LS400 - Sat for a while

rharper83 · April 16, 2021

12 hours ago, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi.

Hopefully we could help out with a competitive insurance quotation.

Regards,

Dan.

Thanks Dan. When it's running again I'll give you guys a call 🙂

rharper83 · April 16, 2021

As promised, here are a couple of pics that I've managed to dig out that my Dad took when it was running, and a couple that I took - one a while ago (the decent one!), and one recently that's a bit poorer quality.

I spoke to the indie last night too (after picking up my A1 - that was an expensive day, 2 new front springs and a major service, with new rear discs and pads needed in the next 3-4k miles, along with the outer skin of the backbox starting to corrode so that'll need replacing in a year or so!). Anyway, I digress, he'd be more than happy to take a look and see what needs to be done to get it all roadworthy and running again. He agreed that a new belt would be an idea, although he'd check the state of it first. His only concern was that the calipers may need checking as they might've seized due to it being sat so long - but he won't know until he looks. We're getting it low loaded to him in a couple of weeks when he's got a bit of time to take a decent look at it. I will keep you guys updated 🙂

Mikaelse · April 16, 2021

Expect good things. The brakes on these are very good quality . I would be surprised if they will give you problems. BUT if they do bind . Do not drive it with binding brakes since you will overheat stuff quite fast.

I would not expect the cam belt to develop a problem by standing still 3 years. Should be not be much worse than using the car.
I would run low load and rpm until varm just to be safer first time .

Malc · April 16, 2021

she looks a very smart car ........... just as a well looked after Ls400 should be whatever the mileage :wink3:

well worth re-commissioning if she still appears the same in todays lockdown storage

Malc

royoftherovers · April 16, 2021

2 hours ago, Malc said:

she looks a very smart car ........... just as a well looked after Ls400 should be whatever the mileage

well worth re-commissioning if she still appears the same in todays lockdown storage

Malc

My view too. It is an extremely smart car that will only get extremely smarter.

In the medium term Richard, if it were me I would seek to ditch ( metaphorically speaking) the A1 and replace it with something of undoubted quality and class........your LS.

Do keep us all updated, please.

Mikaelse · April 16, 2021

I definitely agree. However I am partial . I use my LS400 as daily drivers and I have these days difficulties tollerating modern cars lack of long term quality, plastic smell and often noisy ride on lower profile tires. Value of the LS400 cars being stable or even rising over time does not hurt either.

Malc · April 16, 2021

8 minutes ago, Mikaelse said:

Value of the LS400 cars being stable or even rising over time does not hurt either.

but it doesn't really amount to more than a few months HP or Lease financing costs ! that's the overall value of our dearly beloved Ls400s .........

I can only marvel at the fortunes I've saved in not changing my cars from time to time and following the gravy train of " keeping up with the Jones's" .......... anyone called Jones here ? Have you a Butcher's van too ? sorry to upset anyone ........

just a bit passionate about our brilliant Ls400 cars with massive longevity, class and " presence " ..... and relatively tiny maintenance costs too

Malc

Mikaelse · April 16, 2021

We will see .. They may double or tripple or worse in value like some old Porsches and old Volkswagens.

ambermarine · April 17, 2021

Very unusual centre armrest ,never seen one like that must have been bespoke fitted not sure of the comfort zone but useful.

Malc · April 17, 2021

24 minutes ago, ambermarine said:

Very unusual centre armrest

hadn't noticed that before ....... and does it have a sat nav screen too ? ... is it a very very early Mk1V then ? and not what I surmised .... a Mk3

Malc

ambermarine · April 17, 2021

The Mark 4s were registered at R but as you say very early production the satnav was fitted to all mark 4s in the UK but it was a expensive option elsewhere. The wheels are certain Mark 4 as is the body line.

rharper83 · April 18, 2021

On 4/16/2021 at 11:24 AM, Mikaelse said:

Expect good things. The brakes on these are very good quality . I would be surprised if they will give you problems. BUT if they do bind . Do not drive it with binding brakes since you will overheat stuff quite fast.

