moosebeer

Thanks, I think that using the SS lines would be marginally more expensive than new OEM lines, I wouldn't need to change when I go to 4 pot calipers. I just don't have the cash right now to go to 4 pots, which would require rims, tires, and rotors too. My tires are good for another 20K. It looks like going to 2 pots is a step in the right direction until I wear down the tires. It's good to know I can bolt on the 2 pots without having to get 16" rims cause that would defeat the purpose otherwise I might as well go for the 4 pots if I have to change the rims too. I know you Lexus afficionados have moved on from the first gen cars, but I am new to them and can appreciate my 1990. Glad I haven't driven the 2nd or 3rd gen cars cause I might feel less happy. After doing the 90K service and tune up I'm into the vehicle for $4200 (tax and license included) with 99k miles, and the exterior and interior about a 7.5/10 and 9/10 respectively. You may understand when you learn my other vehicles are a 2005 chevy 2500truck (duramax), and a 95 mazda 626. Before that I had a 91 camry wagon (X took that one), jeep commando, 83 land cruiser, ford econoline van, etc... Cheers, Ed

I took the old girl for a drive yesterday in the rain, and I agree the single piston is not confidence inspiring. I checked the parts and the rotor part numbers are the same. But they offer a 16"x7" wheel part number for the GKK series in 1991. The wheels listed below apply to 1991 so will the dual piston work with the 15" wheels I have? 42611‑50010 UCF10; 15X6.5JJ, TYPE A:REFER TO ILLUSTRATION, RH 2 $460.31 42611‑50020 UCF10; 15X6.5JJ, TYPE A:REFER TO ILLUSTRATION, LH 2 $460.31 42611‑50050 UCF10; 15X6.5JJ, TYPE A:REFER TO ILLUSTRATION, RH 2 $458.42 42611‑50060 UCF10; 15X6.5JJ, TYPE A:REFER TO ILLUSTRATION, LH 2 $458.42 42611‑50070 UCF10; 16X7JJ, TYPE B:REFER TO ILLUSTRATION 4 $457.99 42611‑50100 UCF10; 16X7JJ, TYPE B:REFER TO ILLUSTRATION 4 $478.90

LOL i have dexron 3 with lube gaurd in it and have had it in there for 3 years...just got back from a 1400 mile trip....although type 4 is recommended by everyone here and im not telling u not to use it....but if u have dexron in it it will not cause the problems u r having.... I just checked with Toyota shop over the weekend and they said Dextron III was fine for my 1990 LS400 in fact they were going to sell me Toyota brand Dextron III. So other than using a newer formula synthetic the Dextron III should be fine for the first gen transmissions.

yep, any 95+ lower ball joint set will work fine. the early cars have a step in the balljoints that foul the larger calipers. the later ones will make a difference (slight) to the alignment so make sure to get an alignment afterwards. Awesum! I think I have all the info I need. I stillhave plenty of good miles left on the current set of tires, when they wear down I'll do the mod. I'll keep an eye out on ebay and craigslist as well as any recycle yards to pick up the lower ball joint set, rotors and calipers as well as rims if the price is right. Thanks for all the good info!!!

Was that the original timing belt? Mine is a '99 with 62,000 miles. My timing belt is past due by a couple of years according to age, but 28,000 miles short according to mileage. Everything runs and sounds great, but given that mine is an interference engine, I don't want to push it. Have you tried www.irontoad.com for parts? That is who I purchased parts from when I did my 60K service earlier this year; had the best prices I could find. I don't know if they have refurbished calipers, but their front rotors for a '99 are $118; pads are $45. Yep, original timing belt. If it were me I would wait until closer to 90K to replace the belts, assuming no bearing or water pump problems. I have seen stories on this site where folks have gotten alot more than 90K out of the original timing belt. I took her for a spin yesterday and it was nice. No worries about any issues, except the low coolant light came on, so I may have to add a quart of coolant which I lost in the process. I'll check out Iron toad. I'm going to wear out my tires before I do the brake swap, lots of good tread, and I'll have to get new rims and possibly tires anyway for the larger rotors and bigger calipers.

Thanks for that. I can get a pair of 2000 LS400 calipers on EBay for 250. I know I need to get the rotors that match that year or year series. I know Lexus upgraded the brakes in 1993 but are the brakes from 1993 same for subsequent years or did Lexus do another upgrade and change mounting holes, rotor sizes, master cylinder configuration, ABS computer, valving etc.... in any year after 1995. I assumed that LS 400 93-95 would be a bolt on to the LS400 90-92 years, but are the brakes from 1996-2000 also bolt on to LS 400 1990-92? The Supra TT's are too expensive for me, and I'm looking to upgrade for enhanced safety as my kids will be using the car. Thanks for any specific info and guidance. lexus changed the brake pattern in 06 with the 3GS series and earlier with the 2IS. also, the LS430 uses different bolt pattern for the calipers, so those are out as well. basically, the 95+ 4pots will fit, BUT you will need to either shave down a ball joint bolt or get some roll center adjusters (RCAs) to move them out of the way (has the added benefit of correcting camber on lowered cars and lowering the car a tiny bit further as well) problem is that RCAs are ~$400-600 from japan or ~$300 in the US IF you can find them. both the 1LS and 1,2GS have to this problem. The GS guys get cheap RCAs from several sources but they don't swap into the LS. supposedly using 95+ lower balljoints solves this issue on the 1LS. also, TT brakes don't have this problem at all. the 2LS calipers are actually thicker than the TT since the TT are either all steel or half steel half alum and the 2LS is a 100% aluminum 2pc caliper. thanks for that, I'm trying to figure this all out before I spend on any parts. I checked the part numbers online late last night and the steering knuckle is the same from 1990 to 2000 so I figured the 1995-2000 calipers would fit, but didn't realize they would touch the ball joint, and hadn't known about the roll center adjusters. it may be easier to use the 95+ ball joints as you suggest. Regards, Ed

