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Hey guys, I’ve had a 97 LS for a close to 3 months now and been through some forums but this is the first time making a post. With that out the way I wanted to know what maintenance I should seek doing. I already have a list of things I know I need as well as suggested things I should do soon:
Starter, Power steering pump, Alternator, Strut bars, Timing belt, Water pump, Amplifier, Rotors Anything else I should know of?
Here she is for those who’d want to see, 86k mi UCF21 (first pic most recent)
Are you going to do the maintenance yourself or bring it someplace to have it done?
Hopefully, you received the owner's manual and supplement when you got the car, the maintenance schedule is (typically) in the supplement. If not, you can (sign up) find it here: https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers
It would be ideal if you had some service history in order to determine where you need to focus your maintenance in order to get your car up to date. Because you have such a low mileage car, it would probably be establish a baseline based on elapsed time and not elapsed mileage. You can get service history from any dealership provided the service was performed at a dealership.
Are you going to do the maintenance yourself or bring it someplace to have it done?
Hopefully, you received the owner's manual and supplement when you got the car, the maintenance schedule is (typically) in the supplement. If not, you can (sign up) find it here: https://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers
It would be ideal if you had some service history in order to determine where you need to focus your maintenance in order to get your car up to date. Because you have such a low mileage car, it would probably be establish a baseline based on elapsed time and not elapsed mileage. You can get service history from any dealership provided the service was performed at a dealership.
Yeah I’m mainly going to be doing it myself/ with some friends. I do have the manual and supplement, I’ll skim through it when I get the chance. I don’t have any service service records but telling from how the car was kept, i can find them if i go to a dealership.
not sure why you have an amplifier as a maintenance item...
yes timing belt/wp should be done at 90k miles intervals. strut rod bushings in the front suspension tend to go at over 100k as well as the transmission mount. motor mounts could be next. then you can do routine maintenance such as fluid swaps, cabin/air filter, spark plugs, etc.
not sure why you have an amplifier as a maintenance item...
yes timing belt/wp should be done at 90k miles intervals. strut rod bushings in the front suspension tend to go at over 100k as well as the transmission mount. motor mounts could be next. then you can do routine maintenance such as fluid swaps, cabin/air filter, spark plugs, etc.
Sweet ride. 86k miles is very little. Starter is not easy to replace. I would not do it premeptively unless you really enjoy working on the car.
Also the servopump needs doing when it starts dripping fluid on alternator or gives up. Not before really. The OEM original stuff is generally really good quality.
New stuff sometimes hold up much worse. Especially if it is third party stuff. Check idler pulleys etc for noise when doing cambelt. Often time for a bearing swap at least on those.
What a beauty! Congrats!
I'd flush the cooling system with Prestone (according to instructions), and do all the simple kinda stuff, from coolant (using only Toyota red, diluted 50-50 with distilled water), to oil, making sure I have a box of OEM oil filters, and 6 quarts of Mobile 1, etc. Then lubricate the sunroof guides, inspect suspension, breaks, inspect break fluid level and possibly change the break fluid, and take care of all the filters and little things like IACV (if yours can be opened... which now that I think about it, probably can't). Get some duplicate parts to have on hand to diagnose problems later, such as another, identical and working ECM (computer - should be in the passenger side foot well), maybe another MAF, just in case, and perhaps do the O2 sensors - Denso is OEM and theirs now come with proper plugs, so cheap, easy fix that makes a big difference. None of it is too hard to do, but can make a big difference if not now, later for sure. O2 sensors will likely reduce your fuel consumption, and in my case, flushing the cooling system with Prestone also helped with my fuel consumption and how the engine ran as well. Then keep flushing the trans fluid whatever amount you can and replace it only with Toyota one. And listen for the P/S pump whine. I can't believe how many people drive with their cars constantly going "ummm... ummmm..." in parking lots, torturing their P/S pump (not LS, but other cars).
Good luck with the car, it is a beauty!
Maintenance
