Hey guys,

I have never owned a car before, I don't know much about cars, I'm a city guy who mostly took public transportation. I graduated college and my father gifted me with a 1999 Ls400. Already some things I had get fixed was the front rotors and the hub/wheel barring. I'm sure not having certain parts fixed or looked at over a certain period of time can cause additional problems. If you have experienced these things and know what else could possibly be an issue down the road, I'd be glad to know in advance. I want to take good care of the car but I don't exactly know much about how to do that, so any pointers would be greatly appreciated as well.

SN: my odometer is basically 333k (high as hell I know) and another thing that causes concern is when I go over speedbumps the car dips and scrapes sometimes but especially when I have friends/extra weight in the car. I am driving 4 hours away to continue my education elsewhere so that kind of scares me moving all my stuff, if the car cannot handle the weight. Let me know anything you have to offer, again greatly appreciated.

 

welcome and it's a great starter car, and I hope your dad wouldn't give you too much of a crappy car (humbling and reliable car is ideal, something the LS is!).

what comes to mind about your scrapping is your shock absorbers. that high of a mileage the car should be on it's 2nd or 3rd set of shock absorbers. try this to check, push down on the front or rear bumpers and see how many times the car oscillates up and down. it should go down then up and stop. if it oscillates up and down a few more times, chances are your shocks are worn down. the car should be able to handle all seats occupied just fine (even if your friends are all 200lbs each). the LS can tow too!

as for other maintenance, the major point especially with high miles is the timing belt (should be done every 90k miles). ask your dad when it was last done. the front strut rod bushings, transmission mount, and motor mounts are commonly worn parts too.

check the FAQ section for more, and search on here. lots of maintenance information has already been covered.

 

You need new shock absorbers. Mine is 210k with original shocks so I know that feeling when you have a full load. If that's all you need at 300k (timing belt aside) I'd say you've got a nice ride on your hands. Just drive slow/careful under full load until you change them.

 

Are you sure it hasn't been lowered and why it can't take the weight?

 

Come to think of it I am thinking the same thing. I'm lowered with cut bump stops but still hit the bump stops before scraping unless it's a huge speed bump or steep driveway transition and not hitting it right.

 

I am pretty sure it hasn't been lowered it was owned previously by this older church lady. And maybe I am using the wrong words to describe it but when there was more weight in the car and my friends came, it felt a bit harder to do things like turn and brake. I can see that being a natural effect of added weight but I feel like it shouldn't of been that noticeable. Again this is my first car so maybe I'm overreacting something normal.

 

Welcome, and nice car. From the many years of driving my 1991 and a few other cars, it is definitely normal to feel that the car is more sluggish when there is more weight - When there are more people in the car, you have to adjust your speed and reaction time accordingly.

With regards to your scraping, I'm in agreement with what others have suggested. Being that it is a higher mileage car, the struts are probably worn out. See this video by ChrisFix on how to tell if they are bad and a general explanation of how to replace them. The test is performed at 9 minutes and 26 seconds in.

 

just get some new coil overs and slam the car to the ground.