Luke Jones

Found some at a good price here.. I've used firstline parts in the past and have always been very pleased with them.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FCA6538-RH-Upper-Wishbone-Lexus-LS400-4-0i-32v-97-01-/120590765683?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item1c13c50e73#ht_6083wt_911

£74 per side inc shipping.

or here for £16 a pair delivered.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/D2R-HID-BULBS-PAIR-35W-4300K-6000K-8000K-10000K-12000K-/140422225500?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item20b1d11e5c#ht_4735wt_1154

Yeah the bulb was faulty I swapped the right bulb and it worked fine so im going to get a new one thanks for the help!!

I am having the same fault on my new shape gs300 with Xenon bulb. Nearside headlight does not always come on. When I flick from auto to headlight and back on it comes

Did getting a new bulb solve your problem

How much did the bulb cost? Did you get it from Lexus?

TudorDoc

Check on the black ring of the bulb, but i think its a D2R you need...

here for £20

http://www.carstereos4u.co.uk/xenon-bulbs/d2r-xenon-replacement-bulb-2024488-371239-.php

I have read up on previous forum information stating that the LS400 uses Gen 1 Satnav, CD based. This limits what the system can store (postcodes etc). I looked at prices for updated CD based discs, £120 ish, then thought to look and see if a DVD based nav brain would fit instead. What do you guys think, here are two eBay items, one shows a LS400 unit, the other from an avensis which if i understand correctly only came with DVD nav, being a Gen2 satnav.

the units have different part numbers as i'd expect but seem to share identical connectors. I guess touch screen could be an issue there, so perhaps a 2001 GS300 gen 2 dvd satnav would be a better choice.

eBay avensis item 400097479721

eBay ls400 item 250669576577

It depends on whether you want genuine Lexus/Toyota or a good equivalent.

Lexus charge around £40.00 just for the cambelt,Blueprint are considered excellent alternatives by many.

Bear in mind that UK customs may grab your bargain US spares and add import duty and VAT to the price plus there is a "handling fee"

The parts in the USA kit are from OE Japanese suppliers, American timing belt, and the Aisin water pump, which is essentially genuine toyota. I am happy with any quality aftermarket kit, always used to use Gaites Kits.

What does it cost for a water pump here in UK?

Mr Orange, what did your kit cost and did you get a water pump too?

Thanks for that Richard, will help me identify what needs replacing. Still, I will want as much info as possible on the bushes because I would like to swap them all to poly when I do what is needed to restore the front end stability.

I have a mk4 and have fallen in love in a matter of weeks. Don't let some of the worst case scenario stories put you off too much. Some of it is outdated information. Replacement HiD bulbs can be had for under £30 now, I even bought an entire headlight to replace a cracked one, HiD Mk4 unit, £40 delivered.

Mine has 210k miles on the clock, still drives great, out handled a Leon on dual carriageway islands last night, not using the power, just taking the outside line smoothly while he tried to cut up on the inside line, squealing and understeering. Two roundabouts close together, not speeding at all, I came out of the second 8 lengths ahead, he pulled in well behind me and dropped to the legal limit after that. The lads from the club took a look over her last night too, we tried the pound coin balanced on the engine trick, it didnt move at all, even at 4000rpm, took two short sharp rev's to 3k to make it roll off.

The engine is so quiet and refined that you have to lift the bonnet to hear it running. The last MOT emmisions results were so good they beat our 25k mile Rover 25 1.4 all were under 10% of acceptable level, mixture was 0.999 with a target of 1.000

You could say I am rather impressed by these cars.

Where is accepted as a good source to balance cost and quality of kit?

Has anyone bought from the States? eBay.com have some great kits including belt oe tensioners and idler, Aisin OE water pump and gaskets for about £110+40 shipping..

I have a '98 VVTI model LS400 210k miles. When I gently use the brakes at above say 40mph i get a lot of shake on the steering wheel and can feel the whole car going with it. If i press brake harder the pulsing stops, if i brake sharply i get quite a metal on metal sounding clunk. If I'm at 20mph, gentle braking doesnt seem to cause any problems. I suspect this is a worn bushing somewhere on the control arms and from reading this forum's previous posts, probably a failed UCA bush, poss ball joint. Infact there is a nocking over rough surface/small pot marks in the road, which might lean to ball joint..

Couple of patchy areas here, a few questions that no doubt others will ask in future..

Can the balljoint be replaced in the arms (upper or lower) , or is it only possible to replace the whole arm.

Poly bush kits exist for 94-97 models but not 97-00, are they the same kit really as both models have ucf20 chassis (is that correct) ARB is different diameter i am aware.

Is the UCA bushing plastic like i read somewhere, and not rubber? Can it be replaced by shore 80 or 90 PU or does a dealer sell replacement plastic bush shells for the arms?

I have a bit of custom work experience and will be making any bushings that are not available off the shelf using a PU liquid rubber kit for making ARB and control arm donut bushes on lorries and buses. Some idea of how much over diameter the after market kits are would be useful for preloading info.

I will be keeping pictures and notes for a writeup, and any molds i make will be reusable to keep producing parts in future.

First to put my hand up and say.... ohh my gosh how dumb am I! She was fine all along, just on the steering lock.

I think I was overwhelmed by all the motors and gagetry and just assumed that some electronic steering lock wasnt disengaging... right, now to say hello as a new member in a more polite manner..

thanks all, yes i really was that vacant :)

If it is this... you can expect to hear me laughing at myself all the way from Wolverhampton...

Now you mention it,, i do remember backing into the tight stoarage spot, killing the ignition, and then noticing i'd left some lock on so may have straightened the wheel.

Is the steering lock particularly sensitive on these?

It has scared me though, so i intend to grab a spare keyfob and get a blank cut. could someone direct me to the mkiv chip key registration procedure.. (timed presses on accel and brake i believe?)

so, tonight.. i will check the steering lock.. damn these new fangled features :-P

Its gone! I missed it. But thanks for the help. Seems the MK111 is no real difference t the MK11 in mpg.

Heres looking.

am I not right in thinking the vvti of the mk4 should improve economy and performance?

Hi Guys, My aerial has started making a burp noise when seating fully down . It sounds like the motor is trying to pull it down after its seated and its grinding the teeth on the plastic cable. Its less than two years old and has always been regularly oiled (the aerial not the car)

Im guessing therse no adjustment and il need another replacement soon, has anyone else had a similar fault?

thanks steve.

mine does the same, for maybe 10 seconds or so with a pulsing to it. really annoying. if it is already down, i wonder if its a microswitch not activating properly..

Pressure off for tonight, I need dinner, the MV6 gets a belt instead..

Still need to fix this asap though, have parts arriving friday and need to move the car!

What a first post, I've been an LS400 owner for a week and I just want to go out for a drive tonight!

Battery was left off for a week to make car more secure in an exposed place. I've put it back on and the car wont start. Key isnt allowed to turn at all in the ignition.

keyfob works, locks and unlocks, 'security' light stops flashing when the key is inserted, steering wheel motorises, but i cant turn the ignition key. If i bring the windows down on the auto drop (hold unlock button) and insert, the digital display lights when i put the key in and says, moonroof open. then goes blank again.

I've tried all sorts of stuff from searches, but nothing mentions the 98 vvti models at all.