63 Miles On Jack Stands

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Amskeptic
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63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by Amskeptic » Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:40 pm

Yep. Sixty three more miles on this brand new 1991 Lexus LS 400 as I lost my nerve and refused to remove its original driveshaft. So, like down in Florida, I had the car up on a jack, the entire exhaust system halfway down resting on another jack, and I was underneath sliding two large worm clamps through every possible location, forward, mid, rearward, front shaft, forward, mid, rearward on the rear shaft, through a total of 1,728 permutations of two clamps in eight different radial locations in six different axial positions each. So, actually, it only took 63 miles, or 180,180 rotations of the driveshaft, to come up with the "best balance yet", which is to say, "not that good, but at an indicated 97 mph, the ambient noise and vibration drowned out the imbalance 'good nuff'." And the incredible heat of the exhaust system and engine trapped in the garage might have helped me decide that "this will have to do." Then Chloe drove the new used driveshaft over to the storage unit where my 30 day guarantee shall expire shortly:

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The next day, I got to work on my old friend, the 1992 Lexus LS 400 at 137,848 miles, which has punished me horribly for my disloyalty in giving it to my brother. It is the one that threw a bunch of warning lights and error codes that I have been trying to bat down over the past three days. Traction Control code 51, code 19, engine code 25, and a "bulb out" warning light took up two days. On the third day, I put my brother to work cross-hatch sanding the brake discs:

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And I committed brutal hackery on the brake light sockets with a soldering iron to re-establish electrical contact with the melted brake terminal ends inside the sockets:

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This is actually sort of horrific:

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.. .. .. to have two examples of one of the more complicated cars ever built in the same driveway:

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It is also a little weird to have tweedle-dee tweedle-dum matching Lexi shared between two brothers, but I understand how I got here, and I would do it all again if I had to - I was so not ready to get rid of that car:

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But I have a new problem, this new 1991 Lexus is in waaaaaay too good of a condition to use as a winter-beater, but I bought it to be my winter-beater. What a maroon:

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BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

TrollFromDownBelow
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Fri Sep 22, 2017 8:57 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:40 pm


But I have a new problem, this new 1991 Lexus is in waaaaaay too good of a condition to use as a winter-beater, but I bought it to be my winter-beater. What a maroon:
Maroon is a nice color...think you might have been going for moron, although if you meant maroun....as in matty maroun, then you would have been spot on.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
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SlowLane
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by SlowLane » Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:32 am

TrollFromDownBelow wrote:
Fri Sep 22, 2017 8:57 pm
Amskeptic wrote:
Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:40 pm


But I have a new problem, this new 1991 Lexus is in waaaaaay too good of a condition to use as a winter-beater, but I bought it to be my winter-beater. What a maroon:
Maroon is a nice color...think you might have been going for moron, although if you meant maroun....as in matty maroun, then you would have been spot on.
Think he was channelling Bugs Bunny there...
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

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- Terry Pratchett

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Amskeptic
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:27 pm

SlowLane wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:32 am

Think he was channelling Bugs Bunny there...

I was.

I almost entertain the notion of buying another winter-beater to protect this winter-beater from winter. There is a problem here, and it is called me.

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Today, the new winter-beater got the Leatherique treatment. I don't know if it is hocus-pocus eye of newt witch sauce, but Leatherique really did turn my cardboard Lincoln leather into supple soft, so I soldier on smearing that crap all over hot seats in the sun:

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The stuff makes my fingers swell, so I think it knows how to invade cells or sumpin'. Maybe I will have to drive it up to New York before the snow and salt for a winter storage, and slip the Squareback down to Pensacola for a spa treatment. If I put a new headliner in it and freshen the engine tins, it needs to be sold, no foolin' around.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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wcfvw69
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by wcfvw69 » Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:35 pm

What drew you to Lexuses or specifically that year and make? With your previous exposure to all things European like BMW's, I'm surprised you didn't stay European vs. crossing the pacific ocean for a Japanese brand.

BTW, I'm not hating on Japanese cars. I have a 2015 Honda in the driveway.
1970 Westfalia bus. Stock 1776 dual port type 1 engine. Restored German Solex 34-3. Restored 205Q distributor, restored to factory appearance engine.

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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by TrollFromDownBelow » Sat Sep 23, 2017 7:50 pm

Amskeptic wrote:
Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:40 pm
Yep. Sixty three more miles on this brand new 1991 Lexus LS 400 as I lost my nerve and refused to remove its original driveshaft....
Just re-read this. Why did you decide to not even try your new-used drive shaft? Would have it taken more time to swap it than to futz with the old one? Just curious as to the thought process.

