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Hello All from Scotland,

I just bught a 1995 Lexus GS300 LPG conversion and the poor bugger has not been well looked after the last few years only ( seeing the extortion prices on parts its no wonder...).

It was sold in 2009 in ( apparently) pristine condition (got the old eBay advert).

I have few questions and if anyone could reply that would be great :)

Don't mind my little rant on the rip off price price, its just me :)

Then here is what I am at:

I need the engine and gearbox mount. Where could I get some, beside the stealer that want 220 each side for the engine and 112 for the gearbox. EEK!

I owned a Mercedes before and I thought the parts were dear, but this is nothing compare to Lexus...

I find this shocking. But not as bad as what follw...

I was thinking that the MAF, air flow meter, might need replacing, then asked Lexus to price it. Cheap as Cheap... 900 pounds! EEK! And worse, they don't make it anymore... This is bad from Lexus on both account.

Then a MAF cost as much as the car but its not available and there is no replacement.... Dear me...

After 12 years what do you do? You ditch the car as parts are no longer available from the dealer?

I know you can get some aftermarket, but still...

About the MAF, can we bypass it? Or is it necessary?

On the MB in the USA forum, Kartek founded a great way to delete the MAF and that was a brilliant idea, not triggering any faults nor using more fuel, and all with a little 50 pence resistor... It was a turbo diesel tho, not a N/A petrol...

The SRS light is on... Does anyone tried the methode below to erase the fault? Or is it Heresy?

http://www.justanswer.com/lexus/4roc3-1995-lexus-gs300-airbag-srs-codes-access-engine-codes-obd2.html

I might suspect a damage wire under the passenger seat for the above fault? The seat heating isn't working. Are the Lexus like the MB have a seat sensor( this is for children for the airbag not to be triggered)? This is a common fault on the MB and repairing the sensor/ wires fix the SRS faults. Then if a wire is damaged, maybe this is why the SRS light is on and the reason for the heating not to work?

The passenger window is not working.

I took the panels off to found out that the switch wasn't connected. Hurray! - I thought this was why the window was not operational... Life is good :)

Nope, the wires were disconnected as the window once you plull is down do not come up ever again... It need to be manually pushed up.

Touching the rear of the window mecanism, you can feel the wire from the motor going up and down.

Before I pull everything out, is there something I can do to fix it? Maybe the wire is out a wheel or something? Or I need to take the whole mecanism out?

The O/D light flashes on and off, but I read it could be the engine mount as it wobble alot and the sensors do not like this... I can agree with that...

The driver rear view mirror do not work. I will have to look into the wiring inside it.

4 calipers were seized... Oh dear... But they unseized them self now. All braking is good, look rusty tho...

The aircon is not that cold. Might need recharging?

I think this is about it about the faults?

The car is a nice one, zippy and hold well on the road. Nice sound system on it and the Sunroof is great to have.

The LPG conversion is a nice asset, I am going to have it look at soon, just ot be sure all is correct as I used a full tank of gas, a bout 45 litres, for 175 miles. This seems a little too much for me. Or would that be the norm on gas?

Anyway, so far I am happy with it and its not rusty like the MB :)

Thank you for reading this :)

Happy weekend :)

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Welcome to LOC.

Congrats on the new car, and must admit a very brave buy with so many known issues.

The mounts should be available from breakers, I've never known anyone need them before, so they shouldn't be that rare from a breaker.

I'm not aware of any sensors in the seats to manage airbags, so if the airbag lamp is on, then I would suspect there is something more drastic going on. The fault codes are pullable as described in the link.

Siezed calipers is a common issue on most older Lexus models. They will come and go, and generally be a bit of a pain unless you overhaul the calipers and slide pins. A company called BigRed do the calipers ata very decent price, I think my two rears including slide pins cost £50 for the pair when I got them (a few years ago mind you).

Any reason for thinking the MAF needs to go?

Aircon will need recharging if it isn't blowing cold, but until it is recharged, you won't know if there are any major leaks (generally it will only need to be redone if it leaked out - unless someone inadvertantly let it out of course which would be unlikely).

The OD light flashing does indicate a fault, not sure of vibrations causing a fault to register, but I guess that is possible if the mounts are that far gone.

Good luck with getting it sorted, I can't see it being a terrifically cheap unfortunately.

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Hi Tiger,

Thank you for the replies :)

I prefer to get new engine mounts, at the breaker they'll be old enough and this is twice the work as they would need to come off...

I saw some on eBay but not original tho.

I am waiting on a reply from Brend or Pawel at Wunderpartz to see if they can provide me with some.

They were selling me quality MB parts at very keen prices, but as the name says, Wunderpartz is not Japanese parts...

