ramnozack

Does anyone know where to get a good used or rebuilt clock/climate control for 92' LS 400? The LCD display turning black seems to be a very common problem. I have checked with many auto-wreckers, they either don't have any left or are in the same condition (turning black). I had heard there were some retired Air Force personnel in California that rebuilt them.

PS: Given the number of problems, one might think that Lexus would step in and do a recall or sell rebuilt units, $800+ for a new one is a bit steep. thanks, bob

You can try ebay or you can go to www.lexls.com for a tutorial and where to buy the LCD screen on how to fix it yourself. I did and it works great.

there is a company called BBA reman. out of mass. and they have done a great job for 175.00 and a lifetime warranty.http://cgi.ebay.com/Lexus-LS400-LS-400-Instrument-Cluster-Repair-Service_W0QQitemZ230378839039QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessori

es?hash=item35a3a61bff

Ramnozack, sorry to hear you lost your Father and I can tell he meant alot to you. Stop a minute and catch your breath.. We are all here to help.

thank you, and I appreciate that a great deal really. he meant the world to me.you know they say you never appreciate your loved ones till you lose them,the paradox of life.we have conquered outer space,but not inner space.we have split the atom, but not our prejudice.we have learned to rush,but not to wait.more degrees,but less common sense,more knowledge but less judgment.that is the paradox of our life Rfeldes.you know life is a chain of moments of enjoyment.tell your family and friends how much you love them and do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life.remove from your vocabulary phrases like"one of these days" and "someday". every day ,every hour,every minute is special and you do not know if it will be your last.therefore enjoy it . my heart is full of love and I am peacefull at my soul.thx Rfeldes. I hope I did not offend you or anybody on this forum .thank you guys for everything.

Oh I see. I was thinking you said 2nd gear. Well, even 3rd at those speeds may be harmful to the engine. I always just leave mine in O/D. The only time I would not use O/D is if it was going up mountains for miles.

Well, maybe its just enough to see and not really burning enough to show on the stick and its only doing that at high speeds. Do you know if your valve covers gaskets are leaking or not? Sometimes they can leak a little and still cause smoke I imagine if oil is leaking out on those manifolds. Mine is leaking a little, but not enough to smoke. Only enough to smell it a little under the hood if the engine is off.

Oh about the tranny fluid in the gas. This has nothing to do with a Lexus, but I read the comment. I used to know someone that used to pour it down the carburators of OLDER cars with a carburator. It supposedly was supposed to free sticky valves, but they would also pour a little water down the carb to with the engine racing a little.

Hope all turns out well.

thx,no the car was in 3rd gear and I did not pay attention to the rpm at that moment due to my shock when I saw the smoke,and I keep an eye on the oil and it is not missing on the dipstick,it is puzzling.

yes,my valve covers are leaking alittle according to the dealer.you know I am going to take it to the other dealer we have in town.thx man

Wow - interesting.

First of all, I would highly recommend to start by not driving on the freeway without the car not in overdrive, much less in 2nd gear. That is surely not good for the engine and it only increases wear and could ruin the engine. One time I accidentally placed my car in "2nd" after turning in a dealer lot and obviously (as observant as I am :)), realized it was in 2nd (when I was at about 3000 rpms at 35 mph) and knew it was in a lower gear. I have never took my car over 3000 rpms.

I wonder- how fast was your engine turning in 2nd gear at 80 mph? 6000 rpms or more? :o I would change the oil, use the O/D and see what happens.

I have never investigated this problem, because neither of my LS400s (1990 & 1991), both with over 200K, never lost a drop of oil between the 3K changes. (Knock on wood).

Lastly, I do not think anyone was trying to be hateful or mean. On any forum, if someone types in all caps, it does tend to ruffle feathers and annoy. I do not think these people were trying to be hateful or mean. Sometimes it seems that way when you are just reading type and not a persons tone.

