What Oil For '98 Ls400?

Parrot of Doom · March 20, 2011

I used Mobil 1 0W-40 on my E300TD (I get it cheap from Costco). As a result I have about 4 litres left, about £20's worth (nearly £40 in the shops). Does this oil meet the specs required for the Lexus engine?

Also, where do you guys stash your oily stuff in the boot? There doesn't seem to be a pocket I can chuck stuff into.

ManicMark · March 20, 2011

I used Mobil 1 0W-40 on my E300TD (I get it cheap from Costco). As a result I have about 4 litres left, about £20's worth (nearly £40 in the shops). Does this oil meet the specs required for the Lexus engine?

Also, where do you guys stash your oily stuff in the boot? There doesn't seem to be a pocket I can chuck stuff into.

Hi Mobil 1 0/40 will be fine & carry oil in the boot what for it shouldn't use it, mine still doesn't burn a drop with 165k on it.

lewis · March 20, 2011

Hi I think Mobil 1 is a great oil but I don`t use it in me LS400 (90K mikes) I think it may be a little too thin a 5w-30w or 5w-40W oil would be better I use a Mobil semi synthetic, I wish they still made Mobil 1 at 5W-30W like they used to.

beavisrules · March 20, 2011

I've never thought of keeping "spare" oil.

If your ls400 is loosing oil it's not a good sign.

of my 4+ years of ls400 ownership I've never had to top up anything (and i do check :) ).

also use Mobil 1 5/30 (so must still be available?)

My garage gets it 'cheap'(lol its not cheap) on trade by the drum.

Parrot of Doom · March 20, 2011

I always keep spare oil in any car I drive. The way I see it, I keep a spare wheel (and I've had about one puncture in ten years), so why not a bottle of oil? You never know when you might need it.

danjm20 · March 21, 2011

And a bottle of water is a good idea. If for nothing else, just so you have a bottle to fill should you have a coolant leak.

danjm20 · March 21, 2011

To top up your water/coolant I mean.

Malc · March 21, 2011

Hey, I use Wilkinsons own semi synthetic and it seems very much OK. My service guy thinks so anyway.

The only liquids I've ever kept in my LS(s) is drinking water for those damnably long journeys .

Never seen a need for anything else with liquids to do with the car ................ never needed any and never will ( hopes ).

Malc

John N · March 21, 2011

I used Mobil 1 0W-40 on my E300TD (I get it cheap from Costco). As a result I have about 4 litres left, about £20's worth (nearly £40 in the shops). Does this oil meet the specs required for the Lexus engine?

Also, where do you guys stash your oily stuff in the boot? There doesn't seem to be a pocket I can chuck stuff into.

Hi

Your Mobile 1 will be fine, but if you're shopping at Costco why buy the most expensive oil they have? I buy the 20 litre drums of Chevron 'Supreme Motor Oil 5w-30' they sell. It's labelled as a synthetic oil, and meets the viscosity requirements for the engine. Best of all at £42 for 20 litres it works out at £2.10p a litre, so it's a bit cheaper and I've had no problems using it for years. (You do pay a lot for Mobils' advertising you know.)

Where do I put the oily stuff in the boot? I don't. Keep your eye on the levels every couple of weeks, and you won't be caught out. In the worst case I'd stop at a garage and buy some. But if you insist on carrying 'oily stuff' put it in the spare wheel boot well.

John N

LS430

Parrot of Doom · March 21, 2011

Ok thanks for the tip. Next question is LPG, I'm getting it converted asap. Any recommendations as to which system to use?

SteveLS400 · March 22, 2011

Ok thanks for the tip. Next question is LPG, I'm getting it converted asap. Any recommendations as to which system to use?

Theres been a ton of threads about LPG, so have a search through them rather than change the subject in this thread because it makes using the search function difficult. Then by all means add to those or start a new one.

david_hornet27 · March 23, 2011

I used to love this club, however comments like the one above mean I will not be renewing my gold membership. ParrotofDoom is a new member who is obviously enthusiastic about his new LS400 so does it really do any harm to follow his original question with another?? If it does then maybe you could explain why with a little more tact rather than holding up a silly symbol and being so pedantic...

