Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

I would do the following:

● go to local Lexus dealership and give them your VIN and they will
give you a record of all maintenance that has been done (timing belt,
etc.) - if the timing belt was over 90K or more than 10 years ago, I
would have it done now.

● read the LS400 FAQ here on Club Lexus

***● replace caps, rotors, plug
wires and plugs (genuine Toyota on caps & rotors, OEM Denso or NGK is
fine on plugs & wires)

***● replace Engine Coolant Temp
Sensor (ECTS) with genuine Toyota part (big difference in mileage and
power)

***● fix your power steering leak
(you very likely have one and it will kill your alternator!)

***● clean throttle body,
especially butterfly area

● replace air filter and PCV valve

***● replace strut bar bushings if
this has not yet been done

●
ECU
capacitors (future very likely problem area and

Pure BS, no real way of know one way or another: you get free
low end power now and even nicer shifting)

● change oil (use a name brand full synthetic 5W-30 such as Pennzoil
Ultra or Platinum, Mobil 1, etc.)

***● change tranny fluid (do NOT
have tranny flushed, just changed like the oil, use only genuine
Toyota T-IV fluid and a new drain bolt and gasket)

***● change differential fluid

***● change coolant (be sure to use
genuine Toyota long-life red)

***● consider a new fuel cap, new
coolant reservoir cap, and new positive battery terminal (use Toyota
parts on all 3 of these)

***● four wheel alignment

● a set of one of the following three sets of tires: Michelin Primacy
MXV4, Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Plus, Bridgestone Turanza
Serenity Plus

● inspect condition of main drive belt, all fluid levels and condition
of all hoses

● inspect brakes


if you do these things, the power will be back, and you will have a
reliable daily driver!

genuine Toyota parts are available online for ~25% discount from
online dealerships such as Lexus of South Atlanta, Park Place Lexus,
Lexus Parts Now, Sewell Lexus, etc.)

on outer tie rod ends, the Toyota ones are cheap enough at discount to
go ahead and use those, on inner tie rods ends, I would probably save
the money over the very pricey factory parts and use Raybestos Pro or
possibly Beck-Arnley

Originally Posted by mbonne

Items marked *** are a total waste
of time/money/parts/labor/etc, etc..

Originally Posted by LScowboyLS

LOL!!

please ignore any new forum members that will try to tell you that standard maintenance items that have been shown on this forum to prolong the life of your LS400 or save you money and hassle down the road are "pure BS" or "a total waste"

"New" member, yes. but with driving/maintenance history going back to 1950's farm tractors, plus one "farm" Jeep of WWII era. No less than 6 LS400's "under my belt", 90, 91, 3 92's and the current 95, plus 2 RX300's, '00 & '01 (still have the '01, AWD, pushing 100,000) and a 2000 GS300. the 91 and one 92 still in the family, both also with over 200,000 miles.

for example,

● if you ignore your power steering leak, you get to buy a new alternator as well!

I have repaired and/or replaced several LS400 PS pumps, and/or DIY blocking of the idle-up valve. Only one Alternator replaced. That was due to copper slip rings having worn down to the bare metal of the alternator shaft. Yes, the leaking PS pump will often cover the PS pump, but will not cause subsequent failure. But like replacing the water pump with timing belt job, replacing an alternator awash in ATF is a useless waste of money.

Mechanics with a need to pay an offspring's tuition will have an easy job of convincing mostly unknowing, inexperienced, customers of the need to replace a perfectly good, fully functional, alternator.

(St,D)ealer mechanic/technician: "Just look at it's (external) condition".

My bet would be that you could soak, fully soak, an alternator in PS fluid for 10 years and the PS fluid would not be corrosive enough to do damage.

● if you ignore alignment, you get to spend en extra $500+ on tires prematurely for no reason

How many sets of tires do you suppose all those LS400's went through during my ownership, being the primary driver? Wheel alignment = NONE. I did have to replace one wheel barrel (BBS 3-piece) due to a deep pot hole encounter.

● if you ignore your coolant, you will by buying an expensive radiator and possibly a $2000 heater core job

[B]What might be my guess as to the MINIMUM number of miles I have driven, aggregately, those LS400s. 500,000 miles, easily. On the other hand I suppose someone might mistakenly use/add the wrong coolant, one that is corrosive to the coolant system in our LS400s.

