Marklouis

I thought the 2-3mm of crud was an exaggeration on earlier posts...but right on. I am 1/2 done on with cleaning my TB and intake manifold ('96 LS400). I could bare to try and clean out the intake mounted, so I'm taking it off and cleaning it, but a little more involved that I planned.

The other component that was FILTHY was the EGRV valve assy. It took a little while to get it all of as it was pretty crusty, but now its nice and clean again...she is going to be breathing so much easier when its all back together :-)

great job! feels great huh? :)

I will keep everyone informed. I am arranging a PPI for the black one in Florida as we speak because you never know. It's just what I've been hoping to find.

I hope you paypal me if it works out ;)

Reading the options those LS430's have it makes me almost want to just ride in the back seat of one instead of drive it...almost.

i love an opportunist! B)

Both front sunvisors on our 2002 LS430 have recently developed a horrible "squeek" which sounds more like an angry crow. The noise occurs with the rotation of the sunvisor on the plastic tube when the visor is rotated up and down either in or out of the clip above the inside rearview miror. I've used a silicon lubricant as far down the tube as the visor will extend without significant improvement. The noise does not occur with rotation of the visor to cover the side window. Only when the visor is rotated up and down (in any position, extended or not).

Suggestions???

Thanks,

HRP

Lithium grease will most likely solve your issue, and doesnt have evaporative tendencies like silicone lube. Lithium grease also now sells in a spray can with a straw as well. good luck! B)

The mechanic said the mounts look fine, and that the thump sound he heard sounded hydraulic related. He said it may have been due to a real cheap oil filter that was used affecting the oil pressure. Also, he was able to clean the idle control valve, but warned me that the cleaner could get on the little motor on the valve and damage it. Who the hell knows? He wanted to keep it over night to let it cool completely and test it again. We'll see.

Nope. Sounds like the wrong diagnosis, ESPECIALLY on the thump. Ask your mechanic how in the heck an idle control valve can "thump"? You have a bad, driver's side, engine mount. Whether if it "looks" ok or not, I know it's that mount. That is the mount that takes the weight of the torque of the engine when you accelerate. The engine wants to lean to the driver's side when it's under pressure. Simply put, after 14 years, it's leaned enough on that mount to permenatnly compress that rubber to create enough of a gap to cause the thump. I would simply buy the mounts online, and take them to a mechanic and ask him/her to install them for you. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting exactly what you just got, which is a mechanic with a lexus in his garage with a bad engine mount "typical repair on all cars" with the idea that he'll make some money off of you. Replace the mounts before spending anything on the car.

Furthermore, I would make damn sure he doesn't mess with that idle control valve, period. Watch your idle speed now, make sure it is the same as it was before he looked at it. Adjusting that thing is an easy way to make someone think there are bigger (and more expensive) problems with the car, than there really is. But, simply ask him how an ICV can thump, and please post up his answer here. I'd love to hear this. Is this an indi mechanic telling you this, or are you at the Lexus dealership?

Averona, nc211 is right about the thump. my 95 LS had the same issue, replaced the mount and problem solved...my old mount "looked" ok, but it was compressed and dry compared to the new one. this mechanic you are dealing with doesnt sound experienced with the technical repairs of an Lexus. like nc211 said, if it is still driveable, i would take it somewhere else, buy the new mounts and tell them to replace the old ones. trust us, it will save you time and money. good luck. B)

thats not good my friend. when it does this when you are driving are you able to overide it with the manual controls?? it shouldnt be a memory setting issue as that should be de-activated while the car is out of Park. has any liquid been spilled around the seat or console area like coke or tea?? it wouldnt take much liquid to soak into wire connections. it definately sounds like a short of somekind when all the systems are warmed up. hope you find the issue soon....i know that's aggravating. <_<

Easy fix, as my 95 use to do the same thing. Go to the hardware store and buy a roll of black, fabric based, tape. Now, open your sunroof and look for the two, small, black rubber seats along the front of the opening. Put a piece of that tape on top of those rubber seats, and you should be good to go! What has happened is that over time, those two, square rubber seats have simply compressed enough create some slack between them and the sunroof when it's closed. The tape will fill that void, and with it being fabric based, won't stick to the roof when it closes and opens. I did this, and it fixed it for the three years I owned it.

Awesome Advice! I will have to try that this afternoon. do you think the Tackiness of the tape is good enough? or should any type of adhesive should be applied? nice signature quote by the way. at the time, i was to young to appreciate the value of a good presidency....but that's a whole different Forum!

my 95' does the same thing, slightly annoying but i also jam up the radio a bit. it also makes an awful racket when i Tilt it back down....my guess is the groove bushings are worn, giving the moving tracks some slack...im hoping these small parts are replaceable! <_<

I would still consider a small inline fuse at the battery terminal end of the red wire. A maintainer or "float charger" will only deliver a small current so a 5 or 10A fuse will not be a problem for the maintainer but will protect you if the wire gets inadvertently shorted to ground. Better to blow a fuse than melt a wire and a potential fire hazard.

