Iuzfe Cambelt Replacment / Suspension Knock / Dash Illumination

[mixls400]

hi all, i've just recently joined this forum after finally purchasing an ls400. i've always done my own maintenance as i think it helps you to understand your vehicle better and your always learning something new, even at 45 years old !!! nothing has phased me yet when it comes to maintenance, its just that they make it harder to work on cars now as its all plug & play. anyway, i just thought i'd ask and see if anybody else has done the cambelt on one of these as they dont look too complex ? its had a cambelt at 63000 miles and its now at 126000.

on a different note, i have a knock on the nearside when i turn into my driveway but when you jack it up and take the wheel off everything seems fine. the knock seems to be when the wheel is driven over a raised area, ie speed bump or even the one inch lip up onto my drive. is it a common thing on these that always goes like a drop link or particular bush / ball joint ?

finally, my air blower display works fine as i know these are prone to fading, its just that it wont illuminate in the dark when you have your lights on, is it simply bulbs to replace or something more involving ?

i'll post some pics of the car soon when i get it out next as it seems you lot like pics to look at, and why not !!

cheers for now, mike.

[steve2006]

Hello and welcome to the LOC.

Timing belt replacement is DIYable but an 8-10 hour project on the earlier models, the link below shows the job on the LS430 which is very similar to the later LS400 engine with VVTI,

http://www.shastaanesthesia.com/Lexus/Page1.html

and this

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/61372-98-1uz-fe-timing-belt-and-water-pump-replacement-how-to/

Suspension knocks can be many things bottom ball joints, top ball joints/control arm bushes, anti roll bar bushes.Strut top mounts and rattling brake calipers.

There are known problems on the earlier models with radio/ac backlighting but not on the later ones so I would start with checking the bulbs.

[ambermarine]

Sounds like the upper control arm as gone( the ball joint that picks up the stub axle in the middle of the wishbone) the way to check it is; get a pry bar at the base of the bottom outside edge of the tyre(jack up the car first but don't take the tyre right off the ground) and lever inwards hold the joint while doing this and if it as gone it will move about and clunk.

Do not buy aftermarket arms they are crap get only Lexus genuine, most of us older members have all been down this road.

[mixls400]

thanks for the replys to my topic, i shall try and investigate things further when i have time and post the outcome on here. thanks again, Mike.