Keep the factory coolant, no opportunity for someone installing the incorrect coolant.[/]

● if you ignore engine coolant temp sensor,

Yes, if you ignore that engine coolant temperature guage, forever FIXED into a 45% position, absent a some sort of failure, sensor itself, or engine related, you might well end up with a CEL. Lexus self-checking diagnostics are pretty extensive, even 'way back in 1990.

distributor caps. rotor,

The current LS, I replaced the distributor caps/rotors in an effort to alleviate what was later to become known to me as the "throttle shock" TSB. Once you get to the point of inspecting the caps/rotors there is no reason not to replace. In my case I'm rather sure that I could cleaned up the factory rotors and caps and they would have been good for another 200,000 miles.

wires, plugs,

With the technological advances of the automotive ignition systems, inclusive of plug gap metallic, of today spark plugs are no longer the "wear" item of yesteryear. ~200,000, yes, replace them. Wires...?? No, again, technologic advances, high voltage wiring insulation in this case. In yesteryear open the hood at night, put the engine under slight torque (TC stall speed works) and watch the light show, corona discard all over, throughout the HV wiring harness.

Same technique, even the early LS400s, no "light show" (remove the HV wiring harness covers to really check).

ECU caps, etc then your LS400 is not getting anywhere near the mileage and power it did when it was new, and failing ECU caps will eventually corrode the main circuit board of your ECU to the point where you will have to replace the entire ECU as well as the caps!

My career in electronics begin in the USAF in 1958. The company that my wife and I founded in 1972 is still in operation today, building processor systems for the real-time process control environment worldwide...TFL "tube" train control, Melbourne city rail, to name just 2.

Yes, there was an episode of faulty electrolytic capacitors shipped from a single manufacturer in the mid-90's time frame. My company happened to be one of the "victoms". There are 2 visual failure, or "pending failure", symptoms for these capacitors, ANY electrolytic capacity, actually. With external (climatic) HEAT AND internal HEAT due to functionality, the capacitor case will begin to bulge/balloon, indicating an impeding failure. If overstressed enough the pressure relief technique(***) will open and you end up with liquid electrolyte covering surrounding components.

Unlike the electrolyte in your lead-acid battery, capacitor electrolytes are not corrosive enough to damage electrical components or PCBs.

*** physically large electrolytic capacitors would in all likelihood EXPLODE with fairly great force were it not for the build-in pressure relief rubber plug built into the case. Smaller electrolytic capacitors will have the metal case "etched" (think pot-top soda/beer cans) to weaken it.

The PRIMARY purpose/use of electrolytic capacitors is to stabilize the supply voltage, act as a "sink" for voltage excursions outside the design "norm".

So a failed, or even a failing, electrolytic capacitor can have, MIGHT have, adverse effects upon the ECU operation..

Failures likely much more prevalent in "Cowboy's" HOT climate and with a dark interior.

● if you ignore your strut bar bushings, you have a possibly unsafe situation in the from suspension as well as an annoying clunk

Yes, under hard/sudden braking efforts there is a definite "CLUNK". Unsafe? I haven found it so...

I have had a set of front bushings on the shelf for many months now, delaying due to the serious level of DIY labor, that. Shock absorber top cushion/mount is also a common source for "clunk", mostly going over speed bumps.

● if you ignore the transmission mount, you will have needless vibration inside the cabin!

In the process of chasing the "throttle shock" problem on my '95 I replaced engine, transmission, diff'l , rear strut mounts/cushions but noted no vibration issue before or after, no notable vibration to begin with... But I did get somewhat reduced "throttle shock" events/effects.

● if you ignore changing the transmission fluid and filter, you likely take 100-150K off of its life expectancy not to mention shift quality, just ask Aisin!

IMMHO you need to have some design flaw (as is obviously the case with the RX series transaxle) or otherwise failure inside the transmission in order to compromise the factory ATF so as to not be good for the life of the vehicle as stated in the owners manual. I admit to being quite surprised, but pleased, at the pristine condition of the '95 LS's ATF at 280,000 miles, given my '01 AWD experience, dark, dirty, burned at 40,000 and then again at 80,000 miles.

"...Aisin..." Yes, I would truly like to ask them about my '01 AWD RX300's transaxle design flaw...

all of these things are cheap, and the smart people will spend a little now to save a lot of heartache and expense later!


in other words, don't be like these guys:

[/IMG]