Marklouis

...let it die.... -_-

I just replaced the positive battery terminal on my sisters black jade LS and i cant believe how easy and cheap it was! OEM toyota parts made in Japan are made so well, i cant imagine using any aftermarket chinese crap. I also replace her hood struts. after almost three years. Also Lexus of Pembroke Pines has some of the best prices (online)on parts around. Trust me i searched. They are very friendly and helpful and carry everything you could need. ALso if your missing a certain bolt or screw, they carry it! I also got that some PCV valves and the dealer part was cheaper than autozones!!

I got some wiper blade inserts and they were only like $4 a piece and covered in graphite(!) for smoothness. You just dont get that quality from anyone else. Especially at that price.

If you use OEM parts your lexus is gonna last forever!... kinda

sorry about the disorganized rambiling. I just love my cars soo much. Well i love precision, and quality and Lexus delivers. Considering the cars age and mileage its hard to believe its running so well. Now if i can take care of that oil leak...

still one of the best known secrets about these cars...people think the parts for these cars are like Merc or BMW, just cause it's a Lexus!

you just reminded me i need to replace my hood struts.....this is the longest i have ever kept the hood closed on any car. ;)

good choice indeed....all that discipline paid off for sure! i just hope others made the same choice as you, im sure you werent the last one he harrassed, maybe the police will catch notice of him.

Good pointers...should definately be pinned!

now at 202,000 :D totally missed the turn at 199,999 :cries: stupid cell phones!

The tachometer problem is not usually associated with the bad capacitors. Also, it seems to be common for both the tachometer and the speedometer to exhibit the same problem. Namely, they are slow to move off zero when the weather is hot.

The sticking tachometer and speedometer needles are caused by a lubricant which is on the stops where the needles rest at zero. This lubricant apparently liquifies when the weather gets hot and creates a vaccum between the needles and the stops. This prevents the needles from moving temporarily. You can usually get them to move by rapping on the dash above the needles.

The fix is to remove this lubricant from the needles and the stops. A Q-tip with a bit of solvent on it (window cleaner, perhaps) would likely do the job.

My 93 has the same problem. I just haven't got around to fixing it. My dash does get rapped on a lot.

how funny! had to smack my dash before i took off to Birmingham to attend a Chris Botti concert at the Civic Center. it was pretty awesome! B-hams concert hall Blows Huntsvilles away!

Good to know there is a fix for the Speedo problem!

...indeed interesting. i even read the Mobile 3309 .PDF on thier website - its seems specifically designed for the Aisin Transmissions...

...BUT! theres always a but around here :P i believe it still comes down to preference on what is most available, and how people feel about what product label they use in thier cars..even though its the same fluid.

If i was driving a clunker, i would definately use a cheaper brand label if indeed it is the same stuff.

but we are driving no clunkers my friend! i have to stick with what i know is a for sure thing, if Toyota slaps thier name on it - then i know for sure its good!

Great research anyways!

The 3K mile oil change isn't required anymore if you ask me.

To my knowledge, nobody but oil companies and quickie lube places have ever recommended 3,000 mile oil change intervals. My personal opinion is that 3,000 mile oil change intervals are a waste of money and resources.

My Lexus Owner's Manual Supplement specifies either 5,000 (typical short trip, stop n go driving, or "special conditions), or 7,500 if you drive distances greater than 5 miles and in temperatures under 90 degrees.

For those commenting on the color of your used oil, the color means nothing. If you really want to see how well your oil is holding up, send a sample in for a used oil analysis to Blackstone Labs.

fleets use oil analysis to dermine oil change intervals, but for the average motorist, oil analysis is too expensive and inconvenient. The cost of the oil analysis is almost as much or more as an oil change...

22.50 charge from Blackstone labs....

...and the color of the oil does have some signifigance, if its still clear after many miles, you have a very efficient running engine that does not have carbon/sludge/ash/metal buildup...however your additives life in the oil could be depleted and the oil still be clean. thats why its good to change the oil at least at 5k.

but if your oil darkens right away after a couple hundred miles of driving, but your car doesnt smoke or it doesnt have an oil leak, and your oil filter up to date, the darker color is usually remnants of the old oil and carbon molecules - no harm done.

also, here is an API rating guide you's motorheads can use.. B)

API_ratings.pdf

The octane rating of gas doesn't make your car faster.

The octane rating is the fuel's ability to resist ignition. So as to not "pre-ignite" in your engine, causing knock. That's why you'll see higher compression and higher performance engines generally needing higher octane fuel.

The 1UZFE however has knock sensors, so if you do chose to use a lower octane fuel, the ECU will !Removed! the timing in order to preven pre-detonation. Resulting in a loss of efficiency, and power.

Keep us updated on your plugs, and how they hold up ;)

exactamondo! ive seen many people put 93 or higher in thier car, which doesnt hurt it by no means! but it doesnt improve it otherwise....

...now back to the cheap power topic before another "fuel grade" discussion erupts!

you may also want to consider cleaning your throttle body also jaw5885 as jcrome and others have done, that has helped in regaining power as well.

the muffler delete does sound pretty mean and racey, but the straight out the heads would never be legal, and im sure most of the sound bandwith couldnt be recorded, making it sound absolutely horrible!! :(

speaking of the cap gasket.. I just put a new one on mine. I didn't have a problems with it, but I figured better safe than sorry.. The old one was VERY compressed.

...yea, its amazing how much these gas tanks pressurize, mine always sounds like a small jet taking off whenever i remove the cap to fill up! :D

Man! the 430 even took him off the line!! that was AWESOME SAUCE!!

is the transmission fluid check performed on the LS when the car is running in nuetral or park? i dont have my manual at the moment.

