sir john

A very kind fellow menber of the forum sent these sites to me via a PM. I havent had time to get onto them properly but at 1st glance look useful. Ive copied and pasted from the original e-mail to sorry for the poor reproduction. Im not techy im affaid. Hope this helps 6iron. There's http://www.priracing.com/section.php/268/1/ls400---89--94-- and for slightly less money, http://froogle.motorsportworld.co.uk/framefix.asp?PID=417649&ProductCode=SPF2249 But there's also a thread on here http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=45752 with a lot of different suppliers listed. The bushes I did were relatively easy but I see from the threads that some take more work - a lot more!

You and me both :) I'm aiming for a 2001/2002 LS430 next. Would love it to have LPG, but, just can't see it somehow :( Mike before buying a 2001/02 4lt v8 check how much road tax you will have to pay. id have to check but im pretty sure that a car registered after April 2001 will be taxed on emissions: and its likely to be £400+.

Bought mine 2+ years ago for £950. The first one i looked at ( i wasnt planning on keep it long) now done 35000 miles and but for a couple of from susp joints (£60 each and 1/2 hour to change) it has let me down once because I didnt stop the PAS fluid dripping onto the alternator. Fantastic car. Go for it mate. it will cost you less in repairs than anything else you can buy.

Its a really easy fix. Use plumbers Micro Bore copper pipe. cannot remember if you need 10mm or 8mm but i think it is 10mm. Take the old rusty steel one off: only a couple of bolts holding the clamp and a couple of jubilee clips. bend the Micro Bore to roughly he same shape as the old one and push it into the rubber pipes. Clamp it up and bobs your uncle. Top up the reservior because it will be empty after the repair and give it plenty of time to run through pump and pipes. When i did mine i momenterally turned the engine over to help the fluid get round. Couldnt be easier. 20 minutes tops from start to finish. Filling up the system takes longer than fitting the new pipe. If i were you id make one and fit it before driving the car home. It doesnt need to be identical to the original. Cut a piece of pipe about 40" long and put a 4" Dia bend in the middle so the 2 ends end up parallel and 4" apart: a bit like a double barrelled shot gun. If the old pipe gives up big time on he way home the pump will run dry very quickly and whine its head off for ever more afterwards. Mine gave up while i was on the my drive so only ran dry for a few seconds. But it still whines now. Good luck mate. Buy a Lexus LS. You wont regret it.

Thanks for that Steve. most helpfull. The US guys seem to sugest that the EGR pipe can be done away with. That is, its not needed. Is this the case? Hi I recalled replying to this issue previously - http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=66117&st=0&p=714941&hl=+egr%20+pipe&fromsearch=1entry714941 That should get you going.

Thanks for that guys. Ive been underneath again and my hand as far up as possible but cannot feel anything split. Then from on top: had my hand as far down as possible. but the smooth part of the pipe is fine. I can only just get my hands down to the concertina part. I can feel it blowing from the concertina part of the pipe though so it looks like this is the problem. There also seems to be a clamp just above the concertina bit and i cannot imagine how i am going to get this off. How do i get at it and, apart from it being a bit annoying, is it that important to fix it? Bear in mind that im planning on getting it gassed.

It could be the EGR pipe, try leaning right over the engine as near to the bulkhead [firewall] as you can, if it's split you will hear the blow. This is a swine to get to! There is no access at the rear of the engine without a lot of dimantling. I can hear it blowing while im underneath and up top. Am i right in thinking that EGR pipe is the goldy looking one visable from under the FOS. Goes from above the OS cat up to the OS rear of the engine? Ive had my hand around this pipe but cannot feel a split. Where do hey split? top or bottom of the pipe?

".......and steering alignment was one of the things I gave in writing to the dealer to check before I picked the car up." If you gave the dealer your request in writing and, I assume, you were having soemthing done that they have charged you for, maybe you do have a case against them. As for before and after printouts and the orientation of the steering wheel: After mi LS was rearended i insisted on a full 4 wheel tracking done. Got a printout back showing the alignment of all wheels before and after. When it was done it ran true with the steering wheel bob on centre.

Always had the front flange problem but its not coming from there. Cat to Y pipe all Gun Gummed up and not leaking but there is still a blow from somewhere. Ive been underneath and and it seems to be coming from the cats or higher up. And i think the NS rather than the OS. Im wondering if its the EGR pipe but by the time i get my hand to it its too hot to touch. Any ideas?

Good to hear your okay and unhurt. The photos are amazing. That was one hell of a bang you had. My Mk11 LS came with a very old mix if tyres. 2 of them Kumho, a Nankang and some other nasty bit of rubbish. I changed them all for Avon. A hangover from motorbike days when i was on Avon Roadrunners. I find them great in the wet. Never had a problem. As for driving on snow: i used my wifes Land Rover last winter. It was on normal road tyres. Great when under drive by the moment you touch the brakes you have no advantage over a 2WD car. Winter tyres are the answer.

Im on Avon: ZV3 i think. Hard round corners the car rolls but the tyres never let go. Id have them again. I do get a bit of road noise but it depends on the road surface. Overall im happy with Avon. As for winter tyres: I use the land rover if it snows.

Very nice. very nice indeed. Dare we ask how much? and do they make any difference to the ride and noise levels?

