dicer

Yes that is the fan bracket bearings going out. No more driving it till its fixed, it could take out the radiator and even the AC condenser and who knows what else.

Banshee365

Don't waste your money on any other brand but this one: http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....nid=307&jpid=3

Replacing it involves removing the fan and loosening the AC compressor. If you're halfway competent in mechanics you can do it yourself.

LS400CE

Today, I drove it to my A&M car club monday night meet and had a few of the fellow members take a look. They are all work mechanics so they took a look and told me that I have a bigger problem. and that is the fact that many things seem to be happening simultaneously. My AC compressor seems to be the main issue, which is why I heard the noise inside originally but not from the engine bay, since it was going through the air ducts, while the bearing is indeed also going wonky, though they say the bearing issue is very early onset and isn't a huge concern (yet), though it would be nice to replace at the same time since I will have to get many things fixed anyway. And then they noticed that my timing belt and drive belt both are due for replacement, so they said that could be contributing to the problem. So all in all, they said that many aging issues seem to have just all kicked in at once, the bearing issue being noticed very very early on because of it. However, they did say that it makes everything easier since I can get all those things done in one go, rather than have things keep going wrong throughout time. but they also said that I should take it to the toyota dealership (since no Lexus dealership in College Station ) or local shop to get it looked at to see if there are any other aging issues since Lexi appears to have the case of catch all the diseases at once syndrome. Now that this is happening, I will keep updating this thread until Lexi is all good and healthy. (yes I did name her Lexi and am heavily emotionally attached to her since she has been with my family since 1999 when I was 3 and then I bought her off my dad so I'm more than willing to throw all the money I have at her to keep her up to par and kicking ***).

Banshee365

A failing AC compressor will not send noise through the vents... These guys may be mechanics but that doesn't mean they know JACK about the LS400. Most don't have a clue. If you have noise in your air ducts it must be from the blower motor. Debris could also be in the blower cage causing noise. The cabin air filter is one of the most neglected things on these cars. It's behind a little slide out panel on the back part of the glove box. Pull it out and check it. If people don't change it or check it often it's usually caked full of crap. Does the noise change with blower motor speed or just engine speed? Also, a timing belt being due or serpentine belt having aged will not cause a noise unless an idler or tensioner pulley for the timing belt is failing, which is fairly rare really. Since the car has been in your family so long when was the last time the timing belt was changed? If it were done at a dealer by your family you can get those records free from the lexus drivers website.

I come to College Station every month or two, I should throw my tools on board the next time I come out there if you haven't figured it out by then. :P

LS400CE

haha that is true. They've seen a few SC400 of the same era but no GS400 or LS400 which is why they were marveling over how my fan is belt driven and not hydraulically or however they said it was on the SC, which has the same basic engine. They also poked fun at how hard it is to see into the actual engine bay with all the Lexus plastic everywhere lookin pretty lol. I will definitely check the cabin air filter, but the sound tends to change with the engine speed and not blower speed. My dad has never taken it to Lexus for service since he deemed it "too expensive" so he took it to Davenport in Dallas, which works exclusively on Lexus cars and they tend to do a good job so anybody who is looking for some quality shop care without Lexus pricing in Dallas, hit up Davenport lol. I believe they write one of the belt change times on the engine cover plastic on the little space provided.

Hey, next time you come into town, we should meet up either way lol. And you can see and pick out other problems that I haven't seen or heard or havent been fixed XD.

djamps

Several pulley bearings including the fan bracket bearing were shot at 205k miles on my LS. All the strange noises went away when I replaced them all, engine is now whisper quiet.

jaaa

My 1996 ls400 at 217k had a fan braket, idler, and tensioner pulleys so out shortly after I bought it. And the alternator too.

LS400CE

the shop im having take a look at it has started examining, and so far, today they have found that my AC compressor bearing is barely hanging on and they will continue tomorrow. I'm so sad tho.

This is the first time in the 17 years Lexi has been with my family that it has had to go in to the shop for repairs outside of its maintenance/service schedule. Hopefully this will remain as the only time outside of maintenance/service schedule that it has had to go for repairs. tho being such an ancient being, im sure eventually more like this will happen, even if it is the legendary bulletproof Lexus LS400. though i will say, for the car to never have to go into the shop outside of service/maintenance schedule, this one time is pretty much unavoidable. no matter how reliable a car, it will eventually have something go before someone notices that it needs to be fixed.

it seems common that at the 195k-250k range is when the LS400 commonly begins to show age, which then disappears as soon as the problem is fixed. goes back to good as new day 1. bearings and bearing brackets seem to be the most common issues, not that other issues dont exsit, but the bearings and brackets appear to be the main problems based on what ive read.

idk what im going to do about my paint and door dings. my fellow college students dont seem to understand what opening your door without hitting the guy next to you is. one day. I will have a fresh coat of Moonstone Pearl back on her.

btw if any of yall pass through College Station, feel free to hmu. or we can have a Club Lexus get together if enough people pass through at the same time lol.

anyway more updates on the situation coming tomorrow.

dicer

It's only the tip of the iceberg, I'm surprised the suspension isn't ready for some work. Has the starter ever been changed? That could be next, has the radiator been changed? Bad AC bearings? Did it put metal into the system? Its all a very costly deal if you take it to a shop, all can add up to over $5000. quick.
Yeah let us know what the findings are and the estimated costs will be. I hope they also do the total inspection, and look for suspension problems etc.

