Razor61

Just to add that the boot looks to be dry now after washing etc, I gave the whole area a good soak with the spray hose and the spare wheel well seemed dry. A bit of water gets in via the aerial to the left hand side but I’m not too bothered about it. I could remove the aerial, for the 4th time, and put a bit of sealant round the gasket but I not doing it all again.

Yep the OEM weather strip isn’t exactly cheap, £100 ish but it’s a doddle to fit without needing to glue the joint. I did find a slight bit of rust on the lip itself but nothing to write home about. If you are thinking about the corners where the water gathers at the bottom of the rear screen, I did find some surface rust last year when I removed the trim and weather strip to clean it all. I cleaned, treated and painted these areas and it’s fine. The 2 x trim outer retaining clips don’t fix in place so I’ve left them as they are for now. The corners are not fixed down with any sealant, I thought it best to leave them as they were for the time being. The trim isn’t going anywhere and at least I know I can lift them up to clean etc.

Replaced the boot seal yesterday with a genuine Lexus one, the boot ‘pops’ open now as shown in the video. Quite a big difference between the old flat tired seal and the new one which isn’t a surprise after 24 years use. It’s done well lasting that long really. D040EBEB-6EA2-4063-B98C-ECE9BEB78B1E.MOV

Thanks Steve, I’m not alone then😃

You're probably right, I think it's been left on the keyring and it's for another car or maybe a garage door remote.

Hi, I just wondered if anyone recognizes the remote fob in the pic below? The key is the valet key I think along with the metal 'serial tag' thing but not sure what the fob is or if it's for the Lexus LS400 anyway (this came with the car), I have 2 x 'normal' fobs that I recognize with keys ( which I've I replaced the batteries ) and I've replaced the batteries in the mystery fob which doesn't seem to do anything on the car. There is no mention of this type of fob in the owners manual so it's probably not for my car but wanted to check just in case it's some kind of 'master super duper fob'

I seem to remember this car for sale quite a while ago, on car and classic maybe, and it was around £4K I think. One other thing that I think was in the advert was that the car had spent some time abroad, Hong Kong or something like that, does anyone else remember this?

You have my sympathy Stuart regarding the misfire under load issue, I know these type of issues can take time or money and normally both. I hope you get it sorted sooner rather than later. Regarding the rusted bolts and nuts, I have found quite a few similar on my car and sheared a few by not being patient - even though I knew I should be. I had to be very very patient and eventually they came off ok but it was very time consuming and painstaking work. It only cost me time but to pay for a mechanic to do that for hours will cost a bit, that’s where an induction heater is very useful and I wish I had one.......... I have got to agree with you to a certain extent regarding the costs running an LS400 and fully appreciate costs can spiral quickly. I bought my LS400 to find out what they were like and have a car to tinker with as a hobby. I have spent quite a chunk of money on mine, some of it absolutely needed, some of it I knew about when buying and some of it to get the car in the ‘right’ condition for me (mechanical and body) Some issues I was prepared for and some I definitely wasn’t i.e. the rusty holes in the rear arches, strut bar bushes plus obtaining a genuine electric aerial to replace the crap generic one and then £80 for the genuine Lexus telescopic bit (yes I know there are aftermarket ones on eBay but the difference in quality is night and day) I was/am realistic about the cost of running older cars but I didn’t expect or want to spend the amount I have on my car although I could probably have spent a quarter of the amount and just ran the car no problem. I sort of reached a ‘point of no return’ where I felt I had to continue sorting things out that I found, even though I would prefer a different colour😀

I straightened mine using an adjustable spanner starting from the least bent bit on the outside and worked my way to the middle of the bent section gradually closing the jaws as it straightened. If that makes sense. The adjustable spanner has flat straight jaws, I thought this was better than using curved adjustable pipe spanners or mole grips.

£4,500, considering what has been done to the car as described, isn’t that bad but at the moment..........maybe not achievable. Worth a punt though and if you get it for half the reserve then it’s a good buy, you never know...............you have to be in it to win it😉

Just got an alert from eBay about an LS400 MK1 for sale, looks really nice if anyone is looking for one. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254593061816?ul_noapp=true

