AdeV

I'm pretty sure I paid £20 per corner fitted valved & balanced, and that included the tyres (part worn, admittedly, not that you'd know) - so I'd balk at £15 to fit/balance my own rubber.

Pretty sure I used to pay £5 a time at Bathers (Birkenhead), but they were clearly race tyres & not ones he could have supplied even if he'd wanted to. He did struggle with them too (very very low profile & very wide...) - that was a few years ago though, so I imagine he's up to £10/corner by now.

Thanks chaps; you're probably right about the water pump Steve, although I'm tempted not to disturb that which seems to work OK...

At the moment, I'm not sure which car I'm going to keep & which will be the donor vehicle... there's a few things to sort out on the Mk3; but then there's a few niggles on the Mk2 as well.... choices choices....

Have sent a PM...

BTW, how many miles? If not TOO many, and if the engine is sound, I might consider buying it for that...

Amazing, five years to ruin a car!

I reckon I'd keep those back doors - great airbrakes!

Hang on a minute...you had an X type that was a disaster but you wouldnt say no to a XJS?

No, An "S" type - the one that was supposed to hark back to the old Mk2 - the X-type was a Mundano in drag...

Are you mad? I cannot help laughing while i type this. I love the XJS and especially the 5.3 V12 but it has got to be one of the most unreliable luxury cars ever made.

Yeah, well, I know, but.... they just look so good, and that V12 sound (assuming it starts, and doesn't immediately fall out of the car due to rot)... Obviously, I'd keep the Lexus for whenever I actually needed to be somewhere that wasn't the motorway hard shoulder; but still...

I had a K-reg Rover 820 Turbo (Mk1 turbo, not a Vitesse). After a very expensive turbo swap (to try to cure persistant smoking & oil use) it finally burnt its head out on the M11. I forget the mileage, but it was sub 100k. My L-reg (i.e. one year younger) LS400 is, of course, still driving like nearly-new, 200k miles later. Although a peek though the history file shows quite a lot of work has been done in the past.

I had a Vauxhall Senator which, in fairness, rarely gave me any trouble; the most entertaining fault being the occasional "brown backfire" (literally, bang! Followed by a cloud of brown smoke - or, most likely, very fine rust particles ), which was curable by pushing the HT lead firmly back into the dizzy cap (it tended to wander loose). The chap who bought it from me had no end of hassle with it, and ended up crushing it (for shame).

I had a 2000 Jag S-type which cost £11k to buy, another £7k to keep on the road in the few years I owned it, and eventually sold for around £6k. That was a disaster of a car & swore me off Jags forever. Although I probably wouldn't say no to a well turned out 5.3HE XJS...

OK, so now I'm the proud owner of 2 LS400s (doh); a Mk2 & a Mk3. The Mk2 last had a timing belt 80k miles/8 years ago, so I reckon I can put that one off another 2 years/20k, whichever is sooner.

The Mk3 however comes with no history, 120k miles, and no sign of a cambelt sticker; so I reckon I need to do that one.

Question is - should I buy just the belt (which I can get for around 30 quid), or a kit including the idler & tensioner for a smidge over £120?

Cheers,

Ade.

I'm not exactly sure how much mine's cost this year, but it's approximately:

40 quid for a new spring

85 quid for new plugs & leads

25 quid for a new airbox

70 quid for oil, oil filter & air filter (aka "a service")

I think that's it? That makes it the most expensive year yet... at £220.

Mileage is now 198K. The only untoward noises are an occasional squeak from the dashboard, and sometimes the exhaust heat shields rattle (because they came adrift not that long after I bought the car & I've never replaced them).

This year is Cambelt Year. I've got a tame mechanic who's quoted £100 to do the change, if I provide the bits. ^_^

Nothing wrong with that Mk4, I placed several bids on it on eBay, but unfortunately could make the reserve price so settled for my Mk3.

It's done in the 'typical' Japanese VIP style of modification, which is very popular in Asia and North America. There are a few followers of the scene in the UK, myself included, nad no doubt if you scour other sections of this very forum you will find a typical example of a black 2GS done in the same style, including widening the arches. The owner lives in London.

Heh, I guess your username kind of gives the game away a bit :winky:

It's certainly not to my taste, and IMHO the wheels are a big part of what I don't like about it; but, it's still tempting as a donor prospect (if I could make cash back on the wheels & suspension, etc.)

Did you happen to go look at the car, or were you bidding sight-unseen?

Cheers,

Ade.

There's not many problems that cant be solved with a 2lb ball hammer in the dead of night.

Brian :)

Hmm, I think I'd rather try to hammer the dent out in daylight ;)

But I do know what you're saying...