Anyway, I hope all goes well!

thx,no the car was in 3rd gear and I did not pay attention to the rpm at that moment due to my shock when I saw the smoke,and I keep an eye on the oil and it is not missing on the dipstick,it is puzzling.

yes,I do that once every month or two and I am serious, it does wonders .do not be afraid to do and you will notice a big difference in the performance and the responsiveness of the engine.my dad was one of the best mechanics you will ever meet.he used to overhaul his engines on regular basis every year and his cars and trucks are show pieces.he used to show me the condition of the pistons during the overhual and let me tell you I witnessed that my self. I do that on all my cars including my 06' ls430,my 90'chevy caprice and my wife's winstar mini van.it works all the time.another tip for you is the use of kerosene k-1 as a fancy name for charcoal lighter fluid to add to the gas tank to clean you fuel injectors,and if you do not believe me buy one of those STP fuel injector cleaners and smell it .I also use kerosene k-1 to flush my engine oil before an oil change twice a year.nc211, man you live and learn every day.my old man was one of the old time greats.he drove mostly mercedes-benz cars,some with carb.,some fuel injection.I am not telling you this out of my head,but no I have experienced it first hand.I wish he was around....................he knew a thing or two.you may be right about waiting.I will give it a shot.Iam working on this car for the value of it ,because I know it is old ,it is just the love for that car,of course I can always get rid of it and drive my 06' ls430 but why, it is in such prestine shape and I keep it that way. thx for the intelligent response. (check out my post on the thread dead tach) and let me know.

Currently I have a 1993 lexus ls400 with about 98,000 miles on it. recently in the cold weather my dashboard doesnt light up until about an hour or more of driving.(untill the car really heats up.) i called lexus and they told me that it is the speedometer cluster that is messed up and that it would be about $1500 to replace the dashboard...my question is, is there any place where i can buy this part and have it shipped to me without going through lexus? All the dials work, except the one for the gas tank.

check out my post on dead tach

I always leave it in auto and let the system do the rest. Jcrome where is the ECU connection for fixing the RPM gauge?

wwest is right on the money and there is no ecu conn. or what not ,read my post on dead tach.let me know.and you succeeded in figuring out the a/c problem.

okay guys, I am going to give you a very constructive advice on how to fix this problem.first remove the cluster and if you do not know how go to lexls.com and follow the instructions.then remove the face cover .first grap the tach needle gently and pull untill you hear a pop,again be gentle and do not ge scared.once you hear the pop move the needle clockwise untill it pops again then gently release it.now move the needle slowly counterclock till you sit it over the zero an on the dot and make sure that it sits right on the zero.to check your work move it gently say to the mark 3 then let go it should snap right back to zero,once you have accomplished this ,you are rock & roll baby.the same thing goes for speedometer.back light is not working change cap 212,after making sure your cathodes are okay meaning the bulbs.if not you can get them at a very good price from plano lexus,they are awsome as far as price goes.gas guage slow change cap 142.while you are at it change any bad or weak bulbs ,be the warning ones or the indicator ones such as shifter position.by the way guys the cluster lexus has on the first gen is the 1992,because the psb are so robust,where the 1993 and 1994 are made a little bit on the cheapy side.this job should take about an hour if you how to handle things.good luck and let me know.

please make a donation to lexls.com,this guy is great.may god bless his soul.

I've used leatherseats before on my 93 LS. Very nice two tone, tan with brown. A perfect match for the interior. They are very helpful. I added more padding as well as the new leather. AMAZING results! A lot of work but completely worth every penny.

However, lucky me, some lady about a month ago rear ended me and totaled the vehicle. I did the seats back in Oct-Nov of '06, so they are in pristine condition. Wish I could've enjoyed them a lot longer.

Now I have an '05 LS430 CPO 5yrs/125k. Really do miss my other car. She was my baby and I did just about everything to it. It was mechanically and cosmetically flawless with just about 170k. Had planned to keep it for the next 5 years or so before moving on. My luck I guess.

Also, even though this is my very first post here on the forum, I really appreciate all the contributions that everyone adds. This is a great site and has helped me tremendously while working on my 93 LS. I will miss her dearly. But if I can help anyone, to the best of my ability, I will gladly do so. Take care!

