New LS400 purchased - let the fettling begin!

[Malc1]

1 hour ago, Razor61 said:

then please let me know😉

hahahahahahaha ....... it's impossible there's anyone on this earth will now know more than you about taking these cars to bits and putting it all back together again ............

well done thus far ....  keep at it 

Malc

[Razor61]

On 8/13/2022 at 8:17 PM, cruisermark said:

sounds good - has the suspension settled?

I think it has settled now, a few weeks ago I realised it felt smoother and more supple. It rides better over uneven road surfaces now as well I think.

[Razor61]

Earlier this year I had a faulty Temp gauge, new Temp gauge wasn’t available anymore so swopped the cluster for a spare I have. That left me with a cluster with a faulty temp gauge which is good for spares or emergency use.
I keep an eye on eBay for LS400 spares, while looking last night I saw a brand new cluster circuit board with 4 x new gauges for a Mk4 LS400 for sale - part number 83277-50231. Not the exact part number for my year of manufacture but the gauges are the same.
Price was £96.89, thought about it for a bit and came to the conclusion it’s a bit of a bargain so bought it. I know eBay isn’t what it used to be for bargains but I think this was a bargain.

[Razor61]

Not done much on the car for a while, today I looked at the ‘air mix path holes’ on the throttle body. I didn’t know they existed until I read the post below. Removed the cover on the throttle body, cleaned the chamber, cleaned out the ‘air mix path holes’, cleaned the throttle body and butterfly, cleaned up and put everything back together.
Started the car, it fired and stopped. Started again and it fired and stopped. Started again and all good. This was caused by all the throttle body cleaner in the intake manifold after spraying on the butterfly and throttle body.
So far so good……….however, the idle was higher than normal so left the car to warm up. I could tell that the idle was higher while warming up. I’ve read other posts about high idle after cleaning the throttle body so was a bit concerned.
Disconnected the Battery for 20 mins, reconnected and went for a run in the car round the block and the power was lower, got back and the idle was still high.
Disconnected the Battery again, washed the car, about an hour later connected the Battery and went for a 12 mile drive to the local supermarket. Power was back to normal, stopped at home and left the car on idle, idle was stillhigh still but gradually came back to normal.
Makes sense that after doing what I did the car needs to re adjust ‘things’ to compensate. Time will tell if cleaning the air mix path holes and throttle body/butterfly will make a difference, can’t do any harm though.

Before and after photos, the clean bit on the first pic is where I ran my finger along to see how baked on the crud was. It wasn’t baked on so some crud went in the holes.

 

http://1999 LS 400 - on pulling away there is a delay in engaging gear and car lurches forward

[Supafly]

On 11/19/2022 at 4:09 PM, Razor61 said:

Started the car, it fired and stopped. Started again and it fired and stopped. Started again and all good. This was caused by all the throttle body cleaner in the intake manifold after spraying on the butterfly and throttle body.

My heart sank when I read that!  Glad to read that it all went well in the end.  Was the throttle cable in good adjustment?

Will be interesting to see if your drivability issues have been resolved.  It's been years since I did mine but the issues haven't come back.

[Razor61]

1 hour ago, Supafly said:

My heart sank when I read that!  Glad to read that it all went well in the end.  Was the throttle cable in good adjustment?

Will be interesting to see if your drivability issues have been resolved.  It's been years since I did mine but the issues haven't come back.

I was a bit concerned too but soon realised what caused it. I adjusted the throttle cable 6 months ago due to too much slack.
I didn't really have any drivability issues, I thought I did after reading the post about the 'delay pulling away' but wasn't the case or at least that's what I think.
I'll be doing a 110 mile journey tomorrow, mostly motorway, and it's a journey I've done regularly over the past 18 months so will be able to tell if it's made a difference to anything. Maybe mpg will be better, but we'll see. I'll know if the mpg is better or not pretty quick. Not that bothered if it isn't better because it averaged 34 - 35 ish anyway.
This morning driving to work the mpg seemed better but that's no measure at all. I only looked at it because of the work done over the weekend.

The idle was back to normal at the very least and probably better. On my MK3 the idle should be 650 +/- 50 rpm according to the manual and I assumed the MK4 VVTi was the same. But it's not according to the manual and should be 750 +/- 50 rpm. Some LS400 PDF manuals say they cover the MK4 but they don't, I have 2 x versions.
1 x manual covers the MK4 VVTi and the other doesn't and must be up to 97 only.