Anyone want to buy a diesel Rover 75? In a month of ownership it has cost £305 in repairs, a week in the garage and 100 miles dropping the bloody thing off and picking it up again. I could tell you how it doesnt match up to the lexus but none of us has that much time on our hands and my fingers would bleed with the typing before i had time to finish. The rover is going up for sale this weekend. When its gone, which cannot be too soon as far as im concerned, the lexus will be coming out to play. FOR GOOD!! :)

Plastic pig? are we talking CX500 here? I had a Eurosport 500 and then a 650, the 650 just left everthing dead at the lights, such fun I seem to remember that the "plastic pig"" was the Honda C90. We deffinately called the CX500 "the maggot". And no i dont mean it any disrespect. It was a fantastic V twin with a great sound.

http://www.lexls.com/info/lsgenerations.html Try this in google. Got some good stuff on it. As to the original question....YES YES YES.

I had to take a number of factors into concideration.. one was lower fuel cost but ideally we also need an estate. The dog seems happier in the estate. And we`ve just done the first suffolk trip in the Rover. 51MPG brim to brim. However, compared to the Lexus its so slow that the only flies and bugs are on the rear screen not the front one. They kepp flying into the back of the car when im on the motorway. And dont laugh but the alternaotor packed up on the way home. (And no we didnt get 51mpg because it was on the back of the AA lagon) it got back under its own steam. Bet im back in a lexus within 12 months.

Welcome to the forum. And congrats on buying the best car in the world. Re your few problem areas, im sure the guys and gals on here will have all the answers for you. For myself id try to find an original radio rather than a after market one. Once you get it working you will find the sound quality is out of this world. Front seats take quite a while to warm up so might be working after all. Benfur, one of the forum members shouls have all the SH parts you needs like wing mirror. Leak in the boot is probably down to missing plastic bits over the rear lights. Open the boot, on each side of the opening just over the lights there should be a black plastic corner piece. If they have not been put back teh boot leaks. The exhaust manifold/cylinder head gasket is a pig to get to. The most likely place to find a blowing exhaust is the flanges between the cats and the "Y" pipe under the car. Its a common issue. Youll find loads of posts about it and ways to "fix" it. Dont know whats happenng with your fuel guage but the tank on a MK11 holds 85 lt or 18.7 Imp gallons.

Well I'm very sorry to read this; it would seem that your decision is final if you've already bought another car. As we all know, there's more to the cost of owning a vehicle than MPG alone, and time will tell if your Rover costs less overall in the long-term. One of the LS400's greatest virtues is its reliability, and whilst replacement of worn-out parts can be expensive, the need does not arise as frequently as with lesser models. Therefore, why not still keep the LS (if you can afford to), or at least keep it in the family? That way you won't burn any bridges (and I predict that your affair with Rover will be short-lived). If it's any consolation, a colleage of mine bought a 75 new about 10 years ago, still has it and is very happy with it. (I think the only problem he had was the gear stick breaking off in his hand!) On a final note, if the cost of fuel for your 700 mile trip is too much, could you not go by train? You are right about the overall costs of running a car being more than MPG. When the cost of running the rover comes close to running the lexus ill back in an LS in double quick time. I imagine that might be within the year. As for the train: no can do.

Its the best car i have ever had. By a mile. But i cannot aford to run her any more. Since July last year i have to do a 700 mile round trip once a month and its costing me £140 a time and in the current climate......So i will have to sell her. Ive bought a Rover 75 Tourer CDT. The only car i like besides the LS. Its very slow and cannot match the LS in any way at all but i am getting 45mpg on general driving and 51mpg on the first cumbria/suffolk run. Id like to thank all the members who have help, encouraged and offered me advice and support on repairs over the past 2 years. The community spirit is just fantastic. I only hope my postings and responses have been of some use to others. Id like to visit the forum and add a bit where i can if thats alright with you guys. In the meantime, thanks again to everyone.

Dont forget the CIS (coop insurance services). After years of company cars they covered me Fully Comp with zero NRD years for £330 including business miles. Im 46 by the way: age makes a difference. since then i have had a bloke run into the back of me and claimed for a new raer screen. Renewal last month £320. brilliant.

i havent got one of them, so is it just a cradle or does it give hands free? where have you put your car up for sale? pistonhead do free ad for 30 days. its the pukka 1994 lexus car phone. handest about the size of a standard home phone c "ashes to ashes" with lighty up buttons and on a standard coilie up black wire. It lives in the arm rest and you can make calls and answer them from the steering wheel. Before i removed it seemed to be fully functioning. That is to say, light up, different sounding peeps with each button and a dialing tone. Dead retro. "get in the quattro bollie knickers" and all that.

Its time to sell the old girl. With great regret i have to say. Shes not sold yet and im missing her already. But she came with a Lexus car phone which i removed. I still have it and wondered if members think there might be a market for selling it. e-bay maybe.

Laying up any car will not it any good. they seem to deteriorate if not used. But if you must then id; 1; clean and thoroughly dry it. 2; use as much of the petrol possible. Shouldnt be too difficult with a LS. Petrol deteriorates over time. 3; get some moisture absorbing crystals and leave a dish full in the car and the boot. 4; raise on blocks or axle stands if you can to take wieght off tyres. 5; a couple of mouse traps wouldnt go a miss. 6; connect the battery to a charger occassionally. 7; if possible, run the engine up to temperature every week if you can. It might save your exhaust sweating. Be careful if you have followed number 4. Alternatively, sell the soft tops and drive your Lexus. and good luck. One last thing. If you can, id get the brakes propery dry if you car. They arent meant to stand around without getting hot every now and then. They rust quite quickly.

Mine passed today with the same advisory. Drives like a dream though. Chuffed to bits.

It might all be accedemic. It goes in for its MOT tomorrow. Watch this space...