beavisrules

definitely a mk1/mk2 . only states registered in 1997 , possibly previously UK registered and shipped back out again later. will probably get the 1992-94 plates when/if DVLA issue they'll be age related J,K or L I think?. if there's a unknown history competition It'd be a good candidate.

would that near 3k get you a 600h a year newer?. it's a tough call.

could be lots of other things. Park/Neutral sensor , immobiliser coil round the ignition , ignition switch itself , starter contacts , relay/fuses/wiring. I'd rule them out in that order.

reliability and running cost , but still want a big(ish) toyota?. Then a toyota Camry I think is ahead of an gs300 in terms of running costs , equal on reliability and a well spec'ed model only slightly less luxurious. I had the GX V6 Auto Camry estate , and it was nearly as nice to drive as the LS is. (and can fit 2 washing machines in the back with the seats down!!). smaller engined ones not so nice to drive , stick to the V6 if its an auto.

Cant see it adding more than 5 mins to the average MOT as decent inspector will be looking at the item already , and failing the badly modified /poorly maintained can only be good in my book.

strangely , my mk4 seems most economical at about 75-80mph and will get 35+ mpg. recently on my less than 1 miles trips 4 times a day with heaters,radio lights all on I'm averaging about 13 mpg lol!

http://toyota.spxcorp.ca/detail.aspx?lang=EN&g=8&id=851 as far as I can tell you'll need a lifter stopper and a lifter press. or just take the cam off after calculating new shim size.

I'd love to have the original machined look on my mk4 wheels , is it possible to have them polished (or machined?) instead of painted? recently did my motorbike engine with poundland wheel paint , It's held up perfect against 2-stroke oil , burning hot temperatures and being exposed to the elements 24/7. It is a bit more matte/grey than normal wheel paint , but if you do all 4 it shouldn't matter.

dirty throttle body is the other common ls400 idle problem cause.

I think it is indicating the gearbox has a fault code stored in its ECU. Also possible the pwr switch is faulty?. I've yet to need to try my OBD reader on my LS400 yet , but its one of the cheap < £4 ones on fleabay and has been good on other OBDii cars. your rpm's do sound about right , remembering cold tickover can be up to 1500 . I find the 4 changes up to 5th are easy to notice if you accelerate aggressively. (even not in pwr mode it'll rev up to 6k if you have the guts to keep it floored!)

the price is probably right , it is an ecu, ballast and igniter all in one. I'm fairly sure the ballast/igniter unit on each light can also be swapped?. they sometimes can be repaired , but better off getting a used as they do have extremely high quality parts. saw one on fleabay item number 220882026550 (check part number are same obviously before buying) , £100~ , seems a lot better than 600odd

Passengers not shutting their doors properly is the only flat battery incidents I've had in the LS. door ajar in a mk4 means 3 bulbs plus dash / computer on.

I cant remember if the ucf20 has a radiator cap as well as a expansion tank cap. If it does , it'll be worth checking the radiator cap seals under pressure. the rubber seal and the spring deteriorate with age and can let water escape and sometimes air in.

Temperature gauge just to the left of the rev counter. in main dash binnacle. mine takes about 3-4 mins to reach 1/2 way , but is blowing warm air from just after the first 90 seconds. Theres a few possibilitys as mentioned - Thermostat stuck open(* favorite) , fans stuck on (you'd hear that though!!) or a heater unit malfunction - ie a servo/motor slipping. ones you REALLY don't want but possible - water pump broken lastly i guess it's possible for a electrical fault in the a/c controls to manifest this way?

Sad to say I bodged mine , it was broke completely off. I used a bit of thick rubber pipe and some big zip ties. 22 months later it's still in place.

Recently repaired the rust along the top of windscreen. Used halfords colour matching , £15 quid a tin but a perfect match. Better than the 'supposed correct' off the shelf tin was - it was noticably too light , my paint is the dark blue.

is there a way to see what triggered the alarm?. can't remember if it leaves a message on the screen does it go off straight away , of maybe after a while? top of my list to check would be car battery holding charge.(charged good battery should be able to sound the alarm all night without going flat!) door (and bonnet/boot) switches as mentioned above. the shock (or whatever) sensor is mounted under the arm rest - usually just loose in there , might be worth adjusting it (or unplugging it?).

Traction control is VERY worth having , makes those foot to floor moments in the wet a bit less worrying. My mk3 would always loose traction and fishtail at a certain turning out of work if I tried to hurry it - a sharp right on a decline. As far as i was concerned the mk4 satnav was worse than pointless , use a hacked navman F10 instead. (worse than because it made using the heating controls a pita). MK4 also has HID lighting , better engine & 5 speed box. The seats seem softer too , but I seem to be on my own with that observation.(supposed to be the same). I think if I had that much money to buy another I'd be looking for that 1 owner , low mileage mk4 and expect to come out a winner.

just reminded by other thread , check your bulbs as the rear brake bulbs also use the 'brake warning' bulb on the dash. caught me out once , changed pads and that wasn't even the problem , lol

get her a moped , she'll save a fortune that way. don't forget to do your local speed bumps on your test drives :P. the dealers love giving you their own routes to follow for a reason. whiplash from having sucky suspension outweighs any cost of ownership from my perspective.

I've had coils that cant produce enough energy at higher revs before but that was in the days of old oil filled coils. If it is OBD2 compatible , I cant see why Lexus dealer cant take live readings from all the sensors. If its misfiring the o2 sensors will sense unburnt fuel Recently used one with the OPcom software on my old mans vectra - was quite in depth , can see the Throttle position , fuel pressure , voltage return states from coils/injectors and a load of other things i knew nothing about. If anyone has ideas on what software to use with an LS , I am game to have a try with my assortment of cables.

Distributors do wear out , and are usually obvious from burnt/eroded contacts (sparks vaporizing the metal). If it is an ignition problem , might be worth buying a colour tune plug or similar. basically a light that goes between the spark plug and lead. some actually replace the plug with a sort of glass see through plug so you can see it firing. change from a tenner for a cheap one off of fleabay .Or the better gunson ones are there too for £20-30. just search for spark test in the vehicle section but then again , its not that hard of a job to change the lot , and I'm sure one of the spares people on here could sell you a tested/used complete dizzy/leads/rotor setup for not too much.

Have you only just bought this car?

If it has the traction control option I'd look at the throttle body & motor (not sure if possible to actually look at them in action?) , also if it has a Throttle position sensor it's an easy item to check. some more info that might help us guess :) - fuel consumption - better/worse?. when reaching 4000rpm does it stop dead @4000 , or hunt , range up/down , misfire ? better or worse in hot/cold weather. and we assume engine lights actually work ? (cant remember if they are bulbs or LED's)

are plug/caps/rotor/leads counted as consumable items still , like they were back in the 80's ?. remember my metro needed them every other year to run reliably. as above about HT leads - if yours are still original they may be a bit iffy - if they look cracked. I used to use these inline bulb things to test HT voltages. was a pretty simple method.