V8 sir... Suits you sir!

[Redefined]

Yes... Should be ranting and raving to be fair (in a normal situation) but recently have upped my prayers (usually as a muslim we pray 5 a day but there's this midnight/post midnight prayer which I started doing not long ago) and I reckon that's really helped relax the mind/heart alot more.

Don't get me wrong @BigBoomer I was stressed and annoyed enough that after the missus gave me an earful (can't recall what) simultaneously as me noticing the car thing, I was annoyed enough that I gave an earful back with my eldest. Aimed at her, not him and I apologised to her after. She tends to get stressed more than me sometimes and doesn't realise it doesn't help matters.

Obviously I apologised after and thankfully haven't caught or become aware of the culprits as things may have gotten out of hand. Like she (the missus) always tells me, "if it's one yhing that really winds you up, is your cars not feeling well".

Lastly, every cloud has the silver lining and in return so far I've got 3 positives...

1. I get the chance to learn how to replace the window (properly).

2. Paul Frost has one that I'm collecting for £80 and it's not got condensation in like the one the smashed.

3. Which is most important in my eyes. I learnt a new supplication which I forced myself to learn... "We belong to God and to God is our return, Oh God reward me for my calamity and replace my loss with something better".

 

Anyway, thankfully the nieghbours who have footage haven't shown it me yet. Means I'll not try to take matters into my own hands as it ultimately (hopefully) wasn't personal and just a bunch of 'junkies' too stupid to know better. Looking forward to a new window that looks pristine (finally) 😊

[Malc1]

11 minutes ago, Redefined said:

the nieghbours who have footage

maybe just get them to independently, without you involved, catch your local Bobby or PCSO and show him/her/it

Malc

[Cotswold Pete]

35 minutes ago, Redefined said:

 Looking forward to a new window that looks pristine (finally) 😊

Every cloud has a silver lining - other way around in our house I go off the deep end my missus tells me to 'chill' . 

[Redefined]

Right, firstly Malc... The other nieghbour I bumped into yesterday and he offered me a sit down today so we could check the footage. Not sure if I'll go to the police TBH as it's taken me so long already and my exp with police (unless it's armed police with a patient at work and they need letting in/off the unit and are outta the comfort zone) is that they tend to be rather rude. Even the other day as I tried to report a poor ol lorry/van broken down in the outside (slow) lane, the chap on the phone (to the police) told me rather arrogantly, "we don't use motorway markers, give me the junction". That actually annoyed me more than these silly chavs responsible for this damage!!

 

Message to self.... don't make an angry face... don't make angry face...

 

Right, so yesterday I went to Lexus Parts Direct again. Once again I was told to collect from a working garage despite being in the 9-5 opening times zone! Picked up the front and thought I may as well grab the rear too as it has the dreaded delamination/condensation thing going on. Paul Frost eBay listing had mentioned they were all clean and not affected, but upon closer inspection I've found the to have the breach of seal at the bottom. Could've called back and tried to get something knocked off the £80 paid for it, but Paul comes across as someone that doesn't take kindly to hagglers...

Anyway, back to the task at hand of documenting the install procedure. Couldn't find much info online so may aswell report on it as it's a 4/10 difficulty job. Anyone happy with greasy hands could easily take a shot IMHO.

 

[Redefined]

Bendy ratchet or a 'bendy' would make the job that much easier. Especially with a socket set that has a 10mm socket and maybe an extension. Normal 10mm spanner and you'd probably struggle!

Look at your smashed window once more. Appreciate that you'll never have to look at the ugly fogging (bottom of pic) ever again. Then wonder how you'll stop the shrapnel from shredding all the seals when you wind it down to (suggested online, but in reality I had to have it half and 3 quarts down at different times) start the process. I used some laminating tape for my bike frames, but equally packaging tape works well. More taping is good as it'll keep you safe from loose glass too!!

