Tomtit

This year's premium for the LS 430 was £115 less than last year. I am not complaining.

Bob. I sprayed GT85 into the outside of the hub where the splines are. I did not leave it a few days since I normally get results within minutes on rusty nuts etc. I never thought to spray the inner side of the driveshaft, but I will do this a few days before it goes into the garage.

Ian. When the engine management light comes on the problem will be emissions-related. You will not be in immediate danger unless exhaust gases are entering the car. In this case you will start to feel unwell due to carbon monoxide. Hopefully the new O2 sensors have solved the problem.

After a long struggle I cannot remove the first driveshaft. It seems well and truly stuck in the hub and at the differential. It has probably not moved in 21 years. I am not a trained mechanic and I have not done this job before. The workshop manual says to gently tap the shaft out of the hub with a brass drift. This did not work. Penetrating fluid and a good crack with a ball pein hammer and drift had no effect. It only produced a bit of grease at the differential end. I don't know how hard I can hit it without doing any damage. An experienced mechanic would know. I have asked my trusted local garage to do the job. That will give me time to prepare the LS430 for its M.O.T.

At 100,000 miles your engine has a lot of life left in it. Mine has done 147k and still feels ultra smooth. I changed the engine oil a year ago and it is still straw coloured. I have owned many cars and have never experienced that before. The oil usually starts to change colour after a few weeks' use. If you change your car someone else will get the benefit of your £1200 spend. I would keep the car and enjoy it.

According to the workshop manual we disconnect the driveshaft at the differential end and drift the shaft out of the hub. There is no need to dismantle the hub. The upper control arm and toe control link have to be disconnected before drifting out the shaft.

The Halfords torque wrench arrived 24 hours after ordering. It looks like a quality piece of kit. I am now well-equipped to tighten the hub nuts.

I photocopy the relevant pages, put them in plastic sleeves (the ones with holes down the side for clip files) and take them outside to work on the car. This keeps the workshop manual clean.

Bob. Thank you. I already have 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive torque wrenches. I have just added to my set by ordering the Halfords Advanced Torque Wrench Model 300. It will tighten up to 300 Nm. I suppose that tightening the hub nuts is a safety issue, so now I will be properly equipped. I don't mind paying to expand my toolkit as I will be saving money on labour charges.

Bob. Thank you. I had been wondering about that. I will definitely leave the guard rings off. Regarding the hub nuts, are they both conventional right hand threads? Also, they are supposed to be torqued up to 289 Nm. My torque wrench will barely reach half that value. I was thinking of measuring the length of exposed thread before the nuts are removed, marking the nuts at the 12 o'clock position and using a long breaker bar to tighten them back in the same position. Has anyone come across a better way?

Last year I converted my LS from air suspension to coil springs and dampers. I obtained some parts from Amayama and have not had a problem with them.

Anthony. If you look on the Machine Mart website and search for Irwin 5 piece bolt grip set you will see some images. The basic set comprises 5 sockets. An extension set is also available which would give you 10 different-sized sockets. I don't use them often but they are still a great addition to the toolkit.

I need to remove the wheel covers and some of the screw heads have been previously damaged. One was particularly stubborn, and even hitting it with a hammer and chisel would not shift it after soaking for a day in penetrating fluid. I was ready to butcher it with my Dremel. I then remembered my Irwin bolt grip set. In the past I have only used It on hexagon-headed bolts, but it gripped the round head of the screw and moved it in seconds. The end result was not pretty but new screws are not expensive. The Irwin set has got me out of trouble in the past and I can recommend it for D.I.Y. owners.

Anthony. Thank you for that. I will replace only the driveshafts at this stage. I will think about diff oil seals if I get a leak in the future. Richard.

