pearl93'ls

Hey guys I am new here so bear with me on some dumb (to you guys) questions.... I just acquired a 93' LS 400 from my mother...She has owned it since 15k miles and has taken pretty good care of it...for the most part that is... She bought a 2006 LS430 back in Christmas of 2005 and just parked this one around the side of the house.... Long story short I bought the car from her for $1000 and it runs super strong... It does need some help tho.

1. When driving especially at higher speeds the *** end feels like it is gonna make you loose control I bounces and sways and scares the hell out of you. I am assuming this is a simple fix...shocks? I heard something about rear struts on these at one time...??? $$$

2. I am getting a lil drivline shudder at 40mph right before the last shifts.. Tranny is smooth as silk...Is it driveshaft related??

3. I may have cured this last problem.... The car smoked like a mother every morning when you start it.... I mean SMOKING I was also loosing all the power steering fluid every morning as well.... There were no signs on the driveway of fluid???? I just bypassed that hose to the powersteering pump... I think it was dumping it into the exhaust?? But i only know MB and not much on Lexus...


You guys have a sweet forum...Very nice... Thanks for and advice you guys could give me on this... I appreciate it a lot!

thank you

Joe


1993 Lexus LS400 258k miles
current stable....
2005 Hyundai Elantra (36k) my commuter
2002 Volvo V70 (90k) wifes baby mobile

my projects from hell
1987 Mercedes Benz 300d turbo (169k)
1987 Peugeot 505stx V-6 (190k) major project

Och

iTrader: (3)

If its bouncing sideways, check your struts, check the bushings in control arms, etc. Have a good mechanic look examine the suspension. Check the tires, wheels and balance, check wheel hubs.

As for smoking and losing power steering fluid, this is a very common problem aparently, your air control valve is bad, and its dumping power steering fluid into the engine. http://www.lexus-parts.com/partdetai...bCategoryID=52

trukn1

Welcome to CL.
1. As for the rear end jump, as OOCH stated it is a common occurance for the older model cars. Mine did the same thing, and the problem was corrected by changing out the shocks and replacing the bushings (Carrier arm, control arm [upper and lower], etc).
2. Concerning the high speed driveline shudder, it would not hurt to have the drive shaft bushing changed as well as the transmission and/or engine mounts. These things when going bad can/will send you a high speed shutter. Aslo double check the tires (air pressure, balance, wear, etc). Lexus' are extremely sensitive and very hard to balance. Make sure that the shop you go to in order to have the balance checked uses a Hunter 9700 (bka Hunter Road Force) machine. From other members here, and having this done myself, this machine is awesome in balancing our cars.
3. Power steering leak is also another common problem amongst our cars. Sounds like you took care of that issue already.

pearl93'ls

Hey thanks gentlemen...You know Nalley lexus in Atlanta wanted $2900 to repair that smoking problem. Hell I fixed it for free. I need to get in there to that valve tho and replace it I guess. I just bypassed the hose.

Do you guys have a preferred source for the shock/struts? I dont want anything sporty I am leaving the car stock for now. I just want it to be safe. Thanks again

Joe

Och

iTrader: (3)

I'd use stock Lexus shocks, they are usually good for 150K+ miles, and they are not expensive at all, about $70 a piece.

W92ls400

Hey pearl93'ls! can you give me the instruction for that hose bypass? I just flushed out the old power steering fluid..and changed with the new DexronIII...but by car still have the same problem with white smoke during start up..thanks

omarg

pearl! we got the same car. cool. I need some suspension work too. And some bushings. Well when the weather gets better I'll start my restoration process.

Hey guys, what would cause a suspension clunk when turning the wheel when stopped?

pearl93'ls

well 2yrs later I finally replaced the carrier bushings with some aftermarkets I got off Ebay...That may have been my mistake.. The rear end switches just as bad if not worse now than before. Changing lanes on the freeway at 75mph is now a white knuckled 2 hands on the steering wheel affair!

What should I change next?

Thanks

Och

iTrader: (3)

Did you ever check your shocks? Do you have both sway bars, are they both intact?

vietdeluxx

iTrader: (2)

Welcome to CL... wow, 268k miles and still running strong is amazing.

pearl93'ls

everything else is original back there. I do see the sway bars and seem to be intact. Would those be my next item to replace? Also what is a inexpensive shock you guys recommend? Thanks Joe