GoldfingerLS

Thanks for the tips guys. I will probably give the Febreeze/Dettol anti-bacterial a go. Where do I spray this into ? where are the external vents on a 99 LS400 ? Failing this I will probably try the Comma product mudzs posted the link for.. couldnt find the car plan one. Also I didnt know about the kwik fit air con debug, for £20 doesnt sound bad.

As far as I know the 2000 to 2004 (Mk1) LS430s have got the 5 speed A650E transmission which is the same as the Mk4 LS400 and this takes type IV fluid. For owners for the (Mk2) LS430 from 2004 onwards the correct fluid is the WS (World Standard) fluid. Always best to double check with the dealer too.

Got a slight issue with the air con. The air con itself is working fantastic, its just that in the summer months when the weather gets hot there is a nasty rotten smell coming from the interior air vents for the first 5 or 10 minutes each time I start the car up and put the a/c on. I think it even happens when I leave the a/c off and just have cold air coming out. In the winter months the problem goes away, but since the summer is returning the nasty smells have come back. I’ve tried cleaning the cabin filter behind the glove box and no joy. Does anybody know where the source of this nasty smell is ? or how I can get rid of it ? Lexus dealer wants £100 + Vat for a service which they say will get rid of nasty odours from the air con system. It seems like a lot of money to pay for getting rid of this bad smell considering that there is nothing mechanically or functionally wrong with the climate control system. Its very embarrassing when giving someone a lift in the car. Don’t want people to remember the LS as a car that smells ! Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks.

On motorway runs fuel consumption is very good on my 99 LS (29/30 mpg and over) but around town is a killer. In the heavy London traffic which can more than often be stand-still (and the air con running in summer) I only get 240 miles to a full tank. Regardless I always user the super petrol. I looked up the Lexus factory manual for the 98+ LS400 and it recommends that the 1uzfe vvti should be run on 96 octane minimum. Normal unleaded is only 95 octane. I've found shell V-Power (which is a 99 RON) to be quite good.

at 2.40 per litre i'd rather put my pennies (or pounds in this case ) in my LS430 fund. If you want to buy it cheap then its available at silverstone for around 'only ' £2 per litre

hmm, interesting one. I'm not entirely sure but if I was insuring a DHP LS400 and I was asked by an insurance company "has the car be modified" I would answer no, since that is how the car left the lexus factory and there was no mod after that. Also at the time of insuring did they ask if its a standard LS400 or a DHP LS400 ? Most webistes of insurance companies etc when you are getting a quote or buying only have one option for the post '95 cars which says something like "95-00 4.0 LS400" and does not distinguish between DHP / non-DHP. Anyone else got any ideas ?

The non-DHP alloy wheels with the 5 hole design are 16 x 7JJ. I have just checked the stamping on a brand new Mk4 alloy wheel sitting under my bed and on the inside the stamping reads "16 x 7JJ 45". (Not sure that the 45 means). Not sure if the 225/60/16 tyre will fit on to a 16 x 7.5 JJ rim. There are lots of guys on here with greater knowledge than myself on tyres/wheel issues who maybe able to advise. Thanks

The Air Control valve is on the actual power steering pump itself. If you are facing the pump pully it is on the front just above the pully. The correct way to check if the valve is working is to start the engine and turn the A/C OFF, turn the steering to full lock and pinch the vacuum hose of the air control valve and the engine revs should drop. When it is released the engine revs should rise again to normal idle. As for re-setting the ECU, remove the battery terminals for 30 mins (I think thats how long it is but not 100% sure) and re-connect. This will re-set the ECU. The disadvantage of re-setting the ECU is that you will lose any diagnostic fault codes which may give a clue as to what the problem is. You can get these read. The advantage of this is that re-setting the ECU oftem helps to return the managment system to normal. The correct way to remove the battery from this Mk4 is to place the key in the ignition and turn it to the ON position, disconnect the terminals and re-conncet after 10 or 30 mins etc. After it is re-connected turn the key off and turn it to the ON position again for at least 6 mins before you are able to start the engine. Also make sure you have your security code for the sat nav before you do this :) Let us know how you get on.

Thanks for the info. I've used a lot of ADL parts before and they have always been very good. Out of interest, does the timing belt have the marks which help you to align the left and right hand camshaft pullys and crankshaft pully like the toyota one has ? Also for the benefit of those DIY'ers who might want to replace the water pump, did you buy a special gasket to seal the new water pump back on or is there is special silicone type sealant that your supposed to use ? Thanks.

If the ball joint has gone on the upper contraol arm then I guess you got no choice but to replacethe whole control arm. But if the ball joint on the upper control arm is fine then you can get away with taking out the old bushes and replacing them with new ones right ? This should take a lot of ££ off the repair bill...