On my old 63 Caddy it was a no brainer ... you simply did not want to take it above 55mph or it would shake your teeth out with the original drive shaft. I was absolutely giddy the first time I took it out after the swap and was able to do 70 mph on the highway.
1976 VW Bus aka tripod
FI ...not leaky, and not so noisy...and she runs awesome!
hambone wrote: There are those out there with no other aim but to bunch panties. It's like arguing with a pretzel.
::troll2::

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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:24 pm

wcfvw69 wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:35 pm
What drew you to Lexuses or specifically that year and make? With your previous exposure to all things European like BMW's, I'm surprised you didn't stay European vs. crossing the pacific ocean for a Japanese brand.

BTW, I'm not hating on Japanese cars. I have a 2015 Honda in the driveway.

My first Lexus was my business vehicle, provided to me by the VW dealer when I told them that I refuse to pick up my Passat GLX . . . ever. I did not know Lexus at that time. That Lexus gave me 100,000 utterly trouble-free miles and I sold it for 10K to a drug dealer (that is why I have talked with the Federal Career Criminal Task Force).

Then I bought my BMW 525i for 4.5K and loved it. A friend suggested that I sell it "just because" and I sold it to Westy78 here on the forums for 4k. I decided that I really wanted that Lexus V8 engine back in my life, so I bought the '92 sight-unseen off a used car lot in New Jersey in 2009 for $3,999.00. I really liked the brown metallic two-tone and I really liked the brown leather interior, but more importantly, I exercised that engine and reveled in it. When it was given to my brother for his birthday, I realized that I wasn't ready to part with that good friend that has had some amazing winter adventures with me, so I bought this stripper Lexus with only 57,000 miles on it in March 2017 for $6,700.00 + air fare.

The early LS400 has greater owner loyalty than just about any other car sold. It has real quality.
The Lexus LS is the Japanese brand's full-size flagship, and it also happens to be one of the most reliable used luxury sedans available. The LS400, LS430 and LS460 are among the only ultra high-end luxury models that buck the trend of having dubious reliability and maintenance issues upon trade-in. No luxury car in our study, on average, is driven longer with more miles on the odometer, and fewer defects, than the Lexus LS series. Who has been consistent for years and years when it comes to three-year reliability? Lexus. They take the top spot again this year for the six time.
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Road & Track, "It's not the most exciting car by any stretch, but it is effortlessly comfortable and very nearly indestructable."

Superb Mediocre Car!
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
By Colin Kellogg on 01/06/1999
Vehicle
4dr Sedan

Review
It was Toyota's finest effort. It cannot handle or stop like a BMW or Mercedes, but they did manage to run away from the Germans with true ingrained quality of manufacture. This Lexus has given me 100,000 miles of totally reliable driving, the engine is a dream, smooth, free-revving, outstanding fuel economy of 24-28 mpg (if other reviewers are complaining about fuel economy, try changing the o2 sensors), the transmission is smooth and capable (though it does not hold the gear you're in if you get off the gas quickly like the fully-hydraulic transmission in my Mercedes manages to figure out), and the overall experience of this car has held constant, from 77,000 miles to 180,000 miles. Leather is intact. Carpeting is plush. Engine is silky smooth. Nakamichi stereo is simple and competent. My favorite doodad is that electro-flourescent instrument panel. Yes the speedometer needle went dark, yes the dealer wanted $1,200.00 to repair, yes, I fixed it for $15.89 (a bottle of window defogger repair paint tp establish an electrically continuous line on the backside of the needle). I love Toyota's real effort with this car. I do not like new Lexus Bloat Barges . . .

Amskeptic
March 26th, 2014 at 5:42 pm
I see that we have to thresh out our definitions of “soul” “character” and “legend”. That is difficult in our wordy advertising-drenched world for sure.
I own a 1962 Lincoln Continental, a 1978 Mercedes Benz 450SEL, (had a 1993 BMW 525i), and this 1992 Lexus LS 400 here, now at 135,000 miles.
Legend – yes, it is historically significant
Character – yes, it is the Japanese definition of a luxury car, it may not be the life of the party like the Italian, it might not be uber-competent Merkel like the Mercedes, it might not be the champion slalom athlete like the BMW, it might not be the loyal soft velour American car, but it is Japanese, it is delicate yet strong, it is not flashy but it doesn’t fall behind, and it is not a pig.
Soul- you cannot speak of this without owning one for twenty or so years. I catch traces of soul under the inscrutability. This car and I have had to work out traffic knots, snow storms, a failing fuel pump, and I *felt* the car try to work with me. I appreciate that. This car doesn’t play mysterious games like the BMW and Mercedes like to, but yes, the complexity demands your best attentiveness and fealty to the workshop manuals (which, again, have a seriously appreciated Japanese clarity).
The engine is a work of art. I have seen other examples of Japanese moving art, and they all are lithe, compelling, beautiful to look at, and they put out. They even ask for more. This engine apologizes to no one.
The understated styling apologizes to no one either, but those lacking an appreciation for nuance may need something more reassuring, like a trashy Bangle BMW toy, heck buy a Pontiac Aztek. Although the Lexus may be accused of being derivitive, it is saved simply by the perhaps accidental marriage of form following function.
This goes for the early interior as well, I *love* the all-business-no distraction driver’s environment of the ’92. The later Lexi got more and more lost in exterior whooeystylin’ froo-froo, and the infotainment dashboards are a menace (to be fair, all modern cars are getting lost in this idiocy) to the rest of us drivers.
BUT
ergonomics are hideous, brakes are inadequate, winding roads overwhelm its handling ability, and our little Japanese flower looks a bit queasy after a simple dance.

