Spinout, while you are doing the maintenance mentioned previously, you might want to also do some other things - which is what I did when i bought my '98 albeit with a lot more miles. I wanted to establish a base line of practically everything so I replaced the spark plugs, 3 drain and fills of the transmission, changed rear differential fluid, new serpentine belt, checked the brakes and did the fronts with OEM pads (rotors and rears were OK), changed the brake fluid, did a few fluid exchanges with the power steering fluid (it had been flushed in the not too distant past) and new wiper blades. A few others too- like cleaning the smog filter, new PCV valve, new engine air filter, new radiator cap, clean throttle body, clean MAF sensor, new cabin filter (all OEM). I was glad I replaced the front brakes even though they looked like they had some meat on them, - in fact they were a crappy aftermarket pad and they were starting to show fatigue marks or cracks and absolutely needed to go. I also looked over the entire suspension and lo and behold all good.

I have a theory that cars that live in areas with relatively low ozone levels (fresh clean area, like the Seattle area, which is also where my car came from) do not suffer degradation of rubber as early as cars from other areas with high ozone levels. In any case look over all the rubber hoses and check their condition, replace as necessary.

 

This is all great stuff and I have added it to my checklist. Thanks for taking the time to detail all of this. Much appreciated!

 

Ding dong. Delivery!

 

@dazpdx Do you know if the matching lower cladding paint was original from the factory or painted afterwards? I've been thinking of painting the charcoal grey cladding on my 98 black onyx to match the rest of the car. I've seen pics here of others who've done it and I think it really 'freshens' the look of the car.

 

I think that my car was one solid color from the factory, and I googled "1998 LS400 Antique Bronze" and found lots of examples of my car that is one solid color, and a few of them with slightly darker cladding, too.

My 1995 was the same color combo as yours, and I think it looks outstanding with the gray cladding. I found an all-black 2nd-gen online and I don't really like it. You be the judge.

 

Found a set of SC430 wheels to wear until I decide on my permanent solution. 20mm & 25mm spacers on the way to push them proper.

 

Sweet ride and welcome to the club! I joined recently having come from a GEM of an super early 2nd Gen ES300. (On SC430 wheels, how ironic).

Great looking car and looking forward to seeing your progress on it.

Let me know how those BCs ride. I'm looking at doing Silvers on Swift springs but not EXACTLY sure on what spring rates I'm going to run for my needs.

 

I remember how much I hated those pie plates when I got my SC430, and how amazing those same wheels looked when I swapped them from to my black LS400 to sell it. Now everything I see them on (your ES, a Camry and a Subaru SVX) look amazing with them!

Life has gotten in the way of me getting the coilovers installed, but I'm hoping to get them on in the next week. I'll report back!

 

don't forget to lengthen the coils before installing (the body portion, not the preload). i believe it's at it's shortest setting to fit in the smallest box possible for shipment.

which spring rates did you go with? (sorry if i missed it earlier if already shared)

 

Thanks for the advice. I can imagine forgetting to lengthen the coilover and then setting it down for the first time. Oops!

I opted for the standard rates, 12 front and 8 rear.

Have to push back installation for another couple of weeks. The rear diff on my daily driver Wrangler imploded and the LS400 has become my temporary DD.

 

standard rates should suffice! higher rates are better for being slammed. sorry to hear about the jeep but the LS is a great daily !

 

Good to know this as well. I believe a good reference point is to measure the standard length of the OEM struts while the car is resting on the ground, adjusting the coils to that length, and then adjusting them based on how much drop you want from stock. Fine tuning from there should be quicker. I could be wrong though. I've never messed with them.

 

I had Tein coilovers on my last UCF20 and the ride was great. That was 20 years ago so I have no idea what the spring rates were.

When I get these on EVENTUALLY I will definitely report back.

 

I definitely prefer a black interior at the end of the day, but damn the exterior and interior look so good man. cant wait to see what you do with this