brendangeorge

You cant do right for doing wrong. Enjoy the summer while it lasts. Mike I find the air con as useful in the winter as the summer - it is really good at demisting the windows. I am feeling quite smug because I had my system serviced and re-gassed :hocus-pokus: I hope you are not too sweaty it you didn't. Bren

I think another factor is modern engines are "overly square" (short stroke) which reduces the length of the chains, rods etc and allows high revs with reliability. This is one of the reasons a F1 engine can get to 18K RPM without blowing up. Bren

:) :) and pay a lot of money to have it fixed :) - but probably not as much as at a Lexus dealer :) Bren

It is designed to last the life of the engine so you have to follow the inspection regime - Toyota don't seem to make duff engines and unlike BMW don't put the chain at the back of the engine on some designs and so make it impossible to replace at a reasonable cost. Most people think chains are better than belts for normal engines. Bren

Has he put a 460 engine in it? They have chains :) Bren

Have a read of this very interesting article - it is a little old now so I will look for some newer stuff. http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/gas-mileage/4276846 Bren

Hi Chris in the vernacular this is bull ***** - politely it is a scam. To make water back into gas you have to use energy because water is burnt hydrogen when the burning takes place heat is given off and the chemical bonds formed. So if you want gas back you have to put the energy back in - this is not a zero sum game - you need to put a bit more in than you take out. This system works by using electricity from your car's alternator to crack (electrolyse) the water - your alternator is run by the engine so you will use more energy than you can create if you do this. The laws of thermodynamics are against you. Hydrogen has more energy (a lot more) than petrol so if you ran your car on it alone your engine would glow red hot and you would need ceramic valves :) Hydrogen powered cars have been a dream for a long time but at the moment only work if you use a hydrogen fuel cell to produce electricity to drive electric motors - good luck with the hydrogen bit. This is being worked on and current cars using this technology cost half a million and then you have to find hydrogen - it is the future for sure. I looked at this hydrogen powered car stuff myself because I am a tight wad Yorkshireman and being an engineer I love clever gadgets - physics and common sense prevail though - darn it. If you look at the flee bay article the numbers are incorrect and the technical details are BS. My 430 has an 85 litre tank that I can use 65l from and get 250 miles - if they are getting 230 from 80l of LPG they need to go and see Leon. If I put a 100l LPG tank in I would be able to use 80 and get 300 miles - look at their numbers again. Also what is this rubbish about LPG making my car run hot, burning my valves and manifold? Somebody should tell this clown that LPG has a high RON number so is less prone to knocking (a big cause of overheating) so although it burns 20C hotter than petrol your car will be fine. No free lunches in this crappy world :) I hope he or she sue me for liable for calling them a clown :) Lecture over - I'm going to kill the moles in my garden - I wonder if there is a hydrogen solution for that? Bren

Do you mean Gen 4? Even Nav units of the same supposed generation tend to have different parts codes between US and European vehicles. I have however heard that Gen 5 discs do work inside Gen 4 units in the US so they may work with a European disc. Also it does appear that 86841-50090 was used on European Land Cruisers so you should be able to get a European map disc specifically for it. You don't state what part number unit you currently have - 86841-50100 perhaps? This unit was used on LS430, RX300, RX400h and Toyota Prius and Land Cruisers so you should be able to find one from a breakers, one that will actually send you the part. Hi Colin Thanks for pointing out the inconsistencies in my post and I have fixed them - you are spot on - I got a Gen 4 ECU in the US and now need a Gen 4 WE disk. Great info on the other models thanks i will sort out a Gen 5 DVD. Bren

I'm going to have a punt with a Gen 5 DVD and see if that works and I'll report back. The problem is that when the DVD reader fails you have a blank screen - or the message cannot read the disk. Bren

My Nav ECU (the DVD reader in the boot) broke so I need a replacement. I tried a breaker but they ripped me off - i.e. took cash but did not supply the parts or a refund - more on that when I have sorted them out. It seems second had spares are hard to come by and I am not putting a new part in an 11 year old car. So now I am getting fed up of the phone being stuck to my windscreen for navigation - although Sygic is better than anything Lexus have produced (for £17 if you pay) - which means I have to source an ECU spare from the US. There are tons of them and many have hard disks (no good for me) - I found a Gen 4 DVD unit that is nice and cheap and all the US forums say they just plug in and go. It seems very easy to upgrade the Nav system however I cannot find a Gen 4 disk in Europe (loads in the US) - they went from 3 to 5 in Europe :( Anybody got any ideas or experience of doing this? If not I will have to take a £50 punt on a disk. The ECU I have sourced is PN 86841-50090 NAVI DRIVE DVD MAP READER. Bren