I would also check the Denso spark plugs website: http://www.globaldenso.com/PLUG/ http://www.denso.com.cn/plug/search/index.html If you want a plug that can take more stick, maybe go for the tough denso plugs (e.g. VK20 - IRIDIUM TOUGH). you can go though the specs on theior website to see which plug is the harder wearing version of the PK20R11) Accouding to the 2nd link it looks it might be the VK20 as it says its the replacement for UCF10 and UCF20...but plenty of info there for some light reading :)

For best performance on Japanese cars I would stick to the NGK or Denso plugs. The plug which lexus use as orginal factory fit are the Denso plugs. They are expensive but it is probably better than any bosch 4 tipped plug for this 1UZ-FE engine. Best to check the owners manual aswell but I think for the Mk1 and MK2 cars it was ND PK20R11 (This is the Nippon Denso ones) NGK BKR6EP11 These plugs are platinum tipped for the earlier LS400s and the later LS400s are Iridium tipped. These plugs all have a thin electrode (hence the expensive materials to stop it wearing away quickly) which produces a more stable spark. You also mentioned in a previous post about switching to LPG, not sure how this will affect plug life/performance but I guess they will run hotter ?

The OEM tyres selected by the manufacturer have been chosen because they work well with the suspension setup to give the optimum for the ride quality, handling, quietness etc. For example you will find threads on this forum, where people have fitted tyres other than the Dunlop SP Sport D8z (the OEM for the Mk4 LS400) on a Mk4 to find that it either produces more road noise, tram-lining etc. Lexus have most probably did a lot of homework in selecting the right tyre. Tyres other than the OEM will still do the job, but its always a question of trade off.

"I work for Castrol" Does that mean you get a staff discount ? :D ...especially if you go for that lovely Castrol 0W-30. I cant seem to find that at a good price anywhere and Costco dont even stock it. But as for viscosity a 0W-40 or a 0W-30 is the best thing I think, depending on time of year / ambient temperature. Some Lexus dealers will use Mobile1 while other will use Castrol.

If cost is not important then I would say either Mobil1 0W-40 fully synthetic or Castrol 0W-40 RS fully synthetic. You can also read an earlier discussion here with my little ramble: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=37834 You can buy Mobil1 0W-40 much cheaper than the shops at Costco if you are a member. I always buy 4 litres for £23.44 in VAT which isnt too bad.

On the Mk4 its 22" driver and 16" passenger side. As far as I know the series 1 and 2 cars are 22" driver and 15" or 16" passenger side. 20" and 18" does not sound right to me.

Doh ! your right Keith, it did stop at 1973. :( However Steam powered vehicles are exempt maybe its possible to fit a coal fired steam engine in place of that V8 :P I wonder which band the LS600h will come in. Due to it being a hybrid maybe its CO2 emissions will be less than 225 g/km ?

One day I plan to buy a few series 1 and 2 LS400s coz these cars are something special in the way they look. They are future Lexus classics. I intend to look after them and once they get past their 25th birthdays then they will be exempt from road tax HEHEHE. :)

"Envy the Levinson kit (though the standard kit is pretty good! And I'm a hi-fi fan!) " The only thing which the series 4 lacks is the lovely 280watt premium Nakamichi sound system found on the series 1, 2 & 3 LS400s. On the Series 4 there is 190watt Lexus Pioneer sound system (still 7 speakers with the sub on the rear shelf)…but it still sounds very nice. Does the 2004 facelift LS430 also have 11 speakers or are there more than 11 ?

I took the LS for an MOT a few months back and I always go to the same garage. I was having a chat with the owner of the garage and he was telling me that apart from my LS he has another customer who owns a MK4 LS400 and a LS430. He was saying that this guy uses both his LS for chauffeuring and had his cars converted to LPG since he covers long miles. I was told that the Mk4 LS400 has covered over 220,000 miles and is still running very sweet with the LPG. The LS430 has covered well over 100,000 and again is still running fine on LPG. He says that the secret is to go with Italian made kits since they are of better quality (I don’t know enough about LPG to say why). But apparently the Italians were using LPG fuel even before WW2 and they seem to have got things right with their kits through years of experience. I have also heard horror stories and I will personally stay away from LPG. At the same time many people have had a good experience.

As far as I know, the "tie bar" problems probably refers to the bushes in the anti-roll bar. The "thurst arm" (havn't come across this term before) might mean the control arm. There is an upper control and a lower control arm. The one where bushes wear out most often of LS400s is the upper control arm bushes (there are 2 on each control arm).

Sorry to hear this mate. This happened to my friends father in late 2005 and they took off with his BMW 318. He was 65, jumped from behind in the Asda car park, hit and pushed to the floor. The youth was caught on CCTV, later caught by police and appear in court. He was sentenced to a few weeks of community service. What can you say ?

One person who had quite a bad worn hub/bearing problem described as " loud a jet engine" so i'd image it probably sounds like a grinding nose which gets louder as it wears out more ? I've seen LS wheel bearings being sold on ebay so i'd image this is an item which wears out. Best to do as steve says i reckon, check for play.

I can find refernce to only 1 torque setting on the info i've got which says torque the bolt to 108Nm but its not very clear what they are referring to.

No probs man. If you take off the intake manifold, you might need to replace a few the gaskets which come off, depending on how old and cracked they are. Hope u get it sorted soon.