gmchueh

Hi all,

Let me start by saying I'm very grateful for this forum and for all of you who are actively posting and responding here. I'm a first-time poster but a long-time lurker, and if it weren't for the invaluable info from here, I wouldn't have gathered the courage to buy my 1995 LS400, which was a long-time dream of mine. For context: I'm a lover of this model (and of big boxy sedans from the 80s and 90s in general), but I'm totally new to the world of cars/classic cars. I have no mechanical abilities and no tools, space, or time to work on the car myself. With that in mind, I honestly feel a bit like a fish out of water here (my father still thinks I'm crazy for "risking" my money on a "gamble" like an old car), but you all know the feeling. When you like the LS400, you simply like it, period.

Some extra context: I bought the car for $6k in late June after negotiating down from $8k. The car looked to be in excellent condition for its age—basically a single owner its whole life, always garage-kept, 115k miles, the interior looks brand new, no major known issues. The guy I bought it from got it in 2020 and kept it in the garage unused to give to his 16-year-old daughter; turns out she didn't want it ("too old"), so he sold it to me. The only problem in the pre-purchase inspection was that the brake was pulling left, and the steering column/wheel had a few electronic issues (stuck up in the rest position/no tilt, the airbag light was on, the horn didn't work). Since I'm not mechanically savvy, I spent some extra time and due diligence finding an honest and trustworthy mechanic who could help me bring it back to shape.

What was done so far (what my mechanic and I judged urgent/important to make it safe and comfortable to be a daily driver):

• Washed/replaced all old fluids (brake, transmission, steering, new oil, etc.).
• Rebuilt the steering column from a better used part (all issues fixed now, tilt works every time I turn the car on/off, the horn is back on, the airbag light is off).
• Fixed the stuck caliper (the left pull while braking was that; it turned out that the brake flush solved it).
• Replaced the timing belt, crank and cam seals, tensioner, idler pulleys, and water pump—added new coolant.
• With the timing belt removed, replaced: 1 water jacket plug, rusty thermostat & gasket, 1 electrical coil connector.
• Fixed & rebalanced all wheels (they were all busted from curbs and potholes, and the car was hopping a lot while cruising, which annoyed me to hell—I wanted an LS400 precisely for the smoothness of driving, and it wasn't smooth at all—fixed wheels made the drive smooth again).
• Replaced all 4 tires (they were 20 years old).

Known issues that can wait and/or will be closely monitored by the mechanic (I might try to do a few of those myself based on the guidance of this forum; I just have to properly look for the right posts):

• Both camshafts had damage on them from a botched repair from the previous owner, which was causing a small oil leak. The mechanic was able to put a better/bigger seal on it further in, beyond the damaged part, which stopped the leak. He said he'll monitor it every oil change, but we will likely have to replace both inevitably at some point, I guess.
• The mechanic is keeping a close eye on the power steering fluid leaking over the alternator since we know this is a known problem for this model. Preventive driving from my end is never turning the steering wheel to the very limits/never forcing it too much.
• The speedometer is not working (sometimes it comes back to life out of nowhere when driving, but it's been mostly off). Other meters work fine.
• The antenna is not coming up/down automatically—it makes a huge noise, but nothing happens with it. I plan on replacing that myself or at least turning off the automatic up/down feature because I find the noise irritating every time I turn the car on/off.
• The CD player sometimes throws an ERR21 for all discs, but mostly it works. There is only one specific disc that always always throws a 21 and never works, which I'm bummed about (Frank Sinatra's Best Of!).
• Will eventually get the exterior looking nicer...removing some dents and scratches, redoing window tints (the original is falling off), fixing both bumpers for paint correction & small damage. Focusing on mechanics/drivability first.

What to do next (priority-wise): that's where I'd love your suggestions and expertise! Here's what I thought:

• The thing that bothers/worries me the most for now is the BRAKES. They are not horrible nor spongy, and the mechanic said they are overall fine, but two things are bothering me: 1. When I brake, it still hops and shakes quite a bit while slowing down to a full stop (this could also be the shocks, I guess? Definitely not the wheels since they are all fixed & balanced now), and 2. It takes a little bit too much time for the car to come to a full stop, to the point that I get scared to drive over 70mph (which kind of defeats the whole purpose of owning a car with a 1UZ in it). I had to come to a full stop from 65-70 on the highway last week due to the car in front of me stopping suddenly, and the car swerved pretty bad—luckily, I could correct it and get it under control, but it was more scary than it should be. I'll be driving highways daily and need to be able to cruise at that speed and brake hard without issues. I'd love for the brakes to be much more responsive and not swerve, which begs so many questions—would that mean replacing the brake pads and rotors only? What about calipers/pistons? Front, back, both? Anything else that can be upgraded & replaced to make it brake faster/with more precision? Will new/modern parts be higher quality than the original LS400 parts, or, in which case, should I try my best to keep the original parts due to their higher quality? I already have new tires...I'm also not fully sure my ABS is working as it should—should the car swerve if ABS is working?
• Any other preventive/very nice-to-have mechanical maintenance that should be done around the 115k/30-year mark? Overall things I read about changing/upgrading are: shocks, suspension, bushings, driveshaft, guibo, CV axles...should the airbags be checked? I'm unsure which one to start with and if I'm missing something in this list, so please, if you could give me some collective guidance on what to do next, given the age & state of the car, I'd highly appreciate it.

Here's a pic of my beauty since we're at it. Still gotta give it a name.




THANK YOU!