skaterjoes

Whats up CL! I've had my LS for a few months now and I've been monitoring this forum for at least as long. Seems like there are some cool people on here with plenty of information to share which is really helpful for people like myself who are just entering the Lexus game.

So far I love my LS. I picked it up for $4100 with 130K from the original owner. Garage kept and pretty well maintained for the first few years of its life according to the Lexus website. I've already replaced the trnny fluid (Type IV) and Tranny mount. Hoping to do the engine mounts shortly. I still have some decent vibrations at 70 mph but my mechanic said the tires need to be balanced? Hope to get some Megan coilovers shortly and new rims when these stockies wear out. Their brand new unfortunately and I hate to waste good tires.

My main question's are:

(a) Has anyone repainted their bumpers and lower panels, and if so, how much was it? The bumpers are faded and peeling and the lower panels are faded and will not shine no matter how much I wax it. I'd just like to get a ballpark number and hear if it was worth it.
(b) Regarding vibrations at idle, if I do the engine mounts will that solve the problem, or is age the real underlying factor?

Thanks everyone!

YoshiMan

The engine mounts are most likely shot. They are made of a relatively soft rubber and are liquid filled, so they inevitably will harded and break down with time.

Depending on the weather, I am going to attempt to tackle all three of my mounts next weekend, However i am going to try a different approach and pull the whole steering rack out of the car, as everyone says that it is the main thing in the way, and i figured i would do the rack bushings too.

LScowboyLS

search the forum, saw a recent post of someone who did a beautiful job of repainting their own bumpers

the engine mounts will solve it as long as the engine itself is running right (very smooth) - age is no problem, I have seen LS400's with 300k miles that you could balance wine glasses on

skaterjoes

Thanks for the replies guys! The more I drive it the more I love it. I just wish we had some more performance mods. She's definitely a cruiser. My wife calls it a grandpa car!

I wish I could do the mounts myself but without a garage it makes it kinda hard.