AdeV

I have a feeling I'll end up writing a book or something.... At least it'll have lots of pretty pictures & not much prose in it :) But, yes, there will be a build log. :)

yes pretty certain thats what i explained i did. it was the previous poster that said he had never tried which is why i explained how to do it!. It's not so much not knowing how to do it; it's just that I never think of it when I fill up (so I don't reset the tripmeter or note down the mileage), or I end up doing a mixture of urban & highway driving on the same tank which means I can't know my urban vs. open road mpgs.

What!?! Whoops! I mean 350-400 miles per tank, not gallon WHAT!?!?! (you do know the correct 'conversion' factor for leptons, I take it?) ;) I do know of the "correct" conversion factor, however, in this instance, leptons may be used in a "non-self-incriminating word substitution" type scenario. Sorry I can't be any clearer than mud, but I'm sure you get my meaning...

I normally get 350-400mpg, if I'm not towing or carting heavy stuff around. And I definitely have a lead foot - typical motorway/A-road cruise is 85 leptons +/- 10. What I can't tell you is how much a "full tank" is; I've yet to actually run out (or even get to the hiccuping stage), despite the needle being off the dial a couple of times. Maybe I should do that one day, just drive until dry; add a gallon & see how far I go :winky:

When did you last check your air filter? I happened to glance at mine recently for the 1st time since owning the car and it was minging. I've banged the worst of the dirt & leaves out, but I'll need to replace it. I've never managed to get an accurate MPG for mine ('95 facelifted Mk1, or what I'd call a Mk2), because I never remember to keep a tally of the miles when I fill up vs. the drive vs. the miles when I fill up again... I did notice that I got about 300 miles on a full tank, while towing an empty car trailer (at about mumble70mumble); towing the full car trailer back @ around 55mph I did the same trip in a bit over 1/2 tank.

Ta :) I understand what you're saying about the O2 sensors, etc; but I'd rather keep the stock ECU & EFI - it is after all proven & ultra reliable. Anyway, I plan to use chunks of the Lexus exhaust system anyway, so wherever the O2 sensors are, I should be able to keep the section they're in. I understand what you're saying; but I want the reliability that comes from a Lexus engine. Being a big understressed V8, it's always going to last longer than a V6 screamer, especially with turbos. And most Ford V6 engines are '50s technology... Ta for the link BTW - the picture of the Cortina means I can definitely do what I'm wanting to (the Granada engine bay is very similar, just a bit bigger). I've already put a big V8 in a Capri (BMW 5 litre ), but that was a race car so we could do loads of cut & shut welding to fit it all in. With the road car, I need to keep tunnel and engine bay modifications to a minimum, otherwise it'll stop looking "stock". Cheers! Ade.

This might seem an odd topic, but I'm distantly planning pulling an engine out of an LS (probably from the last of the 4 litres, the 290bhp one...), mating it to a 6-speed manual 'box, and dropping the whole lot (along with a few other bits off the Lexus, like brakes, aircon, etc.) into an old Mk2 Ford Granada estate car... Sounds mental? Well, yes, it probably is. But I've always loved the old Mk2 grannys - my first car was a Mk2 estate, and I've had 4 saloons at various times. Thing is, I love my LS400 for it's near-total reliability despite being a leggy girl (certainly by Granada standards). Oh, and the fact she'll drink unleaded without knackering the heads (Granny needs 4-star). Comfort wise, I'd say both cars are on a par really; the Granada really is a comfy old barge. Question is (hah - finally he gets around to it - ed) - how hard-wired is the engine ECU into the car's security system? Just how much of the Lexus will I have to transplant? I plan to move the door lock operators (if poss - Granada ones are rubbish), window winders, etc. But, ultimately, this is about creating a bit of a Q-car, so I'd prefer to keep the Ford ignition key, for example (security will be handled elsewhere). It needs to look exactly like an old Ford, right up until I stomp on the loud pedal at which case it becomes a snarling fire-spitting V8 :) but with super-comfort & refinement on the motorways... Any thoughts would be much appreciated. e.g. is it possible to get a Lexus V8 running, with it's ECU, on the bench, without an umbilical back to the car it came out of? Ta!

