BigBoomer

Ok, and to add to my damp problems, now my reversing camera has finally given up the ghost giving me a gray screen. It was kind of expected as it has been flickering and being slow to show any picture for a while now. I have ordered a used one from eBay. Lets hope that works. Once I've replaced it I will take mine apart and see if it has the same corrosion as Mark's had.

Stupid, stupid George!! On Tuesday I drove to pickup some motorcycle parts from my local powder coaters and it was warm and sunny so I had the windows open. (you can see it coming can't you?). When I got home I somehow missed out closing the passenger window,.... and it rained Wednesday night into Thursday. 😢 So, I have a damp car now. Luckily the winds were blowing the other way so the seat was merely damp, but the floor mat was wet and the carpet was damp. To cap it all, my 10 year old mains dehumidifier died. So, I have managed to get the car dry-ish with gel-pack dehumidifiers and plenty of Plenty to sponge the condensation off the inside of the rear window. I now need to buy a new mains dehumidifier to finish the job. Why do cars not close ALL the windows when you lock them? No, I don't have a dog and even if I did I would NEVER leave it in the car.

It is also worth cleaning it when apart and lubricating with a thin smear of silicone grease. I didn't stretch my spring. I just cleaned/lubed it because it was sticking. Nice pics.

VW bought (and still own) Bentley in 1998. The 2003 Phaeton was similar to the 2003 Audi A8 and 2003 Bentley Continental in that it shared similar chassis design, suspension, and engine parts. The build quality was up to VW usual high standards, but the early models had transmission issues at quite low mileages as well as endless electrical issues. Their implementation of the air suspension was also pretty poor and unreliable. As time went by they got better but by then the damage was done.

Welcome aboard Frazer Not quite the vehicle I'd choose for central London but she does have a tight turning circle for her length so fuel economy aside she should be good for you. Just make sure she gets to stretch her legs regularly.

I recommend having your battery checked out especially if it doesn't get driven regularly. May also be worth checking for parasitic drains.

None of the aftermarket ones with the spout have the pressure cap on the radiator. So, for aftermarket I would recommend something like this. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363624735352 It has a little plastic thing for bleeding air out of the top of the radiator, but you top up coolant via the pressure cap on the reservoir. Chances are even if you buy a Lexus radiator it won't have the pressure cap on the radiator itself. There is no need for 2 pressure caps. 😁

My 2001 S320CDI was nicknamed "Christine" by my better half as whenever it felt like it, it would open windows/sunroof, turn on/off the radio, and occasionally just switch off the engine. That last was a bit scary but all it needed was a cool head, put auto-box into neutral, turn off ignition, and then restart her and back into Drive. On the day I sold it (to a recycler) she watched it go and then said "Thank **** that's gone!"🤣 I loved the drivers seat as it was the most comfy seat I have ever sat in. I hated the turbo-lag (diesel) and hated the unreliability. As for the CD player possibly damaged by a welder, if you don't disconnect the battery ANY electronic system on a car can be damaged by the voltage spikes that welding generates. The ML system in the LS430 suffers from being made with early lead-free solder which cracks. Compared to similar cars and audio systems from the era (2000-2006) it is a paragon of reliability. Go look at the Merc, BMW, Audi, etc. forums if you don't believe me. I did before I bought my LS430. Until I read the forums I quite fancied a VW Phaeton W10 (diesel) or W12 (GP0 or GP1). After reading the forums you couldn't give me a Phaeton for free, although I believe that the later ones are more reliable.

It's reassuring that you can neglect them that much and they'll keep running, but then that timing belt could have snapped at any time over the last 100k miles. It does look like it's had regular oil changes but the primary maintenance seems to have been neglected.

CD Players have 2 parts. Part one is the CD itself that reads the data from the CD and passes it to the DAC. Part 2 is the DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) which converts the data stream into analogue sound. It sounds like your DAC is working fine, but the data feed from the CD is too slow, possibly from a damaged disk speed controller. I never use my CD player now, since I fitted the BlueMusic module.

