retrodrive

That would be pretty cool. I'd love to have a chrome trim for that area.

persian451

please post pictures of all this stuff... it sounds very good

kamtra

Okay, instead of designing a new chrome plate today, I decided to try and fix the only two things left that didn't work on my car.

1) The telescoping steering wheel.

It telescoped alright but didn't move up and down. The switch felt okay..heard something click when I tried it but no movement. I took the steering wheel off, the upper and lower column covers and found a metal plate with three screws between the motor and the actual lift mechanism. Inside i found a plastic gear about the size of a quarter. It looked like it was too far back and one side of the teeth were stripped. It turns ot that there used to be a plastic or rubber spacer behind it that has been ripped to shreds...there were pieces of it all over. I slid a rubber gromet in, then put the gear back in. Viola! It worked. The scariest part of the entire ordeal was removing the airbag module to get the wheel off. I always think it's going to pop me in the face. After doing this though I see that you don't have to take the wheel off to do what I did.

2)The half lit speedo needle.

This bothers me for some reason. I've read all about Jim Walker and how to replace the caps. I know some places in town that can do this but my needles are somthing I thought I could handle. As of this moment I've taken the instrument cluster apart down to the last screw. I have the speedo, RPM, gas, and temp needles all out and I see that the capaciters for lighting are built in to the needle clusters. I took pics of all this that I'll post later. It looks pretty straight forward. I can say though that I've never seen a more beautiful, complex cluster of electronics in my life. I got hungry so I drove to my fav internet cafe to eat before I go back home and put it all back together. My plan is to swap the RPM needle cluster that works with the speedo needle cluster that doesn't work and see if they still light up and do what they're supposed to do. If they do it means that I can go to a salvage yard and pick up an extra cluster to use the needles. Most salvage yards don't guarantee that the entire instrument cluster works and you cannot return them. This is why I haven't spent the $250 on one yet. Interesting thing though, the RPM needle cluster had a Denso board in it which made sense, but the speedo cluster was a Toshiba with a completely different board. This leads me to believe that it has been replaced before or else there's some difference in the two clusters that I don't understand. We'll see in a couple of hours.

If anyone else has done this please let me know.

Oh, and if you've ever wondered if you can still drive your LS4 without the instrument cluster, I can assure you that you can. I just drove it here.

Peace

kamtra

I changed the speedo needle with the RPM needle. Read my post about it.

tvd51

Kamtra,
Thanks for the info about startup smoke and PS fluid leak. I have the same problem on my 91 LS with 150K miles. I'll take a look at the idle up valve and the hoses and hope that I can do something to fix the problem.
tvd51

Wide LS

About 2 months ago I changed the Idle up Valve and about a year ago I got a new PS Pump. The other day the car started to feel stiffer. I checked the PS Level and it was low. Now for the past 2 weeks I've been adding PS fluid every other day. I still haven't gone to check it out, but do you guys have any ideas what it could be this time?

persian451

maybe the pump is filling itself up... what u have to do is.. when installing the pump, you pour it in, and turn the wheel and have the pump mix fluid through the rack.. becasue I think the rack and pinion's fluid would drain as well if the pump was changed... sorta like changing tranny fluid.. you have to gradually add fluid... I think thats the answer.. dont take it from.. i'm an EE student

kamtra

Well, there's only two places that fluid can be going. Up thru the vacuum lines or to the steering rack where it's probably leaking out. Get under there and check it out.

350z

Thanks for all the great info in this thread. I wish I had known this before I shelled out over $2300 for a new rack & pinion and power steering pump. I totally freaked though when my car was blowing smoke at startup. She drives like a dream once again! Can you say SMOOTH?

persian451

2300? thats a biug chunk of change to throw down on a PS pump and rack

persian451

2300? thats a biug chunk of change to throw down on a PS pump and rack

Wide LS

I got it fixed today, it was a leaking hose, but it cost me $110. Atleast my problem is solved.

350z

i'll have to thank my friendly lexus dealer the next time i see him for giving me such a smoking deal. live and learn.