Colin M

Thanks for this post, Steve - I will follow the method you have used and see what the measurements come out at. Whereabouts is the ride height switch located, incidentally.

Yes, that helps a lot - many thanks.

Hi Mark Thanks for this. What will be the symptoms of a leak if the car has been left overnight? How will I check if there is a leak, assuming it has been left overnight (which I suspect will be unlikely)? A hissing noise (air leaking), fluid underneath somewhere? Cheers Colin

I am going to have a look at a LS430 in Birmingham tomorrow for Phil, The Acre. I have no knowledge of experience of air suspensions so would appreciate some guidance on how to check the suspension is working properly. Any help would be much appreciated. I am making assumptions, which may or may not be correct: 1) there is some button inside the car which adjusts the suspension height setting (if so, where is it, how many height settings are there, and how long does it take for the setting to adjust?) 2) the engine needs to be running when you make an adjustment (does this need to be done when the car is stationary or can it be done on the move?) Thanks in anticipation of some help. Colin

Phil I have sent you a PM about this. Colin

When I bought my second LS400 in January, it had a short MOT (3 weeks ...) and advisories at the previous MOT on slight surface corrosion on the main rear and offside rear brake pipes. I rubbed the rust down on the pipes and painted them with Hammerite before taking the car for its MOT. It passed with no advisories and a mileage of 212,000 miles.

Steve, please could you add to the order another kit so that I have one for my other Mk 3 as well? Thanks a lot and, if you can let me know when the kit arrives, I will make the payment as previously. Cheers Colin

Got mine as well. Thanks, Steve. I will need someone to do the soldering on mine too (can weld and braze OK but have always struggled with soldering and will not be attempting anything as delicate and intricate as this). Perhaps when those who have ordered kits from Steve have had the capacitors soldered in, they can post up their experience of how things went.

Yes, I spotted these too. I did not know that Lexus did these but I have a set of sheepskin mats in my 1996 LS400. They are from a Mercedes 420SEL that I used to own and which I sold to buy the LS400. I kept the mats and they fit well in the LS400's footwells. Mrs Colin is pleased I kept them ...

Many thanks for the info on the interior colours - very helpful, especially as they appear to be different. Maybe I need a trip to Specsavers ... Cheers Colin

Thanks for the quick response. My 1996 car is P35TFE and my 1997 one is R729EUF. Both cars have the same grey interior. Cheers Colin

Hi, and welcome to the Forum. Can I ask you if the grey leather in Mk 3 LS400s is called Westminster Grey? I want to order some leather restoration dye to do the section where the seatbelt tends to wear the colour away on the driver's seat and it would be helpful to know what the official name for the colour is. Thanks. Colin

I found Watling very helpful too. Before buying a car with one of their towbars fitted, I contacted them to ask for a fitting diagram showing where the mounting points were, as I was thinking of fitting a towbar to my lpg LS400. They emailed one by return and dealt quickly with a couple of follow up queries I had. I did not go down this route in the end, as having another LS400 with a towbar already fitted seemed a better option. Why have only one LS400 if the opportunity is there to have two?!!

A cheaper alternative might be to see whether there is anything similar on this website: www.sealsdirect.co.uk I have not used them for any LS400 parts but I managed to find a boot seal that fitted my Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire 346 and near enough replicated the original. Worth a try.

Watling Towbars do a towbar for the LS400 - see www.watling-towbars.co.uk Click on Price Lists on the narrow blue horizontal band, scroll down to Towbars Pricelist - Jan 2013 and click on this. Lexus are on p22. They are not cheap to buy - £264.00!! I have one fitted to my 1997 LS400. I did not fit it or have it fitted, as it was on the car when I bought it (and it was one of the reasons I bought the car). Mine is a Mk 3 car, although they will fit the Mk 4. You will see from the Pricelist that the towbar goes up to Jul 98 i.e. the end of R reg cars, so if yours is a R reg car that will be fine. EU Type Approval for Towbars came in on 1 August 1998 and, although the towbar will fit S reg cars onwards, it is not a Type Approved towbar. As I understand it, it is a legal requirement for vehicles registered after 1 August 1998 to have only a Type Approved towbar fitted and it will be an offence under the Construction & Use Regulations if a non-approved towbar is fitted. It might also affect your insurance. Hope this helps. Colin

