rob22

I'm 6'4" and I was originally looking at ES300s before I bought my LS400. I test drove some of the late 90's ES300s with sunroofs and couldn't fit, not enough headroom for me. I tested one without a sunroof and was able to fit. I think you get another couple of inches without the sunroof. Rob

Following up on this, I completed the work this past weekend. Went smoothly. Removing the strut rods (these are the rear suspension components, just for clarity) went well, the bolt on the yoke (carrier bushing) was the most difficult and yielded with some heat applied to the nut. The front was straightforward, no heat required, just some penetrating oil to soak. Removed the rods themselves and in both cases the existing bushings at the front were fine. Which is just as well, because it didn't look like the 5056TA components would fit. The OD of the 5056TAs measured larger than the bore of the eyelet by a lot, so I don't think I could have pressed them in. Bear in mind my car's a 1997 so perhaps the strut rod eyelet on the earlier models is different. Removed the old carrier bushings by tightening the carrier bushing bolt down on the inner metal sleeve, then twisting and pushing out the inner sleeve. Then back to the propane torch, heated the inside of the outer sleeve and pressed it out using an aluminum drift that I cut to 1.300" and a 2-jaw puller. If you're doing it this way, make a point of protecting the axle shaft boots in case you set any residual rubber on fire. These outer sleeves are definitlely in there, I was tightening on the 2-jaw puller pretty hard and they were only slowly crawling out. Installation of the 505s was straightforward. Rob

Yes, those. I can find them, I believe they're ADUS 505. The question is, do I need to replace the front bushing in each strut rod; the bushing that sits inside the eyelet? I believe it's ADUS 5056TA. The tutorial on lexls.com has a lot of detail on the ADUS 505 bushings but nothing on the 5056TA bushings. Do I leave them alone? Rob

Lexus newb with a question on strut rods/trailing arms/whatever they're called: My LS seems to wander a bit and I've been told that I need to replace the strut rod components (see attachment). I crawl under the car and find that I can twist them back and forth pretty easily. I've done the research and it looks like replacing the bushings is the most cost-effective option. The strut rod has an eyelet on the front side and a yoke on the back. The eyelet contains a bushing and the yoke fits around a bushing that sits inside the rear knuckle. There seems to be a lot of discussion (lexls.com) about replacing the bushing that sits inside the knuckle, but very little on the bushing that fits in the eyelet. Are both generally replaced during a strut rod overhaul? Thanks- Rob 97 LS400 rear_lower_susp_arm_comps.pdf

FWIW I just had my engine and tranny mounts done a couple of days ago. All the old parts were cracked so it was a good call to replace. The car seemed pretty smooth beforehand but now it's smooth as glass. The difference is felt in the steering wheel during start-up. With the old cracked parts there was a slight rumble felt in the steering wheel when I started up the engine. With the new parts there's nothing at all. You hear the engine roar to life but there's no vibration felt through the steering wheel. Spooky! Rob '97 LS400

Yes, I think it's the same 1UZ-FE as on the LS400. www.lexls.com has a good tutorial on this, under "engine mechanical". I don't think there are any strange tools that you need. A torque wrench, of course. A harmonic balancer pulley remover to pull the crankshaft pulley. There are some kits on ebay, do a search on "sc400 timing belt" I have about 180k miles on my LS400 and will be doing mine in about 20k miles. I'll probably replace: Timing belt Water pump Idler pulleys #1 and #2 Timing belt tensioner and pulley Coils (only because mine are original) Distributors Rotors I just did the sparkplugs and wires, or else would do these as well Maybe crankshaft and camshaft seals? Serpentine (drive) belt ...but if you're only at 46000mi (or km?) then I don't think you would need to touch it for awhile! ...so, which is faster, the SC400 or the TGV? :P Bonne chance- Rob

I did the spark plug wires on mine last month and I got 3 coil wires as well. Only used 2 of them. Check the lengths of the coil wires versus the originals that you pull off. You'll find that 2 of the 3 coil wires match, one won't. Rob

Hello- Bought a 1997 LS400 a few months ago and would like to get some suspension work done on it. Does anyone have a recommendation for a (preferably independent) shop in the south Bay Area that knows the LS400 and is good at suspension work? Thanks- Rob

Hey guys- New poster here, I'm shopping for a used LS400. Took a look at two today. First one didn't appeal to me but the second seems like a pretty good fit. Looking under the car, just inside of driver's front wheel, I can see a wet/dripping steering component which I assume is the gearbox. I've searched and am familiar with the P/S pump - drips on the alternator issue (don't think this applies to the 97s), but didn't find anything specifically on P/S gearbox leaks. I didn't pull the airbox and paneling so was difficult to see the P/S pump clearly. Could it be (1) a leaky P/S pump running down to the gearbox, (2) leaky gearbox itself, or (3) some other leak...seems like the bottom of the gearbox is a low point on the motor? Also, I noticed a difference in steering between this 97 model and a 95 model. The 95 model steering wheel was very light and easy to turn whereas the 97 felt heavier in the steering. They're the same generation, correct...should they feel the same? I prefer the heavier feeling, feels more like my 79 Benz but want to make sure everything's all right. Thanks in advance. Nice forum. Rob