Alex C Brown

Thanks Tony, I might still give it a go ;) - any idea on who can fit these devices? Alex

I am looking for an integration kit for my LS460 and have seen the Vaistech device (SL2iC). Has anyone installed one of these into their car and, if so, where I can get it done to my car near Milton Keynes if the device comes recommended? http://www.vaistech.com/dev/sl2ic.php

I owned a 1998 MK4 LS400 (complete with the DHP suspension and alloy upgrade) and swapped out the entire front suspension earlier last year. I bought the upper arms from "http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/foreigncarpartsonline" - parts were of good quality and the mechanic I used had no complaints about them. I also bought lower arms from a scrap dealer and had the bushes replaced with a set from "http://www.maxpsi.co.uk/product_info.php?pName=lexus-ls400-9500-front-lower-arm-bushings-2-pcs". These parts are not OEM (!) and the process required to push out the old bushes is a nightmare, so you need a patient mechanic with a decent hydraulic press who can figure out how to puch out the old ones. Make a note of the direction and placement of the bushes as they do have an alignment setting. Ball joints were from the USA - off eBay and OEM. Feel the quality (!) The one thing I didn't do was replace the shocks and am kicking myself today for not doing that - I am convinced in hindsight that the handling issues were caused by uneven shock pressures. Taking a corner on the motorway at speed would make the car feel like it wasn't sure if it was going to bother turning - better described as tramming where it feels like the car is riding in grooves. Also, uneven road surfaces would send the car bouncing badly from side to side. I experienced problems with the DHP tyres catching on the wheel arches after the upgrade - I think the wheel alignment calibration provided by Lexus does not account for the larger rims so you will need a company who can work manually on the tracking to get the alignment spot on. Be prepared to spend a lot more on this if you do have the DHP wheels and shocks. Anyhow, I sold that car last year and now have an LS460 - different beast altogether, but I still loved the LS400 - just next time I wouldn't bother with the DHP. Definitely a MK4 though.

Update - I have had the new seal for 2 months and still no water in the boot well, even after many washes and some rain. On another note - car sold to friend so farewell LS400. I plan on buying an LS600H in 2011/2012 when the prices have dropped somewhat....

I have just sold my 1998 LS400 MK4 (75k miles) for £2500 - I could have held out for more but the grief you get from supposed dealers and tyrekickers isn't worth the extra £500-1000.. There are others on eBay for £4k+ but they have been there a while. It's just plain wrong that cars should devalue so much - makes a mockery of us "going green" as a society. Keep the car industry moving more like!! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1263548/Now-did-say-left-car-The-28m-backlog-perfectly-driveable-vehicles-waiting-SCRAPPED.html#ixzz0kDRpERmS

Not sure what MK LS400 you have but this link is for the MK4 headlight removal. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=65763

Lexus seal fitted yesterday. Pulled the old seal off, up and over boot lid. Cleaned off old silicone and then installed new seal. There was a yellow dot printed on the seal, think this is intended to line up with the centre-top of the boot rim, just below the back window. Real snug fit and boot closure is much more solid. Washed the car today, no leak! I will update with any developments.

Yup, new boot seal fitted yesterday and car washed today, which usually gets some water into the boot. No leaks yet..(!) Fingers crossed. I will update the other listings regarding boot seals if it works OK. The first decent downpour will prove the effectiveness of the replacement seal.

Great to meet other LS owners the other night - good pub, too. I have decided to withdraw my car from sale off eBay as a result. Car's too good to let go and I seem to just get endless bids from zero rated dealers who want to offer me next to nothing... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=300405854269 Steve, balancing back tyres fixed the problem with vibrations, weights were way out.

