ambermarine

The point you make about the LS400 spoiling you is the reason I have had two over the last 28 years and went out of my way to obtain the second and present car, I have no desire to get another car because this car is giving me the most sought after experience the human race seeks, "Contentment". I have had twenty five different cars in my lifetime and driven another twenty five rentals and never have I found a car that meets all my desires and as nothing I could complain about until I bought my first LS400. The history and provenance is multitude written and video's abound on the subject of the LS400 but it is only when you own one and have driven them for three hundred mile stints sat in traffic jams for hours and taken out the boy racer at the traffic lights that you appreciate the car and all of its attributes. I have been married to the same woman for fifty years and we have everything we could want in life and when you know what contentment is you call off the search naturally.

I locked myself out two years ago whilst down in Devon Green flag guy from local garage used two inflatable rubber cushions starting at the top corner and working gradually towards the mirror he made enough room to insert a wire and pull the inside door handle less than ten minutes and the only thing that was needed was a tug on the window frame inwards as it is pulled out of line during the operation . These cushions are available at motor factors on ebay.

The issue with your synopsis is cause and effect,the car was designed for air struts and although swopping out to coil overs on the 400 and 430s as proved successful the 460 is a different animal with a totally changed suspension with double the control arms the previous range had. The previous range was designed for both coil overs and air as an extra option so the design of the suspension was initially for coil overs not the case with the 460 so any coil over experiment is a shot in the dark. Personally I would not persevere with a car that was constantly worrying me, that is counter to the idea of owning a Lexus,there are options to the car you have in the Lexus family that have no issues my advice is to do some research and consider those options.

Use the key in the door lock.

They make great lawnmowers had two over twenty eight years bent the crankshaft on the first one got two close to a tree stump,second one is still going but they started putting metal bodies on them that rust out had to do some body filler moves. Ho ,sorry wrong forum.

I know it from an earlier model LS it is from my Mark 1 and it is the same configuration as the one you showed in your Pic. If we don't get the correct information we can only do our best to help .In future I will keep my 25 years of Lexus LS ownership knowledge to myself in certain quarters.

Yes

As I said in my previous post the Lexus LS400 was not type approved under the European type approval 94/20/EC Ist Aug 1998 this was due to a comms hitch By Lexus which means the fitting of a tow bar and hitch to a Lexus LS400 manufactured after that date to its final end of line manufacture is illegal. The fact your car as a tow bar fitted does not change the law it as probably been transferred from a mark 3 by someone who was not aware of the conformity issue. In my owners Manual Lexus attempted to get round this glitch by stating the vehicle was not designed for towing but contradicting that by showing all the vehicle laden and unladen kerb weights for towing in the vehicle technical information .

The LS400 Mark 4 is not legalised for tow bar fitment, there was a conformity glitch by the EU when the LS400 was launched and it is not tow bar certified in the EU. If you manage to get one fitted your MOT station will fail it and until you are MOT'd your insurance will be void. I looked into this when I was considering a caravan and various sources pointed me at witter tow bars who then informed me they could not legally fit one ,I then did some research and found out about the above facts.

The experience I had with wheel alignment issues showed up two companies as totally useless and a guy in Glasgow who was brilliant.When I bought my Mark 4 I soon noticed excessive wear on the nearside front edge to the rate of a tyre every 4k miles. Lexus Glasgow blamed the tyres age and a Mitsubishi dealer in Devon using their spanking new wheel alignment rig gave me lovely schematic drawings a £80 bill and no solution. I was introduced to a guy called Kenny Miller in Glasgow who built track cars and was a motor engineer He sorted the problem in an hour and explained the alignment was out by 2 degrees on the adjustable cams which because the previous attempts had been uneducated had wiped out the factory settings. That was 10 years ago and he front wheel alignment as been perfect to this day and I try to avoid potholes.

Your call, seem to be convinced its worth the risk so go for it .

