OMAHA

i bought a 1994 LS400 for $1400 and was told all it had wrong was a power steering leak......so i took it to the dealer and they told me the power steering pump is leaking, air control valve causing leak into intake. the valve cover gaskets is leaking oil. cam seals and crank seals are leaking. should replace timing belt also. rack and pinion leaking, should replace also....and front ball joints are loose! i need input on this matter......thanks!

LScowboyLS

some of that is legit and some of that sounds quite BOGUS!

● power steering pump is leaking --- possibly, fix your easier PS leaks first

● air control valve causing leak into intake --- likely, and not hard to fix yourself

● the valve cover gaskets is leaking oil --- so, what's a little oil, don't worry about this one

●cam seals and crank seals are leaking --- fix these when timing belt is done for 1 additional hour of labor

● should replace timing belt also --- yes, depending on how long it has been since the last one, this is not critical on a 94, like it is on 95 and newer

● rack and pinion leaking, should replace also --- your rack and pinion is NOT leaking (never seen a genuine PS rack leak in an LS400) - this is either incompetence or scamming

●front ball joints are loose --- they are likely worn out, which ones, upper or lower, did they say were bad?

the main thing is to keep a close eye on the PS fluid level and on the oil level and do not let them get low

also, if you are getting any leak spots on the ground, wash the underside of engine after removing and cleaning plastic engine protector (the big plastic shroud under the engine) and then see if you still have a spot of oil or PS fluid in the driveway

if you are getting PS (power steering) fluid (red in color if you are adding correct Dexron III) then you need to find and fix PS leak ASAP if you don't want to ruin alternator

OMAHA

thanks alot.......i found a mechanic that can do this using oem parts.....so im gonna do the timing belt and cam, crank seals...and work on that ps leak! they never specified upper or lower ball joints though....

LScowboyLS

upper ball joint is not replaceable itself, it is part of the upper control arm (UCA) - and too expensive to buy the Lexus part on this one, we have some folks here running aftermarket UCA's, gonna see which ones are good

LScowboyLS

for timing belt, you want this $200 kit which contains all of the real Toyota OEM parts for a small fraction of the regular price

RA40

iTrader: (6)

As with cars of age, there is a list of possible fixes that you'll find and have. Cheap to buy unfortunately is not cheap to maintain when there are many wear issues. That said, once all the necessary fixes have been done and barring the drive line has not been neglected, the car is capable of many-many miles. Get the critical ones taken care of and deal with the rest as wallet accommodates.

The other key area is fluids and the other one aside from the PS is the transmission. Check that and if it is red, you have one less potential issue to worry about.

LScowboyLS

Oh yeah, some serious shameful stuff going on here! - this is what gives dealerships such a bad reputation!

OMAHA

thanks for posting my work order cowboy! i will get the kit as well,thanks again!

LScowboyLS

"let's see, boss, the customer needs a timing belt and has a couple of leaks"

"make sure you squeeze at least $5000 out of the estimate"

"check! - $5029!" "I will call the customer and tell them their estimate is ready"

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

Ls do you even sleep????? As much as I like Lexus some of these dealerships should be ashamed!!!!

OMAHA

lol...sounds about right!!