hms09

Been looking foor a repair manual for my 98 LS400 and havent been able to find one. Haynes and Chilton doesnt have it. Anyone know where I can buy one?

Thanks,
hms09

dicer

The Toyota TIS site.
https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfo....toyota.com%2F

deanshark

https://www.diyrepairmanuals.com/pro...FQsmhgod0uQP1Q

Heres one but expensive. These manuals are the best help you'll have to fix your car b/c it tells everything, like how many screws, nuts, bolts and brackets. Also will say what has to come off before the part you're actually trying to get to. Haynes and Chilton's are only good for general info and they cover multiple years of multiple models.

GH5T

Its available on Amazon for $275.

Oseberg

I haven't had or used a repair manual since I was a kid, but I remember reading the Haynes and Chilton's manuals and I really liked how they explained the theories of how things were designed and functioned instead of just telling you how to take things apart and put them back together.

I also had an official shop manual for one of my vehicles long ago and I didn't like the fact that they didn't explain how anything worked. Diagnosis involved flow charts and repair was just disassembly and assembly instructions.

I suppose that knowing exactly what tools you need, how many nuts and bolts there are supposed to be and what order to remove things is nice, but I really enjoy understanding how things work.

Banshee365

Follow dicer's advice. $15 or so for 2 days of access to the factory manuals. Spend the time to download and organize everything you can for you year and even others if you want. I did this years ago and use them all the time. There is no need to spend hundreds like some of these other posts mention. Forget that. Factory or nothing.

dicer

And that is one of the things I hate about even some factory manuals now. Page after page of basics, and average tools. I would rather them spend all that space for more pictures of things like how to remove this or that in the door, or the dash etc. They also spend pages in most of the manuals on basic engine overhaul as well, and absolutely nothing on transmissions. Chilton's are crap manuals that are only good for a few spec's or so other wise they are worthless. The wife got one for her Subaru years ago, and like I say tons of basic worthless stuff. It talks about checking the codes but does not have one thing in it of how to do it. Old suby's are not as simple to code check as the old LS400's are. At least the Lexus manuals show line drawings of where to pry things like interior parts and what the attachment hooks or snaps look like. That's another thing, in the old days there were nice black and white pictures in the manuals for American cars, GM had the best ever shop manuals for photos.
One of the best manuals I have ever seen is one for a Brother sewing machine, I was thinking I sure wish the auto manufactures did that. For a high end car the lexus manuals are very lacking, since they are all line drawings, that is how all car manuals are now. CHEAP.

deanshark

The factory manual explains how things work, and diagnose. I used to like Haynes and Chiltons, and especially Mitchell, back in the 80s (before everything was run off an ECU) but my factory manual is the best investment I ever made. ($250) I changed my heater core about 5 years ago, which took me 4 days, and if I didn't have the FSM I never would have got it done. If you have time to download everything it's a lot cheaper that way. Personally, I'd rather have a book in front of me.

hms09

Do you get to keep the information on the $15 deal or are you locked out after the 2 days? If you can keep it and have access to it past the 2 days that would be great. Can you print it out or am I missing something here?

Thanks,
hms09

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

yes, yes, you can print as much as you can in 2 days... so spend a little and down load a lot.. make a list of things you want/need and work off of it.. many have done this...

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

I remember staying up ALL night downloading this stuff like 12 years ago. Body and electrical. I have 2 large loose leaf binders that I organized it into. I used it sparingly and it's in my storage somewhere. I have a PDF of the body section that I have on all my computer's but honestly I've been around so long that I just use the how-to threads in the various forums for most things.

hms09

I went the Dicer route and am very pleased at what I got. Kinda hard to navigate at first but finally figured it out. Thanks guys for all the help!

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

Doing it without repair documentation on a car like the LS (and most modern cars) will not end well. Good luck putting the timing belt on correctly without the OEM instructions, for example. Torque specs are also important, especially in relations to engine/suspension/brakes.


I own 3 sets of factory LS400 manuals at this point, not sure why. If you keep an eye out you can come across a set of dealership manuals for not terrible pricing on ebay. Vol.2 is the one with the repair procedures. Vol.1 has explanations and conditions for every single DTC, so isn't really required for basic maintenance and repair.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1998-LS400-S.../351898361527?
^good example of a workable manual

Sherl

Is the TIS and Factory Manual (Book) is the same? I have PDF of 00 LS400 from someone but its very lacking even to remove my car's dash. I need to make a lot of intuition to do it. Given the age of the car and flat $100/h labor for any shop that has tools. I am willing to spend $$ and get a used manual. Can you or some forum member post me about the manual?

Sherl

@PureDrifter @dicer