GreyBeard

if your ABS came in, then the brakes are already doing more than you need. i can see that bigger might make them cooler, but that's not the main consideration when you want it to stop on a sixpence!

"The old believe everything: The middle-aged suspect everything: The young know everything." Oscar Wilde he must have been really old when he said that!

well, assuming my 400 is still running! i'll do my best to be there, but as it's definitely up north, being north of watford gap, it'll be lunchtimeish. should have my new climate control screen running by then, maybe even the aircon as well!!

but can you press a coupla buttons on your watch and get a diagnostic readout for the probs with the aircon?? (i understand mine will do that, so can't wait to find out if its true!!)

20" rims with rubber band tyres? then i'd lose that sloppy, understeer, limosine style of ride! and why would wearing a kilt make any difference to anything, unless it's a real hot day? and limo tints - i think i've heard of those things, but all that white powder getting spilt into the carpets; i don't think so! and as for a hoe in the car, i can't even get a garden rake in there! and as for a dab of ice; a quid a bag in tescos for loads of it, so why 'invest'? ah! i see what you mean, but can you get radio 4 long wave on dab, and what about when i go to wales? they haven't even got VHF yet! and anyway, if i was going to do that stuff, one of the GS430 would suit it better, left hooker or not! :winky:

good advice - now i'll just pop into the tardis, go back to nov last year, prevent my son buying my LS400 in an auction, avoid going to a useless garage, save spending the money on a re-spray, then off to a decent dealer (whereever they are!!) and buy a MK3 with low mileage! but, would i still get those pitying looks when i tell people i've got a 1990 lexus 400? i've got so used to them that i might miss them! :lol:

friday gone out to wednesday of next week cos i've suddenly got too busy! so pics'll be anotherfew days appearing - sorry. (got to earn the money to run these 'reliable' lexuses!)

Pimp-mobile?? oh! dear! it looks just like mine, so i must be doing something wrong! at least mines got a Lexus badge on the front! :P

give me kelly brook with hobnailed boots - she can drive my lex anytime! but i agree with you, apart from getting mine re-sprayed, all i've done is put clear indicators on the front (which is when i discovered the outer ones on each side don't even have bulb holders in them!!) i'm now in the process of moding the outer ones to take another chrome appearance indicator bulb. other than that, she's standard.

the last option might have suited you then! i'm P3 then the front page, then work my way thro to the centre chuck-out pages, then to the agony column, then the motors (if it's friday), then in the bin! TV was so bad the other day, that i watched premier football or some such, and it wasn't too bad, plenty of action, nearly goals, etc., then it ended after 15 minutes and i realised it was the highlights. so maybe that's the answer, football in highlights for 15 mins now and then! and 'No Angels' on CH4 for the rest of the time!!!

but around town you're only going to get upper teens, so work out your annual mileage, and think about the cost savings - everything else on the lex costs a load, so any saving on fuel would help.

have a look here: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...=48&t=14016&st= bob

CHIPS, can you share the contact details re the re gas of your aircon? are they 'down south'?

as of today, 16 votes, 7 sporty types, and 9 with a life!! i thought all along it would be about 50/50

as i understand it these are not the same as the LHD versions; they are RHD but only fit 90-92, and the 93-94 are different again. the estimate seems a lot, but against the Lexus solution, it's much cheaper! i'll know better on friday evening, all being equal!

