SonicC's 98 LS400 "Restoration" Thread
#17
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good looking car sonic, and it sounds like my kind of repairs, oh, my OCV has not come on after 5 years now... your paint job was a bargain, and after 12 LS400's, I can say they are the best car for me... they showed the world how to build a superior automobile... and ALL our cars have improved since the LS showed up... but I just cant let go of my 99, it has 192k on it now and I love it....
current photo taken last week at my brothers house....
current photo taken last week at my brothers house....
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good looking car sonic, and it sounds like my kind of repairs, oh, my OCV has not come on after 5 years now... your paint job was a bargain, and after 12 LS400's, I can say they are the best car for me... they showed the world how to build a superior automobile... and ALL our cars have improved since the LS showed up... but I just cant let go of my 99, it has 192k on it now and I love it....
current photo taken last week at my brothers house....
current photo taken last week at my brothers house....
And wow...12 LS400's...just can't get enough, huh?
But i do agree, it's a really good car...a mix of Cadillac and Merc with Toyota reliability.
Part 2: Much Needed Maintenance
Finally had some more time this weekend to work on the car, so I decided to do some more maintenance/tuneup.
Removed the plastic covers from the right side then started removing plugs.
There were 2 plugs that were so loose, I was able to unscrew them by hand (the one on the left and 2nd one from the right). Good amount of deposit on them from blow-by mostly.
Closeup:
Moving to the left side of the car, one of the plugs was also loose that I could remove it by hand...pretty obvious which one:
Removed all the old ones then installed new ones with some anti-seize grease and torqued them to 15ft-lb:
As a side note, when I was searching for threads on how to replace spark plugs many people seem to be doing this the hard way. There's a spark plug socket with a rubber piece in it that holds the spark plug in when you're removing it from the head, so that you don't have to fish it out with a magnet. If you're not using this, you're making your life harder than it needs to be
Got a new air filter as well...
Then changed the oil, oil filter, and did a coolant flush:
And while I had all the plastic covers and pieces off, I decided to wash them with some dish soap
In the next part, I will be dealing with this (already started some cleaning, but it was interrupted by rain)
Last edited by SonicC; 05-26-15 at 10:39 AM.
#21
Way ahead of me Billy... I've only had 8 so far... and my last one looks a lot like yours...and getting better every day. I'm will Billy on this... picked up the last one for a daily driver and had 204k miles on it. After some maintenance and much needed tranny/motor mounts and tires... she runs like brand new, out of the gate. Smooth as silk. Swapped out the interior lights to LEDs and she looks even sharper.
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New key arrived in mail today! Got it from a seller on eBay (1010keys) for $25 cut. I didn't have the key code, but they were able to cut it from pictures I submitted. Not bad...
Old key:
Remote wasn't working on the old key. I was worried the remote was bad, but once I took it apart I found out it didn't even have battery in it. Luckily new key came with the battery, so I installed it into the remote then swapped the remote into new key and topped it off with a key chain:
Old key:
Remote wasn't working on the old key. I was worried the remote was bad, but once I took it apart I found out it didn't even have battery in it. Luckily new key came with the battery, so I installed it into the remote then swapped the remote into new key and topped it off with a key chain:
Last edited by SonicC; 05-26-15 at 03:00 PM.
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Yeah, just took some good quality pictures and sent them. They then decoded them, cut the key, and then sent me the key and code. All for $25
I've used Dex-Cool for the past 9 years in 4 different cars - 2 of them German - and haven't had any issues with it (corrosion or anything like that), which is why I didn't feel like paying extra for Toyota stuff.
Last edited by SonicC; 05-27-15 at 07:00 PM.
#27
New key arrived in mail today! Got it from a seller on eBay (1010keys) for $25 cut. I didn't have the key code, but they were able to cut it from pictures I submitted. Not bad...
Old key:
Remote wasn't working on the old key. I was worried the remote was bad, but once I took it apart I found out it didn't even have battery in it. Luckily new key came with the battery, so I installed it into the remote then swapped the remote into new key and topped it off with a key chain:
Old key:
Remote wasn't working on the old key. I was worried the remote was bad, but once I took it apart I found out it didn't even have battery in it. Luckily new key came with the battery, so I installed it into the remote then swapped the remote into new key and topped it off with a key chain:
Thanks
#28
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Hay saleenssc, that was easy to find..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/REPAIR-your-3-BUTTON-REMOTE-KEYS-to-our-PRE-CUT-QUALITY-SHELLS-KEY-/151694964333?hash=item2351b9766d
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRE-CUT-DIY-PROGRAMABLE-Transponder-Chip-Key-for-3-button-keys-w-nite-light-/161717041578?hash=item25a71639aa
http://www.ebay.com/itm/REPAIR-your-3-BUTTON-REMOTE-KEYS-to-our-PRE-CUT-QUALITY-SHELLS-KEY-/151694964333?hash=item2351b9766d
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRE-CUT-DIY-PROGRAMABLE-Transponder-Chip-Key-for-3-button-keys-w-nite-light-/161717041578?hash=item25a71639aa
#29
Hay saleenssc, that was easy to find..
Repair Your 3 Button Remote Keys to Our Pre Cut Quality Shells Key | eBay
"Pre Cut" DIY Programable Transponder Chip Key for 3 Button Keys w Nite Light | eBay
Repair Your 3 Button Remote Keys to Our Pre Cut Quality Shells Key | eBay
"Pre Cut" DIY Programable Transponder Chip Key for 3 Button Keys w Nite Light | eBay
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