1996 LS400 Project. Let the fun begin.....!

[Malc]

Gentlemen, can I refer you to a much earlier post i made, something like

Catastrophic Loss of Power Steering Fluid .........  quite a while back

whilst all seems fine in this front for you right now, there's a niggle emerging in my mind that you might have forgotten about the pas cooling pipes that run in front of the radiator and the conglomeration of mild steel pipework ( that rusted through for me ) and all that I replaced ( had replaced that is ) in copper tubing and the appropriate flexi hoses

having had to have my car trailered down to my indy for surgery at the time 

not too expensive but amazingly inconvenient as it's something one doesn't expect to just  " go  "  .............  but after a qtr of a century, well, much is possible 

Malc

[Howplum]

Something to be aware of indeed, @Malc, thank you. I'll have look next time I'm under the car, which will probably be fairly soon!

My more immediate concern is that having replaced all of the warning light bulbs I am no further forward. In fact, in addition to the previous non-functioning lights towards the top of the cluster (main beam, lights on, fog lights front & rear and right indicator) none of the check lights along the bottom right come on either now!

Having previously said I was lucky not to have any electrical gremlins in view of the historic dampness, it looks as though I spoke too soon. A visual inspection reveals nothing obvious, and I doubt it's economically viable to get the cluster wiring checked, so I'll try and get a used one. Contact cleaner made no difference, unfortunately.

Luckily the odometer can be easily swapped - just a couple of screws and a multipin connector.

Anyone got a spare cluster?

 

[Razor61]

Don’t have a spare cluster but try the eBay seller in the link below. He has a few LS400’s that he is breaking.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/352832288907

[Howplum]

Thank you Paul. I sent him a question earlier, so I'll see what he says.

[Razor61]

No problem, I did go to see the guy late last year about a rear subframe to refurbish and swop out on my car but I couldn’t see what condition they were in without removing them so didn’t bother. He is only 10 mins from where I work and he had 3 x LS400’s iirc. If you want an item, I think you have to pay for it then he will remove it from the car and send or arrange pickup. If it wasn’t for the current situation I would go and see him on your behalf to see what he has and I presume he would be able to stick a Battery on or a booster and make sure the cluster works ok. I’m in work tomorrow so maybe I can help in some way, his premises can be passed on my way back home no problem ( I am allowed to go into work Mon,Weds,Friday because of dangerous chemicals/substances on site that need regular monitoring and maintenance )

[Howplum]

That's very kind of you Paul. I'll decide what to do once he replies.

In case anybody reading this needs to know, the part number is 257410-1275.

[Howplum]

Another option is to investigate having it repaired. Does anyone have any experience of this?

[Howplum]

I must admit that discovering the instrument cluster is faulty was very disappointing, especially when the car was just about ready for an MoT. I did try and track down a used replacement, but with no luck, although that would be around 24 years old as well.

In the end @steve2006 has kindly agreed to have a look at it for me, so hopefully it can be repaired.

Meanwhile I have been playing with my polisher, starting with boot. There is definitely a difference, but the paint has several blemishes from bird dropping, sap etc., so I might try using 3000 grit and see if that improves things. Still, it's a bit shinier:

This is the product I have been using, and it works well:

I had a small sample of black satin vinyl wrap so thought I would have a go at tidying up the window guide buttons, which had lost their paint. They certainly look better, although it remains to be seen how long it lasts:

Yesterday I decided to change the differential oil, but unsurprisingly the drain plug didn't want to come undone. However, this essential tool, plus a 2 foot long  breaker bar, won in the end:

And yes, I did undo the filler plug first.

Mind you, it made a mess of the drain plug, so as a temporary measure to enable me to do it up again I filed some flats on it to fit a 22mm open ended spanner:

Something else to add to the shopping list.