Did this very same job on my MK4 about three weeks ago. Yes, the instructions to remove the headlamp unit are correct as follows: Remove black philips screw from top-right of unit which connects it to the indicator case. Grip bottom of indicator case and pull forward and slightly up. (knowing this was the only way, I simply applied additional force until the indicator case popped out). This will then reveal 2 more 10mm bolts holding the headlamp unit in place. Remove 4x 10mm bolts and the headlamp unit will be released. Pull unit forward and to the left simultaneously, you can't just pull forward (you'll figure that one out when it catches on the surrounding frame). Sidelamp connector (black? circular holder) is at the top (not to be confused with the 2 larger lamp connectors hidden behind grey covers). Twist and pull. Remove blown bulb and replace. Re-insert holder into headlamp unit and twist back. Now simply refit the unit in reverse order... Hope this helps..

I am also looking for an SAT NAV update CD for my 1998 MK4 LS400. Anyone looking to sell their CD disk shortly? I think there is a 2007 version that I would like, I am fed up of driving over fields when using the M6 toll Thanks

I've tried the silicone fix but it still leaks. I think the water gets into the seal itself at the top where it meets the back window, then works its way down inside the seal cavity to the bottom where it simply leaks out into the boot over the lip. Whenever I have found water after a drive in rain, or washing the car, there is always a small pool of water on the metalwork just inside the seal - bottom left hand side. Ordered a new seal from Lexus today, £74, and going to fit it next week. Watch here for an update. I did look at the tail light but that doesn't seem to be where the water gets in as that section of the boot is completely dry inside.

Does this link answer your question: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...&pid=338047 Seems to only rotate the green MPG message with any error messages. I thought it might actually work the radio/cd swap, but evidently not...

You've chosen the one week when I am away, if it were moved to the following week I am up for this.

Sounds like a bargain to me. The LS series interior/exterior can take a good battering before starting to look worn. My experience is with the drive/feel of the car. I learnt the hard way about not insisting on a 20 mile test drive on all road surfaces, etc. Turns out the alloys were buckled, but took me 6 months of part swapping to pick it up, including front bushes/suspension. One other item is door shutting - check all around that there are equal gaps between each of the doors and the frame - uneven closing could indicate previous accident damage. If she drives well, gear changes are smooth and responsive, there's no wobbling during hard acceleraton/braking and it passes an MOT then you should be flying - my MOT is next month and the only possible failure would be emissions. Everything else has been pulled apart since I bought her. Fingers crossed....

I have a 1998 LS400 MK4 with the Dynamic Handling Pack Upgrade Alloys (17"). I bought a set of 17" alloys off eBay this month from a LS430 (2004). Since owning the LS400 I have had a weird wobble at 40+ mph, best described as an annoying vibration from the offside front. The last wheel alignment I had done left me with a steering wheel slightly off-centre. When I questioned this I was told it was "something wrong with the suspension", despite having just having replaced all upper and lower components, including ball joints, etc. Anyway, put on the new alloys on Friday (2 days ago) and I can report: They fit!! (it really is only millimetres between the alloy and the brake calipers). The "wobble" has gone. The steering wheel is now dead level. They look great, what with the old alloys being terribly corroded. The handling is far better, quieter and enjoyable. The tyre sizes have changed as follows: LS400 DHP tyres = 245/50/R17 LS430 tyres = 225/55/R17 I think the offset of both sets of alloys is 45mm which is what is needed to give the clearance. I put the wobble down to a damaged alloy (kerbed?) which is off to the scrapyard. Anyway, I am very happy. Just need to find one centre cap which has lost its retaining spring. I can post pictures if anyone is interested...

You sound like me, I have also spent a bit doing my car up, including new front suspension, alloys, full cam belt and spark plug service and all filters, etc. Causing mayhem with finances but she sure drives lovely... I did the alloys because, despite the front suspension change, there was still an oscillation at 40+ mph from the front right tyre (buckled rim). Have you rotated the wheels front/back to see if the symptoms change? This has to be the cheapest option to see whether the problem is tyre/wheel related or suspension/brakes. If the problem doesn't go away then: Get the brakes checked out - were the calipers or disks damaged during the tyre change? Have a proper 4 wheel alignment check done - many places offer "Free" checks - this is different to the standard wheel tracking (!) Make sure you have the suspension arms checked for obvious bush/ball joint wear (check out YouTube item "LS400 Wheeler Dealers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzMYT22PBeE...feature=related 8 minutes 30 seconds to get an idea of what bad looks like). The lower strut bush is a monster - about 2 inch diameter and very prone to cracking up with age. I have an assorted collection of arms and bushes from the original suspension that are still well within tolerance if you find anything broken.

