From your lips to Gods ears.

 

A temp thing with batteries is my suspicion with the given the charging system is good. Friends in Vegas had told me they get batteries for their cars about every 2 years.

Those MX73 Cressida's were very well built. One bother was the sunroof rattle. Toyota still couldn't fix that in the LS400. A hard bump in the Lex I can hear the dash creak from the body flex. I didn't notice that in our lowered Cressida. The 5MGE engine was great.

 

Literally every 1990- 2000 LS400 rubber body/suspension bushing, hose, suspension, weatherstrip, o-rings, seals(engine, transmission(solenoid o-rings are brittleand hard as a rock), air conditioning, differential, steering system, brakes, etc. are ready for replacement...if not from use, then age-related degradation.

Wiring harness connectors residing in the engine compartment literally disintegrate when attempting disconnection. The 1994 and earlier LS400 engine harness connectors benefitted from rubber shrouds, so were shielded from engine heat. I have few if any broken connectors problems with 1993 LS400, but have to purchase new connector shells(not pigtail cut and splice!) for almost any work done on engine components on the 1998 or 1999 LS400. From a wiring harness durability perspective, Lexus improvidently saved a few pennies by eliminating the rubber connector shrouds resulting in faster plastic degradation. Happily, Lexus offers replacement connector components.

So, in a restoration sense, anyone operating an LS400 should anticipate the ongoing process of replacing rubber components one system at a time. Even the best mil spec silicone rubber components have a shelf life of only 25 years...

Note; if purchasing any component with rubber content from Lexus or Toyota, insist on date code information...no sense paying full price for 20 year old rubber anything...dont accept a parts dept. shoulder shrug...the information is available.

 

With everything being equal I find these cars to be extremely reliable. I have put 40,000 on my 98 (143,000 total) and have had no issues whatsoever other than a battery swap. Oil changes and a trans fluid replace. This car seems hard as nails. Recently picked up a 97 for my kid with 187,000 and it fires up everyday like a beast and drives better than most new cars. Rubber aside, which of course will wear, if we are talking reliable starts every day, doesn't leave you hanging type cars these seem more than up to the task.

 

Much agreed.

And because of the reasons you have identified, I'd like to see a lot more of the plastic and rubber parts available through Lexus/Toyota.

I'm doing the suspension and body bushings next month.
After that, I'm attacking the leather!!!

Mike

 

all the rubber is still good on mine. weather stripping is still soft and pliable, no water leaks at all. my leather is still good exept for the arm rest and the top of the back seats are getting stiff and sun faded but no cracking yet. paint still good seats still good no cracks in the dash and everything still works. this thread was more specifically geared towards the early ucf10s that are 25 years old. the ucf20s are old but not very old like the 10s.