Thanks for the reminder, I always forget about that! Finger on the lock button does the reverse i.e. closes everything when you get out. The 430 blowing cold air up your nether regions is priceless - the only problem is: I have not had to use the old chuff cooler for two years because of the rubbish summers we have had :) Bren

Messi What a daft idea - you cannot do it - an Audi for an LS. Had you been drinking when you started the topic? Personally I could not get ****** up enough to come up with the idea :) It is not April the 1st is it? Bren

Hi Ray You have the same problem as me - check the thermostat - check for an airlock and check to see if they put all the rad hose clips back on - they left the bottom one off mine and it caused a small leak. You say the water level keeps dropping below low - this is what is called a ***** head trap and I fell in it (so do many others). The tank is not a reservoir for the water system it is an expansion tank only (you should never use any water - ever) - when you start from cold the thermostat is closed so the pump has to send the water somewhere (the expansion tank) - watch from cold and you will see this. If you keep filling the tank the pump will just blow it out at every cold start because when the water rushes in the expansion tank will overfill and the excess is blown out. You can have days of fun wondering where the water went :) However - be careful because I know nothing - make damn sure you do not have a leak - if you did I would expect your engine would get hot and stay hot so my money is on an airlock or thermostat problem - or water pump but pray it is not because it as much labour to change as the cam belt. An airlock can happen if the people who did your belt did not follow the procedure for filling the cooling system and getting rid of the air - it is not a 1969 Ford Cortina that you tip water into the rad of it is a Lexus with a closed cooling system. Best of luck Bren

Hi Ray Is your thermostat OK - if it does not open all the way you can have problems - also have you done any work on the cooling system lately? This can result in an airlock and cause problems. I think you mentioned the temp going up and down - I had this on my 430 and it was the thermostat and an airlock. The airlock can cause intermittent cooling and if the thermostat does not open all the way when the engine reaches operating temp - same problem. I hope it is something simple and not the water pump. Good luck Bren

Very impressive - no hammers and chisels needed then? You should have made a video for Youtube - or just post the URL to the manual. I am glad you are back on the buttons mate. Bren

That does not look good Colin - looks like a lot of work needs to be done on the head(s) - that will cost a lot - bad luck - it may be cheaper to put in a replacement engine. Bren

Hi Colin to post pics you need a photo bucket account - it is free. You then upload your pics to it and paste the URL in the post here in the forum. Bren

The tax won't go up for the next few years & when it does it will only go up 1p per litre per year . Signed up agreement by the government as part of an eu green policy I believe. I have been using lpg for the last 7 years & the tax hasn't gone up yet. Some petrol stations are greedy with their profit on it though if there is no near by competition. I hope you are right Mark - remember we are at the mercy of the politicians so trust is not always rewarded. A little quiz - Q How can you tell when a used car sales man is lying? Ans When he is speaking. Q How can you tell when a politician is lying? Ans They are breathing. I have been using LPG for quite a while now and even if the tax did go up a little it would still be worth it. Great numbers from your German trip - I was able to open my 430 up, on an unrestricted road, over there once - good fun but there are too many others on the road to look out for and there is always some so and so who wants to go faster than you :) I got just past 145 for a bit and at that indicated speed I had a 5 MPH error according to a GPS. Bren

If the price drops then see the tax go up :) I'm a sad old cynic. Bren

You have nice low fuel prices John - in South Northamptonshire the best I can get is 73.9 for LPG and 136.9 for petrol - your figures are very very good because you have a price difference of 70.9p and I can only get 63p. When I was up North a couple of weeks ago I found Morrissons was about 65p and 60p LPG was at cash only establishments. I am very jealous of your prices :) One challenge I find is that on very long trips LPG can vary in price by 20p - still cheaper than petrol but really annoying. I am sure most people who use this site are smart enough to find out fuel prices - here is a site I use that does not require a log in and means you will receive no spam http://www.ukd8.com/index.php Bren

Good luck Mike - it's the little ribbon cable connectors that may be tricky - you need to be gentle with the sliding clips - and give the gadget a shake before you put the battery back in or turn it on after you have put it back together. If anything rattles you know what to do - or perhaps not. Open it up and remove the cause of the rattle :) Bren

The first guy - I Love him to bits - at the start of the video he looks like he's had a few beers :) I love the rice crispy noises when he takes things apart. My solution - get the book and it is free from HP and easy to read http://www.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02641795.pdf and I may add a damn sight quicker that matey boy on Youtube :) The second guy (not ****** up) good but I would not use power tools on my laptop - Audi mechanic not a Lexus standard bod :) Bren

I did not know what a fender pole was so I investigated - Very amusing. Bren

Good answer - A sales person trained in the art of objection handling - I suppose the next question is why doesn't it look like a Lexus under the bonnet?

The dead give away is the Toyota steering wheel - nice try :)