Five1OH

I was looking at several different models and this seemed to be the nicest one. I saw a few of them going for 8-10k running good, but with high miles. To be honest, I could care less if the car needed work as I do all my own work so labor costs are non existent. I have done it all several times from engine transmission and suspension. The decent gas mileage for the engine size was also impressive to me. The last thing I want to know is how good the 1uzfe engine itself is. I see numerous models over 200k and still running well. Do the high mileage ones with 150+ have internal problems such as burning oil, head gaskets, bottom end bearings spinning out of place, etc? How are the transmissions? How often do they run into problems?

If I were to buy a 98-00 LS400 and change the timing belt, water pump, oil pump, PS pump (and the issues they have with them..I have to read up more about them), alternator, wires, plugs, fluids, struts, suspension arms and joints, etc should I have a car ready to go another 100k miles? As for any emergency issues, I should have enough to fix anything that the car unexpectedly throws at me in the sub 2k range...I plan on keeping the car for a long time.

Five1OH

WOW...searched through the forum for threads about blown engines, cracked ring lands, spun bearings, or any internal damage and the only ones I could find were because simple maintenance items like water pump, and things like driving the car into a deep puddle etc. Even saw an article with an LS400 at 500,000 miles which makes me feel like 150,000 miles is just getting started haha. Looks to be a go for me. How do your 98-00 LS40s treat you guys as far as dependability and things needed to be changed?

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

as long as u arent abusive, stupid, ignorant, or all of the above, they DONT BREAK.


im on my 2nd LS and my '95(same basic block+chassis) was solid at 130k mi. when it was killed.

currently at 105k mi. with my 99 and my dad's at ~70k mi. on his '00.

Five1OH

I drive real easy once moving, but I admit I am heavy footed at times when merging onto roads and expressways and am not the shy type when I need the few extra horses to move me where I want to be =). Must be a bad bug as my current daily driver is a 420 whp MR2 turbo : D.

Five1OH

Wow.. you guys love your cars. One thing I noticed about the LS is that when they decide to get a newer car, they the LS owners just get newer LS models. You guys must really love your cars. I have never driven one. I am going to drop by the Lexus dealer tomorrow just to test drive one. I wonder if they will let me test drive a used car....

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

The one thing I like about the LS and mostly the reason why I got my 99 was because of its reliability. If cared for properly, the engine and trans will last well over 300K which is a lifetime for my cars since I don't usually keep them much past 100K-150K. If abused, the engine and trans still managed to take a beating and not really get trashed too bad. The LS is definitely my family car. I'm not really concerned about its ride quality and comfort since I'm one that generally drive more sporty cars with more firm or modified suspensions, but the LS400 makes the perfect family car for me.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

they should if u show interest in buying.

i chose my '99 because id always preferred the 98+ cars. but after my 95 died i did hunt around quite a bit, considering a few S2k's, an early STi, 2 SC4's, 5SC3's, and a couple other cars incl. a modded 91 supra.

actually had it narrowed down to 3 cars, the LS, a 02 S2k (in black), and a 94 SC3 5spd.

the SC3 was beat on and the owner was asking a massive amount of money for it, so that was axed.

the S2k was a great little car but im not a very "small" person, and after driving it for about an hour it was getting really cramped. that and in my city there are LOTS of lifted trucks, to which my eye-level was the bottom of the door, which is kinda scary after having ur car wrecked by a pickup truck <3 weeks before.

so the LS it was

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

I love my ride, I couldn't have it any other way, except for a newer LS or possibly a GS. I like the styling and performance, and the timeless age it has. I am a heavy footer too when it comes to merging or passing.

I had a 98 a couple years ago, which was my first car. My dad passed it down to me at around 145K miles which he drove all highway. I put around...30K on it myself before it was totalled, but it ran like a top. It drove just like a new car, no problems EVER out of that car. They only thing that quit working was the cigarette lighter after being used so much with a radar detector.

I say go for it 110%

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

The 98-00 LS will always have a special place in my heart. By far my old 98 was the best car I have ever owned. Reliability wise, value wise, performance, looks, comfort, craftsmanship, it just wins in every category.

omarg

You'll realize ls400's excel at everything except handling, which when called upon is quite composed but not exceptional

11 months and 18k miles after i've bought my car and not ONE mechanical failure! Keep in mind, my car has 228k right now and 14 years old. Simple routine maintenance. This car is so cheap to own!

As i've said before, ls400's might be short on personality but its reliability more than makes up for its boring character.
This car is so good we bought 2 more ls400's for my mom and my sister.

I more than love ls400's.

jermdogg

98-00 LS 400's are great. I highly recommend you purchasing one.

However. The list of things you are going to change will add up quickly. Since many of these parts don't all go out at once, and they give fair warning when they do, all you need to do to for "insurance reasons" is to do the timing belt and waterpump if it hasn't been done. When they pulled the timing belt off of mine, they said it didn't look warn AT ALL. Change all fluids and keep up on maintanece.

Five1OH

Maintenance? Do I really have to change like the timing belt and that stuff? I know people who have gone 150k miles on their cars and never had to change it so I don't plan on touching anything under the hood for years except autozone oil changes. All that stuff is just a hoax to make money. Even oil. They tell you to change your oil every 3k miles but that is just a way for them to make money. Oil doesn't really need to be changed. We just do it because it gets dirty after about 30,000 miles. Timing belts and that stuff last well over 200k miles. I don't see cars broken down on every corner when I drive around so I don't think I will break down.

Five1OH

Shame on you for those that fell for that! lol. When it comes to maintenance I am a freak. Coming from a 420whp MR2 that I put together (still going to be my weekender) , I learned to change things very frequently. And believe me, I sure know how things can add up as I bought my MR2 with 150,000 miles and the engine had over 200,000 miles from someone who "riced" it out. I change my plugs (copper) on my MR2 every 3k miles and wires every year to give you an example of how up to date I am. A parts store is like a toy store for me. Since I do my own stuff, I would be changing belts, pumps, alternator, and whatever else the car decides to throw at me. I can't go more than a couple days without opening the hood and checking oil, coolant, etc. Knowing me, I'll remove the engine cover and never put it back on =D

Parts like timing belts and oil and water pumps and PS systems are really no biggie for me. It's the big and expensive stuff that worries me. I am just wondering if the LS has any big problems with expensive parts like the steering column with the electric controls and especially the air suspension. Anybody have problems with that, and how much are those struts?

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

While timing belts and water pumps can last over 100K, and sometimes even over 300K on the original equipment, I have seen them break before. This could be due to a freak accident, maybe a faulty rubber belt, dry rot, or whatever. Generally, the belts that I have seem or heard about breaking didn't really break in half, but more stripped a tooth. This as you know causes the timing to jump and depending on how many teeth stripped obviously will damage an interference engine. The choice is to either get ripped off and change your t belt every 90K miles, or roll the dice and risk $4K engine repair. If you keep your car a long time it might end up costing less in the long run to just wait until the belt breaks and either swap the engine or have it repaired, but that is a lot of down time for some people and an all at once cost. $1200 every 90K miles seems to be insignificant too me in the long run. But, that is just my perspective. If I had a non interference engine I might wait until the belt breaks. Then you just need to replace the belt and readjust timing.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

only stuff that can go wrong is basically all rubber, the suspension bushings normally start going out round 120k mi. (strut bar bushings and sway bar bushings, relatively cheap) to 160k mi (CA bushings and possibly ball joints= a bit pricy depending on the route taken).