New Owner, Lots of Questions
07-30-18, 10:07 AM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
New Owner, Lots of Questions
Hello all,
First, I'm super excited to be here on this forum with my new (to me) Lexus. If you told me 2 months ago I would own a Lexus, I would have told you there is no way in hell. After a long 3.5 month fight with problems with my Mustang, I decided to get rid of it. No set ideas on what I was going to get.
I started looking into Lexus because my best friend has had a LS400 for around 3 years that I've rode in a bunch. Lately it's been down because he's had to do some work on it, but it is a fairly nice car to ride in. Then about 4 weeks ago another friend of ours was looking for a 2nd car, no particular model or brand. He ended up finding a 2007 IS350 with 120-130K miles that he got for $7.7K. I liked the IS350 as it is a fairly quick car. Though at the same time I liked my friends 400 & only heard better things about the 430. So I was kinda in a toss up between the 2, just depending on condition, price, mileage. I understand that they are 2 totally different cars with different rides, but both are worlds better rides than a 05-09 Mustang.
My main want was reliability. I had troubles with my Mustang I don't want to deal with that again, and I looked at quite a few manufacturers engines & transmissions & the only company that consistently came up with the least amount of problems was Lexus. Both the LS430 & IS350 drivetrains seemed pretty bullet proof.
I started leaning more heavily towards the LS430 & this week I pulled the trigger. I got a 2004 LS430 UL silver ext/black int. It had 93,801 miles when I bought it and hit 94K just after getting it back home. It was at a small used car lot that originally had it for $11,995. Recently reduced down to $9,995, then we got them down to $9,100 + $400 tax & registration so $9,500 OTD. I feel that was a very fair price for this car with the service history that it had.
A little history of me and my friend. I'm fairly mechanically inclined for a nonprofessional mechanic. My friend that was with me is a certified Mercedes technician at the local Benz dealership & again owns a LS400 that he personally works on. This car does need a couple things, but it should be all fairly easy stuff & I'm hoping for some help and input here.
(Notable) Service History:
2 owner (Both FL, Boca Raton & Ft Lauderdale) - Serviced JM Lexus,
no wrecks, no floods, clean title, clean carfax & autoreport, new battery (manuf 4/2018).
Car registration was renewed every year through 2016, then in 2017 it stopped, then randomly the car ended up at an auto auction in April 2018 where the small used car lot purchased it. I'm guessing owner passed away & there was a issue with the estate (and I know from experience, it takes years to resolve estate disputes), so it probably took about 1.5 years to get it settled before the title could be released.
Used car lot claimed tons of people have looked at it & even had 3 people check it out day before I bought it. He said problem was everyone that wanted it wanted to get a loan. He said banks won't give out loans on cars over 10 years old anymore due to uncertainty of recouping money out of it.
93,801 was the official sold mileage of the car to me. Literally 126 miles on this timing belt. That was a huge factor in buying it.
93,675 - 6-29-16
timing belt/water pump replaced due to leaking water pump
Dash AC Noise - Replaced right side servo motor
New trunk struts
New rear left door speaker
89,172 - 5-12-16
Replaced all 3 motor/trans mounts
Replaced leaking rear pinion seal
Replaced both front hood struts
74,371 - 9-24-15
Replace fuel pump
Replace blend door actuator driver side
Replace power steering rack
69,386 - 4-4-15
Replace gas cap for evap leak
67,345 - 2-24-15
Multi Display Unit Replaced for shorting out
53,730 - 12-24-13
Replaced steering modulator for volume controls on steering wheel
Replaced mirror switch assembly for power mirrors not working
Replaced worn lower control arm bushings both sides
48,786 - 7-30-13
Replaced rear subwoofer
You can see almost everything that's a issue or wearable part on these cars has been pretty well replaced and done. I seriously don't think I would have been able to find a better well taken care of car.
The Good:
98% interior - Car interior is immaculate. Being a 2 owner non-smoker car that was probably older people, it is flawless inside.
Literally EVERY SINGLE THING works inside the car. I did a electronics function test while my friend did the mechanical inspection. The only thing that I've noticed is the ride height button on center area, the backlight LED is not working on it. The switch works, but the light at night doesn't come on. Not a big deal at all.
Missing tool kit, first aid kit, & cargo net. Where is the cheapest place to get these 3 items? I particularly want the EXACT ones that came with the LS430. I know there are different first aid kit designs for different Lexus. I believe the LS430 FAK said Lexus with the "L" logo in gold.
95% exterior - Exterior is in fairly good shape for what I believe was a mostly garaged car. Bumper has a few scratches it looks like from loading luggage in to the trunk. There is a small dent on rear bumper & the rear bumper silver/chrome trim piece is flaking off. Where could I locate a new piece of rear bumper trim, & how would I go about getting the old one off?
To Do List:
Center console arm rest has some cracking/wear in one spot & the console is a little hard to open. You have to grab it, pull it forward, then pull up. The console also rattles like it's not screwed all the way down. I'm thinking about buying a new entire center console section off ebay for $90 & just taking the center arm rest part off to replace. Is there any guides for how to remove just the top arm rest piece? There is a air vent blowing into the center console, is the a UL only feature or will all armrests have that?
I'll explain further later, but the car no longer has air ride. I thought about replacing the LED for ride height, but I would honestly rather replace that switch panel with a non-air suspension panel that only has the ECT function switch. I think I found one on ebay but want to confirm this is doable before purchase. I've seen from pictures just the ECT panel can be removed and changed, no need to change the storage compartment and disc changer cover. My only concern is if I don't plug back in the sport/normal & height plugs that I may get dash lights, which I don't want. How closely matched are the 3 set pieces of that console panel? If I replace just the one, will it look mismatched to the other 2 (compartment & cd changer cover)? They do have some that are the entire 3 piece combo, so I can replace the whole thing if needed. Is it possible to get the burnt wood finish with only the ECT switch? I THINK I saw a burnt wood ECT only panel on ebay.
Suspension - So I was hesitant at first to even go look at this UL because of the air ride debacle. However the only reason we considered it was because of the service history on the VIN. At 74K miles the front right shock was replaced. At 67K miles the front left was replaced. So I figured well worst case scenario the 2 front ones would be in great shape & the 2 rears would maybe need replacing at worst.
So we showed up, & first thing I looked at was the suspension. It looked newer & I haven't particularly looked at the air ride before so I wasn't too sure what I was looking at. We asked them about it & they said that when they bought the car from auction that one or 2 of the shocks were already leaking again & they knew they couldn't sell the car like that so they had a local shop convert it to normal suspension. There is definitely a not so great kit on it. It rides ok, but not up to par of OEM. I will get some pictures as best I can hopefully for some help on maybe what is on the car currently & what exactly they have rigged up.
The upside was I know that you get dash lights if you mess with the air suspension conversion. There were no dash lights from it & my friend had a scan tool that we ran & it came back with no error codes. So I figured they did a halfway decent job.
Can someone link me to a guide for the 3G LS air suspension conversion? I would like to read over it, verify what else needs to be done to it & know what to keep in mind when I switch it to something better. Just quick reading, I think I want to shoot for OEM ride quality. I read Tein CS is a good kit, that can replicate OEM or you can firm them up since there adjustable. I tried to google this & absolutely could not find anything on a in stock kit for a LS430. Also I saw some stuff maybe about a 2nd revision of the kit? Is there something better that has came out or can someone provide a in stock link to this kit?
The main issue I noticed is it feels like something in my front left is loose. When pulling into my driveway, not at full lock (making a left), when it hits my driveway hump it will pull steering wheel pretty quickly to the full lock position. Is there something I should try to check for being loose?
Quick reading also told me when converting from air suspension to normal that you have to mess with the headlight leveling sensors. I had car in front of garage last night & one looks ok, & the other was definitely noticeably higher (or lower, can't remember) than the other. Where do I adjust these?
