Skraggy_uk

Having picked up an IS200 SE yesterday, I really miss the very cheap but amazing quality Lidl silvercrest Bluetooth radio, and I'm going to have to go back to a headset for now. But the car has a Motorola cradled car kit fitted. Was that a standard fitment option or has someone had it butchered behind the dash? I know I'm going to have to shell out for a bluetooth kit, I just want to minimise the cutting of factory wiring. Most of the mentions of wired kits seem to be the normal Nokia one, but I'm wondering if it is an option at purchase. Can't find anything in the history yet, but I'm still going through it.

AH Yes. Will have a look tomorrow, should be able to do something with the side parts. It must grip somehow. Looks like it had never been used at all.

Oh its nice, I'm getting used to the very light clutch, it is almost as nice as my old Celsior. Need to get rid of the old Motorola handsfree kit and get something modern in for my Samsung Omnia, but the thing that is puzzling me is the lighter. When I got it, the element looked new and unused. Tried it and didn't work. So I checked the fuse and it seemed ok. Plugged in my phone charger and that worked ok. So I gave the prongs at the bottom of the lighter socket a little tweak. Now it heats up. Damn does it heat up. Except when hot, instead of just popping up, it ejects, usually into the gear lever gaitor. Wonder if there is something else in the socket that need a little manual adjustment like a second set of grippers that grab the lighterbody like the lower ones grab the element.

hope you enjoy the car matey!! Just picked it up. Silver/champagne colour, with black half leather/half seude. Looks like it has a handsfree fitted. Cradle is there, but won't suit my phone, need a Samsung cradle to suit a side mounted connection. Weird getting used to such a light clutch and the bite seems massively high, but the clutch on the Saab was always very low biting, to the point that a garage that replaced the clutch hose thought they had done something wrong.

My old Saab gets dropped off. And I pickup a 2001 IS200 SE manual. Felt weird being in such a revvy engine without a turbo or V8 grunt, but should be fun.

Looks tidy in that photo. I miss my J plated one. But I really couldn't justify £60 a week in fuel just for commuting. Now I have a Saab 9000 aero while is a real rocket, but while it is a proper drivers car, I miss the silky smoothness. It was proper plush even if it felt like a jelly on a trampoline sitting on tea trays on a bed of ball bearings.

OK, the red button must be on then, because nothing stops it shifting with the engine off. The Walkman is inside the centre console in the rear seat, where the seat heat buttons are.

Thanks Steve, I've been using Clublexus but not the US LOC forums.

Plan is, upper and lower arms for the front, and sway bar bushes, and whatever the back needs. Does anyone know if there is a way to test the air suspension system without bags fitted? I've realised that Arnotts airbags and a used controller are actually cheaper by a long way than coilovers. I would love to be able to re-instate the air system and get rid of the very basic by lexus/toyota standard fixed height/rate shocks and springs. I know to keep comfort, I can't make it handle like a go-cart but I can get the stability and smoothness back. My biggest problem is, the mechanic I used to use had a fire accident at his garage, and disappeared because he wasn't insured. So now I need to find a mechanic I can trust.

I accept that it will be pricey. But I still have room to manouvre in that when I bought it, it had a fresh MOT from a reputable Merc/BMW independant garage, so while I'm now noticing the problems, it can't be too far gone yet. I'm just very sensitive to wear on cars. Plus as a Celsior for £800 you would probably be looking at £1200-1800 for an LS (badge snobs). I got really lucky break on the price. He was a soldier, who was supposed to be posted to Germany (living Liverpool) bought it at the last minute, to commute home from his stationed base when he got leave. Last minute his unit was posted instead to Warrington (about 32 miles commute with living at home so he bought a diesel for daily commutes instead of monthly leave) to turn a TA barracks into a base for regular for transport units. He advertised it on Ebay, as being in Liverpool, and a BIN of £800. The weekend before, I had seen a Celsior at a local garage and thought it was an amazing coincidence. When I called, he explained he was on his way home from Glasgow and would be an hour, and the car was actually in Warrington at the TA Barracks. The barracks is actually 100yards from my house. I asked him why it was priced so low and he said that he had got his wife to list it with an £800 reserve and she listed it with no reserve and an £800 BIN. He accepted my giving him cash off the auction, to save the fees, as there hadn't been any bids. I expect had it ran to the end it would have ended much higher. Mileage is 186k kilometers, it has never been converted. It is a 91, uk registered in 98 on a J plate, and apparently was an embassy car until it was registered here. It still reads in kilometers, but has a UK Lexus Pioneer headunit, and all the door glass is lexus toyota rather than toyota. So there might be some truth in the embassy story. Another reason it was so cheap is that it has absolutley no history at all. Not even since uk registration, but 5 owners recorded since 1998. However the cambelt looks near new (the belt covers are missing) and apart from a little cam rattle from the rear of the passenger bank, it is all nice quiet and smooth. I'm going to get it serviced at a local garage, but get the cam belt done when it hits 200k Kms regardless. Everyone who sees it expects a total loss shed, but when they see it, play with the massage seats and hear the smooth purr, they love it.

