1993 Ls400 - Maintenance Report

[MHT]

Having recently bought an LS400 I saw that the car was already famous on the forum. Having had the car a week I had only driven it once until this weekend as fiancee has decided that she likes it so much it will now be her daily.

On Saturday I thought I'd get to work tidying it up a little bit. The front and rear bumpers both need repair, but I machine polished the other panels to remove some of the lighter swirling. Here are some pictures detailing the process;

There are a couple of problems that have emerged over the past week with the car:

Interior boot release does not work

Driver side electric window does not auto roll up, but does auto roll down

Speedo needle only half illuminated

The car is going to Japex in Kings Langley this week for a check up and I'll make a plan from there.

Mark

[Ruud]

Looking great :)

RE: boot release - Make sure the boot lock button (the one you can insert your key) is not pressed in.

Driver's side window - Mine does exactly the same. Auto down, but not up.

There are several topics about the needles not illuminating on here and on US forums. have a read and decide whether it's something you want to fix yourself, send it off for repair or live with it :)

[cruisermark]

hi mark - looking good

what compound do you use?

[MHT]

Thanks for the pointers Ruud.

Mark - I used a Menzerna polish firstly. They do two finishing polishes, one has more of a cut and I used this one with a Menzerna cutting pad. I then used Poorbooys Black Hole with a Menzerna polishing pad. In hindsight I probably could have used something with more of a cut for the first pass, but I was happt enough with the results.

[Ruud]

What kind of machine are you using to polish?

[MHT]

Kestrel DAS6 - I can't remember why I bought that one specifically as it was a few years ago, and there are plenty of others that I'm sure do a similar job but the results are pretty good.

[cleverdick]

Driver's window is not designed to auto-up on this generation of LS. Window issues can otherwise be caused by the switch itself - which in fact carries the full motor current. (Switching is not done via relay.)

I might be able to help you with the speedo needle issue: PM me your email address for free instructions. Whatever you do, don't go sending it off to anyone who claims the fix to be a "trade secret".

[steve2006]

Driver's window is not designed to auto-up on this generation of LS. Window issues can otherwise be caused by the switch itself - which in fact carries the full motor current. (Switching is not done via relay.)

I might be able to help you with the speedo needle issue: PM me your email address for free instructions. Whatever you do, don't go sending it off to anyone who claims the fix to be a "trade secret".

Unless it's an import thing only my 1994 series II driver's window does auto up and down?

[runsgrateasanut]

Thats an interesting Posting time you are using Steve? Is it behind or ahead?

[runsgrateasanut]

Hello mine is looking suspect also - whats going on here?

[MHT]

Update...

After an oil, oil filter and pollen change at Japex we headed off on a 2,500 mile seven day road trip in August. From London we went to Bonn, Munich, Zell am See (too drive the Gross Glockner alpine pass), Venice, Monaco, Turin, Dijon, Paris, London. Here's a few pictures:

Zell am See, Austria - just before the Gross Glockner

Top of the Gross Glockner - 2500m

Next, down to Venice

Followed by Monaco

Over the trip the car performed faultlessly, even after one full day of AutoBahn driving at 100+mph all day.

The trip allowed me to make a snagging list of problems that emerged over the journey. Nothing too major.

Loose headlining at the rear

Door wooden trim became loose after the heat of Venice (37 degrees outside)

Interior courtesy light inop

Lower glovebox trim loose

During the Euro trip the power steering started to whine. On return to the UK I emailed Japex as I was worried that it would affect the alternator as I'd read here. Later that day the car failed to start in Oxford (30 miles from home) whilst on the way back from Birmingham. After a jump start the car made it home, but Japex were too busy to look at the car quickly so I took it to a local garage.

They (unsurprisingly) diagnosed a leaking PAS pump, but thankfully it hadn't damaged the alternator which I thought was the reason for the non-start. It turned out to be an unrelated issue and there was a faulty cell in the Battery. I ordered a new Toyota Battery from Lexus and the pump was sent away for a rebuilt.

That is all now complete and the garage also rectified the other issues that cropped up whilst we were away as well as doing an oil and filter change (6,500 miles now covered since the Japex filter change) and replacing front and rear brake pads.

Japex advised that there was a slight cam cover gasket leak, apparently it is only slight weep. The second garage advised that when changing the PAS pump they noticed that there is slight movement in the thermostat housing which is causing a small coolant leak.

So issues to now look at:

Replace thermostat housing

Get costings / replace the cam gasket leak

Mechanically, everything else appears to be on form.

Current mileage is now c. 91,500.

[Malc]

............... long european miles are easy peasy in our early cars ..........

I did 5k+ this spring around Italy etc and last year 6k+ miles around Spain and Portugal ........ all faultlessly too ( of course )

Malc

[Tulpen]

Now, now, Malc,

Your Luddite leanings are showing again..........long European miles are easy peasy in ALL LS models :)

[Malc]

............ but I haven't experienced any Ls beyond the 3 I have owned, this Mk3 being the latest !

Malc

[ReCat]

Nice to see you have the roadtrip traveling spirit in you. :) I have always thought to be a very nice car to road trip long distances with, good to see others agree!

[Malc]

I have no hesitation in driving my car anywhere for a few thousand miles abroad, she's never let me down and I suspect she never will ........ I do have it thoroughly serviced once a year by my non Lexus mechanic and there's only ever very minor issues to rectify.

I suppose this year I had to replace one front UCA and the cost bit a bit but at 175k miles or so I really won't be complaining ..... until the other side needs doing next annual service and MOT time but heavens above, these cars cost very very little in maintenance costs compared to almost any other car.

Malc

[ReCat]

What was the highest speed you achieved while driving this lexus in the Autobahn?

[Scribe]

I agree with Malc. Admittedly I don't do a big mileage, and the furthest I go is about 200 miles in any direction, but since I got the car five years ago all I've had to have done - apart from routine servicing - is the starter motor contacts (big job, as we know). Cambelt is due any time, but this isn't an expensive car to run.

[MHT]

@ReCat - 125mph. It sat at 100+mph for about five hours one day - if my wife was driving she more comfortable at around 100mph but I would tend to be in the 120mph region. It still averaged 23.5mpg that day which I thought was pretty impressive.

[ReCat]

@ReCat - 125mph. It sat at 100+mph for about five hours one day - if my wife was driving she more comfortable at around 100mph but I would tend to be in the 120mph region. It still averaged 23.5mpg that day which I thought was pretty impressive.

Thanks. I understand you have a 1993? Is that the top speed you achieved, or is it the top speed you were comfortable driving with?

[MHT]

That's the most I was comfortable with given my concerns for mechanical sympathy on day two of a seven day trip and also the level of traffic on the roads that day. Yes, the car is a 1993.

I'm a professional driver day-to-day and I cover approximately 40,000 miles per year. I've driven late model vehicles (Range Rover / Mercedes S-Class) on the autobahn previously at higher speeds and the LS felt just as stable.

I was mostly concerned about the level of traffic - it seems that on the autobahn some vehicles in lane three sometimes misjudge the speed of traffic in lane four. Therefore when they change lanes there is sometimes the need to reduce speed to maintain a safe distance. At 120mph I felt comfortable not only in the cruising abilities of the car, but also the braking.

[ReCat]

Thanks man that answers a bunch of my questions that I had. :)