From the FAQ list I see it's just a 10mm and extension to get to an adjuster on the back of the headlight to adjust height of beam. Will work on that tonight.
Audio ML Amp - So during test drive I tested stereo (not on full blast) & it sounded ok. Of course after buying the car on the drive back it started to have problems. Thankfully I THINK it's just the ML amp. 67K miles/June 2015 the whole headunit was replaced for going black, so headunit should be pretty much new.
Symptoms - If bass adjustment is at level 4 or 5 and I turn master volume up to around 20-30, all speakers completely loose audio until car is turned off and back on. It's like amp trips for protection. There is no crackle or anything in the speakers, so 99% certain amp has completely cut power.
Speakers cut in and out of working. Random ones, I can tell at least in the front you will hear them stop and come on kind of randomly (probably load dependent on music playing).
Volume is incredibly low. I have to turn it up to 30-40 for a lower-mid volume level. There is no volume I can turn it to clearly hear audio when windows are down.
Audio has mild distortion to it through all speakers. There have been a couple speakers replaced already from dealer, so I don't think it's any one particular speaker. From quick reading these definitely all sound like symptoms of failing amp. Is there only one amp for the entire ML sound system, meaning speakers & sub? I saw them on ebay for $200-$300 & it looks like a 30 minute replacement.
Valve Cover (Gaskets) & Spark Plugs - The biggest most immediate problem with the car is my friend said the valve covers were leaking oil. Before buying I knew these cars can develop this problem especially with age (14 years). It seems like it's been a slow leak for quite a while. The entire under car panel seems to have been coated in oil & needs cleaning badly.
We plan to do this ASAP. Like in the next week or 2. The only thing I can't find done to this car in service history was spark plugs, & looking at the design the spark plugs sit down in the valve covers with gaskets around each spark plug. It looks best to just rip the valve covers off replace valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, & spark plug gaskets all in one go.
Can I get a list of part numbers for the valve cover gaskets, spark plug gaskets, & I'm trying to stay with OEM spark plugs. Reading suggest a Denso spark plug. Can I have someone confirm the proper part number for me on these items for a 2004 please? Are there any other gaskets in the area that should be redone at the same time as well? 94K/14yrs
Keys - The car only came with a single key fob. What is the cheapest way to get a 2nd key fob? Should I buy the fob from a 3rd party source and only have dealer program key or should I just pay them for fob, key cut, & programming?
Transmission - Transmission seems to be in excellent shape. I made sure to check that out, it being a 2004. There is no rough jolts when shifting from P to R then R to D. Pretty much undetectable your changing gears. Family members have a brand new Cadillac ATS and a Honda Accord that have way more noticeable gear shift to them. Slow driving while shifting from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 or downshifting back went very smooth. No lurching or roughness to it. I understand these are "lifetime" sealed transmissions but still see lots of recommendations to change these fluids. How difficult are these to really do on the 6 speeds? Any good guides, preferably with pictures? Local dealer claims they do trans flushes/changes on the LS430s for $260 (parts & labor). Maybe more worth just paying them for?
Seals - All the exterior rubber seals. They do look a little dry because the last 1.5-2 years it hasn't been in a garage before going to auction. What is the best thing to use on them? I was looking at 303 protectant - Rubber Seal Protectant. Looks like good stuff.
Leather - I believe the UL had a special type of leather that was used in it. I think there are detailing guides somewhere on the forums. Can someone provide a link? Is there anything special to keep in mind with the UL leather? Other concern is accidentally plugging up the air vent holes in the seats, any concern there?
Tires - There are some type of Michelin Pilot tires on the car. Probably not best, but far from the worst. There ok for now, but what tires would give me the quietest/smoothest ride between $100-$150/tire for when I do replace them? Road noise is fairly noticeable right now with these tires, so between suspension update & tires I'm hoping to drop that considerably.
Any help with any questions would be greatly appreciated. I'll get a photo gallery of the car up on imgr when I have some time and post the link.
First, I'm super excited to be here on this forum with my new (to me) Lexus. If you told me 2 months ago I would own a Lexus, I would have told you there is no way in hell. After a long 3.5 month fight with problems with my Mustang, I decided to get rid of it. No set ideas on what I was going to get.
I started looking into Lexus because my best friend has had a LS400 for around 3 years that I've rode in a bunch. Lately it's been down because he's had to do some work on it, but it is a fairly nice car to ride in. Then about 4 weeks ago another friend of ours was looking for a 2nd car, no particular model or brand. He ended up finding a 2007 IS350 with 120-130K miles that he got for $7.7K. I liked the IS350 as it is a fairly quick car. Though at the same time I liked my friends 400 & only heard better things about the 430. So I was kinda in a toss up between the 2, just depending on condition, price, mileage. I understand that they are 2 totally different cars with different rides, but both are worlds better rides than a 05-09 Mustang.
My main want was reliability. I had troubles with my Mustang I don't want to deal with that again, and I looked at quite a few manufacturers engines & transmissions & the only company that consistently came up with the least amount of problems was Lexus. Both the LS430 & IS350 drivetrains seemed pretty bullet proof.
I started leaning more heavily towards the LS430 & this week I pulled the trigger. I got a 2004 LS430 UL silver ext/black int. It had 93,801 miles when I bought it and hit 94K just after getting it back home. It was at a small used car lot that originally had it for $11,995. Recently reduced down to $9,995, then we got them down to $9,100 + $400 tax & registration so $9,500 OTD. I feel that was a very fair price for this car with the service history that it had.
A little history of me and my friend. I'm fairly mechanically inclined for a nonprofessional mechanic. My friend that was with me is a certified Mercedes technician at the local Benz dealership & again owns a LS400 that he personally works on. This car does need a couple things, but it should be all fairly easy stuff & I'm hoping for some help and input here.
(Notable) Service History:
2 owner (Both FL, Boca Raton & Ft Lauderdale) - Serviced JM Lexus,
no wrecks, no floods, clean title, clean carfax & autoreport, new battery (manuf 4/2018).
Car registration was renewed every year through 2016, then in 2017 it stopped, then randomly the car ended up at an auto auction in April 2018 where the small used car lot purchased it. I'm guessing owner passed away & there was a issue with the estate (and I know from experience, it takes years to resolve estate disputes), so it probably took about 1.5 years to get it settled before the title could be released.
Used car lot claimed tons of people have looked at it & even had 3 people check it out day before I bought it. He said problem was everyone that wanted it wanted to get a loan. He said banks won't give out loans on cars over 10 years old anymore due to uncertainty of recouping money out of it.
93,801 was the official sold mileage of the car to me. Literally 126 miles on this timing belt. That was a huge factor in buying it.
93,675 - 6-29-16
timing belt/water pump replaced due to leaking water pump
Dash AC Noise - Replaced right side servo motor
New trunk struts
New rear left door speaker
89,172 - 5-12-16
Replaced all 3 motor/trans mounts
Replaced leaking rear pinion seal
Replaced both front hood struts
74,371 - 9-24-15
Replace fuel pump
Replace blend door actuator driver side
Replace power steering rack
69,386 - 4-4-15
Replace gas cap for evap leak
67,345 - 2-24-15
Multi Display Unit Replaced for shorting out
53,730 - 12-24-13
Replaced steering modulator for volume controls on steering wheel
Replaced mirror switch assembly for power mirrors not working
Replaced worn lower control arm bushings both sides
48,786 - 7-30-13
Replaced rear subwoofer
You can see almost everything that's a issue or wearable part on these cars has been pretty well replaced and done. I seriously don't think I would have been able to find a better well taken care of car.
The Good:
98% interior - Car interior is immaculate. Being a 2 owner non-smoker car that was probably older people, it is flawless inside.
