Ok, I managed to get a few decent pics of my Opal Pearl '97 LS400 Coach with the bo-ring '02 LS430 wheels. Yes I know 16s are so 1990s but this car is just my daily driver and I here in downtown SF I'm going to stick with the tall sidewalls for now.

I also removed all the corroded gold badging and replaced with chrome. I considered doing the black pearl thing but I was too lazy.

Last week I had the leaking power steering pump replaced and also had the worn strut rod bushings changed at the same time. No more LS clunking!!!

The only things left that need attention are the lower ball joints and the brakes are going to need pads soon. Given the the car has 100K on the factory rotors (surfaced once) I was thinking about just buying new front rotors from Carson Toyota and changing them out with the pads. My previous LS400 had warped front rotors somewhere in the 90K range. I'll probably have my local indy Lexus shop do the ball joints and I'll swap the brakes out in a friend's driveway.

 

The ball joints are an easy DIY! All you need is the "tie rod end puller" with the jaw from Advance Auto Parts or AutoZone to complete the task. I really like your car, it looks awesome. Congrats on the purchase.

 

beautiful color
I thought the Coach Editions came with Special Champaign Pearl Badging? At least mine did.
Mine is a daily work driver as well....but is kept in the garage while at rest.

 

Nice LS - lower BJ's are an easy change. I used a pitman arm puller from AutoZone. You can rent it for free - no brainer for DYI projects. I had the same wheels on my LS once - nice upgrade

 

he needs the pitman arm puller.

the tie rod puller isnt big enough

 

At first I wasn't sure if it were a real Coach, as it didn't have the champagne emblems and Coach logo. Sure enough the original owner must have had poor taste to remove the original emblems and replace with a "Gold Package". Ditto for the Coach painted wheels. The chrome afterrmarket wheels with gold Lexus logos were awful. But the perf. seats, coach branded arm rest, floor mats, shift **** are Coach correct and there is a mint condition painted 5 slot "Coach" wheel in the spare tire well.

Thanks for advice in the lower BJs. I'll consider DIY. Deffo on the brakes, they're easy. Worst part replacing the front brakes in the past was loosening the stuck set screw that kept the rotor flush on the hub. Needed an inpact screwdriver to break it loose. Which of course I don't have access too as it's in storage with most of my tools while I enjoy urban living in downtown SF.

 

Thanks. I thought it might be the pitman arm puller. Buy it for $9.99 or rent for free! Whee!