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Few years back used to drive a Cosworth Granada, beast of a motor, could eat a set of Toyo's in 7000 mile, could kick the back end out on a straight road. What's the Cossie got to do with the LS400 you might ask, well not a lot, but whilst looking for web pages on LS came across this interesting article, says it has not been updated since 2005 but still mentions the Mark 4 models. some of you may have seen this before but newer member like me still search for more info. Brian http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/ls400.htm

Having spent a lot of money on professional detailers over 6 previously owned cars I finally decided to sign up for a training course on paint correction. The average time spent detailing some of my previous cars, including 3 Bentleys was 3 days with outstanding results. At an average cost of £600 per car and after watching all the specific aspects of detailing at close quarters I thought it would be a good idea to invest in some training. I was surprised to find there was a quite a few professional detailers out there who were prepared to offer one to one training as well as their full detailing services. My working life was exclusively in the motor trade and as a car freak I really wanted to correct the paint on my latest car a 2007 Lexus LS460. A one owner car, serviced exclusively by one Lexus dealer who I bought it from in Siena Red, a stunning colour when the sun hits it. The previous owner was not interested in car cleaning so I spent the first month thoroughly cleaning every aspect of this wonderful car. Although the bodywork was not damaged i.e dings, dents etc the paintwork was full of swirls and some fine scratches. Although I removed the sill covers and front and rear bumpers for repainting as these parts were in need of refurbishing, the rest of the paint needed to be cut back. So 2 weeks ago I spent 2 full days with a full time detailer and had one to one training specifically on paint correction. Totally hands on with practise body panels to make full use of. In summary the best 2 days for a car freak to come away with a great understanding of how to correct paint or the top lacquer coat in my case. Like all modern cars they have a base coat and clear paint system applied to them. Everything I wanted to know was explained and the reasons for it. Things like using Rotary and Orbital polishing machines, cutting polishes, cutting pads (there are hundreds of them) final finishing polishers, pre wax cleaners, sealers and waxes not to be confused with polishes. Rotary polishers were not for me, they can be like a wild animal in your hands and the heat and risks for paint damage is too great for my level of experience. No, the Orbital DA polisher is so much more controllable although will take longer to achieve what you want. Taking your time and generating the right amount of heat in the pad so as to break the polish down to an oily film will only come with practise. I just loved the experience and started on my own car 2 days later after purchasing a lot of the products I used over the 2 days, including a DA orbital polishing machine. It will take me a long time to detail my paint but doing a panel at a time is my way of approaching paint correction. I take my hat off to professional detailers who are so much more than car cleaners.

Won't be used that much John so doesn't really bother me, plus unleaded at a Lowish price. Maybe not for long thou, just got back from Holland- Germany working about 60-70p a litre

Hi Folks, Both of my wing mirror motors finally gave up recently - They stopped auto-dipping in reverse (with the switch in the correct position) and finally stopped adjusting altogether. When I spoke with Lexus, I was advised that I had to purchase a whole wing mirror assembly (complete with glass) for c. £600. I subsequently found out that you can purchase the Wing Mirror Actuator assembly separately. For those that are interested, the part numbers are 87908-48260 (LHS) and 87909-48260 (RHS). I paid £132 for each actuator (total price £264). Took me around half an hour to swap both actuator motors and wing mirrors now adjust and auto-dip as they should do. I hope this helps others out there.

That link didn't seem to work, this one should as I have just tried it in google. If it does not work by clicking on it, just cut and paste into google. http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/ls400.htm

The diff casing and the fins are very strong. Position the saddle carefully and centrally, with the car on level ground and you'll be fine. The saddle should fit in that square area of fins clear of the drain plug.

Good to know. Detailing is honestly not as difficult as everyone makes out. Personally I'd always stick with a DA rather than a rotary. Machines like rupes make light work of defects with very little chance of damage. Rotaries on the other hand may be cheaper but oh boy I'd never give one to an amateur! I'm assuming you already have polishing pads of varying firmness? If so, get yourself some sonax perfect finish. It finishes perfectly on soft Lexus paint and rarely requires anything more than a light polishing pad. It's a one step and should save you loads of time!

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

The correct jacking points are at the pinch welds on the sills, front and rear.

From what I can see on the exploded diagram there are 2 knock sensors both located on the passenger side of the engine around the exhaust manifolds.

Yes, and the LS430 requires a LOT more careful pre-purchase checking. Because there are so many more toys to act up, such as the air suspension, soft-close doors, keyless start, double glazing failing, etc. The great thing about the Mk4 LS400 was that it was the end of a long development of the original LS400, so it was proven through many incremental improvements on a great design. In contrast, the LS430 was a big jump in spec (presumably to stay competitive with the S class), and a lot of its toys were all-new. This seems to have given rise to some components that lack the longevity of the simpler components in the LS400. Go see a few, even ones you're unsure of, if only to familiarise yourself with the differences. (I really wanted an LS430 when I started looking but after seeing a few, eventually my head won over my heart.)