I'd read/watched that there's 7 screws/bolts. But in actual fact I found only 6. Oh, a philips head would be handy and save time in socket faff. 3 screws under the seal at bottom of door card/board. One inside the hole for aircon/heating and 2 near the electric window up/down thingy.

Oh, and before the unscrewing you'd need to use a plastic pry-thingy to unclip the cover behind the door release latch (I'll try to attach pic below with it off) as well as the window buttons console. This console unprys at the rear and then slides out rearwards...

Sorry, no pic of console but it goes here. At the end when reversing your journey with a smily face. Don't get too perplexed at why you can't find where the 2 stray harnesses go. They come back through the doorcard and into said console for windows up/down.

Undo door latch and door-lock cables (one pulls outwarda and other pulls out, rearwards -take pics, get it right) and disconnect all wiring harness thingies. Pics as you go so as to prompt the reversal at the end. Remove speaker, but remember it's extremely low torque bolts (into plastic) which I think were 10mm or 12mm.

Take time to admire speaker for a mo and be thankful you don't have a '*******' German car where they might have had a SangYong or whatever speak (out of sight and mind.... etc etc).

Here's the only tricky bit of the whole op. Need to push the window slider mechamism from the window bottom-grommet-thingy. Obviously you'll have faffed with the window up/down before this and removed the 2 bolts (either side). If you hadn't, then maybe you shouldn't be attempting this 😉 

Just a word of caution. Please don't be like me and keep faffing with window controls whilst engine is off. Unless you have an extremely new Battery that's 101% charged, you will be digging about at the nieghbours for jump leads!!!

Window pulls nicely, up and out. Realign shiny new used overpriced window, slide it down ensuring it's going through the seals. Spend a bit of faff time trying to ensure the window slidy bracket is carefully pushed over and onto the bolt openings. Attach bolts.

Maybe spray a bit of silicone lube over seals. Slide window up and down (with engine on remember, it's an LS430, even Greta Thunberg wouldn't hear the purr) and smile with satisfaction. Try not to think about the chav culprits.

Pop door card close to door and attached both cables (refer to your pic you took earlier and maybe a dab of grease on the metal ball ends). Attach harnesses and don't forget to have popped back the speaker and its harness before this. The door card is removed by unpopping the clips (pulling out) and up over the 3 metal lips at the window seals. So just do reverse now with a bit of malleting with the hand to ensure clips are all popped back in.

Go grab a cuppa tea and maybe wipe down window. Give pat on back and take a pic for your friends at Lexus forum..

[Malc1]

Amazing   Very well done  not many here would attempt this I’m sure 

I’d have probably tried to claim for “ glass damage” on my insce 

AND I’d def go to the police ….. but that’s me 

well done whatever 

Malc 

[Redefined]

@Malc1 I checked under glass damage (for my own reference as I always try best to limit insurance claims asuch as poss) on my documents. Apparently it's my windscreen that's covered for £100 (and they pay the rest). So even if I did contact insurance I'd probably take a big hit on premiums for future - current pricing at about £450 so hopefully I can keep it that way.

 

Car's looking alot nicer now that the fogging wffect is gone aswell. Hopefully tackle the rear today and will report back. Got some tips from the mechanic when I went to pick it up but for some reason it feels he might have been pulling my leg (about needing to remove the rear panel first!).

[Redefined]

Another job (list at the top somewhere from when I bought it) ticked off. Thankfully the delam on this new window from Paul doesn't come quite as high. So looks mint, All Praise God.

Won't bother doing a write up as it was a bit of a toughie and I almost gave in. Occured to me that Toyota might be similar so watched a vid by OneStopAuto on the Camry window swap. Main difference being with this was that I needed to undo both slider bars on either side of window.

Lot's of wiggling and removing of tiny screws. Vapour barrier still didn't need removing fully and it's now sealed on better than before. Hopefully one day a new owner will appreciate the efforts (and I'm gonna supplicate for the fogging not coming up any further). Threw somw grease on windows edge at bottom which might help vapour/fogging issues!! 🫣

[Redefined]

Did both windows but the rear has started delam again. Thankfully Paul gave me a call back saying he'd source me another and I could just chuck this away. Also, yesterday my 130 mile (driving at eggs under the accelerator pace) commute had me perplexed at why my white tshirt was grimy by the time I got to work.