I also changed the engine oil and filter, which went smoothly. However, whilst I was under the car I thought I would check the power steering connections at the bottom of the radiator, following @Malc's earlier suggestion. This is what I found:

For now I have just wirebrushed them and applied some Kurust, but if the radiator ever has to come out those connections will not survive. I therefore plan to change the radiator and all the clips when I do the timing belt and water pump, as well as dealing with the rusty mounts.

[Malc]

That's not the pipes i was chatting about  ( I think )

it's a simple cooler pipe with pas fluid in that runs to the fore of the radiator, between the rad and the front grille, and up into some mild steel shenanigans of this pipework from the pas reservoir ...  it's that lot that might, probably will, need changing sometime soon if it's not been done already

if you find my earlier post Steve 2006 put up some thoughts there too I believe and with some diagrams maybe !

good luck

Malc

[runsgrateasanut]

On 4/21/2020 at 12:03 PM, Malc said:

Gentlemen, can I refer you to a much earlier post i made, something like

Catastrophic Loss of Power Steering Fluid .........  quite a while back

whilst all seems fine in this front for you right now, there's a niggle emerging in my mind that you might have forgotten about the pas cooling pipes that run in front of the radiator and the conglomeration of mild steel pipework ( that rusted through for me ) and all that I replaced ( had replaced that is ) in copper tubing and the appropriate flexi hoses

having had to have my car trailered down to my indy for surgery at the time 

not too expensive but amazingly inconvenient as it's something one doesn't expect to just  " go  "  .............  but after a qtr of a century, well, much is possible 

Malc

This part

[Howplum]

Mine looks in need of some TLC at the join closest to the radiator, and obviously someone has been there before, judging by the worm drive clips:

 

[Malc]

yes that's the long part that's ok to replace with copper tubing

the upper parts are a complex mild steel conglomeration of thin pipework that can be replaced with suitable flexi hoses

with mine, the long pipes were actually not leaking, it was the other stuff that had just " gone " and was really quite bad at the time ............... but replaced all thereat

Malc

[Howplum]

Pending a diagnosis on my instrument cluster and delivery of a few bits and pieces I have been doing some work on the paint, which seems to be responding well:

Whilst I was fiddling around with the aerial I noticed there was a little bit of rust, so that has been addressed. It just needs basecoat and lacquer now.

The bonnet and boot have suffered over the years, with lots of blemishes, such as this:

This is the colour of my white polishing pad after doing just half of the bonnet. I assume it is dirt, and not black paint, because the paint is lacquered.

Still, the bonnet is starting to look better, as least from a few feet away!

Ideally the bonnet and boot need repainting, but that will go on the backburner for the time being, although I'm sure it will be easier than repainting the Mercedes 420SEC I did a couple of years ago.

[Howplum]

Yesterday I tackled the scrape on the driver's door which I hoped was superficial, although my friend, the original owner, did manage to take some paint off on the front of the door, as well as the front and rear wings.

First I went over it by hand with a pad of 3000 grit wet and dry, although I was careful not to get too enthusiastic because I didn't want to go through the lacquer coat. This is what it looked like afterwards:

The mark is still there, but less pronounced. Next I went over the area, again by hand, with some Farecla G3 Professional scratch remover, which got rid of the scratches very effectively:

After that I used my polisher and went over the whole door with the 3 in 1 product I have been using. The mark is still there, but much less noticable, especially when standing up!

[ambermarine]

The way I got round these type of scratches was to get down on both sides of the scratch  to the primer which is were yours is then feather in the base colour with a scratch pen until it was just proud of the original lacquer.Then sand down with the 3000 grit or a very thin 3M compound,then lacquer and compound until it blends then polish. I did ok on the Mark 1 which was Burgundy, fortunately I have'nt had any scratches on the Mark 4.

[Howplum]

Thanks Phil.

As far as I can tell it is only the clear coat that is affected. As I mentioned I was very wary about taking too much off in case the base colour was exposed, which would involve more work.

To be honest the boot and bonnet are much worse, having been quite badly affected by bird droppings etc, so at some point in the future I will address all the defects again, but for moment I feel the car looks a great better than when I got it.

