AdeV

I'm going to need to do the timing belt on my '94 car at some point in the next 20k miles, and Dad will also need to do his '96 motor, probably sooner rather than later... whilst there's an excellent picture tutorial over on lexls for the '94 motor, there seems to be some minor differences on the '96? I've noticed that timing kits for the '96 only have one idler pulley rather than 2 for the '90-'94... Are there significant differences in the procedure between the '94 & '96, or is it pretty easy to adapt the tutorial to the '96 car? Thanks!

Cheers chap, much appreciated. I take it the more readily available & cheaper Denso 14AAC is not suitable...?

I don't think there is an off switch anymore on the mkIII? ( have to look in the morning..lol) My guess is, it's just not working. get a remote fob from Fleabay or so and try to program it (there is a how-to on here somewhere I thought) Is the central locking working? Hi Ruud, Yep, the CL works fine on the key. There's only one key supplied & it's the non-remote type. On my car, the switch is on a rectangular panel just below the trip/odo buttons, and there's a knob somewhere (oo-err) as well to alter the volume of the beep it gives out... Cheers! Ade.

Dad's new LS400 Mk3 (see thread elsewhere) appears not to have remote central locking - unless they've moved the off switch?). Assuming it's not present, how easy is it to retro-fit, and are there any kits around to do the job? Thnks! :)

Yep, got it today :D 1996 P-reg, 136k miles, basically pretty tidy. There's a touch of surface rust in a couple of places, and it's been very badly re-sprayed at some point (maybe hiding something? But all the panels look straight & the gaps are good) - but Dad's pretty handy with the spanners & the wire brush, so he'll probably fix the rust issues & have it sprayed back to the green-over-silver that it used to be. It's now a sort of black colour, although in my headlights on the way home, it looked green/silver again... very weird. The price? 800 quid + 74 commission to the auction house. Bargain. And yes, it drove the 200ish miles back home perfectly. Proper job!

36, have had a reverse-hairlift (it all went downwards, what's with that?), paunch to prove it. Bought an LS400 after it was Shed of the Week at Pistonheads, never looked back. Now Dad (64) is buying one...

Could be a wheel bearing? Jack the front of the car up, grasp the top & bottom of one of the wheels & try to push the top in & pull the bottom out; then reverse in a rocking motion. If you feel significant play (more than 1mm) chances are you have an iffy bearing. I can't think of anything else that would cause rumble at the front. If it was the back I'd suggest you checked the diff & drive shafts & any constant velocity or universal joints. As for legally doing 90? You're looking at a race circuit as your only reasonable legal option. Most circuits operate track days where, for about £100 or so, you can spend the day whizzing around the place to your heart's content. Until you run out of tyres, brakes, fuel or talent of course... Assuming your location of "Scotland" is accurate, Knockhill would likely be your nearest venue. Looks like there's one on Sunday, 51 quid, and if it works like they usually do you'll get 3x30 min sessions in the morning, and 3x30 min in the afternoon. Plenty of time to try out your 85mph rumble. Alterntatively, just head out to any cameraless motorway after about 8pm; there doesn't seem to be much in the way of Plod activity after this hour - although, of course, that's no guarantee. Caveat emptor & all that.

I see about 350-400 per tank, depending how much of that is motorway stuff. Me too. It's a hoot, isn't it? Crazy fun for such an otherwise staid car... :D

We're going to see another one tomorrow... it's at an auction house, but they've already told us the reserve price & TBH unless it's a total ruin, it's worth buying at that price. I hope it's good, because it's 200 bl**dy miles away! Still, an extra 400 miles in my LS will barely make it sweat :)

A trip computer would have been nice (none on the Mk2 or Mk3). Lights/wipers are the wrong way around, every time I drive a different car I end up wiping the windscreen with the indicators & waving the wipers at anyone I want to let through or in in front.... (fixed from '95 AIUI) A slightly squashier seat. I end up with a sore bum after about 2hrs driving. CD player up-front would have been more friendly (fixed in the Mk3) Erm, that's about it.

