rebuild 97 LS400
09-21-14, 12:59 PM
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rebuild 97 LS400
New to the forum so please forgive anything i ask here that may be found elsewhere on this site however i want to hear differing opinions on my question. Any advice appreciated.
Have a 97 LS400 w/ 272k miles on it. Just replaced a lot of regular maintenance items; timing, water pump, plugs, wires, etc. The car still looks and runs great and i'm trying to figure what internals, etc. i'd have to replace to get another 100k miles out of it. Oil pump, valves, heads, etc.? Also transmission rebuilds, updates?
Would also like to know best mods for performance gains? The car runs like a beast anyway but would like to add some HP so curious as to effectiveness and real HP gains from modifying heads, intake, exhaust.
I don't expect a detailed answers on everything i've asked but just some basic advice on what i'd be looking at would be great.
Have a 97 LS400 w/ 272k miles on it. Just replaced a lot of regular maintenance items; timing, water pump, plugs, wires, etc. The car still looks and runs great and i'm trying to figure what internals, etc. i'd have to replace to get another 100k miles out of it. Oil pump, valves, heads, etc.? Also transmission rebuilds, updates?
Would also like to know best mods for performance gains? The car runs like a beast anyway but would like to add some HP so curious as to effectiveness and real HP gains from modifying heads, intake, exhaust.
I don't expect a detailed answers on everything i've asked but just some basic advice on what i'd be looking at would be great.
09-21-14, 02:10 PM
#2
Welcome to Club Lexus. 
Many of our common discussions are in the FAQ here:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...questions.html
At 272K there will no doubt be future fixes so it is hard to determine what and when to put $$ into it. Longevity of the cars relies on regular maintenance and having the fluids done promotes this. Mechanical parts wear so as they come due is about the best you can do.
Many of our common discussions are in the FAQ here:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...questions.html
At 272K there will no doubt be future fixes so it is hard to determine what and when to put $$ into it. Longevity of the cars relies on regular maintenance and having the fluids done promotes this. Mechanical parts wear so as they come due is about the best you can do.
09-21-14, 03:18 PM
#3
Like Ra said, nothing needs to be replaced until it needs to be replaced. The car will last with regular maintenance and fluid changes.
As far as performance gains: check the faq that Ra posted. Look in the intake section for J Brady's intake mod. You can also gain some hp from a custom exhaust. I'm sure one of the more knowledgeable exhaust members can comment on that, but be prepared to essentially lose that cabin silence. If you've got money to burn, look into a supercharger (either m90 or m112), a custom TC from lextreme, and get it tuned, properly. If you go that route make sure to look into a trans intercooler to make sure you get that extra 100k out the trans.
As far as performance gains: check the faq that Ra posted. Look in the intake section for J Brady's intake mod. You can also gain some hp from a custom exhaust. I'm sure one of the more knowledgeable exhaust members can comment on that, but be prepared to essentially lose that cabin silence. If you've got money to burn, look into a supercharger (either m90 or m112), a custom TC from lextreme, and get it tuned, properly. If you go that route make sure to look into a trans intercooler to make sure you get that extra 100k out the trans.
09-21-14, 03:32 PM
#4
I really dont think you are going to improve the performance from modifying heads, intake, exhaust. to justify the cost involved.. Air filter, cabin air filter, cleaning the throttle body, MAF, and renewing the temp sending switch with new engine mounts and a tranny mount... did you replace the thermostat and coolant (toy red).. fuel filter on the frame? these are just some things that pop up at times... just care for it and enjoy it and check your EGR tube for leaks.. oh yes, welcome to Club Lexus, flash us a photo, here are mine, just had them polished and waxed and the headlights restored for winter.. Oh yes, I am now over 80 and I cant do the manual labor anymore, so I had it done....
Last edited by billydpowe; 09-22-14 at 10:24 AM.
09-22-14, 11:04 AM
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BillyD your cars are so good looking!!!
Its true that the modifications to the cars to get more power are kind of expensive and the car is already pretty decent as is.
Headers are the big gains, but they are priceyyy!! save your money for getting it in good stock working order in the list that Billy listed and anticipate a few unexpected at that mileage.
Its true that the modifications to the cars to get more power are kind of expensive and the car is already pretty decent as is.
Headers are the big gains, but they are priceyyy!! save your money for getting it in good stock working order in the list that Billy listed and anticipate a few unexpected at that mileage.
09-23-14, 04:37 AM
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Where I work we service a 98 ls400 with 370,000 miles and only regular maintenance (t-belt, etc). We don't serivce any ls 400s with under 200k. They all seem about the same mechanically. Pretty damn perfect. Especially when your used to to working on 7-series.
My ls has 240k and I plan on taking it to at least 500k.
My ls has 240k and I plan on taking it to at least 500k.
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09-23-14, 06:29 AM
#8
Where I work we service a 98 ls400 with 370,000 miles and only regular maintenance (t-belt, etc). We don't serivce any ls 400s with under 200k. They all seem about the same mechanically. Pretty damn perfect. Especially when your used to to working on 7-series.
My ls has 240k and I plan on taking it to at least 500k.
My ls has 240k and I plan on taking it to at least 500k.
09-23-14, 10:51 AM
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I greatly appreciate all the input and responses here and will take each under review moving forward. Stumbled across this car for very cheap after insurance only covered my note on my last vehicle which I totaled. Have completely fallen in love with this car even with the high mileage it runs better than most any Honda or Nissan I've owned which previously were my brands of choice. Going to play around with this one until the wheels fall off but i'll say Lexus has a life long customer. Everything I mentioned replacing in my first post had NEVER been changed before, all parts were original, enough said.
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