gs450h GS 450H my first Lexus

[Farqui]

Driving around I could hear a tappety tap (bolt in a margarine tub) up high on the driver dash...my first thought was something loose after the dash out.

I checked behind the lower panels but couldn't find anything. 

Slow speed bumps were the worst so I wondered about the dampers as we seem to now be getting more feedback from the suspension.

Behold

 

[LexIS200Sport]

Well done!

How hard was it to disassemble + reassemble the dash? Any chance you took step-by-step photos that could be shared?  🙂

 

[Farqui]

Dash out is long winded, so I gave it someone else to wrestle with 🤣

I have a few pics that should deter anyone else wanting to try! Will upload them later 

[Farqui]

For anyone that has had a GS450h damper fail, are they known to tappety tap? @Britprius maybe....

[royoftherovers]

14 minutes ago, Farqui said:

Got the cold heater output on the passenger side fixed, so the wife will be happy this winter. Was a blocked matrix and a dash out job to replace it!

On the drive home we find the NS tail pipe is jiggling around, a quick/easy fix as i had spare hangers.

 

TB fitted a new S/S exhaust on March 9 2017 Lee.Did he not fit S/S hangers ?

[LexIS200Sport]

Fair enough, glad that its all sorted now  🙂

So next up is replacement dampers? When my rear shock failed, it did indeed have a knocking noise to it.

[Farqui]

@royoftherovers yes but they didn't align the tips very well, so I changed them. Now i know the size, I have beefier ones on order 😉

[Farqui]

2 minutes ago, LexIS200Sport said:

Fair enough, glad that its all sorted now  🙂

So next up is replacement dampers?

Yep I reckon so...

[royoftherovers]

Just now, Farqui said:

@royoftherovers yes but they didn't align the tips very well, so I changed them. Now i know the size, I have beefier ones on order 😉

So, not a good advert for TB then?

I have not seen as much work having to be done on a Gen 4 GS previously. With the benefit of hindsight would spending £45 per month on a Lexus Extended Warranty, have saved you a lot of time,money and hassle Lee?

3 minutes ago, Farqui said:

 😉

 

[Farqui]

TB's zoorst is fine, Lexus zoorst prices are ridiculous so it's a slam dunk which to shell out for. 

No, I'm not paying excessive sums to my local stealership, they said my damper was blown 3yrs/30k miles ago! I should gave roasted them with trading stds tbh.

I enjoy spannering, so repairs are no hassle, I'd rather put the money saved to other activities thanks. Horses for courses, we all do what we prefer. 

[Farqui]

Sure you won't see as many 4GS's issues just yet, cos they're newer. Lets hope they fix a few issues and don't introduce others eh, all cars have weak points...

[royoftherovers]

19 minutes ago, Farqui said:

TB's zoorst is fine, Lexus zoorst prices are ridiculous so it's a slam dunk which to shell out for. 

No, I'm not paying excessive sums to my local stealership, they said my damper was blown 3yrs/30k miles ago! I should gave roasted them with trading stds tbh.

I enjoy spannering, so repairs are no hassle, I'd rather put the money saved to other activities thanks. Horses for courses, we all do what we prefer. 

I could not disagree Lee. Your willingness/eagerness to get to the bottom of matters has undoubtedly sparked the imagination of some and made others (like me for instance) marvel at your approach.

It`s what makes the World go round !

[rob_clio172]

8 hours ago, Farqui said:

For anyone that has had a GS450h damper fail, are they known to tappety tap? @Britprius maybe....

Yeh i remember changing a few shockers on GS450h for knocking, if i recall correctly alot of them was rear shockers. Even changed some for knocking and they had no leaks just an internal fault. 

Im also using a ctek charger too, quality bit of kit for the price.

[Farqui]

Thanks for the feedback @rob_clio172 ours had an occasional knock on our recent trip to BE and seem to have gotten worse since, even the the vehicle was sat for the most of part of two months.  

It seems that damper leaks down on the lower body are not uncommon on the 3GS.

Anyhoo, I've confirmed part number this morning and have placed an order.  Meanwhile I will try and crack on preparing for the swap and start treating the rust down there.

The CTEK does seem to be good, I also fitted a Battery monitor gauge and that flips into the red after a day or so standing.  Yet the vehicle will still start a few weeks later without needing any supplementary charge, probably as the 12v supply is only booting up a few 'puters and not pulling big amps whilst cranking a starter.  So I'm not convinced the gauge is worth it for a hybrid.

[Farqui]

Here's some scary pic's of the heater swap...

[Farqui]

It's a good job the initial parts dept thought the heater matrix had a 5 week lead time, otherwise we'd have received an AC matrix instead!

There we about to order the part in the left hand green square #facepalm

Review your parts orders folks 😉

[Farqui]

Dampers were ordered early on Monday morning but later in the day I found out that the NSF wouldn't be in stock until mid October 😞

However they've since had a stock update and reckon it'll be in for dispatch tomorrow and should be with me Monday.

I managed to clean and treat/protect all of the undercarriage in yesterday afternoons sunshine, so will now take my time finishing that job off.

Removing the front dampers is very easy with just a lower bolt, speed sensor bracket, 3 top bolts and the upper rocker arm. 

The drop links stay in place as they bolt into the lower arm.

[Farqui]

Beached for a few days

Where'd the sunshine go 😞

[Farqui]

Front dampers, old and new.

The old drivers side is damp with oil/darker, was leaking from the rusty bracket.

Once the spring was removed, you could easily move the damping rod, it's definitely broken.

All back together now and the underside has been treated and sealed. Looks much better.

Will upload some pics tomorrow as I ran out of daylight today.

[Spacewagon52]

Heater swap - OMG. You guys are not only amazing but also very brave! I take my hat off to you all!

[Farqui]

@Spacewagon52 I take no credit for the heater work, even I left that to someone else.

 

[Farqui]

Front dampers replaced and test drove really well 😃

Almost finished with the underbody prep, it looks much better under there now. Both front and back.

[J Henderson]

Great stuff, Lee. My last visit was a few pages back so I've just been catching up on all your progress. 

Suspension parts look much nicer now. Which techniques/products did you use to get them looking like that? I'm going to have to do something similar as I had my wheels off recently and was shocked at how rough things were starting to look underneath.

[Farqui]

Thanks John @J Henderson, I can't express how much better the complex rear end now looks - I'll try and get some pic's online when she's next airborne.

Good call asking what I used...after clean the undercarriage was treated with Bilt Hamber Hydrate 80 - a messy job but well worth it.  I've used this in the past without any protection and it keeps rust at bay.

Then I applied a liberal coat of BH Electrox, which went on really nicely and was very satisfying.  Being silver you could see where you'd been and it also helped when applying dark coverings later on.

I then applied Tectyl 190 (this also covers well) and other miscellaneous paints I had in stock.

I aim to add some protection and Dynax UB has been recommended but I haven't ordered anything yet.  Does anyone else have any recommendations?

Product links;

https://www.bilthamber.com/corrosion-protection-and-rust-treatments/hydrate-80

https://www.bilthamber.com/corrosion-protection-and-rust-treatments/electrox

https://www.tectyleurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/PI_Tectyl-190-Black_TE019-01.pdf

https://www.bilthamber.com/dynax-ub

 

[J Henderson]

Much appreciated, Lee. I had an inkling that Bilt Hamber might get mentioned somewhere.

Thanks for the links and information.