Razor61

I got that totally wrong…….make that 27 miles from Kirkham.

👍

I know I am😂 I live about 15 miles from Kirkham, I can check if the AC clutch is working but that’s it.

Pic of the drier assy, sight glass and pressure switch.

One other point before anyone mentions it should have a dye put in to detect leaks, which is true to a certain extent, the nitrogen plus soapy water method is used as a preliminary check for leaks. If obvious leaks are detected, remove nitrogen, fix leaks and repeat until no obvious leaks are detected. When no leaks are detected using this preliminary check then nitrogen is removed, system re gassed/pressurised with correct gas including a dye then checked again for any signs of the dye as the final check. Doing it as said above removes the time and effort to gas it properly only to find leaks then reclaim gas and start over again, maybe quite a few times until all the leaks are sorted.

New issue with the car which I knew I needed to look at it. The Aircon isn’t working but it was working 5 months ago when I bought the car I think. I booked the car in with the AC specialist for yesterday morning, same guy I used on the last LS400. The issue with the AC on my last LS400 was the magnetic clutch on the compressor, I didn’t know this at the time and replaced the whole compressor including the clutch. Now I know how to check if the clutch is working I checked it before going to get the AC looked at. Applied 12v to the clutch connector and I hear it clicking into place and could see it engaging, so clutch is working and compressor isn’t seized. Off to see the AC guy. First check was to see if there was any gas/pressure in the system, no pressure and was empty. Next thing was to pump nitrogen into the system and watch the pressure to see if it dropped while spraying soapy water around the condenser, compressor, drier assy/pressure switch and all couplings etc. Could’t see the pipe work under the battery at the time. Pressure didn’t drop at all and no leaks found anywhere apart from a tiny leak on the pressure switch that screws into the drier assembly. Nice one I thought, test it again, fill with gas and away we go! Pressure switch removed and O ring replaced, old one was flat as a pancake, switch re fitted and tested again with nitrogen and soapy water. Tiny leak on the pressure switch was sorted. However, there was now a tiny leak from the sight glass on the drier assembly, smaller leak than on the switch coupling. This only became apparent after the other leak was fixed. Can’t fix the leak so nitrogen removed and a bit of gas pumped in to check that everything works. The system works and compressor now kicks in and works so it’s just the tiny leak to sort. Disappointing but I know where the very tiny leak is. Problem is what to do about it and fix it. To fix the leak with a new part means replacing the drier assembly along with the pipe going back to the bulk head/firewall. Not the biggest of jobs at all. Obtaining this part isn’t going to be easy, I seem to remember another member needing the same part for a different reason and it wasn’t available anymore. The exact part isn’t available as far as I can tell. What is available is the same part for an LS400 with rear cooling which was available in Japan but not UK. The difference is a ‘T’ at the bulkhead end of the pipe with an extra piece of pipe with a coupling to connect to the rear cooling. I hope that makes sense. Approx £100 delivered from Amayama iirc. I suspect the previous owner had fixed the AC by replacing the condenser with a used ‘good’ one, had it re gassed and it all worked but over time the gas has escaped. It would have taken months for it all to escape as the leak/s are so small. So the options for me. Option 1 I’m pretty confident that buying the part for the LS400 with rear cooling would work by blanking off the extra bit of pipe with a ‘stop end’ coupling. That’s one option. Option 2 Fix the very tiny leak on the sight glass, the sight glass is pressed into the aluminium drier assy, it’s raised up and is leaking round the edge of the glass. Because it’s such a small leak and I’ve nothing to lose, I have a plan to fix it. After measuring up the diameter of the sight glass area, I’ve ordered a 18mm x 1mm flat sapphire watch glass and some clear Gorilla epoxy glue. Plan is to clean up the area and glue the watch glass over the sight glass area which will cover the sight glass, where it’s joins and a mm or so past. The Epoxy glue drys clear so if I do it right I’ll still be able to see through. Get it tested again see if it works, if it doesn’t work it will be option 1.

I would get a used instrument cluster, there is a working cluster for sale on Facebook. Easy to fit as well. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/236484945333437/

Just looked at epc data and it shows 4 wear sensors for the mk2, that is doing things properly! A wear sensor per wheel when normally it’s one per axle, impressive.

I have only seen 2 wear sensors, one for the front and one for the rear. I stand to be corrected though but for the 95 LS400 I had and current 98 LS400 there were/are 2 wear sensors.

Whoah…….that is expensive!! Approx £25 from Amayama plus shipping iirc.

Did you fit the KYB shocks? I’ve bought a full set ready to fit if the existing shock need replacing when I rebuild the front suspension, I’ve read that KYB shocks can make the ride harsher and I’d be interested to know if it’s true.

Not quite 20k but judging by todays prices I should get my money back 😀 Most of the stuff I already had in the garage. I bought it all for the last LS400 but didn’t fit the bits. I did put all the bits up for sale on here, sold the rear UCA’s and rear insulators and that was it. Seeing as nobody wanted the rest of the parts I bought a car to fit them to🤣

Thanks, feel free to visit the North West anytime if you bring beer tokens😀

Small update and I hope I’m not tempting fate. Since the Yaw Rate sensor was replaced with a used one from the USA, the ‘VSC Off’ issue hasn’t occurred at all since. I’ve done a fair few miles since as well, a couple of 200 mile journeys and to work and back for the last few weeks. So far so good and hopefully it stays that way. Next job in a couple of weeks is a full front suspension rebuild, I have all the new parts ready and just waiting for a week off work at the end of the month to get cracking. Meanwhile I’m painting all the new parts ready. Strut bars, lower arms, UCA’s, drop links, shock mounts, insulators, tie rods and all new nuts and bolts to go with it all which have been painted as well. I have also bought new KYB shocks for front and rear. Didn’t buy new springs though. Got all the same stuff for the rear as well but the rear suspension rebuild will be done another time.