I would not expect the cam belt to develop a problem by standing still 3 years. Should be not be much worse than using the car.
I would run low load and rpm until varm just to be safer first time .

Fingers crossed for good news then! Hoping they haven't bound, but we will see when it gets towed in a couple of weeks!

Regarding the cam belt - really? Would you not be concerned that it may have become a bit brittle/perished? I guess it's not having a static weight load on it like the tyres when they are sat.

On 4/16/2021 at 11:52 AM, Malc said:

she looks a very smart car ........... just as a well looked after Ls400 should be whatever the mileage

well worth re-commissioning if she still appears the same in todays lockdown storage

Malc

Thanks Malc - she's definitely in decent condition! The only difference now is a layer of road film and dust, although that does get periodically washed off 🙂

On 4/16/2021 at 2:18 PM, royoftherovers said:

My view too. It is an extremely smart car that will only get extremely smarter.

In the medium term Richard, if it were me I would seek to ditch ( metaphorically speaking) the A1 and replace it with something of undoubted quality and class........your LS.

Do keep us all updated, please.

It's really tempting, although I do like the go-kart handling of the A1 😉 The 70mpg isn't to be sniffed at either, compared to the 21/22 of the LS400! Having said that, maintenance costs on the Lexus look like they'd be lower...

I will definitely keep updating this thread over the coming weeks with updates as soon as it's low loaded to the indie!

On 4/17/2021 at 9:10 AM, ambermarine said:

Very unusual centre armrest ,never seen one like that must have been bespoke fitted not sure of the comfort zone but useful.

I'm fairly sure that it was factory fitted - or whoever did it made a really good job of it as it looks integral....

On 4/17/2021 at 9:36 AM, Malc said:

hadn't noticed that before ....... and does it have a sat nav screen too ? ... is it a very very early Mk1V then ? and not what I surmised .... a Mk3

Malc

Yep, sat nav with the discs for it in a unit in the boot, I think... I'm not sure which model it is, but Phil suggests below that it could well be a Mark 4...

On 4/17/2021 at 10:02 AM, ambermarine said:

The Mark 4s were registered at R but as you say very early production the satnav was fitted to all mark 4s in the UK but it was a expensive option elsewhere. The wheels are certain Mark 4 as is the body line.

Apologies all for the slow replies over the weekend... lots of DIY in progress, so haven't been near a laptop much! Not sure if I'd posted above, but it's due to be low loaded to the local indie in a couple of weeks time, so I will have more updates to share then. I'll share thoughts, updates, and photos in this thread 🙂 Thanks all for your interest and advice - it's super helpful, and really appreciated.

Malc · April 19, 2021

I shouldn't worry too much about the cambelt ...... it's said to be a change at 10 yrs / 100k miles and I think the " snap " point has been said to be at 150k miles

just make sure when it is changed the waterpump is changed too and the pulleys are checked

Malc

when I bought my earlier Mk2 at 13 years old and 8542 miles the cam belt had been changed at 3100 miles by the previous owner 😊

rharper83 · April 19, 2021

4 hours ago, Malc said:

I shouldn't worry too much about the cambelt ...... it's said to be a change at 10 yrs / 100k miles and I think the " snap " point has been said to be at 150k miles

just make sure when it is changed the waterpump is changed too and the pulleys are checked

Malc

when I bought my earlier Mk2 at 13 years old and 8542 miles the cam belt had been changed at 3100 miles by the previous owner 😊

Great advice, thanks Malcolm! I'll see if I can find any paperwork that says it's been done or not (or ask the indie again in case he can remember!).