So, aside from the fact that it didn't affect work as I had to change into uniform anyway, I realised the seatbelt are obviously way beyond grotty. Today I've sacrificed the mtb-cycling (for the mo) and given both fronts a deep clean. Hot water, scrub, wipe, repeat... Until finally thwy looked somewhat cream-coloured again.

c

Currently got em hanging dry over the dash!! Hopefully the hot water won't cause any stretching.

[Redefined]

Right then. Firstly, some good reviews for Paul from Lexus Parts in Rossendale or thereabouts. Went and got the two windows off him. Front that was smashed and got the rear that's also discoloured with the condensation issue. Within a day or 2 the rear window was having the steam coming through (but not as bad as the ones I'd replaced).

Text Paul who called me straight back. Said he'd get me a second window and I waited for the call back. 2 days later and enquiring as to if he'd found me a better rear window: in about 10 minutws the refund for the rear window was back in my account. Happy days (Alhamdulillah is what I said) and thanks very much Paul - I'll be back.

 

Now, the task at hand...

[Redefined]

March the 20th and over 7000 miles since I did the engine oil and filter. Bloomin thing, thankfully straightforward to do and I have my lovely Advanced Halfords heavy duty trolley jack. Been dragging the feet a little but this beautiful man who loves our cars and hopefully us - has reminded me.

Anyway, I'm off to the shed to grab 10L of oil (only need about 6, but will check the book before doing) and a filter. 3 months and 7000 miles done 🤪... Car Care Nut says if I wanna make it last 300k miles then it should be 5k miles intervals, unless doing 400 miles per day!!

I'm not gonna argue with him and will see about doing the coolant very soon too. Some more good news - aside from paying through the teeth to have my front rear asm bushes done at LexTec (you get what you pay for) - I think I may have found a quality mechanic locally. Just need someone with some attention to detail and self respect in their work. So hopefully won't cost me the (almost) dealer labour prices and dealer parts...

😊 Until next time... Keep smiling and drive safe!!

[Redefined]

Busy day today. I'll try to only share pics of whats most important, so as not to bore anyone!!

First up, the engine oil. Thankfully after checking up the numbers in the manual it was only 4.6L (with filter change, but only 4.3L without). Thankfully (well, I usually say Alhamdulillah [sorry]) I had a spare filter as well as them 5L lying about - like you do.

Car jacked up (carefully) with some pics taken to try and do an 'How To', but I'll not bore anyone or risk their safety 😊. Numbers counted of whats come out. Only 3.5L and maybe 300ml spillage. Tiny heartache before checking the manual which states their happy to have 1L loss every 600 miles of driving. Phew, perimyocarditis (or takotsubo syndrome) averted. New oil and filter sorted.

Spun the wheels a few times and smiled at the condition of the bearings. But noted the amount of rusting to the disc outer. Could it be the cause of the slight brake shake!! Hmmm....

Lots of scraping, wire brushing and disc-brake cleaner(ing) later, I frowned at the brake fluid. Oh, go on then... One side that was spinning nicely bled. £1 or a few quid earned for the little man (8 year old, for pressing the brakes on command). Other side slightly seized... Could it be the cause of the shakes!!

Best check out the calipers/pads. Big nut braker pulled out, but little amount of force needed (thanks previous excellent mechanic who used the anti seize in these MASSIVE bolts). Caliper pulled off, little man summoned again for some brakes pressing. Measurements of pads and discs taken...

Disc 0.6mm past the wear limit (as per manual) and pads only 2mm each side left. Siezure taken care of (of the twin pistons) and bleeding complete. Thanks young man, you just earned yourself a fiver (he capped it at that)!!!

