Razor61

Link is on the very first post I did😉

At the moment there seems to be quite a few LS400's for sale on eBay and elsewhere, this particular white MKIV on eBay (link below) caught my eye and looks very nice. Lexus LS400 4.0l T-reg (1999) auto only 140k full service history https://ebay.us/BWG4Ak

It does look nice, apart from the bonnet. If your nephew has £5-6k to spend there is a very low miles, Gold MK3, looks in A1 condition and is for sale on Car and Classic (also on Facebook) at a dealer in Chesterfield. I would love it but I've invested too much time/effort/money in my current Mk3 LS400 I think. However, I am toying with the idea of selling mine and buying it or just buy it and keep it as an investment (not sure if it's a good idea though)

I’ve seen the one in question and I think it looks really nice. I can’t remember seeing another mk4 for sale in the same colour, very nice colour as well I think. But what has happened to the bonnet..................it looks like it’s been scratched to hell!! iirc the MOT history looks ok apart from the rear subframe corrosion, if it’s been dealt with and treated it shouldn’t be a problem. If it’s as described and drives well then it’s worth considering if the bonnet condition doesn’t put you off.

Just had a look at the difference between the LS400 and the LS430 tie rods. The LS400 tie rods connect to the hub from the bottom with the ball joint underneath and the nut on the top. The LS430 is the opposite, the tie rods connect from the top with the ball joint at the top and the nut underneath. Maybe that would result in different symptoms if they are worn and could cause a wobble on an LS430 but not on an LS400. .

I would hazard a guess that the tie rod ends are not in the best of shape then, judging by my experience and maybe the cause of your issue. I doubt it but you never know......... Lower/upper ball joints have the weight of the car on them and normally show symptoms when you go over a pothole or speed bump or something similar and the weight of the car comes off then back on again, if there is play then you feel/hear a clunk. Tie rod/track rod ends don't have the cars weight on them so they are free to move and 'rattle' if worn, that's my thinking anyway and there is probably a proper 'technical' explanation/description somewhere. If you think they are worn/knackered then they probably need to be replaced anyway, it's a good place to start and see if it has any effect on your wobble problem. I did a post about replacing them (see below), I can/have done most things on my car but Lexus replaced mine a few weeks ago.

That is a good shout for the possible cause. Steering wobble at around 70 mph normally points to wheel balance out but thats been eliminated. So using the process of elimination - if wheels/tyres or ok - suspension is tight with no wear/play in tie rods/track rod ends - upper/lower ball joints - bushes etc are ok - steering rack itself is ok then there isn’t much left so it could very well be wheel bearing/s. I have recently replaced the tie rod/track rod ends because the rubber boots were split and over rough ish road surfaces the steering felt annoyingly loose and steering ‘rattled’ too much. They seemed ok apart from the split rubber boots and so, before I started replacing the lower ball joints and uca’s ( which I have ready to be fitted when the time comes ), I figured it was worth replacing them first and see what happens. They cured the issue I had and I’m pretty sure the tie rods that were on the car were not original oem and knackered even though they seemed ok but I didn’t experience the wheel wobble you have.

Good advice 👍 and I've just ordered the same paint. From memory my car looks ok, I've not examined thoroughly though but I will now and paint it as you have done...............'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' as the saying goes.

Paul If you check out the original manufacturers parts catalogue the part numbers for the 97 model diagram UCF 10R are the same in the diagram showing the UCF 20R the 97-2000 mark 4 which suggests Lexus have updated the parts catalogue to incorporate the suspension for the now defunct 97 mark 3 model. So this is why the part nos for that series are no longer quoted to save any confusion and Amayama are confident in their advice. Thanks Phil, that will do for me and will be ordering them along with all the other bits. I won't be fitting them just yet, they will be part of the rear end rebuild in the future. Hopefully I can source a secondhand rear sub frame assy to rebuild otherwise it will be removing all the suspension components from the car and then tidying up the current rear sub frame and treating/painting/coating where I can get to. Should be a lot better access once all the suspension is off the car.

