bossman

Bump!

I used a similar product on my 97 LS and it drastically changed the look of the front end. Much classier!

Sold!

Price drop - selling the complete set for $40.00 CAN plus shipping (within Canada or to the United States only please).

Email sent :)

Hey OmarG, Yes, likely won't fit your 95 - sorry!

still for sale.

shift knob is still available.

Anyone interested?

Anyone interested?

Hey LOC members, I've been cleaning out the garage and stumbled across this item that I no longer need - I may as well find someone who could put it to use. Lexus shift knob in dark grey leather with burlwood insert and chrome base. Total length is 3.75 inches. The diameter of the hole in the base is 3/8 of an inch. I am not exactly sure which Lexus model(s) it will fit - possible late model LS, GS and ES. Asking $25 CAN plus shipping (will ship to Canada and U.S.A. only) Cheers! Bossman.

Hey LOC Members, I was cleaning out the garage and came across these OEM front parking and turn signal lenses from my 1997 Lexus LS400. I had removed these when I installed clear aftermarket lenses on my LS400 and have since sold the car. These are in excellent used condition and might be of use to someone out there. Will likely fit 1995-1997 Lexus LS400. Selling the complete set for $60.00 CAN plus shipping (within Canada or to the United States only please). PM me if interested. Cheers! Bossman.

Hey aarman4, Yes, the synthetic oil is costly, but anything that keeps the baby running smoothly is worth it ... imho. That "light bulb in a coffee can under the oil pan" remark brought back some memroies. That old '88 Celica Turbo 4WD I had also did not have a block heater (Toyota claimed the engine compartment was too packed to be able to fit it in ... go figure). Anyways, I did have to resort to the light bulb trick on one occasion. That's when I found a magnetic base block heater that simply attached to the outside of the oil pan. I think I got it at Canadian Tire, but that was back many years ago. Something to check on though ... you just have to remember to remove it before you drive away ;) Cheers, Bossman

Hey aarman4, My 1997 LS400 always spent its time outside. Use of a block heater is a must here in North Bay during the cold winter months. I would also consider using synthetic oil as this tends to warm up in the engine quicker than conventional oils. The battery warmer is a good idea too (I had one of those on a 1988 Toyota Celica Turbo AWD I owned back in the day). But with a brand new battery, you should be good for guaranteed starts for 2-3 winters. I had my Lexus battery die on a bitterly cold December day back in 2004 ... it was like -40 C that day. Cheers!

Hey Lexusontario, I would go back to the lexus.ca website, use the Contact Us option, and ask them to send you the LS430 owner's manual that you need. I contacted them some time ago for an owner's manual for my 1997 LS400 that I bought used, and they sent the manual to me for free. The perks of being a Lexus owner. Cheers!

I bought my 1997 LS400 used in December of 2003. At the time, it had Bridgestone Potenza all season tires on it and it was a heck of a winter getting used to RWD (it did come with traction control) with that much horsepower. I got some nice 1998 LS400 five spoke chrome rims on eBay that summer and put my all season tires on those rims, and then put some Kumho KW-11 winter tires on the original rims. It definitely made a big difference, and I would highly recommend the use of winter tires if you are going to be using your LS400 in the snow. Also, municipal and provincial snow removal crews use a lot of salt on our roadways, so putting away the nice chrome rims is a must - but the original alloy rims seemed to hold up ok. As mentioned by various members already in this thread, I found my LS400 to have the most problems in deep snow in unplowed parking lots and side streets. I got stuck several times over the years in my own apartment building parking lot. Eventually, I would be at the mercy of the snow plow to clean my parking lot so I could venture out. With the amount of snowfall we get up here, I would constantly worry that I would get stuck somewhere. Living in Canada, I needed to find a solution to my winter driving dilemma ... so I recently traded in my LS400 on a 2003 Toyota 4Runner Limited V8 4WD. Sorry guys - I miss the luxury and prestige of my LS400, but I needed to get around in the snow! ;) Cheers!

I can confirm that dfkd is right on the money! According to the 1997 Lexus LS400 Repair Manual (page BR-16), the correct tourque for the two bolts of the front brake caliper is 87 ft-lbf.

For those of us further north, and out of concern for winter driving conditions, keeping the gas tank above half a tank is very important. As the temperature changes during the day, condensation can form inside the gas tank. This condensation (water) can get into the fuel line and freeze. This will then cause big problems for your fuel pump. During the winter months, I try to keep my gas tank as full as possible at all times.

Hey LScott400, I hear what you are saying, and do agree. I highly doubt changing the rotors out is going to solve this problem. But this is the route this dealer wants to take. I have a very good relationship with them. They wanted to go with the aftermarket rotors to save me $$$. They said that sometimes recycled metals are used in these aftermarket rotors, which might be causing the problem. So they are betting on a "lemon" of sorts, I guess. There is going to be no charge to me to replace these rotors, so if this is the first step they want to take in finding the solution, then I'll play along. They also wanted to save $$$ by not ordering in the shim and fitting kits. They do most of their brake work without replacing these items, and have had few complaints (so they say). I suspect that they will be neeeded at some point (I suspect I have original equipment and 10 years is getting up there), but what do I know. i just own and drive the car. I can press to have these items changed at my cost, which might eventually happen. I should have insisted on all new factory Lexus components on the first place. I'll be sure to mention the cleaning/lube and/or replacement of the caliper pins to them. In the end, the car does stop (which is the important thing looking at the big picture). But stopping quietly would be nice, too.

