perfect job of keeping the cooling system of my '89 Corolla (built in 1988) immaculately clean and free of corrosion and mineral deposits for 16 years / 239,000 miles so I will be in no rush to switch to another product. The Toyota Red has also kept the factory original water pump alive and working well for all those years.

Changing the transmission fluid frequently is what Toyota Motorhome owners do to keep their overworked, overheating transmissions alive. Burned fluid loses it's lubricating ability and the resulting excessive friction is what causes transmission failure. Now with regard to the first generation LS400 power steering system, fluid overheating was never a problem. On those cars the fluid needs to be periodically changed and system filters periodically cleaned because they get physically dirty with debris. Debris you can actually see and feel.

Nope because it's an effective way to quickly put 500,000 miles worth of wear and tear on the suspension, steering linkage and suspension bushings. If you want to see what even rough paved roads let alone dirt roads do to a car or even a rugged SUV or Jeep, just go to Mexico.

That's like saying "I have to wonder if Toyota/Lexus doesn't trust their 60k mile platinum spark plug, then why are they shooting for a longer life spark plug (iridium)?" or "I have to wonder if Toyota/Lexus doesn't trust their 60k mile timing belt, then why are they shooting for a longer life 90K belt?" or "I have to wonder if Toyota/Lexus doesn't trust their 60k mile Type T-IV transmission fluid, then why are they shooting for a longer life fluid (the World Standard fluid used in the 2004 on up LS430)?

lenore, for 30 years, Toyota Motor Company has been making the most reliable and durable cars in the world. But throughout Toyota's history, engineering goofs have been occurred here and there, mainly, ironically in its luxury model lines. In any case, all the complaining in the world isn't going change a thing because Toyota has been extremely consistent in what it does - both good and bad. Instead of whining and complaining, Toyota owners that end up with engineering goofs should focus their energies on doing things to minimize the consequences of the goofs. In your case, that means changing the transmission fluid every 10,000 miles because the transmission cooks the fluid. Eight dollars with of fluid every 10,000 miles. Is that such a big deal? In my case - a potentially troubleprone 1991 LS400 power steering system - I have learned to periodically clean two filters in the system and periodically change the fluid in the system to prevent future trouble even though this maintenance service is not required or mentioned in the owners manual. I don't consider this extra service a big deal in relation to all the good the car has to offer.

Your power steering problems will never end unless these filters in the system are cleaned and kept clean: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/pscreen.JPG http://www.saber.net/~monarch/psclean.jpg For profit motivated reasons, many shops and mechanics would rather sell you a new power steering pump or steering rack instead of simply cleaning these filters out with brake cleaner. Search this forum using "power steering filter" and "solenoid filter" as your search words to get more detailed information.

Sounds fishy. Normal pump life is 10+ years / 150,000+ miles unless the car has been abused in some way such as frequent driving at or near redline or at 100+ MPH, street racing, that sort of thing. Some aftermarket antifreezes are also abrasive to the water pump seal.

Any car will detonate when driven at the speeds you drive. You wrote: "I USUALLY DRIVE WITHIN REASON BUT SOMETIME YOU JUST GOTTA GO 130MPH. THE CAR IS JUST SO SO SMOOTH IN THE TRIPLE DIGITS!"

What was the MSRP?

An iMac most of the time because the Apple platform is virus and worm free and because I can stand bloated, complicated, glacially slow Microsoft software.

This thread covers the air control valve in great detail: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...opic=6583&st=15 In summary, all 1st generation LS400 power steering systems need: 1. A new air control valve installed. 2. Periodic cleaning of the filter screens in the steering rack solenoid and power steering fluid reservoir. 3. Periodic power steering fluid replacement Following these three steps will help avoid power steering system leaks ( which are not only a nuisance, but can ruin the alternator and leave the owner stranded) and avoid wear out of the pump and expensive steering rack.

Just about all the major automotive forums have a troll or two that secretly works on behalf of a class action lawsuit attorney. Their agenda is to rally owners together to bring a class action suit against the car maker. That's how they make their living. Of course this is self defeating for the car owner because suits lower the resale value to the car and even in the case of legal settlements the car owners get no significant financial compensation. But the attorneys and the people that work for them sure do. Anyway, whenever you see someone chronically bad mouthing a car maker on an internet forum, consider they may be doing it because that's how they make their living.

