abs66

Hi Manc, was it you that bought those is200 wheels on ebay today by any chance :winky: Thats a brilliant link Steve thanks.

Very nice Ruud, got anymore photos? Just as side note, are those wipers the aero vu flat ones you see on fleabay and if so, any good?

Well Colms comments about gradual changing of fluid intrigued me as it definitely makes life a whole lot easier from a diy stand point. Whilst doing a little more digging I remembered an old friends brother was an auto gearbox man many moons ago and as that facebook thingy had managed to recently get us back in touch I asked him if his brother still worked on gearboxes. He does as it turns out and he confirmed there was a certain logic to the Supra boys claims and thats exactly what he does on his auto box mainly as its easy for him to do at the end of the day at work. He also told me that he has only ever used either the correct toyota type t-IV mainly when customer brought their own or other makes that are jws 3309 specs like mobil 3309 etc. He said it was down to correct friction. He also said they had come across boxes that hadn't had 3309 spec when last done and were now playing up. Thats pretty much all I needed to know to be honest. I'm going to replace the atf 3 litres at a time until its cherry red and I will probably use the Toyota stuff as I cant get equivalent stuff any cheaper. Happy days. I love these forums, they can get you thinking outside the box with all the different info flying about. Thanks guys.

As previously stated, wet and dry surface I use 2000 paper then 3000 pads, T3 cutting compound, auto glym polish. A polishing machine is a godsend but even then, take your time use loads of water to avoid further heat damage and keep the machine moving. If the damage is too far gone then its gonna be respray time but £800! No way not on a £500 car, shop around I reckon you might get it £300 ish depends on how good a finish you require. Good luck and keep us posted its how we all learn :)

Good spot on the 3309 on eBay, thanks. I've seen all the stuff on the Saab and Volvo forums they seem to have had similar issues with main dealers putting in dexron and wrecking the gearboxes. They also use Mobil 3309 and Volvo guys say their ATF fluid is just re-badged Mobil 3309 like the Toyota T-IV. I'm not so sure the 3309 is any cheaper than type T-IV Toyota fluid when factoring in the postage, might email him and see if a deal possible.

I think series one cars had two electric fans, you might get the whole shroud complete with fans from Benfur [this club] or Ebay.. Thanks for that, I will investigate, cheers.

Here you are ................ http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=71807 As they were on my beast Andy Yup that the post I was on about, I think they sit just right in the arches with those coilovers done. vvvvvvvvv nice a credit to you.

Dexron is a big NO NO on AW boxes on the 400 and £240 is a lot even for a vac out. I personally wouldn't touch them, but its up to you. With regards to it being brown, its already overdue a change in my opinion so sooner the change the better but not dexron its the wrong fluid no matter what they say. I would think a competent garage should be able to do that at least £100 cheaper. Have a look on LEXLS for an idea whats involved, seems pretty simple to do if you have access to ramps or a lift. Im going to invest in some good ramps and buy the correct fluid and filter and do it myself and I expect it to still cost way less than that quote plus I will have a set of ramps for future use. Anyway what ever you decide, good luck and heres the link. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/transmission/transchange.html

I think they take ten years off the car and it looks like only a few years old. Are they LS430 alloys by any chance I cant find the old post.

I have the same problem with mine. I have a little Saab black paint left from a previous repair so will use that. I expect it will take a fair bit of rubbing down and then masking up. I will let you know how I get on.

I might just give it a go then if its not going to knacker anything, mines a little noisy recently.

AClex would know. Did you see the pics of his car when those alloys were on it? I personally thought it was gorgeous, not that yours isn't by the way!

I would double check which atf they used as we have heard some dealers think dexron III is ok !!! Plus they dont always replace filter and do a complete change they sometimes just do a flush which isn't as good as it sounds. Sorry dont mean to sound negative, but I would check with them and get in writing if poss what they used and did just for peace of mind.