MK3 94 - 97

MK4 VVTi 97 -2000

[Supafly]

That is an amazing mpg figure, no doubt helped by quickly getting onto the motorway and maintaining a steady pace. 

I managed to get mine up to 32mpg but that was over the course of a 175 mile journey during which I was careful and watched it continually increase until I got home.  Back to its usual indicated 27mpg again as I do very mixed driving and like to use the throttle as a binary switch sometimes!

 

The biggest difference in consumption was when I worked on the cooling system and changed the engine coolant temperature sensor.  There was an instant jump of over 5mpg.  Without any noticeable change in drive ability for me.

[Razor61]

18 minutes ago, Supafly said:

The biggest difference in consumption was when I worked on the cooling system and changed the engine coolant temperature sensor.

I changed the coolant temp sensor a while ago but I wasn’t looking to see if the mpg increased. Changing it on the 95 MK3 I had made a big difference and was pretty sure it cured the engine dying when stopping after a decent run. I changed it on the current car because of that and it’s a critical bit of the EFI system, there weren’t any symptoms like on the MK3 and probably improved the MPG.

[Razor61]

29 minutes ago, Supafly said:

That is an amazing mpg figure, no doubt helped by quickly getting onto the motorway and maintaining a steady pace.

That figure was resetting the mpg just after setting off, approx 90 miles M65/M6 motorway to M6 junction 10 then maybe 15 miles of ‘normal’ roads to Brierley Hill. Same journey tomorrow then back home on Friday. If I pick a long bit of flat motorway it can average 38 mpg or more, you need something to occupy your time and focus on sometimes when eating up the motorway miles on your own😀

[Supafly]

Audio books through a cassette adapter is my go to on long journeys with the family, or radio 4 🙂

[Razor61]

The part I bought from eBay, PLATE,COMPUTER METER CIRCUIT NO.1 - part number 83277-50231, for £90 was delivered today.
Everything was there and all brand new, circuit board (not the one that stores the mileage), fuel gauge, temp gauge, speedo assy, rev counter assy and some metal clips. I’m chuffed to bits to be honest, I may rebuild the spare cluster I have with all the new parts and fit to the car. I know the spare cluster has a knackered temp gauge, the rev counter needle sticks sometimes and maybe the speedo needle (can’t remember if it did or not now).
Judging by the cost of the USA equivalent part, I reckon it would have cost £1500 to buy in the UK and probably more.
 

Regarding the ‘air mix path holes’ mentioned earlier and cleaning them, I didn’t clean them and the throttle body to cure any issues with delayed throttle response because I didn’t think I had an issue. Although I’ve never been happy about the idle………….I know I’ve mentioned the idle speed and how steady it is or not multiple times on this car and mainly the mk3 I had. My thoughts are that the idle speed and how steady it is, is a good indication of the cars engine health, just my opinion though.
However, after driving the car for 250 miles or so since I did the work on the throttle body and air mix path holes at the weekend (motorways, A roads, stuck in motorway traffic, round town and to work and back)……………….. I think it has made a difference to a couple of things and an issue I didn’t think I had.
The slight delay when pressing the throttle reasonably hard before it picks up, which I thought wasn’t an issue, seems to have gone. It’s difficult to explain this symptom because it’s very subtle and isn’t a big deal at all but you notice when that subtle issue isn’t there anymore. If that makes sense.
Idle speed is now spot on and rock solid, checked accurately using a laptop and Techstream plugged into the car tonight😉 New addition to my toolbox.
As for MPG, it hasn’t made any difference to the MPG on motorway journeys and is the same at 34-35 at a steady 70.
Round town though, driving back and forward to work, which is a mixture of town and A roads, I suspect it has made a difference. Just a feeling I have, that’s all.
For the next to nothing cost of cleaning the throttle body and the air mix path holes on a Mk4 LS400 it’s well worth doing, if done properly of course. Depending on the state of them you could be pleasantly surprised at the results.

[Razor61]

Small job done this morning, aux belt and aux belt idler No 2 replaced. Tensioner pulley checked and is ok with no bearing noise.
I bought a new tensioner assy and idler No 2 a couple of months ago from Amayama, bearings can become noisy and annoying so bought them while available. Plan was to fit them at some point this year.
For the last couple of months I’ve heard a ‘chirp’ when starting the car in the morning, only when first started. Also, after all the work that has been done on the car I’ve always though there was a bearing ‘noise’ coming from somewhere. Since I heard the classic ‘chirp’ noise I decided it’s time to fit the new aux belt, idler No 2 and if needed the tensioner pulley/tensioner assembly if needed.
Aux belt off, idler No 2 removed and checked, pretty noisy when the idler is spun. See video below.Looks like it was idler No 2 causing the noise.
 

