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Best Supplier Of Parts For My Recently Acquired Ls430


GrahamGphoto
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Greetings fellow Lexus owners. Having been a "lurker" on the forum for some months, I now feel qualified to take a more active role.

I actually bought my (2001) 430 a few weeks ago, so have a few hundred miles of luxury motoring under my belt, not to mention a smile on my face!

Like any car with some age, it is not perfect and so I'd like to call upon your collective knowledge and experience, so that I can get closer to that ideal.

The car came with very little in the way of service history and an indicated 90000 odd on the clock. This corroborates with the DVLA history and with the little bits of info I wheedled out of the Lexus service centre. Lexus have no record of having changed the timing belt and nor do I, and so I shall need to change it for my own peace of mind. I intend to have the belt, tensioner, idlers and water pump changed (Lexus parts) and coolant, oil, engine filters and spark plugs done whilst it's apart. The quotes I have so far (local Lexus centre, lexus parts online, Genuine parts online) are altogether coming out at £600 odd, plus labour obviously. Am I missing any better deals?

The eml light is on, and indicates "O2 sensor heater circuit, bank 2, sensor 1". There are 2 manufacturer specific codes, which are undefined. I have noted the freeze frame data however. Can anyone confirm the physical location of the O2 (lamda?) sensor please. The engine is running fine however.

The abs/brake/vsc warnings are showing (steady). A visual check shows pads/discs ok. Fluid is at correct level with no leaks. All brake lights working. Brakes operate fine but no abs. I assume an abs sensor problem? Any other ideas?

Finally I believe I have an aircon leak. Had it charged, nice and chilly, 4 days later not so cool. 2 garages have had a quick look but cannot see the leak. As I have the premium pack maybe a leak under the car? Any known weak points?

Sorry to bombard you all with so many questions at once, but I know I'm in for quite a lot of expense and just want to manage/prioritise the issues.

It must be something about these cars - all this to deal with and still smiling!

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Hello Graham and welcome to the LOC.

There are alternative sources of OEM Lexus parts mainly from dealers in the USA who will do mail order over here (Sewell Lexus) being one of them and also another company Amayama which supply from the Middle East. The supply chain is slower with both and bear in mind you may be hit with HMRC charges on import.

There is also a good resource website (www.lexls.com) which although tending to cover the earlier 400 models does have a timing belt change tutorial on the later VVTI LS400 engine which is very similar to the 430 engine.

Bank 2 sensor 1 is the pre cat passenger side sensor so the one nearest the manifold.

For the brake problem get the OBDII codes read and then go from there.

There is a common fault on the rear AC system, corrosion occurs to the pipes from the rear AC where they exit the floor pan, some members have had this section disconnected and the pipework plugged, this obviously removes the feature but retains the front system and is also the cheapest option as the replacement pipes are very expensive.

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Hello Steve, many thanks for the heads up on Sewell. One full timing belt and water pump kit should soon be on its way to me. The shipping wasn't cheap, but includes taxes. I'll get my mechanic to have a go at cleaning the O2 sensor first - they are supposed to go 250k after all.

Hi there Phil, I am in Carshalton. Which part of Sussex are you in?

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