Ls430 Rust Prevention

[GrahamG]

Have just bought a 2004 LS430 with 82,000 miles to replace a 1995 LS400 which sadly and perhaps unnecessarily died of the rust.

After hours here and elsewhere researching how the LS430 rusts [including the dreadful door and boot failures] here goes my first post on the forum.

Have access to a commercial garage including compressor and will probably use the Dinitrol products simply because of less smell in what is meant to be the wife's car.

Any advice please how to gain access to the door sills? Can the black plastic mouldings on top of the sills [with the 'Lexus' motif inset] be levered/popped off to allow a way into the sill void?

The wings are double skinned and need a way to get a flexible spray wand in there.

Is it straightforward to remove and reinstate the plastic wheel arch liners?

Any advice about corrosion proofing this particular model will be appreciated.

[Titch LS]

Graham, I can only speak as an LS400 owner, but I imagine that the 430 is virtually identical in regard to rustproofing. You can prise up the 'Lexus' kickplates quite easily. They're held in place by some clip fasteners underneath and on the side. You can then spray your rustproofing compound into the holes that the clips went into. The double -skinned wheel arches are a bit trickier. For the rear wheels I drilled one 10mm diameter hole somewhere above the inner wheelarch lip ( you have to judge the thickness between the two skins) and used some Dynax S50 in there. It's excellent stuff and comes with a very long flexible tube which fits nicely between the two skins of bodywork. You can spray right down the length of the wheelarch with the tubing, left side and right side. The good thing about Dynax is that the wax sprays out at rightangles at the tip of the tubing, so covering everything as you push or pull it along. Afterwards, I found a suitable bung for the hole and put some sealant round it .Job done. The front wheelarch liner is a tough flexible plastic and is removed relatively easily with the wheel removed. Don't be afraid of bending it. I haven't had to touch my doors or boot lid yet. Hope this helps.

[ambermarine]

Graham

Do under the car as well as the body

I did my Mark 4 with Dinitrol aerosols (6) and covered all of the non painted subframe at the rear and the edges of the rear wings were they meet the plastic spray shields.There are some rubber bungs in the area of the bottom of the wheel arch and rear door on the chassis ,remove them and spray inside with the tool Brian mentions push it up towards the rear window and it will cover the inside of the wheel arch,push it towards the front of the car and it will cover the cill area.

When you are doing the job try to think of were moisture might penetrate and spray it.

[GrahamG]

Very helpful Brian, thanks for taking the trouble to post.

If I had done this and tackled the rear sub frame area my superb LS400 would still be mine.

Had the idea that if the wheel arch liners were removed a bung might be exposed offering access to the double skin wing voids. However a 10mm hole is not the end of the world.

Some cars have more than one sill cavity e.g. two separate parallel 'tubes'.

If anyone can add any more specifically for the LS430 it will be appreciated.

[NENT23]

Hello everyone,

 

Thank you for sharing your experience with the product Ls430 . Your input is valuable, and it's always interesting to hear different perspectives. However, I'm also curious to hear opinions on the product rust converter. If anyone has used this product before, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts and results. Your feedback will help me gather more information to make an informed decision.

 

Thank you in advance to anyone willing to share their experiences with the product rust converter.

 

Best regards,