Asia-H.T.

iTrader: (9)

Hello everyone

My name is Jelmer, I'm from the Netherlands (Europe) and have recently bought a 93' Lexus LS400 to replace my old 77' Seville which I have had for almost 2 years now. It's for sale at the moment.
The style of it is unbeatable, but that's were the story ends. Global: it has been lacking my demands overall with exception to its looks.

I wanted something more reliable, comfortable and faster... a LS400
I've always been very enthousiastic about Lexus, especialy the 1st gen LS. And I'm glad I've chosen 'quality' over 'style' now

The Lexus is an UCF11 from 1993. It is an original european car displaying Kilometers. This car does perfectly meet my requirements, I really wanted a blue one with the rare blue interior. It's also fully loaded with almost all the options that were available here in Europe, such as:

-Moonroof (very rare here, quite the opposite from US)
-Traction control
-Headlight washer system
-Heated front- and rearseating
-Air Suspension

It has +/- 219.000 miles on it (350000km) and ofcourse has some wear. The steering wheel and shifter could use some fresh upholstery, the leather seats have some scratches and is partially torn on the drivers' seat. wood immitation at the shifter is cracked. The exterior has some dents and minor scratches.. all will be fixed someday

At the moment I care more about the mechanical part of the car...it did not come with service records . I know, but they are quite rare here, and most of them are worse than mine.

What's wrong with it? well it does drive very well, nothing wrong about that. But:

-One valve is ticking, so it could use some valve adjustment right?
-Front suspension has a little 'room(??)' somewhere
-Power steering just started wining, so I'm going to give it some oil this week. And see how it will behave.
-Now, this Lexus had a new instrument cluster installed by Lexus at approx. 200000 miles because the tach was 'broken' they told me at the Lexus dealer. So it displays only 18000miles (28000km), however the lightning of the tachometer needle went again, and both the tach and speedo tend to be sticky sometimes for only a few seconds up too minutes. It doesn't bother me yet.
Sometimes all the lights on the instrument panel turn on, especially when you rev the engine high

That's all I think. The suspension works great, it must have already got some new shocks at a time considering the mileage. No electrical issues whatsoever...with exception to the allknown instrument cluster
The windshield has been replaced recently too.

Things that I've done to the car within a month so far:

-I've fitted the outer headlights with 8000K Bi-Xenon lightning
-High power white Led parking lights on the front, and license plate illumination
-Chrome license plate frames
-Bought a NOS leather looking folder with the original manuals
-Engine/transmission oil change
-Changed oil, air + fuel filter
-Cooling flushed + fresh coolant

Things I want to have done before the end of the year:

-Replace timing belt, Water pump, Thermostat, Drive belt, Spark plugs + Wires, Distributors, Rotors
-Valve adjustment

If anyone has any idea of what I should do too, feel free to comment!
This is the car:



Notice the slightly different front bumper and fog lights compared to the US version



Also smaller taillights to make more space for the bigger plates



Yes, I know, some idiot painted the rims blue









I hope you like it so far, it will get better over the years, I don't drive it much and it's being stored in my garage. I hope to learn much about the LS400 here....and I hope my English will improve too

jcrome04

Looks nice man.



But don't be mistaken. The LS is the epitome of "style"

Asia-H.T.

iTrader: (9)

Thank you,

Sorry, I did mean it was more of a headturner than the Lexus. Picture of them together:



Doesn't matter anymore, I chose the Seville when I was 18. But two years later I'd rather had a Lexus. so I did, and I'm very happy with my decision

rob22

Lekker

Welcome to the forum, from a fellow newcomer. Couple ideas:

1. Flush your power steering, lexls.com has some good info.
2. Check your P/S return hose, I have a 94 and a 97, the hose was hard and leaking on both of mine when I bought them. While you're at it, check the vacuum lines going to the idle control valve, on the P/S pump, for hardness/cracks. Keep a good eye on your P/S pump for leaks, if it leaks too much it can short out your alternator.
3. Check condition of the rubber on your strut rods (front of car) and carrier bushings (rear) if the ride isn't as tight/controlled as you'd like it to be.

Rob

Bradster

Change both motor mounts and tranny mount....throttle body cleaning...fuel injection treatment (BG method) Syn fluids everywhere...oil/diff/brake/power steering....

encore888

Welcome to ClubLexus!

octane300

I notice the steering wheel is a bit worn. Get a new wood/leather steering wheel from www.american-stitches.com. I used them to replace the wheel on my SC and I was VERY happy with the results. Trust me on this. The only downside is the turnaround time, which is several weeks and you'll have to send them your existing wheel, so you won't be able to drive the car for awhile. I was able to get around this problem by purchasing an old beat up steering wheel from my local junkyard and sending that one in instead. Didnt matter how ugly it was either, cuz American Stitches completely re-did the exterior anyway.

Welcome to the LS family. I've been driving an LS for several years now, and like it better than any other luxury sedan out there.

j stuff

iTrader: (5)

wow very clean

j stuff

iTrader: (5)

also, your english is WAYYYYYYYYYYY better than many people online BORN in America haha

Rocan

great looking car bro!

Asia-H.T.

iTrader: (9)

Thanks too all for the warm welcome, compliments and the maintenance/mechanical advice, I will look into it for sure.

@Bradster: Why should both engine and transmission mounts be replaced? the car doesn't have any vibrations.

@Octane300: Yes it's pretty much at its end, it's also getting a little sticky , same for the shifter
The steering wheels on that website look fantastic. So I can also get it done with a wood insert? that would be cool. How much did they charge you for the steering wheel?

Luckily I don't drive the car much, so I can miss my steering wheel for a month or so when I get to it. Not to many wrecked Lexus' over here

@J Stuff: I do my best

Bradster

You may not have immediate need for new mounts but due to the age of the car,mileage plus the freezing and warming weather cycles and engine heat...Those rubber mounts are seriously degraded....On several vehicles i've owned with high mileage i was told the motor mounts were fine....I had them replaced anyway and compared the old ones to the new...wow..lots of rubber worn away on the old mounts....big difference in the smoothness noticed right off in all these vehicles...on my 1990 LS400 with 230K thought the car stalled at a light it ran that smooth

Asia-H.T.

iTrader: (9)

Yes, I was also impressed by the lack of any vibration whatsoever and quietness of the car. It has been put well together

I agree with you that these rubbers could use replacement after al these years, I'll add them too my 'to-do' list.

damon

That is in amazing shape for the mileage (or Kilometerage!)!

A Caddy & an LS400 would be tough with your petrol taxes.

Asia-H.T.

iTrader: (9)

Thank you

Yes, the fuel is pretty expensive here I believe. A gallon is 3.79 litre. A litre will cost you around € 1.55. So a gallon would be 1.55 x 3.79 = € 5.87 or $ 8.07.... It has been worse.... (+/- $ 8.60)

The Cadillac runs on Propane, that is priced around € 0.60 . saves a lot of money, pretty cheap I must admit for european measures.