Finally got around to manually pulling out my steering column. My wheel motor for back and forth has been broken for a while and the wheel has been pushed all the way in. I've put up with it for over a year now, finally took it apart to mess with. May have to do the motor eventually.

 

Good luck my friend. The steering column was a problem when the LS430 was initially manufactured in 2001. I don't believe they ever got it right. My personal LS430 showed history for column repair and replacement in 2001... It was never actually right even after replacemnt. I disabled mine the day I took over ownership. way back 9 years ago. .. Just something that Lexus never got right.. .period.

 

I have a second set of these wheels for sale. Rims only. No tires

 

Well, I'm officially at the half way point now.

I hit 170K this morning on the way to work. Bought the car with 104K on it almost 3 years ago and other than brakes, tires, oil changes, trans fluid changes and a Throttle Body cleaning, I have had NO maintenance at all.... Hands down, one of the 2 best cars I've owned (The other one being my '05 LS )


170K never looked so good..

 

Sweet! Congrats! I'm hoping to have the same experience......I can say the same for 13 mos/16k, so it's very promising (well 1 yr. is not the same as 3 yr. but likely off to a good start)....

I consider 3 mos. a hump...once you've had a used car for maybe 3 mos. and have driven it daily, you have a good feel for it....

 

And some decent gas mileage to boot!

 

I passed 100k coming back from out of town, I missed the rollover too

 

Wish my 06 had the red needles in the cluster... those look so sharp!

 

Yeah, not bad for a 2 ton behemoth... I seem to do a little better when I burn premium VS. regular..

The only thing better would be an Audi A8 with the Diesel. Big car and great economy to boot..

 

Yeah, it's a little sportier than what the 04-06 cars have.

 

I like the white fluorescent ones on my 06 the way they are.

 

May gas pedal has always felt a little slow to action, Like if I press down I takes some for it to understand. But I havent cared so much, but Yesterday I was with some friends having fun in the snow and did some drifting for fun and overall craziness. I can say tell you that LS 430 is not a good car to drift with, but it was fun nevertheless.
However after that the gas pedal felt really responsive and good! Probably somewhat it feels when its new? I mean it downshifted really fast and intuitive and it didnt at all felt "sluggish" like it did before.

Then it was gone again next time I started the car lol.
Is this a MAF sensor issue?

 

I reset my cabin filter reminder, have never touched it in 14 1/2 mos., but have replaced the filter. I remember seeing to just press the off button, it worked.

Then I was thinking, why am I also getting maint req'd? Look at my information, oil filter has 1,600 left. AH, because I set it to 6,500, but the car has gone 4,900, and the car feels it's due at 5k....

 

Began changing out my power steering fluid today, as it had been 40,000 miles since the last change. Fluid was not as bad as last time, but no longer cherry red. I was able to get a quart of Mobil One full synthetic ATF at AutoZone. When I looked for it last year I could not find any. I use the turkey baster method and replace as much as I can suck out after each gasoline fill up. I will continue this until what comes out looks like what I put back in. Last time it took 3 quarts and many fill ups to get to that point. Also wash and wax as temps were mid 60's today in Texas. Not bad for mid December. My windshield wiper inserts are torn so I also had my Lexus dealer order some replacements. The parts department said it will take 2 days for the inserts so I hope it does not rain or snow before then.

 

Today I completed my DIY project. I decided to extend problem-free life of my LS for another 100k miles. I did this:

1) Replaced front and rear wheel bearing assemblies. Timkens up front, Koyos at the back.
2) Replaced front and rear brake calipers. Reason was the degradation of seals and alleged poor brake performance. A1 kARDONE calipers are very good and not expensive.
3) Replaced front and rear brake rotos and brake pads. Previously ordered OEM, but this time i removed them and put PowerStop Premium kit. Wow, what a difference.
4) Fully bleeded the brake system and flushed the brake fluid.
5) Flushed power steering fluid.
6) Greased brake system with 3M Silicone Paste and 3M Copper Anti Seize.
7) Greased bearing assemblies and metal to metal connections with 3M Copper Anti Seize.
8) Replaced engine VVti valves.
9) Replaced Engine Coolant Sensor.
10) Replaced Exhaust Valve (CAN'T recall the name of it) and installed new hose to throttle body. Old one cooked in my hands and was self-destroyed.
11) Flushed coolant.
12) Greased all engine electic connections with 3M Silicone Paste from outside to provide more insulation and heat protection.
13) Replaced engine protection cover.
14) Replaced front lower ball joints.
15) Replaced front upper control arms.
16) Replaced steering rack bushings.
17) Replaced LCA rear bushings.
18) Replaced two engine mounts. (old ones were cooked).
19) Replaced transmission mount.
20) Replaced engine filter.
21) Replaced seat filters.
22) Replaced cabin filter.
23) Installed new leather steering wheel cover.
24) Reset suspension bushings and torqued them according to factory defaults while weight is preserved.
25) Cleaned 3UZ-FE.
26) Replaced engine oil with 5w-30 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum new edition.
27) Replaced front grille.
28) Replaced battery.

Guys, let me tell you. I dont need a new car. Ever.