Well chaps, I am such a numpty, got the RAC out and after 15 seconds of turning the engine over he got it going. I had badly flooded the engine, and with the cold weather not a hope in heck's chance of the fuel evaporating even overnight. Took a good minute to get exhaust gasses looking as they should do. Not sure how I flooded it in the first place, as last time I did such a thing I had foot on accelerator rather than brake, so maybe I did that yesterday without realising. Last time I flooded an engine was many moons ago. So panic over, and now need to get the old pressure test sorted, but there is a slightly odd noise under the bonnet, so my money is on water pump ('tis 25K since the cam belt was done, and the pump was okay then). The RAC man said he had never known an LS have a head gasket problem, and he was amazed at how quiet my engine was, where as I think it is noisy (maybe I just go used to it). We borrowed the mother-in-laws VW Lupo - let's just say an interesting experience, not one to be repeated too soon I hope.

We had these on the M1, badged as 'XJ-PS' (as in 'police special'). They had all the wood trim replaced with black plastic, together with cloth seats. Gearbox was a 5-speed manual, which really liberated the engine compared to an auto. I think the Bentley would've looked good striped up too! Pete

I finally got round to fitting HID bulbs in my dip beams. Should have done it years ago! The HID lights are soooo much better! I used these: http://tinyurl.com/zakl2hd I would stick at 6000K (which are well blue enough) - this vendor does 8000K ones but that's getting into boy racer blue - maybe 5000K ones would be better but I couldn't find them in H11 at a reasonable price. Whenever this is mentioned, we are regaled with instruction that Tungsten Halogen headlights are not suitable for conversion and that you'll end up with poor focus and dazzle other people. I think that is what has put me off before and it is no doubt true of reflector or lens focussed lights, but as Ishaq said a month or so ago, IS250s have projector beam headlights and these are suitable for conversion. In fact, I would say that the focus and cut-off are actually better now than with Tungsten Halogen bulbs. (I wonder if the geometry is actually designed for HIDs and the Tungsten Halogen bulbs are in fact the compromised ones?) Here are a couple of shots of the beams reflected on a garage door: http://tinyurl.com/jlucwa9 http://tinyurl.com/zepeg2c The brighter one (normal exposure on my phone) gives a good impression (maybe a bit emphasised!) of the brightness you see - the dimmer one (minimum exposure) gives a better impression of the focus and cut-off and of the detail visible along the cut-off line. The beam pattern gets a bit lost on the left as it hits stonework rather than the door. Then there's the thing about having to have headlight washers and auto headlight levelling for HID bulbs. That is a requirement for type approval, but once a vehicle has been type approved there's nothing to stop an owner messing (in UK at least) and there's nothing in the MoT test about having washers and auto levelling. Now Ishaq mentioned that you just put the bulbs in and connect up the ballasts. Well yes, but there are complications, mainly to do with access. Even with the washer filler removed, there isn't much space by the left hand (nearside) headlamp housing - I got the hatch off OK and the old bulb out but found it very difficult to get the new bulb in. (The HID bulbs are straight rather than with an angled connector so there's nothing to get leverage with). It has to be aligned correctly (tabs with slots - only one orientation works), you can't see what you're doing and the bulb needs a strong push to compress the sealing ring then it's quite hard to turn. And you pretty much have to use your left hand. I'll admit to giving up and removing the bumper - I've done it before and it's not difficult as long as you know where all the bolts (some hidden) and clips are. Then you can remove the headlight and it's dead easy. Replacing the bumper is a bit of a fiddle - you have to line up lots of interleaving thin plastic all at the same time. You also have to cut a 25mm hole in the bulb hatch as the ballast wiring goes outside the headlight housing. The hole is filled in with a well fitting grommet. I used a 25mm spade drill - that worked fine. It would have been a good idea to grind down the fins on the inside of the hatch so that the inside of the grommet can sit flush with the inner surface. The wiring and ballast can just be tucked down around the washer tube but I cable-tied the ballast to a wiring harness to keep it secure. I used silicone grease on all the connections (which are well sealed and good quality in this particular kit) and on the hatch grommet to give extra waterproofing. One more thing - you have to plug a couple of thin spade connectors into the old bulb plug. These are a bit loose and I feel are likely to fall out. I added extra insulation with shrink fit tubing then tied the two wires tightly together - that meant that when plugged in the spades were pushed outwards slightly giving some extra grip in the plug. It would be better if a proper H11 type socket was supplied for this connection. If you've removed the bumper you might as well do the right (offside) the same way, but if you did manage to insert the nearside bulb without removing the bumper you can just remove the air box then there's plenty of access. Hope that helps someone! Finally - my previous dip bulbs were Osram Nightbreaker Plus and the main beams Nightbreaker Unlimited. The mains looked much whiter than the dips but now the mains are much yellower than the HID dips. Can anyone recommend Tungsten Halogen bulbs to more or less match 6000K HIDs in HB3 format? I know that as bulbs get bluer they put out less light but would somewhat bluer ones look better without losing brightness? Or should I not bother?

Although all reviews say "OMG BMW drives better" in day to day driving it won't make much difference. You'll get more for the money with a Lexus and it'll probably be more comfortable too

Prestine (Pgèhten in camunian dialect) is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It is situated in the Val Camonica Region. Pristine is an immaculate condition Phil! Good hunting. Regards John