You won't get hold of an car where the engine and the transmission ECU are separate. That situation only exists on the JDM Crown Majesta I believe, which are so rare it's untrue. I can only speak for the MKIV (which due to gearbox and VVTi has a unique ECU from previous marques) but a lot of the functions are separated out - ABS & TRC are a separate ECU, body electronics are a separate ECU, etc. Unlike the Toyotas of old the PCB in the ECU isn't silkscreened with a 3 letter code for each pin as there are simply too many of them in too high a density to be able to fit it in!!

I am part way through using a MKIV VVTi engine for a project, at the moment I am dismantling the stock loom and working out pinouts and stuff for the ECU. Fooling it into thinking the gearbox is still there and the selector lever is set in a specific gear seems the best way forward for mating a manual gearbox up.

Have a read of the forums on http://www.v-eight.com/

Edit: I believe a model of GS in the states also got the VVTi engine with the same (fake) 5 speed box as the MKIV, so it's worth trawling the US sites for workshop/wiring diagrams etc.

Edit 2: There are sump differences between the revisions of engine too, if a front sump application is alright for you then no worries, but you can change it to midsump by using a few parts from a Soarer 1UZ, sump, oil pan, baffle plate, oil pickup etc.

Hi Toxo,

Thanks - I think I will be picking your brains in a few months, if I may? Does anyone know what the engine side of the ECU does with the gearbox info? I can see why it might want kickdown info (to crank the power up). The separate ECUs might be a benefit too, if the sensors aren't too difficult for the traction/abs for example.

I have no fear of modifying the oily bits; I've got a reasonably well equipped machine shop, so I could if necessary make my own sump entirely. If I can find room, I'd quite like to use a dry-sump; this would allow me to mount the engine a bit lower, and a bit further back. The only real gotcha with a dry sump is, where to locate the tank...

What's your project? Top secret, or can you tell us? I, at least, am bound to be interested...

Cheers!

Ade.

It's a shame all the important bits have been missed out of the ad (e.g. mileage, mots, blah blah); I reckon it'd make the perfect engine donor car: Some freak will buy those alloys for silly money; the lowrider kit ought to sell for a few bob, and it looks like most of the panels are still original... but, best of all, no-one will miss the poor old girl.

Hmmm, time to think about selling something...

...on my hunt for a suitable LS400 donor car, I stumbled on this poor maligned thing:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2304610.htm

Isn't it amazing what some people consider to be a good thing to do to a car? IMHO, the whole thing looks just terribly sad. If it were a bit cheaper, I'd put the car out of its misery...

My other fav trick is to find two cars with two spaces between them then park in the middle of the two spaces, no chance of a door being swung open and people just think your a bad driver lol.hey it's not right but how many people just don't care about their cars or other peoples.

Gah, this is my pet hate! Especially if the carpark is busy....

I usually park in a quiet section of the carpark, some distance from the shop; but I like to kid myself that I'm getting a bit of exercise having a brisk walk to & from; instead of being a fat lazy slob & parking as close to the door as possible, which most people seem to regard as the holy grail.

Well spotted that man...

Just in case that resource disappears, using the power of Linux I've downloaded the lot... so if it is gone & you want a copy, PM me...

Do Lexus grind the part numbers off the struts? I can't imagine they're bespoke items.

I'm sure they're not, but the best price I can find for 1994-5 struts is 60 quid + vat + postage. Hence my question; if the newer ones can easily be adapted to fit, then I'd rather pay £52 for the pair delivered than £72 + P&P...

On the other hand, if they're utterly different, then it ceases to be cost effective to billy bodge one onto t'other...

Bonnet struts

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LEXUS-LS-400-BONNET-SUPPORTS-STRUTS-1998-2000-sat-nav-/110665925155?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19c4340223#ht_500wt_1156

That's pretty cheap - would they work on a 1994 model as well?

Don't think so, the later type have different mountings.

Quelle surprise.

Next time someone with a 97-2000 model has their bonnet up, do you fancy having a quick peek at the struts to see if they obviously have screw on/off fittings at one or both ends? I just changed the tailgate struts on my Granny Estate, and they had a screw-on bracket on one end, and a pre-fitted "hoop" at the other.

Battery was, as mentioned already, replaced yesterday by Lexus Woodford - thank you, yesterday. This morning I turned the key, the lights on and then they went out again and nothing! Tried it second time almost immediately and it started!? Have driven, stopped, turned off the engine and restarted again several times throughout the day with not a problem so it's that very first time that's important, but what is it? As mentioned Lexus spent several hours checking the 3 items (battery, alternator and starter) and could find no fault.