I love those alloys, very lush. Are you going to lower her a bit (please no one shout at me) it would set of those alloys lovely if she were just a tad lower like AC lex had on his.

I've heard of the wd40 trick before but some people say that's a bad idea that just covers up the squeaking by stopping the belt griping properly which seems feasible, who to believe is the question as I don't know enough about belts etc, I just assumed they were meant to grip and that squeaking meant time for a new one.

No probs Andy, let us know how you got on finding out. I have not managed to find anyone selling Mobil 3309 any cheaper (in UK anyway) than the Type T-IV so all seems a bit price fixed to me, no wonder companies call the UK "Treasure Island" !! I did try seeing if Mobil would supply at decent prices if we bought in bulk but got passed around different importers on mainland Europe with out getting any price info what so ever, I suspect the tie up with the main car and gearbox manufacturers stops them selling it cheaper than the branded ATF's. I do wonder if as a club we would be able to negotiate a better deal with a US supplier, I don't know what other people think on the matter, always interested in hearing other peoples opinions as I dont have a clue about all the ins and outs of import taxes etc. No doubt we would be screwed over by some government department somewhere lol.

Has anyone retro fitted a second fan, and if so, how easy was it? Thinking about doing this myself so hoping it isn't wildly expensive or difficult.

Good luck with the '98 LPG sounds like a nice car. Get ready to snipe it though and beat them at their own game :)

I feel for you, I would be lost without my old LS even though she is battered and the Chavs round here seem to want to play noughts and crosses with keys on it (God help em if I catch the little cowards). Do you need a big car in the mean time while you fix the LS up or just after something small to tide you over? ( NOte to self must look up where the expression "Tide you Over" comes from )

Fingers crossed he fixes it for you. My Mk III has no back lights on the radio and half the display isnt working either, can get confusing sometimes lol

Its always best to use the genuine fluid in my opinion, but having spent many many hours researching this I found quite a lot of evidence that Mobil are the ones who appear to make the Toyota fluid as they do for other Car manufacturers who use the AW gearboxes. AW are a sub division or joint venture between Toyota and Borg warner as they were. Some guys who appear to know what they are talking about are adamant that T-IV is just Mobil 3309 rebadged as is the case for Volvo genuine fluid that is alledgedly the same as T-IV used in the same AW gearboxes. Now I know that doesnt clear things up much but it might be worth finding out if the Mobil ATF was 3309 or another mobil type which wont do the job as 3309 will. So in summation, the Mobil needed to be 3309. I hope that makes sense.

I here ya Manc, legal it may be, but moral? They ask very few questions when starting a policy but if there's an accident, you can almost hear the pinging sound of the fine tooth comb being unholstered! I know some people have had some great responses from insurers after accident, but equally I've heard of some companies wriggling like mad to avoid paying a decent amount and only being fair when decent honest claimants ( I know there are dodgy claimants out there too) have fought their corner. Shame on them, and shame on the dodgy claimants who ruin it for the rest of us too!

Sounds like a possible fan problem to me, anything from no signal from temp sensor to vc on the fan itself. I had a similar problem on an old SD1 Rover many years ago, was alright normally but when in a jam on a hot day she got very hot. That was down to the vc on the fan. I would just eliminate things one by one (obvious I know and I apologise if you are already doing this) some one on these forums will know how to check if there is a signal going to the fan etc, sorry I cant help on that. The fan check is easy enough with two people one to run the engine above idle one to watch the fan etc. Good luck finding the culprit and if nothing else, while you're there why not give the cooling system a flush if it hasnt been done for a while and check for debris, pipes deteriorate from the inside too even if they look ok from the outside, worth a shufti.

If its intermittent, I concur with the battery connection theory as a first check anyway. Just because some of the electric stuff works doesn't mean the connections are as good as they should be, well worth the 5 mins required to check. Hope you get it fixed.

Brilliant, welcome to the club so to speak. Now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the ride :winky: