ambermarine

When I aqquired my first LS 16 years ago a friend of mine at the time asked what I was doing in a Barge.I was quite Miffed to say the least and he having bought a BMW was smug as hell.I had a bit of a think and the following week in the Pub I asked him what BMW stood for ,he started to explain the meaning as he saw it I interuppted and said,Box made for W--nkers it goes without saying he is no longer my friend and by the way my new car is going great.

The cost of lexus parts from a dealership are about the same as here in general because the Lexus franchise charges uniform prices worldwide, there are online suppliers who can cut the cost, the big savings come from the aftermarket boys of whom there are a lot in the USA but quality of the stuff needs close scrutiny.The traps come when the vat and postage handling for HRMC come in and can send the figure past what you would pay here. If you know anyone who holidays in the US if the part will fit in a suitcase get them to bring it back .

Hi SteveYou have just saved a bundle the Lexus LS460 as a timing chain that as no maintenance shedule.

Sorry its not mine now and so it would not be appropriate.

Hithanks for that.

Hi Ambermarine...I put a bid in at the end of the auction but unfortunately wasn't successful, glad to hear that it has gone to somebody that appreciates the car!!! HiShame about that you did all the research and you would not have been dissapointed anyway you might see it running about its going to live in your direction.

Hi fellow Lexuns Well the deed is done I have ebay sold my beloved LS400 owned by me for 16 of its 22 years it is going to a guy who as owned three before and he intends to keep it.My main worry was that no one would want it and it would have to be scrapped but I had 10 bids and 1106 page visits.So the moral of this story is look after your Lexus and somebody will buy it regardless of its age

He has had that car for sale for over 2 1/2 years. He had it for sale when I was looking for an LS back in Feb 2010, it was over priced then and it still is. He works out of a barn on a farm in the Hampshire country side and when I made an appointment to go and see and drive the car he couldn't be bothered to get it in a position to do either with it. We climbed over a couple of other cars he had for sale to see if it would turnover needless to say it didn't. So I left and let him know that its not always the buyers that are a waste of time. Its been stuck in a damp barn now for coming up to three years leave him with it. It wasn't any great shakes I saw plenty of others that were in better shape than that which I rejected and much cheaper. Mike From what you are saying Mike, I fell off the co-op and landed in the divi,but it as a lot to do with being a member of a club like this and keeping up with events and the feedback from members.I had virtually given up on finding my ideal Mark IV lS400 but kept going and as another member said tonight they are about.The trouble is they have often been taken in part Ex by dealers who want something for nothing.My advice is look for private sellers and long ownership.

Pictures pictures pictues we need pictures. Well done cant wait to see it. Mike I have created a media gallery for ambermarine the pics are in there if you choose to view

Owned by Lexus for a year then previous owner for 13 years who had another lexus and shared the time between them less so over recent years in fact there are two Mots that have 400 mile between them.There is not a mark on it.Could'nt let the opportunity pass by,it is virtually brand new.Really nice guy who owned it and he kept it garaged all of its life.

It was and I snaffled it .

Pictures pictures pictues we need pictures. Well done cant wait to see it. Mike Dont know how to get the pictures down loaded please advise. If you go to Club on the main header then click on help everything you need to know is on there. Its really easy otherwise I wouldn't be able to do it. Mike Pictures pictures pictues we need pictures. Well done cant wait to see it. Mike Dont know how to get the pictures down loaded please advise. If you go to Club on the main header then click on help everything you need to know is on there. Its really easy otherwise I wouldn't be able to do it. Mike

Pictures pictures pictues we need pictures. Well done cant wait to see it. Mike Dont know how to get the pictures down loaded please advise.

