sir john

Manc, Id be very supprised if it isnt the rear spring that have broken. Probably right at the top. Start now by wire brushing the nut and bolt that hold the rear shocker to the rear hub and treat with WD40. Get a pair of new springs; about £50 and borrow a set of spring compessers (£20 for a cheap set). Remove the rear seats. Compress 1 of the springs and undo the strut at the rear parcel shelf and bottom at the hub. Its a bit of an arse but you can do both sides in a day (a full day that is). If youy get stuck, give me a shout.

You dont say whether this is the rear or front but it looks like the front to me. Anyway, id agree with Royt. I replaced the rear springs on my 93 LS last year. The £20 sping compressers were only just up to the job. One thing i would add, (forgive me if this is too obvious) do both sides at the same time, even if only one is broken. 1 old spring and 1 new spring will not ride as it should. Good luck with the repair.

Thanks all for the responses. I ordered the rear axle carrier arm bushes (rear end/hub end) from Priracing.com. Under £40 for a kit that does both sides (NSR ans OSR)The bushes for the same arm (front/chassis end) are another £50. They arrived next day. I havent fitted them yet but when i do ill post a conclusion so others know how they fitted, if i had any problems and what difference they make to the handling. wish me luck with the MOT!

Thats brilliant Royt. Thanks a lot. It sounds like a pig of a job to me. Hopefully it will pass without replacing these upper wish bones.

Iain, Did you get this sorted? if not try Prirace.com. They seen to have all the bushes needed. regards Jonathan

Mike in France, welcome to the forum. If you buy wisely you wont need a manual. It wont brake down and maintaniance and running repairs are generally easy. I also feel that you wont regret buying an LS. I only bought mine as a short term stop gap. That was 3 years ago and i wouldnt be without one now. To give you some idea how good they are: mine was 16 years old when i bought it and it replaced a 2 year old Merc. Happy driving Mike.

I've not done this job but it looks like you have to remove the driveshaft. Sounds scary but only says to remove the end nut,then remove six bolts from other end, when its free tap the font end of the shaft to release it. Must put match marks[paint] on drive shaft and side gearshaft Hold shaft to prevent excessive bending. Hi Royt, I dont understand mate. Which end nut and 6 other nuts do you mean? What are you calling the drive shafts and side gearshafts?

Its not normal.. My LS gets up to temp in about 5-10 minutes and never moves from the half way mark: at all. You either have a cooling problem or a duff sender or gauge.

My 93 LS is up for the MOT on the 14th August. the rear Axle Carrier Arm bushes are shot so im replacing those before the test. £40 delivered from Prirace. The ball joints on the Upper Rear Wishbones are also worn. There is slight movement/knocking from them so might do them as well (hopefully after it passes). Im treating the nuts and bolts to WD40 every day and one by one the fixings at the chassis end are working loose. But the nut on the ball joint (hub end) is inaccessable. I know i will have to remove the rear shockers and springs, but how do i get the ball joint end nut to remove it: the half shaft is in the way?

Hi, I too have been researching these bushes. My car is judderings when braking and castoring at the back. The car has been in my workshop for a week, jacked up, Wheels off, and ive been lubricating all the suspension nuts and bolts with WD40. I got the bolts off the rear bushes on saturday. I have found Prirace.com in the UK that will supply the rear trailing arm/axle carrier arm bushes for under £40 delivered. Im about to order a set today.

Dont know if you still need this Mike. I have an exploded diagram of all the rear suspension parts. My car is a late 93 so part #s might be different. let me know if you want a copy. Or you could always do what o did. Ring your Lexus dealer and ask them to print off the diagram for your car.

In a similar possition with a bush at the rear of my LS. 99% sure what i need but not 100% so a rang my local dealer. Had a chat and he faxed over an exploded diagram of the rear suspension. If i were you id ring my local Lexus dealer and do the same. Good luck and the paintwork looks great.

Really sorry to hear your tale of woe. Reminds me of September 2009 when i dozey clown drove into the back of my LS. It wasnt the damage that hacked me off, it was the fact that it has through SOMEONE ELSES stupidity. I feel for you. Glad to hear you and mum are ok.

John N, Thanks for the link John. I thought it must have gone. Really want to keep the old girl if possible. Im thinking of doing the axle carrier bushes and seeing if it passes the MOT. Then keeping an eye open for the wishbones.

The-Acre, im really attached to the car. if i can get the bits at the right money ill keep her forever. Q; searched on the forum and the web; is the Axle carrier arm the same this as the rear trailing arm?

Dont know the answer to your question buddy but i have heard of this problem on many Mercs. If i were you id be looking on their forum for a bit of background.

