rabnoolas

Sorry Jellybean. I hope you are clear of it now. To help dispel the effect, If you go to an old fashioned pub with the names of the bars painted or engraved on the windows, go to the saloon bar and look outwards you may realise where the name comes from. ;) Cheers Rab

:) Thanks for all the input. Sound advice on all counts. Will leave the Lexus unadulterated for the moment and if finances permit may look (sniff) for a series IV ideally Celsior end this year. I'm not sure I can divorce from the series 3 yet. Obsession is a difficult mistress. Maneesh and Microcat, thanks for the info on Racelogic...... tempting and will look at if I don't change steeds. Ta muchly Rab

Hi, I was thinking of arranging to fit a Traction Control System to my LS400 and wondered if I could fit the TRC control module from another car if I can get one. Has anyone out there done this? If so is it just bolt on the and connect up controller with the existing sensing and actuating systems for the ESP and ABS doing the work on the wheels? (And the not small matters of the TRC switch into the centre console.....) and the LED into the instrument panel...... .... or is there more (eg complete software changes) and therefore forget it unless you buy a car with these already fitted? Any advice welcome. Rab

Autofloding mirrors and self dipping plus Satnav, the Series IV has some cool features! Maybe oneday the budget will stretch to a change. While being assisted to lose a few pounds at the Lexus dealers near Chester I wandered round the showroom and picked up a brachure for the GS series. The 450H is some machine. Dream on.... Rab

Thanks Passman, :) I will take comfort in that. So far buses and cars have not changed their routes to avoid me. Nice to know some of us can still remember black and white TV. I have a dawning realisation that I need to learn to drive better to make sense of the soothness and power of the LS400. This pursuit of excellence business cuts both ways doesn't it. ;) Rab

Hi. Just to endorse the good service from SGS. They took my bonnet stuts from my LS400 in December 2007 and offered the same regas or replace. I was lucky and they held pressure. Result £42.50 and struts back Special Delivery next day. Easy to fit and goodbye wooden bonnet prop. Will be sending the boot struts next month. Rab

Hope this is helpful to someone. I am new to the Lexus having bought my LS 400 2 months ago. I love my Lexus. I am also a pretty poor at reversing. The combination of me reversing a car with the vision and overhang of my series 3 means that it is odds on that I would reshape the rear end at some point. My first move was to fit parking sensors which help greatly. I still park like Reginald Molehusband (for those who remember the advert) but at least I get to a reasonable distance off any obstruction - rather than the 1.5M (about 5 feet) that I used to do. Then I learn that councils will enforce the rules and levy fines for inadequate parking standards. One of these being no more than 50mm from the kerb. Since I've had comments in the past like "Don't worry I can walk to the kerb from here" and "Is that car parked or abandoned?" I have to be worried. It looks like damaged alloy rims or damaged bank balance. Then I saw a note about a car that dipped its mirrors automatically when reversing to let you focus on the ground near the car when backing up. I was toying with making a box of tricks from Maplin bits to do this when I realised there's an easy way. I am sure that some of you good people do this already, but it cheered me up. I programmed position 1 in the memory for normal driving and then changing only the mirror positon for where I needed to see when reversing set position 2 for that purpose. Between the sensors and the mirrors I can now at least park without fear of clobbering a car or a kerb. If you change your seat and steering wheel positions a lot (I don't personally) then this is not for you as you will have to keep adjusting mirrors and seats to keep it all in sync. The next move for me is either to automate what I've done (so that it activates memory position 2 when you slide the shifter to 'R' and position 1 when the shifter slides away from 'R') or to design a memory system as originally thought. Both would require a brief time delay to stop the mirrors driving unnecessarily as you move through 'R' on the way to 'D' but to make new memory system will need some method of input (control) and take time, design and testing. Happy Motoring. Rab PS I tried to buy new door mirrors from a Lexus dealer last week.....£199.50 each !!!!!Trying to find some from the US. Any ideas? PPS I bought a Lexus introduction CD for a series 2 LS400 on EBay. Its great fun....contact me if you would like a copy. As long as it is only a few copies needed, I'll send them to members in the UK FOC. If the demand is high then I will ask for a nominal charge for the CDdisc and postage

Could be steering rack but did you check on the inside og the front wheels as orevious post? It could be that detatched plate. Rab

