sir john

Shucks :duh: :duh: You can "shucks" all you like Steve. I still dont agree with the WD40 on a belt. lol. Thats the first time i have put lol on anything. Does that mean im down with the kids, hip to the swing and street? Er, no. Anyway, a question. I've got a Vauxhall that's had a squeal from the aux belt for about a year. I've had the crankshaft pulley replaced, new belt and tensioner, still squeals. Someone said WD40, didn't work. I tried V belt spray, didn't work. After reading this last night I thought I'd try chalk, instantly the squeal stopped! Not exactly a Lexus question of course, although it could apply. What causes the squeal (assuming the belt's tight) and is it likely to be the fact that I used a pattern part pulley? Phil Press your fingers onto a clean work top or polished surface and pull. you will probably get a squealing noise as your fingers grip and loose grip. Its the same thing. The chalk adds friction, causes more grip and thus no noise. Pattern parts might not be exactly the same as original and hense loss of grip. Original equipement Landrover Mk1 Disco auxilary belts are notorious for squealing because they were such poor quality. So what did Landrover do? Offered a better belt as "an option" to the cheap one. I kid you not. I went to buy a new Aux belt from the Landrover "main dealer" no less and was asked "do you want the one that squeals or the more expensive one that doesnt?" ....and the more expensive one was still under £20.

Shucks :duh: :duh: You can "shucks" all you like Steve. I still dont agree with the WD40 on a belt. lol. Thats the first time i have put lol on anything. Does that mean im down with the kids, hip to the swing and street?

Steve, you are one of the most helpful guys on the forum but i cannot agree with the WD40 on the belt. The mechanic who showed you this "trick" has shown you a fiddle i think. Andy is right, its chalk you want. I do however agree that the likely cause of the noise is teh PAS pump. And its probable knackered by now if its been run so low on fluid. It might still be working but my bet os that it will be noisey foever now.

Try the CIS. I dont think they appear on the comparison sites. they might be cheaper. Thus making you too old for saga.

More walnut and a walnut steering wheel. Dont like much i the way of changes to the outside. Wheels included. Sorry!

Teas Maid..Teas maid... no one told me you could get a car with a teas maid! woooooooow. Where can i get one from. that would be well cool. driving down the road in the LS and your car brews up for you..and pours it out. Well cool. My aunty has a 1960s Goblin Teas Maid in her cottage. Im avin that.

Just to be boring. There is a reason why most cars dont have auto up windows. They have a habit of trapping fingers and childrens heads every now and again. Health and safety warning over.

Would that be Wheeler Dealers? :) probably. Its a while since i watched them on you tube and i havent had a TV for about 20 years...really. You haven't missed much and saved yourself over £2000 in licence fees! I refuse to get one. Mainly because i dont think it will take off. a bit like the electric guitar and the internet.

At the moment i can only offer a solution to the bonnet strut issue. I use a 3 wood. Rubber grip goes down between the washer bottle and front pannel and the club head is then just the correct height to tuck under the open bonnet.. Sorry if this sounds klike im taking the p**s but its what i do. It was handy one day, it worked and thus i still use it. But i have heard of people using jaguar XJS struts.

Would that be Wheeler Dealers? :) probably. Its a while since i watched them on you tube and i havent had a TV for about 20 years...really.

If its the upper from contol arm you are talking about it easy to test them. Jack up the front corner and use a pulling/pushing heave hoe at 12/6 o`clock and 3/9 o`clock. If they are knackered you will see the ball joint rocking about. replacing then is a 15 monute a side job. PS; go on you tube and search for a Deals on Wheels 4 parter where the mechanic does it.

thanks for all the replies. As for your question about why i would concider a Diesel: The only time the dog is in thhe car is on our monthly 660+ mile weekend round trip. I had a new IS220d on hire for a month last year while the LS was being repaired and it wasnt bad really compaired to the LS. That said i only managed about 38mpg.

Thanks a lot for that Tony. Really helpful when considering whether to change the Ls for a Sportcross. But tell me something; is the petrol IS a quiet cruiser? I ask becausa of all the things i love about the LS, i really like the super smooth cruising. Thanks

I love my LS and would be loath to get rid of it but i have to admit, i could really do with an estate because we have a Rhodesian Ridgback dog. Hense looking at Sportscross. Wonder if you could help with a couple of questions. 1 When did the diesel come in? or is the Sportcross a petrol only model. 2 What do you get to the gallon from the 200 and 300 petrol engines? 3 Is the load area large enough for a largish dog? thanks. jonathan

Wahay!!!! You got it then!. Re burying the right foot. I dont know if you noticed but if you floor the accelerator pedal and then push it deeper she will REALLY fly. Theres a little button under the pedal that seems to change the "luxury car" into a hoolagon. Re the wheels. if you change the wheels, have a look on the threads about what tyres other members are using. The concensous is that Pirrelis are pants.