I tried Benfur. He does have any early cars in at the moment. I suppose there is less and less call for the bits and fewer donor cars coming his way. Before you did your bushes, were the brakes juddering and knocking? Im wondering how much of the poor handling is down to the axle carrier bushes.

What's your mileage if you don't mind me asking? The car has done 185k so just run in. Over the last 3 years ive cured the PAS pipe and reservoir leaks, new dizis, rotas and plugs, new rear springs, brake pads all round, both front upper wishbones and a new alternators.

The MOT is upon us on 14th Aug and she wont pass. The back end has become a bit wobble round corners and the rear brakes judder and nock under braking. Not nice. Its down to the rear ball joints and the axle carrier bushes. The ball joints are worn (with the car jacked up i can rock the wheel back and forth: 6-12 oclock)its not much but its enough. The axle carrier bushes (both sides) have completely broken down at the hub end. I think this is where most of the problem is. I can probable get the bushes cheap enough (if i can get the nuts off. Couldnt yesterday) But the only rear ball/suspension arms i can find on ebay are from a 97R and my car is a 93L. Will these fit? If i cannot get the old girl fixed up, theres only one place she will go, and that would be a real shame.

A lot of good points raised which is good. I put the original posting up because it all sounded a bit too good to me. I also put the same post on the Rover 75 forum. We all know they go wrong far far more than our beloved LSs. The response there has been different though. It seems a few of the 75 owners have been on this cover for some time and for some it has paid off big time. I copied this from one of the posts: "2 claims in 1 year- clutch master cylinder at xmas £270 and now new injector at £470 so well worth the money!! Just make sure you have the car serviced as per Rover whilst covered. They are not worried about previous service history though". Another post pointed out that he had had a few repairs paid for but clutch friction plates and bushes (not clutch obviously) are not covered as they are wear and tear items.

ChrisM: they didnt mention the service record. Steve2006: please dont take this the wrong way mate as i value your opinion on the forum as im sure a lot of guys do and i respect you a lot, but, the AA are not a "get me home ive broken my foot" service. I was also told of another case where a lady driver..... refused to help as the car was still "driveable" and technically hadn't broken down. This suprises me as i have always has excellent service from both the RAC and AA. I think the moral of the story might be "i once know a man who know a guy who once spoke to a bloke that had seen a chap talking to a man who had seen a blokes friend who said his mate know a man with a talking monkey that juggled 6 squirrels while riding a bicycle with an elephant on pillion. Sorry Steve2006 i get a bit carried away sometimes and the AA is usually very good. And you are one of the most helpful guys on here. I did ask the AA woman to give examples of what it covered. She said it covered parts and labour at an AA aproved garage if a repair could not be done at the raod side. this would include failed clutch, gearbox, engine etc. I told her that at the weekend i had had to have the front brake pads replaced as they were worn out. While the wheels were off the mechanic (me, but i didnt tell her that) had found that the calipers had siezed and had to be replaced. "would that be covered"? "Yes" can the replied but not the pads as that is wear and tear bit the calipers are a failed part. Her other example was "if your cam belt fails we wouldnt pay for the belt but if the engine was damaged we would pay for the engine to be fixed" Seems fare to me. Ive asked for some more details. When ive picked over them ill report back.

just been contacted by AA offering an upgrade in breakdown cover. For an extra £12.82pm they will cover the cost of any repair that cannot be done at the road side (parts & labour) up to £500 a time. and up to 6 claims a year. That covers both my cars (didnt thnk to ask for a single car cost) but for covering 1 car only i could claim for up to 5 claims. Any thoughts on this? It seems like a good deal for me as the LS is 18 years old with 184k on the clock and the Rover is 9 with 165k on the clock. BTW: i checked that they are not bothered by age or milage of the vehicle.

When i bought my LS the bottom corner had been broken off and badly repaired. It eventually fell off so i fixed if from behind with Aroldite Rapid for strength and finished and reprofiled the front with a special Isopol plastic bumper repair filler. With it repainted (can of Halfolds plastic bumper paint) you really cannot see the repair.

Thanks for the responses guys. No they werent Bosch. They were the cleap "cut to length" jobbies. Ive tried cleaning the screen and the blades but it made it even worse. Im going to try the RainX stuff. Cheers.

I dont drive the old girl much these days. Wee Wifie has it most of he time because of the price of fuel and the miles i do. (Rover 75 is doing 49-51 mpg) Drove the LS the other day for the first time in ages and what a car. Id forgotten what a joy she is to drive. Anyway, used the wipers and the old problem is back. When the screen is almost dry the wiper blade judders across the screen right in front of the driver. Makes a horrendous noise to. How do i cure this? Cheers.