This car executes, breathes, displays the great human effort undertook to forge a new benchmark in luxury car standards. Like any other important and sustained honest work of engineering or art, this car shows the designer’s handiwork more so than the usual car company committee’s internacine battles with the accounting department. The lovely organization of the engine compartment becomes a welcoming friend in comparison to lets say the 1994 Lincoln Town Car, because the Lexus communicates a dignified Respect and Endeavor, unlike the contemptible chaos of the Ford product.
I am sticking with this thing, just like the 1973 VW bus I drove for 588,000 humble miles. It IS honest and unassuming, qualities I look for in any friend.
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Amskeptic
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by Amskeptic » Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:36 pm

TrollFromDownBelow wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 7:50 pm
Amskeptic wrote:
Fri Sep 22, 2017 6:40 pm
Yep. Sixty three more miles on this brand new 1991 Lexus LS 400 as I lost my nerve and refused to remove its original driveshaft....
Just re-read this. Why did you decide to not even try your new-used drive shaft? Would have it taken more time to swap it than to futz with the old one? Just curious as to the thought process.

It would have required the disassembly of the exhaust, and I did not know if the gaskets would have held up.
It would have required weighing the guido coupling bolts to see which ones were used as weights.
And the deal-breaker, the factory manual was adamant that you measure the driveshaft angle down to +/- 30 minutes at each joint, then read the charts to select the correct spacers under the centermount bearing and the differential mount.
I just wasn't ready for that in my brother's garage.
Colin :blackeye:
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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asiab3
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by asiab3 » Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:37 am

…was this 97 "indicated mph" on jack stands or on a road? Not that I found a 59,000 original mile LS400 around the corner from me or anything……………… But I just might drive it to see what you're talking about…

Robbie
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.

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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by whc03grady » Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:12 am

Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:24 pm
I have seen other examples of Japanese moving art, and they all are lithe, compelling, beautiful to look at, and they put out. They even ask for more.
Is this a subtle reference to some past dalliance with a Japanese woman?
Ludwig--1974 Westfalia, 2.0L (GD035193), Solex 34PDSIT-2/3 carburetors.
Gertie--1971 Squareback, 1600cc with Bosch D-Jetronic fuel injection from a '72 (E brain).
Read about their adventures:
http://www.ludwigandgertie.blogspot.com

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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by SlowLane » Sun Sep 24, 2017 10:36 am

Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:27 pm
SlowLane wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:32 am

Think he was channelling Bugs Bunny there...

I was.

... Squareback down to Pensacola for a spa treatment...
Just don't take a wrong toin to Albakoikee, wabbit. :wink:
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated

"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett

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Amskeptic
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Sep 24, 2017 5:29 pm

asiab3 wrote:
Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:37 am
…was this 97 "indicated mph" on jack stands or on a road?
Jack stands. A lot of whirring at that velocity. I think the driveshaft was doing 5,127 rpm.
asiab3 wrote:
Sun Sep 24, 2017 1:37 am
Not that I found a 59,000 original mile LS400 around the corner from me or anything……………… But I just might drive it to see what you're talking about…
Robbie
Find a nice one with an intact exhaust. Or wait for mine when I drive out to SoCal to help Barb and say hi to Sommer.
Colin
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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Amskeptic
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Re: 63 Miles On Jack Stands

Post by Amskeptic » Sun Sep 24, 2017 5:32 pm

whc03grady wrote:
Sun Sep 24, 2017 7:12 am
Amskeptic wrote:
Sat Sep 23, 2017 8:24 pm
I have seen other examples of Japanese moving art, and they all are lithe, compelling, beautiful to look at, and they put out. They even ask for more.
Is this a subtle reference to some past dalliance with a Japanese woman?
I plead the 5th. Your Honor I can plead for a 5th, right?
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles

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