cleverdick

Looks pretty good - I've submitted an order but it seems you can't OK it until they get back to you with a formal quote. Out of interest, was the import duty payable on delivery, or afterwards? I will be getting them delivered to my garage, but they weren't too keen on the idea of being hit with an import duty bill some weeks or months down the line.

I'm expecting to have to take out the rear seat, in order to allow access to the rear suspension struts which may have to be removed so that the upper control arms can be replaced. (I'm sincerely hoping that the arms can be replaced without having to remove the struts - can anyone confirm?) On the basis that the seat has to come out, can anyone tell me the whereabouts of the various connectors for the seat heating pads? (My '90 LS didn't have this and seat removal was easy.) Any advice would be most gratefully received :) R

Works out at £130. Interesting. Were these genuine parts? How long did they take to arrive? (I'm running out of time unfortunately.) Do you know if it's necessary to remove the struts prior to removing the UCAs? This will mean taking the back seat out, which is something I could do without. Cheers, R

Not to mention the ability to carry 3m lengths of copper tubing (or whatever) with the sunroof open (suitably padded, of course)!

My '94 LS, with 135k miles, has just failed its MoT on a worn rear ball joint. (To be fair, this has been an advisory for the last couple of years and I've been putting it off.) I've been quoted best part of £350 + VAT for the UCA - which I think is a horrendous price. This does not include the cost of fitting. Having both sides done would be into the realms of spending more than the car is actually worth - although it would be worth it to me because of what I've already spent on it. And with no MoT it is of course scrap value only. The really annoying thing is that it doesn't affect how the car drives, so replacement will not enhance the driving experience and thus seem like a waste of money. Does anyone know of an alternative source? I'm now extremely wary of importing parts from the US - having had items held to ransom by the Post Office until an extortion is paid. I guess what I'm looking for is OEM, new-old-stock at a knockdown price! :)

Looks like a much better proposition! :)

Seems like a lot to me - especially given the state of the tyres. The fact that the pictures were taken in a public car park should also ring alarm bells. And in true dealer style an empty fuel tank - with all the issues that can cause. Also, at that mileage, why would it have had two cam belt changes? Possibly been stood up for a while too, needing a battery charge. Seems they forgot to put the terminal shroud back on before taking the photo!

Westfield Motors, Rayleigh.

Well, to continue with the 'turntable' theme, I would suggest that the SP-10MkII is the audio equivalent of the Gen1 LS400: Incredibly complex, yet with unmatched precision, extraordinary performance and ultimate reliability. Prices have now gone through the roof - which is what we can expect to see with good examples of the original LS. Early incarnations of anything revolutionary are often the best; manufacturers tend to 'over-engineer' simply because they haven't yet learned what they can get away with. Some of the first DAT machines (such as the DTC-1000) were heavily overbuilt, and as such (with certain mods) found a niche in the broadcast market. I'm surprised, actually, that the LS400 platform was not used in professional/special vehicle aplications (police, ambulance etc.). Would also have made a great London taxi - that's for sure! But I digress...

Without wishing to get into an audio debate, I'd suggest saving your money and giving DAB a wide berth. The bit-rates are simply too low for acceptable audio quality.

Thanks for replies so far. I collected the new bushes today. They are nothing like the ones on the car now! For a start, they're obviously made of natural rubber, looking more substantial with wider shoulders. Most importantly, they are lined with what appears to be woven glass-fibre fabric. Clearly they are not intended to be greased. So I now wonder if the ones currently in use are in fact OEM. The only problem I can foresee with the new ones is the final tightening of the bolts at normal ride height - not sure how easy access will be. I intend to do the work next week, along with an oil and filter change.

As a temporary measure (until I get the new bushes), I have lubricated them with Toyota lithium soap base grease. It says on the tube "rubber G". It has eliminated the creaking. I take on board what you say about leaving them dry, but what would be the harm in using grease if it doesn't degrade the rubber?

Not sure what to use. Obviously it has to be something that's compatible with rubber (unless they are made of PVC). The creaking is driving me mad. I've used silicone grease on them before, with some success, but its effectiveness doesn't last. I shall be renewing the bushes anyway, because the ridges have worn down, so new grease will be applied on assembly. Interestingly, the book doesn't say to use anything!

Everything's more expensive down here ;) Wash and vac? (The LS, maybe.) This is an old Land Cruiser full of mud, hay and horsehair. The vacuum cleaner wouldn't survive - lol!

Well, guess what, folks! Yesterday morning I received confirmation of the tracking numbers - 4 parcels (so potentially £100 to return - not worth it). It was all in German, but the implication was that they'd just started their journey. They still would not check their actual stock to see whether I was to receive the 4 or 5-rib pattern tyres, repeating again that their pictures are not contractual and to go by the description. Yesterday afternoon I did eventually get an email reply from Goodyear Tech. Apparently, the tread pattern is not a function of the '+' designation, but rather the tyre width! Hence the reason that you see both types shown for both versions. To me, it's absurd that the technical department have to get their information from the marketing department - not vice-versa, but there you go. Had I not been sharp-eyed enough to notice this discrepancy whilst 'revisiting' my purchase, and then making the mistake of digging deeper, checking other suppliers and unearthing this can of worms, I'd have saved myself an awful lot of time and stress. AND... arrived home to find a calling card from Parcelforce saying they'd attempted to deliver 4 parcels! (Long before I expected them.) Therefore, this morning, had the inconvenience of going to pick them up from the Chelmsford Parcelforce depot, some 15 miles away. Fortunately (thank goodness), they were indeed the AT/SA+, 5-rib, made this year and undamaged. So, rather than go back to my usual tyre fitter (who unfortunately, with his new staff, is not as careful and thorough as he used to be), I booked into the nearest ATS - where, incidentally, they now inflate tyres with nitrogen. I was very pleasantly surprised at their professionalism. For one thing, they were all grown-ups - not kids in trainers and hoodies. They took a lot of time and care in cleaning up the rims, ensuring a good seal and then balancing to a high degree of precision. (They even checked the wheelnut torque settings according to spec.) The cost was £15 per wheel - the same as locally. So hats off to ATS for excellent service! There are lessons here: 1. Outfits like Tyreleader can save you money. But not a lot. Tyrefitters normally get a discount, too. If all goes well, then fine. However, if you want specific information, or some human intervention by somebody who actually understands the product and can go beyond just reading from a script, then forget it. Some of their reviews, by people who have received damaged goods - or not at all - are simply horrific. (Is it worth the stress and risk?) This is drop-shipping at its very worst. 2. The manufacturer might not (instantly) know about his own product. Any ambiguity gets passed on to suppliers. 3. ATS (Chelmsford at least) are better than you might expect.

