amcdonal86

Please don't be insulted, but have you checked the trunk wiring harness? I know cars can be incredibly frustrating and difficult to diagnose. Don't lose hope!

You shot yourself in the foot by getting the car with the optional air suspension. As you have found out, those are incredibly expensive parts!!! If one is blown, the others will follow suit soon. I would probably switch the air suspension with the standard suspension--it's really still a fantastic ride and probably handles a little bit better.

Is there a vendor that sells Lexus interior accessories? I can't seem to find any except for Junction Produce (and their stuff seems waayyyyy overpriced). I'm not talking about high end stuff, just maybe a couple of pillows that have a Lexus emblem embroidered on there, etc.

Looks good. What % tint do you have on the windows?

So the EGR tube fixed it? That would've been my guess, as your engine in the video seems to run really loud (my '94 Miata had a broken EGR pipe and sounded kind of like that).

Are the strut mounts the part you see when you open the hood? I've got a 2000 with the same noise and I'm trying to make sure I order the correct part. thx Yes they are. Beware, it's a fairly involved install. If you don't have a vice, make sure you have a friend to hold the spring down while you compress it. Took us about 3 hours for the two front upper strut/shock mounts. I got my parts from RockAuto. They are Monroe aftermarket parts, but they are very high quality parts, in my opinion.

Awesome. Glad I could help.

Arnott Industries. www.arnottindustries.com http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_LEXUS...Parts_yid7.html

If the foggy windows are accompanied by a musty smell, it's possible that one of your door/window seals is leaking and is allowing water to accumulate somewhere in the interior.

Well, today was the big day. I installed the upper strut mounts, and the noise is GONE! I'm glad I did a little research and found that out what parts to replace myself. I hope somebody gets some use out of this thread! The install was a PITA! Removing the strut assembly is easy enough, but using the spring compressors (especially if you don't have a vice of some kind to work with) can be incredibly tricky. Also, the correct alignment of the strut mount (90º to the lower shock bolt) is imperative when you are putting the assembly back in, and is difficult to align while decompressing the spring. This is definitely a two-man job, in my opinion. If you are having creaking noise on cold days when going over large dips/bumps or are feeling like the suspension is slightly loose, you may want to consider replacing your upper strut mounts! (BTW, I celebrated fixing this noise by getting a speeding ticket, and also by washing the car! It's a beauty!)

I thought about this some more, and did a little more research. Respectfully, I still do not know where you are getting this idea that I ever suggested that there is some sort of alignment spec that cures "cross slope drift". But that's beating a dead horse! Anyhow, I started searching for videos about strut mounts, and I found an interesting series of videos about strut mounts, found here: http://www.expertvillage.com/video/12257_s...ts-problems.htm If you watch the video "how strut mounts case tire blowouts", it become clear that having bad strut mounts can severely impact the suspension geometry of the car, especially camber. http://www.expertvillage.com/video/12258_s...mounts-tire.htm I suspect that this could be the key to my steering drift on cross sloped highways. I am replacing them tomorrow, so I will let you guys know how it goes!

If it's anything like the UCF20 LS400, look in your owners manual. Basically, open the glovebox, remove the little cut-out panel, and that should give you pretty much direct access to the A/C filter.

Anyone have any idea? Also, don't I need a spring compressor in order to replace the upper shock mounts?

For this reason, I would never recommend K&N air filters to ANYBODY. They let so much dust in, and any "increase" in power you get is a placebo at best. I drove around in a 2005 Honda Accord V6 in high school and I changed out the air filter with a K&N. I thought it felt much faster, but then after several months, I changed it back and didn't really notice a difference. You might notice a slight change in sound, but definitely not performance. If you must use one, make sure that when you clean it and oil it, you do not use too much oil. I have heard horror stories (whether they are substantiated or not is beyond me) about people putting too much oil on those things and having the oil foul up the oxygen sensors.

