Would you fix this LS?

[roshi]

hey guys!

I recently purchased a 1998 ls400 with 130,000 miles on it for $4000.

I took the car into a local shop to have it all looked at and they gave me quite the estimate. The problems include replacing my front control arms as well as ball joints and struts, timing belt replacement, valve cover gasket replacements, pads and rotors on the back and a potentially bad ecu as i have random starting issues on and off. The shop confirmed that my starter and alternators are fine however im going to also go ahead and replace my current Battery as I think that it isnt giving enough juice.

Would you think that this would be worth saving? Absolutely no lights are on the dash/warning messages on the gauge cluster display other than "washer fluid low" but thats just as bad sensor im thinking because its completely full and working lol. Drives perfectly fine other than when going over steep speedbumps or potholes even at highway speeds around 65 mph. Every place that ive taken it to says that itll be nice once everything is fixed its just gonna be costly.

thank you for the help!

[scudney]

Looks a nice car from the outside,would say its worth a gamble and hopefully once the known problems are sorted you should have a decent car 👍

[Malc]

I would be inclined to get a second independent opinion from someone / garage you have trusted over the years on everything

the control arms and stuff you can get at trade prices from Rockauto in USA I believe  ( do u live there?  ) and much of what they say needs doing should have maybe lasted another 30k miles or so ....  but depends on driving conditions and driver ....  if it feels great to drive then maybe it is and the're just trying to frighten you into spending money with them !

the timing belt, pulleys and waterpump should be changed every 10 / 100k miles   .....  so check if that's ever been done. That in itself is an all day job with not much cost to the parts 

Must be worth saving

Malc

[Malc]

that's 10 years / 100k miles ..............   the rear pads etc are just fair wear and tear no doubt and if you don't use original Lexus stuff you might save some money on that

we know on here there's a guy in USA who actually rebuilds ECUs  ( I think ) and the display units too

there's a mountain of info on this site about the Mk4 Ls400 ( your car ) and a fair few with your actual car so hopefully someone will pop in and give you some more relevant advice

130k miles is tiny, these cars will easily do 4 x that

mine's only on 229k miles

Malc

[Malc]

just reading about the UK MOT equivalent in the USA  .....  am I right Austin ?

In the UK each year commencing year 3 each vehicle on the road has to have a mandatory UK Govt Test that's equivalent across the UK and to meet Govt standards

It can be very intensive, stringent and show up all sorts of stuff that's not clear from a visual inspection by the owner

many cars fail this test and have to have the repairs done to continue on the road and often on that day too

USA annual tests seem to vary from state to state and often not annual and not often very deep

The info from members on here is often quite authoritative and comes from many years of having to have their cars ready for this annual Uk Gov. Test

Hope this helps too

Malc

[Guest]

My LS 400 1998 had 83000 miles on the clock from new. I managed to sort a vibration /judder that could be felt through the steering wheel at highway speeds and also on braking. This was sorted by the fitment of new Ball Joints and Track Rod ends and ties on front near and offside (Left and Right) These are particularly  inexpensive parts in the good ol USA and in my experience are the components that are in the firing line be it age or road condition. These parts keep the steering wheels true, if they manage to do this and are adjusted correctly by a Laser 2 front wheel or all four wheel aligment and make sure wheels are accuretly balanced then you have tackled it from basics. A ggod technician will be able to elimate brake judder from the equation, simple fix new discs, peanuts for same IMHO.

I do not buy the need for having new control arms all round as the first port of call, firslty they cost a fortune and secondly they may be no at fault.

[roshi]

On 3/28/2020 at 8:06 AM, Malc said:

just reading about the UK MOT equivalent in the USA  .....  am I right Austin ?

In the UK each year commencing year 3 each vehicle on the road has to have a mandatory UK Govt Test that's equivalent across the UK and to meet Govt standards

It can be very intensive, stringent and show up all sorts of stuff that's not clear from a visual inspection by the owner

many cars fail this test and have to have the repairs done to continue on the road and often on that day too

USA annual tests seem to vary from state to state and often not annual and not often very deep

The info from members on here is often quite authoritative and comes from many years of having to have their cars ready for this annual Uk Gov. Test

Hope this helps too

Malc

hey malc thank you so much for the help!

yes i am located in the usa and am familiar with rockauto so i will have to look into that as an option 100%. im not noticing any kind of vibration or anything similar to having any kind of issue other than when i go over speedbumps that are super steep like in apartment complexes or something but otherwise speedbumps in parking lots are totally fine and i do not notice any sort of sound. is it possible to just replace one side of the control arms? or should i just go ahead and replace the front left and right as well as ball joints and struts all at the same time? im not a super car savvy guy.

im thinking next paycheck to take it into a shop to get a new Battery, get pads and rotors and also get an overall fluid flush and replacement. might end up doing timing belt shortly after as i actually dont know the last time it was replaced.

the car has not been acting up as for the ecu problem as of late, its really weird lol. one day it doesnt want to start so i try the next day and its fine for weeks. so i think for now as long as its tolerable im not really going out too much so that might be something that i take care of once the safety issues are sorted.

 

thank you for your continued help!

[Malc]

Austin hi

If any suspension stuff needs doing one side it might not need the other done at all ....... on mine, one front Upper Control Arm was replaced at 173k miles ( the kerb side )  and the other at ( and it hadn't yet gone but was very worn )  217k miles .  and they were the fronts only ..........  the rears have been subsequently replaced but only at their expiry much later in life

Fortunately I have a very competent independent car mechanic who is very honest, reliable and not too expensive ........ and at each and every MOT ( Govt test ) he is there with the Tester and they discuss what's likely needed for next time around a year hence ...  and it's sorted during that time or possibly at the next year's annual service ..  I cover about 12/15k miles a year

When you change the timing belt you should also change the waterpump and check the pulleys are ok .....  they are all on the same job and it really is an all day event for a competent garage to do

you will also then want to change the serpentine belt ( fanbelt ) too and you will lose some coolant in the process

the thoughts here are that the gearbox oil will not need draining to replace BUT at about your mileage now it is sensible to drain off say 2 ltrs and refill, and maybe every 35k miles after

UNLESS of course you have a problem BUT these cars engines and gearboxes are almost indestructible, there's one guy in the USA ( and he's online / youtube somewhere ) who's Ls400 has done 1 million miles

Keep in touch, you have a brilliant car that's quite becoming a   " classic "  here in the UK

As an everyday driver, for 20 years now,  I'm on my 3rd Ls400, a Mk1, then a Mk2 and now my Mk3 that I've had for nearly 9 years and 100k miles+ ......... maybe 250k miles my driving

Malc