To be continued on that one :)

About the MAF I got a wee wobble at iddle, then I thought it might be it, but loking at it again, it might be the LPG that need a check up. I went today to Slatteford Rd in Edinburgh but they were close :(

I would like to delete the MAF if possible tho, as they are expensive and "might not be" necessary... ( I put might nt be in brakets before I got a reply saying that they are there for a reason ;)

Is there anyone here providing any parts? Like the cabin filter/ air filter/ oil filter etc...?

Or you guys just got them from eBay and dealer?

I just chesckt the gearbox oil, a wee dark, it might have been there since 2005... and after 155,000 its time to change it me reckon...

Any DIY on this one? Does the TC has a drain plug ?

And what oil do you recommend here?

About the car I needed one and fast, I now, not the best to buy something, but hey, I couldn't do any other way.

Last week I got stuffed with an MB that wasn't reliable :megaangry: and I needed a car that would be drive safely.

The Lexus did 1000 miles no bother, well, beside the engine wobbling and the O/D flashing and a wee burned smell from the brakes... oops...

It still took me where I needed :driving:

Thank you for the Caliper guy, I give them a shout Monday :)

Is it not possible to unlock them? Mine seems OK, but I need to take the wheel out and push them in to be sure all is good.

I am sure the car has been sitting on a wet patch for month, it got mouldy ish, the rotors are, well, what can I say... Rusty...

Any idea about the window regulator? Is that common? Not?

Thank you :)

Olivier

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If the mounts are gone, the wobble at idle may be cleared up with those.

No drain on the TC as far as I know. I think the process for the ATF change is something like:

GB pan drain and off to change filter.

Refit

Fill fluid to mark.

Undo cooler pipe and run engine to pump 1 ltr to a container.

Top up fluid.

repeat the cooler pipe off and 1 ltr container/topup etc until the ATF comes out clean and therefore cleared out the TC etc.

No idea on the winder mechanism mate, sounds like the cable has slipped or stripped its teeth (assuming it has teeth - never taken one apart).

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My mistake, the car is 1993, not 1995...

Just saw this on the wee green slip. I thought it was 1995 as the hand book is 1995... :huh:

:lol:

This car is going to fun :hehe:

Now, thinking of it, its also an American/ Canadian book...I was wondering why Lexus was not making a proper UK book...

No laughing allowed... :winky:

Anyone want to buy a North American Lexus book? I do it cheap ;)

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Cheers Tiger.

Is there any equivalent to that?

I have to say I am surprise that you are the only one replying.

Is there no DIY enthousiastic here? No one looking / selling parts?

Cheers :)

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Sewell Lexus in the USA can supply OEM engine and transmission mounts by mail order for around 1/2 of UK prices but bear in mind UK HMRC may get you with import charges but even with these it is still cheaper.

Same goes for all UK Lexus parts prices, we pay around £60.00 for 5 Ltrs of Toyota Type IV fluid, in the US it is around £15.00!

Do you actually have a problem with the MAF? Is the Engine Management Light on? If not leave alone the engine is designed and programmed to run using a MAF for accurate fueling so why remove it and possibly create more problems.

Has the SRS light come on since you bought the car? A common cause as you mention is a broken wire or loose plug under the driver's seat especially so with a new owner who will have moved the seat to their liking after it may have been in one position for years, an OBDII code reader will assist in diagnosis if nothing obvious appears visually.

The window will need more investigation but 2nd hand units are always around on eBay.

Again a code reader will help diagnose the flashing O/D light.

I assume when you say the rear view mirror is not working you mean it is not moving by the adjustment switch?.Apart from checking the wiring to it there is not much else you can do so again either eBay or a local breaker for a replacement.

Don't be offended but have you made sure the mirror selection switch is in the correct position for adjustment.

As for the brakes, when you do the brake service remove the caliper slide pins,clean,regrease if not rusty and reinsert.

For the AC take it to a specialist for checking and recharging once they have checked for leaks.

It sounds like you have quite a project there, such a shame the previous owner ran it into the ground but they are all things you can do reasonably easily and cheaply over a period of time and then end up with a decent Lexus.

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Hi Steve,

Thank you for the long reply :)

I had some bad surprise with the post with some pump shipped from the US. They took the matter into their own hands, pay the duties to HMRC and charged me 16 quid for the pleasure to do so and would not release the parcel untill all their charges were paid in full... Tut tut... I was trully annoyed there.

I am now aware that apparently they are not allowed to hold a parcel, and that if they want me to pay anything else, they need to bill me for it on a separate matter and deliver me the parcel as this is their job to do so. Holding a parcel as they decided to pay the dutie and charge me a fee for it is apparently illegal, I like that :devil:

This is shocking the cost of ATF compare to the states. Geezzz!

Is there any other alternative then the toyota ATF? I know its the same with the MB, many only swear by MB ATF, but MB do not make ATF, they buy it and there are alternatives as good as the stealer price, at nearly half the cost. On a previous car I used Halvoline and the seconf FEBI. They both meet MB specs but are not that costly.

