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Dont ever pressure wash engine,these cars have bad reactions to water.Old electronics and water really dont mix on the LS400.Electrical connectors will be very fragile, as in pull them apart and they very well may crumble.Best advice Ive seen IMO is spray on cleaner and wipe off with rags.
Don't spend another minute thinking about the timing belt. A professional repair would more than double what you paid for the car. Doing it yourself, at age 17, unless you're the Mozart of car mechanics, is not something you're probably ready for. Your '92 is not an interference engine, so even if the belt were to break, you would not damage the engine.
The car looks good, and it seems you got a fair deal. Great that the car drives fine.
I recommend you be in cautious mode for a while at first. Check all the fluids - oil, ATF, coolant, PS fluid, brake fluid, rear differential. Check the owner's manual for exactly how to do all those things.
Then start picking off the actual problems your car definitely already has, as you slowly gain ability, tools, and confidence. Maybe start with the easy ones at first. Do NOT go looking for problems that don't actually exist (e.g., Timing Belt), or thinking about upgrades. That's all down the road.
If prioritizing, hit the safety issues first.
okay, so don't worry about the timing belt that intensely because I am no god tier mechanic. I'll just take it easy for a while to make sure everything is smooth.
First off, welcome to the club. Alot of information here on how to fix what ya need to. Plenty of info in the stickys at the top of page and also take a look at http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/
The red light that says "brake" is for when the E-brake is engaged. Try lifting up on the pedal, the spring might be bad. If it was low on fluid the yellow "trac" light would come on. (not the trac off light)
In my opinion that car isn't worth bringing back to its glory. You say you saved all summer to buy a car for $800. That car is gonna take many many thousands to fix. Every single piece of interior needs to be changed. It looks like it was at the bottom of the ocean, or in a flood. The whole front clip is smashed. Not to mention it's got 200K and gonna need a boat load of bushings and suspension work, don't know about under the hood yet. Gonna need a set of wheels. Whoever just put the new tires on should have put all the lug nuts back on. Also, those rims are directional, (well, 3 of them are) the one on the back driver's side is a right side rim. And just a thought but the one odd ball rim is from a 95-97, which is a 16" rim, the 92 rims are 15".
I'm gonna give you a little advice. Take it how you want it but it's what I would tell my teenage kid. (grandkid) If you want a nice LS400, there are plenty out there for a cheap price that are in a hell of alot better shape then this thing is. You should use this car to get back and forth to work while saving money to get a better one. Fix the small things on this one to keep it running and drivable. Good luck either way.
Yea, when I got the new tires, the people selling me the tires looked at my car and was like that wheel is a 16" when all the other ones are 15". So I just took the spare tire out of the car which was a 15" and got a new tire for that one since it was flat.
okay, so don't worry about the timing belt that intensely because I am no god tier mechanic. I'll just take it easy for a while to make sure everything is smooth.
You've got the best of both worlds so to speak—no payment and a good running car! I find cars like yours can be a blast to tinker with as far as detailing goes. Everything you clean or fix makes it look better. A good vacuum, couple of seat covers, etc. and you are golden. Most of all, ENJOY!
You've got the best of both worlds so to speak—no payment and a good running car! I find cars like yours can be a blast to tinker with as far as detailing goes. Everything you clean or fix makes it look better. A good vacuum, couple of seat covers, etc. and you are golden. Most of all, ENJOY!
Yeah, I'm excited. I'm gonna take it slow but I want to just play with it and see what I can do to make it look better. I'm going to clean out the interior this week and then next week I'll probably go to a pick n pull and see if I can get some parts that are broken on the car right now like a drivers side handle, headlights, and I'm going to check out the windows because they stop about 2 inches from the top, I think it is the motor so I might go look for a window motor in the junkyard. Unless anyone has any other idea of why the windows stop going up about 2 inches from the top. Also should I get new seats from the junkyard or just seat covers online?