It’s just a safety precaution. It’s easy to get fooled that because cars are low voltage (12VDC) they are inherently “safe”. Car batteries store an enormous amount of energy and will melt wires and cause fires quite easily.

Thank you for your important input. I do have the same set up in Phoenix for my other car.

The problem is I do not know how to do it.

Any DIY suggestions?

Best

Chris

any auto parts store will have an in-line fuse kit that already includes the fuse. instructions are simple to follow - the crimp kind are the easiest to me.

I have seen some electric exhaust cut-outs. So it switches to straight from the headers (or wherever you decide to put it) at the push of a button ;)

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/__?_from=R40&a...out&_sacat=

But as I said before, it has a very unique sound, not like anything else. It sounds awesome.

good find! and cant wait for the Vids!!! B)

I got those suckers on clearance at mufflermall.com :D A nice generic straight through muffler to let the REAL sound of the 1UZ out B)

I am still at 2 1/4" piping, but now no gimmicky "Tru-X" pipe, and no resonators. Straight back to the mufflers. But pipes are equalized after the cats. Much better setup than before. (and done by a true professional) This guy is an artist with pipes I'll have to get a picture of underneath. Beautiful work.

As far as sound goes.. wow... this is EXACTLY how a 1UZ should sound. still just purrs on the highway. But when I get on it now.... WOW!! B) This engine really has a nice unique sound to it.

Videos DEFINITELY COMING SOON!!!!!

congrats on the modification! cant wait to see the Vids! so its pretty quiet at idle and on the highway still huh? ..as far as cabin noise goes i guess. i like that fact.

i really dont like exhausts on a car to sound like a redneck truck or wide open Harley Pipes just cruisin down the highway...too much noise for me.(even though i love the sound of Harleys!! but only on Harleys.) even classic muscle cars should just purr down the road till you stomp it!

i like my ride quiet for now cause my wife rolls w/me at times and drives it now and again when she travels...so when i get her an LS430, i may follow up on this modification for mine just for kicks....may even just install a couple of 2-ways right before the mufflers for that wide-open sound when i want it...that way i can keep it stock and just remove them at any time. B)

new bumb!! so...how does it sound now?? B)

congrats! very worthy of the price indeed....i still havent figured out why the blue book and other guys havent caught on to the sheer awesomeness of these cars yet, giving them a higher resale value! hope to get my wifes 04 LS real soon. shes gonna love that car!

Man wish i could find one here , i need rear upper control arms , parking brake shoes, and lower rear arms.

..Ditto on the Parking brake shoes...mine were down to nickle width when i first bought it... <_<

I am having my car repainted next week. The surface shows its age with many dents, surface rust spots and chipped paint. Normally I would never paint a daily driving car but I plan on keeping this car around for a long time and don't want it to start rusting out on me like most of my previous cars.

I got a lot of bids to repaint my whole car and bids to just do spot work and blend it in. Most bids for a total repaint were in the $4000-5500 range. To just fix the damaged areas and get rid of that god awful light green pin stripe most bids ran from $1000-1100.

I opted for the second option seeing as the majority of the car is in good shape and only certain areas needed fixing. Just for fun I ran down to the Maaco store in town to get a bid from them, and they told me they'd repaint my whole car for $1250, something about that sends out a red flag in my head.

you truly get what you pay for in paint jobs...and stay away from blend-ins! good luck and hope you find the right place! B)

Factory paint is like 7 coats plus couple clear coats, very high quality. Maaco is ok. Better to keep it same color it came in when repainting.

Not a good idea to spend too much on a paint job. Diminishing returns and all...

7 coats + 2 clear???? no wonder these cars are so heavy!

I know the filter is around $25 and the stealer quoted $220. I have seen other threads talking how easy to remove/replace it but not for the 91 LS400. Can you please tell me how? The last change was made by the dealer in 1999 for $145. Please do not blame me for taking so long to change but the car is rarely driven.

Thanks

ouch! i couldnt find no parts for a cabin air filter below a 95' on the carson-toyota site.

Heres what you do. go to the Lexus dealer with the service reciept you recieved from 99' and tell them you want them to perform this service again. i would use hidden cameras, use a questionarre on the salesman and have the news crew out there while the car was in service and bag em' hard!!!

Now if they had strut rod bushings for my GS.