wow- i've never before been in the same sentence as colin! i'm not the right person to ask really; i've only had a lexus 400 1990 (125K miles) for 6 months, during which time i've done only 2000 miles cos it's been in the garage so much! my car had been maintained by a blind donkey with only one front leg! even the windscreen was seriously scratched because the wipers had no rubber on them! (i didn't see the car before the auction, my son bought it). but to answer your question, the above is relevant - without FSH don't touch it with a bargepole! so, i would say a low mileage older MK2 or newer would be better, with money put aside to do the things that go, like re-seal the power steering pump, even if it's not leaking, re-seal brake pistons and replace the discs if there's even a hint of wobble/judder under braking, free-off the parking brake. make sure the throttle is thoroughly cleaned, have the suspension bushes checked/replaced, replace the black climate control screen and sort the power supply for the instrument cluster. if the radio is on the blink, it might be better to replace it (i'm toying with that option as the RDS has packed up, and the little screen is fading). for peace of mind, i'd also do a mega service, cam belt and adjusters, water pump, fan belt, and get ALL the fluids changed, HT leads, dist caps & rotor arms, etc. and the tappets if it's noisy, which a lowe mileage one shouldn't be. make sure Lexus fluid is used in the auto-box (not an alleged equal) or that will cause probs later on. probably cost you 2.5 - 3K or so for that lot. i've spent about 7K on getting all my probs solved, and with the benefit of hindsight, i'd have bought a later one, then done as above, and probably only spent a little bit more. but the later ones have heated seats (notorious as they are) and a number of other refinements! (i think the MK1 was made for 'field trials' funded by the punters, while toyota improved the later ones.) not sure i've thought of everything, and in any event, others will have similar or even diverse views, which i hope they will add to this epistle!

right - my lex is booked in friday this week to have the climate control screen changed for a new one imported from america. i'll let you know how it goes and what it costs, once it's all done and dusted! for those of you who are bored with your black screens, this is where i'm going by the time i've fixed everything thats' not working, i could have a bought a new one!

i've not personally taken mine apart, but when i had the calliper pistons re-sealed a month or so ago, the garage said they had four pots per calliper (but bearing in mind a load of other things they said, which then turned out to be untrue, maybe they made-up the 4 pots thing just to charge more!) i've got to crawl around the car to check the disk/rotor size in order to get some new ones, so that should determine the issue. apparently 1990 LSs had their discs changed to a deeper offsett and thicker disc, so i'm not sure which one i've got. i'll also be able to establish whether the calliper is firmly attached.

perhaps if you had the gearbox fluid changed but didn't use the lexus specified product (not a substitute) this might have caused it. apparently the lexus oil will not mix with any other, and it forms a gel stuff that blocks the ports, etc. (there's another topic about it). otherwise, any one of the miriad sensors could be giving a misleading input to the ECU, which in turn is putting out garbage. GIGO. mine's doing something similar but not so extreme, and they did put substitute oil in the autobox, which has now been changed, but i'll have to do it a couple more times to be sure it's clear. and any inconsistent running can be laid at the door of a dirty throttle body - there's a really good pictogram of how to do the job yourself; it hardly needs any tools at all. hope this helps a bit.

you ask some good questions! none technical answer, roughly, if the new sub weighs more than the old one, it'll handle the power output of the existing amp. and if you want to make even more noise, you should get an IS, and not drag the LS down to their level!! <_<

maneesh, what a good summary of the pros and cons of running an LS! your comments about FSH are particularly relevant. i bought one without (well, my son did 'cos it was cheap') and spent 4 grand just to get it reasonably reliable! i love driving mine, but only done 1500 miles or so since getting it back from garage. it's like a mobile phone "whatever did i do before i had one?". but how long i'll keep my clean licence, that's another question! it would have been great fun to have one in the 'good old days' before the 70 national limit came in! of course, if you go to germany or the isle of man, you could still make the most of it! bite the bullet, enjoy it before you're too old! you can have the mondeo afterwards!

have a look pic 1 pic 2

thanks for this - i obviously should have looked it up rather than rely on my memory! unless of course, someone has replaced their pads themselves and can confirm whether our callipers are indeed firmly fixed or floating. i know we have four pots per calliper, two on each side, but i would have thought there was a calliper float facility, simply because of the way mine respond (my front discs are warped). even if our callipers are firmly fixed, the pads will still move further apart if the disc is warped, cos at speed, the high spots will push back the pistons. but before this happens, the action of the high spot hitting the pad each time it comes round, could still cause a 'knock' sound as the pad backplate shifts slightly.

OK

nope, but i will now! PM on it's way with my phone number.