BrianV

Thanks a lot, this was one of two problems that I could not determine the exact cause of, and thus was concerned about replacing parts that would not resolve the problem.

You got any advice on my A/C system that whines progressively as the RPM goes up (only when A/C is turned on). A/c performance appears to be great, in 100 degree TX weather it cools very nicely, it just has an annoying whine which makes my near silent lexus have a not-so-silent engine noise.

Also, when I call to order the parts for these strut bars, should I just say strut bars, or is there another term for them that might be more familar for the Lexus part's guys?

lextek

"Strut bars" will be a familiar term to the Lexus parts guys. As far as your whine, adding a can of oil is a nice cheap way to possibly get lucky and have it stop, but i doubt it . A compressor is most likely needed, they aren't cheap either, if memory serves me correctly, about $600-800 plus $250 for clutch (if desire) and about $100 for the drier. Clutches usually rattle or tick. Compressors whine as you have described. Hope it all works out.

Maybe someone in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area can rebuild it for you? A regular parts store is a bad idea in my opinion, I have seen 3 compressors put on before a "good" one was found, and the life expectancy of it was shaky at best, also just my opinion.

I live in Houston, lots of A/C used here too lol.

Good luck!
lextek

BrianV

How much do they go for on wrecked cars? How long do you think it'll last with the whine? Hopefully I can make it to next Summer or something. How do I know if I just need the compressor or if I need something else as well?

Thanks!!

BrianV

My last recharge (yesterday) was a 12 oz bottle, 1oz oil, 11oz 134A. It seemed to help the whine about 5-10% (hardly noticable). Today I added an 8oz bottle of pure oil. I noticed that when I attempted to put the hose on the system seemed quite pressurized, where as yesterday the thing went on without fuming any refridgerant, which makes me think the system was really low before. Anyways, after adding the oil the sound is about half what it used to be. Now I can only hear it if the radio is completely off and the A/C's fan speed is set very low. I also cannot hear it anymore when I'm going over like 20-25 MPH. The road/wind noise is enough to mask the sounds it makes. I can live with it in its current state for a while, hopefully the compressor will hold out though.

It does still whine, this was not a complete fix, but it's half as loud as it used to be, so my investment in coolant, oil, and a hose was probably worth it all.

lextek

If its ok to live with then it's up to you when you do it. It could whine forever and still function properly. On the flipside it could whine and lockup one day and dump contaminates into the entire a/c system......NOT good. $800 vs $4000 or so, if were mine, i'd be inclined to let it whine a bit longer, as long as you are replenishing the oil, is there a freon leak at the compressor that is dumping the oil out?

lextek

BrianV

I was recently under the car and did not notice anything that looked like a leak. I think the car (which is like 9 years old now) basically evaporated out some freon over time. I have all the service records and it appears that the system has never been recharged or even refilled. I think it ran low and caused a whine. Unfortunately I think the whine is semi-permanent now. If I notice it getting considerably worse then I'll think about replacing it. If the entire A/C blows and it's a $4g job, I'll just sell the car/trade it in and claim that just the compressor is the problem.

Rice

It is one or both strut bars. I've had the same problem on my 97. Replacing strut bars fixed it.

BrianV

What did they cost you and how much did someone charge you to install?

Rice

As far as I remember, parts were about $75 each - dealer item only.
Installation was about $50 both - not done by dealer.
A bit of advice: never have a dealer do what can be done elsewhere. This job would probably cost me $500 at a dealer.

BrianV

Damn $50 to have both installed seems cheap.

BrianV

I just called Bell Lexus and the guy had a smoking deal on most parts. I had a hookup at Denver Lexus before and he managed to come in like 10-15% cheaper then the smoking deals I got from there. His price was literally half of what San Antonio Lexus wanted.

However, he said he could sell the strut bars for $127 a piece, and it seems most of the people posting said I could have them for 60-100 a piece. I just want to make sure we're talking about the right pieces. Has anyone else recently purchased these parts, are you sure they're genuine OEM parts? Finally, if you did purchase them recently how much were they? He said something like MSRP on them is like $188, their dealer price is like $155, and the internet hookup is $127.

BrianV

Hmm I just called my local dealer and their price is $111 for the part. I wonder what's going on in Phoenix for that part? This place had the same driver side seatbelt for $155 that Phoenix sells for $107.

BrianV

I called him back and he told me he was looking at the wrong part, he corrected everything and the price is $56 per bar (much better).

Thanks anyways.

Rice

This is the breakdown of front suspension.
Item #12 is your strut bar.
The dealer that has this image is the one I use for all dealer parts for my 97 LS400.
If you buy through the internet, their prices are very reasonable.
For instance, strut bar is only $61.20
They don't charge tax over the net, and they don't rip you off on shipping.
Their name is Spartan Motor Mall located in Michigan.

You can get to their site through www.Parts.com or go directly to their web site: www.spartanmotormall.com and then click Online Parts Catalog.
Good luck.

BrianV

Thanks this is VERY helpful, I appreciate the time you spent!!!