ambermarine

What I don't understand is why it concerns you unless you intend to sell yours. The bombed out price of these cars is a golden opportunity to buy a car that with careful selection and care while it is yours will hopefully last you for the rest of your life. I have owned mine 16 years and it is now 21 years old I saw one last week that is a month older than mine in better condition done only 70k and is a super bargain at £1200 .In fact the wife had to talk me out of buying it because its the same colour and I would have had it as my first car and mine as a second because mine as done 180k. Anyone buying a second hand LS400 should treat it as a lifetime car until circumstances dictate otherwise I did 16 years ago and there is still loads of years left in mine. I take on board what members are saying now about the 430/460 and its over technical problems and I agree but Lexus cannot stand still in vehicle evoloution or they would disappear as a marque. Speaking from experience I believe that when Toyota's president told his engineers back in 1983 to build him the best car in the world and six years and a billion dollars later they produced the LS400 that achievement as not been surpassed and that is why I still have mine.

This issue of coolant leaking into the transmission fluid as occured on 400's and it as been reported on the LesUS site .I suppose it is a risk using this kind of intercooling but one of the contributors to the problem is corrosion in the piping within the radiator and this can occur when any coolant other than the reccommended Toyota red is used.Certain anti freezes have chemicals in them that corrode aluminium and certain alloys so the maxim as always use only reccommended fluids when replenishing or replacing whatever the reason.

I am a little bit suspicious, this car obviously had this problem when you bought it and I would be having a word with the vendor .I would also be a bit dissapointed in your Lexus dealership in not identifing the watered transmission fluid when they changed it ,did they do a complete change 8 litres or just change the pan contents either way there would have been enough in a container to see the contamination. Lexus will say the box is knackered as they do not do repairs just replace I would find a good independant transmission specialist and get a second opinion before you spend any money on anything.

Hi Nick The shift solenoid is programmed to enable a smooth shift between gear changes and virtually pr-empts the pressure change required for the hydraulic fluid to enable the gear change .The solenoid is activated by the ecu when it receives information on engine load and engine revs from the engine.It will need eventual replacement because when it fails completely the gearbox will not change up or down from that gear and may go into safe mode which will only allow the car to be driven in a low gear.If it is the top gear solenoid that as failed probably that is the reason you don't beleave she is changing up. As for cost of replacement the Mark 1 solenoids were accessable without having to drop the box but I am not sure about the later models as there are two more solenoids on them.

There is a voltage regulator that is built into the alternator if the battery is charged up to its limit the voltage regulator should stop charging the battery and does this automatically,if it is not fuctioning properly and the battery is getting overcharged the curcuit relays should protect the system that is what they are there for. It looks like the curcuits that are vunerable to voltage spikes like the lights and the power steering are the first to go. If the engine is then stopped and started again the voltage that is used to start the car will take some time to build up again in the battery and if you are doing short journeys constantly the battery will not overcharge . I suggest you get both the alternator and battery checked.

Hi FINMCK I was interested to see you had a virtually new engine,It would save you a small fortune in parts if you just put the engine from your breaker in your car. It might sound radical but its a lot less prone to problems after the rebuilding of your present engine.I reckon it would take a good mechanic the same time to strip out the breaker and strip out your existing engine as it would to take apart the existing engine and rebuild. I would seriously consider looking for some one who will give you a price for the whole job and negotiate a discount for your input. Leave the respective gearboxes on their engines, that way you won't get any issues with the ECU as you should swap them over as well.

I would check out the possibility of getting someone who as a sound technical ability with no disrespect to you this job is very demanding and involves a lot of careful dismantling and reassembling of the top of the engine,and the replacement of gaskets that will set you back at least £150 from Lexus.The removal of the Starter motor is very difficult when you eventually get to it.Before you go and buy a starter motor the possibility exists that it may only be the starter solenoid contacts which need replacing which at most will be a tenth of the £240 you have been quoted and a working motor can be had on ebay for £50 .If it is the solenoid contacts these can be replaced without taking the starter off the vehicle so I would not purchase anything until you identify the cause of the failure. There is a tutorial on One of the US Lexus club forums are just Google Ls400 starter replacement.