I've got some kind of Falkens on mine (will get the exact code tonight, dad's borrowed the car!). They're great in the dry, but absolutely lousy in the wet - unless you want lots of wheelspin away from the lights/roundabouts, which sounds great (V8, mmmmmm.........) but doesn't exactly instill confidence if rapid direction changes are called for. I tend not to get understeer (unless I'm being really silly & pushing hard at full lock), but lots of power oversteer in anything less than optimum conditions. Maybe I should get a new foot. This lead one is really not so clever

Why? Why do they think that by telling blatent lies they'll make the sale? I don't mean lies about things you're not likely to find out about for 3 months by which time it's too late; I mean things like the mileage? Back story: Dad blew his Scooby engine up on Tuesday, he likes my Lexus a lot & decided to buy something similar. The price is good too.... I have a Mk2 with 185k on the clock, and it drives like an equivalent 60k mile Ford or Vauxhall. Only better. So, when the dealer says the mileage (which wasn't on the ad) was 200k & backed by a FSH (mostly Lexus), I was quite happy to drive the 70 miles to go see it. Because LS400s are that good. And this was a Mk3, so in theory better than mine.... Well. The mileage was actually 235k (quite a lot over the 200k he quoted me). The "F"SH ended at 188k. The cam belt sticker said 133k (100k without a cambelt change?). Interior is wrecked - the leather is almost worn all the way through on seat & armrest/center storage. Brakes are wrecked. Bonnet latch jammed open, struts wouldn't hold. The boot was literally swimming with 3-4" of water, and it was mouldy. He claimed it had traction control (no TC button in evidence), power folding mirrors (nope), heated seats (all four were faulty), long mot (didn't look?) and tax (tax expired in October, car is SORN according to DVLA) The car needs £1000 of work just to make it worth £1000. He'd be better off breaking it for parts, frankly. And he has the nerve to be asking £1295 for it! I'm annoyed enough to post here because he could easily have sold it to me for a reduced price if he'd been more honest & up front. I can't see anyone paying the £1295 sticker price unless they're barmy. When I bought mine, I bought it sight unseen from eBay. I'm really beginning to appreciate just how lucky I was; I don't think I'll be doing that again!

Hmm.... I rarely get more than 360 miles to a tankful (of super as well). But then, I do drive like that all the time I suppose... :D

A "single beam" HID kit does not contain a high-beam HID filament... you'd need to retain your old high-beam bulbs. Obviously, you can't do this because you've only got one fitting per side... You'll need to get a dual-beam kit to have high-beam & dip in the same fitting. See this link: http://www.ecplaza.net/tradeleads/seller/5...am_hid_kit.html Quote: "Single Beam HID Kit : Designed for cars that have separate bulbs for HIGH and LOW beams. Can be used in single bulb applications/housings but HIGH beams will not function." HTH!

Another myth, I'm afraid (boy am I going to be popular today )... when your engine is idling, in gear, and your foot is on the brake, no part of the tranmission is moving except for the "fluid flywheel" (i.e. the turbine portion, which is attached to the engine, and pushes the fluid around). There is a very slight heat input into the fluid (because it's moving relative to the rest of the trans, which is stationary), but nothing the normal oil coolers can't deal with easily, even in extremely hot conditions. I guess there is a very slight stress on the transmission side, where the fluid is attempting to turn it - but that stress is miniscule compared to the stress you put on the same part when you accelerate from the lights, or up a hill, or - indeed - anytime when you are accelerating... In fact, I'd go as far as to say this: If you're constantly moving in & out of neutral/drive (or, worse, you go all the way to park), you'll actually cause MORE wear on your gearbox - on the selector mechanisms! All of that said.... I will do the same thing (into N or P if there's a significant wait looming), but that's more to rest my braking leg than to save anything in the car...!

