Ive been getting vibration on the car for some time now(92 ls400)
So yesterday i swapped out my trans mount thinking that was the issue.
Went under the car and noticed the coupler was really bad.

Now i am gonna swap that thing out, but what i wanted to ask is, what else should i replace just to make sure the vibration stops. The vibration only happens at above 65mph now ,as apposed 60mph before the trans mount. Also was reading somewhere that the strut brace(bar) might have something to do with the vibration as well. How can i tell if they are bad? other then taking those off?

 

Its an accident waiting to happen.

Many years ago, I had the most horrifying thing happen to me: a drive shaft (chevy) fell out of the transmission, and not only banged on the road, but also on the floor of the car, with me almost getting a heart attack (try to imagine the noise and "earthquake" at the same time). The car was not mine, and I just got into it, so there was no time even to notice that something was off. Luckily this happened while I was just accelerating, doing maybe 10-20 mph, but I hate to think what would happen at highway speed...

Seriously, I've been through all kinds of things, in cars (usually not mine), but that incident takes the cake.

As for vibrations, it seems that on our 1st gen LS, the differential mounts/bushings whatever they are called were no good to start with. There should be three of them and I believe there was even a SB for that. The problem should be similar to bad transmission and engine mounts, with possible noise too. I am planning on checking mine, but they say it is hard to see if they are good or not - possibly one way would be to put it in drive, and get the wheels against something so that car cannot move and then look under the car to see if the rubber is cracked. Who wants to go under a car while it is in drive?

 

I had to replace both drive shaft couplers in my previous LS400 here in NZ.
Toyota wanted just over $2,000.00 for the pair.
I finally sourced a pair of German made after market units which cost $250.00 the pair FITTED!

When I asked the supplier what else they fitted he told me they were for an English Ford Transit van but the transit only used one of them.

Not sure if this information will be useful to you but just in case it is here it is.
Given that the NZ dollar is only worth US 90 cents it may be an inexpensive solution for you.
If it is, let me know and I will look up my records for the name of the supplier here in NZ.

 

its the driveshaft bushing aka guibo bushing. ebay has them cheap for the 1LS.

 

please report the difference between before and after replacing this...also a link to where u get the part..thank you

 

i found some good flex joints gonna be installing them Wednesday. ill let you guy know what happens

 

I'd like to know details of this! Like - which model of Ford Transit and who was the manufacturer? (And for how long did you have it now?)

I just checked online, and they do look the same, but I could not find the exact dimensions; one could potentially get the UK Ford Transit flex joint, for about 1/3 price of the Lexus aftermarket one. They go for around 30 pounds in UK, and LS400 is around $200.00 (aftermarket).

Another one that is even cheaper, is a BMW flex joint - they seem to use the same one for ALL their cars (3 series, coupes, 5 series etc). It also uses six bolts, it's just unlikely that they would be exactly the same size as LS400.

 

peterls- i also noticed that the BMW did use the same flex joints.i might have to go to the pick a part this weekend and grab a pair and compare them to the LS and see the difference.

 

If you have a Lexus one on you, maybe you can just take it to nearest Autozone or any other car parts store and see if they have the BMW flex joint and compare it right there. Maybe bring a caliper with you to do some measurements...

As I am writing this, I just realized that some Mercedes model(s) have an almost identical driveshaft, which leads me to believe that their flex joints may be compatible! Here is one, I just found it:


Even that one is cheaper than Lexus aftermarket... about half the price.

And here is the Ford transit one it looks like it could fit:

www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-O-E-PROPSHAFT-VIBRATION-DAMPER-FORD-TRANSIT-MK6-2000-2006-/321295272478?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4aceb0ca1e&vxp=mtr

 

Sorry PeterLS; I didn't ask which model - I was just curious at the time.
The guy just measured mine up and then went looking on his PC for one that matched.
He may have had a parts list from an after-market manufacturer and he just compared the specs I suspect.

 

Any updates here?? Is this a driveway DIY task? Thinking of doing mine have to take a closer look at mine next week during oil change.