Catastrophic Loss Of Power Steering Fluid

[Malc]

The end story ................ got Lexii back today, all finished and ok.

The leak was from higher up the pipework and all pipework now renewed and used my 1.25mtrs of 10mm copper tube for the cooler section. Used flexi hose of the appropriate quality as the original steel pipe bends were a silly waste of time to try to replicate.

While there I had a new MOT ( no advisories except front tyres to replace quite soon ) and a full service. As usual I supplied the 10/40 semi synthetic oil ( Wilko ) and new plugs, Toyota one's which ACLex kindly left in the box of goodies for me when I bought the car 3 years ago now from him....... and 55k miles on from the last plug change too.

New air filter, oil filter and bits and bobs, haven't got the itemised bill yet but all paid and I'm happy.

Total bill incl. the MOT and service parts and repair and service labour .......... £220.03

plus of course my £3.11 for the copper tube and the oil costs from Wilko and the free !! plugs that came with the car.

Excellent result methinks.

Malc

[Malc]

Oh, plus the £100 transport cost of Lexii to my guy in Margate

Malc

[The-Acre]

Great result, I'd have been more than happy with that.

While I'm at it, I'm relying on you and others to talk me out of changing to an LS430, especially as there's a nice looking black one in Bognor for £4,000

[Malc]

I guess I'm lucky to have found my mechanic chap in Margate who has been looking after our cars now for 6.5 years. I have every confidence in him and that's why I had no hesitation transporting Lexii to him.

Now, all that I read about the Ls430 problems fills me with dread.

Specifically the air suspension and the oil cooler leaking thru' into the radiator and sodding-up the gearbox.

Breaking down of laminated double glazed windows and the aircon issues at the rear which cost £1k to sort out.

And the mention of the rusting thru' of the doors from the inside which you only get to see just after the 12 year warranty has expired !

Now, that's enough to put me off. OK, maybe it's unlucky for some owners alone BUT I wouldn't want one of them to be me

So there we have it, my reason not to change to a Ls430.

I know of no major issues like that with the Mk1, Mk2 or Mk3 Ls400s.

The manifestation of the vvti engine problem on the Mk 4 is causing me doubtful thoughts on that too now. BUT I guess you have to be really really unlucky to suffer that one !

I'm happy with my Mk3 ........ long may it last eh !

Malc

[steve2006]

Hey Malc, don't forget the mild steel exhaust system fitted to the LS430 instead of the stainless steel on the 400s,seem to remember other members having to replace back boxes on the 430s.

Plus the dicky height sensors and air shocks.

[Malc]

Forgot to mention the mild steel exhaust too on the Ls430 ......... limited longevity, no one has ever mentioned on here about replacing a Ls400 exhaust pipe, just sorting out that flange thingy , a £30 welding job, well, that's what mine cost and it's lasted 12 months now and showing no signs of deterioration.

Malc

[Malc]

snap !!

Malc

[The-Acre]

It is only a restless thought at the moment, trouble is it won't go away! It's annoying really, the one I have is fine. Some people are never satisfied!

I did notice the seller with the one in Bognor has 100% feedback, but they're all from sellers, not buyers!

[Malc]

Feedback or not, it's the car that's the issue and whilst it might be absolutely fine today, one day into your ownership might be the day it starts to become expensive !!!

Malc

[bilmac]

The Morris Oxford was a very reliable car. because it was a box with a wheel on each corner and not much else.

My point is, the more advanced the vehicle, the more there is to go wrong. I will concede the Ls 400 was (is) a great car.

however I do believe the Ls 430 is a better car, and the Ls 460 is better still, with the Ls 600 top of the range.

You cut your cloth to suit your measure, so for some the Ls 400 is the best choice, while others can afford the best Ls 600.