Literally EVERY SINGLE THING works inside the car. I did a electronics function test while my friend did the mechanical inspection. The only thing that I've noticed is the ride height button on center area, the backlight LED is not working on it. The switch works, but the light at night doesn't come on. Not a big deal at all.
Missing tool kit, first aid kit, & cargo net. Where is the cheapest place to get these 3 items? I particularly want the EXACT ones that came with the LS430. I know there are different first aid kit designs for different Lexus. I believe the LS430 FAK said Lexus with the "L" logo in gold.
95% exterior - Exterior is in fairly good shape for what I believe was a mostly garaged car. Bumper has a few scratches it looks like from loading luggage in to the trunk. There is a small dent on rear bumper & the rear bumper silver/chrome trim piece is flaking off. Where could I locate a new piece of rear bumper trim, & how would I go about getting the old one off?
To Do List:
Center console arm rest has some cracking/wear in one spot & the console is a little hard to open. You have to grab it, pull it forward, then pull up. The console also rattles like it's not screwed all the way down. I'm thinking about buying a new entire center console section off ebay for $90 & just taking the center arm rest part off to replace. Is there any guides for how to remove just the top arm rest piece? There is a air vent blowing into the center console, is the a UL only feature or will all armrests have that?
I'll explain further later, but the car no longer has air ride. I thought about replacing the LED for ride height, but I would honestly rather replace that switch panel with a non-air suspension panel that only has the ECT function switch. I think I found one on ebay but want to confirm this is doable before purchase. I've seen from pictures just the ECT panel can be removed and changed, no need to change the storage compartment and disc changer cover. My only concern is if I don't plug back in the sport/normal & height plugs that I may get dash lights, which I don't want. How closely matched are the 3 set pieces of that console panel? If I replace just the one, will it look mismatched to the other 2 (compartment & cd changer cover)? They do have some that are the entire 3 piece combo, so I can replace the whole thing if needed. Is it possible to get the burnt wood finish with only the ECT switch? I THINK I saw a burnt wood ECT only panel on ebay.
Suspension - So I was hesitant at first to even go look at this UL because of the air ride debacle. However the only reason we considered it was because of the service history on the VIN. At 74K miles the front right shock was replaced. At 67K miles the front left was replaced. So I figured well worst case scenario the 2 front ones would be in great shape & the 2 rears would maybe need replacing at worst.
So we showed up, & first thing I looked at was the suspension. It looked newer & I haven't particularly looked at the air ride before so I wasn't too sure what I was looking at. We asked them about it & they said that when they bought the car from auction that one or 2 of the shocks were already leaking again & they knew they couldn't sell the car like that so they had a local shop convert it to normal suspension. There is definitely a not so great kit on it. It rides ok, but not up to par of OEM. I will get some pictures as best I can hopefully for some help on maybe what is on the car currently & what exactly they have rigged up.
The upside was I know that you get dash lights if you mess with the air suspension conversion. There were no dash lights from it & my friend had a scan tool that we ran & it came back with no error codes. So I figured they did a halfway decent job.
Can someone link me to a guide for the 3G LS air suspension conversion? I would like to read over it, verify what else needs to be done to it & know what to keep in mind when I switch it to something better. Just quick reading, I think I want to shoot for OEM ride quality. I read Tein CS is a good kit, that can replicate OEM or you can firm them up since there adjustable. I tried to google this & absolutely could not find anything on a in stock kit for a LS430. Also I saw some stuff maybe about a 2nd revision of the kit? Is there something better that has came out or can someone provide a in stock link to this kit?
The main issue I noticed is it feels like something in my front left is loose. When pulling into my driveway, not at full lock (making a left), when it hits my driveway hump it will pull steering wheel pretty quickly to the full lock position. Is there something I should try to check for being loose?
From the FAQ list I see it's just a 10mm and extension to get to an adjuster on the back of the headlight to adjust height of beam. Will work on that tonight.
Audio ML Amp - So during test drive I tested stereo (not on full blast) & it sounded ok. Of course after buying the car on the drive back it started to have problems. Thankfully I THINK it's just the ML amp. 67K miles/June 2015 the whole headunit was replaced for going black, so headunit should be pretty much new.
Symptoms - If bass adjustment is at level 4 or 5 and I turn master volume up to around 20-30, all speakers completely loose audio until car is turned off and back on. It's like amp trips for protection. There is no crackle or anything in the speakers, so 99% certain amp has completely cut power.
Speakers cut in and out of working. Random ones, I can tell at least in the front you will hear them stop and come on kind of randomly (probably load dependent on music playing).
Volume is incredibly low. I have to turn it up to 30-40 for a lower-mid volume level. There is no volume I can turn it to clearly hear audio when windows are down.
Audio has mild distortion to it through all speakers. There have been a couple speakers replaced already from dealer, so I don't think it's any one particular speaker. From quick reading these definitely all sound like symptoms of failing amp. Is there only one amp for the entire ML sound system, meaning speakers & sub? I saw them on ebay for $200-$300 & it looks like a 30 minute replacement.
Valve Cover (Gaskets) & Spark Plugs - The biggest most immediate problem with the car is my friend said the valve covers were leaking oil. Before buying I knew these cars can develop this problem especially with age (14 years). It seems like it's been a slow leak for quite a while. The entire under car panel seems to have been coated in oil & needs cleaning badly.
We plan to do this ASAP. Like in the next week or 2. The only thing I can't find done to this car in service history was spark plugs, & looking at the design the spark plugs sit down in the valve covers with gaskets around each spark plug. It looks best to just rip the valve covers off replace valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, & spark plug gaskets all in one go.
Can I get a list of part numbers for the valve cover gaskets, spark plug gaskets, & I'm trying to stay with OEM spark plugs. Reading suggest a Denso spark plug. Can I have someone confirm the proper part number for me on these items for a 2004 please? Are there any other gaskets in the area that should be redone at the same time as well? 94K/14yrs
Keys - The car only came with a single key fob. What is the cheapest way to get a 2nd key fob? Should I buy the fob from a 3rd party source and only have dealer program key or should I just pay them for fob, key cut, & programming?
Transmission - Transmission seems to be in excellent shape. I made sure to check that out, it being a 2004. There is no rough jolts when shifting from P to R then R to D. Pretty much undetectable your changing gears. Family members have a brand new Cadillac ATS and a Honda Accord that have way more noticeable gear shift to them. Slow driving while shifting from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 or downshifting back went very smooth. No lurching or roughness to it. I understand these are "lifetime" sealed transmissions but still see lots of recommendations to change these fluids. How difficult are these to really do on the 6 speeds? Any good guides, preferably with pictures? Local dealer claims they do trans flushes/changes on the LS430s for $260 (parts & labor). Maybe more worth just paying them for?
Seals - All the exterior rubber seals. They do look a little dry because the last 1.5-2 years it hasn't been in a garage before going to auction. What is the best thing to use on them? I was looking at 303 protectant - Rubber Seal Protectant. Looks like good stuff.
Leather - I believe the UL had a special type of leather that was used in it. I think there are detailing guides somewhere on the forums. Can someone provide a link? Is there anything special to keep in mind with the UL leather? Other concern is accidentally plugging up the air vent holes in the seats, any concern there?
Tires - There are some type of Michelin Pilot tires on the car. Probably not best, but far from the worst. There ok for now, but what tires would give me the quietest/smoothest ride between $100-$150/tire for when I do replace them? Road noise is fairly noticeable right now with these tires, so between suspension update & tires I'm hoping to drop that considerably.
Any help with any questions would be greatly appreciated. I'll get a photo gallery of the car up on imgr when I have some time and post the link.
Last edited by kb89; 07-31-18 at 03:29 PM.
07-30-18, 10:18 AM
#2
Moderator
Howdy KB
Welcome to the club.
Lots of great questions that you will find good answers to here;
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-thread.html
Welcome to the club.
