cornershop

Much better with the DHP wheels

you jest, right?

reads well, but as above, the colour combo don't do it for me

Saw one mk4 going in that sill area when I was looking - and have caught mine just in time. It's a ready made muck trap unfortunately, I scraped a third of a carrier bag full of muck from all 4 arches, now cleaned and prepped with dynax s50. Have read of at least one other on this site with the issue and which needed welding. So maybe not commonly reported or maybe owners have not checked these areas?

Sounds like you'll be spending at least £500 or so on it, plus whatever the mot needs? Unsure about the rust around the window - you would need to see good pics of that, potentially caused by screen fitter? Its a great colour combo and looks great in the pics; I say get some pics of the rust, and get the wheel arches checked out too, especially the sills in front of the rear wheels.

One here (in the best colour) http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/lexus-ls400-/252783011991?hash=item3adb0aa897%3Ag%3AFUgAAOSwfVpYrfTj&_trkparms=pageci%3A017288b2-f94d-11e6-a1d9-74dbd18083eb%7Cparentrq%3A67e8996b15a0a624ad426d11fff16815%7Ciid%3A1

ETA - having them fitted for a week or so, they work really well. The eyelets for the securing 'pegs' are 18mm and too big however the backing material prevents any slippage whatsoever. Unsure if I'm missing anything that should sit on top of thes pegs? Sorry for upside down pics

"Mention my name!" :)

This car came up on auto trader very briefly by the original private buyer - it only had one picture - price was £2950 i think - trader obviously saw the potential and snapped it up quick! They've been reading the Pistonheads Barge thread ! Especially with my 'high quality' inputs (I've become an expert in the past 4-6 weeks, don't you know)

twice the price= twice as good? http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201702092167776?model=LS 400&sort=price-asc&postcode=l321bh&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&make=LEXUS&radius=1500&advertising-location=at_cars&page=1

Ok so lexus called back to say their mistake, they will do belt for parts only. And £350 if I want tensioner and pulley done too. I've requested a quote via japex in kings Langley

110k would be between 2015 and 2016 based on the mot history site? was £3k a few weeks ago- just looks a bit dull in terms of paintwork to me, needs a good detailing session i think? wheels looks covered in brake dust too. colour coded grill suggests a genuine DHP equipped car (based on the 1998 brochure at least)

Thanks for the encouragement - I'm a novice with spanners so don't really want to screw things up. are these the parts descriptions i need ? ( I'll confirm the specific part number with the vendor) Belt - https://www.bestpartstore.co.uk/210508 Tensioner pulley - https://www.bestpartstore.co.uk/2385721 Tensioner lever - https://www.bestpartstore.co.uk/2386549

Happy for you, however this forum has already saved me more than the membership fee with the information held in various threads so I've no issue paying.

Assuming they would have updated their template based on what I provided -they have one for -94 and 94-. They said the template they sent me was based on genuine mats, but they were some way off. If yours is a Mk4, speak to Georgina and maybe ask them to copy the template I sent them (in name of Shirish Patel) The original ones ive removed don't feel great either, pretty stiff, although maybe the actual material is softer (the backing is the same as the new ones).

I ordered some mats via ebay from carmats4u - http://www.carmats4u.com/tailored-car-mats/lexus-car-mats/lexus-ls-400-1989-2016/lexus-ls-400-1994-2000/lexus-ls-400-1994-2000-platinum-car-mats.html £85.00 for the thickest option with leather binding, unsure why they are cheaper on ebay vs going direct to their website ? I was attracted by the process, whereby you place the order, they send you a template for the mats which you can accept as good, or create your own, which they then scan in. They also send you a large sample so you get a good feel for quality and match The templates they sent were a bit off, so i took the option of tracing my existing genuine mats for them to reproduce. See the original template mismatch below - plus it needed 20mm or so trimmed from the LHS. Only showing the Driver mat, however i ordered a set of 4 of their thickest mat. Both rear mats were fine, They then made the mats from my templates, created on a number of A4 sheets taped together - the result is pretty much perfect (new overlayed on old). Personally, i would have gone a slightly lighter shade, however there aren't too many options, plus they'll be winter mats; hi'll get the old ones cleaned for use over summer,autumn. And once fitted using the original mounting clips: some pics of the thickness and non-slip backing:

Thanks both - i've already dropped customer services an email to clarify their quote. I'll be following up today with an email to the General manager if i don't get a response (Service manager doesn't list his direct email address) I should be ok to do the belt myself, however would likely need assistance changing the bearing, so will leave it with a specialist.

So having driven it for a few miles, its clear the occasional whining noise has not been solved by the cambelt, tensioner, pulley change. Should i now focus on the aux belt tensioner? I know the belt itself is cracked.

Yes, they fit perfectly - they add a bit more side profile than the 245/50 DHP tyres, so more compliant over bumps and ridges; they also make the speedo more accurate, and now they're only +1 or 2 mph over compared to standard 16" wheels See attached - DHP on the left, 235/55 on the right

I'm in a similar boat with mine and have already done a full cambelt job, new tyres on newly sourced dhp wheels. Mine also needs an aux belt and potentially the tensioner too due to an occasional whine from that area. New tyres were £95 each, I went with Dunlop 235/55/17, a bit more palatable than the correct 245/50! Close to 2 grand spent on a 1 grand car :)

Hi Brian - hi Brian Its when i slow down and then speed up again, ie without actually stopping. See the thread here that 'Yamae' posted on - http://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-1st-and-2nd-gen-1990-2000/612441-still-low-idle-in-drive-at-stop-what-you-think.html#post8164859 As mentioned above, cleaning the air mix path has made a difference to part throttle response at low rpm (pickup is smoother), however the hesitation remains; I have noted that the revs increase, before drive kicks in and forward motion is resumed. I'll get the t/b cleaned out - removal looks relatively straightforward, however i'm wary of disturbing the ageing electrical connectors and hoses.

Febi bilstein have 3 options listed

Well I followed up on my initial research and started cleaning out the air mass mixer on the throttle body - bought some BG throttle body cleaner specifically. This has definitely improved things however I'm thinking a throttle body clean will be required too. Fluid levels are fine and the oil still appears cherry red without smelling burnt. I may get a second opinion on the transmission oil and take it to a specialist.

If I'm reading that correctly, the 2nd option (which is for cars from Sept 1998 onward), the cars were slightly lower powered? Why was this?

Well, you live and learn