The reason I opted for the 5-rib tread with central sipe was simply because of its (presumed) better straight-line stability. Enhanced smoothness and quietness is also mentioned. Also, I don't think I was unreasonable in thinking that the 'plus' designation refers to the extra rib - especially as this was confirmed verbally by Goodyear - and is what is shown on the Goodyear website (until you start looking in more detail). However, Black Circles and Tyreleader show it the other way round. More to the point, I can't get a straight answer out of anybody. If they are wrong, I'm hoping my tyre fitter will take them in p/x for the right ones.

It's getting worse. They now say that the order's been dispatched. They REFUSE to tell me whether they have shipped the 4 or 5-rib version, simply saying "You ordered the AT/SA+ and that is what you will receive". They also say that returns will cost £25 per parcel, but won't say how many parcels the consignment consists of [despite me asking this]. Stupidly paid with debit card (doh!). In the meantime I have heard nothing back from Goodyear to confirm in writing whether their own website is correct. If it is, then all will be OK. If not, then I suppose Goodyear should be held liable for any charges incurred. What a godawful mess. Definitely do not use this company!

A couple of days ago, I placed an order with Tyreleader for a set of Goodyear Wrangler AT/SA+. (This was not for the LS(!) but for my wife's vehicle which is used for towing horseboxes and general heavy-duty use. The price seemed very good, and for this tyre appeared cheaper than the standard AT/SA, which would appear to have a 4-rib tread pattern as opposed to the SA+ which is shown as 5-rib with central band for added stability. (The technical rep at Goodyear confirmed this on the phone: The Goodyear website doesn't make a clear distinction.) Looking on the Tyreleader website today, they have updated the page, and now show photos of the 5-rib tread for both SA and SA+, but describing the SA as 5-rib - not the SA+! Concerned that I might receive the wrong tyres, I have tried to contact them. It's basically impossible. First of all, there is no phone number. If you click on "support" you are presented with a number of radio buttons, but no option to actually type in a box and say what you need to say. You can only do this if you click "commercial" - in which case it says "only queries submitted via Support will be answered" (or words to that effect). So, right now, they have £400 of my money and they won't make themselves available for communication. I am also waiting for written confirmation from Goodyear that the SA+ is in fact the one with the central band, so that if the wrong tyres do turn up then at least I have some kind of leverage with which to claim a refund. So much for German efficiency - so efficient that the whole thing is evidently run by robots!

eBay is horrible these days. I have found, though, that you get far less hassle by selling as 'Buy It Now' than on auction - and not bowing to low offers.

Cheers Steve, I think that make sense... ;) R

I have the spec for the '91 (from the Repair Manual) which states 1050g of R12. However, the '94 uses 134a and I am not sure of the quantity required. Can anybody tell me? Thanks in advance... R

I wonder what is meant by "upgraded alloys"?

Representative of the times we live in, I'm afraid. Slightly OT: Only recently I had to park outside a neighbour's house a few doors away due to our driveway being occupied. Anyway, later in the day, some pretentious p***k visited the neighbour in question, in some silver nondescript blob (S-max or somesuch). He parked about an inch from my rear bumper (so as not to block the driveway of the neighbour he was visiting - go figure) - and I deliberately hadn't left much room in front of me, so as not to be greedy with space. Eventually I went to get the car. Fortunately I was able to get out of the tight space without a problem. It just took a little while. However, after watching me do this, the cheeky b*****d then emerged and drove off! But not before closely inspecting his front bumper in case I'd damaged it with my 20-year-old heap! (Some people really need a slap!) I was so tempted to approach him and say "Why don't you join your local IAM group? They will teach you considerate parking, and also how to manoeuvre so that you can get out of a tight space with confidence, just like you saw me do!" But getting back to the thread: In these parts there would appear to be a surplus of disabled bays. Statistically they're empty most of the time. Outside the local Co-op, it's a case of: "Park in a disabled bay (which would seem fair if just a flying visit and there's nobody disabled queueing behind), or cause a backlog of traffic by waiting for a regular bay. Either option is likely to incur somebody's wrath.

As a last resort it is possible to obtain leak sealers for A/C systems. Some claim not to clog the system or damage recovery units. As a matter of fact I'm waiting on the delivery of some Red Angel from a friend in the US (I have a perforated condensor which I can't justify replacing). Forget trying to repair it from the outside, given the pressure it operates at.

Ah, so thiswhereis my postw ent! I thought I'd been struck off! Hopefully you see the problem. Whilst I realize that the site has to payi ts way, I contend that its carrying much too heavy an advertizing burden, which is causing latency issues with certain builds / OSs / browsers.