Newish Member Now an Owner

[Neil E]

3 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

I would sell my soul to be able to run that again.

Do you mean run the car or run the road? I'll pass on running it on foot but it's one of the better driving roads in the UK, some would argue the very best.

I'm not sure the front end of that batmobile would survive some of the dips and tricky bits at speed but then again the SC430 is quite low and that coped okay so you may be okay to don the cape and roar out of the bat cave.

[Boomer54]

8 hours ago, Neil E said:

Do you mean run the car or run the road? I'll pass on running it on foot but it's one of the better driving roads in the UK, some would argue the very best.

I'm not sure the front end of that batmobile would survive some of the dips and tricky bits at speed but then again the SC430 is quite low and that coped okay so you may be okay to don the cape and roar out of the bat cave.

Leave the car at home, run the moors is what I meant.

[Boomer54]

Lovely weather so in for a bit of car washing with my assistant.Show me the biscuits first Boss.

[Boomer54]

Working my way around the car bit by bit I come to the dreaded bit. Under the bonnet. I have only been under a bonnet once back in my youth. Wouldn't say I don't know much about these things, but at the time I needed to top up the oil. Couldn't really work out how you could pour oil into such a small hole where the little stick thingy goes without making an unholy mess. However, ever the problem solver I cunningly cut A4 size cardboard and rolled it into a makeshift funnel carefully replacing the stick thingy afterwards. Job done I proudly told my friends and dare to say I have never really lived it down.

Now I cannot believe the amount of dust that gets under here, but it looks like Stew kept on top of it generally. I don't know whether it's up to scratch ,or not,comparatively speaking. I do know there's a lot of fluidy stuff in here and I will have to make an effort to learn what is what. I can see I would be better investing in some kit to really take care of it.

 

[Malc1]

Just don't worry about the dust .  it's a car, it needs to be driven here and there, out and about just as much as can be ........... and once the engine oil and all other fluids have been checked over as being all ok then she probably won't need looking at again until the next service interval, maybe annually and with the MOT 

Just sit in her, drive and ENJOY ..... Oh and put fuel in her sadly, occasionally 😇

Malc

[Boomer54]

2 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Just don't worry about the dust .  it's a car, it needs to be driven here and there, out and about just as much as can be ........... and once the engine oil and all other fluids have been checked over as being all ok then she probably won't need looking at again until the next service interval, maybe annually and with the MOT 

Just sit in her, drive and ENJOY ..... Oh and put fuel in her sadly, occasionally 😇

Malc

Fuel, where under the bonnet does that go? 🤔

[Boomer54]

3 hours ago, Malc1 said:

Just don't worry about the dust 

I was being satirical mate. Hit the + button for a close up. It's unbelievably clean, or so I think anyway given it's 18 years old. I would say our old friend Stew spent a bit of time under there to make it that way.

I think my only contribution is going to be glueing those labels down evenly. The way they curl is going to have me waking up nights 🤑

[Boomer54]

Just working my way through some of the small stuff that arose after the healthcheck at Lexus Preston.

1. They noted signs of tyre contact on the arch. Now I know there was a set of wheels/tyres on this car prior to this set so what is not clear is whether this is a current issue ,or a past issue. I can say I neither feel nor hear anything relevant to this issue when driving. What I wished to get some advice on is whether there is some sort of visual check I can make that would quickly tell me if the issue is still current or not?

Any feedback welcomed. Already ruled out sticking it in drive and letting it go whilst running alongside to observe. Driveway just too short .

[Malc1]

maybe it needs bums on seats too to distribute the weight ratios too

Malc

amazing I got 3 X 2s in that sentence 

[Boomer54]

I suspect any professionally acceptable distance between arch and tyre should already account for weight issues unless you are F! driver etc.

[LenT]

2 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

They noted signs of tyre contact on the arch.

At the risk of sounding pedantic, Stephen, I would have thought that arch contact on the tyre would have been not only more obvious, but rather more serious.

I once had a large tyre retailer recommend a set of new Avon Tyres for my Lotus Elan, despite them being slightly over wide.  He claimed he had already fitted such tyres without any problems.

The results were indeed amazing, improving the already impressive handling to a significant degree.  Some weeks later I happened to be inspecting the front of the car and - to my disbelief - noticed a deep groove had been cut in to the inside sidewall of both front tyres.  When the suspension was unloaded there was plenty of clearance between the tyre and the top of the suspension leg.  Once back on the ground a cover topping the suspension leg was rubbing the inside tyre wall.

I guess I was within days of having both front tyres blow out!

[Boomer54]

Len, 

The garage actually didn't even mark it down for immediate attention. Had they done so I would have acted straightaway. Just as you imply not the sort of issue to prevaricate with. I did have some arch phots showing some kind of let's call it minor contact. They did not of course say the contact was still happening either which would have helped.

At this point I am really just trying to work it out one way or another if there is something needing attention and how to check that.

This vehicle also has R Meister coilovers so of course I wonder if at some point that might have even been a contributing factor.

Suspect I will end up just handing this issue to a local garage and asking them to clarify for me IF I have an issue to resolve.

[LenT]

22 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

Suspect I will end up just handing this issue to a local garage and asking them to clarify for me IF I have an issue to resolve.

You’re right to be concerned and cautious, Stephen.

Good friends of ours suffered a front tyre blowout with their BMW on a motorway, and were very lucky to survive the ensuing crash!

[Boomer54]

2 minutes ago, LenT said:

You’re right to be concerned and cautious, Stephen.

Good friends of ours suffered a front tyre blowout with their BMW on a motorway, and were very lucky to survive the ensuing crash!