Went masjid for prayers... Comes back, checks brakes before taking off the tripod stands. Oh dear... did I just get an 8 year old to help with brake bleeding, pedal pressing... Pedal feels a little mushy. Summons 12 year old (daughter), "please lovely". She takes the bate and we bleed both sides again.

Still slightly squishy but maybe it's in my head!! Probably got a snippet of air in when removing the dirty fluid from the reservoir. Everything back together, goes for eve/night prayers and takes the car. For a test drive off course...

Lightly driving turns to rampage on the mad-mile. Lots of acceleration and hardcore braking. More so on the downhill and then fof to my mates to tell him the good news (didn't tell him about my OCD of thinking I'd squished the brakes as that was all gone). No more brake-shake so just the front, rear  bushings to do at Lex-Tec next week.

Most importantly, parks it outside the house with a lovely reverse, (somewhere) in between those that feel they needs 3 (I think 4 now!!!) cars in the household!! In the words of (Toyota specialist) Car Care Nut, "life is good".

 

[Redefined]

Oh, and some checking around for pads and it seems they at GSF have some Brembos on at £56 a set. Might not need to import from PartsOUQ afterall!!

 

Decisions, decisions. Does one get some Akibono pads with a $32 timing belt imported with $44 postage. Then have it done by a local (hopefully) competent mechanic who might source a water pump himself. Or go to the local stealerships and pay almost £700 or more!!

Feel free to comment as it's a steessful decision. Though in essence it's a Toyota and one of the easiest in the world to work on... So shouldn't need to pay them extortionate, 'we are specialist mechanics so you must leave the car overnight with your wallet' prices...

Edited August 4, 2023 by Redefined

[Malc1]

8 hours ago, Redefined said:

Or go to the local stealerships and pay almost £700 or more!!

you know it's a very big job and a competent mechanic should be ok to use ...  and 6/8 hrs of dedicated professional labour should sort it ...  say £200 for the total kit max and £250 labour .....  maybe

Good luck

Malc

[Redefined]

Thanks Malc. I just checked the quote from LT. £250 labour; £57 timing belt; £170 water pump; £7 sundries + vat on everything... £525 total(ish) without VAT. Does seem reasonable when you say it like that. Not trying to skimp (I know no one said/thought that) cos I don't agree with specialist pricing but cos Idhave to save up again... Front bushings & labour are costing that £550 or so next week, but it'll be worth just having the car (hopefully) commented on by them (Lex Tec).

To be fair, the bushings would've probably been ok on the advisory but I like to get things sorted asap. At least brakes can be done myself so hopefully save some decent cash there! 😄

[Malc1]

and the work you're having done will last 100k miles PLUS too

Malc

[Redefined]

On 10/29/2022 at 10:05 AM, Malc1 said:

pulleys and waterpump too whilst you're in there ......  it's a monster of a job timewise for sure

 

I suspect the window delamination might be solved with replacements from somewhere 

you  ...........  and me if I was in your situation eh !

Best wishes

 

Malc

Just got back with the car from Dave at Lex Tec. What a lovely chap... Bit expensive, but you get what you pay for. Both side rear bushings now sorted and diff oil renewed.

He said the diff oil looked black so I made a good choice getting him to do it. Especially since sometimes (IME) them bolt heads can become a but rounded.

Spoke to him about getting my own parts for future work and he's happy with that (on the basis it's original Lex/Toyota parts). Timing belt he suggested I just need to order the belt and pump, so a good result.

Said that they used to change as a kit but generally everything remains fine. Under the car there's some light leaking which I'd askedhim to comment on. Cam cover gaskets which he said isn't an issue (soling as I'm happy living with the smell when it gets worse).

Lastly, yesterday me and my 8 year old dropped it off. Then an 11 mile walk to Rotherham and the train back. Today I went via cycle and the 36 mile journey, my app reported as having saved 12.6kg of CO2.

All in all, I think I'm gonna stick with him as my main mechanic (with minor servicing and other odd jobs myself). The main selling point was his lovely attitude as well as attention to detail (which is well documented). But, the cherry on top is that I get to have a lovely walk one day and a bike ride on the other (whichever way round it works out).