I feel your pain.hey,got pics and what have you done to the 93'.

okay,well I am going to do a report on the issue ignoring the phrase (sass). I went to the dealer and explained the problem and I am going to use the phrase as one member on this forum used they the dealer thought I was talking in a foreign language.they looked at me and replied that they never heard this one before,then they suggested a valve seal job which they said it would be at (28) hrs. of labor at 129/hr.did I mention the fact that I hate talking to them guys about complicated issues like that,because they strike me usually as incompetant and sadlly amature.reason for that ,I one time took the car for an a/c leak, the guy screwed up my compressor by forgetting to add some oil first ,after the evac. job.I do not know what to say and I am not saying that all of them guys are idiots not at all.then they told me that they would ship the heads for some machine shop to finish them.I do not know if I should trust them or trust that some machine shop or what not. I am willing to agree on the valve seals job ,it sounds logical ,because under high rpm that tends to create high suction thus resulting in some oil passing by the seal and getting sucked into the combustion chamber and then burnt.did not do the compression test yet ,for one reason only that the car takes off so incriddibly fast and performs so well on the highway it just does not make any sense to me that it is a compression issue due to some sticky rings at all.dog gone it.WTF

Come on kiddies. Lets wipe our noses, take a breath or two,

and get back to business.:whistles:

I agree ,personally all I wanted is some ideas from some good people who are willing to give one.some attacked me for typing with my caps on calling me names,some other kitty cats decided to join in the frensy,why you would say? I do not know,instead of coming with constructive ideas the kitties decided to attack me.I want to know who did I offend in this forum by asking for help and I even asked them to qoute the exact offensive lingo if you will that I used so I can go back and apologize.guess what none of them could.I do not get it ,all I want is some good well balanced answers without any nasty attitude.that is all.thx

my ls is 92' and I have 2006 ls430 17 inch six spoke wheels,with aset of bridgestones235/45hr17. man it rides and handles like a million dollar.in addition to that ,I did not have to resort to much bigger brake system either,it stops just fine and no excessive wear .

Someone else is going to have to confirm the lucas stuff for you, as I won't be using it. Granted, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything bad about here, but as a senior member with several years of activity on here, I can say that 9 out of 10 transmission problems that have come up on here, all seem to share a similiar characteristic...something other than oem "or amsoil" fluid in the system. I'm sure it's good stuff, but I'm too chicken to mess with it in my cars.

nc211,hey man ,you know what they say,you can not teach an old dog a new trick.lol

Someone else is going to have to confirm the lucas stuff for you, as I won't be using it. Granted, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything bad about here, but as a senior member with several years of activity on here, I can say that 9 out of 10 transmission problems that have come up on here, all seem to share a similiar characteristic...something other than oem "or amsoil" fluid in the system. I'm sure it's good stuff, but I'm too chicken to mess with it in my cars.

I agree. I used Lucas in fuel (not oil) and it did nothing and I have read some neg comments on it. Thanks and use what your wish as I will not be using Lucas stuff anymore.

if you were trying to get some results out of using lucas fuel additive to get rid of some carbon buildup ,I agree with you on that one in particular. I used it my self and did not see any results.The best stuff to use on this issue of carbon buildup is to dump one qt. of tranny fluid dextron with a full tank of gas,my dad used to do this and I swear by it. man it cleans the crap out of the combution chamber.I can hear nc211 going( good loving god man), but hey believe it or not.

thanks polite person ,but i need help here outside the formality issue.any ideas

You're catching on. We expect you to be polite and to respect our standards for behaviour and posting, otherwise you'll find little help. From your first post it's evident that you "expect" answers to your questions, and you'll get them, as long as your attitude stays appropriate.

