What Would You Do?

[sparkyhx]

Well, it looks like my rad/ATF Cooler failure has trashed my gearbox. So I have two choices - fix it or scrap it and buy a new car.....three if you include fix and then sell it.

I have a quote for £1300 for recon gearbox and fitted 1 year warranty.

car is a 2001 LS430, with 160k on the clock and LPG conversion. Everything else is fine.

I had intended to keep her a while, but now I'm wondering if i've reached a stage of big bills and I should cut my losses.

Trouble is i'm a bit short at the moment and can't really afford (don't want to afford) to replace the LS and get it LPG converted. A ready converted one would be affordable but can't find any at the moment.

The other option I am looking at is the diesel Skoda Superb, which would come in around 4k, with half the milage of the Lex, less years and similar MPG as the lex.

Whats your thoughts.

p.s. I really love the lex, and was going to replace her with another in a few years

[ROYT]

Check out breakers, may be a crashed car with a good gear box.

[sparkyhx]

Check out breakers, may be a crashed car with a good gear box.

Been quoted £150 for a scrapper box, but not sure I want to go down that route with an unknown item - and several hundred pounds of labour

[Bluesman]

The only scrapper box I ever bought cost me £750 for a Jeep G Cherokee and it was completely naff, never got my money back as they said I had damaged it. My mechanic said the trouble is they leave them out in the rain and water gets into the box soaks the paper clutches resulting in £750 down the drain.

I went with a reputable Auto Box outfit who rebuilt my original box after which it never skipped a single beat. A very expensive lesson learned there.

Mike

[cruisermark]

I would say that given that LS gearboxes are pretty bullet proof - i would buy and get somebody experienced to do the transplant.

[sparkyhx]

The only scrapper box I ever bought cost me £750 for a Jeep G Cherokee and it was completely naff, never got my money back as they said I had damaged it. My mechanic said the trouble is they leave them out in the rain and water gets into the box soaks the paper clutches resulting in £750 down the drain.

I went with a reputable Auto Box outfit who rebuilt my original box after which it never skipped a single beat. A very expensive lesson learned there.

Mike

My fears exactly. One for making you laugh - on place wanted £1200 for a scrapper with 1 months warranty - It made me laugh.

I'm slowly coming round to the idea of getting it fixed

[Bluesman]

The only scrapper box I ever bought cost me £750 for a Jeep G Cherokee and it was completely naff, never got my money back as they said I had damaged it. My mechanic said the trouble is they leave them out in the rain and water gets into the box soaks the paper clutches resulting in £750 down the drain.

I went with a reputable Auto Box outfit who rebuilt my original box after which it never skipped a single beat. A very expensive lesson learned there.

Mike

My fears exactly. One for making you laugh - on place wanted £1200 for a scrapper with 1 months warranty - It made me laugh.

I'm slowly coming round to the idea of getting it fixed

Its a lot to swallow but better the devil you know. You have been really unlucky having this box go as I think someone else has already said normally these boxes are bomb proof. Mike

[Malc]

Methinks we are experiencing some strange and decidedly unpleasant news here guys and gals.

I've been reading lots of woes about the LS430 over recent weeks and it seems to point to a lack of good workmanship having manifested itself in the LS430 design concepts on the mechanicals front.

Yes the LS400 gearboxes are bulletproof BUT the LS430s clearly are NOT ..... and I read about tyre pressure valves costing £128 and air suspension issues costing £'000s to fix.

I dread the day when my LS400 has to be changed ... doubt it would be for a 430 !

Malc

[brendangeorge]

Well, it looks like my rad/ATF Cooler failure has trashed my gearbox. So I have two choices - fix it or scrap it and buy a new car.....three if you include fix and then sell it.

I have a quote for £1300 for recon gearbox and fitted 1 year warranty.

car is a 2001 LS430, with 160k on the clock and LPG conversion. Everything else is fine.

I had intended to keep her a while, but now I'm wondering if i've reached a stage of big bills and I should cut my losses.

Trouble is i'm a bit short at the moment and can't really afford (don't want to afford) to replace the LS and get it LPG converted. A ready converted one would be affordable but can't find any at the moment.