[Redefined]

Next jobs...

1. Front brake pads (lots of vibration on braking and they're totally worn IMO). Got some originals off eBay for £39 which should be here soon.

2. ATF oil of which (after watching Car Care Nut) we now know there's meaning behind the madness of only being able to flush a bit at a time. The rest of the previous/remainder helps with it's tiny shards to keep the gear box sealed (or what-not, he explains it alot better but I now finally understand). So no need to buy the full amount and do lots of flushes a few days apart.

3. Nothing I suppose... Maybe just drive it and it really could do with a wash. Alloy-wheel-want has ended taking a back seat (for now). Next service in 5000 miles!!

[Redefined]

Oh... The Timing Belt for which I'm already saving up. Just ends up getting spent though 😆

[Redefined]

As quickly as I can (will aim for 10 mins, so apologies if it appears rushed), today was brake refurrb day. Mainly just the brake pads for which there has been brake shake for a while. But now the bushes are done and... Whatever!!

Firstly (and apologies to whomsoever put it there) the guide for LS430 brake pad replacement is all wrong on the forum. It refers to standard 2 piston calipers which have 2 pistons one the one side and a carrier/fixed mount on the other. Ours are much more advanced (and easier to work with) than that with the 4 pistons. 2 each opposing each other.

Don't even need to remove the cakiprr which is usually the hardest/toughest job. Especially with the massive bolts we have holding em in. Now... Lets get to it.

Firstly, and most obviously, get the car up safely on some axle stands. Don't forget to loosen the wheel bolts first or it'll be come hard once up. I'm just using the Halfords ones on either side after lifting it from the cross member with my Halfords Advanced Trolley jack.

Wheel off and you need to rotate the steering the opposite way to this. We need to get a birdseye view of the top of the pads which are easy to view, once in position.

Undo the brake reservoir and make sure itsnot been topped up whilst the pads have been wearing down. Basically once the pistons are reset, the fluid will come back into correct range. In my case I had to remove a bit as I'd done some bleeding earlier in the month/week.

We need access to the pads. So pushing that central shim in whilst we 'poke' the little raining rod out. From the outside in and a philips screwdriver worked well for me. Don't forget to remove the safety pin (pic below) out of that retaining rod before trying to pry it out.

This.. Keep it safe and don't brake it. Don't forget to pop it back in at the end after having pushed back the rod.

Hopefully a clearer view here of what's happening. I was working on the side with the wear indicator. That needs prying out carefully aswell from the pad. Careful not to snap it, and the little double clip around the wear indicator tubing (left of my hand) can just be pushed up out the way. It sits over that rod, so won't budge until youve pried out the (aforementioned) retaining rod. Try to keep an eye on orientation of pads, but from what I could see there's no difference for left or right (ie, not symmetrical).

This is after I've cleaned the shim. Be careful and have some brake cleaner to hand. Basically, you're doing the job yourself, so no excuse to not do some thorough cleaning. You'll need both a wire brush, small file as well as a large one. Wire brush shouldn't really go inside the caliper body as you might rip the piston seals! But good cleaning is the secret to reduced/zero brakeshake. Not what alot of fitters seem to think, that we should use more copper paste/brake grease. It slowly causes more stiction over time and the Toyota online manual (YT) nor Car Care Nut condone using grease/copper slip on the brake edges. Pity most mechanics (well, 'fitters') don't know this simple thing!!

Now you've been at it therapeutically. Slightly stressed at removing the wear indicator thing from inside the brake pad edge, but you did it (as you can see, I broke mine slightly as there was so much dry/stuck dust). Getting the pads out is probably the hardest thing. Them onl pads are going anyway, so you could use them to push a flat head (or something wider than a flat head but strong/metal) between the pad braking surface and the rotor surface. DO NOT put anything behind the pad and against the piston rubbers directly. These are delicate and need to be treated with love.

