Threxx

It seems that Hayes and Chiltons do not make a "do-it-yourself" manual for the GS400, or any Lexus for that matter, with the exception of the ES300.

So I was looking around ebay and noticed a few people who supposedly sell the entire Lexus shop manual - the one that the technicians at the dealership use.

So would this be the most ideal thing to get if I want to be able to fix and service my car myself?

MGRepairs

The books published by Lexus for my '95 LS are very good and helpful, albiet expensive. Many, but not all, of the 'books' sold on Ebay are CD's taken out of a master set. I own those also and have not found them as helpful.

Nick T

Thexx,
Buy it from your local Lexus dealer. They usually come in two volumes specific for your model year and car. There is also a third ETM book for electrical troubleshooting. Unless you can get them at wholesale price however, you might want to get them from Steve Ganz from Carson's Toyota or other online parts vendors ( Do a search, I don't have his phone # handy ).

I got a complete set for a 93 SC400, all 3 books for ~ $100 or so a few years back.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

For GS4, the manual set, even from Steve Ganz, is about $285 for the 2 volumes plus electrical schems.
Lexus just does not want you to work on your car. They protect the dealer this way, by keeping the price astronomical. (Actually, in the long run it winds up being cheaper than paying the dealer thousands...)

The Haynes, Chilton, and Mitchell versions that you find on ebay CDs are lame by comparison (but I'm judging from manuals I have for other cars, not GS). If anyone knows different, please chime in here.

Threxx

Will these Lexus manuals go over everything from maintinance to the most difficult of procedures like rebuilding the motor, etc)?

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, they cover all major subsystems, but don't expect INTENSE detail on every single thing. Definitely maintenance is well covered. It covers how all the parts fit together, diagrams from which you can take apart and put anything major back together. The electrical diagrams are pretty good; they are in a separate (third) volume. Sometimes Toyota issues extra detailed transmission manual volumes to cover that stuff in more detail. For some things, the description is sketchy, not detailed enough, but it has all the thigh-bone-connected-to-the-knee-bone kind of stuff, so if you just look at the car vs. the diags, you can usually figure it out. It's pretty detailed, but you can only fit so much into a 2" thick manual. I'm judging by other Toyota manuals that I have, since I don't have the GS ones yet due to cost. If you're into DIY aftermarket mods where you're going to need super-duper-details, you may find some stuff missing.

There are other actual (paper) Toyota manuals on ebay if you want to search around to get an idea of what they look like. You can also stop by your dealer's service dept., where they usually have a room full of the Lexus service manuals that you could take a quick peek at.