Lots of great questions that you will find good answers to here;
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-thread.html
07-30-18, 10:21 AM
#3
Moderator
I think it's a huge plus that the timing belt was just done. That is money in your pocket! I did the TB on both my LS's in the last few months and it's a decent job to have to do, but better if the previous owner had it done already.
The ML amp issues you're having may be related to the amp, but I'm not too sure. There are a few members here that will no doubt chime in and give great advice (RKW... you listening??)
I think the final cost was very good on the car, especially considering the mileage and history.
Ebay is a good place for the tool kit and cargo net and the ride height switch panel fascia. The back side of that panel is molded with the cut out for each switch, so find one for a lower level car and just route out the openings for each switch you want to reinstall. I'd leave the ride height switch connected and bury it inside the center stack area, forward of the gear selector.
The ML amp issues you're having may be related to the amp, but I'm not too sure. There are a few members here that will no doubt chime in and give great advice (RKW... you listening??)
I think the final cost was very good on the car, especially considering the mileage and history.
Ebay is a good place for the tool kit and cargo net and the ride height switch panel fascia. The back side of that panel is molded with the cut out for each switch, so find one for a lower level car and just route out the openings for each switch you want to reinstall. I'd leave the ride height switch connected and bury it inside the center stack area, forward of the gear selector.
Last edited by 2KHarrier; 07-30-18 at 10:26 AM.
07-30-18, 05:41 PM
#4
Lead Lap
Hello all,
First, I'm super excited to be here on this forum with my new (to me) Lexus. If you told me 2 months ago I would own a Lexus, I would have told you there is no way in hell. After a long 3.5 month fight with problems with my Mustang, I decided to get rid of it. No set ideas on what I was going to get.
I started looking into Lexus because my best friend has had a LS400 for around 3 years that I've rode in a bunch. Lately it's been down because he's had to do some work on it, but it is a fairly nice car to ride in. Then about 4 weeks ago another friend of ours was looking for a 2nd car, no particular model or brand. He ended up finding a 2007 IS350 with 120-130K miles that he got for $7.7K. I liked the IS350 as it is a fairly quick car. Though at the same time I liked my friends 400 & only heard better things about the 430. So I was kinda in a toss up between the 2, just depending on condition, price, mileage. I understand that they are 2 totally different cars with different rides, but both are worlds better rides than a 05-09 Mustang.
My main want was reliability. I had troubles with my Mustang I don't want to deal with that again, and I looked at quite a few manufacturers engines & transmissions & the only company that consistently came up with the least amount of problems was Lexus. Both the LS430 & IS350 drivetrains seemed pretty bullet proof.
I started leaning more heavily towards the LS430 & this week I pulled the trigger. I got a 2004 LS430 UL silver ext/black int. It had 93,801 miles when I bought it and hit 94K just after getting it back home. It was at a small used car lot that originally had it for $11,995. Recently reduced down to $9,995, then we got them down to $9,100 + $400 tax & registration so $9,500 OTD. I feel that was a very fair price for this car with the service history that it had.
A little history of me and my friend. I'm fairly mechanically inclined for a nonprofessional mechanic. My friend that was with me is a certified Mercedes technician at the local Benz dealership & again owns a LS400 that he personally works on. This car does need a couple things, but it should be all fairly easy stuff & I'm hoping for some help and input here.
(Notable) Service History:
2 owner (Both FL, Boca Raton & Ft Lauderdale) - Serviced JM Lexus,
no wrecks, no floods, clean title, clean carfax & autoreport, new battery (manuf 4/2018).
Car registration was renewed every year through 2016, then in 2017 it stopped, then randomly the car ended up at an auto auction in April 2018 where the small used car lot purchased it. I'm guessing owner passed away & there was a issue with the estate (and I know from experience, it takes years to resolve estate disputes), so it probably took about 1.5 years to get it settled before the title could be released.
Used car lot claimed tons of people have looked at it & even had 3 people check it out day before I bought it. He said problem was everyone that wanted it wanted to get a loan. He said banks won't give out loans on cars over 10 years old anymore due to uncertainty of recouping money out of it.
93,801 was the official sold mileage of the car to me. Literally 126 miles on this timing belt. That was a huge factor in buying it.
93,675 - 6-29-16
timing belt/water pump replaced due to leaking water pump
Dash AC Noise - Replaced right side servo motor
New trunk struts
New rear left door speaker
89,172 - 5-12-16
Replaced all 3 motor/trans mounts
Replaced leaking rear pinion seal
Replaced both front hood struts
74,371 - 9-24-15
Replace fuel pump
Replace blend door actuator driver side
Replace power steering rack
69,386 - 4-4-15
Replace gas cap for evap leak
67,345 - 2-24-15
Multi Display Unit Replaced for shorting out
53,730 - 12-24-13
Replaced steering modulator for volume controls on steering wheel
Replaced mirror switch assembly for power mirrors not working
Replaced worn lower control arm bushings both sides
48,786 - 7-30-13
Replaced rear subwoofer
You can see almost everything that's a issue or wearable part on these cars has been pretty well replaced and done. I seriously don't think I would have been able to find a better well taken care of car.
The Good:
98% interior - Car interior is immaculate. Being a 2 owner non-smoker car that was probably older people, it is flawless inside.
Literally EVERY SINGLE THING works inside the car. I did a electronics function test while my friend did the mechanical inspection. The only thing that I've noticed is the ride height button on center area, the backlight LED is not working on it. The switch works, but the light at night doesn't come on. Not a big deal at all.
Missing tool kit, first aid kit, & cargo net. Where is the cheapest place to get these 3 items? I particularly want the EXACT ones that came with the LS430. I know there are different first aid kit designs for different Lexus. I believe the LS430 FAK said Lexus with the "L" logo in gold.
95% exterior - Exterior is in fairly good shape for what I believe was a mostly garaged car. Bumper has a few scratches it looks like from loading luggage in to the trunk. There is a small dent on rear bumper & the rear bumper silver/chrome trim piece is flaking off. Where could I locate a new piece of rear bumper trim, & how would I go about getting the old one off?
To Do List:
Center console arm rest has some cracking/wear in one spot & the console is a little hard to open. You have to grab it, pull it forward, then pull up. The console also rattles like it's not screwed all the way down. I'm thinking about buying a new entire center console section off ebay for $90 & just taking the center arm rest part off to replace. Is there any guides for how to remove just the top arm rest piece? There is a air vent blowing into the center console, is the a UL only feature or will all armrests have that?
I'll explain further later, but the car no longer has air ride. I thought about replacing the LED for ride height, but I would honestly rather replace that switch panel with a non-air suspension panel that only has the ECT function switch. I think I found one on ebay but want to confirm this is doable before purchase. I've seen from pictures just the ECT panel can be removed and changed, no need to change the storage compartment and disc changer cover. My only concern is if I don't plug back in the sport/normal & height plugs that I may get dash lights, which I don't want. How closely matched are the 3 set pieces of that console panel? If I replace just the one, will it look mismatched to the other 2 (compartment & cd changer cover)? They do have some that are the entire 3 piece combo, so I can replace the whole thing if needed. Is it possible to get the burnt wood finish with only the ECT switch? I THINK I saw a burnt wood ECT only panel on ebay.
Suspension - So I was hesitant at first to even go look at this UL because of the air ride debacle. However the only reason we considered it was because of the service history on the VIN. At 74K miles the front right shock was replaced. At 67K miles the front left was replaced. So I figured well worst case scenario the 2 front ones would be in great shape & the 2 rears would maybe need replacing at worst.
So we showed up, & first thing I looked at was the suspension. It looked newer & I haven't particularly looked at the air ride before so I wasn't too sure what I was looking at. We asked them about it & they said that when they bought the car from auction that one or 2 of the shocks were already leaking again & they knew they couldn't sell the car like that so they had a local shop convert it to normal suspension. There is definitely a not so great kit on it. It rides ok, but not up to par of OEM. I will get some pictures as best I can hopefully for some help on maybe what is on the car currently & what exactly they have rigged up.