About the mounts, here is an alternative, any imput there about those would be great:

http://www.vibra-technics.co.uk/toyota/aristo_lexus_gs300_mk1_91_97_mk2_97_05_/625/TOY400M/engine_mount_jzs147_mk1_91_97

Still very expensive. MB engine mounts from FEBI are about 50/ 60 pounds a pair... Not 200... And its german tough made.

What is it with Lexus prices? The MB I am talking about is the E300TD 1999. Great saloon too. But soooooo rusty....

The mirror motor doesn't work, you were right there.

I will postpone the window untill warmer/ dry weather as I have no shed and it is a wee wet sometimes here...

The SRS light was always on, I misstake it for a seatbelt warning ( not clicked in properly ), untill I read the handbook :blink:

Is there a OBII you could recommend for the car? That wouls be great :wub:

Had the refuel the LPG today, while driving the car "hard" I only made 165 miles for a 47 litres tank... This is little, very little...

I think this need to be checked too.

I look at the calipers soon. Things start to work a lot better tho, braking power is increased and the foot brake is now strong ( very slippery before). I drove it slowly while on to clean it/ dry it.

As I might have stated before, I think the car was iddle for way too long on a wet patch/ grass and this is not good...

When braking there is a "clunk tho, but this could be the rear subframe, the brakes, the engine or all of the above :msn-oh:

Another thing, both the hood and the boot "Hydraulic suspension" are shot. They do not hold the hood nor the boot up.

Can those be regassed, or should I look for a replacement?

The MAF seems OK after all. But again, if there is a way to bypass it this would be great as if it fail, we could just take it out :)

I truly don't feel like its a long project, those are just common fault due to age / mileage and negligence. Or is it me :huh:

All the best.

Olivier

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You're welcome,

There have been many debates regarding the tranmission fluid but a definitive answer to alternatives has never been acheived so not wanting to risk a transmission failure I stuck to Toyota Type IV. It only needs doing every 60,000 miles so not too expensive.

There was a recent post recommending a suitable code reader for around £60.00 I'll have a search for it.

Those engine mounts look good,certainly cheaper than OEM.

Bonnet and boot struts are a common fail point, find them on eBay, struttmasters website or SGS engineering in Derby who will regas yours or supply replacements.

If the LPG has not been serviced that may be contributing to poor figures, whilst on servicing did you get any history with the car? It may be worth replacing the cambelt/idlers/waterpump if in doubt.

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Thank you Tiger. Counting need to be done then :(

I was hoping a reader would be good. My mecanic used an expensive reader, don't remember the name and I was hoping it might do few things. It doen't go all the way throught the MB tho, only the STAR from MB would go all the way.

How does Lexus do? I called them yesterday, they say its 152 pounds for a "pronostic". If they don't plug it in a computer, I may as well do the counting meself ;)

Something out the blue, can we reprogrme the ECU to make the car faster? A re-map?

I found it a wee "slow".

Thanky ou Steve, I got a bit of history.

Cambelt changed at some time at 127,000 ( now its 155+) and there is a bill somewhere for a water pump.

Then I might be safe there... Maybe...

I will ask a friend about re-gas as well as he had his done for a Transporter. He wanted the struds to be harder and got more pressure in. Then they might do the lexus too?

It seems I got the "usual" failure with the seized calipers/ the struds and the mounts.

Nothing much to worry about, well, beside the gas consumption...

I called a guy in the Welsh area earlier, he said a full check up is 60 pounds, which I thought was good. Let hope the Scotts are the same...

Cheers :)

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How does Lexus do? I called them yesterday, they say its 152 pounds for a "pronostic". If they don't plug it in a computer, I may as well do the counting meself ;)

They have a reader, but not one of the cheapy DIY price range pieces of kit. I'm not aware of a cheap option, and certainly not an OBD one as they aren't compliant, but if Steve has seen one, then fingers crossed. Even the early mk2 GS's weren't compliant, only from 2000 onwards. I have a couple of readers that work on my odbII GS430, they work very well, just not on earlier cars :( (Lexus that is - one of them works nicely on my '94 Corrado VR6)

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Something out the blue, can we reprogrme the ECU to make the car faster? A re-map?

I found it a wee "slow".

The ecu itself isn't as far as I know, and any jiggery pokery done outside of it will be relearnt by the ecu to counter act it, so pretty difficult bar a replacement standalone or piggyback ecu. Well, that's as far as I understand it anyway. No cheap gains power wise. Either a later car, or the jap import version of the GS300, the Aristo twin turbo (or the later V8 powered cars, the GS430).

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I think my mechanic got "ethos".

Its a pricey bit of kit, but might not do the trck tho.

I'll check with him next week if he can have a wee look :)

I saw 2 connectors under the hood as well. Any idea what they are for? One would be the computer connection me think but the other?