Sounds like the inhibitor switch on the gearbox; if it's not in Park (or Neutral, certainly on my Mk2, not sure about yours), the symptom is all the lights go out when you turn the key to "Start".

Yours sounds like it's a bit suspect. Next time it happens, try wiggling the gear selector a few times & see if you can fix it that way (erm, or break it totally of course...)

Bonnet struts

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LEXUS-LS-400-BONNET-SUPPORTS-STRUTS-1998-2000-sat-nav-/110665925155?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item19c4340223#ht_500wt_1156

That's pretty cheap - would they work on a 1994 model as well?

Usually, the earlier the car, the less problems there are in wiring the ECU into another chassis.

In the case of the 1UZ, the earlier engines (pre-1994?), although a little less powerful, have stronger conrods and no VVTi to worry about, so there may be good reasons for picking the earlier model.

Hmm, interesting... AIUI the engine was unchanged between the Mk1 & Mk2 LS400s; the Mk3 had about 10 more HP, and the Mk4 another 30 on top.

Since I plan to use a manual 'box, I guess it would be handy to have the engine ECU that doesn't also drive the gearbox; however, this only applies to imports I believe?

At the moment... I'm not sure whether to run a stock Mk4 engine (with VVTI & 290bhp), or whether to run an older engine & slap a supercharger on it...

Choices choices...

I've decided that as well as being a practical load-lugger with Lexus reliability, I also fancy taking the car to the track and hooning it occasionally..... hence the extra BHPs...

Still, lots to do before I can get started unfortunately... hope to get going in early May.

Hmm... when I bought my LS400, I made all the classic mistakes: I bought it sight-unseen from a vendor on eBay. I didn't get it checked out at any time before or after I bought it (I did buy the HPI report, just to be sure it wasn't stolen). Mine had 150k on the clock when I bought - by far the highest mileage car I've ever purchased - indeed, I've never had a car that reached 150k before!

I took the train down to meet the guy, went to his house, picked the car up & drove it straight home (250 miles), packed it full of stuff & drove it to Spain (600 miles - I cheated & used a ferry), pottered around Spain for 4 months, drove it home via France (1600 miles). Replaced a broken spring & did the same thing again next year. Replaced another broken spring. I've replaced the oil a couple of times, changed the plugs & leads, and I'm about to do the filters & oil again because, frankly, it's due.

In other words, I've treated her dreadfully. And, yet, apart from the misfire due to a broken plug lead, I've had no problems whatsoever. She ALWAYS starts, and ALWAYS gets me to my destination.

Utterly brilliant cars, IMHO. Buy a working one, and it'll easily last you the 40 days. Mine's almost at 200k miles now, and still feels newer than any other car I've ever driven.... including new ones.

Was the Battery actually flat when you needed the jump starts, or could it be a dodgy connection?

If it's actually flat, and there's no apparent fault with the Battery or the alternator, then the only possibility is that something is draining the Battery overnight. Can you put a multimeter (in amp mode) between the Battery positive & feeder wire, when everything is turned off, to see if there's any significant drain? One thing... whatever you do don't try to start the car with the multimeter in place, you'll blow your multimeter to kingdom come!

I tow with mine, not sure what the maximum weight I've pulled is, but probably in the order of 1.5 tons. I don't have the supplementary oil cooler, although the "hot smell" I get after a long journey is suggesting I really ought to get one...

However, despite the lack of supplementary oil cooler, the car tows extremely well, and pulls hard when asked. Fuel economy takes a tumble if you're towing at 70+, but if you stick to 50-60mph then you'll not see much difference from normal driving.

I bought my towbar from TowEquipe, it's the removable ball type (not that I've ever removed it), and requires a small square cutting out of the bumper, and fitted it myself with my old man helping.

Why is it that the bottom half of the tank always seems to empty quicker than the top half !!.

There's actually an easy answer to that one: The fuel tank tends to be smaller on the bottom than on the top... but the gauge is linear; so the first "half" is used less quickly than the bottom "half".

Why does the car drive faster, smoother and better with a full tank?

Probably the freshness of the petrol - some of the volatiles will evaporate off very quickly, as the fuel ages in the tank.

OTOH, I find mine goes better & better the less fuel I have. She goes like a stabbed rat when the gauge goes below the empty line...

On a related note... when I park up overnight, especially if the fuel level is low; come the morning the gauge reads totally empty (and less; the needle is a good inch below the E line); and takes ages to recover to its proper position. If I park up when the tank has ~1/3 tank or more, it only drops about 1/3rd overnight, but still takes ages to recover. Any ideas?