The upside was I know that you get dash lights if you mess with the air suspension conversion. There were no dash lights from it & my friend had a scan tool that we ran & it came back with no error codes. So I figured they did a halfway decent job.
Can someone link me to a guide for the 3G LS air suspension conversion? I would like to read over it, verify what else needs to be done to it & know what to keep in mind when I switch it to something better. Just quick reading, I think I want to shoot for OEM ride quality. I read Tein CS is a good kit, that can replicate OEM or you can firm them up since there adjustable. I tried to google this & absolutely could not find anything on a in stock kit for a LS430. Also I saw some stuff maybe about a 2nd revision of the kit? Is there something better that has came out or can someone provide a in stock link to this kit?
The main issue I noticed is it feels like something in my front left is loose. When pulling into my driveway, not at full lock (making a left), when it hits my driveway hump it will pull steering wheel pretty quickly to the full lock position. Is there something I should try to check for being loose?
Quick reading also told me when converting from air suspension to normal that you have to mess with the headlight leveling sensors. I had car in front of garage last night & one looks ok, & the other was definitely noticeably higher (or lower, can't remember) than the other. Where do I adjust these?
Audio ML Amp - So during test drive I tested stereo (not on full blast) & it sounded ok. Of course after buying the car on the drive back it started to have problems. Thankfully I THINK it's just the ML amp. 67K miles/June 2015 the whole headunit was replaced for going black, so headunit should be pretty much new.
Symptoms - If bass adjustment is at level 4 or 5 and I turn master volume up to around 20-30, all speakers completely loose audio until car is turned off and back on. It's like amp trips for protection. There is no crackle or anything in the speakers, so 99% certain amp has completely cut power.
Speakers cut in and out of working. Random ones, I can tell at least in the front you will hear them stop and come on kind of randomly (probably load dependent on music playing).
Volume is incredibly low. I have to turn it up to 30-40 for a lower-mid volume level. There is no volume I can turn it to clearly hear audio when windows are down.
Audio has mild distortion to it through all speakers. There have been a couple speakers replaced already from dealer, so I don't think it's any one particular speaker. From quick reading these definitely all sound like symptoms of failing amp. Is there only one amp for the entire ML sound system, meaning speakers & sub? I saw them on ebay for $200-$300 & it looks like a 30 minute replacement.
Valve Cover (Gaskets) & Spark Plugs - The biggest most immediate problem with the car is my friend said the valve covers were leaking oil. Before buying I knew these cars can develop this problem especially with age (14 years). It seems like it's been a slow leak for quite a while. The entire under car panel seems to have been coated in oil & needs cleaning badly.
We plan to do this ASAP. Like in the next week or 2. The only thing I can't find done to this car in service history was spark plugs, & looking at the design the spark plugs sit down in the valve covers with gaskets around each spark plug. It looks best to just rip the valve covers off replace valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, & spark plug gaskets all in one go.
Can I get a list of part numbers for the valve cover gaskets, spark plug gaskets, & I'm trying to stay with OEM spark plugs. Reading suggest a Denso spark plug. Can I have someone confirm the proper part number for me on these items for a 2004 please? Are there any other gaskets in the area that should be redone at the same time as well? 94K/14yrs
Keys - The car only came with a single key fob. What is the cheapest way to get a 2nd key fob? Should I buy the fob from a 3rd party source and only have dealer program key or should I just pay them for fob, key cut, & programming?
Transmission - Transmission seems to be in excellent shape. I made sure to check that out, it being a 2004. There is no rough jolts when shifting from P to R then R to D. Pretty much undetectable your changing gears. Family members have a brand new Cadillac ATS and a Honda Accord that have way more noticeable gear shift to them. Slow driving while shifting from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 or downshifting back went very smooth. No lurching or roughness to it. I understand these are "lifetime" sealed transmissions but still see lots of recommendations to change these fluids. How difficult are these to really do on the 6 speeds? Any good guides, preferably with pictures? Local dealer claims they do trans flushes/changes on the LS430s for $260 (parts & labor). Maybe more worth just paying them for?
Seals - All the exterior rubber seals. They do look a little dry because the last 1.5-2 years it hasn't been in a garage before going to auction. What is the best thing to use on them? I was looking at 303 protectant - Rubber Seal Protectant. Looks like good stuff.
Leather - I believe the UL had a special type of leather that was used in it. I think there are detailing guides somewhere on the forums. Can someone provide a link? Is there anything special to keep in mind with the UL leather? Other concern is accidentally plugging up the air vent holes in the seats, any concern there?
Tires - There are some type of Michelin Pilot tires on the car. Probably not best, but far from the worst. There ok for now, but what tires would give me the quietest/smoothest ride between $100-$150/tire for when I do replace them? Road noise is fairly noticeable right now with these tires, so between suspension update & tires I'm hoping to drop that considerably.
Any help with any questions would be greatly appreciated. I'll get a photo gallery of the car up on imgr when I have some time and post the link.
First, I'm super excited to be here on this forum with my new (to me) Lexus. If you told me 2 months ago I would own a Lexus, I would have told you there is no way in hell. After a long 3.5 month fight with problems with my Mustang, I decided to get rid of it. No set ideas on what I was going to get.
I started looking into Lexus because my best friend has had a LS400 for around 3 years that I've rode in a bunch. Lately it's been down because he's had to do some work on it, but it is a fairly nice car to ride in. Then about 4 weeks ago another friend of ours was looking for a 2nd car, no particular model or brand. He ended up finding a 2007 IS350 with 120-130K miles that he got for $7.7K. I liked the IS350 as it is a fairly quick car. Though at the same time I liked my friends 400 & only heard better things about the 430. So I was kinda in a toss up between the 2, just depending on condition, price, mileage. I understand that they are 2 totally different cars with different rides, but both are worlds better rides than a 05-09 Mustang.
My main want was reliability. I had troubles with my Mustang I don't want to deal with that again, and I looked at quite a few manufacturers engines & transmissions & the only company that consistently came up with the least amount of problems was Lexus. Both the LS430 & IS350 drivetrains seemed pretty bullet proof.
I started leaning more heavily towards the LS430 & this week I pulled the trigger. I got a 2004 LS430 UL silver ext/black int. It had 93,801 miles when I bought it and hit 94K just after getting it back home. It was at a small used car lot that originally had it for $11,995. Recently reduced down to $9,995, then we got them down to $9,100 + $400 tax & registration so $9,500 OTD. I feel that was a very fair price for this car with the service history that it had.
A little history of me and my friend. I'm fairly mechanically inclined for a nonprofessional mechanic. My friend that was with me is a certified Mercedes technician at the local Benz dealership & again owns a LS400 that he personally works on. This car does need a couple things, but it should be all fairly easy stuff & I'm hoping for some help and input here.
(Notable) Service History:
2 owner (Both FL, Boca Raton & Ft Lauderdale) - Serviced JM Lexus,
no wrecks, no floods, clean title, clean carfax & autoreport, new battery (manuf 4/2018).
Car registration was renewed every year through 2016, then in 2017 it stopped, then randomly the car ended up at an auto auction in April 2018 where the small used car lot purchased it. I'm guessing owner passed away & there was a issue with the estate (and I know from experience, it takes years to resolve estate disputes), so it probably took about 1.5 years to get it settled before the title could be released.
Used car lot claimed tons of people have looked at it & even had 3 people check it out day before I bought it. He said problem was everyone that wanted it wanted to get a loan. He said banks won't give out loans on cars over 10 years old anymore due to uncertainty of recouping money out of it.
93,801 was the official sold mileage of the car to me. Literally 126 miles on this timing belt. That was a huge factor in buying it.