I was looking for info on a fault on my LS400 and came across the owners club from Google. Good site, great people. Rab (Rabnoolas)

The car looks stunning. Well done for that. I think the wheelcover if great and the Sat nav is a superb installation. Could you email me the address in the US where you bought the cover? I've had an exhaust leak on the joints after the Catalytic Converter on both pipes which I am going to fix today. One of the after Cat lamda O2 sensors is also damaged and I will replace that next week (£97!!!!!). Another woe is that my door mirrors need new glass and I was quoted £199 each (fitting extra) from the lexus dealer but I think I can get some from the US at £40 each including shipping. Hopefully after this I can settle down to a last couple of repairs before I concentrate on tuning, bodywork and interior. Looking at your car I have some catching up to do. happy motoring, Rab

Hi AK. I don't know if this helps but.... I have been having some strange noises from under the car (1995 Series 3) and couldn't trace them. Wierd metallic noises especially at very low speed (15 kph or less) I checked the underbody carefully including exhaust and prop shaft, at least 3 times and couldn't see anything. Last week it got to the point where the noise became a severe clanking and the brakes felt odd to me. Finally I found that the front disc brake shield had come loose. This is a 1-2mm thick plate on the inside of the disc and impossible to see unless you remove the wheel or get under the car. One plate was so corroded I removed it until I can replace it and the other side was bent and catching the disc. I'm not sure it fully fits your symptoms but may be worth a check. Also you could check that your discs themselves aren't loose. Regards Rab

Hi steve many thanks for the detailed information - i hadnt recieved a reply to his thread for over a week and i had made my mind up to live with a dud sensor untill another one packs up and then maybe look into it further. The sensors fitted to my MK3 are aftermarket ones made by steel mate - i think they are the best feature of the car as it makes life really easy. I have spoken to steel mate and they can sell me one sensor for £15 - each sensor is supposed to unplug seperatley but the problem is when i came to remove it the sensor came out but wont come out more than 2 inches of wire - i suspect the wiring is tangled inside the bumper or is caught against something thats whyits not budging. But i now how your info to hand im going to give it another try and fingers crossed i should be able to retirve the old sensor - once thats out its a 10 second job - plug the new on in and pop it back in. many thanks for your help regards miq By the way do you have beige leather? - its very hard to keep clean - i have to wipe my shoes everytime i goto drive it! that is the only downside of my car Hi. I am probably too late with this and hope you resolved your problem by now. I fitted aftermarket parking sensors to my 1995 series 3 LS 400 last week, though I bought mine off ebay for £19.00 total. (It took me 4 hours but it was freezing and I was being careful) In fitting them I didn't want to take the bumper off and found that if you lie under the rear corners you can reach inside the bumper. From here I found that the rear bumper had 2 metal box section (hollow square tube) running across the car and a rubberised coating between these and the bumper itself. The rubber material was shaped and filled the gap top and bottom leaving a clear channel about 40mm wide aroung the mid hieght of the bumper. I ran the wires and mounted the sensors to fit in the gap. I used a wire coat hanger (pushed carefully so as not to crack the bumper) from sensor hole to sensor hole and using duct tape to lash a thin wire to the end and pulled the wire through. If the set up of your sensors is the same then it occurs to me that you need to pull all the sensors out a little to help remove the old and fit the new. If the wire is made free by this work you could use it by fitting a thin wire the sensor head wire and by lashing to this thin wire and pulling the new sensor wire though the cavity in the bumper. Hope you are OK. Rab Hi First of all many thanks to all you guys who have replied to my question. Rab i am also very reluctant to take off the bumper as i may not be able to put it back together again properly. I was unable to remove the sensor becuase the wiring is stuck inside somewhere. So like u have done i will have to get underneath the car and try to locate and untangle the wires so that i can full retrieve and remove the sensor so that i can unplug it and attach the new one. I havent been able to do it as yet as is cold and raining out there but plan to do it asoon as possible as the "double beep" indicating there is a fault is getting a bit irritating everytime i reverse! Im also thinking of replacing the front bumper black trim pieces ( or air dams) but i have read that you have to remove the front arch liner which again im a bit reluctant to do so if anybody out there has done and can shed a bit of light as to how easy or hard it is then i would gladly like to hear from them. Apart from these small niggles my MK3 is performing great - cant get enough of it really - it certainly is and was discovery of perfection! regards miq Hi Miq. Hope you get the sensors sorted. I am with you about plucking up the courage to remove parts etc, the car is so fantastic to drive and just look at when you park it up you don't want to spoil it. I was always taught measure twice cut once, but before I drilled the back bumper for the sensors I must have measured and marked the spots 6 times to make sure it looked right. like you I am looking to replace the rubber skirt on the front air dam and will need to find where to buy it/them. (Anyone know where this can be got?) My series 3 has had some poor work done by someone, but the owner before me started to restore the car and I will finish it. My list of niggles is longer than yours but I still love the car. (the biggest problem is that I drove my old car today, which I used to enjoy, and hated the whole experience. I'm ruined for driving other cars now) Happy driving, Rab Hi rab - the air dams are a dealer only part and are about £37 per side - the nearest dealer to me is about 12 miles away just trying to find the time to go and get them. Mine is a 1996green over grey with cream interior and its a challenge trying to keep the interior clean - i hoover it religiously every week and have covered the factory over mats with clear rubber mats but i still often find myself picking up small stones or specks of dust if i see any and never drive with the windows down as i dont want dust flying in!! ha ha mad or what !! I think deep down i would rather prefer to park it up a heated garage and just admire it - hate to see rain/dust/brakedust on the alloys etc!! ha ha I have only had my car 2 months but when i bought it i didnt drive for a month because it need some bits doing as follows: Oil Change 4 New hubcaps from USA 2 New gas bonnet struts Steering wheel cover from USA Vacume interior in boot Washed over mats Cleaned carpet with Vanish mousse New clear mats 4 wheel tracking done New map CD for the Sat Nav Upgraded sidelights and headlamps to PIAA Washed and poolished with meguirs gold class as it stands i need to replace on of the rear sensors and the front air dams and then i think the car will be perfect. Sorry cannot figure out how to insert pics other wise would of shown you my car regards miq Thanks for the information and sorry for the late response. (My wife was in hospital) You must have a series 4 if you have Satnav. The car does sound nearly perfect and I am sure you will get there. Mine still requires a great deal of work. It is Champagne Beige (gold colour). Like yours it has a cream interior which looks fantastic but is a devil of a job to keep clean. I went to black mats for practical reasons. I'll keep plugging away at the fault list until I get to where you are now. When I get the time I'll post a Good on you and happy Lexus motoring. Rab PS I think people post there pics on other sites and paste a link. When I get a little further with the car I'll post some on my site.