 

 

[cruisermark]

my 430 makes a sound when started - maybe i should get it looked at

disappointed with the video - I was hoping to see the ls400 being started with a quick interior and exterior video!

[Spacewagon52]

Looking forward to some photos Paul - I appreciate it has been a labour of love!

[Razor61]

2 hours ago, cruisermark said:

my 430 makes a sound when started - maybe i should get it looked at

Easy enough to release the aux belt and spin the pulley. I took mine off and spun it as in the video.
I believe Idler No 2 is the same on the LS430 - 16604-50030 - about £100 from LPD or the bearing itself can be pressed out and a new bearing pressed in - SKF6301 I believe but can’t be 100%.

 

[Mikaelse]

27 minutes ago, Razor61 said:

Easy enough to release the aux belt and spin the pulley. I took mine off and spun it as in the video.
I believe Idler No 2 is the same on the LS430 - 16604-50030 - about £100 from LPD or the bearing itself can be pressed out and a new bearing pressed in - SKF6301 I believe but can’t be 100%.

 

Best is to take out diassemble and inspect if you want to do this right . There are some variation on the bearings. My 1998 had a two row (rare) bearing as one of the idler/tensioner bearings.
I ordered a complete thing with bearing for that one ( non OEM probably not the best quality )
It is also important if ordering generic bearing to opt for the rubber lip double sealed, 2RS (selaed with rubber lips) And C3 play ( "increased play" ).

Buy a reputable maker.  SKF , FAG or NTN or similar European or Japanese brand. They cost < 10£
I forgot about C3 and ordered standard (small) play and after pressing in that bearing became tight with no play and that may overstress the bearing.
Had to order another bearing and do it again. That bearing had some small play left after pressing in which is what you want

[Supafly]

Lovely to see the progress you're making with this.

Thank you Paul, Mikael for sharing your knowledge and tips, it really helps when someone is in the same situation as you, some point in the future to be able to come and find these golden nuggets of info 🙂 

[Razor61]

New discs and pads replaced this morning using new pad fitting kit and anti squeal shims. All Lexus OEM stuff I bought over 12 months ago. New discs and pads had been fitted by the previous owner but they were not OEM, the anti squeal shims and the spacer bracket things were missing.
Intention was to leave the brakes until they really needed replacing.
However, a few months after I bought the car there was a slight judder braking from motorway speeds. This seemed to disappear after a few weeks but over the last 6 weeks I had a pulsing brake pedal at low speeds when coming to a stop.
Also, and this has always been the case since I bought the car especially after washing the car, when reversing off the drive you can feel and hear the front pads moving and clunking. Probably due to the spacer bracket things missing.
Time to fit the new discs, pads and fitting kit etc and check the caliper pistons are ok cos it could have been that causing the pulsing. More common on floating/sliding calipers though. Pistons were fine, looked very good with very little rust on the piston front edges.
Took me about 4 hours really taking my time, cleaning everything and applying the correct brake grease in the correct places. Working out where and how the anti squeal plates fit took a while to make sure I got it correct, workshop manual helps of course but still needs some brain power.
Took the car for a short run, brakes are smooth as silk now and pads do not move when reversing.
The brakes were fine before regarding stopping power. Even after just a short drive and before the discs/pads have bedded in, the difference is big.
If anyone is thinking of replacing their discs and pads etc with aftermarket ( which I don’t do, I inherited after market discs and pads on the car), my advice is don’t……………use Lexus OEM stuff. The OEM discs and pads are not more expensive than decent aftermarket stuff but the pad fitting kit and anti squeal shims will add £100 to the cost if they are missing or not reusable.

[Razor61]

On a roll over the holidays, replaced the rear shocks, top mounts, insulators and bump stops this morning. All OEM apart from the shocks which are KYB to match the fronts.

