cdxdillan

Hi George,

thanks for reply, I have just bought the 430 so have not got round to updating profile.

ok, this car seems particularly problematic filling up with regards to any car I have ever owned, as you say all pumps are different, and moving the nozzle can make a difference in certain circumstances,however,cutting out is very rare in my experience (32yrs and 15 cars later inc 2x LS400'S motor bikes etc.). just chuck the nozzle in any old how and away you go fill up(again no joke intended) car is under warranty (lexus) so need lots of opinions in case a problem exists.

regards CDX

Hi all,

anybody had any problems filling up a 430 (excluding jokes about cost of petrol etc.etc.) filling mine is problematic with regards to the fuel pump cutting out,the fuel pump nozzle needs to be just so (as to it's position in the filler neck) to prevent this cutting out problem, it's as if there's a vent problem causing a back up pressure which stops the pump.

regards CDX

Hi rangermastiffs,

I have a 93 black with tan interior, 133k, if you're interested and not a million miles away from you in the north east. 07986987505

regards CDX

Thanks for input,

sorry for late response been a bit under the weather, the cars been knocked back in the meantime since my post for a few brake pipes and an upper front wishbone so will concentrate on these issues first. I will sort out the remote issue at a later date using your advice as a reference.

regards CDX.

Hi

remote entry has stopped working on my 93 LS400, dash switch is in correct position,fitted new Battery in remote key (only 1 remote key available unfortunately) so possible key has gone duff, doors work ok when key inserted as per old fashioned way, any thoughts appreciated.

regards CDX

Hi Balch,

with regards to the cooler pipe send me an E/mail with your email address

Hi Knightman,

your LS 400 badge did not fall off, as others have stated it never had one. period. I fitted a LS 400 badge to both my 93's I think it evens out the look of the edge of the boot lid.

Bought both mine from Malaysia £3.98 inc postage, look up eBay member sahilrey, they are good items, 1st one took a fortnight to arrive, latest one just over a week.

Hi,

thanks for the replies the fuel guage problem is now sorted, replaced 2 capacitors in the instrument cluster total cost of parts 27P from Maplins.

for the record, testing the sender unit is relatively easy using a multimeter.

working inside the boot,

remove 4 screws holding the top of felt rear panel then pull panel forwards, there is enough access without removing bottom screws and the panel altogether,

the sender is in the centre of the tank,

unplug the wiring connector,

there are 3 terminals on the sender, (the outer 2 are connected across a fixed resistance), the middle terminal is the wiper which sweeps across the fixed resistance, its position on the fixed resistance depends on how much fuel is in the tank, (google linear potentiometers for more detailed info).

testing across the outer 2 terminals the reading should be approx 300 Ohms (constant)

if the tank is say half full, the wiper will be swept approx mid way across the fixed resistor, therefore, testing between the centre terminal and one of the outer terminals the reading should be approx 150 Ohms, likewise, testing between the centre terminal and the other outer terminal it should also read approx 150 Ohms,

if the tank is full, using the above tests you should get 21 Ohm, 279 Ohm, tank empty 279 Ohm, 21 Ohm so as long as the readings between the centre and the 2 outer terminals add up to approx 300 your sender should be ok.

the tests are with the sender still fitted in the tank, to test a sender throughout its entire range (between empty and full) you would have to remove it from the tank and then move the float while testing.

My advice would be very wary about not informing your insurance company,

I don't think its a legal issue as such, after all, a Lexus main dealer is hardly likely to blatently break the law or openly deal in dodgey insurance scams, however, somebody is going to have to foot the bill i.e. the other blokes insurance company, and they will want to know the ins and outs of a f**t about the incident before forking out, including the car they are shelling out to repair, they will also keep records.

Now, in these computer and internet days that we all live in it has never been easier for insurance companies to store and share details of claims etc. they will trawl this info if they're facing a large payout, they will also try and use any means possible to wriggle out and make an excuse to render your insurance policy void i.e. people not informing them of previous accidents.

A lot of insurance companies insist in the small print that you must inform them of any accidents whether it's your fault or not, or even if no claims have been made, or they may say something like you must inform us of any circumstances that may affect your policy, the get outs are endless.

If in future you rear end somebodys Bently and cause 40K's worth of damage you can rest assured they will be looking at get outs, including this minor prang even though It's not your fault.

your call.

I read somewhere that the Lexus name was coined from (luxury export united states) is that so?.

hi,

You guys are right the LS rear wheel drive cars are a bit of a handfull in slippery conditions, go easy as they say, after all we are driving a modern version of the American land yacht, large car, big engine, soft suspension and RWD. if you can make your way in an LS in the present conditions you can assure yourself that you are a canny driver.

If you ever have the opportunity to drive a classic American car try it, they just don't handle very well at all, even on a dry summers day, my 63 Cadillac has drum brakes all round compared to a modern car you may as well open the door and try to stop it with your foot (yes they are maintained and working as they should) the suspension and tyres are so soft (24 psi modern radials) at 10-15 mph on a roundabout on a dry summers day the tyres start to squeek, what these things were like on X plies I dread to think.

Look after your LS's they are certain to be sought after classics in the not too distant future, especially once the uneducated catch on.

