UZ214

hi guys,
strory in short..a lexus nut i am, i forced my father in law to get a old ls400 and give up his crappy rattle + rust infested 2000 pathfinder Special edition(duno what the hell is speacial about it)up. my back hurts after driving that suv for 20 mins as seats are very unsuportive

after alot of pursuation (he loves suvs) he got the ls400 and now he loves it.
he thanked me for showing him the lexus way,.LOL (i kid you not). He thinks the LS is 99 or 2000 as its so clean, i will tell him in a couple of months..haha that its actually 95!

I picked up the car at 130k miles its 95, needs tires/ the antenna makes noise when going up but other than that its awesome. i picked the car for up by a owner. i paid 2800$ for it really clean car.

so i drive the car today from Ny to DE to get some work done to his car, tires whatever maintinence it needs, but i was so shocked how smooth the car is even at 15 yrs old. i cant feel the transmission shift...it feels solid and i was relaxed and my wife slept all the way.Didnt feel any bumps, (isf). It was just a relaxing drive. I am gona get a LS for myself too now!! ...

hoonunya

Sounds good.
I got my 96 when it had 20,000 miles and it is still great at 145,000 miles.
It has a little wind noise as some of my door seals have leaks.
I'd caution you to stay away from performance tires. Tires have a big impact on road noise and ride. Go with a good riding, quiet tire. If you check www.tirerack.com you can see tires rated by ride comfort, road noise etc.

You need to get an LS too; great cars

trukn1

LOL,,, great pickup. You too have now discovered what we have known all along. Even at more than 10+ years old, the LS can still shock and amaze people with it's smoothness and quietness. Congrats,, and welcome to the "Dark side"!!!

UZ214

here is a pic, i was just so surprised, how well the car has aged, i dont think the newer lexus is as well built as these old school LS.

98LS

I think you're absolutely right. My LS is 11 years old and still runs like a new car. Toyota was trying to prove something with the old LS. I think they've gotten a little complacent with the 460.

vaughn37

great looking car......and I too agree,I have a 92 ls400 which I just got.
and it has no steering shake and you can not feel any vibration from the motor at all
and it has 139000 miles.....this will be the first used car i have had in twelve years.and it just may be the smoothest running

Lexozz

When the first LS came out in '90, it was the quietest luxury car on the road, now with the HP and torque upgrades the engines have gotten slightly louder and rougher....Just my opinion.

98LS

Lexozz,

Your LS looks just like mine, except for the wheels.

Lexozz

I have the original set in the garage, with the stock size. The wheels in the pic are rapped with 245/50/16 opposed to 225/60/16. I need to move them over, just haven't had the time.

msaunders

I am jealous! My husband surprised me with a 96 lexus ls400 with 132000 miles and good exterior. He overpaid, 5000.00 and then put in another 1400.00 for lower ball joints strutt bushings, engine mounts and another 300.00 for 2 tires and it still handles poorly. Its all over the road in the wind and the road noise is awful. I had read so many wonderful reviews about the ride that I thought maybe I was expecting too much, but I think there is still more wrong with my car. Any ideas how to fix the problems I mentioned...already have to much into the car not to get what you all say out of it! Thanks for any help!

McPierson

iTrader: (3)

IT'S ALIVE!

Handeling is subjective. What are you comparing it to, and what are your goals?

The road noise can be caused by alot of things, but I would suspect seals around the doors and windows. If you didn't get the alignment done after the suspension work that could cause it too.

Was the title clear of any accident history? If not I'd be looking at those areas also.

deanshark

Welcome to CL and congrats, sort of, on the purchase. You're not expecting too much, especially with the amount paid for it and the work done. These cars are sooo smooth when the suspension is correct. A couple things to have someone check for regarding the poor handling is the sway bar bushings and the rear carrier arm bushings, both would make the car feel like it's floating side to side too much. I get road noise with mine b/c of a bad door seal (from an accident) and from the tires. (still have snows on) But you shouldn't have enough road noise to even bother you so something isn't right. I'd have those things checked and then get a 4 wheel alignment.
Just saw you posted in another thread. Didn't realize you had the "clunking" also. Deffinately check the rear carrier arm bushings, the symptoms are brake shaking and clunking. Check this; http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/suspe...abushings.html

msaunders

Thank you for your responses...yes the carfax said there was a minor accident in 2000, found out after the fact. My dear husband was so excited to surprise me with the car of my dreams that he didn't really do his homework. It was a sweet jesture but... anyway, we did get rid of the clunking with the front strut rod bushings and front lower suspension ball joints. We also replaced the 2 front tires and had a complete alignment. Also 2 engine mounts replaced. The swaying from side to side, as you said is very bothersome, very bad in the wind, which we have alot of. Haven't done anything to the rear carrier bushings. Will have to check into that...any idea how much it should cost, because we definitely overpaid for the lower front stuff. Maybe we can do it ourselves? Sway bar bushings?? is that the same as the strut rod bushing? Thank you for your great suggestions. Looking forward to loving my "dream" car before we go further in debt over it! Thanks again!

deanshark

The link I posted in my last post shows how to install the carrier arm bushings and this one is for the sway bar bushings; http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/suspe...enswaykit.html