Cotswold Pete

Looks like a great car, I loved my Mk3, and I sort of agree about the satnav in Mk4, never use it and prefer the LCD on the previous marques. The Mk3 has much better fog lights, not quite such good headlights, and of course the Mk4 has VSC, and it was lack of VSC that made me stove my Mk3 into a wall. Hit some oil at 20mph about to overtake a truck, and the Mk3 was trying to spin itself under an artic, so wall seemed a bit safer to me!!! If that had not happened maybe I would still have my Mk3, though it would not be hitting 300,000 and no doubt needing another round of work to the Controls Arms etc.

Green light is usually saying that the battery when not under load appears to be fine, but when you start to pull a current if some of cells start to 'collapse' then the battery is not delivering full voltage. I have had this happen many a time and taking battery to local place they can see static the battery okay, but under any load it goes AWOL, and with LS it is needing a load of oomph to get that starter motor going. I am wondering if all the clicking that one hears are relays in the ECU(s) complaining at the same time???

I remember donkeys years ago when I did a lot of work in the city and a good umbrella was sign of 'well to do', I spent a fortune in some city shop (cannot recall name), and it never failed. I failed it by leaving in a train one night, and it never got handed into lost property. A good umbrella given the rain this month would be a real boon, but alas I manage with cheap and cheerful ones that get destroyed way too easily.

My Mk4 has tow bar fittings with full electrics, the only thing it does not have is the actual tow ball. Was fitted before I bought the car, and never failed MOT. Interestingly there is no extra gear box fittings, so I assume whoever had the tow bar fitted did not haul horse boxes with it.

I was in the Cubs for a few years, but then gave it up because this TV series called Star Trek came along and it was on Cub Night. I cannot remember what badges I got, but it was good fun

Have got my veg plots all dunged up, covered in black sheets to warm up, and ready soon to get the beans, carrots, courgettes (etc) going when the weather turns a little better. Did find a bicycle buried in the garden when I moved in, maybe that was some victorian who decided less dung, more bicycles that'll get the veg growing???

For sure use a exhaust specialist who can fabricate what is needed. I used Infinity Exhausts (just 1km from J18 of M4), did the job in two hours, and cheaper than having the LS part and fitted. I guess depends on where in Greater London you live as to whether Brighton or Bath is a easier drive. I would say this place is in the middle of nowhere with naff all public transport, so take a good book to plough through

Interesting video, adds to the debate of where we should go. On the other hand to paraphrase Keynes 'In the long run we are all dead, but 4 litres eases the journey'

I do believe that in Victorian London one of the reasons for the underground (and eventually buses) was that the streets were filling with horse dung, it must have been a smelly place, but then again they did not wash every day. I think we should all go back to walking and carry a Coracle around on our backs to ford the odd river that gets in the way

A bit of a rant, but it drives me nuts that all this new electric stuff is touted as carbon zero, as it the car and its batteries were drawn out of thin air by virginal nymphs and elves who tread lightly on the planet, rather than made from metal that needs coal to create the base material and batteries that are going to need a lot of time and energy being recycled and magnets that mean half of China or the USA is dug up as a result (by machines that probably consume 100 gallons per meter)!! I did wonder if and when the 'experts' were going to deal with the problem of lithium recycling (given lithium can be used to make small nuclear reactors), and so this link is interesting in that only 5% recycling going on so far. BBC News - What will happen to dead batteries. I guess we just move one problem into a different arena, and really we are all going to need boats (not cars) to deal with rising sea levels (well out grand children will). Me I am just going to keep pottering around warming the air rather than poisoning the soil and thank my lucky stars I got the chance to drive a 4 litre car before it becomes a crime.

Have same problem here, the motor is a bit of a pain to get to, but to be honest I would miss the up/down more if that went. Some USA folks have had a go at fiddling with the motor, but you would not know if that was an option until you got the casing off. I see it as the LS getting arthritis, bits keep giving up but the car still keeps going (mainly)

Not mad at all if you can find space to work on it. At 118K the front suspension might need a good look at (at the very least - new ARB bushes), if UCAs need doing then starts to get serious. So it is really a low mileage example that should be worth spending on and maybe you end up with a nice car that is getting close to classic and worth more than you paid and spent on it. A local stainless steel specialist might be able to sort out the back boxes (and check the Y-piece) for a fair price. VSC light might be my only 'uurghh' moment!!

Not sure if it is possible fit a Kleenoil by-pass filter system, back 16 years ago fitted one to a 50 year old Bristol bus (and it improved consumption by about 10%) and also fitted one to a 2 litre Isuzu (I recall) for National Trust and got extra 15% mpg (both owners were amazed). Cannot recall mileage but the bus was over 500,000miles. Not sure how much it costs these days and not sure if Kleenoil use their own techs these days or have regional installers. We did look at putting one in my Mk3 LS, but at the time the filter holders would not fit in the limited space. I do know that in USA they fit these filters to high performance petrol and diesel units, but they generally work better with diesels at improving fuel consumption. Kleenoil based in Leeds

But what if the pub is in the middle of the Irish Sea and you're with a mobile home on the ferry??? Or am I getting mixed up with Brexit

A new one on me, and as a result of searching for Belzona have come across Devcon (mentioned on Piston heads). Much cheaper than than JB Weld for decent quantities, and I have some around the house projects that would benefit from this stuff. Just need to jack the LS when I know weather is going to be warm enough for long enough. Currently working on restoring a pool table with my son, promised him it would be done in time for nicer weather, then its time for the motor to be loved

Very nice car, now all you need is some sunshine (without the showers)

If you are in Bridgend, how about giving Osaka a ring (in Newport) see what they say. may still not be cheap, but certainly not Lexus prices, from my experience they only use OEM for the Upper control arms, everything else just new bushes, which should bring the cost down (hopefully).