I use a TomTom SatNav and it displays a much more accurate speed than the LS430 speedo on a straight road at constant speed. My speedo consistently reads high compared to the SatNav by about 2Mph at 30Mph and 5Mph at 70MPH and I am on factory wheels and tyre sizes. If you fit wheels and tyres that have a different rolling radius from the factory size, then you REALLY need to check the calibration of your speedo and drive appropriately. As others have said, you can get speedo apps for Android and Apple phones that are pretty accurate when at a constant speed on a straight road so you can find out how accurate your speedo is, if you don't have an aftermarket SatNav. Almost all speedos over-read (eg. at a real speed of 70Mph the speedo shows 75Mph) and the older ones tend to be worse.

In 1989 15" was considered a large wheel size. My 1993 Carlton Diplomat had 15" wheels. More sidewall gives better comfort but affects handling as the sidewalls also move sideways. On later cars we have MUCH better suspension so can use larger wheels and smaller sidewalls to give better handling but still keep the comfort,... mostly. 😁

This is a good site for comparing tyre sizes. https://tiresize.com/comparison/ It looks like the 225/55-R16 is the closest to the OEM size on a 16" rim. With the 225/55-R16 you are actually reading slightly less speed and miles than with the OEM tyre size.

If the work carried out involved any welding and they didn't disconnect the battery before doing it, then you may need a new CD Player. If you need to find a replacement, take yours out and note the part number on the assembly as there are several different models that all look the same but have different connectors. As for the reliability of the ML system, it's 22 years old and has fared better than many others of comparable age. It suffers from having the crappy early lead-free solder, much like most of the rest of the LS430s electronics. If you want to experience REALLY unreliable electronics, go buy a 2001-2005 S-Class Merc. That models electronics is a cluster**** of titanic proportions. 🤣

There are 3 or 4 different radiator arrangements in the LS430. It would help if you could post a photo of all of your engine bay as I need to see all of the top of the radiator as well as the reservoir to know which radiator you need. The ones with a filler/pressure cap on the rad itself don't normally have the little hose that connects to the end of the rad and yours seems to have both.

You could probably get those bolts to release with plenty of penetrating oil and an inductive heater. Bolts into blind holes like that can be a pain, but normally it is only the first few mm of the thread that is rusted. Inductive heaters cost £200+ but are a useful tool if you have many seized bolts as they heat ONLY the bolt which expands and that cracks loose the hold that the rust has.

Just found this on eBay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/155037266224

I can't find any UK based companies for aftermarket calipers, so for new ones your only option is Lexus. Alternatively, you could buy a used caliper from eBay and send it here for a refurb https://www.bcs-automotive.co.uk/lexus/is430/

I just looked at AutoFraider and at the bottom of my list of LS430s it shows a "You may also like" which is a Fiat 500e 🤣🤣🤣

You'll need spacers so not a simple swap.

Hi Malc, "facelift" means LS430 from 2004-2006. I'm pretty sure the LS400 never had Mark Levinson audio in it. 😁

Could be. Some of the D2S bulbs get dirty and that reduces the output. However, it's difficult to see how any dirt could get to the bulb. Take them out and have a look. Be careful though as HID bulbs use HIGH Voltage so make 100% sure that the car is off, and maybe disconnect the battery to be sure.

His vehicle is Registered Disabled. THAT is why he does not have to pay the CC or the Dart Charge. It has nothing to do with ULEZ.

One from Glasgow too. Not only the London ULEZ that is having this effect. On eBay there is a Mk3 in Edinburgh with only 67k miles on it Malc. 😈 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404466927820

If you want engine braking mode, just use the manual override on the transmission and drop her to 5th or lower. No need to touch the brakes. If you try to go to too low a gear, it will beep at you and refuse to do it. I use the override regularly when I manage to get away from the flatlands.