GreyBeard

Thanks guys, think i might get one for my next Tezz.....Gonna get a Blue Tezz, so Blue grounding kit it is!!

eBay currently (3/1/2004) have some for sale on buy it now at $23, item number: 2451864647

pic attached:

Why are most sausages long and not round

The round sausage burgers that McDonalds do with their breakfasts are better than their burgers, so why don't they do them all day?

i don't think they are jealous, and they sure as hell don't care how hard you worked for the money; they do it because it gives them a buzz. they know that millions of cars are parked at the roadside, untended, just waiting for them to damage. so, which one gives the best buzz? naturally, the best one! unless it's one of their contemporaries, in which case they just do it out of spite, knowing full well that their chances of getting caught are miniscule.

and i bet the 'posh' gits also get a buzz out of it, just knowing they did it and didn't get caught!

even CCTV isn't guaranteed to help; when a yob ran over my car, (bonnet, roof and boot all dented) i rang plod to make sure they'd recorded it, but they told me the cameras weren't manned at the time!

if you're out of the company car circuit, then the inland rev will allow tax free payments to you of 40p/p/mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p/p/mile thereafter, but you have to pay all costs of the car, incl VAT on fuel and repairs. if you pay the extra costs of running the car as a dividend, then at least there's no NHI on it, yet!

it seems to work out that the fuel is 7% dearer, but economy is improved by 3.5%, so it costs 3.5% more BUT, you get power and accelleration improvements of about 3%, effectively it's almost the same price, allowing for better performance. AND don't they claim it's better for your engine, cleaner, blah blah blah?

having just read this post, it seems as tho LOC is full of good samaritans! plenty of sensible advice coupled with sensible humour! warms the cockles of your heart, don't it?

hadn't thought about weight distribution, but as my LS is going to be driven like a luxury car, not a sports car (hence don't mind power loss of 15% or so), it probably won't matter. and colin's comments make sense too, so assuming the cost/payback works out, i'll probably do it.

where did you get it done, and how much was it?

thanks - i'll take a look

i tried esure this morning, i have 8 years no claims, clean licence, i'm over 50, and this was their reply:

You do need a certain amount of NCD with esure as they only insure 'safe' drivers. Their quotes are normally just lower than Directline - basically because they are the same company and give a slightly bigger discount.

Colin, don't think you're right about them being the same company - esure is Bank of Scotland subsidiary, and direct line is Royal Bank of Scotland sub.

look OK to me, but pricey - also not sure whether manufacturer is licensed to produce plates, which could leave you in a hole if plod object.

thanks guys. how long are batteries supposed to last for? the cars 4 years old now and i assume its still the original one in the car

i've got one in a renault van that's been there 6.5 years and has once been filled up with 1.5L of tap water, and it's still going fine! surprised that the 'reliable' lexus ones don't last longer.

I'm no mechanic, so at 65,000 miles, I decided to ask the dealer the cost of this. $900!!

I took it to a local trusted mechanic, who himself drives a LS 400, and he did the job expertly for $480.

mine's just being done by a non-lexus dealer, costing about 500 pounds, but that includes two tensioners and a new waterpump, in addition to the belt. having seen some pictures of the job, i thought it was way too daunting!

i'm interested in the clear front indicator lenses for an LS400, so any help in that direction would be appreciated. (i've tried an american site but they have no stock)

i've a 1990 LS400 and mine is a bit eratic, so i've been reading all the posts and links in LOC. somewhere i read that when the power supply chip starts to fail in the instrument cluster or climate control display, not only do the instrument needles start to not light up, or the climate control screen goes black, but it also affects the performance of the guages because they are not being fed a consistent voltage. have you got probs with your displays?

send an email to obergc, as above, cos he replies quickly and is most helpful!

go and sit in a medium sized hotel/pub car park with your wireless laptop, and have a browse thro their computer! why do otherwise progressive companies leave themselves wide open like this? we've tried it twice and it worked both times!

i had a similar problem on a ford; it transpired that one of the HT leads wasn't making proper contact onto the top of the plug. it felt as tho it was there, but on close inspection the metal clip inside the rubber shroud was pushed further up inside than on the others, so a bit of bodging with thin nosed pliers cured it. hope it helps.

If you want to see a blow by blow pictogram with words on how to do the job, log on to this site:

http://www.lextreme.com/lcdtech.htm

when i've seen the newbury company, i'll be better able to determine whether USA or UK is the better route to take.

I have a 1990 LS400 with an unreadable climate control display. - Has turned completely black at one side - looks as if ink has leaked into it.

Lexus dealers quote £300 + VAT for a new climate control panel.

Do you have any contacts for repair or replacement of the LCD display?

jim walker in USA will supply new screen for 150 dollars, or if you send him your pcb complete, he'll solder in the new screen, which has about 48 pins solder to some delicate pcb tracks. i asked him about import duty and he said he thought it didn't apply to repairs. he also said that he had screens for LHD models, which are different from UK ones; they are handed. there's also someone in newbury who has repaired a 1992/3 model, and will look at mine when it's on the road again, to see if he can fix that one too. cost about 150 pounds. i understand that when the climate control screen goes, the instrument gauge needles go soon after (in that they start to become unlit.)

thanks - mine's 'only' got 125k but currently having head gaskets done, along with a shed load of other stuff, cos i seem to have bought a pup! hopefully i'll have to wait 75k for the EGR tube to be a prob!

What's an EGR tube?

The only info I have is for a US model so could be different to the UK model.

Possibly fuse 1 - a 25Amp which controls the brakelights and part of the cruise control. It's the only 25Amp fuse there.

i've just read this again - it sounds like jackie is an american anyway; ("pass side" & "ground")

stay lucky, cos the older your car gets, the more likely the displays will go blank! but all's not lost, the american guy will repair your climate control display for about 200 dollars, plus shipping. and there's also somebody in newbury who can do it for about 150 pounds.