At my local lpg station, it is usually 72.9. However, it is a BP station which has a loyalty scheme. You have a card which is stamped when you fill up (provided you buy at least 30 litres) and the next fill up is 1p a litre cheaper. They then stamp the card again and the next fill up is 2p a litre cheaper. This goes on reducing by an extra 1p a litre for each subsequent fill up until you get the last stamp on the card (10 stamps in total). So the last fill up will have 9p a litre knocked off and will be 63.9 (assuming the price remains the same at 72.9), which is a significant saving. You then get another card and start again. I thought this was just a loyalty scheme for this particular lpg station but it seems the card can be used at other BP stations which sell lpg. I happened to stop at another BP station, was asked if I had a loyalty card and was able to use the one I had for the fill up there.

That's a good average. Mine usually needs a fill up when I have done about 200 miles, so I think the average would be about 20 mpg. But most of that tends to be local rather than motorway driving. Given the price of lpg, I am more than happy with 20 mpg.

That's exactly how I read it too.

1996 LS400 Mk 3 (owned since Dec 2012) - OSF spring broken and replaced at MOT in Nov 2013; OS front oxygen sensor not working and replaced in April 2014; minor exhaust leak on cat/exhaust pipe flange in April 2014, cured by using Wynns Black Gasket Maker (much better than gun-gum etc, as it remains flexible). 1997 LS400 Mk 3 (owned since Jan 2014) - nothing so far, other than replacing aerial (which did not retract) and getting air-con re-gassed (not really a fault but just something that needs doing every few years).

64 Mini (first BL car ... last BL car ...) 64 Triumph Herald 1200 69 Vauxhall Victor 2000 FD Series 71 Ford Capri 1600 XL 75 Ford Cortina 2000E (1977-2001) 75 Ford Cortina 2000E Estate (1981-1998) 55 Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 346 (bought in 1987, restoration completed in 1997 and still have it) 73 Ford Cortina 2000GXL (1993-2008) 87 Mercedes 420SEL (2000-2012) 89 Mercedes 500SEL (2005-2014) 89 Mercedes 190 2.6 (2008-2013)

OK, Carl, perhaps you can let me know how you get on. I am thinking I might use them when the cam belt needs changing in about 10,000 miles, as they have fitted the one that is currently on the car and they know the car well. I don't know any specialist in the West Midlands area and, although Merseyside is some distance away, we could combine it with a visit to our son who lives there. Cheers Colin

Hi Carl You could try Glyn Jones Vehicle Servicing and Repairs, who are independent Lexus and Toyota specialists on Merseyside. You can find their details with a Google search - the third entry down in a Google search is their Facebook page which has their address and phone number. I have no direct experience of their work but I bought a second LS400 at the beginning of this year which had been serviced by them since 2006. I did contact them before making the purchase of the car to ask them a few questions and they were very helpful. Indeed, they offered to send me printouts of the service records at no cost if I sent them a sae, which I did. They came back in the post the following day. They previous owner of the LS400 must have been happy with their work as he used then for several years and has continued to use them for the Lexus that he has bought to replace the LS 400. Hope this helps. Regards Colin

Yes, £264 is not cheap ... Cars registered after 1 August 1998 (I.e. S reg onwards) require a type approved towbar to comply with EU Regulations (EC94/20). Those registered before that date do not. See the Watling Towbars Pricelist As far as I am aware, there are no MOT requirements in respect of Towbars, but I stand to be corrected on this.

Watling do a towbar for the 1990-94 LS400 and for the 1994-97 LS400. www.watling-towbars.co.uk Click on Price Lists (sixth heading below the picture) and then on Towbars Pricelist - Jan 2013. This opens up a pdf and Lexus are on p22. Price is £264. I have a Watling towbar on my 1997 LS400 (on when I bought the car) and can confirm it is a substantial item. Hope this helps. Colin

My leather is like Pete's - just the odd 'bald' patch (where the seatbelt goes across the seat back) and some minor cracking. I have found the Gliptone kits easy to use and, once I have got one, might post up a 'before' and 'after' photo.