The other option I am looking at is the diesel Skoda Superb, which would come in around 4k, with half the milage of the Lex, less years and similar MPG as the lex.

Whats your thoughts.

p.s. I really love the lex, and was going to replace her with another in a few years

If it comes down to 4K for a Skoda vs £1300 for a recon box - no contest for me get the box. I have a 2002 LS430 with LPG that has done 200K+ and it is still brilliant - however that said I have replaced a shock absorber and all 4 callipers and Lamda sensors etc in the last 50K so look at what you may be facing for repairs in the coming year. It is your cash and risk mate but I would rather put a gun to my head than go with the Skoda.

Good luck with the new box - I dodged a bullet with my Rad at the 200K belt change – it was very corroded and would not go back together so had to be replaced.

Bren

[abs66]

As a matter of interest, are the facelift 430's ok? Ie have the issues been sorted?

Apologies for bad grammar feeling a tad rough at present.

[Keith Bowler]

i faced the same dilemma but I had a Mk1 GS sport at the time needing best part of £2k to bring it up to scratch and get it through an MOT and though i loved my GS to bits and thought I would never sell it, it was a bit of a no brainer when an LS came along with all the 'naughty' bits fixed.

[lexusdaduk]

Methinks we are experiencing some strange and decidedly unpleasant news here guys and gals.

I've been reading lots of woes about the LS430 over recent weeks and it seems to point to a lack of good workmanship having manifested itself in the LS430 design concepts on the mechanicals front.

Yes the LS400 gearboxes are bulletproof BUT the LS430s clearly are NOT ..... and I read about tyre pressure valves costing £128 and air suspension issues costing £'000s to fix.

I dread the day when my LS400 has to be changed ... doubt it would be for a 430 !

Malc

You have to put it into context, you are bound to find more problems on a dedicated Lexus 430 forum, problems to number of cars on the road, it would not put me off. but your observations are interesting in that it could be down to faulty workmanship, but is the workmanship issue from the factory, dealer, independent, or joe blog's garage.

[soundchaser100]

Is there any way of fitting an external transmission cooler and connecting the auto box to it? This would remove the risk of the water system getting into the trans fluid.

[sparkyhx]

there should be no problem to fit a cooler there is plenty of room I would get a thermostatically controlled one so the fluid gets warm enough

I personally think this is a bit of a bad design to combine a rad with a atf cooler. That said, its not unusual to find this on cars. Looking at the boards this looks like its a 'common' problem with older 430's (common by Lexus standards), its a shame a bullet proof box has such a fundamental and catastrophic week spot. Its a bit like the Skoda Superb with the 2.0 ltr diesel whichj has an issue with a poorly designed oil pump - failure = new engine.

I think this needs to be added to the Suspension and starter motor list

By the way all the Skoda haters the Superb is ...........er superb

[willskoda]

I know several ex Lexus owners who are now convert Skoda owners. The Superb is indeed superb. As for me my Octavia vRS is now sold and I'm awaiting an LS430 (FL) to come up at a good price to replace it. As for your current problem, I might be tempted to cut your losses and sell.

[Scribe]

The man I bought my Lexus from replaced it with a new Skoda Octavia - although at the time I couldn't think why. Most of the taxi drivers here in Brighton who don't run Octavias or Toyota Avensises run Skoda Superbs - which says a lot about their durability. But this is rapidly turning into a Skoda forum...

[Bluesman]

The man I bought my Lexus from replaced it with a new Skoda Octavia - although at the time I couldn't think why. Most of the taxi drivers here in Brighton who don't run Octavias or Toyota Avensises run Skoda Superbs - which says a lot about their durability. But this is rapidly turning into a Skoda forum...

Far too much bad language creeping into what is a site for the worshiping of the Lexus LS. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Mike

[willskoda]

www.briskoda.net - carry on! lol

[ipwn]

Curious OP, who gave you the quote for the rebuild?

[bookend]

Personally if you know the rest of the car is good I would repair the box and put it back on the road.

[sparkyhx]

Curious OP, who gave you the quote for the rebuild?

I don't actually know - local auto gearbox place arranged thru my garage. They had been helping diagnose the problem.

I also got one similar price from a place in essex, just by querying gearbox prices online.