brybo86

So here is my most recent addition to the fleet. $3k, originally from Racine, WI. Must have been a summer only car given the condition.
1995 LS400 172k dark gray/Tan interior, moonroof, trac control, nakamichi sound, heated seats, (I think all the options except air ride susp)
Garage kept 1 owner from 0-165k miles then sold Aug 2013 driven for 7k miles and sold to me Aug 2014 w 172k (lady said she didn't like how it drove in the snow with bald rear tires)





The Good
No Rust (hard to find in Chicago/Midwest)
non smoker
Trans shifts smooth, fluid is nice and red
No sludge or cream under oil fill cap
all fluids are at correct levels
no smoking from exhaust
Leather is in good shape no cracks
Idle is butter smooth
Engine has great power
MPG seemed "good" on my 60 mile drive home with it (needle barely moved, I haven't done any formal calculations yet)
Instrument Panel is nice and bright
Power antenna works correctly
Cruise control works correctly
No CEL/MIL lights on (nothing stored in ECU when I checked with my scanner)

The Bad
1. Starter seems to have a worn/tired bendix (sounds like starter isn't disengaging immediately giving me a high pitched "ching" for a 1/2 second upon starting, this happens when the engine is warm and cold. (new starter or lube starter bendix?)
2. Vibration upon deceleration from about 50mph and over. Vibration is slight if I slowly ease off the gas, but worse if i take my foot completely off it. (new tires for sure, possibly new rear shocks, diff fluid?)
3. Rear tires at the wear bars left rear tire has some mild cupping which I believe is contributing to and/or causing my above vibrations (new tires)
4. I get a sudden forward jerk/thunk when turning off the cruise control or suddenly letting off the gas pedal. (misadjusted throttle/trans cables or I hope not, new ECU?)
5.Squeaking in right rear moonroof when driving over certain terrain, it goes away if I push up in RR behind moonroof (I read something about adjusting rubber gaskets/seals in the moonroof and mb some lube?
6. Coolant gauge doesn't move at all. (with engine warmed up my bluetooth OBD/torque/android scanner says coolant temp is 181F/83C so I think the temp sensor and ECU are fine, inside fan runs constantly with drive belt,normal? and secondary outside fan comes on and off periodically, normal? it is either the gauge caps(plz no) or temp sender/wiring)
7.Right rear taillight has a hair line crack in it (no moisture inside)
8. plastic cover over front spark plug wires is missing as well as cover over wiring harness on right side of engine parallel to spark plug wire/TB cover
9. Plastic nub on air intake pipe has broken off see pic below (credit marlon)( im not sure if this has anything to do with my P/S leaking, turning the wheel feels fine at all speeds)

10. I have a decent power steering leak coming from directly underneath the fluid reservoir (im thinking it is the orings? or broken plastic ACV valve connections? I don't have any smoke coming from exhaust)
11. Lightbulb illuminated on dash (tailight or blinker prob?)
12. broken left rear ashtray cover, (seems to be integrated with power window switch)
13. CD changer error ( I forget number exactly)
14. Timing belt and serpentine belt have cracks in them!


My Game Plan, rockauto and sewell with CL discount
1. Aisin/mitsuboshi/koyo Timing belt/water pump kit TKT030
2. Cam and crank seals OEM
3. should I do distributor caps and rotors OEM? (spark plugs and wires were replaced last year per owner)
4. new thermostat and orings/gasket OEM
5. new temp sender OEM
6. new serpentine belt, maybe i should get new idlers and tensioner as well? does brand matter here?
7. Power steering, I need some direction as to how to start my diagnosis

8. I am fearful about cracks on TB so after I do that I will address trans/throttle adjustment, starter, vibrations, tires, change trans fluid/oil/diff/brake fluid, etc etc

I am confident i can do the TB myself, I have the service manual downloaded
I am pretty mechanical and do my own maintenance, brakes, fluid changes, valve adjustments, moto carbs, clutch replacement, new pistons/rings on 2 strokes etc
On the other hand this will definitely be the most complicated maintenance/repair I have done.

Any direction would be greatly appreciated

Caseyjones

Very nice car. Almost the same year/mileage as mine which is also fairly new to me.

PS reseal kits can be had pretty cheaply if you even need one, I believe the reservoir is sealed by a single O ring and the lines are prone to leak after a couple decades. The PS fluid leaks into the alternator so that will be an area of concern.