I'll take a picture tomorrow.

Again thank you for all the hints :)

Night night.

Olivier

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Something out the blue, can we reprogrme the ECU to make the car faster? A re-map?

I found it a wee "slow".

The ecu itself isn't as far as I know, and any jiggery pokery done outside of it will be relearnt by the ecu to counter act it, so pretty difficult bar a replacement standalone or piggyback ecu. Well, that's as far as I understand it anyway. No cheap gains power wise. Either a later car, or the jap import version of the GS300, the Aristo twin turbo (or the later V8 powered cars, the GS430).

Thanks. I am OK with mine tho because of the LPG. I wouldn''t like to go for a V8 on petrol... Oh the cost...

I was running on veg for 5 years, and now back on petrol is a shock to the system...Or the valet...Or both... ;)

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The GS430 is pretty much on a par with the GS300 fuel wise, so would be very close with LPG too. Luckily for me, I went from 35k miles a year in a GS300 (non LPG) to about 5k miles a year in the GS430 (non LPG), so petrol bills are very much lower for me regardless :)

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How does Lexus do? I called them yesterday, they say its 152 pounds for a "pronostic". If they don't plug it in a computer, I may as well do the counting meself ;)

They have a reader, but not one of the cheapy DIY price range pieces of kit. I'm not aware of a cheap option, and certainly not an OBD one as they aren't compliant, but if Steve has seen one, then fingers crossed. Even the early mk2 GS's weren't compliant, only from 2000 onwards. I have a couple of readers that work on my odbII GS430, they work very well, just not on earlier cars :( (Lexus that is - one of them works nicely on my '94 Corrado VR6)

Just went under the dash today to look for a wire, and saw the connection for the reading.

I thought it was under the hood as I have 2 connections there??? Confused I am...

Now, what is the driver seat computer connection compatable with? Nothing? Anything?

What would the other 2 under the hood be for?

I could take some pictures of the connecions if anyone could tell me what they are?

Today I striped down the centre console looking for the wire from a sensor to find out it was running through the side doors seals/ covers... Bugger!

At least I now know how to remover the arm rest ;)

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The one under the dash is the mirror of the one in the engine bay. Memory is a little hazy these days as it has been a while since I had my mk1, one engine bay socket is a rectangular one at the front end of the plenim chamber on the inlet manifold, where is the second one you mention?

The pic below is the under dash one, all the pins are the same as the one mentioned above in the engine bay, just a different shaped connector. You can do all the same things from either socket.

Socket2.jpg

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Today I striped down the centre console looking for the wire from a sensor to find out it was running through the side doors seals/ covers... Bugger!

What sensor wire are you looking for?

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Cheers about the connectors :)

The third one might be LPG then?

I take a picture later :)

I was looking at the rear "radar" wiring. The previous owner had a backing safety system installed.

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The updates...And the many questions... Oopss...

Picture of the extra connecteur, I am sure its the LPG.

Also , what is the air connection on the second picture? ts not connected to anything?

And there is a high pitch sound coming from the engine once in a while. What would that be?

Power steering?

The idle is erratic too, too high sometimes, petrol and LPG.

I opened the LPG ECU yesterday, it wasn't sealed properly, a little wet inside. tut tut...

I look at a spark plug today, the first one was not tight at all, and wet...Look like it was leaking... How do you access the ones under the manifold? Look like a hell of a job for the manifold removal...

I am going to get some proper lpg sparkplug soon. The one I pulled out today was a Champion RC10PYP4, not made for LPG :(

What are all those littel rubber pipes going in and out the manifold? This is madness there? Who mad person thought it'll be good to have made it so complicated? Tut tut...

To look for an air leak in this maze will take a lot of time/ courage and patience...

Last question. Does the car has an EGR valve? If yes, how do we delete it?

Thank you :)

post-45784-0-11314400-1357652601.jpg

post-45784-0-08934400-1357652614.jpg

SNC12430.WAV

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Back from more tinkering, and back with more questions...

I got the code with the paperclip :ban-em:

I got 2 4

What does this mean?

The other I got all three below flashing:

ABS

Cruise control

The SRS light

Is that bad? :geek:

Also, yep there is more...

I took the rubber inlet out, there was a lot of gunk at the butterfly :megaangry:

I sprayed some WD40 , this cleaned it a lot, but then the idle is way over now...

then I slowly pour some fuel cleaner ( Reddox) to make sure it will clean it ok...

The iddle revs are still very high, over 1500... :angry:

How can I stop the idle been so high? I did lose the butterfly to shut it but its at the max and if I push it hard it stay there but as soon as I press the pedal, it can not shut it all that tight...

What can I do?

I should have choose a girlfriend over this, would have been a lot simplier and more fun :yahoo:

Thank you :)

Olivier

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