intellivised

Update: I added a little coolant, went to the movies, came home. Still the light coming on. So! I added some more (not a whole lot) and started it up in the driveway. Still coming on. Added a bit more (I've added about .5 L total, I bought a plastic container with a spout and measure marks) and took a quick drive out across town and back. The car doesn't seem to be overheating, it doesn't seem to be doing anything really out of the ordinary. The light just randomly popped on. Is this something that maybe getting the system flushed would fix (at least temp.?) Any thoughts as to what/where I should check? My reservoir is impossible to read - its borderline opaque! Should I add more fluid? Cap seems golden, no leaks. I'm kind of worried as I might be driving back east soon and want to make sure everything is as tip top as possible before I do! The plan right now is to let the car cool and watch The Simpsons re-runs and go back out and see where the fluid is at.

To all the great knowledgeable Lexus forum regulars I pose this quick question: Radiator light popped on for the first time in 1.5-2 years. I have a slow leak/burn off in my cooling system *somewhere*. Not too worried about it, the temp. gauge is doing fine and there are no real red flags, I'm guessing a hose got loose somewhere or I need a new cap. My question is: What ratio of water/coolant should I use to top off my overfill tank to get the light to go away? 50/50? I actually have a big container of the official Toyota stuff and a few gallons of distilled water I picked up at lunch. I'm going to do this after I get home from work. Regarding the ratio: I live in Wyoming @ 7000'. It's always cool at night and winter comes in October and it is brutally cold up here. Strongly considering a flush when I get my snow tires put on before winter starts.

Thanks for the info, jchrome. Next paycheck I'm going to swap for the OEM. I only paid $22 for my Fram @ the Checkers a block from my house.

OE Toyota's are popular, Mobil 1, K & N, Amsoil.....stay clear of Fram. Stay clear of Fram? How are the air filters? I just put a Fram air filter in my LS400 (it was the first one I found at the store around the corner). Should I think about swapping it out when I am able?

Wow - I'll say it again - this is a great on-line community. All the answers were great. When I got the carfax when I bought the car and looked over it with my Lexus tech friend, we could tell the car was maintained very well. It's had one or two age related repairs (Upper Control Arms, P/S leak, Timing Belt). There seem to be absolutely no leaks coming from the car at all aside from a few little p/s fluid dots from when the car needed a new pump. After reading everyone's input this is pretty much my plan of action: - Get the oil changed at the local place (very trustworthy) because it is due and I had plans to seafoam the car sometime next month. - Do the next oil change myself (I still need to get some ramps or a jack/jackstand. Plan on using Amsoil, going to make the big leap to synthetic. I'll keep an eye for leaks. I'm really interested in stretching my intervals between changes (I'll say it again - Laramie is COLD) and really giving my engine a good cleaning. Laramie is home to a huge mechanic/ASE school - I think Amsoil is actually easy to find here. We have a LOT of auto parts stores for a town of this size. My engine, sorry to say, seems to be pretty dirty. I did my first minor maintenance thing myself (air filter) and am getting more and more comfortable with my own repairs, hence the desire to seafoam the car. I plan on keeping the car for a long time so I'm willing to invest the time/money into doing things right. Getting synthetic into it, getting my steering solenoid cleaned and eventually I'm going to get new bushings installed. Thanks to everyone who answered - I really appreciate it. I'm really loving this figuring out my car and being more reliant!

Hello all! It's been a while since I've posted. I got my power steering situation on my '92 LS400 mostly squared away (new pump, going to get the solenoid cleaned in a few weeks) and now that summer has finally arrived in Wyoming I have 2 care and feeding questions for my LS400: 1.) Judging by the initial window sticker (and the oil changes I've gotten since) the car has gotten standard non-synthetic oil for it's changes. I'm feeling brave and have some competent car knowledgeable co-workers to lean on and want to start changing my own oil. I'm looking to change to synthetic (since I'm saving money on the change, I'm going to buy high quality stuff). Initial looking around the web I see a lot of praise for Amsoil? Is there any brands to recommend or say absolutely not to? Same question only with oil filters. Thing to keep in mind: I live above 7000' and winter here is murderously cold. Most places would call our fall "winter". It only gets hot in June/July/August, and then it still gets really cold at night. 2.) Can I switch straight to synthetic? The change isn't going to 'shock' my system? Near as I can tell the car has gotten standard oil so far. I'm still taking my first baby steps at doing my own work on my car. 3.) My hood struts don't work anymore. Are these an easy bolt on/bolt off repair? I've been using an industrial sized metal chisel (for breaking up ice dams) to prop things up. Where can I/should I get something like this. After looking around on various forums I've seen some negative things about Autozone replacement struts. The town I live in (Laramie) has a Checkers, an Autozone (or it might be an Advanced Automotive) and a local NAPA guy. I'd be more inclined to go to the local guy - mark-up be damned - mostly due to the fact that my grandpa was the local guy and usually those guys at the store are full of good advice and even better stories.... Expect to hear from me soon regarding suspension type things!