As to the oil burning, it sounds very much like an oil leak being blown back onto the exhaust at highway speed, whereas in town the oil drips directly to the road and doesn't get on the exhaust. A quick look under the car on a hoist may show carbon on the outside of the exhaust pipes, indicating the leak has contacted it.

srk,first thanks for the response.as for the conduct course 101 that you are trying to give me,where do see that I was off base with any body on this forum .please note the phrases that I have used that were improper to your delicate taste. come down buba--------come down,thank you. do not jump on the ban wagon as they say and try to find out what is going on first.

cjmeyer,have no fear help is here. lexus of orlando------305 north semoran blvd,winter park,fl 32792------800-530-3584

man, do I feel a little better or what? you can tell I am a lexus geek.

ramnozack, I'm not knocking your method of flushing the fluid. Lexls has this proceedure on his website as well. But, your car is 16 years old, with 16 years of mileage and age. Pilot's is only 5, with an annual average of only 7,200 miles. That's pretty gentle. I can't saying anything about Lucas though, I've never used it. I know a few members on here that have though, and really seem to like it! But, I would be suprised if Pilot would need it at this point. If he's having to use anything to "fix" the tranny of anything, then he's got bigger problems than just dirty fluid.

Whatever path you choose Pilot, just make sure your end result is with genuine type vi toyota transmission fluid. That, I do know. It's pretty tough to screw up a LS, but messing around with aftermarket tranny fluids is a good way to, as it's been discussed several times. Although I do believe Amsoil full synthetic tranny fluid is ok, as a few members swear by the stuff and have had zero problems with it. Just ask mburnickas, he loves it! We've chewed on eachother's tails in the past about it, and I've always lost! ;)

nc211,lucas fluid (tranny fix) is not to fix problems they just call that,but it does wonders as far as luricating the tranny and help getting it cooooooool,and that is a major issue.use it and let me know. as far as the tranny fluid go ahead and use lexus fluid,trust me there is nothing to screw up here.my car is 16 years old,but you should see the way this baby looks and performs,i screw around somtimes with my buddies vettes,believe it or not,92' but it will rock your world.

If a flush and fill fixed your shudder shouldn't there be a chance it'll do the same for him??

A "flush and fill" is different from a "drain and fill". Draining only takes out 2 quarts, flush swaps out the entire 8.9 quarts. For most of us it's a lot easier to do a few drain and fills than try to flush the entire system (haven't seen a procedure for this yet!). Achieves pretty much the same thing though.

MATE,CHECK OUT MY POST ON PAGE ONE OR TWO ,I THINK.I HAVE COMPLETELY DETAILED IT. G/L

I have a 1991 LS400, I want to go bigger on my wheels, but I have heard going too big can mess up the cars suspension as well as other things. So I was wondering if anybody knew what was the largest I could go with out harming my car and also I would like to see a list of all or some of the rims that are able to fit on a 1991 ls400.

P.S. - I was not born with infinite knowledge and I'm trying to learn so please be nice.

I bought a 2006 ls430 17 inch six spoke wheels with that awsome lexus silver finish and had a new set of bridgestones,and it rides like a million dollars.you should see the look on that baby,it looks awsome. go for it.spend it baby.lol

p.s.//for you guys out there any used lexus wheel from any series or model OR YEAR fits any lexus from any year ,any model except ( THE LS460 THAT IS ATOTAL DIFFERENT BEAST).

Newbie here gang.Wondering if anyone knows of any good independent mechanics in the Orlando/Tampa Florida area.I would prefer an independent over a dealer.My 95 will be in need of a timing belt shortly.Thanks

Today I'm having an independent in the Orlando area change the timing belt on my wife's 2000.

Check with me in a couple of days.

Hi Dark Horse.I just had Lakeland Toyota change it for me yesterday.I also had them do the waterpump and both tensioners.Along with a fresh thermostat and replacing the cam seals too which were starting to leak.They charged a little over $1300 which I thought was high but they were convenient to me and gave me a loaner car for the day.I was nervous about driving it with the original belt on it.

Hopefully I can get another 100000 miles out of it and can complain about changing it ;) again

CJ,

I had a great experience with the independent I took my wife's car to. Real pros, did everything by the book and reasonable (I should know, I was in the business for 15 years). I will go back to them again, and recommend them without reservation (assuming they they are consistent). Let me know if you need more information. I am grateful to have found them. P.S. they offered me a loaner.