Thanks, I have looked on 7zap as well but I can't be 100% sure. Because the original arms/part numbers are no longer available I don't really have a choice but to get the MK4 arms and take a chance. I'm ordering a lot of other bits as well from Amayama and the arms are £42.26 each plus postage and duty etc. The postage will be just slightly more if I order the arms as well as the other stuff, so I reckon the 2 x arms will cost me an extra £100. It's worth getting them and if they don't fit correctly I'm pretty sure I'll get my money back at the very least selling them on to someone else with a MK4 Ls400😉

Hi, according to Amayama the LH/RH 'ARM ASSY, REAR SUSPENSION, NO.1' are no longer available for the LS400 MK3 94 -97 but the same arms for a 97 - 00 MK4 are listed as a possible replacement. Does anyone on here know if the 'ARM ASSY, REAR SUSPENSION, NO.1' arms for a 97 - 00 MK4 will fit and are ok for a 94 -97 LS400 MK3 or has anyone fitted them on a LS400 MK3? If anyone has any knowledge or experience of this then it would be appreciated. I know there are a few suspension components (and others bits) for the Mk4 that can be used on the MK3 and if Amayama lists something as a 'possible' replacement then from my experience they are normally correct and they fit ok. On Amayama the parts numbers for the MK3 arms I don't think are correct as the website lists the same part number for both LH and RH but the descriptions are correct.

I needed new front tyres so checked the tie rods and lower ball joints last week to see if they needed doing before putting new rubber on. Lower ball joints looked ok but the tie rod rubber boots were split so just the tie rods were replaced (not by me though) and an alignment done. I don't think the ones removed were genuine Lexus parts though. The genuine Lexus parts have a metal retaining ring at the top to hold the boot in place, the ones removed didn't seem to have this, whether this makes a huge difference or not I'm not sure. I did try to remove the tie rods myself, separated the ball joint end no problem but I struggled to loosen the tie rod locking nuts even after soaking with plus gas and leaving for a few days. Couldn't get enough purchase on them just having the car on axle stands, not enough room really. If I had a ramp it would be different, but without a ramp I could have removed the complete arms from the steering rack and got them in a vice to do it but I didn't really want to do that. The car needed an alignment after anyway so swallowed my pride and had the job done at a garage along with the alignment at the same time. With new front tyres, new tie rods and alignment (alignment was fine before anyway) the car drives better especially over rough 'ish' surfaces, front end doesn't 'rattle' much now. Car doesn't seem to wander as much but one of the front tyres was pretty knackered so that didn't help plus alignment was pretty good anyway as it was done last November.

MKIV does have the aerial on the rear wing as far as I know, just like the MK3. I’ve not seen a MKIV for sale or viewed one without an aerial on the rear wing. You can just look at the MKIV’s for sale and they have a boot mounted aerial, even a 2000 model. The seller for the link I posted, the 1999 instrument cluster, might have got it wrong and it’s a MK3 cluster after all so the part number would be correct. The odometer looks looks right for a MK3.

1997 could be MK3 or MKIV I think. I couldn't find any reference to the part numbers either, I presume they are for the complete cluster. I did find a sold item on eBay (link below) which has the part number 257410-3260 on the picture of the cluster but it's listed for a 1999 LS400. 1999 LEXUS LS400 SPEEDOMETER INSTRUMENT CLUSTER 257410-3260 83010-50652 FREE P&P https://ebay.us/95OvAU

Compressor itself was fine and the oil was clean so no mechanical damage. The issue was the clutch assembly, the outer clutch plate was detached.

Aircon has been working fine all week, which was very welcome given the heat, but the idle etc went wonky again. The cutting out issue didn’t occur again and I don’t believe it will happen again but it was idling high a lot and the car was driving forward at low speeds when it shouldn’t. I have replaced the coolant temp sensor and the idle was spot on after but it was done when the aircon wasn’t working. So, before I left work yesterday I reset the ecu by removing the fuses using the guide on here and it’s fine again now. It does vary a bit depending on whether the aircon compressor is engaged or not but that’s normal. In future when I change anything electrical I’ll reset the ecu in the same way as recommended in the guide.