I've read this thread with interest as I am experiencing a similar problem with brake squeal in my 97 LS. Squeal is extremely noticeable in reverse only, usually when the car is first driven/started (or has sat for a few hours). I had new front brake pads and front rotors installed 3 months ago by my local Toyota dealer (no Lexus dealer nearby). The brake pads are factory Lexus, and the rotors are aftermarket NAPA. I brought the car back to them this morning, and it finally made the noise that the mechanic could hear. You know how it is ... that mystery noise that never seems to appear when the car is near the mechanic. After inspection, the calipers and brakes all seem to be working fine and the mechanic is claiming that the aftermarket rotor is already glazed, causing the squeal. NAPA has agreed to replace the rotors under a 6 month warranty. The difference in price between aftermarket and factory oem is considerable. But if this rotor replacement does not work, it is back to Lexus rotors. I did question whether the brake pads were installed properly (after reading about the LS pads being directional), and the mechanic assurred me they were put on correctly. I then asked why a new shim kit and fitting kit was not also put on at the time, and the mechanic claimed those original parts were working fine so there was no need to replace them. So we'll see if the replacement rotors do the trick. I am not completely convinced, beacuse I would think the squeal would also happen going forward. I am certainly learning more about brakes than I knew before, and this lexus forum is great for sharing this type of info. I feel much more confident in discussing issues with my mechanic once I have done my homework. So if the replacement rotors do not fix this problem, I will definitely push for the Lexus rotors, possibly a new shim kit, and the Permatex disc brake quiet spray be used between the shims and the backs of the brake pads. i just want my quiet LS back!

I had a similar problem of water entering the trunk and pooling in the spare tire well of my 1997 LS400. I was absolutely certain that it was a faulty trunk gasket. The gasket was removed and reinstalled with new adhesive. The problem returned. Further tests of spraying water from almost every possible angle at the trunk, tail lights, license plate screw holes produced no water accumulation in the trunk. What seemed unrelated a few months later (this past December) ... I lost all power to the Lexus built-in mobile cellular phone. This caused the stereo to be permanently muted. Fuse #33 TEL 15A was blown and water was again in the spare tire well. A very short time after Fuse #3 ECU-IG 15A blew, causing the ABS warning light to come on (loss of ABS braking system) and the automatic transmission to be locked in PARK. There weresome other side effects as well. Turns out (thanks to some clever technicians at my local Toyota dealer) that water was entering the trunk area through a defective floor plug on the passenger side of the trunk - they sprayed water into the rear passenger wheelwell and the water poured in. They re-sealed all of the trunk floor plugs with silicone and replaced the 2 blown fuses. Unfortunately, the accumulation of water over time and the 2 blown fuses led to my mobile cellular phone amplifier being damaged. The amplifier sits in the trunk on the passneger side. I checked the trunk today and it is dry as a bone. But I am still looking for a replacement mobile cellular phone amplifier. If anyone knows of a 1997 LS400 in a salvage/wrecking yard, please let me know.

I checked the 1997 Lexus LS400 Repair Manual and it does not give any specifics on how to remove the headrest. However, the owners manual indicates that there is a lock release button that keeps the headrest at certain positions. Once raised to the highest position, push the lock release button and keep pushing up ... the headrest should slide right out. This may only work for the manual type of headrests, and not the power type.

So I've found some free time to investigate this problem ... and it is getting bigger! I checked the trunk where the transceiver, speaker relay and noise filter are located. The area is wet! I trace this back to a problem I had back in July 2004 where water was getting into the trunk. I took my car to the local Toyota dealer and they removed, cleaned and reinstalled the trunk seal. Whatever they did has not stopped water from getting into the trunk - and before it would just collect in the spare tire well ... now it is getting into the electonics for the cellular phone. So I checked the enine compartment junction block and sure enough the 15A fuse for the telephone is blown. I guess water and electricity really don't mix. I stuck in a spare 15A fuse and it blew as soon as I started the car. Then last night as I was driving the ABS warning light came on, which I thought was odd. The steering also got very heavy, as if the power steering had cut out. In checking the electrical wiring diagram for this cellular phone, I noticed that there was a second 15A fuse located in the instrument panel junction box inside the car. Pulled this fuse, sure enough it was blown too. This ECU-IG fuse not only has the telephone on it, but also the ABS system, traction control system, charging system, power steering conrol system and shift lock. So I am now without ABS and power steering, and when I went to start the car this morning I was unable to get it out of Park (shift lock). I plugged in a spare 15A fuse into the ECU-IG, started the car and got it out of Park before the fuse blew again. I drove it straight to my Toyota dealer and it is sitting there waiting for service tomorrow. Had to put it back in Park to get the ignition key out. So once they get a new trunk seal properly installed and the electronics dried out, hopefully I'll be back to happy motoring.

Hi 1990LS400, Thanks for those tips ... much appreciated. I pulled out my factory repair manual (I knew this would come in handy some day) and found some diagrams of exactly what you described as far as disconnecting the transceiver. This should bypass the muting effect and restore the stereo ... fingers crossed. I still don't understand why the phone went completely dead, though? I have contacted my local Toyota dealer and they have a call in to a Lexus dealer (no local dealer - closest probably 3 hours away) to get me more info on what might be happening. Again, appreciate the info ... this board is great for getting good advice.