Do I need a new wiring harness for these - something heavier duty? I've been reading this is adivseable.

Ended up going to the Toyota shop and having the pump replaced. Cost me a little more than it should've but I... I have a lot more I need to learn before I really start tinkering around with my only means of transport. Upshot was the broke (it was old and brittle) the ACV so they replaced it for free. Going to a good local indie that specializes in foreign cars and will get the solenoid filter cleaned. I've already noticed that my P/S leak has stopped, hoping the solenoid getting cleaned will stop the 'sweating' issues I'm having and give me superior steering feel. My car is a bit of a struggle to handle on the roads around here when they are dry with the monstrous snow tires I have on it. Thanks for all your help - it is GREATLY appreciated. I can't stress this enough.

I think I'm going to do this along with Xtravisions/Silverstars (still debating). Where can I get the NOKYA bulbs?

Finally something I can help with! I've had this problem before myself. Part of the issue is it seems that the auto rewinder on certain high quality tape decks freaks out when there is a wrinkle in the tape or when it's a tape adaptor. This is what worked for me: Option A: As *soon* as the tape adapter becomes active in the tape deck, hit your fast forward or rewind buttons. Let it go for a few seconds. Hit play. All should be good. Option B: If that doesn't work try hitting the "program" button right away. The tape will start playing backwards and it'll trick the system. Certain tape adapters give a severely reduced signal on side b. Other options: - (try at own risk) Put the tape in on it's "Side B" and use a little piece of tape or two to hold the wire close to the adapter. Make SURE the wire is the opposite side the tape transport is on!!! Then when the tape starts playing - hit the "Program" button. - Get a different brand tape adaptor. Mine is a Sony that I got with an old discman. - Get a radio transmitter instead - I'd recommend reading reviews

I'm completely new at a lot of car repair stuff but am finally deciding to learn. I really want to try this seafoam thing myself but have a few specific questions. I'll send a picture of my engine along and maybe someone could tell me/help me with this? I plan on doing it in a few weeks. I do have something to trade! I'm a video professional/producer by day. I don't have my own camera but a lot of my colleagues do - I'm hoping to video tape the whole endeavor (maybe even in HD!) and post it up so newbies like myself know what they are doing! No promises - all my co-workers are busy people so it's hard to get schedules to line up....

Thanks for the info - I'm going to start hunting for some eBay ultras pretty soon! My friend works at a Lexus dealership as a tech - so I have a free source of Lexus bulbs for the 'fog' lights. I have no interest in replacing the covers to make them clear at all... I live quite literally 'in the mountains' and have to cross a mountain pass that's 8000'+ to get anywhere worthwhile - on a cloudy day clouds will quite literally sit right on the road and I've found amber/yellows to be great for neutralizing the fog and helping visual acuity. I was just wondering if there was a better bulb available for those specifically? Are there any tricks to bulb replacement that I should be aware of?

Does this information count for 1992 LS400s? I want to do this in a few weeks... but want to make sure I do it right!

First off - thanks to everyone who helped me with my p/s issues. I got a new pump (and a free ACV replacement - garage broke mine and offered to replace it for free) and I sincerely think that the solenoid filter might be so clogged its creating some pressure issues. I'm looking into having it done while I'm out of town - the garage parking lot will be a lot cheaper than airport parking areas. That's not the point of this post though... I recently had one of my front ambers out on my '92 LS400 go out. No big deal. I did a search of the forums already but couldn't find the post I've convinced myself I read earlier... basically I'm looking for info on headlight upgrades. I live in a mountain area - it gets dangerously dark in places around here at night. My questions are: 1.) Any info on a amber bulb upgrade would be greatly appreciated. I read *somewhere* on this board of someone who did such a thing. A part # would be helpful so I can go out and order it. 2.) The main headlights? I was thinking of going for Silverstars or something along those lines? Anyone have any positive/negative experiences to share? Anything I should know about before going in and replacing them? I'm eager to do so soon... Wyoming mountain passes at night are no fun with sub-standard headlamps.

I actually work for one of the world's largest stock motion video companies - I'm going to read up on this! All of our HD monitors we have are specialized CRTs - consumer HD televisions aren't accurate enough for the work we do at any elevation. Guests that come and visit us that are used to HD monitors in BEst Buy or their home are amazed when the see what HD *really* looks like. I imagine with less oxygen in the air it's more difficult for gas to pre-ignite hence the ability to get by with lower octane?

