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Ok (reply is to 'Richard'). I posted that last reply before reading your post. Sounds good to me. Thanks much!

When I read things about people putting 'shrouds' on their alternator to protect from any power steering pump leaks, it makes me nervous about having some non-mechanic clean the engine, maybe gooping it up with something that might ruin a part and/or parts. A detail shop told me they would use a degreaser, etc., but would not be any more specific than that (protecting trade secrets, I guess). Anyhow, the engine is filthy from the gasket seal leak and I have to do something. However, I am not doing ANYTHING until I am convinced that whoever I hire knows what they are doing. I've learned from past experiences that taking the time to make sure it's being done right is really worth it.

I swear I do not see any dipstick...looked all over the left side...nothing brightly colored in any hue. I've seen dipsticks before (on older cars), so it's not like I don't have any idea what I am looking for. "Mechanic" obvioiusly not a career path for me. I can have Lexus check it tomorrow when I take it back to have them top off the coolant (and show me where the dipstick is). Sheesh. It was too cold to stand around looking for it. Even in LA (cold). Thanks all, for the feedback.

Will do. Thanks.

Anyone know whether a non-mechanic cleaning the engine can screw things up? I have soot everywhere from the valve gasket seal leak. I don't know who to hire to clean it up. Someone told me only a mechanic should be cleaning the engine, because stuff can get screwed up. Thoughts? I called a few detail shops and they say sure they can do this, not to worrry, etc.

obviously i don't know a lot about cars, but am making an effort to become informed. went to check engine oil this AM...opened the cap marked 'engine oil' but no dipstick was attached to cap. how do i check the oil? am concerned, as had valve cover gasket seal replaced last monday, and noticed yesterday they may have forgotten to top off the coolant (it's 1/2" below the minimum 'cold' mark on the tank that stores the coolant). i've never seen the coolant low before, so assume that's related to the recent repair. now am wondering of the engine oil was properly replaced. how do i check this? please advise! thanks to you all... p.s. car was cold and turned off when i opened the engine oil cap. the cap was off for maybe 1" or less. i was v. careful not to let anything -- debris, etc. get in there.

Thanks...I was trying to figure out how to verify that this is, in fact, a leak in that area. I guess I'll keep checking the power steering fluid to see if it goes down. Right now, it's not.

Ok, I appreciate the feedback. One of those links quoted a price that was about $40 less (if I'm reading it right) than the dealer's, so would have to figure in shipping to compare apples to apples. Plus, I don't know yet if I can even get them for a '94, through them. I'll check it out on Monday. Right now, I like the idea of shopping smart, so I don't mind making a few calls if it will save me even $30. The dealership here is fantastic (amazing service) but pricey too. I spend the $ with them where it's needed.

Thanks for the info on saddle soap (to the guy who said it was too harsh!). I had hired someone to detail the car, and instead of putting armorall on the tires, he'd put it on the seats. I had given him two containers, one with lexus leather care conditioner and the other with armorall. He doesn't speak great English, so I thought there was a misunderstanding. Anyhow, when I checked later, the seats were shiny (as if they'd been armoralled), and the bottle of armorall was half empty and the new bottle of leather care was still completely full. less than 1/8th of the leather care container was used. Get the picture? I then called Armorall, because I wanted to get the Armorall off the seats (the whole point of hiring him was to condition the leather seats!) and they said to use saddle soap, let the seats dry, and then apply the conditioner that should have been put on in the first place After reading this board...no way am I doing that. Will use some of these other recommended products. Thanks much!!

After an oil change and fluid replacements and 22 point inspection, was advised that steering rack had a leak and would need to replaced. It's not a crisis situation (they said), but advised taking care of it at some point. Since the diagnosis, I've been checking the power steering fluid levels and I don't appear to be losing fluid. If I am losing fluids, it's really really slowlyl. At the same time of this diagnosis for the steering rack, I was also told I had a valve cover gasket seal leak (which I've since had fixed). Question: How do I verify that I have a steering rack leak? Wouldn't I be seeing power steering fluid loss if I had one? Could they have confused the loss of power steering fluid (which they found when I brought the car in for service) from the valve cover gasket problem with the steering rack? Thoughts? Thanks!

Checked out those floor mat links. I'll call them tomorrow (Monday) to see if can get for '94! Their prices beat the dealer's. Thanks!

Ok, thanks for the info and leads. I'll check everything out. I was tending toward getting them from the dealer anyway, and now that I think about it, it was more like $125 than $185. I was only asking for the two front mats, and can't remember if I had to buy the whole set or not. Anyhow, more like $125 was quoted, but I can't tell you for sure if that is for two or four. From day one I've followed the dealership recommendations for maintenance, and no, I'm not a DIY. I know there are some girls who are into this (carchicks.com), but I'm really not one of them. I just want to take care of the car so I don't get stuck in LA freeway traffic Fear drives me! :o . Having said that, I've had to learn quite a bit just to know what the mechanics are talking about, because, as I said, the car is now 10 years old and I can expect some things to start happening. So far, knock on the dashboard, it's been almost trouble free. I think the most extensive repair I had was replacing the rear bushings(??). Then, recently, the valve cover gasket seal. Other than that, it's been typical maintenance, by Lexus trained mechanics. Learning stuff about the car (the web is awesome) has actually been kind of interesting! If something goes wrong, you turn into an "Auto Detective" ( Jim Carrey would be great in that role!!) and in the process pick up lots of other info. I now see why guys like to do this stuff, set up shops, etc. Because it's fun! Anyhow, I have one or two more questions which I'll put in another post. Thanks again.

Hi -- I'm a new member as well...just joined up today, after reading these posts and realizing I could get a lot of questions answered. I'm responding to your question about water accumulation in parking light compartment. I recently had a tail light (right side) that you could see water in after I went through the car wash. It would fog up and just stay in there for days before drying out. The dealership said the seal was shot and so replaced it -- no problems since with any water.

I'm the original owner of a 94 LS400, that I've maintained regularly and babied. It's got 66K miles on it, and (finally) a few things are started to 'go'. Recently had to replace the valve gasket cover seals. Everything's back to normal. But the one area where this beautiful car is showing some wear is on the driver's side floor mat. I'd like to replace the front mats only (no one's ever touched the back mats), and the current mats are in a taupe color (chocolate brown)..don't want aftermarket stuff or imitation stuff, and the dealer quoted me a fairly high price for new mats. I think they said $185? Might have been a little less than that. I've searched the web and so much stuff comes up I get lost. I would like the real deal -- with the Lexus logo on the mat -- so where do I go to find these at a good price? Not fake ones, but the real ones? Thanks!!

Also, if it's just a puff of smoke at start-up, that could be normal condensation and nothing to worry about. But if it 'lasts' then engine coolant could be leaking into the engine, etc...and you would need to have that checked out.

The web has a lot of info about what different colors of exhaust smoke can mean (blue/black v. white, etc.). Do a search and do some reading. Persistant white smoke (they say) is a 'classic' symptom of head gasket problems, but can also mean other things. If the smoke is coupled with valve clatter, maybe fuel injection timing is off? What I try to do is read up as much as possible, so that even though I still need to consult with a mechanic, I'll have a better understanding of the issues and can make informed decisions when authorizing repairs. You will need a diagnosis from a trained mechanic! If the smoke is persistent, don't put off remedying the situation!!