Hi fellow Lexuns Have taken a once in a lifetime opportunity and acquired a mint 98 ls400 factory new condition with 18k on the clock.Although my 90 ls400 is still going strong I have had various issues with it over the last year and have been mulling over a replacement.I have taken note of comments on the forum with regards the LS430 and have driven one on rough roads and was not impressed, the low profile tyres are to sensitive for my taste,other issues with the car put me off.Perhaps I am to attached to the LS400 to change,so this new car fitted the bill.Paid a bit more than top book but got it for less than 4K which is a 12th of the original price.and it looks and drives brand new. Should see me out. Ps The 90 is on ebay finishes sunday

Thats because the official age of a car to be a classic is 25 years old and 50 for vintage.What galls me most is that clown Brown when he was chancellor took away the road tax exemption for classic cars when they reached 25 years old and knocked everything into pre 1972 so nothing after that would get the road tax exemption how ever old it became. I also believe that someone who keeps a car going for 25 years should be rewarded for not adding to the carbon footprint bearing in mind how much energy is required to produce a car.

Read an interesting article on Lextreme Forum yesterday on exhaust mods. They have a guy who does water jet cut flanges for the ls400 out of mild steel for the manifold side of the cats for $30 from mild steel and for stainless $100. The guy could obviously cut the flanges for the opposite end of the cat and the top of the Y pipe and if they were of stainless the problem of burnt and corroded flanges would dissapear.That would obviously entail removing the cats and the Y pipe for welding but might be worth it on a Late LS400 with lots more life in it than the early models.

My welder said he had great difficulty getting the weld to pick up on the cats he says the cat metal is different from the Y pipe metal and getting a bridge was near impossible he ended up webbing the area with solder wire so the weld would run accross the gap.Personally as I said earlier having this £40 job done as given the car another couple of years, in that time something else going wrong could take away the decision of what to do then. They are a great car but time does catch up with them and when they get over twenty years old the end seems to come very quickly just as it does in all of us at the end of our lives.I doubt that I would spend £2000 on a new exhaust system,which is what the car would require now this job as been done.

The welding is across the stainless pipes of the cat and the Y pipe the rust as to be taken off ,this entails removing the studs and the rest of the flanges after a weld as been made in the exposed pipes so they stay in place while you remove the rest of the flange.If they have virtually corroded away that part is not to difficult.It is a lash up and can only be rectified later by putting new cats and a Y section in at a cost of 12-15 hundred quid. This as you say can terminate the vehicles life and I would suggest it as seen a lot off at the M O T.So those crafty engineers at Lexus did provide a suicide pill for the LS400 after all Well it is done not pretty but effective,having looked at the rest of the exhaust system I would say I have two years at most before some serious decisions have to be made .I was quite shocked at how fast the system as detiorated over the last couple of years.