Hi steve many thanks for the detailed information - i hadnt recieved a reply to his thread for over a week and i had made my mind up to live with a dud sensor untill another one packs up and then maybe look into it further. The sensors fitted to my MK3 are aftermarket ones made by steel mate - i think they are the best feature of the car as it makes life really easy. I have spoken to steel mate and they can sell me one sensor for £15 - each sensor is supposed to unplug seperatley but the problem is when i came to remove it the sensor came out but wont come out more than 2 inches of wire - i suspect the wiring is tangled inside the bumper or is caught against something thats whyits not budging. But i now how your info to hand im going to give it another try and fingers crossed i should be able to retirve the old sensor - once thats out its a 10 second job - plug the new on in and pop it back in. many thanks for your help regards miq By the way do you have beige leather? - its very hard to keep clean - i have to wipe my shoes everytime i goto drive it! that is the only downside of my car Hi. I am probably too late with this and hope you resolved your problem by now. I fitted aftermarket parking sensors to my 1995 series 3 LS 400 last week, though I bought mine off ebay for £19.00 total. (It took me 4 hours but it was freezing and I was being careful) In fitting them I didn't want to take the bumper off and found that if you lie under the rear corners you can reach inside the bumper. From here I found that the rear bumper had 2 metal box section (hollow square tube) running across the car and a rubberised coating between these and the bumper itself. The rubber material was shaped and filled the gap top and bottom leaving a clear channel about 40mm wide aroung the mid hieght of the bumper. I ran the wires and mounted the sensors to fit in the gap. I used a wire coat hanger (pushed carefully so as not to crack the bumper) from sensor hole to sensor hole and using duct tape to lash a thin wire to the end and pulled the wire through. If the set up of your sensors is the same then it occurs to me that you need to pull all the sensors out a little to help remove the old and fit the new. If the wire is made free by this work you could use it by fitting a thin wire the sensor head wire and by lashing to this thin wire and pulling the new sensor wire though the cavity in the bumper. Hope you are OK. Rab Hi First of all many thanks to all you guys who have replied to my question. Rab i am also very reluctant to take off the bumper as i may not be able to put it back together again properly. I was unable to remove the sensor becuase the wiring is stuck inside somewhere. So like u have done i will have to get underneath the car and try to locate and untangle the wires so that i can full retrieve and remove the sensor so that i can unplug it and attach the new one. I havent been able to do it as yet as is cold and raining out there but plan to do it asoon as possible as the "double beep" indicating there is a fault is getting a bit irritating everytime i reverse! Im also thinking of replacing the front bumper black trim pieces ( or air dams) but i have read that you have to remove the front arch liner which again im a bit reluctant to do so if anybody out there has done and can shed a bit of light as to how easy or hard it is then i would gladly like to hear from them. Apart from these small niggles my MK3 is performing great - cant get enough of it really - it certainly is and was discovery of perfection! regards miq Hi Miq. Hope you get the sensors sorted. I am with you about plucking up the courage to remove parts etc, the car is so fantastic to drive and just look at when you park it up you don't want to spoil it. I was always taught measure twice cut once, but before I drilled the back bumper for the sensors I must have measured and marked the spots 6 times to make sure it looked right. like you I am looking to replace the rubber skirt on the front air dam and will need to find where to buy it/them. (Anyone know where this can be got?) My series 3 has had some poor work done by someone, but the owner before me started to restore the car and I will finish it. My list of niggles is longer than yours but I still love the car. (the biggest problem is that I drove my old car today, which I used to enjoy, and hated the whole experience. I'm ruined for driving other cars now) Happy driving, Rab

