Possibly Returning To Ls Ownership

[floggit]

Well ive not been on this forum for about 3yrs ,having prevoiusly owned a 95series in white. Despite a few members on here saying stick with it ,it was costing me to much in repair costs at the time and i lost interest. Ended up driving a new polo for 3years and while i cant fault the car its no LS!!!. Time for a change again and another lexus could be in my sights. Having not been on the forum ive sorta lost touch of whats what with them and would appriciate any advice.

Heres where im at, the polo goes back to dealer in a couple of months so ive got time to look around. Im in the 4k price range which seems to put me in the 430 territory.

1. Seem to remember something about before and after 2002? Is this just tax or is there model changes?

2. Read the other thread on checking the air suspension. Is there a year this is better after or are they all subject to failure? Did any 430 come on normal springs.

3. LPG. recommended for these cars or not? Seem to remember members who had it before always had engine management lights they were trying to resolve.

Thats all i can think of for now but will prob be picking brains and doin more research in the coming weeks.

Thanks, steve.

[ColinBarber]

Welcome back Steve.

On first release in late 2000 the standard 430 has conventional suspension, the Premium Pack option had air suspension.

In late 2003 the redesigned model had air suspension as standard. This came with a 6 speed auto and improved economy & emissions.

Air suspension is nice but it is an expensive system waiting to go wrong on older vehicles.

[Mybikes a cx500]

Neither of my cars had the engine management light on with LPG. I suspect it's the sign of a badly set up system

[Bluesman]

Not a problem on any of my cars over the last 17 years, various makes but the last 5 on MK4 LS running on LPG never missed a beat. Mike

[hihihi]

-

[Bluesman]

Here are my thoughts:

1) I too remember a change/facelift in the LS, however, I think that was after 2003 for the UK (I chose the best equipped, ie youngest version I could afford, balanced against tax - there's a big jump from 2005).

2) I believe the notorious air-suspension "failure" to actually be a wear and tear effect. The air is contained in a flexible (akin to tyre material) bag/balloon.

LS' with air suspension can be converted to traditional but long lasting springs. Works out cheaper in the very long run.

As an aside, there is an alternative means for better air suspension: bigger tyres cushion with more air!

3) The way I understand LPG is that, with today's gas prices, you are unlikely to recover the installation costs for a considerable time, ie many many thousands of miles (personally, I would like to spend less on petrol, however, I'm yet to be convinced about LPG...).

The above is according to my personal understanding and recollection. Disclaimer: I have been known to occasionally show signs of oldtimers... :)

You'll probably research the most pressing issues anyway - there's a fair amount of detail on the web!

There's plenty in the LOC archives on LPG which are very comprehensive. Mike

[Mybikes a cx500]

3) The way I understand LPG is that, with today's gas prices, you are unlikely to recover the installation costs for a considerable time, ie many many thousands of miles (personally, I would like to spend less on petrol, however, I'm yet to be convinced about LPG...).

​The trick is to buy one already converted!

[Bluesman]

3) The way I understand LPG is that, with today's gas prices, you are unlikely to recover the installation costs for a considerable time, ie many many thousands of miles (personally, I would like to spend less on petrol, however, I'm yet to be convinced about LPG...).

​The trick is to buy one already converted!

If you do buy one already converted you need to have the system properly checked and make sure you have certificate of worthiness as alot of insurance companies ask for this.

[bookend]

The pay back on my conversion was around 8000 miles.

[floggit]

Thanks for the replies. I do think lpg is the way forward for me this time, if i find one already done all the better but dont mind factoring in

Purchase and installation costs as i think ill have the car long enough to recoup the outlay. All the cars ive seen in my price range are now old enough to be suseptable to the suspension failure so thats my biggest concern at the moment. Option being to get an older spring/shock setup car but id have to be very sure the underside was solid. It was rot that finished my 95 off although the outward body appearance was excellent. And id rather buy as new as possible so there will be a compromise somewhere along the way. Time for a lot of research and veiwing potentials if their close enough i think. Also speak to a couple of local lpg installers for price guides.

Tried the search feature for lpg topics and others and kept getting no results so thats not working for me lol.

Steve.

[Ruud]

Rust, even underneath, isn't very common on the Ls though. When I had my '96 in for an MOT 2 months ago, the tester commented on how clean it was underneath considering it's 18 years old now.

There's not even so much as surface rust present.

[brendangeorge]

I've not done much posting here for a while - been too busy driving my 430 :)

My thoughts on the 430 - I bought a 2002 new and stiill run it. I looks like hell but rides and drives like a good un.

The pre-face lift 2003 seems to have more reliable (rear) ride height sensors. A pal of mine had to have his replaced at 100K miles - I have a 2002 - 430 that has done 220K+ miles and I had a link break in one of my sensors. This was not at all funny because it drops the back end. My local indi made a new link because the replacement part was £400+ - it is fine now.

After 13 years I keep having to have the exhaust patched - note if an LPG converted car that has the engine light on it will probably say the cat is running at low efficiency which means a pin hole in the exhaust or a duff lamda sensor. Both are easy to fix - the engine light should never be on.

Rust early 430s have door rust probs so pull of the panels and check before you buy. The rust will come through from the inside - the 12 year warranty should cover replacement - check on the forum for other data about this.

LPG is awesome I have done 130K trouble free miles in mine - make sure you have somebody who knows what they are doing if you have one converted. If you buy one converted make sure the ECU has the latest firmware - check when you have it serviced and the filters cleaned.

The newer models have lower profile tyres which means a harder ride - the best riding Lexus by far is the 400.

If you buy a car that was owned by a fat b$gger like me and it has a lot of miles on it the drivers seat may be stuff up so really check this out - I nearly had to scrap my 430 last year because of probs getting it fix.

Good luck with buying another Lexus mate.

Cheers

Bren

[floggit]

Thanks bren, thats all good info. Starting to get an idea of what will work for me, thinking late mk4 or pre 2003 430. And non premium pack would make it a springs car if i researched it correct. Prob best to drive one of each and see which gels better. Coming from a polo either will impress !

[brendangeorge]

Thanks bren, thats all good info. Starting to get an idea of what will work for me, thinking late mk4 or pre 2003 430. And non premium pack would make it a springs car if i researched it correct. Prob best to drive one of each and see which gels better. Coming from a polo either will impress !

Hi Steve I am not sure you will find any late 430s without the premium pack - they did not sell many and the air suspesion is not really a horror story.

Bren