Interesting enough , i would wonder what a base line test using new plus gapped plugs would have yeilded also.

not sure would like to kno to, but of course the bigger the gap the more electric power you need, but tha ls400 is pretty good at burning all the fuel allready so to put on an msd ignition or any ignition timer to that effect would jus make the car that much better, although not much but wouldnt hurt... id wait till i had the fish kit on or alot more power before i decided to openem up and give it a longer spark, it generates alot more heat as well... i stay wer its pretty hot i wanna keep my car cool as possible. :)

...OK...do you think it remotely possible that when you side-gapped your plugs, and deburred them - that really you truly just cleaned the carbon off to show bare metal? therefore giving a cleaner, more efficient spark??

...now the MSD electronic ignition will truly give you a "hotter" plug, because it "forces" more power to the plug, that i cant deny...

as far as generating more "heat" in these combustion chambers, the cast aluminum alloy does a wonderful job of Dissipating heat, another reason why these V8's are a good candidate for turbocharging!

...now to see if side-gapping truly gives more power..

got an old lawnmower that cranks? it's ignition system is the same as your car but on a smaller scale...

pull your old used plug out, and reconnect to your coil - let it hang or secure it so you can se the plug gap easily..

..have someone crank the lawnmower while you record/watch the spark intensity in a shaded dark area.

now clean the spark plug and repeat. do the side-gap process and repeat again.

now if you dont have a new plug, for the sake of science buy one for 2-3 bucks - your gonna need one for your lawn mower any ways!

take the old plug off, put the new one on and record/watch the spark intensity.

do the side-gap on the new plug and repeat.

now you can download the videos and freezeframe the each process you did with the plugs and compare.

I know you cant record the actual voltage, but usually a higher voltage spark is brighter and thicker.

now you can come to your own conclusion about side gapping.

Science is so cool! B) even if it is shadetree science!

Oh my Gooooooood

no doubt lucky13...

all i can suggest synical is to use the search option in the top right header, there are plenty of topics on this subject...beware of overexposure!

what color is the smoke? what does it smell like? where is it bellowing from?

Make sure your gas cap is sealing properly also.....i dont know if the trunk wiring harness would be a culprit of this or not, i would still do a search on it anyways to be sure.

And you expect any less??

:D

lol! im sure it will be a keeper on my "favs" list. :D

2 different videos. (sound quality isn't great)

First is my Lexus -my stock Lexus mufflers

Second is me and my buddies Lexus -all the stock exhaust running it straight off the headers.

I love watching your friend text for 20 seconds. I wish I could get that time for my life back

Sounds horrible straight from the headers.

I need to get new vids of my system for you children B)

Thats what i've been waiting for someone to post...a true Muffler Delete soundbyte!

Tight tolerances and a well sealed Lubricating system. the results speak for themselves on these well thought out and well engineered Drivetrains.

I have rebuilt a few engines in my lifetime, and im here to tell you that most engines ive rebuilt only made it to the 90k to 150k mark and the compression is totally gone...and its usually the older american or even domestic engines.

after breaking into the Toyota/Lexus V8, checking compression at 180k - only 2% - 5% drop still well within the compression limits - i am blown away at the tight tolerances these motors were built...from the factory. my oil stays clear after 5k as well.

usually loss of compression is part of what gives oil that black color, among other reasons, it seeps into the combustion chamber past the worn rings, gets toasted, then comressed back into the lubrication process, this happens usually when the motor drops below 15% of the minimum compression spec.

These cars are easily capable of going 5k before changing the oil...i would say 7.5k is pushing it, but more for heavy footers. if your light-footed, this should be a fine interval.

Cheers to the Lexus engineers!!

wonder if they knew these cars would go this long with so few problems??

Have to wait till i get home to watch it :( i bet its pretty awesome though!

Flowmasters and also other high flow/high performance mufflers have surpassed the cherrybomb age, the concept behing the cherrybomb has been intergrated in the new designs of performance mufflers, eliminating the need for cherrybombs altogether! ;)

Flowmasters are generally keyed for American. Greddy or a brand like that would be best to go with for a car like this.

..Good point...i forget sometimes i am in a import, cause i use to never hear import and V8 in the same sentence...

Flowmasters are what i have on my 'stang. they have a good throaty tone. i havent heard what Greddy's sound like yet.

Flowmasters and also other high flow/high performance mufflers have surpassed the cherrybomb age, the concept behing the cherrybomb has been intergrated in the new designs of performance mufflers, eliminating the need for cherrybombs altogether! ;)

I thought there was a tutorial on this on that LS site, but I guess not. I did find this link on changing the mount...

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...nsmission+mount

I am going to attempt to change the mount myself on the LS, as I am ready to give the car to my mom. They are aware that the car will also likely need motor mounts, valve cover gaskets and address the PS pump leaks.

Forgive my ignorance on this, but I am wondering if I change the tranny mount myself, are there any dangers that the transmission could fall out if the jack was to slip? I read where the crossmember has to come off, but I am assuming that there are the bolts on the front of the tranny that hold it in place? I just did not want to go into this blindly and have the tranny squash me. <_<

just make sure you have something under the Tranny pan holding it in place, there isnt much pressure on the tail of the tranny....it will drop slightly though if you dont have anything supporting it under the Pan, may put too much "twist" strain on your other mounts further damaging whats left of them...

...personally for me, the more support under the car, the better! :)

Be safe! and post results...

A very simple changeout indeed!! im glad i did mine last month! :) just make sure yous wear something to protect dem' knuckles, my bolts were pretty tough to get off.