IS400

Worthless at 50,000 miles? Who told you that? You may be thinking about the old, old Corvettes, but the C5's hydro-formed frame pretty much guarantees that the car will remain relatively rattle-free for a long, long time. My 01 has about 32,000 miles on it and it rides as good or better than when it was brand new. I don't want to stray too far off topic, but since you are a C5 owner, here's some enhancement tips I compiled over the years:

http://www.conceptualpolymer.com/corvette_c5_corner.htm

Okay, back to the topic: Perhaps WWest can provide further explanation......

What buyers are willing to pay for a corvette, no matter the year, with miles over 50,000 goes way down. There are plenty of C5's 'verts in the Detroit Metro area going for under 30 grand. They are all high mileage cars.

Considering how much we spent out the door and in financing, that is a pretty heavy hit.

One of my friends has an XLR and he cannot get anyone to give him more than 40 K for it. 75,000 miles.

It takes almost 5-6 minutes for the hot air to start blowing when I turn my car ON in the morning. Is there any way to expedite this ?

Yes, actually there is....

So as to not discomfort you with a RUSH of still cold airflow most systems will not activate the blower motor until the coolant temperature rises to ~130F....

UNLESS you use the defrost/defog/demist mode.

But at the same time most systems will allow you to over-ride the "delay" but turning the blower speed up manually....

Additionally many systems will activate immediately if you set the temperatrue to MAXIMUM. But then this latter procedure will REALLY be discomforting as you will get the HIGHEST blower speed and COLD airflow ASAP.

One does wonder why, along with the adoption of the electric compressor, another $10 wasn't spent to put in a refrigerant flow reversing valve and have a HEAT PUMP.

I know I am just a girl, but the extra ten buck would not change the laws of physics would it? The ac draws heat from the cabin and vents it outside via the expansion of a liquid into a gas (refrigerant). So you are saying that if we reverse it and pull heat out of the ambient air and put it into the cabin we would get warmer? Aren't they both the same temperature when you start you car in the morning? Tell me how this would work. I'm interested.

BTW my 99 corvette 'vert has a HUD and it is great for keeping an eye on your speed while being followed by cops. I can't imagine why they follow me. LOL! My lex is to keep the miles down on the 'vette. They get pretty worthless when the reach 50,000 miles. Trying to keep her mint!

Steve,

Thanks for the ideas. I was looking around as you stated and did not find any frayed wires etc. I did find a vacuum line that was broken though. It comes from the power steering pump and tees at the intake. I capped it off and put a screw in the hose to keep dirt out of it. The engine rpm immediately dropped and ran smoother at idle. I have yet to try it cold again since I just finished the patch job. I'll keep you posted!

i saw that too! YESS my 93 is clunkin up front. I wasn't gonna fix it.. but for $200 i might as well! wohoo!

If you're clunking when hitting potholes, bumps, etc I would investigate lower ball joints first. Much cheaper, easier to install, and fixes the infamous 1LS clunk most of the time.

Just replaced my right front, and it took less than an hour from wheel off to wheel on.

And they are 55 bucks a pair on Ebay!

Pishta,

Where are you finding them for $55 a pair? I fount them for $89 at the lowest.

Start by sea foaming it.

Sounds like the throttle is sticking and not chocking the engine.

What is sea foam? Is is sprayed in the intake or put in the fuel tank?

Thanks for your reply btw.

C'mon guys. Someone must know of a sensor or injector for cold starts on an LS400.

Here is what these cold starts are doing to me!

Each time it takes two cranks to start. Both my own temperature sensors turn on!

Thanks Frenchy!

Here in the detroit suburbs I get yelled at all the time for driving a foreign car. Usually fat girls in dodge pick up trucks. It is amazing how many midwest girls cannot put down the fried food and go to the gym.

Love ya!

I put my car in neutral at long stops and flick it back into drive and no clunk. I think you guys are dealing with a design or assembly issue. I'm glad my 1990 is at least not embarrassing to drive passengers around in. That clunk and flailing around of the tranny during hard acceleration must be something your passengers really notice.

