My First "Lexus": 1992 Toyota Celsior C-Spec

[Schaefft]

Hi guys, I've just joined this forums as I think there's quite a wealth of knowledge about these cars here. I've recently bought a 1992 Toyota Celsior C-Spec from its original UK owner. Apparently the car only has 125k km (which is hard to confirm considering a lack of service history, MOTs say it legit) but it has been standing for the last 4 years so it needs some work now.

The instrument cluster (digital odometer only) isn't turning on which I know is a common problem, the needles, speedo, tach and so on stay dark.

The car used to have air suspension which the previous owner has replaced with conventional struts. These need replacing now, the complete strut assembly in the front, as well as the springs, if not the whole strut, in the back. I might go back to air suspension eventually (with all the troubles that might come with it), but for now I am looking for a set of good used struts I can install to get it through MOT. It would be interesting to know how much interchangeability there is between the 1st and second generation suspension setups (MK1-MK4).

I also need a set of wheels. Right now the car has what looks to be MK3 alloys with tyres in the wrong size, the tyres are too old and have cracks, so this is another high priority item.

The brake pedal also seems very touchy, its soft (as I would expect from a LS400) but grabs hard very suddenly. The car needs a good clean and complete service, so maybe this is an easy to solve problem.

The interior needs a few bits and pieces replaced as well, Im wondering if there's still a clean blue steering wheel out there somewhere, or whether it would make sense to just get it retrimmed.

I've basically saved this rare Celsior from the breakers yard/banger oval and would love to bring it back to its former glory. The owner got quite emotional when he unloaded the car from his truck, so thats another good motivation for me to have it back driving properly as soon as possible, with more ambitious plans for it in the future.

If anyone would be able to assist me with one of the issues above, or has any leads on parts needed to fix them, it would be very much appreciated. :)

 

[ambermarine]

Rico

I hope you are going to take that mileage with a large pinch of salt that steering wheel is about the worst example on a Lexus or Celsior I have ever seen in 25 years of these cars.It as been driven by a rhinocerous or done an awful lot of miles.

I have no doubt you have every intention of bringing it back to its former glory but I would check everything on the suspension and running gear before you start spending money on it,it could be a bottomless pit, there are better examples out there to invest in.

[Schaefft]

8 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

Rico

I hope you are going to take that mileage with a large pinch of salt that steering wheel is about the worst example on a Lexus or Celsior I have ever seen in 25 years of these cars.It as been driven by a rhinocerous or done an awful lot of miles.

I have no doubt you have every intention of bringing it back to its former glory but I would check everything on the suspension and running gear before you start spending money on it,it could be a bottomless pit, there are better examples out there to invest in.

Yeah, I know what you mean. On the other hand, most steering wheels from the first gen LS400 seem to be wearing extremely fast, it wouldnt take much more to rip it to pieces like mine. The engine sounds excellent though, and the pedals didnt have any wear that would indicate the astronomical mileage most other cars would need to get a steering wheel into this state. Then again, an LS400 probably is one of those cars where mileage matters less than in any comparable vehicle haha.

Suspension is never a deal breaker for me. These are wear items, so they will need replacing eventually on most of the cars you'd find for sale today, unless that has happened already. The most important areas that the car needs to convince me in are bodywork and drivetrain, and those seem to be good. Until these become problems, a car like this Celsior is always worth saving to me.

[Malc]

you might well have 15" wheels and tyres ( and brakes to match ) ....  later Ls400s had 16" and the wheels are different but look the same ( 9 or 10 spokes )

your wheels look right style for a K reg Ls400.     I'm not sure that the 15" wheels are interchangeable with the 16" ones, take care

Malc

[Schaefft]

6 minutes ago, Malc said:

you might well have 15" wheels and tyres ( and brakes to match ) ....  later Ls400s had 16" and the wheels are different but look the same ( 9 or 10 spokes )

your wheels look right style for a K reg Ls400.     I'm not sure that the 15" wheels are interchangeable with the 16" ones, take care

Malc

I dont think this wheel style came in 15", the facelift changed to a very similar style to the ones I have right now, but Im fairly sure mine are MK3 wheels with the original center caps, not the MK2 16" wheels I'd actually like to have. Also, Im still a little confused whether this is a facelifted LS400 or not. I have the digital-only gauge cluster but no passenger side airbag. I thought both of these were introduced with the facelift. Hm..