I have a 1990 LS400 Burgundy in and out. It has 99,400 miles. The timing belt looked pretty good, for it's age. The ildler bearing was going bad and the water pump bearing was also making noise. I had to replace the water pump so did all the work noted. I finished her tonight. started right up, idled at 1200 and as she warmed up came down to 650. I changed the oil, and will put the under carriage shield on in the AM, wash her and take her for a spin. I just acquired the vehicle from a guy who has two places one in AZ and one in CA he would drive the Lexus when he came to CA for the last several years hence the low miles. He took good care of it except he did some dirt roads in it at some point and scraped up the underside and there was lots of seeds, sand and plant parts in the radiator and nooks and crannys. Not sure what he was doing. He replaced all the steering and suspension parts he damaged, and the steering pump has been replaced. I think he upgraded the AC to new stuff which became stock in 1993 I think. Hope you have fun doing your timing belt. It's nice how all the pieces fit together and make sense when you put it back together. My next project is to put 1995-2000 LS400 Calipers and rotors on the front. I have the single piston and want to go to the 4 piston front calipers. I can get refurbished calipers for $75 each, and rotors for about 135 each, and a set of pads for $55. That would be just under $500.

Too much, but I'm not a good measure on what it should take. I am not as often under the hood as most, and when I do climb under I do my homework and measure three times before I do anything. I would say for most it takes full weekend and that you should have all parts on hand before you start. Think about the tools you may need. I fabricated a tool to remove the cam and crank seals, and used PVC pipe fixtures to seat the seals (I think 1.5" and 2" were the right diameter) with a rubber mallet to seat them. To tighten the camshaft gear bolts I put the old timing belt on and the old tensioner, cause I didn't want to take a chance damaging the new belt, but if I were doing this again, I wouldn't worry about that and just use the new belt since it didn't stress the belt. Most guys wouldn't have worried about that, so I spend more time makin for sure, for sure.... I also cleaned up everything nice, which took more time than normal (blew out the sand from the radiator fins, stuff like that). Because I am doing this after work some nights I don't get to it. I still have to tighten the crank pulley bolt, put the radiator, fan, battery and distributor covers on. This should take a couple of hours this weekend. Fire her up, change the oil and take her for a test drive. Cheers, Ed

Thanks for that. I can get a pair of 2000 LS400 calipers on EBay for 250. I know I need to get the rotors that match that year or year series. I know Lexus upgraded the brakes in 1993 but are the brakes from 1993 same for subsequent years or did Lexus do another upgrade and change mounting holes, rotor sizes, master cylinder configuration, ABS computer, valving etc.... in any year after 1995. I assumed that LS 400 93-95 would be a bolt on to the LS400 90-92 years, but are the brakes from 1996-2000 also bolt on to LS 400 1990-92? The Supra TT's are too expensive for me, and I'm looking to upgrade for enhanced safety as my kids will be using the car. Thanks for any specific info and guidance.

I know the SC300 SC400 brakes swap with the SupraTT brakes, but I have a 90LS400 and want to upgrade the brakes at some point. Do any of the 1993 and newer models calipers fit in the 1990-92's? Any other makes like SupraTT or others which may fit would be helpful too. Thanks, Eac

That's good stuff, I just used those instructions to do my timing belt and water pump!!! I am still putting her back together late nights after work...slow going. I wanted to propose a change to instruction at line #47, I got confused here and decided to do it my way. Of course if my way is wrong let me know. Anyway here's how I did the installation of the distributor rotor and cap. 47) Install the distributor rotors. With the crankshaft pully at TDC, Align the protrusion of the rotor with the grooves on the distributor housing so that the left side rotor protrusion lines up with the #1 post on the LH distributor cap, and the RH rotor protrusion lines up with or about to line up with the #8 post camshaft timing pulley. Torque the 2 bolts to 34 in-lb (39 kg-cm, 3.8 Nm); see step 12, then press backspace to return here.

I can get my hands on a LS430 transmission with the improved gearing for cheap. Has anyone swapped out the first gen transmissions with a newer version and gotten around the mapping, and shifting issues? I imagine I'd have to install the computer module as well to achieve the optimal functionality. Is this a crazy idea or what? Thanks!