jaffer

Yes Graham I have heard about Iran's hospitality from a few others so quite looking forward to that. Yes french tolls are good - December 17 we did france and switzerland in a 2017 volvo xc90, I missed my lexus on that trip because after 3000 miles of driving I was broken. I will look into the struts, I need to grab some other bits from Paul frost (belly plate, one of the parking sensors is missing, transmission cooler - I have decided to fit one after all)

Yes I converted to Lexus/toyota In younger days I had a fleet of R8, C63 AMG, VW touran (daily runner) now its: Ls400, Ls430, Ls600, 1999 Toyota Hilux and the most special one is a 1987 Toyota Corolla GL 3 speed auto which has had 1 owner from new before me. I even have the bill dated 1987 from when it was new. Lexus are fantastic, I do not miss the german cars even a tiny bit.

Malcom i am 25. The way i see life that if i want to do something I will do it without thinking too much about the consequences (maybe I get that from my mum because she is joining me on the trip) - the rest of my family think I am bonkers for doing it when a flight can get you there in 7 hours and is considerably cheaper. if something is going to happen to me it can happen to me stepping out the front door (i know thats an immature way to think about things but thats how i see them) I will be recording the whole trip via dash cam/go pro so I will be uploading on youtube and Ill post a link on here when its all done. Best of luck with the trip I am sure youll enjoy it.

Thanks - just ordered 2 tubes from ebay, should be sufficient to seal the sump. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/THREEBOND-1207B-GASKETTING-SILICONE-OFFICIAL-SUPPLIER/111607407837?epid=1488668837&hash=item19fc51e4dd:g:pwMAAOSwPhdU7aIp

Thanks, we are allowed a military escort soon as we enter Pakistan border from the issuing bodies of Carnet de passage (its basically a temporary import permit) to take my car into those countries. We are allowed this for the whole duration of the trip but I will only be using them for the first hour after we cross the border to clear the danger zone and then continue on our way to Karachi. If all goes well with this trip, I am planning a route down to Botswana in 2019 summer :D Exciting times.

Thanks - also I have spoken to my mechanic here and he told me that the gearbox in this car is pretty strong and since I am not going to be pulling any extra weight or putting any more load on the gearbox to leave it as it is. messing around with a working unit might not be a good idea at the time. The kit is only about £100 brand new. Its certainly something I had no clue even existed so thanks for teaching me something new :)

I will either be taking the Eurotunnel train or the ferry from dover depending on what is cheaper at the time. More than likely the euro tunnel because its just 30 mins to calais. Roads are better in Europe and as I get into Iran the roads there are nice and smooth. Motorways in Pakistan are fairly new chinese built roads. Media makes that part of the world look like a war zone (because thats all what they show to people on TV) but its quite different to that. Can anyone help me on the gearbox sealant....

Hi, a few reasons The roads are silky smooth on the entire journey, there is a one hour (40km) patch when entering pakistan which is not the best but not really an issue, people have done the journey in 3 series bmw and e class mercs so I will be fine. I have the full LS range and I like the drive of the 430 the most, even more than the 600H, they are pretty good at coping with the higher temperature as majority of the cars there are toyota. Regarding problems with the suspension that is a risk I am willing to take and there will be mechanics to sort it. one of the most common cars there is a land cruiser V8 petrol which also has air suspension so should be mechanics there to sort it should I have an issue. I appreciate your advice on the transmission cooler and will do some further research upon this, I think its certainly a good idea since I am pretty much changing everything on the car anyway so might as well do this as most transmission failures occur due to over heating. New bridgstone tyres all around pads and discs all around timing belt spark plug all fluids and filters (differential/gearbox/engine)

Colin Barber - Thanks so much for this, since you mentioned this I have looked in the owners manual and you are right T-IV fluid is the right one for my car. Lexus say its 100% sealed and for me to use the silicone-rubber based sealant to seal the gearbox sump back up. I have now purchased 5 litres of the correct fluid from toyota this morning for £41.

I'm driving my LS430 2002 to Pakistan this August from Staffordshire so I am getting my car ready for this 12,000 mile round trip. I have bought toyota world standard gearbox oil, the sump filter. I am struggling to find the sump gasket which will need to be replaced once the sump is taken off. Lexus birmingham are telling me the car has a sealed unit which isnt true as there is a dipstick, a sump plug and a filter which is to be replaced. Can anyone help me with this gasket, Service kits are readily available for the LS400 so if I get the gasket for that, will it fit my 430.