GoldfingerLS

fuel filter is not a difficult job, its an in-line type of filter and got plenty of working space, only draw back is its under the middle of the car but if you got it lifted to get under it you should be ok. Just be ready to catch 1 or 2 litres of petrol so you dont mess up your driveway, i remeber a lot came out. With all those things replaced you might get a slight improvement in mpg.

thanks for sharing the info, good to know for future reference if anyone needs to order parts. even after the £20 duty its still well worth the saving. How did you get on with the fuel filter ? did you do it without a lift on axle stands ? i think like the mk4 its located somewhere near the rear diff. I got my mechanic to do mine while he had the car up in the air.

According to the factory manual the correct plug for the 96 LS400 is Nippon Denso - SK20R11 or NGK BKR6EP-11 The NGK BKR6EP-11 is a platinum plug according to the NGK website: http://www.ngk.com/results_app.asp?AAIA=1187513 The SK20R11 is an iridium plug and is the recommended one for the 98+ VVTi LS400 but i guess because its an American reference they might have specified something different for the 96 model ?? According to the the Denso website the correct plug for the European '96 - '97 LS400 is PK20R11 which is a platinum plug. (but no harm if you used iridum ?) http://www.globaldenso.com/cgi-bin/global/...=maker47car.csv All in all i think you have the correct plug (with the correct gap) and you got them at a good price too. Also a good idea to use a small bit of anti seizing compund (copper grease) on the thread since they will come after a long time. I paid something like £9 or £10 each when I did plugs a while ago. You live and learn :)

80p per plug sounds a bit too cheap for kind of plug the 1UZ-FE needs. I think on that model the correct plug is the Denso Iridium tipped one or equivalent. ???

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYegPEwSVxU Just thinking out aloud, how much would this sort of thing cost and how difficult would it be to install? :)

I'd be careful about having the engine cleaned. Modern engines with their hundreds of electrical connectors and dozens of ECUs under the bonnet like the LS dont like to be steam cleaned with a jet washed or hose.

Looks awesome. Compared to the pics you posted before you started work on that car, it looks nothing like the same car. Have you had the paintwork polished or mopped ? I remeber in the original pics at the start it was looking a bit tired. But it seems to have come out quite nice. Also is that shocks you've added to the boot lid ?

Differences 2001 vs 2004 are: 6 speed auto instead of 5 speed auto. 2004 has reversing camera, blue tooth, facelight at front and the head lights i think are are active lights, i.e. they follow the road when you steer....can't think what else....

Steve, Your theory is correct it should be facing the sky. The GPS nav antenna is supposed to be somewhere under the rear parcel shelf possibly near the subwoofer. It is supposed to be plugged into the navigation ECU which sit at the bottom of your boot so i'd imagine if you trace the cables, the one going to the rear parcel shelf should be the GPS antenna one. Let us know how you get on.

Hi Steve, I also have the same cable in my mk IV. The other end of this co-ax cable is terminated under the front of the centre console. Lexus ran this cable in case somebody needed to put a phone kit in the centre console / inside the car and you can easily attach a phone antenna from the boot and take it outside the car if you need better reception. In fact if you open the centre console (bottom drawer) and un-screw it all out (concealed screws under the black velour tabs) there should also be a 12v power connector along with the other end of the co-ax cable in case you need to power a phone. Then you dont need any ugly power cables going from the centre ash tray socket to your phone. Every little helps :)

As far as i can find out, the OEM pads for my Mk4 LS400 are as follows: Front Pads: Lexus Part No. 04465-50220 - are made by Nisshinbo Rear Pads: Lexus Part No. 04466-50110 - are made by Sumitomo The three companies who have lead the way in producing brakes with low Noise Harshness Vibration (NVH) are Japanese. They are Akebono, Nisshinbo and Sumitomo. Some light reading: http://www.automotivedigest.com/WhitePaper...white_paper.pdf For the 04465-50220 i have seen it being referred to as a pad for the "EUR UCF20", suggesting is it for the european cars. Don't know if the 04465-50070 is the same spec/dimensions.

When I get new pads and discs replaced on the LS I also want to replace my old existing rubber brake hoses if possible. I am trying to source a stainless steel braided brake hose kit for the Mk4 LS400. I called Goodridge UK and they only do a kit for the '94 and earlier LS400s not the later ones. (The '95 and later ones have 4 pot callipers). They however said that if i can send them my current sample hoses they can get a kit made up for me. Thats good news but its a bit difficult for me to send them my existing hoses since I’m effectively left without a car until i hear back from them. Any ideas what i can do? is there another reputable company that also makes stainless steel braided brake hose kits for the later LS400s ? Since its a major safety item I want to go with a reputable company. Thanks

