maneesh

Check out this ad on ebay. Can you believe this guy reckons a 91 LS400 with 152k is worth £5,500? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...&category=50175

Yes, normal, but can seem scary to those who don't know, particularly when the car has a very empty tank, considerable vacuum pressure builds up inside. They used to have a name something like "foo-foo" valve on old Toyotas which had a special valve to let the pressure out when you twist the cap. They used to call it a foo-foo valve as the hissing noise "used" to make a similar sounding noise. Remember, you've got a large tank when empty (85 litres).

I was told it's every 60k/5 years by my dealer. That sounds expensive! It's normally £300 at a Lexus dealer, unless they are trying to con you! The manufacturers established 60k as an interval for many engines since in experiments and other observations, the average time to failure was somewhere in the region of 60k, so they figured that's good enough. In some new engines, the interval can be as much as 80k. However, the original LS400 engine was non-interference, meaning if the belt snaps you are not left with bent valves etc. Not sure if the newer models are the same. The belt will have become tired with age even though you might not have done a lot of mileage. Either way, prevention is better than cure.

Wow, that's amazing, that Lexus UK gave you those sites. Very impressive.

Unless the sellers in the US are offering mats for right hand drive vehicles, the mats available in the US for left hand drive LS400s wouldn't fit a LS400 in the UK. Only the back ones would fit, and I suppose the front mats would fit if you were happy to turn them upside down! :D

excellent news! Ah, sometimes life can be nice to ya when it comes to cars :D

Dude, Your car looks sweet!!! How much were the wheels and tyres?

money saved is always a good thing! let us know how the car drives after you have put everything on...

I thought fuel tanks in Mk1 and Mk2 models were 85 litres? That's £65 a tank at current rates!!!

What would people buy as their next car then? I know it's sacrilege to mention this, but I wanted to throw caution to the wind... Personally, I'd quite fancy an Audi S8....they look so sweet.

andy You poor sod! I had them delivered to my office address, don't know if that made any difference.

From what I know, should be approx. 2 gallons. So about 30 to 60 miles of driving depending on how heavy your right foot is.

Anyone heard of this technology? Interesting feature, if it works without drilling. http://www.sempal.co.uk/acatalog/spal_park...ce_sensors.html (The first product featuring microwave aerial)

Regards the TIS link, well you need to have a good friend in the US who is willing to sign up for ya! The UK spec model is not totally different from the US spec models. At least you get the main info like engine maintenance, taking door panels off etc, which shouldn't be different from UK and US models.

Thanks for the info. I like the 4 sensors plus a LED display, but £120 is a lot. Might try the ones on Ebay. Turner, did you take the bumper off to find out best place to drill through? Is it easy to take off the rear bumper?

Andy, Are you sure about the price of the rear upper control arms? Seems really cheap? I thought they were the same price as the front upper control arms? The bushes are more than I paid for them. I think I paid $46 for them.

Hmmm, reminds me of that phrase, better the devil you know. These days when they say 1 in 3 cars offered for sale is clocked, it may be easier to stick with the current car and just keep it in good condition. At least your car is not depreciating by a couple of grand each year!

6 grand for 500 miles? That's running cost of £12 per mile. Why not go the whole hog and get a secondhand Bentley? Would have been cheaper!!!

Anyone fitted aftermarket rear parking sensors to Mk1 or Mk2? Turner - I think you've done it on your car. Any tips? Where did you buy the sensors from? I've seen a lot of kits on ebay, but not sure of the quality. I like the one where you get a LED display panel which shows the distance to the object/wall behind the rear of the car. Thanks!

Cool! Well, this forum is all about sharing information amongst enthusiasts and hopefully saving time and cash. Let us know how your car feels like once the parts are installed. I've noticed with the rear bushes, that the ride feels smoother at the back when it's much warmer. It's probably the polyurethane expanding slightly when it's warmer outside. When the bushes were fitted, it was snowing outside, so the bushes were probably contracting. Just my theory.... I've been reading a lot recently about how replacing engine mounts and the transmission mount makes a HUGE difference to Mk1s which have done MEGA mileage. I'm probably gonna try getting those parts from the US in the next few months.

This link gives you several options for obtaining Lexus servicing/maintenance information. Option number 6 in particular sounds like a great deal if you have broadband and can download all the info you need in one day! http://www.pearsonimaging.com/LS/repairmanual.html Actually, the site is amazing. The guy lists tutorials for changing brake pads etc, if you are mechanically minded.

Well, I never got presented with a bill from anyone for import duty. I believe it's usually 10% on motor parts. However, the auto parts suppliers in US listed the contents on the customs declaration as "automotive samples", so perhaps that's why no import duty bill. Saying that, a friend of mine bought an MP3 hard drive jukebox over the net from the US, and 2 months after delivery he got a letter from Fedex asking for the import duty to be paid! Either way, it's quids in at the current exchange rates.

Has anyone been next to a Jaguar XKR Silverstone edition, 20 inch rims as standard! Makes my eyes water!!!!

My windscreen got replaced a while back and the wind noise is a lot more than before, even at low speeds. See attached photo, it shows what I think it the cause. The trim in the top corners is not flush against the screen. I can't remember if it was flush against the screen before replacement. Can another Mk1 owner look at their factory fitted windscreen seal and let me know if the black trim should be flush against the screen? If so, then I'm gonna have to find a water resistant glue to help bond the trim to the screen. Thanks in advance, Maneesh

Mk1 LS400s are not very quick off the line as the power to weight ratio ain't that good. Unfortunately, their performance really shows above the legal limit, where the torque curve and the good aerodynamics (0.29 for the early ones I think) really make the car shift. Try it (on an autobahn or a private airstrip!), and you will see for yourself. It's pretty amazing to see the acceleration continue strongly even at speeds of 130ish. You might want to get a old Vauxhall Nova GTE, heavily modified, and throw away the interior except for the drivers seat, and I'm sure the power to weight ratio would be high enough to storm your way to 60! Everyone with MK4s say that the off the mark acceleration is quicker due to 5 speed gearbox and better engine.