peterls

Here is a tip: when choosing a mechanic to work on your car, you want one who owns the exact same car! Mechanics love LS for themselves. They appreciate a car that runs forever. Those mechanics are the best because they know their cars inside and out, and because most other customers that come to them also own the same car.
One of my mechanics, who retired unfortunately, owned the same car. Not the most honest, but the most knowledgeable and never screwed up anything. It helped that good 75% of cars that came to his shop were all LS400, 1st and 2nd gen (he owned a 1st gen).
One other mechanic who worked for him also owned an LS. And the third one always worked on LS. Once when I stopped by, they had all lifts holding an LS, and one was coming in, and mine too. I counted something like 7 LSs there, and no other cars.
They never did anything stupid, except that when they changed my knock sensors, and wires, they did not put back the thick plastic hose-like insulation around the wires and that pissed me off to no end. "But it will work all the same!" "I don't care, if it was not meant to be there, Lexus would not have put it there, and I would not have given it to you!" So, even with someone HIGHLY experienced and knowledgeable, there is always potential for trouble, although usually minimal.
At another place I asked for some diagnostics on my steering rack, and the guy lifted it up, and immediately showed me which hose needed to be replaced. I am like "Wow, that took you 5 seconds, and he's like "I just did the same job on my car". He owned the same LS, 1st gen, and he was in love with it.
So, look around yelp, google, whatever, and see where other LS owners go, and maybe you will see when you get there, that there is an LS parked near the shop, possibly indicating that one of the mechanics who works there drives the same car as you.

vidlev

Peter, funny enough the mechanic does in fact own an LS400. As does one of his employees in the shop. Guess by those metrics this garage would be a fine choice!

@Fit1too I have not called around for additional quotes. As of now the oil leak is not dire enough for me to shell out so much money for this repair. I will save my $ and when the time comes for my timing belt replacement and cam seal repair I certainly will shop around.

Someone earlier in the thread posited that a cam seal leak is hard to identify and was I confident in his diagnosis. When I returned to the shop to pick my car up (he was replacing my starter and some hoses) he showed me pictures he took while the car was opened up. Pictures of my timing belt, slightly wet from oil, and also what looked like a cover that was oil splattered from the belt flinging oil around. He said he was 100% certain the cam seals were leaking and it was possible oil was leaking from the crank also (at least I think this is what he said). Once he opened everything up he said he would know exactly what else was leaking or if it was just the cam seals.

Sin1UZFE

Which shop and where?

vidlev

Lex Mastertech in pasadena

vidlev

As an update to this, I finally bit the bullet and authorized the mechanic to do the full job. He replaced timing belt, and all related parts (tensioners, idlers, water pump, thermostat and gasket), and cam and crankshaft seals, valve cover gaskets, spark plug seals and he checked valve lash clearances which he said were in spec. All told this set me back approximately $2300. Hard pill to swallow but I really trusted him to do the job right and his 2 year warranty on his work definitely provides a nice peace of mind. Thanks to all who provided their input!!!!

Hopefully now the smell of burning oil does indeed go away after driving at freeway speeds...

YODAONE

Did the mechanic check valve lash and make any necessary adjustments?

vidlev

yes he took measurements and determined everything was in spec, no adjustments necesarry. He said the earlier models, I forget which years he said specifically, had more a tendency to need adjustments over time.

YODAONE

It is a lengthy procedure to take lash measurements for 32 valves.
Was he (or she) able to provide you with actual measurements? Would like to compare to mine.
A majority of mechanics do not possess a feeler gauge set with the necessary range of thicknesses to do this work.

It proved a real challenge to find a correct feeler gauge set with the correct blade angle for valve lash.

Valve lash on my well maintained 1999 was within spec after 175,000 miles, however it varied with several towards the upper-mid range...and was planning to perform adjustment to bring all intake valves to uniform .006".
Carbon build up on seats can affect lash...

For your expenditure, valve lash adjustment should be included.

deanshark

Personally I think $2300 is a good price for that amount of parts and labor. Like ya said "piece of mind". Although alot of it can be easily done by the basic DIYer there's some in there that's best left to the pros. I consider myself damn good (pat-pat) but for that much I woulda sent it out. (At this time of my life anyway)
Just to point out: Everyone saying that the mech is adding too much $$ for a couple other little things, while he's gonna be in there anyway, is crazy. It's a business, he's got bills to pay also. Is he supposed to give up extra parts and labor for free? I wouldn't. Maybe he charged an extra hundred too much but I would rather pay a bit more and have the 2 year warranty which ya wouldn't have with cheaper places. "Piece of mind" At least now ya know the work is done and done right so ya got less stress. Enjoy.

bradland

I'm curious what the struggle is here...?
Feeler gauges are readily available in standard length as well as long and offset varieties. Autozone (1 example) may only sell one set but Amazon offers a wide variety all under $15. These sets are somewhat disposable you may have to pull out the range of sizes required and cut or bend a few to accommodate your specific needs. Even a (Chinese) product with sloppy quality control where the markings don't match the actual size can be controlled for if you verify with dial calipers first...

YODAONE

Here... Go through the process of sourcing through auto parts stores or online retailers for correct feeler gauge set for valve lash and report back on your findings.

bradland

I already own a variety of sets in all shapes and sizes. Everything from cheap Chinese to quality lifetime tools like Starrett. Long short etc...

oldskewel

iTrader: (1)

Last time I did a valve adjustment (not on this car), I grabbed about 3 sets of feeler gauges I have, got the most-needed ones for the job, confirmed their thickness with a micrometer (BTW, the cheapazz Chinese ones won't be exactly their marked thickness like the Starrett ones are, but the micrometer doesn't care what they're marked). I consider them disposable, bend them to the most convenient angle, mark them with colored masking tape for convenient grip and easy identification when doing the job, etc.

So I don't think it needs to be a research project to find pre-shaped, high accuracy feeler gauges in the range needed. You can easily make your own using disposably priced generic gauge sets.

It is a little tougher on the LS, since adjustment is done using shims. On a regular valve adjustment, you really only need the high and low thresholds. For shims, you need to measure the gap exactly, then remove and measure the shim with a micrometer, then go and get the right shim to correct the gap difference (and THAT is the tough part of the job if you're not a shop with a drawer full of shims), then put it in and re-check. The very first car I ever owned was like that, so lucky me started out with the tougher option. Half of my cars now have hydraulic lifters.

I would not have gone looking for a problem that probably does not exist. I believe most Lexus mechanics basically do a valve lash inspection by listening for it, and only dive in if they hear something off. It's not known to be an issue on these cars as far as I know. My '91 with 202k miles has never needed an adjustment. It's also not the sort of thing you read much about on this forum, probably for a good reason.

On the major service and price tag, I'll say it's good to get it all done like that. And also that people evaluating how good of a "deal" used cars for sale are, should really consider the costs of major services like this. I saw a recent thread where a potentially great car was passed over since others said they should be able to find one for $1500. With the cost of service, I think it should factor into purchase decisions, rather than trying to get the lowest entry fee possible.