OK, sorry, but I'm going to have to debunk that one... Firstly, it's very rare that brake discs actually warp. They're pretty hefty lumps of cast iron, generally, and are not prone to changing shape. In brief, the MAIN cause of "warped brake disc syndrome" is an uneven layer of brake pad friction material leading to hotspots & metal composition changes. See this excellent website for the full monty. Secondly, normal usage (and that includes the occasional BIG stop) will not cause "warping"; so if you're just sat at the lights, and assuming you've not just executed a 100mph-to-0mph emergency stop, you'll do NO damage keeping your foot on the brake pedal.

My '94 LS has a separate warning lamp for a problem in the brakes (red exclamation inside a circle with brake shoes) to the parking brake (P on a red background). The owners manual is similarly unhelpful, though, suggesting that if it's lit there is a "serious problem" with the brakes (i.e. a bulb is out, or fluid level is too low - one is a real problem, the other isn't...)

Wrong side, unfortunately.... he's out near Cádiz.. Anyway - the good news is, it turned out to be a loose fuse in the footwell fuse box (I'd only looked in the engine fusebox); pushed the fuse back home & all the improper lights went out.... I can only surmise that the flakey contact between fuse & circuit was confusing the panel... Thanks for the replies! Hello Ade, Please I seem to have the same kind of problem that your friend had. Can you tell me if his air con and heated came on and wether the rev RPM worked when you had this problem. Your help would be greatly be appreciated. The car has been in the garage for over a week now. Those lights are doing my head in; Wiper, Oil, Petrol and then air con and Heater not coming on. regards. You can also contact me on 07904 363 242. Thanks I replied to your PM's - but I'll share the ultimate findings with the group too.... the loose fuse actually turned out to be a red herring: The real problem was a dicky alternator; this showed its hand a few days later when the battery went flat; after a re-charge, the lights behaved for a bit, then returned, battery went flat. Repeat a couple of times.... When the alternator was replaced, the problem went away & hasn't reappeared since. :)

I've not done anything about it yet; I'm not using her much at the moment, so there's no massive rush... should have it sorted by Christmas...

Thanks all - I'll see what I can get in the way of a pattern part before I go to Lexus direct... I'm not in the UK at the moment, which is going to slow me down some -- will report back when I've got some news. Cheers! Ade.

Gah, I've got a rumbly wheel bearing on my '94 LS400 :( Does anyone know, what's the most cost effective place to get a new one from (is there a pattern part out there, or should I just wrestle my esaping wallet to the ground & pay Lexus?), and how much of a dog are they to fit? I don't yet know it it's a front or rear that's gone, if that makes a difference. Also - does one replace wheel bearings in pairs, or is it sufficient to just replace the duff one? Many thanks in advance! Ade.

Dunno, I'll find out tomorrow (Tue 7th) - but it should do. The spring was the only problem (no advisories, etc.); and when I took it off it was in 2 pieces... The new one fits fine, is in 1 piece, and looks fine, so I predict she'll sail through. Well, waft, anyway... :) UPDATE: Sorted, no problems :)

Hat-tip to emdg - quality post, I just did mine following these instructions, worked like a charm once I'd got the sodding original out.... I had to use loads more compression on the springs than I thought I'd need! Just a couple of observations I'd make: The seat bolts are at the bottom of the seat back (this caused some headscratching - I was expecting to spot them behind the headrests!); and rather than undo the center armrest, I found I had to remove the two fixed seatbelt "clickers" (what's the official name..?). Time taken: 4 sodding hours. Lucky I have a huge indoor garage, 2-post lift (axle stands would be a nightmare) and plenty of tools - it made the job a lot more bearable. Swearing level: Abundant to Excessive. Spanner rash: Avoided. Result :D

£47 quid delivered, thru 1st Choice Spares (one of those linked breaker network things). Top stuff :) Now all I need to do is fit it....

Thanks guys, I'll give the breakers a go first, then Lexus... I can hear my wallet whimpering already :( Cheers, Ade.