Hi steve many thanks for the detailed information - i hadnt recieved a reply to his thread for over a week and i had made my mind up to live with a dud sensor untill another one packs up and then maybe look into it further. The sensors fitted to my MK3 are aftermarket ones made by steel mate - i think they are the best feature of the car as it makes life really easy. I have spoken to steel mate and they can sell me one sensor for £15 - each sensor is supposed to unplug seperatley but the problem is when i came to remove it the sensor came out but wont come out more than 2 inches of wire - i suspect the wiring is tangled inside the bumper or is caught against something thats whyits not budging. But i now how your info to hand im going to give it another try and fingers crossed i should be able to retirve the old sensor - once thats out its a 10 second job - plug the new on in and pop it back in. many thanks for your help regards miq By the way do you have beige leather? - its very hard to keep clean - i have to wipe my shoes everytime i goto drive it! that is the only downside of my car Hi. I am probably too late with this and hope you resolved your problem by now. I fitted aftermarket parking sensors to my 1995 series 3 LS 400 last week, though I bought mine off ebay for £19.00 total. (It took me 4 hours but it was freezing and I was being careful) In fitting them I didn't want to take the bumper off and found that if you lie under the rear corners you can reach inside the bumper. From here I found that the rear bumper had 2 metal box section (hollow square tube) running across the car and a rubberised coating between these and the bumper itself. The rubber material was shaped and filled the gap top and bottom leaving a clear channel about 40mm wide aroung the mid hieght of the bumper. I ran the wires and mounted the sensors to fit in the gap. I used a wire coat hanger (pushed carefully so as not to crack the bumper) from sensor hole to sensor hole and using duct tape to lash a thin wire to the end and pulled the wire through. If the set up of your sensors is the same then it occurs to me that you need to pull all the sensors out a little to help remove the old and fit the new. If the wire is made free by this work you could use it by fitting a thin wire the sensor head wire and by lashing to this thin wire and pulling the new sensor wire though the cavity in the bumper. Hope you are OK. Rab

I have PM'ed you my email address mate. If you send me the PDF I will host it on my server and you can link to it on here. Here's the link at last. Thanks very much to Rick 'Tigerfish' for kindly hosting it. http://www.totalfishkeeping.com/lexus/BackLight.pdf Hi. I'm new to this having just bought an LS400. I am, like many so I discover, puting a few niggling faults right. I just wanted to thank you guys for this invaluable document. Thanks a million!!!! Rab

I have PM'ed you my email address mate. If you send me the PDF I will host it on my server and you can link to it on here. Here's the link at last. Thanks very much to Rick 'Tigerfish' for kindly hosting it. http://www.totalfishkeeping.com/lexus/BackLight.pdf