I do hate trying to thread my body between two large SUVs with their mirrors out. Other than that, I would never fold my mirrors in. The car looks dumb parked that way and I'd probably forget to put them back out until I was already back on the road.

Well, I'm mentally preparing myself for replacing the upper shock mounts. I see that the ball joints are removed with a ball joint puller. I assume that since a ball joint puller is required to remove them that they must be hard to put the ball joints back in place. How is this done? Brute strength?

I'm not 100% sure. Why do you ask?

I would also be curious to know.

Well, isn't he right? Don't you feel dead when you drive it? I certainly didn't buy the car for its driving characteristics, but I love the way I feel in it! And I love the way my passengers feel, too!

What kind of fluid was it filled with? Hopefully the genuine Toyota recommended ATF?

I have 196k miles on the car - and yes, the poly-rubber type material manufactured at the time was pretty generic stuff, so 10 to 15 years is tops for the life of the material. So my LS is going to have a total poly-rubber-rejuvination experience this year! im replacing those ever pesky shock-bumps as well - to rid of that clunk on bumps syndrome. ;) What do you mean by "shock-bumps"? The upper shock mount? I just ordered a couple of those, but I didn't know if there was another part I also need to replace. Thanks!

How many miles do you have on the car? Seems like all of the rubber bits on the LS400 don't have a longer life than those of any other car (although on pretty much any car, rubber bits are toast at 13 years old).

Hi Alan, No harm no foul. Your apology is happily accepted. Sometimes my posts tend to be injected with too much humor and it is sometimes difficult to decipher the full intent. I've been accused of being too analytical and too direct. I'm sorry if my post sounded like I was making fun of your issue. On your car, any good quality alignment shop should be able to determine if there's anything mechanically wrong with the front suspension, and they should test drive your car after the alignment to determine if it tracks normal. One common complaint with alignments is the steering wheel is not centered - and that's annoying has hell. After a wheel alignment, the car should not be pulling left or right, the steering geometry is designed to track straight, and have some degree "return to center" feel. Crown of the road slopes can effect steering as well as wind, but usually just inducing a slight to heavy drift effect. Tires and tire pressure can effect steering. I have actually had a wheel alignment performed on my 4 wheel drive truck after installing new tires, with no pulling either way before taking it in. After the alignment the truck had steering pull. I was about to leave for vacation and had to adjust the caster myself and test drive it to finally get it to track without the pull. A reputable, quality mechanic, transmission shop, or alignment shop are not always easy to find. A brand new vehicle with new tires may be aligned according to the manufacturers alignment specifications and track normal. However, a vehicle with mileage may not end up with normal tracking with the factory alignment specs. At that point, a road test and adjustment to the alignment can be made to correct the steering. After having my front wheels on my Mercedes aligned, it pulled. I was told by the Manager that "they adjusted it for the crown of the road". I asked him which road and which crown, because I drive on many many roads and highways. In my opinion, that comment was just a lousy excuse for a poor wheel alignment. I ended up taking the car into a chassis expert and the owner said he had been doing alignment and chassis work for 30 years. He laughed when I told him my $50K car had been aligned for the "crown of the road". He drove the car for 10 minutes, put it on the rack, and had it fixed in 15 minutes, test drove it again to be sure. I've yet to see any factory alignment specification where the "crown of the road" adjustment is listed. If you have concerns, you might consider taking it back to the alignment shop for their opinion. Let us know how it turns out. Thanks Randy&Bonnie. I think I will get new tires first, and then see if that makes a difference (I need new tires anyway, if I tried to get an alignment right now, they would just harass me and try to sell me overpriced tires!!!). :) I will keep you guys posted.

killerFatty is referring to the "trunk hinge" wiring harness problem that seems to be incredibly common among 89-94 models... Maybe you have a loose electrical connection somewhere or a battery that is about to die on you.

Well, what did you find out? :) (My biggest pet peeve on car forums is people who post threads, get lots of suggestions, and then don't post the outcome. If you don't post an outcome, you're not really contributing anything to the knowledge base!)