I've a Mk2 LS400 ('94 model), the one where the remote control for the alarm is built into the key. A couple of weeks ago, the screw holding the key together gave up the ghost, the key popped open & shed its battery somewhere! Can someone tell me what size & type the battery is so I can get a replacement pls? In particular, is it a 1.5v or a 3v battery? Thanks! Ade.

Sounds like my adventures with the upper OS front ball joint... having split the rubber & knackered the castle nut trying to use a ball joint splitter, the simple lump hammer had the job done in three taps... My car is showing nearly 190,000 miles, and so far only 2 springs - no other suspension worries, but then, it might have been replaced/repaired before I bought the car (at around 155,000 miles).

Hi Steve, So far, so good; it's been wet several times since, and no problems to report. I think the issue was almost certainly one of the leads (the one that snapped off when I removed it), but I feel happier having replaced the lot. I'll do the dizzy caps & rotors when I change the cambelt. I put a bit of copper grease (Halfrauds version of Copaslip) on each plug, so that should guarantee they're all stuck in there forever (shirely you mean, guarantee they'll come out again? -ed) I didn't have that much trouble routing the leads, mainly because I replaced them one at a time, rather than pulling them all out, then having to remember which went where. So I didn't get the clips mixed up either. Biggest problems were sheared bolts (2), and I discovered some abortion of a repair on top of the airbox, which seemed to involve blu-tac (!), some rag, and some duck tape. Nasty stuff, luckily Benfur has come through & found me replacement bits for everything I've broken/lost/damaged along the way :)

2 MoTs, 2 failures, same thing both times - a broken spring. Other than that, though, no advisories at all, not bad for a 13 16 year old car... my old Vauxhall (only 5 years older than the Lex) used to come with a couple of pages of tales of woe... Tell me, is one supposed to slow down for those speed hump thingies?

I'm pretty sure it's missing the alternator - I must have got through 6-7 ltrs of fluid (maybe more) since owning the car, and the alternator's never missed a beat. I have a spare one sitting ready just in case, however!

I've taken my '94 model from 135k to nearly 200k, so far it's cost me a spring & some PAS fluid (yes, I have the dreaded leak) - although the leak seems to be lessening after I used some dodgy Slick 50 product... I don't think mine's dripping on the alternator, as I've had no problems in that department (touch wood). Biggest issue with mine? The wheels, currently, they're tatty as hell. There's a company in Blackpool who do refurbs, though, so I'll treat her to a set of those if she gets through the next MOT with no problems (I fully expect this to happen)...

You're going to love it... I bought a '94 car with 135k miles on it, easily the best car I've ever driven. I had a 2000 Jag S-type (the 3.0 version) a few years back, it was a total disaster, cost me north of £7k in depreciation, and the better part of £4k in parts to keep it running, including a £1k gearbox rebuild, all on a 4-5 year old car. Really poor IMHO. The Lexus, on the other hand, despite being older has done another 65k miles, and has only needed some bulbs, a rear spring, and regular transfusions of PAS fluid. The only problem is, I have a heavy right foot & don't seem to get terribly good mileage...

The big difference is postcode... I'm 37, have 9+ years NCB, no claims in the last several years, clean licence, etc. And yet, this year the cheapest "confused" quote I can get is somewhere north of £650. If I use my Mum's address, the premium halves. The worst of it is; I can actually park my car away from home in a highly secure carpark (out of sight, behind a locked gate, even inside a building if necessary) - but guess what: the one-size-fits-all insurance companies can't cope with the fact it's away from home & load up the premium, thus PENALISING me for reducing the risk!

Well, I finally got around to treating her to fresh plugs & leads... I didn't do the dizzy caps/rotors because they were just too inaccessible, I had a major attack of CBA. Obviously, it's bone dry at the moment, but she seems perkier already. The real test will be what happens next time it's wet... fingers crossed...