I got a set of Assurance Confortreds for my '91 LS400 which are supposed to ride even more smoothly and quietly than the Tripletreds. At first I liked the Comfortreds, but then on longer trips I started hating them. While they absorb large, sharp bumps really well, they transmit every minor little road imperfection which makes for a constantly slightly busy, unsettled ride. They wander more too so the directional stability of the car has worsened. All this makes long distance driving more tiresome. Finally, the Assurance Confortreds have a high rollling resistance which eats 2 MPG. They ride quietly, but just a trifle more quietly than my old factory original Goodyear Eagle GA's. Overall, I prefer the old Eagle GA's. Next time I will get either Toyo or Michelin tires because they absorb all the minor road imperfections, thus providing a vibration free relaxing ride.

It was and continues to be an unprovoked, elective war that the United States is conducting in Iraq. The estimated death toll from the tsunami has now reached the same general toll that the US has caused either directly or indirectly in Iraq. The Iraqi deaths were not the result of some unavoidable natural consequence, but rather were accomplished as part of an intentional process. Tens of thousands of additional deaths in Iraq could be avoid if we would just cut and run right now. Likewise, hundreds of thousands of additional dealths in Vietnam could have been avoided if we had cut and run during the Vietnam protests of 1968 instead of waiting until 1973 to concede defeat.

If a Toyota / Lexus owner changes the coolant on schedule and always uses the factory original coolant mixture (50% Toyota Long Life Antifreeze + 50% distilled water) the water pump typically lasts 15-25 years or 175,000 - 250,000 miles.

Everyone can help the Thailand people by using the new Thailand oil filters! http://www.saber.net/~monarch/oilfilD3.jpg Look at the injustices the Thailand people have to deal with: Thailand villagers say wealthy tourists got higher priority Thu Dec 30, 6:41 AM ET Top Stories - USATODAY.com Ban Nam Khem, a poor fishing village hemmed in by expensive tourist resorts on the Thai coast, wasn't missed by the devastating tsunami waves, but its people complained that aid efforts are bypassing them. Sorawat Kraipao, 42, manager of a fish processing company, was bitter as he pulled what was left of his furniture from his wrecked home. He said wealthy foreign tourists had gotten much more attention - and help - than the village's Thai and Burmese fishermen. "Help? It was slow in coming," he said. "As for the tourism, the authorities gave that higher priority. Here it was quiet. The problem was everywhere, but they focused on the tourist areas. The people here, our lives don't have the same meaning as theirs."

If the existing fluid is pinkish or pinkish-brownish, you can change the fluid yourself. It's very simple: Drain fluid overnight by unscrewing the transmission drain plug. Measure the amount drained in something like an orange juice pitcher. Add the same amount of new fluid (Toyota Type T-IV available in 1 quart bottles from Toyota dealers) through the transmission dipstick hole. You'll need 2 to 2.5 quarts. Start engine and shift slowly through all the gears ending in park. Check dipstick fluid level. It should be within the cold range or between the cold and hot range. Adjust fluid level if necessary. Drive car 15 miles, partly around town and partly on the highway. Recheck fluid level. Should now be within the Hot range of the dipstick. Adjust fluid level if necessary. Repeat the above drain & fill procedure one or two more times if the old fluid was more brownish than pinkish.. No need for a "transmission flush" and no need to replace the filter unless the drained fluid color was blackish from being burnt. In that case, remove the transmission oil pan, clean the pan and magnets and clean the metal filter screen using brake cleaner.

Yes: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/psreservoir.JPG But access to the top most PS reservoir mounting bolt is tight unless the plastic cam / timing cover above the bolt is removed.

What solution have the Tundra / Sequoia V8 owners found? Has the noise ever progressed to engine failure? Or has it just been a nuisance type issue?

A metal cap wrench makes changing the oil filter a piece of cake http://www.saber.net/~monarch/oilfilD3.jpg

Another source of PS system trouble is a clogged filter screen inside the PS fluid reservoir. Remove reservoir and flush it out with brake cleaner. Air dry it then flush it out with Dexron auto trans fluid then reinstall.

Thanks, Rfeldes. On my '91LS400 the solenoid is mounted vertically http://www.saber.net/~monarch/solenoid2.JPG