93,675 - 6-29-16
timing belt/water pump replaced due to leaking water pump
Dash AC Noise - Replaced right side servo motor
New trunk struts
New rear left door speaker
89,172 - 5-12-16
Replaced all 3 motor/trans mounts
Replaced leaking rear pinion seal
Replaced both front hood struts
74,371 - 9-24-15
Replace fuel pump
Replace blend door actuator driver side
Replace power steering rack
69,386 - 4-4-15
Replace gas cap for evap leak
67,345 - 2-24-15
Multi Display Unit Replaced for shorting out
53,730 - 12-24-13
Replaced steering modulator for volume controls on steering wheel
Replaced mirror switch assembly for power mirrors not working
Replaced worn lower control arm bushings both sides
48,786 - 7-30-13
Replaced rear subwoofer
You can see almost everything that's a issue or wearable part on these cars has been pretty well replaced and done. I seriously don't think I would have been able to find a better well taken care of car.
The Good:
98% interior - Car interior is immaculate. Being a 2 owner non-smoker car that was probably older people, it is flawless inside.
Literally EVERY SINGLE THING works inside the car. I did a electronics function test while my friend did the mechanical inspection. The only thing that I've noticed is the ride height button on center area, the backlight LED is not working on it. The switch works, but the light at night doesn't come on. Not a big deal at all.
Missing tool kit, first aid kit, & cargo net. Where is the cheapest place to get these 3 items? I particularly want the EXACT ones that came with the LS430. I know there are different first aid kit designs for different Lexus. I believe the LS430 FAK said Lexus with the "L" logo in gold.
95% exterior - Exterior is in fairly good shape for what I believe was a mostly garaged car. Bumper has a few scratches it looks like from loading luggage in to the trunk. There is a small dent on rear bumper & the rear bumper silver/chrome trim piece is flaking off. Where could I locate a new piece of rear bumper trim, & how would I go about getting the old one off?
To Do List:
Center console arm rest has some cracking/wear in one spot & the console is a little hard to open. You have to grab it, pull it forward, then pull up. The console also rattles like it's not screwed all the way down. I'm thinking about buying a new entire center console section off ebay for $90 & just taking the center arm rest part off to replace. Is there any guides for how to remove just the top arm rest piece? There is a air vent blowing into the center console, is the a UL only feature or will all armrests have that?
I'll explain further later, but the car no longer has air ride. I thought about replacing the LED for ride height, but I would honestly rather replace that switch panel with a non-air suspension panel that only has the ECT function switch. I think I found one on ebay but want to confirm this is doable before purchase. I've seen from pictures just the ECT panel can be removed and changed, no need to change the storage compartment and disc changer cover. My only concern is if I don't plug back in the sport/normal & height plugs that I may get dash lights, which I don't want. How closely matched are the 3 set pieces of that console panel? If I replace just the one, will it look mismatched to the other 2 (compartment & cd changer cover)? They do have some that are the entire 3 piece combo, so I can replace the whole thing if needed. Is it possible to get the burnt wood finish with only the ECT switch? I THINK I saw a burnt wood ECT only panel on ebay.
Suspension - So I was hesitant at first to even go look at this UL because of the air ride debacle. However the only reason we considered it was because of the service history on the VIN. At 74K miles the front right shock was replaced. At 67K miles the front left was replaced. So I figured well worst case scenario the 2 front ones would be in great shape & the 2 rears would maybe need replacing at worst.
So we showed up, & first thing I looked at was the suspension. It looked newer & I haven't particularly looked at the air ride before so I wasn't too sure what I was looking at. We asked them about it & they said that when they bought the car from auction that one or 2 of the shocks were already leaking again & they knew they couldn't sell the car like that so they had a local shop convert it to normal suspension. There is definitely a not so great kit on it. It rides ok, but not up to par of OEM. I will get some pictures as best I can hopefully for some help on maybe what is on the car currently & what exactly they have rigged up.
The upside was I know that you get dash lights if you mess with the air suspension conversion. There were no dash lights from it & my friend had a scan tool that we ran & it came back with no error codes. So I figured they did a halfway decent job.
Can someone link me to a guide for the 3G LS air suspension conversion? I would like to read over it, verify what else needs to be done to it & know what to keep in mind when I switch it to something better. Just quick reading, I think I want to shoot for OEM ride quality. I read Tein CS is a good kit, that can replicate OEM or you can firm them up since there adjustable. I tried to google this & absolutely could not find anything on a in stock kit for a LS430. Also I saw some stuff maybe about a 2nd revision of the kit? Is there something better that has came out or can someone provide a in stock link to this kit?
The main issue I noticed is it feels like something in my front left is loose. When pulling into my driveway, not at full lock (making a left), when it hits my driveway hump it will pull steering wheel pretty quickly to the full lock position. Is there something I should try to check for being loose?
Quick reading also told me when converting from air suspension to normal that you have to mess with the headlight leveling sensors. I had car in front of garage last night & one looks ok, & the other was definitely noticeably higher (or lower, can't remember) than the other. Where do I adjust these?
Audio ML Amp - So during test drive I tested stereo (not on full blast) & it sounded ok. Of course after buying the car on the drive back it started to have problems. Thankfully I THINK it's just the ML amp. 67K miles/June 2015 the whole headunit was replaced for going black, so headunit should be pretty much new.
Symptoms - If bass adjustment is at level 4 or 5 and I turn master volume up to around 20-30, all speakers completely loose audio until car is turned off and back on. It's like amp trips for protection. There is no crackle or anything in the speakers, so 99% certain amp has completely cut power.
Speakers cut in and out of working. Random ones, I can tell at least in the front you will hear them stop and come on kind of randomly (probably load dependent on music playing).
Volume is incredibly low. I have to turn it up to 30-40 for a lower-mid volume level. There is no volume I can turn it to clearly hear audio when windows are down.
Audio has mild distortion to it through all speakers. There have been a couple speakers replaced already from dealer, so I don't think it's any one particular speaker. From quick reading these definitely all sound like symptoms of failing amp. Is there only one amp for the entire ML sound system, meaning speakers & sub? I saw them on ebay for $200-$300 & it looks like a 30 minute replacement.
Valve Cover (Gaskets) & Spark Plugs - The biggest most immediate problem with the car is my friend said the valve covers were leaking oil. Before buying I knew these cars can develop this problem especially with age (14 years). It seems like it's been a slow leak for quite a while. The entire under car panel seems to have been coated in oil & needs cleaning badly.
We plan to do this ASAP. Like in the next week or 2. The only thing I can't find done to this car in service history was spark plugs, & looking at the design the spark plugs sit down in the valve covers with gaskets around each spark plug. It looks best to just rip the valve covers off replace valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, & spark plug gaskets all in one go.
Can I get a list of part numbers for the valve cover gaskets, spark plug gaskets, & I'm trying to stay with OEM spark plugs. Reading suggest a Denso spark plug. Can I have someone confirm the proper part number for me on these items for a 2004 please? Are there any other gaskets in the area that should be redone at the same time as well? 94K/14yrs
Keys - The car only came with a single key fob. What is the cheapest way to get a 2nd key fob? Should I buy the fob from a 3rd party source and only have dealer program key or should I just pay them for fob, key cut, & programming?
Transmission - Transmission seems to be in excellent shape. I made sure to check that out, it being a 2004. There is no rough jolts when shifting from P to R then R to D. Pretty much undetectable your changing gears. Family members have a brand new Cadillac ATS and a Honda Accord that have way more noticeable gear shift to them. Slow driving while shifting from 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 or downshifting back went very smooth. No lurching or roughness to it. I understand these are "lifetime" sealed transmissions but still see lots of recommendations to change these fluids. How difficult are these to really do on the 6 speeds? Any good guides, preferably with pictures? Local dealer claims they do trans flushes/changes on the LS430s for $260 (parts & labor). Maybe more worth just paying them for?