I think I’ve reached the end of the work for a while now. After all the work I’ve done over the past few months, crawling underneath, kneeling for long periods in contortionist positions, constantly up and down etc plus everything else without doing any major damage to myself, I’ve done something to my right knee simply walking down some steps this morning and will need to rest up until it’s better. Something just ‘went’ and I can’t bend it or put weight on it but I’m still alive and will continue with work on the car in the future, don’t know what yet but I’ve got plenty of time to decide 😀 I won’t even get chance to use a new polisher/buffer kit I bought, the one I have started making some strange noises and didn’t feel right. The new one is a Rupes Bigfoot..............not cheap at all but you get you pay for like anything else in my opinion. Malc, the work on your car will need to wait for a while😀 when all this virus situation has got better and you are in Kirkham maybe we can meet up for a beer and a chin wag🍻

No problem at all Malc.........for a reasonable fee of course😉

Cleaned the rear arches again and coated with Dynax UB (Black) then after 24 hours drying coated with Dynax UC (Clear) I would have coated with again with Dynax UB but didn’t have enough in the can I think so did it with the clear coating.

Maybe the advert should read: 中国劳斯莱斯 for sale😃

I know what you mean, I’m not sure whether I like it or not, the centre console and vents looks like a chrome finish as well. Looks a nice car though.

Finished painting the rear arch lips with Por15 yesterday evening. They have been de rusted as much as possible, scraped, sanded with emery cloth, degreased, wiped over with panel wipe, dried completely, treated with Hydrate 80 (2 applications), 3 coats of Isopon stone chip protector and finished with 2 coats of Por15. I don’t think I’ll see any rust in those areas for a long while i can give the car a good wash etc today, I haven’t washed it for a couple of weeks due to doing the rear arches etc.

There is this one in the West Midlands, price has gone up £500 in the last day or so though, I’m sure it was advertised for £900 a few days ago and the pictures have changed, the other pictures had a different reg on them. https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1218004

Hi Phil, good advice thanks and I will follow it. I was just toying with idea of putting a bead in the corner but it would have been a pain to do anyway without a ramp plus I've had enough of being a contortionist for a while!! When I get the Por15 I'll paint it with that and then it will be a super smooth finish. Once this is done I'll coat whole the inner arch with the Dynax stuff but maybe not the inside of the arch lip area as it will be well protected already and the Dynax stuff might make it sticky (if that makes sense) but I'll find out when I do a test area and it's set/cured/dried. Thanks again. Paul

It was a painstaking job, time and effort along with a lot of swearing and patience but worth it in the end. My body is complaining big style but it’s done now until I get the Por15 paint and then it will be a breeze😎 Dynax coating will have to wait till another time..............when the weather is good again.

More pics of arch lip.

Sprayed some anti chip paint round the arches today. Pics below of what it looks like now and is a vast improvement. When I get the Por15 it will get a couple of coats, brushed on which is easier, then maybe a bead of sealant in the corner to create a chamfered edge for water to run off.

Both sides done now, scraped, sanded and treated with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 ready for painting tomorrow. Don’t know how good it is but the reviews say it is. My body is aching after being a contortionist under the arches but if you run your fingers inside the arches now they are as smooth as the clay barred paintwork😀 well almost! Well chuffed with what I’ve done today and it definitely needed doing. Tomorrow will be painting inside the arches etc, just wish I had some Por15 to use but a few coats of anti chip paint will be more than enough for now and will buy some Por15 and coat it again. Beer o’clock now and will sit in the sun 😎, satisfied that I’m at least one step ( possibly 10 ) closer to making the car last another 24 years.

Very nice!!

Jack the car up on the off side rear, wheel off and axle stand in place ready to coat with Dynax stuff. I then decided to have a really good look round the arch lip etc which I had wire brushed, treated and then sprayed with ant chip paint not long after I bought the car October ish last year. I’m glad I did because it needed attention. I think doing what I did last year before winter had kept the rust in check but needed doing properly now and will probably have been a lot worse after another winter. After much scraping, wire brushing and emery cloth I removed the under seal from the arch lip to approx 80mm from the arch lip until I hit thicker under seal and the rust stopped. The under seal in this area is very thin but gets noticeably thicker the further up you go. When done I degreased the whole area, rinsed and then dried with paper towels and the Mrs hair dryer until it was bone dry again. Applied the Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 from the kit I bought and I’m just waiting 30 mins to apply a second coat as per the introductions. Pics below are an example of what I found, since the picture I removed the arch trim plastic grommets, and also a picture of a plate that has been welded in and coated in a very similar place to the other side which I repaired earlier. You can just make out the plate which is a wrong way round L shape or J shape starting at the top where the visible rust ends, if that makes sense and you will need to rotate it 90 degrees. This must have been the repair carried out when it failed the mot in April 2017, it’s very solid and looks a good job so I’m not worried about it.