D. H.

d.h. what is the name of that shop?thx

Newbie here gang.Wondering if anyone knows of any good independent mechanics in the Orlando/Tampa Florida area.I would prefer an independent over a dealer.My 95 will be in need of a timing belt shortly.Thanks

dude I am thinking about moving to florida to the orlando kissimmee area,from the land of lincoln and you are getting me shocked already that the whole orlando area does not have a lexus

dealer.please tell me there is one.geeeeesh. by the way a toyota dealer worked on your lexus ,wow.

Pilotguy, until someone with a 430 can confirm to you the exact amount of fluid that comes out of the drain pan, I wouldn't do anything to your car. Although there are several good pieces of advice on here for you, none of it seems to be for the 430 specifically. In several ways, the 430 and 400's are similiar, but different in several other ways. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of 430 owners on here that are having to do services like this yet, because the car just isn't that old. There was one guy several months back who bought a 430 in Miami, and didn't listen to the advice, took it to some jiffy-lube type shop to have the transmission flushed. The last we heard from him, was that he was having hard gear changes "gear smacks", surging, and other problems. He wasn't very popular in general, due to some of his tactics, and SWO & I heckled him a bit, of which he didn't take to kindly too, and left with is his finger in the air at us.

I caution you with adopting some of the same methods used on the older 400's, on your 430, without confirming it first. 430 is a bigger engine, more power, so there could be some differences in fluid levels. I can't confirm either. But I do know how wonderful the LS is, when it's right, and how frustrating it is, when it's not.

guys, we are not dealing with an f-22 jet fighter complicated systems for the love of god .i have done this myself so many times you should see ,feel, and hear how my tranny shifts.listen dude ,just go ahead and do what i have suggested to you ,and ask the dealer to be sure about the amount of fluid.just keep in mind to flush the same way i told you and the entire system capacity,just try to read my instructions carefuly and your tranny will love you for it,becuase heat kills tranny fluid,so you better believe it to keep the fluid fresh and if you want to do it like me add abottle of( lucas tranny fix),man that stuff is some awsome crap and i use some engine stuff too you know by lucas,let me tell you i can hear that engine singing every oil change with mobil 1,k&n filter and abottle of (lucas engine oil additive) .if you do not like what i am saying .then just do not do it.if you do you will thank me.i have been doing it for years with no problems at all.i am saying this from an experience.good luck and do not get chicken or spooked out and remember what ( nike ) says just do it .10-4

FYI, posting in all caps is obnoxious.

thanks polite person ,but i need help here outside the formality issue.any ideas

BY THE WAY GUYS THIS HAPPENED A FEW TIMES AND SOMETIME I HAVE IT IN O/D, BUT HERE THE THING AFTER I SLOW DOWN THE SMOKING STOPS. I DO NOT GET IT.HELP.

hi, I HAVE 92' LS400 AND WHILE SOMETIMES DRIVING ON THE HIGHAY AT 80 MPH OR SO THE CAR STARTS TO SMOKE, ESPECIALLY WHEN I FORGET IT IN THE THIRD GEAR, MEANING WITH THE O/D IN THE OFF POSITION.ANY IDEA TO THE ROOT OF THIS PROBLEM.PLEASE YOU GUYS DO NOT IGNORE THIS, BECAUSE THIS PROBLEM IS DRIVING ME CRAZY.WHAT TO DO? I HAVE CHANGED THE ACV VALVE ON THE P/S PUMP.

Are you burning oil? How much are you burning per 1000 miles?

HERE IS THE TRICK,NONE THAT I COULD NOTICE,I MEAN EVERY TIME I PULL THE DIPSTICK OUT IT LOOKS GOOD.SON OF A GON.BY THE WAY DID YOU READ MY FIRST REPLY.THANKS MAN FOR THE RESPONSE.I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THIS ON MY OWN BECUASE THE DEALER CHARGES SOMETIMES MAKE ME SICK.