LS430 MOT fail (rusty exhaust)

[jamesbradbury]

Hi guys, my LS430 failed its MOT due to both back boxes being rusty. They said they can't patch it so I need a new exhaust. I've attached some pictures of the holes. Anyone had a decent exhaust fitted in the South West or know more than me about exhaust patching. Trying to work out the best solution as I've not got much cash at the moment. Cheers

[LenT]

3 hours ago, jamesbradbury said:

Hi guys, my LS430 failed its MOT due to both back boxes being rusty. They said they can't patch it so I need a new exhaust.

You don’t actually specify who ‘they’ might be, but I can imagine that a regular Dealer will suggest replacement rather than patching.  You don’t mention if you’ve tried any exhaust specialists, but they must be your best bet.

Alternatively, if you were up to it as a diy job, a Breakers Yard might come up with a suitable Lexus - although there weren’t that many of them!

An Internet search of ‘car exhaust repairers in south Wales’ came up with quite a few - so some time ringing around might produce results.  How successful a welded patch might be is going to depend on how much was due to external rusting or internal damage.

My own experience of diy patching solutions suggests they’re probably a waste of time.  But provided there’s still sound metal to attach to, I would have thought a good welder could do a more economical job than replacing the boxes.

How long it’ll last must also depend on how much internal damage has been done.  Good luck!

[steve2006]

The outer skin looks weldable but the internal structure seems to have collapsed due to inside to outside rot which is probably resulting in the refusal to repair it.

Dealer prices are out of the question, there are some used on fleabay but even those are daft money.

Maybe try Paul Frost for a couple of them ?
 

This is the result of lower quality when the LS400s had stainless steel as standard, fortunately mine has a factory stainless system.

Sorry I can’t offer a cheap solution.

[cruisermark]

There are some on eBay for £299 with 2 year warranty - these have been around for a while and few members on here hae bought and fitted them

[BigBoomer]

Both of those silencers have been patched before. I'm not surprised that nobody wants to try patching them again.
There is a cheap pair on eBay right now in Bristol, so not too far away.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276227981850
They do look like they are for the facelift 04-06 but you can fit downturn tips if yours doesn't have the cut-outs in the rear bumper for the chrome tips.

[Malc1]

Original mild steel exhausts at 21 years young sounds amazing …… on borrowed time for years maybe 

Good luck

Malc 

[BigBoomer]

3 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Original mild steel exhausts at 21 years young sounds amazing …… on borrowed time for years maybe 

After comparing the underside of my 140k mile 2004 LS430 (tiny patches of surface rust here and there) with that of a 60k mile 2017 Citroen C4 Picasso (tiny patches with NO rust here and there, but several structural issues due to rust and an MOT failure. Was told it'd probably have to be scrapped),... I'll take having to replace the silencers after 20 years of abuse, and be grateful. 
My MOT guy showed me the 2 cars side by side. Was an eye opener!! Wish I'd taken pics.

[jamesbradbury]

Fantastic find on eBay there, can't believe I didn't see them as I'm in Bristol too. With any luck I can fit them and be sorted. For a £1500 LS430 I'd be happy with 1 simple to fix fail on the MOT. Cheers guys

[Cotswold Pete]

Also keep in mind Infinity Exhausts by J18 of M4, they are stainless exhaust fabricators, sorted out my Y-piece on the 400 (only bit that was not stainless).

They are excellent and good value, and could no doubt do you a full stainless exhaust if you wanted to splash the cash

 

[jamesbradbury]

Update:

Turns out that £100 exhaust was 3 streets down from my house so I walked over and picked it up.

The garage refused to fit it due to the rust on my current exhaust so I decided to try myself. I managed to cut the old one off without causing damage and fit the new one. It has now passed!

The only issue is because it is a facelift exhaust it doesn't quite fit right and touches the boot floor causing a vibration through the cabin. It's not loud but I'll need to either get a pre facelift exhaust or somehow stop the vibration with rubber or something.

[Malc1]

Well done 👍 

Malc 

[GMB]

45 minutes ago, jamesbradbury said:

The garage refused to fit it

Obviously the garage has more money than sense. \it's not rocket science to make a new bracket and do a bit of welding.

A pal of mine tried to get a house wiring upgrade recently and the electrician refused to touch it because someone else had done some work on it.  If he had any sense he could have warned the customer that he may find some other faults ( or even charge for an electrical safety survey £200+ ) and that would cost extra.  "Don't need the money or the job mate!"  "We are so busy that I will quote you double the price and see if you are daft enough to swallow it."   Seems to be common nowadays.

[Chris Skelton]

Vibration? Fit some rubber pads between the exhausts and the metal?

[jamesbradbury]

It was a pretty tight fit. I've taken them off now and will get pipes welded on. The back box delete is fairly quiet and can't really be heard in the cabin. I might get them sorted properly at some point.

[Brik]

On 12/14/2023 at 9:39 PM, jamesbradbury said:

For a £1500 LS430 I'd be happy with 1 simple to fix fail on the MOT. Cheers guys

Hmm, you certainly got a bargain!

How is the front section of the exhaust? It was blowing between the o2 sensors on the Y pipe when I owned the car.

Glad it's mot'd and back on the road, enjoy.

[jamesbradbury]

8 minutes ago, Brik said:

Hmm, you certainly got a bargain!

How is the front section of the exhaust? It was blowing between the o2 sensors on the Y pipe when I owned the car.

Glad it's mot'd and back on the road, enjoy.

Haha yep. No the Y pipe is apparently OK but I'm not sure how long it'll last. The sunglass holder, sunroof rust and a few other bits. She's going well!

[Malc1]

The front Y section on my 95 Ls400 I had rebuilt a couple of years back ……. at a specialist exhaust place near me in Maidstone Kent …… £360 incl vat……!they bespoke built a new configuration from their stock parts ……. hopes it will last another 25+ years ……. the original exhaust is stainless steel and  built like a tank they told me ……. apart from the mild steel front Y section that only lasted a qtr century 👍

Lexus used to sell the Y section at about £5/700 plus fitting but there aren’t any left anywhere in the country we discovered 

Malc 

[Chris Skelton]

I’m holding on to info that there’s a good custom fabricators just over the hill from me, for the day I get an LS430.