Hi Fellow Lexuns Having noticed recently a few members inquiring on specs of Lexus models with a view to upgrading I went in search of a info site and came up with this one ;I think its ideal for allsorts of reasons; www.automobile-catolog.com

Hi Steve As soon as you can before you do your back in.

Hi Unless the propshaft as been struck by something or run in a very wet soaking environment (Submerged)it is highly unlikely that any problems will occur in the lifetime of the car the bushes and bearings are not servicable and the removal and replacement of the propshaft as to be done in a precise and uniform sequence otherwise there will be subsequent vibration . In this instance and any other to do with vibrations it is usually the running gear or bushes associated with the running gear . The Maxim is ; If it aint broke don't try to fix it.

Hi The difficulty arises because you have tension on the arm which throws back the end of the arm at a angle and this bites into the knurled drive. 1/Remove the wiper wrap some tape round the end of the windscreen side of the arm to protect your screen from scratches. 2/ get a piece of softwood and place it directly below the arm where it fastens onto the drive shaft then use a angled gasket remover or small pry bar to gently lever upwards using the wood as backing moving the end of the bar round the circumference of the drive shaft this way the arm will come off without damaging either the arm ,windsceen or drive hub.

Hi I have been doing quite a lot of research for various reasons on the USA site clublexus.com and they have several contributions on this very subject.

Hi With regards the water pump it is well worth buying a Lexus /Toyota oem as they come in about £130 the saving on a aftermarket price of roughly 40% is not worth the worry. I was lucky to pick up a brand new boxed with gasket water pump from Lexus derby in a stores clearout for £28 and I have it for insurance as the pump on mine was fitted less than 50000 ago so on my annual mileage the change is not due for a bit yet. I have already been through the experience of a failing water pump and as I previously posted on this forum you can here a dicernible whining noise that gets louder as the bearing dies ,I obviously did not know at that time what was causing the unusual noise .Before everybody rushes out to listen to the noise of their engines as I have already said it is distinctive and the outcome when it fails is the engine temprature needle shoots up to maximum and all the coolant boils out of the engine through the expansion tank ,the car may still drive as the shaft connection through the pump may still be in place allowing the cambelt to rotate but it won,t last long and when it finally siezes so the cambelt strips its teeth and the engine dies.

Hi Don't kid yourself, Mine went 11000 miles after being replaced for the second time(60000 mile change) on a 120k service because the water pump failed cost me £800 Lexus dealership 8 years ago. Fortunately the engine did not suffer as it had the valve clearance built into the early engines. I think that dissappeared on the Mark 3. In hindsight I would have had the tensioners idler and water pump replaced on the 120 belt change as by that time they are quite noisy. The formula for belt change on the mk1&2 Lexus LS400 is; oil change 6000 belt change times 10.I would change the oil and filter every 6000 miles even on the extended periods for later models as I was once told by a very experienced engineer that an engine will last forever if the oil is doing its job. Bearing in mind that up to the vti the ls400 engine is virtually the same as when it was first conceived the extensions to service periods came about with oil manufacturers reccomendations and improvements in the oil itself.

Hi This is a nice feeling,My car went through 20 years of Mot without an advisory let alone a fail,sorry the first three were motless.

Hi It may not be the cable ,if the shoes are worn the leading edge will bind when the brake is released as the brake shoes cannot centralise. Check how many clicks the parking brake goes down before it reaches its maximum travel if it is more than seven the brakes may need adjusting if they will not adjust anymore to give you the less than seven clicks it is probably the shoes and they should be a minimum of 1mm they are 2.5 mm new. The cable is pretty well sound in its engineering and there is little that can go wrong.If adjusting them does not solve the problem. Take off the drum/rotor and get someone to apply the parking brake if the cable is ok the shoes will move out when on and in when off.if they dont move in when the brake is released the cable mechanism is sticking. If you have got to this stage you will probably be best replacing the shoes on both sides if they are worn.