Yeah, we tried all that stuff. I speculated that the box or selector had moved, because the position of the lever did not correspond to the light on the dashboard. However, as above, whilst attempting to move the selector to a position which would allow me to start & move the car, I managed to get it to engage park & thus turn the ignition off & remove the key. Steve - I will try to get some pics this weekend, it's a bit crazy 'round here at the moment what with one thing & another, so no promises... So far, the parts bill looks to be about £200, assuming it's all panels & lights. We have a portapower to straighten any substantial parts, hopefully, there's no suspension damage. No worries if you cant document the job. I thought it could be useful in the future for other similarly unfortunates. I wondered why the gearbox had appeared to move. If you can let us know then it will be a mega effort. Hope it goes well and the baby is back cruising soon. I'll do me best... unfortunately, it coincided with me having my office demolished & replaced with a portacabin, so currently the entire office is in the garage, blocking access to the ramps... a situation that's unlikely to change before the weekend... but once cleared, we'll be putting the car up on a ramp, so photos won't be a problem. The impact speed was less than 30mph, as the airbags didn't go off (which is slightly alarming in its own right)... Q: Does the Mk3 have seatbelt pre-tensioners which would need replacing?

If there are no visually obvious problems (oil staining, under-bonnet smoke, etc.) it could be a faulty distributor rotor or cap: I had something similar happen on a Vauxhall Senator - the bang was a massive backfire, and the ongoing misfiring was due to the sparks tracking all over the place.

Yeah, we tried all that stuff. I speculated that the box or selector had moved, because the position of the lever did not correspond to the light on the dashboard. However, as above, whilst attempting to move the selector to a position which would allow me to start & move the car, I managed to get it to engage park & thus turn the ignition off & remove the key. Steve - I will try to get some pics this weekend, it's a bit crazy 'round here at the moment what with one thing & another, so no promises... So far, the parts bill looks to be about £200, assuming it's all panels & lights. We have a portapower to straighten any substantial parts, hopefully, there's no suspension damage.

That's what I thought, but for insurance reasons (which I won't go into, your imagination may suffice), this one has to be repaired, at least to MoT'able standards...

I think I tried that (the Shift override button?)... anyway, I managed to manoeuvre it into giving the key up in the end anyway, which is nice... now we just need to get it fixed... Thanks for the suggestions chaps, always appreciated :)

Yesterday, Dad managed to prang his Mk3 LS400 into the back of a beemer. It's made a bit of a mess, although the car still starts & drives (I am told), the problem is, it seems to have moved the gearbox - or, at least, the gearbox selector. Although the dash lights will indicate Park/Reverse/Neutral/Drive, the selector will only go as far as Reverse & won't latch into Park. As a result, I assume, it's proving impossible to switch the ignition completely off (they key won't turn past ACC), and therefore we can't remove the key. The doors won't stay locked (they immediately unlock if operated on the door switch, and the car just ignores the fob). Does anyone have any idea how I can force the car to relinquish the key, to allow it to be locked?

It's definitely a V8 though. You can see both cyl banks on the 3rd pic down, and the airbox on top clearly has 8 inlet ports. I think what's making it look odd/unbalanced, is that plain black plastic box running the entire length of the RHS (looking from the rear) cyl bank. I've no idea what's in that box, I'm pretty sure I don't have one on my engine. The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced it's the timing belt that's missing.

My misfire definitely goes away; as I say, when the weather's dry, she pulls like a train. When it's been raining, the symptoms are a bit weird: 1st start, generally everything is OK. SO long as I don't ask for lots of power before the engine is fully warmed up, I don't get the misfire. If, while the engine is still cold/cool, I do use a bit too much welly, the misfire appears. If I have to stop the engine for any reason (e.g. 'cos I've popped to the garage to get milk or petrol), then the misfire appears. You can clearly hear/feel it misfiring, and under power, the delivery is very lumpy. That's why I'm thinking it's more than 1 cyl affected. Once it's cleared up, it tends not to re-occur unless the engine is allowed to cool down significantly, and the weather is still wet...

Thanks for the link - and wow, they _are_ cheap. Unfortunately, I already bought everything except the coils from various vendors, all of them more expensive Ah well, lesson learned. At least if I do need coils, I can get 2 of them from that link for less than the price of a single one off fleBay. Coils are showing at £14.16 +vat + delivery presumably. Is there a "howto" on changing the dizzy caps & rotors, before I dive in there with a screwdriver & a hammer? Ignore that, I see LexLS.com has an excellent tutorial. I shall leave the job for now, until my leads & plugs show up... may as well do it all in one fell swoop.