Not sure why I'm pointing my philips at the rubber boots of the piston. Maybe to show that I've managed to free the pads and am working the pistons (with the foot pedal) out and in. Remember, you're doing it yourself and gaffer isn't on your case. Take the time to work them pistons so they can get a bit of lubrication from the brake fluid.

Important point here... Only work the brake pedal whilst the pads are still insitu. Or else you might pop a piston, have brake fluid everywhere and hate me. I bear no blame for your stupidity and hence why I'm not writing an official guide... Just how I do it!!

oh, there's the little clip that retains the wear indicator inside the pad itself. What a pest!!

Most of the rest was lots of grinding. I ground away lots of baked on brake dust as well as lots of rust from the edges (inner and outer) of the rotor. Couldn't find the bits for my dremel so just used the large file. It's one of those jobs that doesn't really get done by alot of mechanics cos time's money and most bosses (IMO) aren't really kind enough to allow the worker/mechanic enough time for a thorough job.

Both pads back in, check rotor for stiction after pressing the brakes(some light stiction is normal as it's only supposed to be a fraction of a mm the pads need away from the rotor). Everything nice and clean. Grease applied (ONLY) to behind the pad and where the shims sit over the pad. This reduces rattle as the pads wear and more gap is created (courtesy Car Care Nut).

One thing to note here... Do make sure the pads are able to move freely, left and right. If not then you've not cleaned the inside of the caliper housing properly. Look for any other hidden rust of old brake dust. Do this before you starting working the brake pedal to check for good movement etc.

Rod, shim, safety pin, wear indicator piece (in my case only one side of the car) all back in place. Check (actually keep an eye on this) the brake fluid hasn't overlfowed at the reservoir - it's corrosive so make sure you denature it with water if it touches any paint... or your hands - make sure you use plenty of brake cleaner to ensure there's no grease or anything on the rotor (and obviously you weren't that silly to get any grease on the pads).

Everything back together, wheels on (after doing other side... you must do both sides or else uneven braking force WILL cause brake judder) and press the brakes to get em back to normal operation. Go for a safety test drive and go have a cuppa coffee (obviously you dropped the car down carefully).

 

[Redefined]

Lets just call all them other pics, bonus pics!

[Malc1]

8 hours ago, Redefined said:

Lets just call all them other pics, bonus pics!

That’s amazing   Well done. Self therapy and good to go for maybe 30/40k miles do you think ?

and you did all that kerbside ? 
 

Malc 

[Redefined]

Indeed, yes, you can sat lots of self therapy Malc. Also, when most mechanics (including the really good and highly rated ones - ask me how I know!) do this job, they never bother to comment on siezed calipers and whatnot. Cleaning the rotor - you can definitely forget about that!!

Yes, at the kerbside as it's a side street. Though often some idiots do drive down it like it's the highway, I managed to just get on with it. There's an area opposite that I could have gotten onto the extended/raised pavement/platform but thought I'd give Dave a break. Never know when the people loving there (in this case, my mate Dave) might start minding.

30 - 40 thousand miles... Not sure Malc. Hopefully yes, but that rotor is on the cusp of the maximum wear (not that they'd generally bother checking that - sorry to say) so I'll keep an eye and once the lip starts coming back I'll think about doin a full overhaul. Maybe even change one of them piston seals (not leaking but I did spot a tiny nick).

Hoping the above might help someone else that's wondering about doing their own pads. Really is that easy on these cars...

[Malc1]

it's the calipers that's not on any " official " servicing schedule and I always ask specifically my indy to check the calipers at each annual service 

with 28 years of good tlc I believe my calipers are original ......  well I've not found a bill for other than general overhaul during the servicing in my ownership and there's nowt with the prior Lexus Main Dealer schedules from way back indicating renewal

Malc

[Redefined]

That's the sign of a very good indy there Malc. Well done him/you. Mine were brake shaking like no-ones business. Always had them on the list to sort out. Most likely cause was the pads not contacting properly/uniformly with one or the other siezed in the housing.

I'm hoping that will all be gone now 😊