Hi There is a site on the web Paints4u.com I get all my paint for the lexus from them just supply them with your paint code ,be in the owners manual or on your vehicle plate under the bonnet.You are better off getting a kit including the primer , base colour and clear cote. Then you can build the spot up properly .Just spray enough into the lid of the aerosol can then apply with a fine needle or brush.

Sir john I had Lexus do this 10 years ago and the guy that did it said it was a real stinker and the job took 6 hours .The rear suspension as to be virtually dismantled and the rear part of both exhausts have to come off. He could have been trying to justify the bill for labour but having just done the lower arm bushes on both sides I can see this as a job that will need a fair bit of time as the lower arm and the strut rod have also to be removed and that took us six hours on its own.I can honestly say that if these were requiring replacement on my car she would have to go to the Lexus heaven,like you the potential future problems on these cars when they get twenty years old have to taken into consideration when evaluating each job .

The independant double wishbone suspension fitted to the front of the LS400 is virtually the same set up from series 1 to series 4.The information regarding torque for fastenings is relevant but is supplied by the second post.

Hi Daren And if you need to verify those parts with pics Go to Lexls.com were you will find an excellent tutorial.

Hi steve The way round that is to give your friend address in florida as your alternative address on your ebay and Paypal Account. When you purchase something on the US ebay site you have your friends address in place for that transaction you must also have the paypal information as the same address the reason for this is the two companies share your information . I go to florida for 10 weeks every january and buy loads of things on ebay and web sites using paypal and I give the rented house I use as my address and it works fine, everything gets shipped next day from all over the states. When I get back home I just change my address back to the UK address. You couldn't order me some indicators while you are over there and bring them back for me could you? There is no hurry as the car passed the MOT with one of them glued/sealed. Hi Steve I am all set to go in the middle of Jan and if you contact me just after Xmas I will sort that.

Hi steve The way round that is to give your friend address in florida as your alternative address on your ebay and Paypal Account. When you purchase something on the US ebay site you have your friends address in place for that transaction you must also have the paypal information as the same address the reason for this is the two companies share your information . I go to florida for 10 weeks every january and buy loads of things on ebay and web sites using paypal and I give the rented house I use as my address and it works fine, everything gets shipped next day from all over the states. When I get back home I just change my address back to the UK address.

Hi Fellow Lexuns Your greviances are genuine and without doubt this country is the worst in the world for ripping the back out of its own citizens for living on a island.But behold there is a way to get round these parasites that prey on endeavour. Find yourself a regular traveller to the united states be it a friend ,relation or someone off a internet site who you think you can trust. Order your american product then get the party you have to take delivery of the item in the states .the allowance for imported goods as now risen to £250 from the states per person without incurring duty and import tax . get it .

Try a different insurance company, if you have a new MOT the car should be insurable without all that trouble. Hi I doubt that will solve the problem, all insurance companies are logged onto the same network information source along with the dvla and the police, so this problem will continue to flag up regardless of who is supplying a service.The main worry the insurance company as is that they are not insuring a cloned car, thats why they are asking for a independant engineers and dvla report. I purchased a car years ago that had been previously registered with a cherished plate and I had to take it to a licensing centre so the car could be physically checked (vin number) before they would give me a registration number for the car.

Hi Lewis If the car is a early ls400 it is possible that the shoes on the parking brake have become so worn that they won't centralize and the leading edge of the forward shoe is binding . It sounds like a complete renewal of the shoes both wheels is a best fix. The process is fiddly and I think if you look through the tutorials on the workshop tips both here and in the states someone as done it . I have just done it and it is bit of a nightmare if you don't follow the workshop manual procedure, especially when it comes to fitting the new shoes. My advice would be to check out the tutorial and that way you can acertain what you need to take and wether you can do the job.