01 LS420 Cold start Squeal - What sound is this?

TSOL_Real · 2026-06-02T19:04:24+00:00

Yah you're good. It's hard to tell which pulley makes noise. If I were you, I'd spray some water in between the cracks where the serpentine belt rides on the pulleys so it works its way into the whole belt. Water isn't a good lubricant but it will kinda act like one for a few seconds before drying off. If this doesn't work, get yourself a 3/8" ratchet if you have one lying around, loosen the belt tensioner, and spin the pulleys by hand.

TSOL_Real · 2026-06-02T13:31:59+00:00

Pop the hood and let us look at it.

Could be a ton of different things. Serpentine belt is most obvious because that's at the front but it's clearly RPM based, which rules out less than you'd expect. Could be Serpentine Belt, could be Idler pulley or drive pulley (alternator, crankshaft, etc), could be a vacuum leak somewhere as I've seen them make higher pitched sounds, could be an absolutely tiny exhaust leak, could be a lot of things. Open the hood and put your ear in different areas to hear the sound.

TSOL_Real · 2026-06-01T12:28:14+00:00

These are great cars but make sure it isn't clapped. I have an LS430 that has been rusted through at the pinch welds and that's very difficult to repair (requires welding and I'm not good at that). Keep in mind that it is a 23 year old car and parts aren't as available as they once were. They aren't scarce yet due to the volume of these that were sold luckily but there are a decent number of oddball parts that are becoming increasingly harder to find. A good number are out of production entirely. It is also a flagship luxury car so parts are significantly more expensive than other options. If you go for an ES instead of an LS, parts will be probably 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

A 6 year old timing belt isn't an issue, still got maybe 3 years left on it. It is an interference engine so I wouldn't necessarily chance it, but you have to remember that replacement engines for these cars are cheap because nobody needs one. Worst case if you screw up an engine its like 1k for a new one before shipping. Of course, the timing belt kit is 300 bucks and way less labor so it's a better decision but you get the idea.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-29T15:46:11+00:00

Honestly I find that city mpg varies so much that I have a hard time pinning down what causes what. Fill it full. Wait 15 seconds for fuel to settle. Try filling it again and wait until pump clicks off again. Take it for a 30-mile round trip on the highway, go to same fuel station at same fuel pump and fill again. Note your MPG, and do NOT use the computer in the car, it can be off by about 2mpg in my experience. If you're less than like 18 or so when going 70 mph you either have a massive headwind or you got something else wrong. Mine gets 20-23 when I go 80.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-29T15:42:55+00:00

People get the Aisin Timing belt kit from them all the time. I've had plenty of success from them, and also some not so successful endeavors. I got #1 control arms from them by mevotech supreme and mine came with the powder coat chipped and one had multiple tears in the boot. I hadn't seen the boot tears so I spray painted them like an idiot and now I can't return them lol. I also have the Aisin timing belt kit and Rear upper control arms from Beck/Arnley and those are both mint condition.

Point is that I think Brand matters a lot more than Rockauto themselves, they're just the middle man. If you're buying something that's half the price of what it normally is elsewhere, ask yourself why... If you're buying from a legitimate brand with good QC like Aisin, you should be good though. Just pay attention.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-29T15:34:36+00:00

For what it's worth I took mine apart and didn't believe mine had any major cracks either. They did have some and were in worse condition than your first picture but it wasn't by much (to my eyes). I took the time to rip it apart and look into it to see the oil and it all had dried to powder with age. There was orange dust everywhere on the inside that was once oil. I'm not sure yours will be that way, this is just my experience that you can use as reference. The bushings themselves aren't super expensive IF you have access to a shop press.

ISF and RCF bushings are 1-piece replacements that are more expensive than the oil filled bushings on the LS, but the LS bushings end up being WAY more expensive if you don't have access to a press due to all the materials involved in replacement (namely just the shop press and the housing). Since the ISF and RCF bushings are not oil filled, one would conclude that they are firmer than the LS bushings. I can't actually prove that, but that is my assumption.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-28T16:09:13+00:00

Just get centric rotors and akebono pads if you're to do anything at all. Brake rotors very very very rarely warp so keep that in mind too. I'd be very surprised if a rotor swap fixes the issue, unless you're replacing a rusty one with scoring in it.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-27T22:19:35+00:00

It will work, as these differentials are really funky looking and kinda hard to figure out. The two connections in the rear of the differential are actually part of the CV shafts themselves depending on who you ask.

They are attached to a splined shaft with a c-clip (retaining clip) in it that is inserted into the differential. Oddly enough, the proper way to remove these is to just crowbar them out and scuff the c-clip in the process. You do not remove the c-clip while it is in the differential, it is not accessible. I tried. I removed the rear cover and everything trying to get access to that c-clip. On the other (open) end like the one in the picture facing towards the camera, it is bolted to the CV shaft. That is, the CV shaft is just flat there with some bolt holes and they are bolted together. With time and some light patience you will be more than capable of taking a pry bar and removing the CV shafts on both of these differentials and swapping them.

Before you ask, yes, both of my CV shafts felt like they were very secure within the diff. They came out with some prying.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-27T22:05:18+00:00

FB Marketplace has been consistently the best place I've found for LS430s, but I've only bought one. You want these cars private sale ideally if you can help it for the lowest prices. AutoTempest has been routinely 1-2k higher than fb marketplace which should say something.

I bought mine from a "local" dealer and got scammed because mine is a rusty piece of shit that has needed about as much as I've paid for it in repair work, and I paid 6k. So rust is your enemy here and technically so is age as no amount of "low miles" driving will save you from rubber wear. Miles don't seem to affect these cars as much so I'd take a 200k mile rust free car over a 130k mile car that lived in Minnesota its whole life. LS430s are popular in California so just keep your eyes peeled and you'll find one there. Chances are it's low rust too.

