Newbie1

And then for UK models they do a really stupid thing just for UK drivers and put the indicator stalk on the same side as the gear shift. Must be the only country in the world where this is the case! About to swap my wife's UK Celica indicator stalk around using import parts. Precious little chance of doing it for the LS400!

Thank you, Michael. I'll give him a try. Rose red mica is not all that common from my observations.

Wittering 44 year old man here. Brilliant cars. Had it four months and can't see myself parting with it. If I am feeling wound up I head out in the old girl and even through London traffic the car relaxes me no end. Planning a European journey in August in the Lexus instead of the Soarer which would normally be our go-to for long journeys. Even contemplating some panel work to get the bodywork up to scratch.

Adapting it to manual height/reach would be great, but nigh on impossible, I suppose.

It might also be worthwhile pulling out the ECU from the passenger foot well and opening it up to inspect the capacitors (take usual precautions-anti static bracelet etc,) Degrading and leaking capacitors can cause all sorts of odd running issues. Even if it is not the cause of the problem, it's a worthwhile check to do for any old ECU to prevent more of the PCB and components being damaged due to capacitor leakage. There are several places in the US that can undertake remedial work if that is a problem.

My father in law worked in mining in southern Africa and had nothing but contempt for Landrovers, which he regarded as lethal machines to take out into the bush. I've experienced Toyota hardiness many times taking a Hilux off-road in South Africa through floods and searingly hot boulder-strewn land. The mention of Porsche reliability reminded my of an incident over the weekend where a neighbour, who has a 4 year old Porsche Cayenne, used a stick to hold the tailgate open. I asked her about this and she said the mechanism (struts? motors?) had failed and the quote to fix it was very high. I noted the irony as I cleaned my wife's 1998 Celica with tailgate struts as strong as the day it rolled off the line in Japan.

A rare sight. My most recent spot was a Mk 2 LS400 in Croydon with some fancy exhaust pipes on it.

Good info here. I have ordered Three Bond 1281 sealant which is used by Toyota. Not cheap but then quality never is.

Oh bugger.

I just had my mechanic do what you've done and it is now leaking all over my drive. Watching this thread with interest.

Much appreciated.

Mikey you are absolutely right. Patience is key. Someone must be scrapping a maroon one sometime! Thanks, all.

I was speaking to my paint man about fixing the poor repair job to a rear passenger door on my 1999 Mk IV. It has been damaged at some point and not repaired very well. He said I would be better off getting a good condition door and he would fit and paint it to match. To help with my search, will 94-97 rear door fit a 1999? And could I fit the existing interior trim to a 94-97 door? Thank you.

Just saw this stately silver 1998 Mk IV being driven through Crystal Palace in London. Your car looked immaculate, Sir! A pretty spotless MOST history and low mileage, too. First Mk IV I've seen on London roads for a long time.

Another, although less likely possibility, is that the moisture/vapour barrier plastic in the car door has failed and permitted ingress of water beyond the door seals. Very common on cars where work has been carried out on doors e.g. window regulator, speakers. Often, the barrier is reinstalled using duck tape or similar which fails. Butyl cord is the best for reattaching such barriers.

I would be surprised if E10 (10% ethanol, 90% petroleum) would affect a relatively modern engine like the UZ with an ECU that will accommodate a variety of combustion scenarios. However, an issue I had with one car that I modified was ethanol fuels destroying fuel hoses. These were new fuel hoses that were supposedly ethanol safe but that turned out not the be the case. As it happened the number of suppliers of truly ethanol safe fuel hoses was quite small.

I'm probably imagining the difference as between regular and super! I know that it shouldn't make a difference, really. The link to the US site is very informative. The gear change issue is like on an old MS65 Crown Super Saloon I had which did the same thing, although that was just ancient Toyopet auto box behaviour.

I've noticed this ever so slightly on mine (70k, throttle body clean as a whistle when last checked, sparks new etc.). My assumption was that it was somehow connected to the traction control system. What I have noticed is that if I drive it in snow mode the changes are smooth and pulling away presents no jerkiness (around London snow mode is fine, really, as you never pull away or get anywhere at any speed!). However, cornershops post is interesting, although is it the case that the magic formula is really some sort of octane booster, which might explain the improvements in performance? I have noticed that the LS400 is happier on super than regular.

V reg with 70000 and the height motor has gone with the same symptoms you describe. Mileage is not determinative as a car could have done many short journeys. No plastic cog in the MkIVs just a weak motor. The reach motor is not much better. But, if that's the worst of the engineering in the LS400 then it's not too bad at all. Interestingly, steering motor failure on Soarers is not that common. The Soarer steering columns were built at the Miyoshi plant, and the Celsior/LS400 at the Miyochi plant. Guess the motors were subcontracted out, though.

I have had both lengths-eBay blanks-cut for my Mk4. No problems.

Mk 4 is different. They changed the design to an equally faulty mechanism. Usual story with Jap cars. 95% really well thought out with 5% leaving you scratching your head wondering why they couldn't get something right others had gotten right for years.

I would love to have that top notch Japanese velour they use in the Century. Much nicer.

It was fine. Not for regular use, but applied with fingers and not agitated with a brush, it removed decades of muck the finest leather cleaners couldn't remove. Each to their own, but we're not talking the finest Connolly hide here! It's some pretty ordinary corrected grain leather with an almost plasticised finish due to the dying process as described above.

Abrasives have their place (very occasionally). In a similar vein, I have used Fast Orange hand cleaner to great effect on my cashmere leather seats.

Does anyone know what the spring rates are for the Mk IV LS400? Very hard information to find.