McLean

Noticed this leak on top of the rad after a longish trip... bleeder valve? Do I try sealing it off or is a replacement screw-in item?

Didn't want to have power leads trailing out under the garage door to where the car sits on the drive so got hold of a decent solar panel and that's kept the battery topped right up (while the sun shines!) #thumbsup

Took the chance... it was flat so I unlocked the driver's door and quickly disconnected the battery and got it on charge now in the garage.

Hi guys, my SC has been laid up for 4 weeks now so checked it this morning and found it wouldn't remote unlock so the battery is prob flat... doh! Before I unlock the door manually and set off the alarm, assuming it's still operating, how can I quickly disarm it once it starts? Key into the ignition? Or maybe wait till 8pm tonight so everyone thinks it's for the NHS??? LOL Thx :)

Wondered about that Bob - any suggestions you would recommend for the SC?

Hi guys, my SC430's power antenna is misbehaving :-( Mast goes up when it should go down... and down when it should go up... lol Took the unit out and opened it up and all I could find was what looks like a black plastic peg that's broken off the case. Thoughts on whether that could cause the problem? Anyone got a dead unit that I could canabilise? Cheers, Duncan

Good idea Chris - what makes/models should we be looking at these days?

Been through that phase Noby - guess you were lucky! Seems to be a gradual deterioration in its internals and we've reached the point where it's happening too often so it needs fixing. Thanks for the thoughts.

The stock player in my wife's IS has finally yielded to ERR1 and it can't be cleared by the usual power off/on or clean the lens routines. She wants to keep the unit so I'm looking for repairers - any recommends? It's the top-loading unit. I've seen one on eBay @ £220, but wanted to check any others. Thanks in anticipation :-)

Don't know if you're still investigating Cialinf but had this a few years ago on mine. Turned out to be a gunked up throttle spindle on the inlet side of the carb. Bought a can of carb cleaner - followed the instructions down the barrel and around the throttle cable return spring area - and fault gone... Hope that helps :-)

Oh dear! Been feeling a bit guilty over stirring up this hornet's nest since my original post so thought I'd let you all know what I did about it in the end. Booked to go to Lexus and get a new rear box etc. but before it could be fitted the trims dropped further and I had to get it fixed pronto. Went to Profusion Customs and had two Magnaflow tips fitted. The guys at Profusion were a great help and cut off the old tips (I've saved them in case I need them) and simply welded on the new ones - pics attached. The rear box and pipework were otherwise in good nick so it'll be interested to see how long they last. Certainly saved me a few £100 quid!

Regarding 'proof' of job done, on my wife's IS the dealer attached a Lexus adhesive sticker to the top of the cambelt case showing date/mileage details. Not a guarantee of course but probably one of the items on the equivalent SC service sheet.

Since my first post, I've found two local firms that could fix. One would weld their own tail pipes in place for roughly £100 a side. For rather more money, the other would fabricate stainless replacement parts to fit on to the rear box. Either way a lot less than the local dealer. Car's coming up for 9 next year but done only 60k so just run-in really and in great nick generally. Guess I'll have to get under it over the Xmas break and have a good poke about to see if it warrants the expense of OEM repair. Thanks for all your inputs - will keep you posted.

Noticed a slight rattle from under the car the other day and discovered it's one of the exhaust tips. The end few inches of the exhaust pipe has rusted away so the retaining flutes on the inside of the tip no longer holds it in place tightly - pic attached. The tip's still held ok - for now - with the fixing bolt. The pipe on the other side isn't far behind. Question is, what best to do? Is there a standard part that would replace the last foot or so of exhaust? Or does it have to be the whole final box? Anyone else had this yet with their SC430?

Weird fault - all four warning lights came on last night when I popped out on an errand - all four were still on this morning. Remembered to check the filler cap - no whoosh, so the tank wasn't pressurised. Dried the filler cap seal off, did it up and left it. Went out at midday to go to the gym and started up - blow me but they'd all gone off! So I'm looking at OBD readers and think this fits the bill - anyone else used one of these http://www.obdpros.com/product_info.php?products_id=133?

The silver painted areas on the wheel trims on my SC430 (5 spoke variety not the metallic dish style) are beginning to fade and the yellowy plastic underneath is starting to show through in places. I plan to do the respray myself but am wondering what the correct shade of silver is for this. Anyone done this yet - suggestions? Cheers!

Had the time to deal with this over the Xmas break - sorted! A pre-spray with carb cleaner down the barrel (just removed the air filter) and outside round the accelerator cable/control spring area to soften up the gunge followed by a second go and hour later cleared it all off and restored regular idling speed. No need to open anything up this time round but thanks to Steve2006 for the detailed instructions - I'll keep them handy for next time ;-).

Yes they do - part of the air intake chamber. I'll have a look at that and the vacuum system if the de-gunging exercise isn't successful.

Hey, you're a star! It might be for a LS but at least I know what I'm looking for. I'll be back...

Just checking Steve - when you say give the throttle body a clean, do you mean the exterior or the interior? Just using carb cleaner? Cheers.

The idle speed on my wife's IS200 Auto has been pretty irregular of late. So far I've found that once it's gone through the fast idle phase from cold (~1200rpm), the idle drops to just over 500rpm (in N or P) as shown on the tacho. At this point it sometimes stalls while coasting to a halt at a junction. Once it's properly warmed up - 15 minutes? - it idles mostly at about 700rpm as it should, but occasionally it drops to 500rpm. I'm thinking sticky throttle control systems/sensors but before I open up the throttle barrel etc. and examine its bits, is there anything else I should check beforehand? Thx.

It was picked up during the dealer's pre-MoT checks. Once the car body is jacked up and the shock absorber fully extended I'd say maybe the top 1" or so of the main case has signs of oil round it.

Report from recent MoT at the local Lexus dealer mentions slight leak on the rear nearside shock absorber. Bouncing each corner doesn't show a noticeable difference - up or down - and the SC430's springs are pretty stiff anyway. Any other ideas for checking it out other than taking it off the car and removing the spring?

Well done Agonyuncle. Best remember these simple steps peeps - you'll need them every time you park up for a few days and the battery drains down...

Thanks Paul - sorted! Don't know why, but it was set towards the end of it's maximum vertical adjustment. Previous owner must have been irritating significant numbers of oncoming drivers - or only using the car in daylight