Finally had the work done on Wednesday 9th December. Also replaced UCA's and lower ball joints, however the UCA's were still reasonably OK. What a difference in ride!! A lot of the lower rumbling has gone, as has the wandering sensation. Seems the bushes on the lower arms and most importantly the struts, were definitely cracking up. The very large bush on the castor adjuster had cracks all round. Then had the tracking done (4 wheel alignment) at another local tyre garage but they simply couldn't release the castor adjustment bolt on the strut arms. Not sure if these are important as they still managed to get the toeing and camber corrected anyhow (?) Can't thank JAPEX in Kings Langley enough. Did a great job and really do know their stuff.

Well, found the lower arms for £50 and 2 sets of lower arm bushes for £68. The local garage has punched out the old bushes and replaced them for me with the new ones for £40. No mean feat as they needed a good 2 hours to coax out the old ones that had seized up pretty tight. The new bushes do fit but are definitely not up the standard of the OEM parts and this will probably come back to haunt me in 18-24 months. The new - larger - bushes on the strut bars were about 6mm narrower than the old ones, leaving about 3mm either side of the hole. Not sure whether this is correct or whether the part is wrong. Certainly the circumference is right as it is a very snug fit when inserted, just not as wide as the arm itself. Going to try and get the arms fitted in the next 2-3 weeks when I have a spare moment. Fingers crossed the handling will be much better afterwards.

Thanks, found the links for the bushes and have sent off for a price incl. postage. Going to also hunt around for a MK4 being dismantled in the UK and try getting the arms off that.

I have a 1998 LS400 (65k) with a handling issue. The car has the Dynamic Handling Pack (DHP) which by all accounts meant 17" wheels, stiffened suspension, etc. The issue: The car tends to wander off-centre in both directions, sway (rock) from side to side when the road is uneven, and any hard knock to the wheels is fed right back up to the steering wheel. At higher speeds the car feels like it is floating at the front and requires more effort to drive than a much smaller car. I initially thought it was tracking so took the car into a Wheel Alignment centre who completed an assessment of the tracking, etc, and put it all right. They did have to replace the front tyres as they were worn on the inside edge. Some of the vibration-type issues were dealt with but the "wobbly" steering remains. My friend who is a mechanic has identified the lower arm inner bushes as being slightly worn. He has also stressed the other joints and there is very little play in the Upper components. My questions are: Where can I get replacement bushes/arms from? Lexus came in at £200+VAT just for a single lower arm. Uppers were £350+VAT each. Could the upper components actually be seized, causing some of the handling issues? I am tempted to do both upper and lower arms if I can find the parts at an affordable price. Are there any other parts that should be replaced as a precaution (e.g. the sway bars link). One of the ideas is to buy 2 "used" lower arms, a bushing kit, and have them put together, then installed on the car to minimise the time it spends in the air. Is that feasible? Any ideas welcome.

I own a 1998 mk4 and have also discovered this phenomenon. First picked up on it from previous service reports given to me with the car. I eventually mustered the courage to take out the spare and carpet only to find a pool of water. I assumed that the leak was through the floor pan seals (round 2" bungs). Wrong, the leak was finally traced back to the boot lip. The water was running along the left hand drainage channel of the boot, then down and around the seal on the vertical fall, then into the boot at the bottom. So, pulled off the boot seal, let it dry, then cleaned it up. I bought some silicone sealant (£4) and ran a bead of this along the entire length where the leak was. Put it back on and left it to dry. No leak yet.. (fingers crossed).