[39buss]

Is this the car posted on here a few weeks ago that was abandoned on private waste ground?.  I'm in Washington and if I can be of assistance then get in touch.  What post code are you. 

[Schaefft]

43 minutes ago, 39buss said:

Is this the car posted on here a few weeks ago that was abandoned on private waste ground?.  I'm in Washington and if I can be of assistance then get in touch.  What post code are you. 

I'm not sure, I think the car was stored on a driveway for those 4 years, I've only seen it in the Newcastle city center before I bought it. Im located in Gateshead (for some reason Tyne and Wear wasn't in the list...), any LS400/Celsior specific help would be very much appreciated!

 

EDIT: Definitely wasnt mine, different color and not a Lexus.

[Malc]

Rico hi, my first Ls400 was a 1992  J reg Mk1 and had these same wheels and 15" .....  my 1994 M reg  Mk2 also had these same wheels but 16" .......  my now 1995 N reg Mk3 also has these same wheels and 16" too.

I really don't remember the difference between the Mk1 and the Mk2 apart from the size wheels

The Mk3 is a totally differently built car, just looks a little similar tbh.

It might be that the Celsior was booted differently of course !

Malc

[Schaefft]

I've just checked the tires again, they are 16 inch wheels but the wrong size tire. I've also had a quick look underneath the car again to look for anything unusual, nothing to report really, its still looking pretty decent under there for the age of the car. No bad rust or anything, nothing dripping on the floor either. The tires are leaking air though, so I will need a set asap.

[steve2006]

Mine is a 1994 B spec Celsior, had it for 12 years now.

[Schaefft]

Very cool, and it looks clean! Can you tell me if there are any relevant differences between the Celsior and LS400 that I should be aware of, i.e. timing belts or specific parts/electronics apart from TEMS and air suspension?

[39buss]

On 02/05/2018 at 5:16 PM, Schaefft said:

I'm not sure, I think the car was stored on a driveway for those 4 years, I've only seen it in the Newcastle city center before I bought it. Im located in Gateshead (for some reason Tyne and Wear wasn't in the list...), any LS400/Celsior specific help would be very much appreciated!

 

EDIT: Definitely wasnt mine, different color and not a Lexus.

The car I mentioned was posted on March 28 by AZLS400 and looks silver on a "J" reg. I think this post died a death as the car didn't look as if it had been abandoned for over 5 years so not yours. Where in Gateshead are you and I could pop down to give what assistance I can. No expert but I've been on the LOC for a number of years now.

[Schaefft]

On 5/5/2018 at 4:42 PM, 39buss said:

The car I mentioned was posted on March 28 by AZLS400 and looks silver on a "J" reg. I think this post died a death as the car didn't look as if it had been abandoned for over 5 years so not yours. Where in Gateshead are you and I could pop down to give what assistance I can. No expert but I've been on the LOC for a number of years now.

I'll probably have new front shocks coming in fairly soonish, they are supposed to be easily replaced but a helping hand probably wouldn't hurt I've replaced front shocks before, but those were airsuspension ones in my Lincoln (similar to what the Celsior used to have).

[steve2006]

On 05/05/2018 at 1:24 AM, Schaefft said:

Very cool, and it looks clean! Can you tell me if there are any relevant differences between the Celsior and LS400 that I should be aware of, i.e. timing belts or specific parts/electronics apart from TEMS and air suspension?

Most parts are the same apart from specific Toyota branded items like the badges and grille, if you need any specific parts send me a PM and I can give you the part numbers and rough cost.