Howplum · April 19, 2021

If you do decide to bite the bullet and have the timing belt done, can I suggest one of these kits from Rock Auto in the USA:

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=3290529&cc=1316123&jsn=394&_nck=Ekt6BqBF1pwlXdx0gYlm1esw98pF26vehMm%2FGG3C%2Fl2QOXSJubi7WSpUmUSdg3OxWOs2f5z9h43X9pGY%2B2%2F7VNNEfKKyKISRMr2z3cWO4EWSwGquowxA4gUMiARo%2FXyNEEtoaYDxoviPYCCc%2ByNbxR6wzXldQd7V2I3cdlyAoPD9EnaKY9r0eqym1NGCzVpVECKvKI%2BrRdg6KzxeAg8zUxskfFrVRJlVXpWfjH5FVqnA%2BzL1SAmzsbSZkjJXdznYwkCqPPzqBnqk3fdw5iFkJd8bEfOAowPZ0RIs9wRci%2FVkmVkcsCRO4E7JvEV%2FA4kEx0AUrnIdJqeYrxpWrOE30oDg%2BJbqaf6Ln%2BGW7pXc9m4ueYbIUBVKhUc8aEz6Rg5W6Yonjrunkaj056%2Bl5N88Fw%3D%3D

I bought one for my 1996 and it included everything you could need. Good quality, too.

Even with additional import costs it's still a lot cheaper than buying from a Lexus dealer.

Mikaelse · April 20, 2021

Yes. This is the AISIN kit for 1998-2000. I have put in AISIN Kits in my 1995 and 1998 LS400. Felt like good quality.
Can be bought in several places. It is smart to use well known brand stuff. If belt or waterpump fails suddenly engine will be severely damaged on 1995-2000 LS400.

rharper83 · May 8, 2021

Hi guys!

Thought I'd give you a quick update as it's been a few weeks...

The Lexus was low loaded to the local indie yesterday, for it's resuscitation operation 🙂 We were worried at first that the brakes might've been stuck, but pulling it onto the tow truck there was very little initial jarring when they were unseized (a small clunk, but nothing at all that caused concern). It does however look like there might be some issue with the rear passenger side spring or damper, as it's sat a little lower on that corner than the other side, but won't know the issue until it's on the ramp.

I'll keep this post updated as and when I know more - it's not high priority for the indie, more of a project that he can dip in and out of over the next few weeks. He was good friends with my Dad so although I'm paying him the going rate to sort it, he'll be looking after it too.

Thanks, Rich.

Malc · May 9, 2021

best wishes with it all ...... an excellent and probably fairly low cost project tbh

Malc

Mikaelse · May 9, 2021

On my 1995 with coilsprings I had one spring snapped of and sagging a bit in 2015 ( corrosion caused in probabaly ) . Not expensive . 50£ each for the springs and a few hours DIY to swap them both out. Put back same shock absorbers. Stil going strong. Needed to take out rear seat for access.

rharper83 · May 10, 2021

On 5/9/2021 at 10:20 AM, Malc said:

best wishes with it all ...... an excellent and probably fairly low cost project tbh

Malc

Thanks Malc - hopefully! Definitely need something doing with the back corner, a new Battery, MOT, something doing with the exhaust, and quite probably 4 new tires. Fingers crossed that's it, or very little else.

On 5/9/2021 at 10:32 AM, Mikaelse said:

On my 1995 with coilsprings I had one spring snapped of and sagging a bit in 2015 ( corrosion caused in probabaly ) . Not expensive . 50£ each for the springs and a few hours DIY to swap them both out. Put back same shock absorbers. Stil going strong. Needed to take out rear seat for access.

Thanks for the tip re: the rear seat. Will have to see what the situation is once it's on the ramp. Cheers!

rharper83 · October 1, 2021

Hi all!

Apologies for the massive delay in posting here, but I thought given that so many of you had taken the time to post and offer advice, I thought I'd better share an update. Sadly, the update is that the car is still sat at the garage, untouched! The garage owner hasn't had chance yet to look at it, seeing it as a 'project' to bring back to life, rather than actually getting it running again - which is partly true, but it's a project of love rather than one that 'needs' to be done.

Having said that, as soon as anything does happen with it, I'll be sure to keep you all in the loop!

On the plus side, it's giving me more chance to get my driveway sorted out to park it on when it is sorted :)

Thanks,
Rich