The front end has started to pitch wobble and roll like mad. I see that Arnotts in the states do top arms nice and cheap but haven't answered my email about uk shipping. Who does the best prices for front lower arms? What else can wear at the front? What is likley to wear at the backend? What shocks are advised? I can't seem to find anything for the UCF1* models online in the UK, except for JIC Magics at £1400. Symptoms are pitching and rolling on corners, bit of a wobble that might be down to wheel balance, terrible diving under braking, but also drifting arround the lane on the motorway. Advice from friends is a) Punt it on cheap and run away b)Scrap it, it was only cheap. But I like it. It was originally air-suspended, but swapped for coils. The only problem I have with re-installing airbags is that there might be a fault with the rest of the system, but don't know how to test it, or even if anything else is missing? Not sure if want to spend as much as a set of coilovers will cost, but where can I buy shocks and springs online in europe(to avoid duty)? I know I'm probably looking at about £1k in parts at least if I source them myself. Anyone help another owner please. It is getting to the point that it isn't just motorways that feel rough, it has started to "wobble" on roundabouts too.

Hmm, well, I Ebay'd a part that should have fit. This was what I bought hoping it would fit. Said in the heading that it fitted the Supra and Soarer and Celica, and the packet it came in also mentioned the Camry, so I didn't think it could be far wrong. However, when I got everything apart, it went knowhere near the right bolt holes.

I know cones/K&Ns don't give as much benefit these days as they did on old carbed cars, but as I have it already have the cone, and it is cleanable, I figured I might as well put it to use, and make sure that it is properly shielded and has an airflow ducted to it.

I think my Celsior must be the only one on TEMS coilovers ( thank goodness!) Don't suppose you know what dampers they are? I have a J plate UCF11 which has had the bags swapped for coils. The TEMS switch and dash light work without any errors, but it is soggy than a sponge full of custard, so if I could find some decent coilovers that used the TEMS I would be a happy bunny. I had a quick look but couldn't see any labels but will look more closely with the wheel off when I get the time. Mine has very stiff suspension in normal mode and go kart ( Nissan Skyline) handling in sports mode. Also has 255/40/17's on rear and 235/45/17's front. Would be very cool if you could. Would love to find something to tighten the old boat. I'm still running 15" rims but I want to sort out the handling a little first then work on the comfort/ride/handling compromise after.

I have a decent universal cleanable cone filter in a close to bucket size. I figured I might as well use it instead of spending on a K&N. I might even be able to mod it into the airbox. Obviously I'm going to need a tophat adaptor for the airflow meter/mass air meter. I've had one fitted to an old range rover and my old GT4 before. And while the intake was a little noisy, at idle/arround town it was acceptable. So does anyone know what specific part I need to fit the LS air meter? Cheers all.

I think my Celsior must be the only one on TEMS coilovers ( thank goodness!) Don't suppose you know what dampers they are? I have a J plate UCF11 which has had the bags swapped for coils. The TEMS switch and dash light work without any errors, but it is soggy than a sponge full of custard, so if I could find some decent coilovers that used the TEMS I would be a happy bunny.

Cheers Maneesh, I'll try lowering it a little and see how it goes.

The Celsior is fitted with 215/65/15 tyres, but the LS400 manual I was given with it only lists 16" tyres. I've been running 36 at both ends, which seems a little hard, even though I'm getting wear on the tyre shoulders, not the centre of the treads.

Currently running without the filter, and yes, now I have blower output. Very good output. I've tried to clean the old one to try and get a decent photo, so anyone with a Celsior can see how different it is to the LS and SC filters. I'm going to wait until I can find a new filter.

OK, under my dash in my 1991 Celsior there was no piece held by two wingnuts that looked anything like the pictures or photos I had seen. Instead I had The largish white box in the centre right is just about the only thing visible. except wiring connectors. After working out that the lower dash was held by 3 clips with screws in at the back/bottom edge, not 1 plastic rivet I could completly remove that. I could see the white plastic box had a removable end. But it was held in by 5x8mm bolts. After removing them I could get to the filter. Just one filter, slightly small than A4 paper size, that has two folds inhorizontally it to allow folding into 3 for fitting. There was no other filter there, and the bottom 3rd was roughly twice as thick. I tried to vacuum then clean it as it was fabric rather than paper, but a lot of crud has been left as sludge. I refitted the panel without the filter as it doesn't want to go back inbecause the carpet/floorpan was in the way. The part number was Densp 014520-0050 Hope this helps someone.

BTW, how do you remove the lower panel totally. I see the single clip/screw at the back, but even with that out, the panel won't come off and there is nothing at all like the plate and wingnuts. I need to get this sorted. I'm sick of sweating like a pig on a warm day. There isn't even enough breeze to reach my face. It only blows about 2" out on the highest setting.

And now for the proper dumb question. Do you need to jack it up to get to them, or can the filter and drain be reached from the side?

Is what I see under the dash. There is nothing with wingnuts, only the large white box.

Yeah the asddress/website would be good. Were they on Riverside business park/trading estate behind some shops?

When you say drivers side, do you mean left hand side? I'm in the UK so drivers side is on the right.