We all love our Ls 400s. All those cool lil gizmos and gadgets.... Well there cool till they brake then they cost us a fortune in repairs if you can't fix them yourself. Of the 3 Ls 400s I've had over the years (ucf10, ucf11, ucf20,) seems like the first thing to go is that damn tilt-away motor. -think about it. Everytime you put the key in the ignition it goes up and down, well it can only do that so many times before one day you put the key in and instead of the wheel dropping it stays in the up position and just goes AAAARRRRRRRRRR.. -_- then comes that little fight with the wheel for it to go down, then you give up, and are stuck with it in the "gangsta lean" position for eternity or until you cough up the $500 for a new motor and labor costs at the dealership, well, actually there's another much cheaper way to solve this problem. To the tune of let's say.. $1.00. Pretty easy fix actually. Cause the motor isn't what goes, there's a little corkscrew shaft attached to the motor and a little blue plastic wheel that drives a gear that brings the steering wheel down, well behind the little blue wheel there's a rubber washer that keeps the little blue wheel in place for the whole system to work together, over a couse of 20 years that little rubber washer dry rots and turns to dust, pushing the blue wheel back to far henceforth not letting the steering wheel drop and getting that crappy grinding sound. Anyways here's what to do..

Tools needed..

Phillips head screwdriver
Pliers
10mm socket
Small plastic zip tie


-the zip tie takes the place of the rubber washer that turns to dust. Just about everything you need for the repair is actually already with you're car, in the toolkit minus the zip tie and the socket, first, take the plastic cover off the steering colum, there's 3 screws, one on the bottom and two on each side behind the steering wheel, (just turn the wheel to find them)
Be careful not to brake the tilt away joystick when removing...

 

Next, look at the box the joystick is connected to, there's 3 screws, and a metal guard type thing,
Take the screws out and underneath there's a bigger bolt to remove, so you can swing back the guard thing that dosent really serve a purpose other than to get in the way.
Anyways swing back the guard and remove the steel plate, exposing the little blue wheel of death.

 

Next take the 10mm socket, or some pliers to unfasten the little blue wheel, you can pull it out using whatever, I used two old dental pics to get it out.

 

Next up, take your zip tie, and wrap it up, adjust it to fit behind the little blue wheel, to act as the rubber washer replacement, put the little blue wheel back in, and repeat the original steps, and boom! Working tilt-away that might outlive the car! Hope you found this thread helpful!

 

More pics.

 

Putting it back together

 

Tools used

 

I assume you could also use nylon washers available from most any hardware store as well.

 

Hmmm.. Never thought of that is that what you used?

 

yeah while this is a nice tut and all, but the standard fix for years has been to use those plastic/rubber washers used to seal garden hoses.

 

So would this work on the 98-2000?

 

Some early 98 models had this same unit (if you were lucky), but most had the newer model and it was completely different and usually a total failure until sometime in 2000 and they redesigned it and made it better... I put a new t&t motor in my wifes 99 and it works ok for her, my black 99 works perfectly, (hope I havent jinxed it) and I assume it has had the new modification...
BUT. I have not heard of any way to fix the 98-2000..... hope some one can..

 

I'll have to see what one I have.

 

I had the dealer turn off this feature on my '99 LS400 so I dont have to worry about breaking it. No problems getting in and out of the car with the wheel set in one position.

 

+1 on the 98 - 2000 not having an easy fix. Both motors are out on mine and I can't bring myself to spend stupid money on the motors. It is a pain in the butt but you can adjust it manually with a pair of needle-nose vice grips. If I remember correctly, the Toyota Landcruzer has the same part but different part numbers and are cheaper then the Lexus part. Not 100% on this but I think they will interchange.