Happened to my brother at high speed on a motorway. He was lucky to get off lightly.

Something I have never forgotten.

[Localhero]

18 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Happened to my brother at high speed on a motorway. He was lucky to get off lightly.

Something I have never forgotten.

 

18 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

Happened to my brother at high speed on a motorway. He was lucky to get off lightly.

Something I have never forgotten.

Steve the car has spacers on the front and lowered suspension,  it also had 2 fairly large occupants with a bit of weight it would bottom out sometimes going over speed humps, you should find it has two finger space between tyre and wheel arch, also you said you preferred comfort,  so I softened suspension to give you a better ride, you can also of course raise suspension if you wish,many articles on YouTube about doing this, the adjustment spanners are in the boot, as well it has mudflaps which very occasionally touch the road if bobbing on a bit through bends, 

[Boomer54]

40 minutes ago, Localhero said:

 

Steve the car has spacers on the front and lowered suspension,  it also had 2 fairly large occupants with a bit of weight it would bottom out sometimes going over speed humps, you should find it has two finger space between tyre and wheel arch, also you said you preferred comfort,  so I softened suspension to give you a better ride, you can also of course raise suspension if you wish,many articles on YouTube about doing this, the adjustment spanners are in the boot, as well it has mudflaps which very occasionally touch the road if bobbing on a bit through bends, 

Stew,

That is much appreciated mate. You have given me a great starting point with this. Frankly, I am not at all sure I have a 'current ' problem at all ,but now I have a way to check so thanks again. Just loving this car.

By the way I would not be without those mudflaps !

[Boomer54]

This weekend I am going to visit another new owner who has graciously let me have the opportunity to come and see his pride and joy. If it's ok with him i will take a few pics ,because I suspect it is going to warrant it. I am really looking forward to hearing his story on this car.

[GMB]

On 10/10/2023 at 10:08 AM, Boomer54 said:

Just working my way through some of the small stuff that arose after the healthcheck at Lexus Preston

Yes, they told me that there was a dead fly stuck to my windscreen and they could replace it at the next service. 

The fly, not the windscreen.

[Boomer54]

At the weekend I paid a visit to look at another SC 430 recently bought by a really nice guy and enthusiast. Amongst other things his car a 2001 model had the rear light array replaced with the face-lift mod. I have to say I really liked that effect. In my view it just looks like a cleaner more aesthetically appealing design. So, my job book got a new addition, replace rear light array. I will have a deeper look at what is involved in the near future.

Have really decided now that I want another SC 430 to run against my existing car to help keep the overall mileage down. However , my job book keeps growing so I am going to defer that move until I whittle down my works list.

I certainly see why some people are running two cars if they really like them a lot.

[Boomer54]

The more I read here about the issues with new Lexus models the happier I am to have bought an 18 year old car. Looks right now like another tick in the credit side of the ledger. People seem to be losing more in depreciation in a matter of months than I paid for this car and frankly I don't see the value. Well that is not true I do see it. It's typically called egosation (I just made that up). The value is the intangible need to be seen to be succeeding and letting others know it by a 'peacock' display of what one is driving. I am not criticising anyone doing that. It's a very human behaviour to have and indeed without it perhaps the motivational drive would be some what less than it is. I will however say from personal experience that it is liberating when you have discarded that need. 

[Malc1]

54 minutes ago, Boomer54 said:

it is liberating when you have discarded that need. 

I've been " liberated " all my life then  🤩

Malc

[Boomer54]

19 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

I've been " liberated " all my life then  🤩

Malc

I knew this about you  

[Boomer54]

I went to a local Indy shop yesterday to get the car on a ramp. That undercarriage is in fine nick for it's age. Completely at odds with the Lexus healthcheck description of 'vast amounts of surface rust' . The surface rust that there is is visible in relatively few places and there is zero sign of anything other than surface rust.. The guy who owns the place was all over it appreciating the Banks exhaust in great detail as he makes custom exhausts. For people in this area (Preston) who might not want to make trip to Banks in Leeds it's worth knowing Brake Fit here in Preston do them also.

The fact is the guy was impressive in his commentary I decided on the spot to let him tell me what he would do to underseal this car if I was to pay him to do it. (Really annoying, I go all round the block of possibilities 3 times and keep coming back to what Malc suggested in the first place). Not to digress further he helped his cause by not grabbing for business ,but suggesting not doing anything until the finer weather in Spring arrives. He said there was no urgency at all, but the most important thing was not to trap any moisture behind new sealant. Doing the job we agreed you would for completeness get into the sills and behind the wheel arches. He suggested you could start with a selective application of Schultz avoiding all removables like nuts etc and anything that you might need to remove in future. Overcoating could be Lanoguard, but he backstepped when I said I wanted a job that gave me multi year peace of mind to future proof this cars undercarriage. I have asked him to think about that and give me a price that reflects the kind of comprehensive work I am looking for.

 

The wife would no doubt be happier if I just pay someone to do this as she is always fussing about the state of my hands whenever I do manual stuff. Not sure I will be as happy about that so I will think about it before I decide on what to do.

[Malc1]

Stephen ......  alias Wesley, greasy brown overalls and newspaper on the kitchen floor ........  if you're leaving it all until the spring or summer then with your 19 year young limo it might be relevant to just do damn all at all ... and review it at this time, just before Christmas 2024 😇

Nowts gonna happen to deteriorate your car in the meantime for sure !

Malc

ps  Your Mrs can send me a cheque in the post for 25% of the savings please 🤩

[Boomer54]

"Your Mrs can send me a cheque in the post for 25% of the savings please".

Thought about it. Not sending the '25%' , but the missus is on the way. Return when your money is gone.