2005 LS430 - New Owner: Looking for advice/tips

[Malc1]

Bonnet supports refer 

on one of my earlier Ls400s decades back, I simply used a broom stick …… it works …… only other option 20 years back was Lexus Main Dealer at silly money even in those halcyon days 😄

And in all honesty how often does one really need to open the bonnet on these cars …… top up the screen wash and annual servicing 😇

Malc 

[Worfell]

15 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

on one of my earlier Ls400s decades back, I simply used a broom stick …… it works …… only other option 20 years back was Lexus Main Dealer at silly money even in those halcyon days 😄

Brooms and body parts have been my bonnet struts so far as well 😄 The broom only became a slight issue when I started having an explore around the radiator to see where to place the oil cooler as I had it resting on the rad cover which is when I decided to wait for the struts before committing to trying to DIY the cooler.

My mechanic has, unfortunately, had to delay my service and inspection until the 29th so gonna give the servicing (minus the oil change and probably the spark plugs) a go myself in the mean time.

I've bought the complete service kit from Lexus Direct, just wondering if anyone has changed the rear pollen filter, I can see it listed on Lexus Direct but it isn't part of the complete service part and at £80 or so for it, I wonder if there is an aftermarket variant that might be a suitable replacement?  🤔

[DomTurner]

26 minutes ago, Worfell said:

I wonder if there is an aftermarket variant that might be a suitable replacement?

The part number for the rear pollen filter is 88508-30110 and it looks like Autodoc has a few aftermarket options from around £20. I don't think mine has ever been changed but still looked really clean when I inspected it. I only change the front pollen filter at service time.

[Worfell]

3 hours ago, DomTurner said:

The part number for the rear pollen filter is 88508-30110 and it looks like Autodoc has a few aftermarket options from around £20. I don't think mine has ever been changed but still looked really clean when I inspected it. I only change the front pollen filter at service time.

Thanks Dom, really appreciate you checking that out!

Had a look at the rear filter just now and I think it has been changed at some point in the car's life. It seems to be charcoal filtered and doesn't seem to grubby but probably will be something I think about changing at a later date.

Exploring more and more of what the previous owners have done to the car is leaving me quite baffled, they have added thick foam all throughout the boot and then covered the foam in some weird curtain material but none of it has been done to a particularly good standard so it's all loose and a bit bad.
Gonna rip all of that out at some point and probably re-do it properly as it seems to have damaged the boot material sadly.

[MaximusPrime]

Hey Sam, happy to see the progress you are making on the car already!

On the subject of BlueMusik Bluetooth adapter - assuming no one else has answered yet! - it's probably been the best pound for pound upgrade so far on my LS430 👍 It works 100%, 99% of the time, in a sense that you might need to go to Bluetooth settings on your phone around once a week and just give it a nudge to reconnect to the in-car adapter again, but other than that, it has been flawless!

[BigBoomer]

That has been bodged before now and is a right mess. You may struggle to get the strut to fit on that side, which is probably why it only has one fitted.
Personally, I think the only way you will get that to work with 2 struts would be to either replace the bonnet, or else cut that piece out and weld in a new piece of steel that can be drilled and tapped to take the screw in ball joint. The joys of budget cars.

I still like the BlueMusic module. About the only problem I have found is that my phone does not always connect to it automatically, so occasionally I have to manually connect to it.
Otherwise the functionality is excellent, the sound quality superb, and it's all out of sight apart from the charger cable I fitted.

[Malc1]

The magic of a broomstick appeals then 🤔

Malc 

[Worfell]

10 hours ago, BigBoomer said:

That has been bodged before now and is a right mess. You may struggle to get the strut to fit on that side, which is probably why it only has one fitted.
Personally, I think the only way you will get that to work with 2 struts would be to either replace the bonnet, or else cut that piece out and weld in a new piece of steel that can be drilled and tapped to take the screw in ball joint. The joys of budget cars.

The joys indeed, I plan on keeping the car as long as I can so will get round to doing everything right. Fortunately, as Malc says, it isn't the most important part so I will explore some options and assess what options I can go with in sorting the bolt hole (not sure if there is a proper name 😅) out.

Really glad to hear the BlueMusik kit is working pretty well, reconnecting with my phone every so often is hardly the biggest hassle thankfully. Looking forward to getting that installed and trying out some of my own music. Currently have just been listening to the random assortment of discs the previous owner left in the disc changer!

[BigBoomer]

You might be able to use a TimeSert or similar insert once you get all that epoxy mess removed, but it depends on what metal remains.
As you say, it's not urgent and a broom handle works fine so long as you wedge it into place firmly.