[39buss]

I replaced front and rear shocks on my MK3 LS400 .  Fairly straight forward but needed a spring compressor to make it easier.

[dendonc]

On 5/2/2018 at 8:03 PM, Schaefft said:

The tires are leaking air though, so I will need a set asap.

It might be the rims need cleaning, try that at least first then see how good tyres are with it

[Schaefft]

21 hours ago, dendonc said:

It might be the rims need cleaning, try that at least first then see how good tyres are with it

Possibly, I've now bought another set of wheels very cheaply that should have decent tires (for the moment), so the old ones will go in the bin anyway. If anyone is interested in a clean set of MK3 alloys, please give me a shout

On 5/7/2018 at 8:43 PM, 39buss said:

I replaced front and rear shocks on my MK3 LS400 .  Fairly straight forward but needed a spring compressor to make it easier.

Apparently the rear springs/shocks on the first gen are supposed to be a little more tricky. The springs are a different part number so there has to be some differences.

On 5/7/2018 at 3:26 PM, steve2006 said:

Most parts are the same apart from specific Toyota branded items like the badges and grille, if you need any specific parts send me a PM and I can give you the part numbers and rough cost.

Thanks for offering your help. Do you have a link to an online parts catalog with drawings I could use to look up part numbers? Absolutely invaluable if one is available. 

[runsgrateasanut]

You'll want to check out this thread as regards springs/shocks.

BTW Knuckle dusters may have that sort of affect on a Steering wheel??

My K reg car wheel is still perfect.at 133k miles

 

Edited May 13, 2018 by runsgrateasanut
forgot link

[Newbie1]

Brand new OEM UCF10 shocks on eBay at the moment.

[Schaefft]

I think if I decide to go with brand new shock absorbers, I'll get a set of KYBs. I haven't heard anything bad about them at all, and they are the OEM for tons of manufacturers, while being cheaper than whatever came in the LS400/Celsior originally. Same for the springs. I can get 4 springs and front shock absorbers from them for around 230 quid incl. shipping, I hope the rear shock absorbers on my car are still usable. I'm just wondering if I should get the front shock mounts replaced at the same time, I'm not sure how long these usually last in an LS.

In other news, I've ordered all capacitors for both the gauge cluster and ECU which arrived today. I've noticed that the capacitors on the cluster were replaced before, but not exactly to what I'd call acceptable standards. Also one of the capacitors on the ECU must have failed already as you can see in the photo. If anyone in the Newcastle area would like to help me with soldering these to the boards (I dont wanna do it myself, I'll probably destroy them😂), please let me know.

I'll also get set of wheels installed on Saturday. Its the same wheels I have on the car right now (16inch MK3 alloys), but with tires that should be slightly better than what I have right now. I've only paid 20 quid for them so we'll see.😂

[39buss]

Jim Hall at Wrekenton (Electrical Services 4872995) has been in business for yonks, starting off fitting radios and alarms when nobody had a radio or alarm in their car.  You may have to ring him or take the item up for him to see if he'll do it.

[Schaefft]

On 5/17/2018 at 4:05 PM, 39buss said:

Jim Hall at Wrekenton (Electrical Services 4872995) has been in business for yonks, starting off fitting radios and alarms when nobody had a radio or alarm in their car.  You may have to ring him or take the item up for him to see if he'll do it.

Excellent, I'll give him a call tomorrow.

[39buss]

13 hours ago, Schaefft said:

Excellent, I'll give him a call tomorrow.

There's also "Auto Sounds" on Scotswood Rd.  They've been going a long time as well. 

[Schaefft]

2 hours ago, 39buss said:

There's also "Auto Sounds" on Scotswood Rd.  They've been going a long time as well. 

I've dropped off all the components at Jim's today, he'll have a closer look at it on Monday. Thanks for the tip!

[39buss]

Okay..

  Hope it works out ok.