Hi Chris,

there are no issues with any of the guages lighting up there are also no problems with any LCD's or backlights, it's just the fuel guage it takes a long time to register. I will check guage operation from the fuel sender by shorting at the appropriate connections as per the manual when the weather improves.

By the way Chris I was going to contact you with regards to a quote for a repair on the usual temp/clock LCD problem on my better halfs 93 LS, what is your e/mail address?

Thanks Roy,

you've confirmed my thoughts on the sender location, therefore, the fuel pump is on opposite side of tank and would be accessed by removing the rear seat.

Hi steve,

what I meant was I couldn't find any info on the forum about testing the fuel sender, however, since my last post I have found the test data in the workshop manual I have on CD, it was under the heading Combination meter (the instrument cluster to most people), all the info for testing the instrument cluster are there i.e fuel guage etc., it also includes all the tests for items that send info to the cluster i.e. fuel and temp senders. thing is the manual is for a 2000 car not a 93 though I suspect the resistance readings will be the same or very similar, when weather permits I will check things out and maybe post my findings.

Just one thing Steve, looking at the component layout for the fuel tank it would appear that access to the fuel pump is via the rear seat, and the access to the fuel sender is via the boot as this is located on the opposite side of the tank? is there a difference between the 93 and later car fuel tanks?

hi, can't seem to find anything, temp guage and temp sender yes, fuel no, maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Hi, has anyone got any info with regards to testing the fuel sender unit on a 93 LS400.

I agree with partiban parts do arrive quickly from the states, quickest for me was 4 days, average about 8 days and I have never had a problem with US suppliers, however, whilst I have had a few items without customs charges I have been hit on several occasions so you need to take this into your calcs then you'll not be dissapointed if you do get clobbered.

The question of importing a car from the US, when I imported my Caddy from Colorado I had to pay 10% duty on the price of the car + the shipping, then you pay VAT on the whole lot, so you even get taxed on a tax, as a general rule of thumb what you pay $ for a car in the states convert it to £ by the time you get the vehicle here this was certainly the case with my car and the exchange rate was about $1.9 to the £ at the time.

I can't remember the exact rules on import duties but for a car to qualify for a low duty (5% I think) it has to be over 50 years old or you have to prove it has historical importance, this was a ruling made by our European chums a few years back, maybe someone can update us on that.

As ground breaking a car the LS was I don't think it will qualify somehow.

Hi Ade,

I purchase items from the States for my 76 Cadillac CDV and import fees are a problem, you need to do your calculations bearing in mind the following.

exchange rate

shipping cost.

you pay import VAT on items over £18.

duty on items over £120.

you are allowed a gift free of duty if it is valued no more than £36.

the worst thing is the Parcel Force handling fee. they pay the import fees for you when your items arrive so that customs release the goods, you then have to pay Parcel Force the duties paid + a handling fee it's a complete RIP OFF and there is no way round it, don't pay and you lose your goods,

An example being a recent purchase of mine VAT was £22.55 Parcel Force clearance fee £13.50, thats right £13.50 for them paying £22.55, the clearance fee goes up the more they pay, I only buy Caddy parts if there is no way to purchase the items over here. Asking companies to tell porkies about the value of goods is an offence for both the seller and the buyer.

wanted LS400 mats, beige in colour, must be in VGC to excellent.

I agree with you guys about the most of the points made with regards to cat D write offs, however, I already knew this,

It takes very little damage to an ordinary car to rack up a bill of a few K let alone as you say to a LS400 so therefore the damage or reason for the cat D may have been relatively minor and the vehicle perfectly fine.

panic NO! pull out YES.

The vendor stated in the ad "HPI CLEAR" which is an untruth, the car was not clear in fact anything but clear and it was the first thing that was flagged up.

When informed of my findings the vendor replied "news to me", Well correct me if I'm wrong but cat D would be stamped on the log book and if indeed the seller had done a HPI check as stated he would have known this.

This to me is hardly the basis on which to start buying a car, what other things am I not being told about springs to mind.

A few years back my better half bent the Omega we owned round a lampost, the insurance company wrote the car off due to the cost of repairs, I could have repaired the car myself for a fraction of the cost, after enquiring, the insurance company were willing to sell me the car back for £400, however, the remainder of my policy (7 months) would be null and void, they would never insure the car again, any insurers in future may insist on a fresh engineers report before insuring the car, most insurers would only insure it 3rd party if at all (the industry wont pay twice for the same loss) I decided to let the car go.

so with regards to a cat D car being worth as much as a car with no issues, it's up to the individual I suppose

As the saying goes "buyer beware"

it's not just the salesmen that are very economical with the truth, a regular contributor to this very forum was recently advertising a "beautiful" 96 LS400 for sale.

After agreeing a price subject to a satisfactory inspection of the car (there are no issues with this car other than a backlight on the radio out by the way), it was arranged for a particular day to carry out the inspection this was to involve me travelling a 340 mile round trip to view the car. however, prior to departure I paid a couple of quid for a HPI check, suprise! suprise! it turns out the car was a cat D write off in Jan 07 the advert "eBay listing" even stated in bold letters "HPI clear".

when E/mailed and informed of my findings and the fact I was declining to view vendor replied "news to me" "oh well".

I will be viewing a LS400 this weekend, def HPI clear this time, a round trip of 290miles, the question now is, is it a good one or not?