I hope you guys try returning your cars and see how that makes Lexus respond.

News Item "Flagship Lexus Sedans Returned by Owners" That would get their attention.

Thanks for the responses guys.

I believe it was the first or second year of the IS300 from what he said. Don't quote me, but I think all the IS's that looked like speed racer honda accords had the same wheels. 2001 sounds right to me but I am guessing.

When we put on the wheels they fit like magic at first. Snugged up nice with no rubbing. Stock IS300 tires. 17's of course.

After driving around for a while I heard a click once and a while while making slow speed turns. I had racing pads on at the time and thought it was just the pads recentering. Took them off and put on semi metalics and the click was still there once and a while.

My friend was perplexed and just yanked hard on the front wheel once while trying to work it out in his head and I heard a faint click. That was when we got ten stainless steel washers from the hardware store and drilled them out to fit the wheel studs. I put a small dab of anti seize on them where they met the wheel for insurance too.

Torqued them up and never heard the click again. Steering felt a little tighter also. Must be just a small gap because otherwise the wheel would have vibrated if it had been much more.

The rears have never made a sound and I did not feel the need to shim them.

Retorque the nuts after a few days to be safe. I don't want anyone to get hurt from seeing what I did and trying it on their cars.

To me the five spoke really wakes up the lines of the car and keeps me happy driving an older body style.

Thanks ford212.809. My mom thinks it is a new car with the wheels. It is neat seeing the look on other sedan owners faces when they see the lexus center cap. "Those were stock for LS400's?" I just say yes and keep it up until they figure out they are off an IS300. Guys are so gullible! Later everyone!

The fed government has tested the K&N filter for increasing milage and it found no cost benefit for installing one. In essence they said it was a marketing ploy and not really doing much for you based on how expensive they are.

That combined with the sensistivity of re oiling and maybe missing a patch that lets fine dirt in, makes me wonder if they would be more damaging than anything. Air always finds the least resistance area when it flows. That is the area with the least oil and the least filtering ability. Sound logical?

I tried a friend's IS wheels on my 1990 LS400 after he went the aftermarket route. Since they fit, he let me have them. No problems. Thin shim on fronts and they look stock. Let me know what you think.

Just figured out how to post the pic. Sorry for the delay, I'm a girl and blonde!

My 1990 LS takes two cranks of the starter to come to life when it sits enough to cool off. During very hot days it starts on the first crank. Is there a sensor or solenoid that adds extra fuel when it is cold? Other than this, the engine runs perfectly for its age.

I just bought a Hirschmann aftermarket and will be replacing it this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes. They require a bit of cutting and splicing but I imagine that is going to be true with most aftermarkets.

I just realized that the antenna goes up more on FM2 more so than FM1, thats pretty cool. Makes alot of sense, but it would be real cool if it went up and down according to what freq you were on...

It is supposed to go up a varying amount based on the signal strength.

If you end up having to replace it, I got a part on eBay for about $25. It's just the antenna and the long plastic gear thing as the most common failure is that the plastic gear thing breaks. You have to get the old broken piece out and then feed this in. There are threads about doing this.

Joe

I replaced mine with an internet aftermarket piece and it failed a few months later. Same grinding and failure to wind down all the way. Three-four attempts at each shut down to get it flush with the fender. I disconnected the lead since I rarely use regular radio anymore and rely on satellite and cd's.

I tried a friend's IS wheels on my 1990 LS400 after he went the aftermarket route. Since they fit, he let me have them. No problems. Thin shim on fronts and they look stock. Let me know what you think.

1990 LS400 with 225,000 miles plus. I've always run regular 87 octane. No problems. The difference in driving style and conditions do not warrant the cost during city driving. (Mine) If I were to take it on a highway trip I might used premium, but probably not, since I'd be at cruising rpms the entire time in overdrive.

High octane was needed before computer management IMO. I spent 20 years tuning my carbs for spring and winter driving. The lexus does that all on its own.