ChrisW

OK click here :)

In this thread there was some interest in sorting out a meeting for us Cambridge area LS owners, and I thought it probably deserved a new thread.

I'm going to start off by suggesting Sunday the 1st of November. Does someone want to suggest a meeting place, maybe a pub with a good size car park?

Sunday afternoons are generally good, although not next Sunday (25th). I'm about 10 miles west of Cambridge (in Papworth) but I don't mind a bit of a drive, especially in the LS! :)

Maybe we should start a new thread for this?

All us Cambs members ought to meet up some time?

Good idea, do you want to suggest a time and place?

I used to take the MR2 to Barr-Tech on Cowley Road. Haven't taken the LS there but I'd certainly trust them. They're not the cheapest but definitely cheaper than a main dealer.

I've just been to Halfords and bought a "Hammerite Underbody Seal with Waxoyl" aerosol. Going to practice on the MR2 first. :)

I'm thinking of doing the same thing. On areas where there's already a bit of surface rust what's the best way to deal with it? Paint on a bit of Kurust or similar, or is it OK to just spray the underseal straight on?

Having just been underneath the car with the engine running I've discovered exhaust gas leaking from the rear flanges of both cats. So maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree with the EGR pipe - although I've already bought a new one from Lexus!

Obviously I should unbolt the cats and replace the gaskets but everything's so rusty round there, I might just try sealing it with some Gun Gum for now.

Mine's a bit different - I've got slightly high lambda (1.063) and high CO (0.973%). HC was within limits but might be a bit high at 155ppm.

I suspected lambda sensors and changed the two main sensors (before the cats) but that made no difference. Maybe I should have done the secondary sensors as well. My current suspicion though is a cracked EGR pipe.

The fuse you need isn't in the engine bay - there's another fuse box in the driver's side footwell. I think the fuse positions are all labelled on the lid.

When I had this on my car I found that a bit of foil had got down the back of the cig lighter and was shorting out the contacts, hence the blown fuse.

I recently failed an MOT on emissions too. Went to a lot of trouble to replace the lambda sensors (even wrote it up on my website http://www.chrisward.org.uk/) but it made no difference. I now suspect the EGR pipe.

Fortunately the MOT station were friendly and found a way to get through the test but I'd like to get it fixed.

I've got some ugly patches on my LS400 where the lacquer is peeling off. Repainting is expensive so I'm looking for a replacement bonnet and driver's front door in dark blue (colour code 8J5).

Chris

Thanks, if you could look that up for me it would be very useful.

I'm adding a delay switch to my parking sensor to stop it beeping when I shift between Park and Drive. It needs an ignition switched live, so does anyone with a wiring diagram know if there's one I can tap into somewhere in the boot area? (1993 LS400)

You could ask for a quote from these guys:

http://www.cheaptoyotaparts.co.uk/

They supply genuine Toyota/Lexus parts but with a discount.

Does anyone else get rediculous shipping costs from the Sewells website? I tried just putting a radiator cap in my shopping cart and the shipping cost was $90! With a few other bits (all small parts) it went up to over $200!

Chris

You can get a little relay to stop this, it basically delays the power to the reversing lights for a second and so prevents the anoying blip... they are quite cheap, do a google, if no luck let me know and I'll see if I can find it again

Pete

Thanks for the tip-off. Looks like I need the "1SD" from this page:

http://www.parking-sensor.co.uk/accessories.asp

I fitted the Dolphin Audio kit (winner of a group test in Auto Express) from here:

http://www.dolphin-direct.co.uk/

Managed to fit it without removing the bumper. The holesaw included in the kit was also tough enough to put a hole in the bodywork between boot and bumper to run the wires through.

The only niggle with it is that because it's powered by the reverse light circuit, you get a beep from it everytime you shift between Park and Drive. Other than that it works fine and the Navy Blue sensors were a near perfect match for my paint.