Not a lot of mileage since it was fitted but how many years ago since was it fitted is the question really. When I bought my car at 69,000 the cam belt had been done at 50,000 but that was 10 years ago so needed doing even though the cam belt had only done 19,000 miles, according the age/mileage rule. Also if the car is the one I've seen on Autotrader then it looks a bit grubby inside and one of the front seat belts looks like it has mildew on it. If it isn't the same one then ignore me😄

Absolutely..........heatwave this week so will be nice and chilled going home from work😃

Aircon purged, tested and re gassed this afternoon. Everything checked out and works fine. Because it was a new compressor it needed to be run for 15mins, bit like running in a new engine. Total cost with new compressor, diags, de gas and then re gas (3 visits by Aircon guy) is £390. I have to be pretty happy with that.

Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to have a look at the old compressor to see how the clutch fits, how it works and how to remove it. First thing I noticed is that the pulley bit, it should turn free and smooth without the clutch engaged, wasn’t free. It was catching and didn’t turn smoothly at all. A bit of turning and it was smoother but not as smooth as you would expect. 10mm bolt in the middle removed and removed the first black front bit with holes in it, this is connected to the compressor splined shaft and there are a couple of shims. A metal ‘plate’ was next which was loose and I removed it. When removed it didn’t look right, debris and black gooey stuff in the middle. Not knowing how it all works and fits together I didn’t think anything of it much. I then removed a circlip and removed the pulley bit with a bearing in the middle. You could see where the pulley part had been catching on the magnetic clutch stator. Cleaned it all up and put it back together and tested if the clutch engages with 12v applied.........nothing so I’m pretty sure the issue is the clutch assy which was the initial diagnosis. I then looked at the parts diagram to see what bits I would need to ‘fix’ the clutch assy, I found that the metal ‘plate‘ which was loose shouldn’t be loose at all and should be a fixed part of the ‘Rotor sub-assy, magnetic clutch’ which isn’t available to buy anymore. That I think is the bit that broke. The whole clutch assy is available from Lexus at £450 but I paid £270 for the whole compressor so not worth fixing it. Anyhow I know I have a good mechanical bit compressor as a spare.

Further to the quote above, below is a link to a YouTube video showing how to test if the aircon clutch is knackered. Testing Aircon Clutch

Just an update - another 2 weeks and 425 miles, going to work and back plus journeys round town. Idle is still stable with no cutting out after a decent run so looks like idle issues and the cutting out issue have been solved. Car is smoother and MPG is a bit better, before I was averaging 24 - 25 mpg but now it's 28 mpg based on the last tank full of fuel. But aircon isn't working at the moment so it hasn't been on at all. When it's fixed I'll do another check to see what difference using the aircon all the time actually makes to mpg, just out of interest. The original post I found was related to mpg, especially round town iirc, I changed the sensor because of the idle issues so not that bothered about mpg but it's a welcome bonus.

Oh yes, I've had a few of those...............wire brush, plenty of plus gas, leave alone for quite a while and resist the temptation to try and get them off too quickly!!

pic showing the transit valve suction plate on the new compressor. I didn't take a picture of the valve suction plate on mine but the picture on the right below shows it.

Thanks Steve, a lot of the tips and advice about capping off pipes, draining and filling with oil etc came from the aircon guy so I can't take full credit for that. Actually removing the compressor I will take credit for though😉 PAG oil is a measured amount, if the condenser or evaporator is replaced as well the amount of oil to be put in the compressor is 40cc or 1.4 fl.oz according to the manual, which isn't a lot. I haven't replaced the condenser or evaporator so I presume I just need to put back in the compressor what I take out, that was the advice anyway. Purging/pressurize/check for leaks, I presume he will do this and will check on the day especially because I've disconnected and refitted 4 x ac connections. Flushing, I asked about 'flushing' the system because I wanted to do everything 'right'. Advice was that if the compressor itself was really knackered and there is metal contaminants in the system then yes 'flushing' is needed. The oil in mine was clean so no need. Keeping the aircon on all the time, I agree and have always done it. Advice was that you wouldn't use more fuel than just leaving a rear window open (how true that is I can't say) Pic of the oil removed from old and new compressor, LH green oil from old compressor - RH clear stuff from new compressor.