Andrew and Anthony. I have had no formal training as a mechanic, and your level of knowledge will be greater than mine. I have looked at the Lexus workshop manual (pages 29-4 to 29-8). It seems to me that when I unbolt the driveshaft from the differential side gear shaft the latter will stay in situ and no oil will come out of the differential. Perhaps you could confirm. The reason for asking is because the M.O.T. on the LS430 is not far off and I need to spend time on that car getting it ready for the M.O.T. I don't want to do any additional jobs on the SC430 if they are not strictly necessary. I have to work outside on the drive and they are forecasting a lot of rain for early September. I will have to pick my days carefully. (In my younger days I have crawled about under the car with a fishing brolley for protection against the driving snow. I am getting too old for those antics now.)

Russ. I am now running 2 Lexus cars with 4.3 engines. Thankfully I don't do a big mileage. The SC is 21 years old, the LS is 20. At that age there will always be jobs to do. If I had to pay someone to do maintenance and repairs I would only have one car.

Anthony. I intend to keep the car for some time. I see replacing the driveshafts as an investment for the future. I don't mind crawling about under the cars now, but I don't know how fit I will be in years to come. It would be frustrating to have to get someone to do the work. Richard.

Russ. They are under SC430 - Drivetrain - CV Axle. Total cost including shipping is £289.

I assume the filings are from the worn reluctor rings.

I had previously found iron filings on the tops of both rear ABS sensors. Today I took the sensors out and found more filings on the tips of the sensors. I picked them off, then cleaned the tips with contact cleaner spray. I used a round magnetic tool inside the sensor holes to clear the remaining debris. The reluctor ring castellations are less than 1 mm deep, so I don't think they will be sending much of a signal to the sensors. I put everything back together and a test drive showed the problem still there. I did not want the hassle of fitting new reluctor rings, so I ordered 2 new driveshafts from Rockauto. They come with new rings and dust covers, and I will also get the benefit of new rubber boots and bearings. They are due to arrive next month. I will post the outcome in due course.

Anthony. Thank you for the reply. The videos were honest and persuaded me to buy the car. The dealer spent a lot of money having various issues sorted, and I have come away with a very good car. I used to have a BMW Z4 and my first job was to get rid of the runflats. It transformed the ride and made it much more civilised. Your car looks pristine. The alloys are better than mine. I might change mine in the future, but in the meantime I need to have the alloys on the LS430 tidied up. The paint is flaking off. I am in Longridge and the Forest of Bowland is on the doorstep. I am looking forward to some roof-down driving on the country lanes. Regards. Richard.

I have just bought a 51 plate SC430. It is the one featured on the Youtube video by High Peak Motors. I have fitted a used DVD player and the sat nav is now working. There is a buzzing when braking at low speeds; it is as though the ABS is about to kick in. I think the iron filings on the rear wheel speed sensors are pointing me in the right direction. When the workshop manual arrives from the U.S.A. I will do some dismantling and hopefully find the cause. I will report back on this issue as it may help others. (I have no criticism of the dealer on these 2 points. He has already spent a lot of money rectifying other problems). The car is a nice drive, especially with the roof down in the recent hot weather. The armchair seats are really comfortable and the cabin is well kitted out. I think it would be even better with conventional tyres. The runflats have about 5mm of tread on them so I won't be changing them just now.

One of my rear struts failed last year (which it is entitled to do after 19 years !). It was going to cost over £1000 to replace. Assuming that the other 3 would not last much longer, and bearing in mind the cost of other parts which could fail - compressor, height sensors - I could soon have spent much more than the value of the car. If the car was written off after an accident I would not get that money back. I converted mine to coil springs and shock absorbers. Total cost about £1000. I fitted them myself. I don't do a big mileage so this setup will probably last the life of the car. The ride is not as smooth as air suspension but it is perfectly acceptable.

I bought a rear parking sensor kit from ebay a couple of years ago. It has worked fine.

In the last 12 months I have had two sets of windscreen wiper blades on the car. The first were Bosch conventional and the others were the aero style. Both sets were noisy and tended to judder across the windscreen, even after using glass cleaner on the screen. I have just fitted a set of genuine Toyota wipers and the difference is remarkable. They glide across the screen in complete silence. They cost £39.01 including p & p from Lexus Parts Direct. As far as I am concerned it is money well spent.