The good news you only have to remove part of the engine to get to the starter which resides peacefully under the intake manifold.

For cap/rotor stick with Toyota OEM, they are cheap at Park Place Lexus, esp if you let them know your a CL member. I'm still pretty new to Lexus as well so that's all I have. Welcome and enjoy the sweet ride, I wish mine were that color instead of black.

RugbyDad

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...ystem-diy.html

Give that a read.

brybo86

will do thx

TaffyK20si

On your ps leak diagnosis. You are correct in checking reservoir o-rings and acv first. If these hold true, pull the reservoir off and pressure test it. Mine was leaking from the spot welds being torn underneather the reservoir connecting to the mounting bracket. I bought a new pump/resv. Pump was roaring anyway.

Caniac14

If you're pump is leaking, you'll want to go ahead and replace you alternator as well regardless of if it's working.
I replaced my pump assembly but didn't touch the alternator because it was still good. About a month later it died, diagnosis, the PS fluid ate it. Could have saved a ton of my time/money by replacing them both at the same time since they're right near each other.

EDIT: I have oem tails for sale if you want to buy them. No cracks in mine ^_^

raytseng

a lot of the clunk can be due to the powersteering fluid gumming everythign up.
Agree read the other thread on the Powersteering and familiarize yourself with how this system works on the LS400, why it's a common issue and how to solve.

I'm surprised your LCD display and radio ***** are still working; but i bet you'll hit that soon enough

Anyway, if/when you get the PS sorted, change PCV valve, make sure all your vacuum hoses are correct; run SI-1 or other fuel injector cleaner through, give it a tank of gas; check and do a drain/fill or flush on the ATF, you may find some of the other transmission issues may improve.

mickeyt

I just picked the same one up tonight

mickeyt

175k, with a front driver dent and rear dent on driver side but one owner, former air force man who just died last September at 92 and car was babied. Interior is cherry and it drives fantastic. Wondering what people do for preventative maintenance?

Legender

Yes, I would to the caps and rotors also... they are already accessible with the TB job... and not that much more... chances are they've not been replaced. And OEM is the only way to go for those.

brybo86

Alright so I ordered crank and cam seals, timing belt kit with pump and tensioner, thermostat, temp sender, o ring for ps pump, o ring for thermostat, caps and rotors, sitting at about $340 so far
Can anyone recommend the best way to loosen crank and cam bolts, and or harmonic balancer puller? I'm thinking rent tool from autozone? Unless there is a cheap one to be had somewhere else... harbor frieght?

brybo86

So I got started late this afternoon and this is what I found....

Quite possibly the dirtiest radiator ever?


Ohh Shiiiii !!!
I knew the timing belt had small cracks but I didn't know it had actual chunks coming off the back... this thing was literally on the verge of snapping.


Shot showing RH cam time and crank time


Shot showing LH cam time, ^^^ the RH cam has much clearer marks


A shot showing my PITA P/S leak


Overall getting this far wasn't too bad.
Intake/resonator was practically glued onto the throttle body.
The worst part was that blasted PS fluid on everything lol (what is the best way to clean that stuff off?)
The water bypass pipe was a pain to slip the RH timing cover around.. I thought I was gonna crack it off.
A few of the dumb little electrical connectors that slide onto metal holders have broken, mb i will put them back on and put a couple wraps of electrical tape on them?
The alternator has a decent amount of PS fluid on it, Im not sure how much is condemning, ill get a shot of that tomorrow.
Crank bolt came out with impact after about 4 hits. Just a stubby 1/2 drive impact. I didn't even hold the pulley. I was a bit worried but the crank/time didn't even budge. (my pulley holder isn't here yet...inpatient i guess)
It doesn't come until tuesday and I guess i cant install the crank bolt without it.
I have the crank bolt out as per the lexls.com tutorial ready to finish the removal tomorrow

dicer

Wonder when they last changed that timing belt, you caught that in time.

eld4au6

I would guess that is the original timing belt.

Your 50+ mph decel vibration sounds like a worn transmission mount.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

another testament that the tbelt can go over 150k miles, though it's usually the idler and tensioners that wear out first destroying the belt with it.

i get good results using a pressure washer with degreaser. cleaning it all up will help determine the leak source.

here is how i did my timing belt.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/6776087-post26.html