ScottC

Hi I am replacing the air suspension valve 48096-50040 which directs air to the 2 rear shock absorbers. How do I disconnect the air lines, I can squeeze the 2 arms of the nylon retainer together to dissengage this from the valve body.....is it then a case of just pulling the line out. There is some resistance to pulling on the line and I don't want to damage anything. However it has probably been untouched since 2005 so perhaps it is just a bit stiff. Any advice please? ScottC

Ground back until I reached fresh metal. Looks like this. Then hammerite and when that has dried some waxoyl before the cover goes back on. The opposite of concourse but it has stopped the rust.

This repair won't involve a spray gun !

Maybe of interest. Takes about 20 minutes. You need a craft knife to cut through the double sided pads. Door is actually sound but rust has formed where the skin has been pierced for the trim clip.

Hi I want to remove the plastic panel at the bottom of the door so I can treat the rust bubbles on the door. It isn't at all obvious to me how it comes off. Any advice gratefully received. ScottC

Hi The subframe is beyond repair and needs to be replaced. Lexus don't sell them any more so looking for a good second hand one now. ScottC

Hi I had the car on wheel ramps in the late autumn and I scraped all the rust off the subframe and painted the inner sills (another advisory) where they aren't protected under plastic trims. Unfortunately I started too late in the year and it got dark and wet and cold(working outside). The subframe was quite rusty and a lot of loose rust came away but I didn't spot any holes in it, I fear that it has been deemed compromised by the loss of metal to rust. I have waxoyl and underseal to go on it (if it can be saved) when the weather improves. ScottC

Hi Car failed it's MOT today due to corrosion of the rear subframe. Has anyone else experienced this and what is the likely damage. My garage uses an independent tester and they were going to put the car up on their ramps when they got it back and see what needed doing and get back to me, it will be tomorrow now. Last year it was just an advisory and the car hasn't been used at all since lockdown last March so I can't imagine much could have happened in the last year. I think what I am really worried about is that the whole subframe has been condemned and will have to be replaced, best outcome will be it can be repaired in situ. ScottC

Well the sensor spacers will fool the electronics into thinking the cats are working okay, so no fault light on the dashboard. However the car still has to pass the emission test at the MOT centre☹️ I would check the Y pipe for holes. ScottC

Hi I recently had a hole welded up on my 2005 LS430. The hole was in the Y connector near the gearbox. I am now getting the VSC light coming on after a short distance. ODB reader says Catalyst system efficiency below threshold bank 1. Which side is bank 1, is it the drivers side? Any ideas? ScottC

Hi I have 4 Michelin Primacy 4 tyres on my2005 LS430. Fitted about 6 months ago, £150.00 each. These replaced 4 Primacy 3 tyres which I was extremely pleased with, Michelin claim the Primacy 4 is even better than the Primacy 3 so it was a no brainer for me. After 4,000 miles I cannot recommend them enough. ScottC

Good luck. I have done both of mine, 1 came out easily, the other side was stuck solid and took a bit of patience. ScottC

Hi I replaced both of mine with Blueprint items, about £160.00 a side in 2014. It was a while ago but I remember that I found a manufacturing code on them which indicated they were OEM. 40,000 miles later they are fine. 1 was worn, the same symptoms as you describe. Frustratingly the other side was fine, the remaining noise that I was trying to eliminate was from the tyres - Dunlops sports. A change to Michelin tyres solved that. ScottC

Hi The ABS 9301 parking brake shoes turned up and they fit fine. The hold down pin/washer assembly was a bit corroded so I bought replacements from a local motor factor. Bit of a fiddly job to be honest, top tips would be to put masking tape over the friction linings to stop them getting copper grease on them during assembly, and to compress the hold down springs with cable ties so you are not having to compress them whilst fitting the hold down washer. Cut the ties off once assembled. A spring hook really helps with the larger of the 2 springs, the smaller one is easy with pliers . ScottC

Hi Thank you for that, they look very good. I have ordered from buycarparts.co.uk and with delivery the set of 4 is less than £22.00. Lexus parts were £20.49 + vat each so quite a saving. As people will point out you get what you pay for...………I will report back once they are fitted. ScottC

Hi Sorry to reply to a posting from 2017........here's hoping! Did you have any luck with the Mintex shoes, I am looking for replacement parking brake shoes for my 430 and I seem to be going through the same loops that you went through with aftermarket parts. ScottC

Hi I need some new parking brake shoes for the LS430, the originals are worn out after 14 years. On ebay I have found ID264244868707. I emailed the seller my registration and VIN and he says I need ID264268293301. I looked at these and the LS430 wasn't listed in the compatibility list so queried the fact with him. The 430 has since been added to the list of compatible vehicles. With all the checks and balances on ebay I feel that if they don't fit I will be able to get my money back, but the car is off the road now and I don't want to waste time with the wrong parts. One of the friction linings has separated from the carrier so rather not use the vehicle at the moment. Any advise appreciated as always. ScottC

Hi Yes been there, my 1993 LS400 was valued by a well known internet company at about £50.01 - I think it was £100 minus a £49.99 admin fee. Petrol at the time was circa £1.39 a gallon so a tankful was costing me more than twice the value of the car. I had a rear spring break and I remember being in the showroom at Lexus Cheltenham with my 2 bits of rusty spring being careful not to scratch a beautiful car in there which had a price tag of £100,000. It was an LS600, remarkable that these cars are now available for a fraction of that. I hope you find what you are looking for. ScottC

Hi I am sure the 600 is a great car. The one you are looking at will need a spend of circa £3.8k that you know about on it's next service just for the advisories from the last service. Maybe the extra several thousands at the Lexus dealer might be money well spent. When I bought my 430 it was very hard to find a Lexus approved one as they are quite strict about which cars meet their criteria. I bought privately and came in at about half the price. In the back of my mind I had a lot of money in reserve should things go wrong, but it worked out fine. In fact the car has been totally spoilt! However there are a great deal of pattern parts for the 430 and a lot of knowledge on the Internet. Quite a number were built and you can find cars being broken for spares should you need an engine or front bumper for instance. My feeling with the 600 is that it is so rare and complex it may be that should it go wrong it can only be repaired at a Lexus dealer with Lexus part$. So I would did deep and buy the very best one I could find with a warranty. ScottC

If you are not in a rush I would forget that one and look for a really nice one from a Lexus dealer with a warranty. Otherwise you have a potential money pit. Known bills for £669 and £3094 in the next 10,000 miles would be enough to put me off...……….you could buy a nice LS430 with 12 months MOT and tax for less money. ScottC

Hi Maybe of interest. Ford were making cars 13 years ago with LPG engines which started from cold on LPG and then ran on LPG, they didn't have a petrol tank. https://www.carsguide.com.au/car-reviews/all-gassed-up-9171 Scott

Sounds good Scott

No that is completely wrong........LS460 conversion uses direct injection system for the LPG. No vapouriser is needed to heat the LPG as on an indirect injection set up, the gas is injected straight into the combustion chamber. So it starts and runs from cold on LPG. Scott

Yes On the hottest days of the summer my car is running on gas within a few hundred yards. No reason to think it wouldn't run immediately on LPG if the electronics allowed it to. What system was yours? I have a BRC system in mine. Scott

Hi again. There is a tutorial here :- https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-3rd-gen-2001-2006/536358-front-wheel-bearing-hub-replacement-how-to-04-06-ls430.html You are never more than a few mouse clicks away from a Lexus tutorial..... Scott