oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

This makes perfect sense to me. Fits with everything in my extensive experience in fixing things. I agree 100% that your suggestion would be very valuable. Either a wiki page, or a single-user maintained page would be a valuable complement to search.

The main problem with search is that it finds all kinds of junk on here that is not really edited for content. It works well if that's all you've got (it IS all we have now). But you often have to read through tons of posts with: incomplete information, WRONG information [how many times have you been reading through a thread and you see something that is just blatantly wrong, and still sitting there for everyone to read?], often people get the answer to their problem and never post a followup, and the searcher is forced to do the pattern analysis himself after filtering and sorting through this raw data.

These difficulties may seem trivial to true experts like Python or PureDrifter, but for non-experts, it is a real challenge.

But it is a lot to ask for someone to organize a wiki or condense all the information themselves. I've seen this done successfully on other sites where one motivated guy will make a page for his particular year:
http://www.odyclub.com/forums/24-199...ey-thread.html

Basically, he wrote it after learning lots of stuff about his car from searching the site. Lots of people respond with suggestions, thanks, asking questions, lots of other distracting, valueless information, and the OP will occasionally edit the initial post. It has been made sticky, and is often a good starting place for people.

Similarly, there are subject-related summaries like one here on the power steering system in the early LS's - nice to have everything edited and summarized in one place.

Pure Drifter has a really nice generation FAQ page with maintenance guides: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...ls400-faq.html

But that is not a Common Problem ==> Diagnosis and Solution guide, as I think the OP is directly suggesting. I think it would be great, and like him, I don't understand all the resistance here.

Edit - and another example of a problem with search: Arnott Upper Control Arms. I remember when people started using these a couple of years ago, there were tons of posts for a while on how great they were as a cheaper alternative to OEM. Now you see tons of posts on how they're garbage because they are doomed to fail quickly due to faulty design. Search finds the old ones as well as the new ones, and the user needs to sort it out.

LScowboyLS

unless your car has been in an accident, then whatever weird issues you are having, whether a CEL or any other problem, will be common on your year and model - this is common knowledge to any seasoned professional automotive technician

again, just as an example, I used to run the largest automotive air conditioning repair shop in the United States, and we could tell you what was wrong with your A/C with over 99% accuracy just by knowing the year, make and model of your car, without ever even opening the hood!

pattern failure analysis will blow your mind!

emarknot

I think the op has a great idea. But the problem is all the people who don't offer any solution other than "search"

I think as a community we are suppose to work together and help everyone out, not advise "search".
Granted, there have been many threads that have turned into a discussion and turned helpful, but as previously stated, most turn up dead.
I offered to reimburse a member the cost of an oil change of it didn't fix the problem......that post is dead.
I offered advice on a timing belt job, had a couple people tell me I was wrong. And one person who challenged me the most, was a person who doesn't even know HOW An interference motor works.
I offered help on helping re-wire a wire loom that got destroyed by a tire blow-out, just to have it challenged by a person who feels that it is ok to not do a professional job, just because you do it in your driveway.

There are some people here who feel that only they know what's what, and that particular way is right.

There is a member here to whom I am particularly fond of, not only because has offered a solution in some cases, but has also acknowledged other members efforts. Not only for a specific topic, bit offering HIS solution as an attempt to help....through an experience.

I personally have little to offer in regards to this post, due to the fact that I have had my car nearly a year, I bought it with 305k on the clock, and I have HAD to invest $100 to solve a braking situation. My only problem/solve post was for chassis flex, which was derived from the sc forum.

So i guess, my only contribution is this,
91 ls400...while braking, the fronts grab, then the rear. Very noticeable on the freeway.
Solution......ordered and installed new trailing arm bushings. Some people refer to them as lower control arms or even strut rod bushings.....either way, problem solved.

91 ls400....excessive body flex. creaking windows and doors over speed bumps.
Solution....re-torqued the front subframe bolts.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

rear trailing arms = rear strut rod, same part

rear lower control arms are different, they are what are used to adjust camber.

LScowboyLS

both of these have already helped me this evening - thanks a bunch!!!!

moat

I like the idea of this thread. I would like to summarize two items that I have dealt with in the past year:

1) Any 1LS or 2LS instrument cluster issues (black out, needle dark, fuel gauge, speedometer tachometer stuck at zero), these 4 guys will fix it for you with not too much money:

* http://www.mrwhizard.com/
* http://www.laspeedometer.com/
* http://www.bba-reman.com/uk/index.aspx
* http://www.lexusinstrumentclusterrepair.com/index.html

2) OEM upper front control arms are too expensive to buy at $1300 a pair. After reading all the posts here, I believe all aftermarket arms are suspect (e.g. Arnott, APX, all the China stuff). I don't know about Dorman though. The issue often is because the taper is too thin (the taper on that little rod with thread that comes out of the ball joint). My advice is to search for an used OEM arm to put it in your car. The going price is $50-65 all across America's junk yards. Search here and call them: www.car-part.com I found a good used LH arm on ebay and one RH arm at my local junk yard (both $50 each) and solved my problem. HOWEVER, VERY IMPORTANT: check and make sure the ball joint does not have play in it, and make sure the bushings are good as well. These two things are not hard to check. To check the ball joint for play, get someone to teach you (or find that page in the repair manual). In addition, I put the arm with the taper facing down on the ground, you can push it down and feel to see if there is any play in the ball joint. A little bit of play is ok. No play would be ideal. So, $50 does it, instead of $600 per arm. Stay away from the Chinese aftermarket arms is my advice.

Power Steering Pump and tubes etc ...

I am about to work on my PS pump related leaks. I have read a lot here on CL already. I hope someone who has gone through this already could write up a detailed summary for us. Not just the PS pump itself, but all the air tubes, that idle up vale (aka ACV), pressure hose, return hose, rack and pinion. Not just issues, but let us know if aftermarket parts are ok to use etc .... Because the OEM stuff is very expensive again.

LScowboyLS

has anyone figured out a way to replace just the ball joint itself in the center of the arm?

it doesn't seem like the metal parts of the arm would be worn, can we not somehow replace the wear portions of the upper control arms only?

moat

It is not possible replace the ball joint of these OEM Lexus upper control arms. They are not designed for that in this case. You could replace the two bushings on top if you can find them.