Perhaps because he was a CHIEF CONSTABLE? Do you expect the chairman of your company [if you are employed in such a manner] to come to work in a Mini? No, of course not. Are you also going to complain about the wages he is paid, because he could easily 'get by' on a £35k per annum salary? After all, that's paid by the taxpayer as well! He's worked hard at his job and is suitably rewarded. Public services get supplied company cars at knock down rates anyway, and besides, with a valuable company car, he will be paying MORE tax back into the system, than if he had a Fiesta. Honestly, it's like your not allowed to be successful anymore, because everyone will bemoan of the things success brings. Maybe we should all aspire to work in Tesco stacking shelves... I was the owner of my own company for 40 years which I built from nothing before I retired and I can tell you that I never ever purchased a new car for myself or any of my employees. I always bought 2nd hand ones where some idiot had already taken a massive hit on Tax and Depreciating. As for CEO of other companies. I have no problem with them buying whatever car they like as long as it comes out of their wages and don't expect the customers to pay for it. I have nothing against people getting on in life but has been shown recently with the latest finance/bank scandal there is always someone who has to pay the bill and its nearly always the little people, people like you at the bottom of the ladder (unless you are one of those bankers) Take them to court I hear people say, and just where are you going to get 12 people who are totally independent that will ever understand what exactly it is they have done? The answer is no where because they make sure that then whole thing is far to complicated for even accountants to understand. As for so called Civil Servants ie the Police and their like, just because you are a chief constable who has never walked a beat in his life but was fast tracked through a university and then straight upstairs, to right he can make do with a fiesta and I would charge him for any private journeys he makes in it which includes driving into work. If all these bodies down graded to what I am talking about you could cut your Council Tax in half and we would never have to talk about shutting down Old Folks Homes, Hospitals, Schools, Libraries, Poorly repaired roads oh yes and we would still have plenty of police walking our streets day & night making it a much safer place for everyone. So no I don't agree with a single word of your post. Mike OOOOOOOOOOOH------------------That sounds like a rant,just one thing to say on the question of CEO perks Most of the Top Marque cars that the CEO use eventually come down to us lowly beings as did mine I paid £18K 16 years ago when it was 6 years old as you say someone else lost the other £19K the 1990 LS400 cost £37000. Now I would'nt have paid that and I could afford a brand new Lexus tomorrow but I don't need to buy a new one because when the previous owner walks away he does'nt take any of the car with him,simple. Your right it was a rant but we have lived in a world for to long where we don't even question any more what is done with our money, money that comes from just one pocket yours and mine. This country is on its knees because we now accept that these over inflated egos that run businesses or come to that the country itself are allowed enormous perks at our expense. When was the last time you heard all the chief constables say we'll take a pay cut so we don't have to lose any policeman oh yes and take the cars away plenty of pool cars. When you cant pay your bills ask your bank manager for some more money and he will probably tell you to go away and live within your means, however your local council can never survive on the monies it already takes from you so they just put them up and you either pay or go to prison. My case rests for the Prosecution. Come on everybody wake up and smell the coffee. Mike MalcYou are flogging a dead horse. Like you I built a very succesful business and retired at 50 because I saw the writing on the wall 15 years ago the way money was sloshing around it could only end in tears ,but not mine I have always lived within my means and have never had a loan from a bank so I shout at them not them at me.I managed to save my wealth from the vultures and did'nt invest in pensions I built my own. I suppose you and I could start a school on how to avoid the pitfals of other people's avarice but as I said earlier nobody listened to me years ago and they won't now so I do what I can to upset everybody who does'nt toe the line and enjoy life.I smelt the coffee a long time ago

Perhaps because he was a CHIEF CONSTABLE? Do you expect the chairman of your company [if you are employed in such a manner] to come to work in a Mini? No, of course not. Are you also going to complain about the wages he is paid, because he could easily 'get by' on a £35k per annum salary? After all, that's paid by the taxpayer as well! He's worked hard at his job and is suitably rewarded. Public services get supplied company cars at knock down rates anyway, and besides, with a valuable company car, he will be paying MORE tax back into the system, than if he had a Fiesta. Honestly, it's like your not allowed to be successful anymore, because everyone will bemoan of the things success brings. Maybe we should all aspire to work in Tesco stacking shelves... I was the owner of my own company for 40 years which I built from nothing before I retired and I can tell you that I never ever purchased a new car for myself or any of my employees. I always bought 2nd hand ones where some idiot had already taken a massive hit on Tax and Depreciating. As for CEO of other companies. I have no problem with them buying whatever car they like as long as it comes out of their wages and don't expect the customers to pay for it. I have nothing against people getting on in life but has been shown recently with the latest finance/bank scandal there is always someone who has to pay the bill and its nearly always the little people, people like you at the bottom of the ladder (unless you are one of those bankers) Take them to court I hear people say, and just where are you going to get 12 people who are totally independent that will ever understand what exactly it is they have done? The answer is no where because they make sure that then whole thing is far to complicated for even accountants to understand. As for so called Civil Servants ie the Police and their like, just because you are a chief constable who has never walked a beat in his life but was fast tracked through a university and then straight upstairs, to right he can make do with a fiesta and I would charge him for any private journeys he makes in it which includes driving into work. If all these bodies down graded to what I am talking about you could cut your Council Tax in half and we would never have to talk about shutting down Old Folks Homes, Hospitals, Schools, Libraries, Poorly repaired roads oh yes and we would still have plenty of police walking our streets day & night making it a much safer place for everyone. So no I don't agree with a single word of your post. Mike OOOOOOOOOOOH------------------That sounds like a rant,just one thing to say on the question of CEO perksMost of the Top Marque cars that the CEO's use eventually come down to us lowly beings as did mine I paid £18K 16 years ago when it was 6 years old as you say someone else lost the other £19K the 1990 LS400 cost £37000. Now I would'nt have paid that and I could afford a brand new Lexus tomorrow but I don't need to buy a new one because when the previous owner walks away he does'nt take any of the car with him,simple.How many people have been driving around in the same car for 16 years when they can afford a new one, it is about satisfaction and reliability .Because I want to stay with the LS400 and it was the last of those I inquired about the Chief Constable motor and was told it was looked after by the same garage for the last nine years ,when I asked about the spend on consumables there was no record other than the service book.Alarm bells started to ring suspension Bushes, exhaust flanges, wishbones,discs and all the other things I have replaced or repaired on mine,What as to be remembered about these cars is that running gear wears out and if the car as done 150k then most of the things I have mentioned should have been done or will need doing and unless you have owned one of these cars it will be difficult to ascertain at a pre-buy cursery inspection what will need doing . So beware it might shine a lot and sound wonderful but it could cost you more than you bought it for.

