propman

just joined the club, this is my first post.......my starter clicks once in a while and wont crank. when you watch the dome light, you can tell the solinoid is engageing and the contacts are at fault. all data says its a 4.6 hour job. i didnt want to replace it with a $100 cheap new one, so i ordered a bosch reman for it. i figure if its that much work, i dont want to do it a 2nd time.

any tips on doing this job? im a little nearvous about doing the job, but i do have talent. also what other parts or what gaskets are required? its a gold loaded ls 400 with nav and telephone that will never get used. i paid $5900 a year ago with 128k on it. what a great car! its fast, and im getting 21 to 22 around town with 87 or 92 makes no difference.

im a snow bird and spend the winter in florida. i put a hitch on it and will tow my harley on a single alluminum trailer. that rig should be about 1200 lbs. im sure the ls will tow it fine. any comments on towing ? thanks all jimmy <")))))><

RugbyDad

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...00-brutal.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...ry-by-bdr.html

Those are good places to start to see if you even want and are mechanically inclined enough to do the job.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Personally I went with the Denso reman since they are the OEM for the starter but if your comfortable with Bosch that's cool. I also took the manifold out as one piece instead of separating the upper and lower parts. Make sure you get the 2 gaskets for the coolant bridge in the back of the engine since you have to remove it to get to the starter bolts. I used needle nose pliers to get the injector connectors off and did not break any of them but take your time.

python

iTrader: (4)

good luck

dicer

As far as reman, do we really know if they are not farmed to a sub contractor that does such things?
I did a cheap O Riellys starter either 4 or 5 years ago on a 90, and its still going strong. As far as we know that starter was done at the same rebuilder a denso or what ever was done at. Even a new one from Lexus maybe made in china. We really don't know for sure where it all comes from.
And 4.6 hour job. Yes for someone that does them everyday and has the correct tools and shop equipment to do it. For most of us the simplest things are a major deal, especially with no shop lift.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

true, i've seen OEM parts reman'd by a third party. after rework the part looks OEM with labels on the outside but the internals are all non-OEM. it all depends on the rebuilder.

we should list what good starter remans are out there, location or website. a brand might not suffice.

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

I got mines here.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

my young nephew (46) does all my work now, and he has worked on 5 starter jobs but has never replaced the starter, just the solenoid contacts (two were mine) he said the actual starter will last forever...

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Mines sure did not last forever. While the contacts will solve the problem most of the time you also might need to replace the solenoid which was the case with me. I felt it was more prudent to just get a reman being that my car was down a couple days already. I sure wish changing the contacts would have worked because it was a $20 fix.

jerryparks

iTrader: (1)

Its more like 3-4 hours each over a couple days--takes a lot of patience. Its not worth the risk to just change the contacts. I replaced mine on a '92 LS 6 months ago with a Autozone for $ 110.00. Works great. You want to eliminate any failure risks in fixing this problem -- you don't want to end up tearing down again to refix your problem because of just changing the bare minimum parts.

randal

Propman, I think the LS will be fine for towing if you keep it to a motorcycle with light trailer. A extra transmission cooler would be a good idea but not a necessity.

As for the starter... 4.6 hours is for professionals who have done the job before. That might be enough time for amateurs to get the intake manifold off so that you could see the starter. I would place the job at about 12 hours for most of us mortals with decent mechanical skills. This is not a job for the inexperienced. However, it certainly can be done with determination and tact. There are plenty of posts on replacement. Search carefully and you will find all the info you need.