This is my new-to-me 1992 LS400, with 113K. One owner car by (of course) an older fella. Nicely maintained and in very good shape, but not perfect. The options are right, with the memory power seats, Nakamichi 6 CD changer (I think the sound sholds up to today's standards pretty good) and such with NO air shocks or traction control. The interior is near perfect, with no rips, tears or other issues. Perhaps the burgundy color will grow on me. The polished chrome rims look nice. Price was good at 3700.
Frankly just about everything I know about it I learned from y'all by lurking on this board. If you can teach me more, let 'er rip!
I drove it home 100 miles last night and here is the the rundown:
The car drives very nicely, and all the driver controls work -- from cruise to A/C to power mirrors, etc. The car tracks straight with just a bit of wander on the highway at 80. Starts and runs perfectly. Everything holds up pretty well to a modern car -- except the weak headlights. (I am going to have to look into options for fixing that.) The power doesn't blow you away, but it has long legs on the Interstate. Very comfortable ride. And unbridled rear wheel drive is fun in the snow!
Of course this is an 18yo car, so there are issues. Here's my list:
- The power steering feels "hard", especially at full stop. Every once in the while I catch the hint of a 'groan' coming from the power steering when turning while stopped. I am going to start by checking the condition of the fluid.
- the idle speed is right at about 500 rpm. Is that low?
- The engine has a "tick" at idle that sounds like a lifter to me. But I see others have found such a noise to be other things, such as a leaky EGR tube.
- The left rear taillight comes on and off. The dash light warning of a taillight issues advises of the situation. I am going to start by looking at the harness that runs by the trunk lid hinge ( thanks to what I have learned here)
- The suspension makes noise going over speed bumps. Almost a clunk. Seems there are several possibilities, from strut bar to ball joint to subframe bolts.
- The hood struts don't work. I may try new auto parts store cheapies first.
- The Nakamichi CD changer doesn't have any baskets. Ebay can probably fix that.
- The digital readout for the Heating/AC temperature and the clock are partially "blacked out" and hard to read. I don't imagine there is an easy fix there, eh?
- Exterior has just a few light scratches and swirl, and paint feels like it hasn't seen a polish in a long time. I am going to start with the clay bar treatment.

 

Nice find!

 

nice find, looks like u have all the lil problems maped out and already have a plan on how to fix it.

 

I too have a '92 ls4. All the problems are too familiar to me. I had my whole power steering assembly replaced (pwr. steering pump, hoses, rack and pinion), front ball joints, strut mounts (the noise you're probably hearing up front), all new struts and shocks (kybs), springs (tanabes), gasket leaks, rear main seal leaks, new trans mount, new engine mounts, trans serviced (with toyota ATF Type T-IV or something just as good), major tune-up (have this done right away), new battery, new alternator, new surpentine belt, new timing belt......This was the bulk of the work done on my car. These cars are great cars, especially when the parts are replaced properly. Don't be cheap with these cars, because that can cause a chain reaction. These cars are very picky. Be economical when shopping for the proper parts for your ls, because if you're cheap and buy a cheap part, that can cause some serious problems. Then you'll end up spending more money the end. So be economical with finding the RIGHT parts for these cars (i'm talking from experience). A great car, especially when it's maintained properly. Welcome and enjoy your ls!

 

I have a 92 also. Flush out all the power steering fluid and then Clean our your power steering fluid and all the filters (solenoid filter and resevoir filter) To clean the resevoir filter you will need to remove the resevoir. Then add an inline filter. Also check for any leaks and fix them if there are some. This should fix your power steering issue. Check you ball joints (probably source of suspension rattle) on mine the lower ball joints were worn out and I got them for 100 bucks on ebay for both of them (lexus brand) and they were easy to change.

 

I admire your new ride's thick connecting rods. It's begging for forced induction.

 

Power steering fluid first. Forced air next

 

Fixed the intermittent taillight issue today. It was not the trunk hinge wire harness issue. I found that someone had stuffed an 1156 bulb into the trunk lid taillight socket where there is supposed to be an 1157. Put in the right one -- problem solved. Go figure.
Flushed out the ps fluid per directions in archives. Power steering now smooth as silk. But while i was under the car I saw a boot on the steering rack was torn open. Have to add that to the repair list.

 

Hopefully its the drivers side boot. The passenger side boot will take a bit of work to replace if its that one...

 

of course it is the passenger side!

 

i love the maroon colored ls400's...there rare and if done right they looks clean...

 

Any updates and tips on replacing the passenger side PS rack boot?

Thanks