Is your car a mark 4 LS400 without the sat nav ? you mentioned your car is a '98 model and I noticed on the photo you have a 'VSC OFF' button. If it is a mark 4 without sat nav, it may well be the Nakamichi sound system. (although it does not say “Nakamichi” on the photo like the mark 3 cars do, it does say “premium”). I remember reading somewhere when Lexus made the mark 4 they had an issue in that Nakamichi would not allow their head unit to be operated from a proprietary touch screen interface and / or around that time I think Nakamichi went bust ? Hence mk4 cars without the sat nav were fitted with the premium 280 watt Nakamichi sound system. The mark 4 LS400s with the touch screen sat nav were fitted with the 190 watt Pioneer sound system. On the Mk3 cars the ones with the Nakamichi sound system had written on them “Nakamichi Premuim Sound System” with the Nakamichi Logo. However I stand corrected :)

Thanks guys. I will at some point in the near future need pads and discs replacing all round. I will probably buy here from the UK to be on the safe side in case there is a difference. When the parts are half the price its tempting, but as you correctly point out you have to take account of duty and high carraige costs to see if it still worth it. I will try to find out who makes the OEM pads for lexus (I posted on here a while ago too). If not I don't really mind paying the price for OEM parts from Lexus, the braking performace of the OEM pads and discs with those 4 pots is fantastic for a car of this size / weight. I also get a discount being a gold member so that helps a bit too. I'll keep you posted.

If I order genuine Lexus brake pads and discs from the US (since they are much cheaper) are they different to the genuine ones available in the UK ? For example last time i replaced front brake pads on my 99 LS400 i purchased part no: 04465-50220 here in the UK in the US the part number for front LS400 pads is 04465-50070 (www.lexus-parts.com) whats the difference ? are discs also different in anyway ? (leaving aside for now that delivery from US will be expensive) Thanks

if all pistions in the front callipers are ok (all 8 of them in total), then after pads and discs were changed the 1st time and problem re-appeard the questions which would come to my mind are: 1. how were the new brakes bedded in ? were the brakes bedded in properly ? this is very important. a lot cases of "warped discs" are not warped. its the uneven deposits of pad material which become imprinted in the disc surface and the next time the disc heats up they become hot stops. Soon after they will become hard spots which can then only be removes with machined skimming. 2. Is the hub onto which the disc is mounted ok ? any excess play / runout ? 3. Could it be a suspension component e.g. control arm ball joint or bush etc which has excessive play ? Its very unusual for this to happen. Let us know how you get on. Thanks

The low idle problem seems to affect some of these cars once they start to get a little old. But don't let that put you off the fact that you have bought one of the world finest luxury saloons. There is someone on the US LOC forum that has had this problem which you decribe and has fixed it. Please see this post. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=32877 Please let us know how you get on. :) Thanks.

How would you go about removing the top speed limiter without changing the ECU ? is there anywhere where you could get it flashed ?

You dont happen to like saab by any chance do you :)

your ls430 is most probably a 6 speed one since it does 70 mph at 1,800 rpm, whereas the earlier 5 speed ones in the LS400 Mk4 and LS430 Mk1 will do 70 mph at 2100 rpm if im not mistaken. on the 5 speed autobox cars 155 mph will come up at 4850 rpm. So i'd imagine that on your 6 speed car its a shade less (maybe 100 or 200 rpm less). Unrestricted my estimate is that it could possibly hit 175 mph ? reason why i say that is because the drag co-efficent is very low on these cars (0.26). Also depends on how accurate the speedo is at the uppper end. An empty airfield is the place to go ;)

It should also say on the tyre where it is made. Last time I bought a set of 4 made in Japan Dunlops D8z from Elite in rainham. I went there couple of weeks back for tracking alignment and this time they said they no longer stock them. £75 each fitted is an excellent price. Thanks for letting us know.

There are two sensors for the headlamp leveling. one on the frotn suspension and one on the rear suspension, can't remember if they are on driver side or passanger side. Could be a lose connection on these suspension mounted sensors ? Then apart from that as Steve says Beam Level Control Accuators located at the headlamps or the ECU. Could be a faulty control accuator.

Bonnet struts: - these are item which arn't affected by mileage but by age. After 9 years i'd imagine the rubber seals start to break up and let the gas escape. nothing major or complicated, shame the OEM ones are so expensive. you can try http://www.strutsdirect.co.uk/components/index.php This was bought up in an earlier thread. http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=38802 Clock back light: - in an earlier thread somebody mentioned how they replaced their passenger and driver temp bulbs by taking out the unit. Its most probably the same proceedure since clock just sits int he middle ? I cant remember if i saw it on the UK or the US forum but try search. Let us know how you get on :)

Good point Haylands. Its a good question to ask why it has escpaed. A re-gass cost £45 from kwik fit. But beware its not a leak somewhere in the system. O rings can be placed cheap but a punctured condenser or leaking pipe, or evap can be expensive

Hi there, I dont know of part to fit the air flow meter. However, if your looking to get performace gains by using a K&N or cone type filter located in the engine bay I dont think there is much to gain. I have looked into this and if anything there will only be a performace loss in the case of the LS400. Same can be true for a lot of other cars aswell because not enough cold air hits the cone and you can get engine management errors later down the road. Just depends on where you plan to locate the cone filter.