I would be concerned at how much rust there is on a late 98 when Lexus more or less had sorted all of the rust traps by the time they got to the mark 4 What you can see is substantial and what you can't see may be the same . The exhaust issues will be expensive and the underside around the area of the subframe could be bad if there is so much rust elsewhere. I know I am talking as the owner of a 50 k minter but that example you are viewing as only twice the mileage and looks to have been living in a harsh environment with little up keep, personally I would look elsewhere.

There are no paint codes for Lexus LS400 wheels I did my Mark 4 with VW/Audi LY7T crystal silver which is a near perfect match to the original Lexus factory colour.

I respectfully concur I felt sure that the Mark one I dismantled had twisted springs but having checked you are correct. there is a video on Utube showing the change procedure dated 2020.

The Ls400 was not fitted with gas struts to the boot.

The Mark 4s were registered at R but as you say very early production the satnav was fitted to all mark 4s in the UK but it was a expensive option elsewhere. The wheels are certain Mark 4 as is the body line.

Very unusual centre armrest ,never seen one like that must have been bespoke fitted not sure of the comfort zone but useful.

I suggest you do some research on the internet as I have done on your behalf I have found various examples of the fuse box from the trunk for sale on ebay they show the sockets in the base of the case after the loom connections have been removed .It may be helpful to find weather your box as all its loom connections in place if not then that may be the answer to your problem. But for now I think I have spent more time on this inquiry than I have on any other so I will leave you to it.

I am not convinced everything is there if that were the case there would not be a plug with no outlet and we would not be having this discussion.Having studied the fuse box module in the left of your picture posted with the query the bottom as four male inserts for harness connections check if one of these is not being used and is vacant if that is the case there will be a requirement for a specific cable that connects that module to the spare plug in the trunk. According to my information when you do find this cable and it is connected successfully the circuit as to be programmed with Lexus workshop equipment for the lights to work.

Although The relay information is for the LS400 the principle is the same and you need to find the relay that fits that socket from Lexus it will have a code like the one in the pics but may be of a different shape, check out the other switch relays on your car and look for similar male socket pins. There should be no need for any wiring it is already there you just need the relay so if you can find a relay on the car that fits that white socket try it and if it works you have your relay code and you can order one up .Or just ask your Local Lexus dealer for a rear fog light relay,the cut in the frame above the socket is were the relay clips on for support.

This subject is close to the heart of anyone who as owned one of these cars and I have owned two for a total of twenty four years they are already a part of the motoring industry in the name of game changers and to own one is a honour that more and more people seek, so you hang on to it not just for your Dad but for you and be grateful he saw the future of these fabulous cars.

Further to my last post I have dug out some of my switches bulbs and relays from My scrapped Mark 1 and I think the relay depicted in the shots is the standard switch relay used by Lexus on the LS It is used for most of the instrument and light switches and I am fairly sure it is used on the fog light relay. All the information to retrieve a wiring harness from a breaker is on the relay.

Hi Jason The best way to resolve this is trial and error take the live pin on the white connector through a jumper to the fog light positive it should already have a ground, if not ground it to the frame then using a circuit test try each plug until the bulb reacts if there is no response to this exercise it may require a relay in line after the white plug. Years ago on my Mark 1 I took out the failed antenna and replaced it with a aftermarket unit and clipped to the frame of the antenna was a relay which we assumed was for the antenna later we discovered the rear fog lights did not work . I was fortunate to have the workshop manuals including the wiring diagrams and on checking it the relay we assumed was for the antenna was for the rear fog lights. Now I know the US spec as rear screen antenna but it will still be wired for a relay on the rear fog lights which as to be fitted for them to work.The wiring for the relay should be done via a live fused circuit and the trigger for the relay will come from the white connector .

The silvered paint finish( Wheels) on the LS range does not have a code from Toyota or Lexus and the best option is to try to match it with a body silver from any other car manufacturer and have the wheels sprayed with that .I had mine done with an Audi silver,code LY7T crystal silver year 1988-95 which came up just about the same colour as in the LS brochure shots of the car.

More likely to be the upper arm bushing check by lifting the front wheel off the ground an levering up from the bottom of the tyre with a bar ,at the same time grip the bushing on the end of the arm that connects to the top of the hub strut and it will move about if worn .