At least I won't be ashamed to drive it in it's current condition, although no doubt the perfectionist in me me will kick in at some point.

[ambermarine]

Thats the trouble with LS400 owners we are all perfectionists, remember the promotion phrase "in pursuit of perfection".

[Howplum]

Having completed the first stage of tidying up the paintwork I thought I would see the complete picture, instead of individual panels.

I still have to polish and wax the car, as well as sort out the paint scrapes on the offside and around the aerial hole, but it's now looking a bit more presentable.

There's still plenty to do, but the list is getting shorter. I am no longer I finishing one job and then adding two more!

Without wishing to jeopardise anything, it sounds as though Steve has been able to work his magic on my instrument cluster and all the lights apparently now work. Obviously I spoke too soon about the electronics having survived the damp atmosphere unscathed, because corrosion was indeed the cause of the problem. Hopefully I will get it back next week.

[Malc]

she's looking a very pretty car 

Malc

[Spacewagon52]

How would you compare Lexus engineering with the Mercedes you have worked on?

You are doing a cracking job!

[Howplum]

1 hour ago, Spacewagon52 said:

How would you compare Lexus engineering with the Mercedes you have worked on?

This is the first Japanese car I have worked on and, by and large, it has been pretty straightforward.

Obviously any car over 20 years old is going to have issues, but this particular one, despite the lack of proactive care and maintenance, and having lived outside for 24 years, does seem to have survived quite well. For example, the rubbers and aluminium trim are still good, whereas on the equivalent aged Mercedes the anodised aluminium trim will be starting to go cloudy.

There is no rust in the doors, and there only appears to be superficial rust underneath (suspension components excepted), whilst a Mercedes will most likely have rusty front wings, jacking points and inner rear wheel arches.

The plastic interior trim seems more robust than Mercedes, and is pretty straightforward to dismantle, and so far nothing has broken, which has not always been the case on my previous projects.

However, a particular bugbear of mine is the use of steel brake pipes.  I have done about six Mercedes of various ages, and have had to replace the rear pipes because the connection to the flexible hose has corroded into one unit. At least the connections on the Lexus were not that bad, and the hoses were still servicable after 24 years, although I replaced them anyway. I still ended up replacing the rear pipes because one had rusted through.

Overall, if I had to choose, I would prefer to work on a Lexus. However, the lack of parts support from Toyota for what, for them, is a landmark model can be a bit  frustating. On the other hand, due to the effort they put into designing and building the car, it could be argued that less parts might be needed.

 

[Malc]

2 hours ago, Howplum said:

Obviously any car over 20 years old is going to have issues

Howard hi,  I should have also mentioned that there is sometimes / usually / often a slight lifting at the centre mid-door strip on the drivers door.

It gets a slight rust spot there just under the trim . ............ a fixing grommet ?

I noticed mine about 6 years ago but it's never worsened to my knowledge

On the Ls430s it was sometimes a warranty claim, going back quite some years though on here

Just a thought

Malc

[Howplum]

Hi Malc,

The front doors are fine, but both rear doors have a couple of very small rusty areas under the trim, and it looks like one of the trim clips has detached itself from the trim.

Having watched a YouTube video on how to remove the trim it looks fairly straightforward, although a bit long winded.

It hasn't got worse over the last few years, so I'm not overly concerned, but it is something I will tackle later.

Howard

[Malc]

and with the Mk3 there was a totally free Lexus recall early on to replace the starter motor .......  I did ask Lexus when I first got my Mk3 in June 2011 about that and they confirmed it wasn't outstanding on my car

there's another Member on here though who asked too, at a very late stage, and Lexus paid for its replacement ......  not too long ago , well maybe 8 years now, but it might be worth asking the Q of Lexus just in case it needs doing .........  it's a very very long job I'm told and if Lexus would cover the cost then well, that could be a good result

Malc

[Howplum]

There's no harm in asking the question, but after 24 years.........................?

There's nothing showing on the DVLA's website, but that only refers to safety recalls.