I would say give the rear arches a good poke to see what is going on, as rust sets in when you're not noticing. Possibly charge up battery and check all the electrics work (which they should) but always good to know if steering column fully works and radio etc. Car will take about 15 mins after battery re-charge to bring all the ECUs to life so that you could fire up the engine, but like already said, do not fire up until someone decent mechanic looks at it first. At its current mileage it should be fine, but the running gear may need looking at with bushes wearing and possible control arm replacement (which is the not-cheap bit). If you need a Lexus expert, I use Osaka in Newport, which is a bit of a hike south for you, but once the beast is running they are good for getting the fettling in really sorted, or Japex in High Wycombe come highly recommended.

Had something similar a long way back, was only cured with new tyres, as it was tyres which had worn oddly and were not going to play ball even when I had a full alignment done as they were never going to sit right on the road. The lesson I learnt was even with new tyres, do an alignment check every 5,000 miles (max) given state of UK roads. Try swapping fronts to rear and see if it helps. If not then is there something just flapping around. Once had a cavalier where part of bumper had come a bit loose and hummed at motorway speeds, cured with some superglue (I recall)

I was wondering if anyone has experience of using chemical metals for body repairs. My LS has got a small leak in rear arch, and I did some work on the arches about 3 years ago using Isopon P40, which worked fine, but I am wondering if using a chemical metal would be better for a tiny patch up. trouble being I have not had time/space to jack up the car and have a good poke about My experience to date is using JB Weld to rebuild on a Victorian Cast Iron Fire (which is used) and it seems to do the trick, not bothered by the heat at all. I have however come across a product called Tereson UP 130 - which seems to be available in larger amounts that JB Weld. Has anyone got any experience of Tereson. I am assuming anything that can be used to repair an exhaust (or cast iron fireplace) will be fine for sorting out a small patch of rear arch.

Had many as company cars, but always had them gone before 70,000 Miles, but they were generally reliable, certainly not wanting to die, even though I thrashed them to within an inch of their lives (that's company cars for you). When I did own my own 1.6 ltr Cav, got it to 95,000 no problems until some twerp rear ended it. I would say like most UK built cars of the 80s/90s, little things always going wrong, even from brand new

I read somewhere that the originals worked out at £250,000 to make each one. That was serious cash then (mind you still serious cash now). My kids loved watching the originals back 18 years ago, must dig them out when I have watched all of Mad Men, and Blue Planet and the other DVDs I asked for each year. Also need to put some of my Looney Tunes VCR tapes onto PC, as some of them not on newer DVDs, as I assume modern youngsters will be turning into warmongering lunatics from watching the Coyote try and dispatch the Road Runner. Then when the grand children arrive (a few years yet) I can corrupt them, just like I was when so innocent

I had Astra jab, fine for first 12 hours then OMG, woke up in middle of night and was physically shaking like a poltergeist was having a laugh. Was in bed for 24 hours, and took about 10 days in total to feeling normal. I did have Covid one year ago (hospitalised for a week), and as my Dr said it seems if you have Covid you react badly to any of the jabs. One annoying thing was where the jab was was so sore, i could not sleep on my left side for about 4 days. The missus felt slightly off colour for a day and t hen right as rain, same with mother in law, and my dad no symptoms what so ever

Just run in then. I love Honda engines, bit thirsty on short journeys, frugal on long runs, but bullet proof. My missus ran her Accord dry for a short while but the car still lasted until she hit a badger at 230K miles and decided to trade in. I reckoned the car was worth maybe £100 tops, but the dealer gave me £300 and said, it's a Honda mate. I bet that Accord is still out there somewhere, where as the X-Type replacement lasted only for 4 years (lovely free running 2 litre engine, blew at 120,000 as I recall), and the sills were more rust than you get on a 100 year old wheelbarrow

Have had a AEG double oven for 23years, now showing signs of going AWOL (mainly the seals around the triple glazed panels), so we have condensation dripping off the door. Have tried a quick fix with JB Weld (used to repair cast iron fireplace no problems), but not worked. So been looking at modern replacement, and to be frank none of them look like they are going to last 23 years (though not sure I will either). Bosch is okay, though does depend on whether Turkey or Spain is where the products made. Would love to have had the money to buy a ieile washing machine, but now on 3rd machine in 40 years (so not too bad), current one is AEG. Whenever I have taken about noisy end of life Washing machines it is seems to me that the dampers failing causes the whole shebang to start shaking itself to death, which knackers the bearings quick as you like. I always like the lack of noise a new washer makes. All this talk about a law to force repairable machines will be a little useless (IMHO) as the parts will be so expensive, as I cannot see manufactures being charitable when they cannot sell us new toys. Still as least I have a man cave littered with bits and bobs ripped out of dead appliances that might come in handy to repair who knows what in the future. Even managed to repair the ironing board so that with its new stainless steel (simple) bearing, will last way longer than John Lewis ever envisioned.