Short answer no,there are no straight runs on either the cat or the y pipe longer than 10 mm the flanges were welded to the virtual ends of the cat and the y pipe which is angled and seam welded on the fold.I understand your concern about the oxy/ace torch but with the right nozzle and silver solder the fracture possibility is reduced and mig welding could be a bit too aggressive in such a confined area, resulting in holy pipe.The area concerned is covered in heat shields protecting the body of the car from the exhaust system that should help illiminate fire risk plus I will be on standby with a fire extinguisher. The Exhaust system is supported quite extensivly, testimony to the fact that the flange area is not blowing yet although 70% of the flanges have disappeared.According to a previous poster who as broken Many LS400's this is the common fix as they reach there last years of life.

HiI was surprised that your car had only done that amount of mileage yet the flanges had corroded to nothing,mine as done 185k and only one side as gone the other is corroded but as life in it yet,I suppose a lot as to do with the conditions and salt that may have been thrown onto the flange when driving in wet conditions,as my car never saw snow that could be the reason they have lasted 22 years and 185k.Anyway I am off to see my engineer tomorrow who is going to braze up the pipes I will stick a pic on if it goes well.

The welding is across the stainless pipes of the cat and the Y pipe the rust as to be taken off ,this entails removing the studs and the rest of the flanges after a weld as been made in the exposed pipes so they stay in place while you remove the rest of the flange.If they have virtually corroded away that part is not to difficult.It is a lash up and can only be rectified later by putting new cats and a Y section in at a cost of 12-15 hundred quid. This as you say can terminate the vehicles life and I would suggest it as seen a lot off at the M O T.So those crafty engineers at Lexus did provide a suicide pill for the LS400 after all

Very droll Malc,The issue is with the mild steel flanges corroding with time and atmospheric conditions,The pre-empt remedy is out of the question because any anti corrosive treatment would just burn off .The point regarding the cats is that the mild steel flange corrodes away to nothing ,destroying the fastening aspect to the next component of the Exhaust system.The various fixes alluded to in the previous posts are split into, tried that does'nt work, done that it does but it is expensive,that works but it is a lash up and that might work but I doubt it. does that make it any clearer Malc.

Looks a beauty. The best Of the LS's Nice colour. Lots of history. I know a lot of people will say its to much money but its a good start to negotiate from. What other car can you buy with renown build quality and such long lasting components can you get for under £2500? Mike. Absolutely. I posted it because there was somebody looking for a car recently on here, but I can't remember his name, so hopefully he might see this thread. The face value looks good but the initial years of its life were hard pushed on mileage thats near to company car mileage and if he was spending that amount of time in the car who was watching our house.