First time post and first Lexus! After graduating from college it was time for me to get my own car and stop borrowing my parents. After a LOT of searching I came across this beauty. 250k+ miles and rides like brand new. Previous owner did regular maintenance for the entire time and had every receipt so she has been well taken care of and I intend to do the same. Known issues are a small oil leak coming from the upper driver side of the engine bay (still diagnosing the source), small leak in the rear dif, front driver side bumper has been in a very minor fender bender (see photo for the "damage"), and there are small bits of tar on the paint that I will need to really work at to get out (also see headlight pic). That's it. Runs so smoothly I am amazed. In the process of replacing the fluids and filters.

And that's all at the moment! Would love to know any advice and whatnot
-shopvac1

Washed and waxed

There was a small fender bender at some point but nothing structural as you can see in the light assembly. I plan to fix this soon.

First roadtrip

I've but about 1500 miles on it since I purchased it

Early mornings

Wheels are a bit faded but hey its 23 years old

Late nights

Part of the first road trip

First road trip

 

Oh and the timing belt and water pump were just replaced as well so they are brand new

 

She's a beauty, timeless classic. Congrats!

 

car looks great awesome choice! however there's a big problem now, when your first car ever is the best car ever all other cars will effectively be ruined for you lol... and cars you once thought were nice will start to seem lackluster

this post will likely answer any questions i strongly recommend you give it a read through: https://www.reddit.com/r/Lexus/comme..._buyers_guide/

otherwise don't cheap out on parts or fluids (especially tires), and although at times there might be temptation don't modify or mess with it! like seriously i can't think of anything a regular person could do that would genuinely improve the car as a whole, but feel free to look up the 'jbrady intake' for a way to just get some nice induction noise lol

oh btw why are the rpms so high in that pic? are you power braking?

 

Oh yea, all other cars are garbage now, you got the best. If it's already been taken care of, keep it up and when possible (sometimes ya can't) use OEM parts. Might be a bit more now but, in the long run, they pay off. If ya use aftermarket, you WILL feel the difference. Keep it stock, once you start modifying it, or just changing one little thing with it, ya ruin it's integrity.
Those RPMs are a bit too high, even if it's the first cold start in the morning. I hope you're not power braking it, ya don't want to beat it up already.
Btw, that lake looks awesome, wish I was there.

 

congrats! i remember my first road trip on my LS and she was a pleasure to drive at cruising speed for hours...smooth and solid plus got the best gas mileage during that time (i think 27mpg and pushed to 400 miles per tank).

not sure about the leaks but get under there and check the oil pan on the driver's side. then check the valve cover gasket on the same side. the diff should be pretty easy to spot the source.

 

Welcome and congrats! Stroock is absolutely right - starting with this car makes all others very hard to feel satisfied with!

Hopefully the oil leak is just the valve cover. Good luck finding and repairing it

Also to reinforce your decision to pick this car ..

 

Welcome and congrats. Yes, you've ruined the opportunity for any other car to be in your stable. Hard to start at the top and work your way down. Car looks great and seems you've got a good handle on how you're going to treat her. Should last you quite a while.

 

Nope the tachometer is a bit weird. I don't have a great photo, but this is when the car is turned off and you can see its sitting at about 900. So as far as I know the tachometer shows about 1k higher than the actual rpms but its another things I will have to fix. I really should make a list of everything I need to fix lol

 

Similar issue on the first gens, except the tachometer needle can become loose and read low on those.

The cluster has to be removed from the car, then the acrylic lens (be extra careful and wear gloves!), and finally the needle can be adjusted so that it rests at 0... But if it's working, maybe better to not touch it. I opened mine up because it was reading way too low and became loose with age.

 

A list really helps out alot cuz as time goes by you get used to the way everything is and you either forget about some stuff, or ya just say, "Eh, I'll get to that later." but ya never do. At least if you have a list on paper you can cross things off and feel good about yourself.
Or, ya make the list and it goes on and on, then ya think, "why the hell did I buy this one?" Nah, believe me, it's worth it in the long run. I'm going through that now but when it's finally done, I'll be so happy cuz there's alot more little things I didn't see when I bought it.
As for your small oil leak, it might just be the valve cover bolts are loose. (very common on these cars) That was a problem on both my other LS400s. I'd try to snug them up a bit, not too tight.
Nobody asked yet but, How much did you pay for it? The car looks in damn good condition. Gotta love those southern cars.

Personally, I'd leave the tach needle alone til something else happens in the cluster to where it has to come out. Somewhere on this forum there's a write-up about adjusting the needles but I can't find it. I'll look more later.

 

there are many cars that i think can nicely supplement the LS 400 (such as my E55 Kompressor lol), but replace it? i'm still looking for one that can...