Brian S

Hey kids,

I was a regular here several years ago. I sold my GS400 in 2002 and have somehow found myself in a 98 LS400. Nice to be back "home" in a Lexus.

I wanted to say Hi, and also was curious about a couple things:

- Any cheap place to get the hood hydraulics? (Walmart?)
- Any photo examples of sub installs? It seems that the gas tank is behind the rear seat, so I'm curious of any hurdles getting power wire back there. Also curious where you've placed the sub.
- How to smoke taillights. Where can I get this done? I'd love to see examples on 98-01 with smoked lights. Mine's black and I'm thinking it would look pretty slick.

The car's got 85,000 on it. I don't have a Lexus shop nearby, but the boss at the dealer I bought from suggested I change the timing chain, the oil, etc. and just drive it. Are there any other surprises I should be aware of for this car?

Thanks and it's good to be back!

Brian

persian451

smoking you tailights is easy man. You remove your tail lights from the car. Mask off all the vinyl and rubber shielding. Then spray away. Spray about 8-10 inches away using VHT Night Shades. Alternatively, for a lighter look, you can use Tester spray or Window Tint spray found at a hobby shop. Use as many coats as you would like depending on the darkness desired.

Good luck

SharpLS-96

Welcome back Brian!

For the hood you can either purchase them from here for $24 per strut.
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...98&catalogid=2

Or

Buy the Mighty Lift hood struts #95029 from Autozone for $15 per strut.
They don't come with bolts so you have to drill out your old bolts and reuse them.
Check out retrodrives website for how to exactly do it. http://www.cureline.net/lex/howtos/h...ood_shocks.htm

LexLS

Here of some photos of my sub install: http://www.lexls.com/pics.html

Brian S

Hey guys. Thanks for the welcome and advice. I'm getting a 10" Bazooka for the back and am reinstalling my XM into the Lexus. Another question though: is the rear seat setup similar in in 98-01 as compared to pre 98? I noticed Earl has a pre '98 instructions for removing the rear seat and I'm wondering if I can follow the same instructions for removing the rear seat. Also, has anyone found a better place to squeeze power wire through than the grommet on under the driver's side? I only have 12GA wire, so I'm hoping to squeeze it alongside some other wires higher up in the firewall.

Have any of you experienced a "lurch" sometimes when accelerating from a stop? It's as if the car is expecting me to accelerate quickly. It's kind of jerks riders back into their seats and is not very refined. Also, does this LS generation have an adaptive driving system that learns your accelerating habits like my 99 GS had?

Thanks,

Brian

Richie

Good to see you back Brain!!

persian451

yes the transmission has an adaptive system and i believe the LS was the first lexus to have it. Try pulling out the EFI fuse under the hood or disconnecting the battery. This will erase the ecu memory and bring everything back to factory settings.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Welcome back Brian!

Brian S

Hey Dave, didn't I buy GS emblems from you back in the day? If so, it was stuck on one of my computer monitors. For when I couldn't have the real thing, at least my computer was sporting Lexus.

Hey, what's the best advice for getting rid of condensation in the lamp housings? My passenger side blinker always has condensation. With my old car, I just drilled a hole in the housing, but I was thinking something more proper was in order. Any advice, or should I just poke a hole somewhere in the backside of the housing?

Thanks,

Brian

Suneet

Welcome back Brian.. I'm Suneet.. I also had the same question as you. What's the best way to route power to the trunk?

Brian S

To the trunk I believe there are two areas on either side of the gas tank where wires go through. It requires removing the rear seat. Thing I'm wondering about is how to get to the engine bay.

Brian

Brian S

Does anyone know if there's anything special I need to do to remove the rear bottom seats on the 98 LS? I assume just pull up from what I've read about similar models, but I found no info. here on my generation LS. Just want to make sure.

Thanks,

Brian

Higuma

The part numbers and link below at trademotion are for the right and left hood hinge..

The strut or "support assembly" is listed as $ 70.06 c/w ball joint....

babyGS3

Hei brian....

dang.. i didnt know you sold your GS. whoa... that was waaaaaaaaaaay back in the day. I'm one of the old members alll the way back to the ezclub version. u'r car was nice!... an inspiration for me... i see you've upgraded... hehehe. welcome back. welcome to the GS to LS club

Brian S

I noticed that. Though the "support assembly" seems to be for the rear. I've been holding up my hood with an umbrella. Though, it kinda freaks me out when I'm working under there and bump it and the hood starts to fall on me.

Brian