Seals - All the exterior rubber seals. They do look a little dry because the last 1.5-2 years it hasn't been in a garage before going to auction. What is the best thing to use on them? I was looking at 303 protectant - Rubber Seal Protectant. Looks like good stuff.
Leather - I believe the UL had a special type of leather that was used in it. I think there are detailing guides somewhere on the forums. Can someone provide a link? Is there anything special to keep in mind with the UL leather? Other concern is accidentally plugging up the air vent holes in the seats, any concern there?
Tires - There are some type of Michelin Pilot tires on the car. Probably not best, but far from the worst. There ok for now, but what tires would give me the quietest/smoothest ride between $100-$150/tire for when I do replace them? Road noise is fairly noticeable right now with these tires, so between suspension update & tires I'm hoping to drop that considerably.
Any help with any questions would be greatly appreciated. I'll get a photo gallery of the car up on imgr when I have some time and post the link.
side bank last night before calling it a day. I'm going to do the driver's side and spark plugs sometime this week. I have multiple cars so I'm taking my time.
The type of plugs recommended are in the owners manual. You can use either NGK IFR6A11 or Denso SK20R11. They are both iridium for extra long life. I opted to go with the Densos. The gap should be set at 1.1mm or 0.043". The gap on mine were a little small when I received them so I opened them up with the tool on the gap gage. I live in Canada and each of these plugs are around $15 CAD up here, but you can buy the Densos off Rock Auto for around $6.00 USD each. The Fel-Pro VS50592R valve cover gasket kit is also there for around $30. It contains valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals and grommets / washers for both sides.
A lot of the time when the valve covers leak on this car it is because the bolts loosen up over time. The required torque is very low and when I put my socket on them they felt hand tight.
You could try tightening them and see if it fixes it.
If you want to tear into them. It is not terribly difficult but there are lots of things blocking access to the bolts, which makes it kind of annoying. If you want some help let me know. Get a good set of extensions and swivel attachments to access the bolts. Bolt size is 10mm. There's also some people here that have a copy of the service manual if you're interested. When I checked the plugs on the passengers side they all looked normal with very little wear. I'm sure I could have probably put them back in and added 100k more miles.
Enjoy the new car. I bought mine in 2013 and have enjoyed it a lot. Great family car and highway cruiser. For a 15 year old car it has been relatively problem free.
Last edited by Arcturus; 07-30-18 at 05:46 PM.
07-31-18, 03:50 PM
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Howdy KB
Welcome to the club.
Lots of great questions that you will find good answers to here;
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-thread.html
Welcome to the club.
Lots of great questions that you will find good answers to here;
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...iy-thread.html
I think it's a huge plus that the timing belt was just done. That is money in your pocket! I did the TB on both my LS's in the last few months and it's a decent job to have to do, but better if the previous owner had it done already.
The ML amp issues you're having may be related to the amp, but I'm not too sure. There are a few members here that will no doubt chime in and give great advice (RKW... you listening??)
I think the final cost was very good on the car, especially considering the mileage and history.
Ebay is a good place for the tool kit and cargo net and the ride height switch panel fascia. The back side of that panel is molded with the cut out for each switch, so find one for a lower level car and just route out the openings for each switch you want to reinstall. I'd leave the ride height switch connected and bury it inside the center stack area, forward of the gear selector.
The ML amp issues you're having may be related to the amp, but I'm not too sure. There are a few members here that will no doubt chime in and give great advice (RKW... you listening??)
I think the final cost was very good on the car, especially considering the mileage and history.
Ebay is a good place for the tool kit and cargo net and the ride height switch panel fascia. The back side of that panel is molded with the cut out for each switch, so find one for a lower level car and just route out the openings for each switch you want to reinstall. I'd leave the ride height switch connected and bury it inside the center stack area, forward of the gear selector.
Yes I see that the ECT panel will pop out separate of the cd changer and hidden compartment. I only need to swap that one panel. I will just end up testing the car when I have that apart and see if having the switches unplugged would trigger any dash lights. I'd rather just reassemble the tri-panel back together and resell it on ebay as a complete unit with switches. I wouldn't think it would trigger any dash lights, by simply not having the switch itself plugged in, but who knows until you try. Worse case scenario like you said I can plug them in and bury them back behind the console, nbd.
I am doing the valve cover gaskets and spark plugs in my garage on my 03 right now. It has about 100k miles. I'm doing it with another job and completed the passenger's
side bank last night before calling it a day. I'm going to do the driver's side and spark plugs sometime this week. I have multiple cars so I'm taking my time.
The type of plugs recommended are in the owners manual. You can use either NGK IFR6A11 or Denso SK20R11. They are both iridium for extra long life. I opted to go with the Densos. The gap should be set at 1.1mm or 0.043". The gap on mine were a little small when I received them so I opened them up with the tool on the gap gage. I live in Canada and each of these plugs are around $15 CAD up here, but you can buy the Densos off Rock Auto for around $6.00 USD each. The Fel-Pro VS50592R valve cover gasket kit is also there for around $30. It contains valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals and grommets / washers for both sides.
A lot of the time when the valve covers leak on this car it is because the bolts loosen up over time. The required torque is very low and when I put my socket on them they felt hand tight.
You could try tightening them and see if it fixes it.
If you want to tear into them. It is not terribly difficult but there are lots of things blocking access to the bolts, which makes it kind of annoying. If you want some help let me know. Get a good set of extensions and swivel attachments to access the bolts. Bolt size is 10mm. There's also some people here that have a copy of the service manual if you're interested. When I checked the plugs on the passengers side they all looked normal with very little wear. I'm sure I could have probably put them back in and added 100k more miles.
Enjoy the new car. I bought mine in 2013 and have enjoyed it a lot. Great family car and highway cruiser. For a 15 year old car it has been relatively problem free.
side bank last night before calling it a day. I'm going to do the driver's side and spark plugs sometime this week. I have multiple cars so I'm taking my time.
The type of plugs recommended are in the owners manual. You can use either NGK IFR6A11 or Denso SK20R11. They are both iridium for extra long life. I opted to go with the Densos. The gap should be set at 1.1mm or 0.043". The gap on mine were a little small when I received them so I opened them up with the tool on the gap gage. I live in Canada and each of these plugs are around $15 CAD up here, but you can buy the Densos off Rock Auto for around $6.00 USD each. The Fel-Pro VS50592R valve cover gasket kit is also there for around $30. It contains valve cover gaskets, spark plug tube seals and grommets / washers for both sides.
A lot of the time when the valve covers leak on this car it is because the bolts loosen up over time. The required torque is very low and when I put my socket on them they felt hand tight.
You could try tightening them and see if it fixes it.
If you want to tear into them. It is not terribly difficult but there are lots of things blocking access to the bolts, which makes it kind of annoying. If you want some help let me know. Get a good set of extensions and swivel attachments to access the bolts. Bolt size is 10mm. There's also some people here that have a copy of the service manual if you're interested. When I checked the plugs on the passengers side they all looked normal with very little wear. I'm sure I could have probably put them back in and added 100k more miles.
Enjoy the new car. I bought mine in 2013 and have enjoyed it a lot. Great family car and highway cruiser. For a 15 year old car it has been relatively problem free.
What are the valve cover grommets in the LS400 guide? Is that something I need to do on 3UZ/LS430 as well?
I saw this awesome guide, but it's for the LS400:
http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/valvecover.html
I like how it has all the part numbers listed out. I found walkthroughs for valve cover gaskets, but couldn't find the other part numbers besides the valve cover gaskets.