Not sure about the window. Does anyone know if the 92 model has the safety feature that stops them from eating kid's hands? Seat covers would probably be a lot cheaper, and it would be hard to find a set of seats that hasn't gotten wet at the junk yard (but you never know). See if you can get a shift **** when your at the pick and pull. A nice shift handle makes a statement. If you don't have access to steam cleaner you can use Spot Shot (Walmart) to clean stains in the carpet. You can even rent steam cleaners at Walmart. If you go the Spot Shot route, use white of light colored towels to remove the spots after spraying the cleaner on the carpet (not pink, red, etc.). I've had good luck on eBay finding car parts, just buy from a seller with decent feedback ratings. I've seen sellers offer just the seat skins, which would be cheaper to ship.
Not sure about the window. Does anyone know if the 92 model has the safety feature that stops them from eating kid's hands? Seat covers would probably be a lot cheaper, and it would be hard to find a set of seats that hasn't gotten wet at the junk yard (but you never know). See if you can get a shift **** when your at the pick and pull. A nice shift handle makes a statement. If you don't have access to steam cleaner you can use Spot Shot (Walmart) to clean stains in the carpet. You can even rent steam cleaners at Walmart. If you go the Spot Shot route, use white of light colored towels to remove the spots after spraying the cleaner on the carpet (not pink, red, etc.). I've had good luck on eBay finding car parts, just buy from a seller with decent feedback ratings. I've seen sellers offer just the seat skins, which would be cheaper to ship.
Aight, I'll look for a shift ****, I'm seeing if my friend has a steam cleaner I can use but if he doesn't I'll def go with the spot shot, thanks for the tip. I want to try and put a gated shifter from one of the 95-97 models but I don't know if they are even compatible or if it is even possible
First off, welcome to the club. Alot of information here on how to fix what ya need to. Plenty of info in the stickys at the top of page and also take a look at http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/
The red light that says "brake" is for when the E-brake is engaged. Try lifting up on the pedal, the spring might be bad. If it was low on fluid the yellow "trac" light would come on. (not the trac off light)
In my opinion that car isn't worth bringing back to its glory. You say you saved all summer to buy a car for $800. That car is gonna take many many thousands to fix. Every single piece of interior needs to be changed. It looks like it was at the bottom of the ocean, or in a flood. The whole front clip is smashed. Not to mention it's got 200K and gonna need a boat load of bushings and suspension work, don't know about under the hood yet. Gonna need a set of wheels. Whoever just put the new tires on should have put all the lug nuts back on. Also, those rims are directional, (well, 3 of them are) the one on the back driver's side is a right side rim. And just a thought but the one odd ball rim is from a 95-97, which is a 16" rim, the 92 rims are 15".
I'm gonna give you a little advice. Take it how you want it but it's what I would tell my teenage kid. (grandkid) If you want a nice LS400, there are plenty out there for a cheap price that are in a hell of alot better shape then this thing is. You should use this car to get back and forth to work while saving money to get a better one. Fix the small things on this one to keep it running and drivable. Good luck either way.
best. advice. right thurrr.
for 3-5K there are plenty of 1st gens that are in very good shape still, just need to wait for one to pop up. like this here https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...886721277.html it's a dealer and it's priced on a high end, but the shape it's in is spectacular (minus the steering wheel, which is easy to fix)
5K isn't even going to be close to bringing this one back to presentable shape, unless you buy a wrecked one that you can salvage interior and front clip parts off of, if you have the space to store the wrecked one
best. advice. right thurrr.
for 3-5K there are plenty of 1st gens that are in very good shape still, just need to wait for one to pop up. like this here https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/...886721277.html it's a dealer and it's priced on a high end, but the shape it's in is spectacular (minus the steering wheel, which is easy to fix)
5K isn't even going to be close to bringing this one back to presentable shape, unless you buy a wrecked one that you can salvage interior and front clip parts off of, if you have the space to store the wrecked one
I agree that starting with an $800 car that drives fine, it would cost more than $5k in restoration expenses to bring it up to the quality of what you could buy outright for $5k. Attempting to turn this into a perfect car would be a painful learning experience.
One solution is to save up $5k and buy the $5k mint car. When you're 17, every year counts, so ...
Another one, which the OP is on track for, is to buy an $800 car and make it as good as he can, which will not approach mintness.