The VSC Off issue………. I was convinced it was a temp issue, for whatever reason. Fitted a new battery and that didn’t cure it, nothing much lost and it has a brand new battery now. I also suspected it happened when the car was started on a slope facing up, my drive has a slight slope and I always park it up the slope so water doesn’t pool in the corner boot area. I know it sounds bizarre but I am trying to figure out a pattern of when it happens. I purchased a used ABS/VSC ecu, which I received a few weeks ago but to fit it means removing the glove boxes and I wanted to wait for the used VSC Yaw Sensor I bought from the USA which is a piece of cake to fit. VSC Yaw Sensor arrived yesterday and fitted it this morning. It’s in the boot and I just needed to remove the lower boot linings, disconnect the battery, 2 x 12mm nuts for the Sensor, reconnect the battery, start the car without pressing the brake pedal and leave it until the VSC light goes off to reset the VSC and that’s it. I needed to go out in the car after anyway and the VSC Off light didn’t come on but that doesn’t mean it’s fixed. For the past month or so it hasn’t happened as much at all but it does happen. Time will tell and I’ll know after a few weeks if it’s ok or not.

Good tip thanks, I had been told about this by Phil (Ambermarine), it saves a lot of work. I'll be removing the struts anyway to clean/paint the springs, fit new top mounts and I may buy some new KYB struts/shocks depending on what condition they are when I remove them, I've found you can't tell 100% if the shocks need replacing until you remove them completely and check.

Thanks Mark and I am surprised. I shouldn't be surprised though judging by the LS400's I looked at that were described as being excellent, as new or something similar. Reality was very different when I looked at them.

Which car was this, the 1998 DHP 31k miles which is now for sale at Kass Classics? I agree apart from the mk4 has the common rust issues sorted at the bottom of the rear arches that the mk3 has/can have. The mk4 though can suffer in a different area on the rear inner wing at the boot end though which if left will be terminal for the car, I have seen some bad ones. The mk3 rear arch rust issue can be sorted easier than the mk4 rust issues on the inner wings in my opinion. The mk3 is the best looking I think though. I wanted another mk3 but ended up with a mk4 because I couldn't find a good mk3 within my price range. I still look for any good mk3's for sale, if a good one comes up which isn't silly money I would consider buying it then decide what to do with the mk4 I have.

Don't know if this diagram below is correct for your car but it it may help. According to this diagram it's a 'short pin' and the wiring diagram from the manual, also shown below, says 'Short Pin' which seems to feed the Dome, OBD, ECU-B and MPX-B fuses maybe?

I think you will struggle to get a good used seat or the leather covers. I think you can still get new leather covers………..£1100 + from Amayama. I’ve seen some good seat repairs done on Car SOS and Wheeler Dealers so a repair/refurbishment is probably your best option.

Car is now sold and gone but here are some pics of the wheel well all sorted. I did sort out the underside of the wheel well, again lots of scraping, rust removed and 2 coats of Por15. After a bit of scraping in the boot in the corner of the wheel well there was a hole, rust removed, aluminium gauze stuck in place with tiger seal and painted. The areas I’ve done will not be an issue in the future. If I had kept the car I would have removed the rear bumper, rear exhaust and done everything on the back end. By the way, in the picture of the boot area the dirty red stuff is my blood……….it was cleaned up of course🤣

Absolutely agree, getting Textar branded pads rather than Toyota branded pads from LPD is not on, regardless of whether they are the same pads or not. We don't know if the pads are exactly the same or not. I have bought quite a lot of parts from LPD and never had an issue really. I get a price from LPD and then contact Lexus Bolton to see if they can match the price or within a few quid. If they can, then I buy it from Lexus Bolton. A lot of the time Lexus Bolton can match it, match it within a few quid or sometimes its a bit cheaper. The main thing that Lexus Bolton can't get anywhere near for price are the service kits, even at cost. Afaik, the reason is LPD have an 'oil promotion' price arranged through Lexus UK. I believe LPD, aka Lexus Swindon, are able to offer this as the 'Lexus approved' parts outlet (or something like that) but other dealers can't.

Have you replaced the bushes on the car with the PSB bushes yet? I'm interested to know what the ride etc is like with the PSB bushes compared to the original rubber bushes.

Hey, you live and learn! We are right, trust what we say😉 As said by Spock66, tackling jobs yourself is good and can save money so credit for giving it a go. Unknown to you though, you picked on the wrong job to start doing. Doing the rear brakes on an IS250 can turn out to be an involved PITA job and cost a few quid even when you have experience and know what you are doing. That can apply to most older cars when doing the brakes as well though, if they are not in good condition and sorted already.

As above and what I have advised a couple of times, get it to a mechanic or someone who is experienced who can help and can do the job. I don’t want to worry you but I suspect you will need new pads again, new discs, new/refurbished caliper assemblies and possibly new parking brake shoes once the discs are removed.