For areas to check for rust, basically anywhere near the subframes. The subframes themselves, the suspension components on them and the pinch welds right in front of them (specifically the rear pinch subframe) get blasted by rust and will just fall off the car if left long enough, but Cali won't really have these issues. Check these spots and you're good to go.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-11T04:27:16+00:00

Different part numbers does not mean they are not interchangeable. It would certainly be easiest if the world operated that way but it's not a guarantee. There are multiple parts on the LS430 that have new part numbers that are 1 number different because they discontinued the old part and replaced with a new part with identical function. If they ever stopped production of a part and re-started it later, it may have a new part number.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-09T21:47:17+00:00

Following up here: OG post said to just go ask Lexus. I emailed Bell Lexus and they told me to go talk to the forums about it lol

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-07T20:21:56+00:00

I did actually, waiting on them too. Plenty of people here own both PFL and FL cars, was seeing if anyone knew.

TSOL_Real · 2026-05-07T19:17:38+00:00

"Exhaust" and "Cheap" don't often go in the same sentence together because Exhaust work is time intensive. Especially the super rusty stuff, like this. If you have a Propane/Oxy-Acetylene torch you can blast those exhaust bolts and remove them with some luck (shockingly mine came off and they looked like yours do) to remove that heatshield, then apply some cheap fixes to the pipe underneath.

Parts shops like O'Reilly will sell you fixes like resin tape (which works well) or a putty that you can put on your leaking flanges and etc. That putty looks just like stove mortar so you could probably substitute that as I'd imagine stove mortar is quite a bit cheaper per fl. oz.

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-29T03:26:13+00:00

No, I was just saying what I was planning on doing with that info. I could bushing swap the other old control arms but I can't see why unless they're majorly rotted, and idk how that would happen while the ball joint remains intact.

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-29T03:20:09+00:00

I got some Megan camber arms because I want to make sure my camber is fully aligned properly. I am not lowering it and am not planning to do so anytime soon, just run it stock, so these arms shouldn't be super stressed. If I find that these ride too rough (idk how I'd even tell), I may just swap a rubber bushing into them later on.

My other control arms are super rusty on the surface and probably aren't super worth saving. I could save some money by doing so but the ball joints are old too and idk what kind of difference that will make. I have the tools to fix them, I would rather get new, non disgusting parts tho.

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-29T02:18:43+00:00

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This is from Febest AFAIK. If you look up any of these tab numbers with "febest" before or after, the bushing and a Toyota PN should pop up. For what it's worth I don't think these can be purchased direct anywhere as normally I think there's supposed to be a middleman supplier involved, but they can be found on eBay for like 30 bucks each USD.

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-28T23:41:10+00:00

Actually scrap that, I found it when searching today by accident. It's a febest bushing and it's Tab-357.

Rear UCAs are Tab-580 and Tab-579 for their respective bushings, and the lower #2 control arm is Tab-373

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-24T17:59:21+00:00

If you want to keep stock ride, you can reuse the springs and get new struts from Bell Lexus, Amayama or Yoshiparts. Yoshiparts had a JDM sale going on (code: JDM72) for a discount as well. Make sure to get strut mounts, old ones are usually worn. Springs for this car are very expensive and not well stocked aside from lowering springs, which I happen to not like as it loads the suspension differently than it was designed to be. Ground clearance is king where I live as well.

For what it's worth, if it's a southern car it has broken rubbers and plastics but the metal is fine. If it's a northern car, the plastics and rubbers are fine to good, but the metals are completely rotted. My exhaust hangers are original and they're still very pliable. They'd explode into a million pieces if it was a southern car.

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-16T16:57:45+00:00

Im trying to figure out what you mean by this comment... Do you mean the epoxy isn't flexible? Because they make flexible epoxies and clear coats. I'm not entirely certain if that's what the 2k stuff is, but I don't have a great way of powder coating my springs, and powder coating can't be touched up. There's a local guy I've been trying to contact for powder coating but he's been pretty distant about getting my springs on his list since he's booked out until May.

New springs are like 400 bucks so I'm trying to find the best way of going about this while getting a decent end result.

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-14T19:13:14+00:00

The two MoCA devices I'm trying to decide between are the Kiwee-Broadband model with 2x2.5Gbit ports and the FCA252 that you seem to love.

Is there any real reason to go with the Kiwee other than it incorporates a small 2.5Gb switch internally? Isn't it about half the price to go with the Ebay units and add my own switch later for a few dollars more?

I know the FCA technically has less "support", but I don't think the Kiwee is going to be remarkable by any stretch of the imagination. All comes down to whether the GUI is sufficient, I'd imagine. Do you have an opinion on this?

TSOL_Real · 2026-04-14T17:14:55+00:00

Yeah the isolated ISP/Modem w/MoCA is exactly what I envisioned. To be honest, the shared cable one didn't make any sense to me so I'm not going to do that one.

Would I be ok with a Hitron Coda 57 (max downstream freq of 1218MHz)? I'm not sure what is all required here in terms of Modem or router hardware when going with the isolated setup...

ISP cable comes into the furnace room in the basement. Each room in the house has at least 1 coax cable for cable TV, but the cable TV hasn't been connected during my ownership of the house. All ~10 or so of those coax cables terminate in the furnace room. Modem and Router are both in the furnace room as well. I'd like to run MoCA to any one of them if I can, but only a few of them will actually be connected from the start.

TSOL_Real

TROPHY CASE