I'm just going to go ahead and do at minimum these 3 things. I don't know if there are any vacuum hoses I should replace on the way down to the valve covers as well, like the LS400 guide suggests. Throttle body gasket? My mechanic friend has all the tools we need to do it, so it would be a easy 1 day thing for us. I'm not even going to bother with the tightening. There 14 years old and need to be redone anyways along with the spark plugs, since that was the only thing I couldn't confirm anyone did, & I'm fairly certain no one has. I plan on taking this car on some long distance drives soon, & the peace of mind knowing there isn't going to be anything I have happen while on the road is worth it.
07-31-18, 04:12 PM
#6
Our cars do have an anomaly of consuming tiny amounts of coolant over the years. So as a 'money well spent, Buy an OEM radiator cap and top off the coolant while you have the cover off for the cap.
Especially if you are going to travel. These cars, while great, are getting older whether they sit or drive daily.
Especially if you are going to travel. These cars, while great, are getting older whether they sit or drive daily.
07-31-18, 07:16 PM
#7
Welcome aboard. Consult the FAQ and search search search. This is a great forum with a ton of good information and most subjects have been covered HEAVILY all ready. You might try sorting the first page of the forum by views in descending order and go for a few pages... you'll learn a lot quickly about some of the most common failures (ML sound system, LCA bushings, door lock actuators, etc).
For OEM parts, I only use https://www.ebay.com/usr/belllexusnorthscottsdale If they don't have it listed, you can email them and they can get ANYTHING in a day or two, even hard to source parts are no trouble for them.
I only skimmed your post... start with all of this and if you still have questions or issues on a specific area, create a specific thread or find an existing thread and add to that. Oh, and post pics of your LS!
For OEM parts, I only use https://www.ebay.com/usr/belllexusnorthscottsdale If they don't have it listed, you can email them and they can get ANYTHING in a day or two, even hard to source parts are no trouble for them.
I only skimmed your post... start with all of this and if you still have questions or issues on a specific area, create a specific thread or find an existing thread and add to that. Oh, and post pics of your LS!
Last edited by DaveGS4; 01-28-19 at 08:04 AM. Reason: link edit
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Yonny (09-10-18)
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08-01-18, 05:52 PM
#9
Driver School Candidate
My 2001 UL is dipping on the front pass. corner. Been doing a lot of research and considering converting to a regular (non air) setup. Let me know if you found a good alternative. The air ride is nice, but not worth the value of the car to me. From my research all kinds of things can go wrong with the Air Suspension. Ride sensors, compressor ($1500), and the main issue; the $2000/each at the dealer air struts. Trying to sell the car now for the price of two air struts at the dealer =(
08-28-18, 12:42 PM
#11
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Our cars do have an anomaly of consuming tiny amounts of coolant over the years. So as a 'money well spent, Buy an OEM radiator cap and top off the coolant while you have the cover off for the cap.
Especially if you are going to travel. These cars, while great, are getting older whether they sit or drive daily.
Especially if you are going to travel. These cars, while great, are getting older whether they sit or drive daily.
Welcome aboard. Consult the FAQ and search search search. This is a great forum with a ton of good information and most subjects have been covered HEAVILY all ready. You might try sorting the first page of the forum by views in descending order and go for a few pages... you'll learn a lot quickly about some of the most common failures (ML sound system, LCA bushings, door lock actuators, etc).
For OEM parts, I only use https://www.ebay.com/usr/belllexusnorthscottsdale If they don't have it listed, you can email them and they can get ANYTHING in a day or two, even hard to source parts are no trouble for them.
I only skimmed your post... start with all of this and if you still have questions or issues on a specific area, create a specific thread or find an existing thread and add to that. Oh, and post pics of your LS!
For OEM parts, I only use https://www.ebay.com/usr/belllexusnorthscottsdale If they don't have it listed, you can email them and they can get ANYTHING in a day or two, even hard to source parts are no trouble for them.
I only skimmed your post... start with all of this and if you still have questions or issues on a specific area, create a specific thread or find an existing thread and add to that. Oh, and post pics of your LS!
My 2001 UL is dipping on the front pass. corner. Been doing a lot of research and considering converting to a regular (non air) setup. Let me know if you found a good alternative. The air ride is nice, but not worth the value of the car to me. From my research all kinds of things can go wrong with the Air Suspension. Ride sensors, compressor ($1500), and the main issue; the $2000/each at the dealer air struts. Trying to sell the car now for the price of two air struts at the dealer =(
So as a general update, before leaving this thread & starting other separate ones on any other questions & making a separate pics thread. I just wanted to give a rundown since I've been super busy the last few weeks.
So me and my mechanic friend tackled the whole spark plugs/valve cover gasket project. That took probably 12 days to get done. So on the way down to the valve covers both PCV hoses ended up splitting pretty bad at the ends when we tried to pry them off. So I had to order 2 new ones from mylparts. Great prices, but free shipping is SUPER slow. Like 2 days to pick parts & box them then a full 7 day shipping from west to east coast. I ended up going with the Felpro gasket kit, as my friend recommended that as well. I also ordered 18 new valve cover bolts. For whatever reason I could not for the life of me figure out any way to get the original valve cover grommets off the bolts. The kit came with new ones, & I wanted to replace them. I just ordered new ones at $0.90 each. It took me a minute to find them, they're listed as water pump assembly bolts (90080-10168).
The one valve cover gasket was harder than a rock & it would snap into pieces like a twig. It definitely needed to be changed. Tightening the bolts probably would have cracked it. I think only 2-3 of the spark plugs actually looked ok, the rest definitely had oil baked on them & one actually had wet oil all over it. You could see a slight oil residue/flim on the coils, but they're all still good. I also cleaned out the throttle body while we had air intake off. That looked pretty dirty too. I didn't take the full throttle body off, just gently cleaned around the front and then what I could get to behind the butterfly.
I bought all 9 brand new OEM air filters for my UL. So it has a fresh engine air intake, front & rear cabin filter, all underseat filters, and side garnish filters. I didn't mind the cost on them except the rear cabin filter at like $88. I could tell none of the filters had been replaced in a long time and I don't think underseat filters were changed ever.
I only had one key fob, so I ordered a spare. Local Lexus dealer wanted $300 for fob, cut, and programming. $90ish from mylparts & $50 cut and program by local locksmith.
Car only came with 3/4 floor mats & the front 2 Lexus logos were heavily dirty/worn and coming undone. I just paid the $100 for a brand new set, since I'm going to keep the car for a long time.
My ML amp was definitely having problems. While car was down, I went ahead & pulled it & sent it in to United Radio in Syracuse, NY for repairs. The turn around was insane. Literally fixed and mailed it back out in the same day. Fixed all the issues I was having with it, such as full amp shut off, random speakers fading in and out, static-ey music. Works as good as new now.
I also found a burnt wood trim center dash cluster with the ECT only switch on it to switch into mine since I no longer have the air ride. Cleans it up a little bit. Put that in today. Probably took me about 20 minutes making sure I didn't break anything. My friends Matco trim pull kit is awesome to make sure you don't destroy the wood. I'll post a picture in here when Imgur goes back to working.
My next 3 projects for the car are adding a vaistech unit, oil and oil filter change, & trying to do a transmission fluid change. After that I think it should be good to go on stuff until I save up enough to switch to a bit better suspension like BC.
Last edited by DaveGS4; 01-28-19 at 08:03 AM. Reason: link edit
08-28-18, 03:20 PM
#13
seriously, welcome. as other have said. this is a great forum. i fixed a lot of things on my wife's car with information from here.
not sure if someone talked about your keys....are they smart keys or regular? when we got our car, it only came with a valet key. i bought a couple smarts keys off ebay. the dealer was able to get one to work. but i ended up getting another from them. to be 100% safe, get it through the dealer.
08-28-18, 03:26 PM
#14
KB89.... No pictures? I would for one would not be helping but i"m a snob. Please send pictures and you might be surprised how much additional feedback you might receive. Good luck my friend.
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