There seem to be a huge amount of patronising comments recently and a distinct brand of elitism amongst a 'chosen' few that comes across as anyone who is not part of this 'chosen' group is unworthy. If you don't like the follow on question Steve then why not move it? Oh I forgot you're not a moderator are you...

ParrotOfDoom, enjoy your new purchase and I am sure you will find the information on here very helpful. I promise the majority on here are friendly and realise that there are more important things in life to worry about than somebody asking 2 different questions in one thread.

ManicMark · March 23, 2011

Ok thanks for the tip. Next question is LPG, I'm getting it converted asap. Any recommendations as to which system to use?

Hi I have a brc plug & drive system on my ls 400 been on for 30,000 miles now and not given any problems. Its not the cheapest of systems but is one of the best, about £1750 fitted you can pay as little as £1200 by a firm in Preston for a romano system they advertise on eBay my mate in Liverpool used them for his ls430 conversion & is quite happy with it.

Go on the lpg forum (google it) you will find a wealth of info on there. Good luck mark

The-Acre · March 23, 2011

I used to love this club, however comments like the one above mean I will not be renewing my gold membership. ParrotofDoom is a new member who is obviously enthusiastic about his new LS400 so does it really do any harm to follow his original question with another?? If it does then maybe you could explain why with a little more tact rather than holding up a silly symbol and being so pedantic...

There seem to be a huge amount of patronising comments recently and a distinct brand of elitism amongst a 'chosen' few that comes across as anyone who is not part of this 'chosen' group is unworthy. If you don't like the follow on question Steve then why not move it? Oh I forgot you're not a moderator are you...

ParrotOfDoom, enjoy your new purchase and I am sure you will find the information on here very helpful. I promise the majority on here are friendly and realise that there are more important things in life to worry about than somebody asking 2 different questions in one thread.

Now now gentlemen, I understand what's being said here and it can come across that way sometimes. I think the problem with written messages is that we intepret the way we think it's said and we're often wrong. Let's remember we're all in this to help each other. And just by saying that I've gone off topic!!

danjm20 · March 23, 2011

yes Acre I must agree...I don't think Steve meant it like that, I think it was the "theres been a ton of threads about LPG" phrase that came across as slightly abrupt and irritated. One thing I HAVE found on this site, is that it is not cluttered up with confused things and random chatter, each thread's comments are always clearly related to the topic. Parrot of Doom - yes enjoy your new LS - I have been following progress...I am not far away - in West Didsbury. Off topic. sorry. :)

Parrot of Doom · March 23, 2011

Don't worry I'm not offended, I'm a forum regular in many places and have a pretty thick skin. Steve has a point. I'm just trying not to flood the board with new topics, the car has a few things wrong and I'd like to sort them all out.

For instance, I have the occasional rough idle in P or N. I'm presuming the throttle body might need cleaning (new plugs only a few months ago) as the engine sings when being driven, so where's that hiding? lol.

The-Acre · March 24, 2011

Don't worry I'm not offended, I'm a forum regular in many places and have a pretty thick skin. Steve has a point. I'm just trying not to flood the board with new topics, the car has a few things wrong and I'd like to sort them all out.

For instance, I have the occasional rough idle in P or N. I'm presuming the throttle body might need cleaning (new plugs only a few months ago) as the engine sings when being driven, so where's that hiding? lol.

Do bring in new topics, that's what keeps it fresh!

SteveLS400 · March 24, 2011

Let me explain why I said what I said.

Firstly let me say that there was absolutely no malice whatsoever and I am amazed and disappointed in the response.

Over the last few years I have spent many enjoyable hours on here believing that I was helping others and learning in the process. Often, I have searched on here and elsewhere in order to find an answer. I often have to do multiple searches and in doing so I glance at the subject (and the sub-heading) to see if its relevant to the original question. I do not read every search return as there are usually too many and, as regular users of the facility will know, the software will find everything with the keyword somewhere in it. So, to narrow it down, I use, as I say the subject matter.

If the subject changes halfway through a thread, that is not reflected in the search. In this a search for LPG would return this thread which I would not read because the subject heading does not contain "LPG." That could mean I've missed valuable info.

The same logic applies for anyone using the search facility.

If we switch topics mid-thread we might as well have one long conversation. Or have I got it completely wrong?