I had put off this job because I’d read that it’s a pain removing the rear struts, needing to compress the springs on the car to remove the strut.
After watching a YouTube video using ‘the method’ for doing this, it turns out it’s a load of hogwash. There is no need whatsoever to compress the spring on the car to remove the strut. All that is needed is to remove the bottom shock bolt, knock the shock off the hub, remove the top mount nuts (if not removed already), push down on the hub so you can lower the strut enough so the top mount studs clear the fixing holes, rotate 90 degrees, lower the bottom of the strut into the gap between the suspension arms, tilt towards you and remove. Absolute piece of cake and I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was.

Invest in a white paint marker pen and mark everything on the existing strut while on the car to make things easier later on for alignment.
Once the struts are off the car the tricky bit is aligning the shock, spring and top mounts so it’s in alignment to fit back on the car. I can’t document exactly how to do this but you need to use your noggin, comparing the strut you removed with the alignment marks and transpose them to the new shock and top mount. If you have no idea how to do this type of thing then don’t attempt it.
Having an impact wrench on the spring compressors helps with reassembling the struts, the strut doesn’t move as much. Release the spring compressors gradually while checking the alignment is correct and adjust as needed. You can always compress the springs again and redo it.
Getting the bottom of the shock to fit back in the hub isn’t straightforward because the bottom mount is not square to the shock. I found the best way is to push down on the hub and get the shock started at the back into the hub - aligned as best you can, using a mallet so as not to damage the new strut whack on the bottom ‘eye’ mount bit to get it into the mount. It won’t be perfectly aligned but it’s in. Then using a round tapering pry bar inserted through the mounting, jiggle it about to align it so the bolt will go through completely or about 2 inch, then tap the bolt with a mallet or hammer to get the both through.
Putting the rear seats back in was a a pain because I was knackered, body was complaining  and getting cramp in legs and fingers.

Job for tomorrow was going to be the engine mounts, had a enough for a few days - my old body needs time to recover. Maybe a job for Monday😀

[Malc1]

Paul, I'll award you a   PHD   for Lexus Understanding and a   Merit of Honour   for implementation   🤩

Well done  

Malc

[Razor61]

48 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Paul, I'll award you a   PHD   for Lexus Understanding and a   Merit of Honour   for implementation   🤩

Well done  

Malc

Thank you Malc, it was a job I was putting off but glad I did it. Took the car for a few miles drive along some twisty bits of road and the body roll at the rear has gone. Threw it from side to side while driving as well, nobody behind of course, and it feels miles better. Before you could feel the body roll a lot at the rear.
Top mounts looked fine to me and the bump stops were fine as well, insulators were goosed with the bottom few inches had detached.
I should have taken a video of the new shock v old shock when compressed to see the difference.
I have take videos of the old shocks though and you can see they have lost their performance. Probably not the most technical of test though but gives some idea. One is worse than the other. A new shock takes quite a lot of force to depress the shaft into the shock body and it then moves out quite quickly with force.

The better of the two, decent amount of pressure needed to compress the shock but should need more and it does move out again although not as fast or with as much pressure as it should have.

 
 

The worse one of the two, very little force needed to compress and after compression the shaft just stayed there and would stay there. Maybe it would eventually come back out.
 

 

[shanra]

Hi Paul

Where did you get the KYB shocks and what was the price?

[Razor61]

30 minutes ago, shanra said:

Hi Paul

Where did you get the KYB shocks and what was the price?

Hi John, £160 for the pair from Parts in Motion via eBay.

[Supafly]

I feel your aches and pains,  I did this quite a while ago and the gymnastics needed to lift the strut outside the car while getting the top mount in and the nuts started make this a interesting one man job.  My biggest struggle was lining up the OSR lower shock bolt, I had to recompress the spring to rotate ever so slightly and even then it really didn't want to go back into position to put the bolt in.

 

Really happy to hear that you've got it sorted 🙂

[Razor61]

Small update on a part that was missing from the car, the plastic Battery insulator or cover that fits over the Battery. It’s the part circled in the pic below. After 2 years of searching I’ve found one with some type of lagging/insulation as well and it was in Bolton 10 mins drive from where I work!
I saw an advert of Facebook for some LS400 spares, went to have a look but they were for a 95 mk3 so not for my car. There were 3 other LS400’s, 1 mk3 and 2 mk4’s plus another mk3 in storage, Gold, in excellent condition and may be for sale soon. All this down the road from where I work. Had a good chat with the guys and I asked about the Battery insulator and they said they would have a look and let me know, hey presto they had one. Will pick it up tomorrow and I’m really chuffed, not the most important part of the car but makes it more complete. Probably complete now because I can’t think of anything else that’s missing.