Prices would help also.

so your GS currently has the Original Bushings? do you feel slop at high speeds?? ive used Poly bushings in my old Acura Vigor, and it really stiiffened it right up. corners were a blast to take!

my friend had poly control arm bushings and they were just stiff as *BLEEP*.

poly strut rod bushings arent nearly as bad, though they do squeak from time to time.

interesting...

ive replaced strut rod bushings on every car i had and it always made a significant difference - they play a vital role in chassis stability for sure! B)

Now if they had strut rod bushings for my GS.

Prices would help also.

so your GS currently has the Original Bushings? do you feel slop at high speeds?? ive used Poly bushings in my old Acura Vigor, and it really stiiffened it right up. corners were a blast to take!

great! no my hopes are crushed :cries: ...oh well...back to OEM shopping! im tired of the loosey goosy at high speeds...anyone got a good find on Rod Bushings for 95-00 LS??

Lexus dealers will sell you just the rubber bushing. I think I paid $45/each from Sewell. I have free access to a press, so I don't know what a machine shop would charge for this. I saved a good bit of money going this route verses buying the whole arm (for $115).

If you want Poly, they are out there; I see them on ebay all the time. More info: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=17449&hl=

appreciate that! B) i have access to a press as well, i may just go that route with OEM. if PureDrifter says the Poly's are a hard ride, i might as well stay away from that. my current bushings look so worn out, almost as if the resilliancy is totally gone out of them.

ehh, i don't really give them much credit as they have a history of not holding up on their dates.

So true. I think I remember them having a release date for Gen2 bushings back in 2005 or 2006.

great! no my hopes are crushed :cries: ...oh well...back to OEM shopping! im tired of the loosey goosy at high speeds...anyone got a good find on Rod Bushings for 95-00 LS??

thanks for the reply fellas, if they arent going to finalize the product, the least they could do is put "coming soon" so its not so misleading!

finally, have been waiting on these:

http://www.daizensporttuning.com/model/lexus-ls.html

really hope they will be available next month, as the site states.

ehh, i don't really give them much credit as they have a history of not holding up on their dates. i would however grab a set of steering rack and sway bar bushings.

polyurethane control arm bushings ride WAYY to freaking hard for the heavy-!Removed! LS.

I was afraid of that with the dates...so you have already tried poly bushings?? did you feel every bump?

finally, have been waiting on these:

http://www.daizensporttuning.com/model/lexus-ls.html

really hope they will be available next month, as the site states.

Just wanted to say how much this forum helped me when my 92 LS400 developed the red hot cats and no power problem.

I have only had the car for a few weeks and absolutely love the way it drives ( never had a V8 before) and I was pretty stressed when it died on me.

Searching through the forum I found the cause is often the left hand coil pack, and sure enough it was out of spec (6K resistance) I ordered up a second hand replacement and fitted it tonight, and all is well, and I know a lot more about my engine, not so concerned now about possible future problems.

Cheers

glad you got it sorted out! love the above shot of the LS, I can tell its a fresh wax job with the reflection of the apt. building across the street. B)

OK, weird and potentially scary incident today -

Two days ago I was driving and the battery light went on. Sure enough, things begin to slowly fail as I limped home. When the battery got too low, everything quit. I charged it for bit, then cranked it and everything fine, but battery light still on and all eventually dies, so diagnosed a bad alternator.

I get a rebuilt alternator, and limp into an NTB to have them install it for me. Thought everything works on the imp in, car dies in parking lot as expected when battery is depleted, so we push it into the bay. They ask me to puit it in "park", but of course the trnamission won't shift unless there's juice, so they bring over a portable battery booster and hook it up. Car starts right up, but no instrument cluster, radio or AC! And, no power to the transmission, or at least the transmission lock as it won't budge.

they went ahead and changed the alternator in the hopes that everything would "come around", but no luck. Still no power to the instrument cluster, AND still no juice going into the battery from the new alternator.

I broke down and took it into a reputable Lexus dealer, and he starts talking "wire block" and "Fuse Panel" and "fried cluster" before ever seeing the car. these are repairs I can't afford to do! the car purrs like a kitten after charging the battery, or when it's still on jumper cables - just not power from NEW alternator and no power to the instrument cluster.

Anyone with ideas???

they must have blown one or two of the fuse blocks when they hooked up the portable jumper to knock out your instrument cluster. take off the black fuse cover right behind the battery, and look on the very left side of the fuse cluster. use a flashlight to look through the tops of the fuse blocks and see if any connections are blown...if so, these can easily be replaced at any auto store. there are 10mm bolts holding these blocks in place, make sure you remove the bolts before attempting to remove the blown fuse block.

thats as much as i can help...good luck!

I wonder if it is only newer cars or the older with no vvt 1uz-fe engines.

Might have a lot to do with the electronically controlled valve timing, which frees up 100+hp by itself! 280hp from the 4.3 to 380hp 4.6....i would love to put one in my 95 LS just for kicks.