Banshee365

Are they wanting to replace the clutch on the compressor or replace the compressor as a unit?

LS400CE

Davenport caught the front lower control arms giving out, so they already fixed that issue. I'm not personally aware of the starter being changed yet. same with the radiator. maybe it was included in the 210k mile service which ended up costing me about $3500 after they fixed all sorts of leaking aging gaskets and other things. im not sure if the ac bearings put metal in yet. I have asked this shop to do a full inspection of everything located in the engine bay since i told them "heard horrifying noises from that direction." funny thing about suspension actually, I autocrossed Lexi two weeks ago and she seemed fine and handled like a big boat. ate a few mustangs of the same class and a reluctant miata and some others. I'm going to keep watching the suspension and asked it to be looked at now that you mention it. are there any particular parts I should be looking at specifically on the suspension?

I do not actually know yet, as they havent finished the whole inspection. im going to be asking them about that for sure as the ac unit/system is hilariously expensive. hopefully its just a bearing going bad and I dont have to replace whole systems and whole parts of the system. fingers crossed.

Banshee365

Actually the OE complete compressor is fairly cheap. $271 from rockauto brand new with noncore charge for a Denso compressor. The clutch assembly used to be available from Toyota but I don't know what the availability is like without calling a dealer and having them look. The bearing is in the clutch assembly. And that bearing cannot put metal into the system. If the compressor comes apart internally that can happen but these don't usually do that. Ford FS10's on the other hand... Report back here with their findings. I can help you get the best parts for the best price and you could just take them to the shop to install. Any shop will mark up the hell out of parts as well as the labor they charge you.

LS400CE

So as you said, the guys who were just poking at the engine to figure out what was wrong were almost completely wrong. so apparently the noise all boiled down to the AC compressor bearing being completely shot. which considering the engine bay of the LS400, sounds like the general direction of the fan bearing bracket and echoes a bit in the engine bay. and for the job, they will also replace the aging hoses around the engine bay and a front driver side inner tie rod that looks like it will be getting ready to go in the near future and flush the power steering system and install new fluid. For the WHOLE diagnostic which went over pretty much the entire car, its electronics, controls, entire engine bay, drive train, safety, and everything I'm sure you can name, the diagnostis cost $63, which I think is more than reasonable considering they checked literally everything, even things I didn't originally ask to be checked, which was basically the engine bay area. the whole job, depending on whether or not my dad will make a big deal about it will vary on whether or not i can buy the clutch/bearing assembly myself. my dad is picky about buying parts ourselves, so if I let the shop do order parts and do labor, it will end up costing roughly $2200. I'm still trying to convince my dad that buying the parts ourselves and taking it in to the shop to let them just do the labor is cheaper, but my dad is a diehard believer in letting shops handle everything. I'm not entirely convinced he had done his research. so I told him he can pay fr my compressor job if he wants to let the shop order parts, and i will be paying for everything if I buy the parts and then let the shop do labor, so :P maybe my dad can see some sense lol.

I called the shop about what they would put into the P/S system after the flush. they say they would use whatever the manufacturer recommends in the system (Dexron ATF).

Banshee365

Letting a shop order the parts boils down to this almost ALL the time.

You pay retail or over retail for aftermarket parts. Instead you can buy OE parts for wholesale prices. It's a no brainer.

Here is an example for you:

Many shops just use the Advance Auto Part, AutoZone, or Oreilly's of the world for their parts. If not they use Napa or CarQuest. Here are the O'Reilly compressors for your car: http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/A!s!C+Compressor/02645/C0354.oap?keyword=ac+compressor&year=1996&make=Lexus&model=LS400&vi=1187513

The Murray is $729 with the clutch. And Murray is complete and utter junk. The Denso compressor from RockAuto is $271 complete. Denso is the OE for most parts on your car. Can your dad argue with that?

Also, the entire clutch assembly is still available from Toyota. The P/N is 88410-60410. It's the entire clutch with the bearing. It's only $160 from a Lexus dealer in Pembroke Pines, FL that I use a lot. Their website is LPPParts.com. If your compressor works fine and it's leaking I would just replace the clutch assembly. If you let them, the shop will rake you up and down the coals man. That's what they're in business to do.

dicer

No fan bearing huh? Then why was it wobbling in the video? Or was it all an optical illusion? It looked to me that it was about to fall off, I'd go check it my self if I was you.