The drummer of my old band is one of the best mechanics I know AND he works at a Lexus dealership. He, however, is in MI and I moved to WY so that precludes me from just driving up to the dealership at close and taking a peak. His sentiment mirrors mine: Replace the pump and keep an eye on the fluids. He's going to help me get the parts and when I go back to MI in the spring I'm going to get some lessons on how to repair my own car. I really do want to start working on my car and learning - my main problems are that I live in Wyoming (very cold when problems I'm having developed) and lack any sort of tools or place to repair my vehicle. Where I live is actually home to a very large automotive repair college - sometimes I can't ditch the feeling I'm dying of thirst in the ocean, ha. Maybe I could trade one of the Wyotech guys some guitar lessons for letting me borrow their tools and some general tips.

Took it to the local Toyota dealership - they said it was indeed the pump AND the hoses AND the rack. This is going to get expensive. I can't afford any of them - but am stretching my budget to get the pump taken care of so I don't have to worry about the alternator frying (they said somehow I had gotten lucky up until this point). Any ideas as to what order I should have everything else done in?

Thanks for the great info wwest. I have a feeling the change in climate turned what was a minor leak into a severe one - this is something that really made itself known when the weather got really cold and stayed that way. I've heard that they train a lot of pilots here - they make them fly between Laramie and Cheyenne because the air is so choppy and its already so high up - it's a rough trip. It's why I fly out of Denver..

This is my first time post, and my first time on a message board, really - but after doing some reading through all sorts of old posts and getting a *LOT* of useful information, I thought I'd ask my question here... I bought recently - on the advice of the drummer of my old band & best friend and Lexus tech - a 1992 LS400. I just rolled 120K miles. I have since moved away (we were in MI, I live in WY now) and when I did he told me to keep an eye out for power steering leaks. Well, the dreaded power steering leak has happened. Have had all the symptoms (pump noise [fluid flush/refill took care of that], low fluid levels, bubbly fluid, that power steering smell). Wyoming winters can be especially dry and severe... I think it did my power steering pump seal in. The pump is leaking. I can't really tell if that is where the leak is coming from. I can certainly smell it! I'm going to take my car up to the Toyota dealership by the end of the week (The nearest Lexus dealer is... very far away) - but was wondering what I should expect? If it ends up not being the seal, what am I in for? What else should I be looking for? The idea of a rack job scares me... I can't afford it. Everything steers and works fine... Noises are gone since the flush... I want to get everything taken care of before I drive back to Michigan from Wyoming (about 1200 miles) so I don't have a breakdown in Nowhere, Nebraska. My friend will probably take my car in during my stay and do a full maintenance sweep - being in a band with a Lexus tech has its perks. :D Other indications: Last oil change I got the guys were nice enough to check for leaks when I asked and 'there was definitely a leak down there'. My specific questions, are as follows: 1.) Assuming it's a seal leak - can I just have the Toyota dealership replace the rings with one of their kits? Or should I replace the whole pump *before* my trip? If I go that route I'd like to get the part on-line and skip the garage mark-up... what should I get/where do I get it? Brands to avoid? In summary: If its a seal leak do I need a new pump or just a seal replacement? What other repairs should I expect to do? This is all assuming that it is indeed a problem with the seal. We'll see what Toyota says. 2.) I've seen a lot of info about 'cleaning the solenoid filter' to improve the power steering system performance/longevitiy. Is this something that is on the actual unit - something that would/could be taken care of during a re-seal? I'm not very mechanically inclined or really understand this. Any info would be greatly appreciated! 3.) Alternator. If the alternator has been leaked on but has not failed yet - is this something that 'could happen anytime' or have I dodged a bullet? The idea of a sudden alternator failure between here and Michigan scares me. Is alternator failure something that happens right away or not at all with a leak or something that takes a while to develop. I can't afford a new alternator AND power steering work right now... If the alternator was leaked on but hasn't failed - would a rebuild (a cheaper alternative) take care of it? The car so far has been awesome. It's only failed to start once due to a loose battery cable (previous owner has a system in the trunk and I don't think he did a good job of tightening the cables back up). I had all the fluids replaced and a new timing belt put on it when I bought it. My friend is really good about making sure I stay on top of everything - even now that I've moved. Also had the upper control arms (both sides) replaced. I'm hoping to get to 250K with the car... and hope to keep the repairs down enough so I can get some good summer tires - it's got some ridiculous Wyoming sized snow tires on it right now. BONUS QUESTION: I've also noticed that my car, since moving here, is sluggish. It just... feels sluggish. I was wondering if that has anything to do with the fact that where I live is the highest incorporated city in the U.S. (we are at 7000'+) and the fact that Wyoming doesn't have any gas available above 91 octane (I filled up with 94 in MI). This forum is great... any help or information would be greatly appreciated!