Parrot of Doom
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Everything posted by Parrot of Doom
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Meccano :) -
If you think about a tyre, it's fairly squishy. A bog-standard balancing machine won't take that squishyness into consideration, so if you get a tyre that has a minor flaw, and flexes at a particular point....wobble wobble wobble. Road force balancing simulates the weight of the car on the tyre, as it's being balanced. The machine can then balance out any imperfections in the tyre.
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Bear in mind that stick on weights come extremely close to the caliper. I'd never have clip on weights on my wheels, they look terrible. I always say, if a tyre place can't balance your wheels, go to somewhere that can do road force balancing - wheels don't distort with the weight of the car on them, but tyres do.
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Either the battery is dud, something is draining it, or it isn't being charged properly. That doesn't excuse the poor service though. If the battery is a dud they should replace it free of charge, batteries should last a minimum of five years.
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That's an excellent idea!
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My LPG-converted LS400 has been faultless since I had it done, by Worsley Autogas, just outside Manchester. He's done a few Lexus's, in fact the last time I went to fill up (65p a litre now) he had a converted GS300 for sale.
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Thanks for the info, I'll take a closer look.
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I'd lubricate the cable first, see if that sorts it.
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As per title, it's rattling around in there. I changed the oil today and had a look up above the filter, I can see a couple of bolt holes in the shield. Does it normally just bolt to the chassis/engine, or is there something missing? Also, there's an oil weep somewhere, and the lower half of the old oil filter casing was filthy. Just above it is an oil sensor of some kind, and that was covered in oil too. Anyone heard of those going before? I wiped it all clean. I have 600 miles to do this weekend so will check on it again in a couple of days, to see if I can see fresh oil coming out.
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I don't have the answers. My last car, an E-class Merc, did exactly the same thing. I decided to put up with it. This page might offer some useful advice: http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp_warped_brakedisk.shtml
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I used a cheap spray-on grease but you may prefer to use a light penetrating oil or something similar. I wouldn't use WD40 for anything other than what it's designed for.
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Just a minor point, the discs aren't warped (it's a huge thick chunk of iron). Brake pad material has transferred itself to the disc's surface. What you can feel is the pad running across that material. At Lexus's prices, it may be worth having your discs skimmed. Note that you should replace your pads at the same time.
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I have the same issue. I replaced the ARB bushings (not an expensive or particularly difficult job) and greased the new ones. The squeak remained. However, I've since greased the top shock mounts, from inside the engine bay. You can't miss them. Since then, no squeak.
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Newer, less refined, less reliable, noisier and more expensive to run. Nope, I don't get it. Not unless your wife wants to impress the neighbours, who, she may suspect, think you're poor.
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Going from an LS to a Yaris will be something you'll always regret. From the tin doors to the cloth seats, I guarantee that the moment you have to use that thing regularly, you'll begin to hate it.
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If your journey is only 6 miles then for most of that time I would imagine the engine will be running rich. You'll never see good mpg in that situation.
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Disconnect the battery for half an hour.
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Quick tip, front ARB bushes for the (1998) LS400 are also available at Toyota, about the same price (although my local Lexus dealer is slightly more expensive). Part number 48815-50112. I bought two and fitted them today, not a difficult job really, they're split so you don't have to slide them onto the bar from the ends. Worth considering if you want to tighten things up a little, or if your Toyota dealer is closer than your Lexus dealer.
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I haven't checked (I'm fairly new to Lexus ownership) but it should only be a little thing. If it's screwed into a larger plastic housing then you should be able to separate it and order only that part - the plastic housing bumps up the price. It's like ordering a new air filter box every time you replace the air filter. Have a close look around the thing, see if it has any part numbers stamped on.
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Who makes the MAF? If it's a Bosch part you can just buy from them, you'll save a hell of a lot of money doing that than buying from a dealer.
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This is a random thought, but is the accelerator cable correctly set up? Will it rev past 4000rpm if you turn the pot manually, under the bonnet?
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Nothing should burn out, the engine limiter will act well before that. I would suggest that in N the car might not rev that high anyway - certainly Mercedes don't. In D is a different matter.
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Is it really so irritating to pull over and set the satnav from the side of the road, safely? You cannot be driving safely while your attention is on a small screen well away from the windscreen or mirrors.
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Impossible to enforce.
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Yes, just like anything else that's free at the point of use. It would ensure that everyone is insured, saving police time dealing with uninsured drivers, and significantly reducing instances of failure to stop. Cyclists have a common law right to use the roads, just like pedestrians and horse riders. If cyclists are to be insured (and a great many already are), then the same would apply to the other two groups. Frankly though, cyclists don't need insurance, because cyclists don't tend to be at the centre of massive, expensive accidents.
