Amskeptic

Saw this Elmwood Park, New Jersey car online while I was passing through Austin, Texas in May via the Auto Trader.
1992 Lexus LS400 * 95,748 miles * $3,995.00


Must have a problem, I thought.
"It was driven by a little old lady on the weekends only," they said.
Of course, I thought.

"I will drive up to see it on June 3rd," I said.
Of course, they thought.

So I drove from Austin to Elmwood Park in my old VW bus . . .


Indeed, this car was a Park Avenue *****cat only driven to Greenwich CT on the weekends. The interior is flawless . . .


The engine and driveline and chassis electrical, gorgeously unmolested . . .


After I paid for it, I had to figure out how to get it home. So I called my brother in Atlanta and flew him up to Noo Joisey on June 8th to drive it to his house for "safe"keeping. Halfway to Atlanta, he is calling me and complaining about how it stalls and has no power and the air-conditioning failed and the instrument panel glass is dirty. I am in Illinois by this time. Eventually he gets home. And over the next eight weeks, he falls in love with it, and it mysteriously works flawlessly once more . . . except for the air-conditioning.

I finally get to drive my baby on August 24th. And fix the air-conditioning on August 25,26,27,28,29 . . .

The swash plate had broken free of the shaft due to an overcharge. A little red LocTite and some vise grip "spline" creation and some serious hammering of a heated swash plate on a freezer-cooled shaft, and the compressor worked for all of 10 miles . . . before the bearings allowed the locked-rotor sensor lugs to drill the end plate to a metallic sludge filled death.


AutoZone saved the day, a silver spray-painted "rebuilt" compressor.

Then I rebuilt the tilt-telescope auto switch on the 30th, installed new front speakers on the 31st, and repaired the door lock limit switch which was harrassing the key entrapment ECU on September 1st, the leaky heater valve was repaired by extending the lever stop on the 2nd, an oil change on the 3rd, and I am now on the road with new tires four hours ago . . .


So smoooooth, quiet, and the quality is restful. Nakamichi system has been compromised a bit by these cheesy Chinese manufactured ARC speakers, but I will upgrade later. These are fun cars to work on when you are well-rested and alert, but if you're tired, the service manual can bring on rapid onset senility.

It will be tough to be a K-Mart kind of owner of a luxury car, but I am gonna try.
Colin

BLKonBLK98

looks very clean. how's the undercarriage rust wise? i never understood what the northerners were talking about until i got under some nothern cars. it would be enough to make me move.

Amskeptic

Undercarriage is splendid. The exhaust system fasteners are a bit rusty, as are an assortment of clamp bolts and whatnot, but the rest is fine.

We now have 98,600 miles here in Florence, Kentucky on my way to Noo Yawk, listening to the Gipsie Kings and enjoying the "we'll think about it" cruise control. This car screams OLD FOGEY GOING TO DENNY'S, but it has presence when you get on it. Will sand the brake rotors next to nip this little braking shudder in the bud before it blossoms into true pulsing.
Colin

gs400998

Congrats! My first Lexus was a pre-owned 93 LS4 and traded it at 92K miles. Not a single problem during my ownership.

slvrboolet

They do look like fogey cars for sure but with some rims, drop and new tails they can look real nice imo. I'm looking to pick one up in the near future to use as a daily and leave the turbo IS for weekends.

genetic

iTrader: (1)

so sick bro

trukn1

Nice pickup on the LS.

I'mStock

Door lock limit switch? Care to elaborate?

lowKut

iTrader: (3)

Congratulation on that find bro... gorgeous car.
Damn thats super duper nice all around!!

Amskeptic

We are in Buffalo New York today, at 99,400 miles, averaging a sensible 24.5 mpg at 75-80mph. The car is winning me over as the a/c compressor torture recedes from memory. A couple of irritating fellow motorists inspired me to check out the kick-down, and I must say, this Toyota V8 is probably the silkiest most unobtrusive engine I have ever had the pleasure to exceed 5,000rpm with.
Colin
(OK, door lock limit switch. Do I have a clue of what I am talking about? I was tired and glazed over as I read up on the key entrapment logic circuit. I can only tell you that if the door lock motor does not get a full stroke, the other door locks do a dance as though to make very sure the key is not about to get locked in the car. If you could enlighten me as to why the door locks do something like four or five half-hearted lock attempts when I use the wireless door lock . . . I'd be most obliged)

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

Very nice, sir.

Amskeptic

Question on valve adjustment "shortcut" is being posted as its own thread. I have a clacker here that . . . takes away from that luxury glide experience.
Colin

Amskeptic

Update!

I have had this car now just shy of a half-decade. It now has 135,735 miles. Replaced the original Denso plugs yesterday. Original wires ("Sumito" or something) were absolutely perfect. "Good time to do a compression test," thought I.
235 / 230 / 230 / 230 / 230 / 230 / 230 / 235.
Well, I like the consistency, but what is with such high numbers? Carbon? Pistons looked pretty clean down those long spark plug holes.No oil in the intake tract.
Any clues? Engine has never been torn down, so it is not from somebody milling the heads down or anything.

I spent this past nasty winter up in the Catskills with lotsa snow. Car drove easily and was total fun to throw into slides (shut off TRAC, first). Then the TRAC light started turning on all by itself and the car would not give me any traction assist even I needed it. Too cold to go under and check stuff when it was only 2 or 3* outside. Finally ran the TC - E jumper and read a 19 code, "too much traction control pump activity" or somesuch, "inspect for fluid leaks". I did not see any. Finally decided upon a quick bleed of the line from the ABS assembly to the traction control control accumulator. That took care of it. The pump was compressing a column of air then re-compressing a column of air instead of charging the accumulator and taking a TRAC ECU-mandated rest.

Runs perfectly, except when it plays dead in the middle of Interstate 95 in Miami Florida because it wants a full tank of gas.
That's right. It is NOT the ECU capacitors, nor was it an annoyed fuel pump resistor. It, I think, was fuel pump windings that would get hot and kill the pump. If I was able to coast to a gas station on momentum and fill the tank, the car would run perfectly once more. Put in a Denso fuel pump yesterday, too. If it ever plays dead again, I will be sure to let you know. The little mystery box on the mounting bracket inside the tank that is wired to the (+) positive side of the pump? That is a noise suppression capacitor # 90980-04047 250vt .47cap.

Still a nice quiet fast car, but I have had enough of this mushy chassis. KYB shocks next.

LScowboyLS

high compression numbers are because LS400 is a great car! - whatcha complaining about?

Sumitomo - same company that likely made your original brake pads and calipers and rotors


there is no real shortcut to adjusting the valves, just a time consuming job that has to be done about every 20 years, and requires attention to detail

Amskeptic

Because the factory manual said it likes 182 max?



I posted elsewhere on this forum about the clackity clackity resolution.
It was a lifter bucket that had drilled into the valve stem enough to almost threaten releasing the retainer keys . . . this due to deferred maintenance from the original owner.

I took the camshafts clean off the engine and mixed/matched/upsized as necessary those little discs by means of carefully cut feeler blade stock of varying thicknesses between the lifter buckets and discs. If I ever float the valves, all hell will be sure to let loose, but I keep the engine under 5,000 rpm. I'll get the correct discs when I do the water pump and second timing belt at 195,000 miles.

While we're here, are there:

a) replacement console wood panels? (the clearcoat is cracking)

b) outfits that can repair seat bolster leather ?

c) solutions to brown dashboards that are turning a sickly greenish under the influence of the sun?

Colin