Ive just been for a toodle around Ebay and Autotrader. There are loads of LS400s for less than the cost of a cambelt change. While i was there, i came across a few IS Sportcross. I could do with an estate.....Hmmmmmmmmm..got he thinking.

Welcome to the forum. £500 for an LS is a bargain. Its almost rude! This might sound a bit picky but it looks a bit low at the rear. There should be more space between the top of the rear tyre and the wheel arch. Take the rear wheels off and have a look up into he top of the spring. If they have broken they will have broken right up at the top. It drops the back end of the car by an inch or 2. Not the end of the world though. £50 per spring and a weekends fun to do both sides. Enjoy your new toy mate.

welcome to our happy band. Agree with mybikesacx500; not heard of gear box oil leak. As for the cam belt; best to do it now but, having said that (and ill probably get shot down for this) you could just leave it. Im pretty sure at that age its the engine that wont distroy itself if he belt goes. Thats what im doing anyway.

Mike..You and your little bit of string take me back a while. As the owner of numerous British cars and LDV vans i never left the house without a swiss army knife, elastic bands, some Aroldite and a piece of string. Fix anything with that lot.

Ha Ha and very funny Mike. The Rover 75 is a truly lovely looking car. The interior is simply sublime. All that walnut..mine even has a walnut steering wheel. Trouble is: it was built by Rover with an engine from BMW. What am i talking about. Its the most unreliable, fault riddled piece of c**p i have ever had the misfortune of owning. Which is why it hasnt been on the road for 3 months. and im back in my 18 year old LS.

What a top bloke Stupot is. Not only is he very well mannered but obviously highly intellegent because he has bought the best car ever made. Welcome to the fold Stupot. You will never need another car.....ever. I still have the Rover 75 CDT estate though if you still want one.

Definately something wrong here. 11-12 mpg is not right. Dealingf with your points one by one (bear in mind my LS is a 93 model,but should be the same as yours in principle) 1: mine is fully up to temp in about 5 minutes but its off choke quicker. 2: mines a bit like yours at the moment. I think its more to do with air temp and damp air in general. 3: this isnt right. you should not be able to hear theh car at tickover, inside the car or out unless you have an exhaust blow. 4: again not right. 1st guess:exhaust. 5: pinkish spark plugs usually means the mixture is too lean. I checked mine last month, after 20k miles, they were clean. I agree with Malc and CX500. Get the car serviced properly and start enjoying your LS again. In the mean time do a couple of quick checks; 1; check the exhaust isnt blowing. 2: take the air filter. It could be stuffed up with leaves. Good luck mate. It pains me when someone isnt enjoying their LS because i so much enjoy driving mine.

I agree with Steve. £25 at present prices is about 4.27 gallons. I use my car for client to client driving so not exactly hanging about: i am getting about 23 to 24mpg. On a long motorway run and easy relaxed driving i get 26-30mpg. if your figures are correct, there is something seriously wrong. I cannot imagine it would run right at 9mpg. Q 1: can you smell petrol from the exhaust on start up from cold? Q 2: does it run smoothly? Q 3: are there any other symptoms of over fueling of running rich? Do a brim to brim. Brim the tank/zero the "trip A" on the dashboard . Run until almost empty and refill. Divide the number of litres of fuel by 4.55 to give you the gallons used. Then divide the miles on Trip A mileage. EG: 62.3 Lt div by 4.55 = 13.69 gallons. 426 miles traveled since last filled up divided by 13.69 = 31.12 mpg. let us know how you get on. We will help you all we can.

My Temp needle is always bob on 3 o`clock. I live 1 mile down a farm track. It takes about 8 minutes to trundle down at about 7 mph. Its nearly up to temp when i get to the road. Yours should be up to temp in about 5 minutes.

Yes it was only supposed to be a temporary car while I got the MR2 fixed, but now two and a half years later I've still got it and drive it much more than the MR2! These cars certainly get under your skin. Same here. 2year old Merc went back at the end of the contract and the LS was a 1 month stop gap until i decided what to have next. £950 and 3 years later i wouldnt have anything else. Give me an 18 year old Lexus any day. :P