I agree that starting with an $800 car that drives fine, it would cost more than $5k in restoration expenses to bring it up to the quality of what you could buy outright for $5k. Attempting to turn this into a perfect car would be a painful learning experience.
One solution is to save up $5k and buy the $5k mint car. When you're 17, every year counts, so ...
Another one, which the OP is on track for, is to buy an $800 car and make it as good as he can, which will not approach mintness.
I wish I was back that age. But when I was, a $1k car was mint. What I was saying is there are better cars to start with for $800. 3 yrs ago I paid $900 for my 94 and all I changed since was ball joints, outer tierods, and rear shocks. Now it needs front shocks and UCA which I bought 6 months ago but due to neck surgery I cant put them on. So for car and parts was $1500 and in better shape then most $3k LS400s.
Save a couple grand and just look for the right one. I'm wondering how bad of an accident this car was in to blow the air bag.
Yeah, I'm excited. I'm gonna take it slow but I want to just play with it and see what I can do to make it look better. I'm going to clean out the interior this week and then next week I'll probably go to a pick n pull and see if I can get some parts that are broken on the car right now like a drivers side handle,
I just noticed the handle. My old 93 was broke like that but all I had was the small piece in there to lift up. I always just thought "well, at least it makes it harder for someone to carjack ya."
I agree that starting with an $800 car that drives fine, it would cost more than $5k in restoration expenses to bring it up to the quality of what you could buy outright for $5k. Attempting to turn this into a perfect car would be a painful learning experience.
One solution is to save up $5k and buy the $5k mint car. When you're 17, every year counts, so ...
Another one, which the OP is on track for, is to buy an $800 car and make it as good as he can, which will not approach mintness.
I would have to save up for multiple years in order to get a 5k car and I needed a car to get me to and from work this summer and school next year as I will be a senior. I am just trying to make it as good as I can, I know it will never approach mintness but I just gonna clean it up as best I can.
You're in the right place, there are some knowledgeable people on here.
Well, you have some work to do, but you know that! It looks like a high-mileage car, but that in itself need not be a problem. They have been known to do 1 million miles.
First of all, to clear that brake warning light, it could just be that you need to change out a stop lamp. (Or top up the brake fluid reservoir.)
this post makes me smile. i got my first LS400 when i was 17 too! (see pic below) i walked everywhere, saved and worked my *** off for over a year to get mine mowing yards and flipping burgers. lucky to live in the age you are in man! no such thing as an $800 LS400 back in 2001! mine was close to 5 grand and that was a screaming deal even back then. 1990 with cracked seats, faded paint and 172k on it. only regret is that i wish i had waited a little longer before experiencing the LS400. it spoiled me and everything else came second. today im almost 35 and still driving LS400s. my first one is long long gone but wish i still had it. it was special and its the one i learned on. gave me 8 years of driving and memories.
you are making the right move. yes, the car you just got is pretty rough but when theirs a will theirs a way! use this car to learn on and in a year or so save up enough where you can get a really decent one. use this one to make your mistakes with. rip it to pieces, rebuild it, cut your fingers, bash your knuckles and burn your arms on this one! that way when you get a really nice one you'll already know how to keep it alive. tons of people here that can help you out. if your heart is really in this car and you dont mind spending alot on it to restore it then do that too! i recently spent way too much $ on one of my LS400s to get it going again because ive had it forever and means alot to me. make your memories with your new LS400!! looking forward to the progress!
FYI ur already one step ahead of the game. yours has the killer Nak stereo in it!
05-21-19, 06:33 PM
Also, those rims are directional, (well, 3 of them are) the one on the back driver's side is a right side rim. And just a thought but the one odd ball rim is from a 95-97, which is a 16" rim, the 92 rims are 15".
I cant put them on. So for car and parts was $1500 and in better shape then most $3k LS400s.
My old 93 was broke like that but all I had was the small piece in there to lift up. I always just thought "well, at least it makes it harder for someone to carjack ya." 
It looks like a high-mileage car, but that in itself need not be a problem. They have been known to do 1 million miles.