There is no doubt in my mind that the car I am currently driving is a great car. William

[messi]

Oh one thing that isn't mentioned that is also a fault on the ls430, the petrol tank will also need replacing at some stage due to a hole in the petrol tank, apparently it starts with rust first, CD player also a fault, air suspension compressor and sensors, rear doors jamming close and won't open, front door slightly drop for some reason, rust on the front doors, vsv valve failure, and I think the rest has been mentioned

[The-Acre]

Well that's tonight's nightmare material taken care of!

But are they common problems, or just ones that we hear about on these forums from time to time?

[Malc]

Guess most Lexus owners don't come on to this Forum and just enjoy perfect trouble free motoring ......... or NOT and just pay ( if and when they have to ) !!

I think they may actually be common problems but hey, how would we know

Malc

[runsgrateasanut]

You were really lucky the Power steering didn't go whilst you were on your trek to Spain.

I thought as I was reading the thread that you would have needed to stop off in France to pick up 10mm copper pipe as they use all sorts of differerent measurements in their plumbing - 10, 14 16mm.

£3 for a length - Bargain -whatever happened to the price of copper? That looks really cheap for what must be almost 2 metres.

Had a look at my own front pipes today and quite rusty. Got some old fashioned cure rust on them (Jenolite is hopeless rubbish these days) and when inspecting to see if dry realised that a connector had come apart and someone had crucified the cables with stiff plastic sheathing so it wouldn't twist to fit into the support holder. One job tends to follow another.

Now must wait for a dry spell to paint, remembering that when you lift the bonnet after rain, the water will drip right down onto those pipes. Doh!

[bilmac]

It appears that the most common fault is that SOME. LS 4000 owners are jealous of them, they drive better, look better, ARE BETTER ,than the 400. Maybe you should wait until you can afford a LS 460 or 600. They don't seem to be jealous of them. William

[Malc]

Might be that after removing the air filter cowling and covers it reveals everything to make it much easier to work on the power steering pipework.

1.25 mtrs did it on the main cooler pipe run and 10mm comes off a roll of copper tubing, it's that flexible.

yep, had it " gone " two months back I would have been in trouble but I daresay someone would have been able to sort the problem for me somewhere ............. people are generally quite resourceful when one's out and about journeying.

Malc

[Malc]

Ah well, I still remember with affection the Morris Oxford and variants .... I even had a Wolseley 6/110, 3 ltr straight 6 ...... lovely car but died as they all did, from rust usually.

Can't seem to get it out of my head that I'd rather spend my money on living than updating to a newer car ........... the same problem I had when I had a car sales business, could never understand why people wanted to give me their money and their quite good trade in car for another lump of metal that more or less did the same as the one they were giving me. ........... it's my age you know, I still remember £ notes !!! not white fivers tho' ......... hehehehe

Malc

[bilmac]

Ah well, I still remember with affection the Morris Oxford and variants .... I even had a Wolseley 6/110, 3 ltr straight 6 ...... lovely car but died as they all did, from rust usually.

Can't seem to get it out of my head that I'd rather spend my money on living than updating to a newer car ........... the same problem I had when I had a car sales business, could never understand why people wanted to give me their money and their quite good trade in car for another lump of metal that more or less did the same as the one they were giving me. ........... it's my age you know, I still remember £ notes !!! not white fivers tho' ......... hehehehe

Malc

I remember that Wolseley 6/110,people might remember seeing them in black and white police movies.

I had a Austin Princess Vanden Plas 3 litre,4 speed with overdrive, the bees knees in 1969.

This was a step up from the Wolseley. As is the 430 from the 400

Never had any problem with anything other than miles per gallon

I sold it because I was only getting 45 miles for a pound. William

[The-Acre]

In response to Williams quote about the most common fault with the LS430 being SOME are jealous, I don't think that's the case at all. The purpose of this forum is to get valuable information before making a decision.

Interestingly, yesterday at a "gathering" I met a guy who works for Lexus, and has done so for many years, in a management position. He told me that the LS400 is still the best car Lexus ever produced, with the finest engine and reliability. That goes a long way to helping me decide whether to change or not, rather than jealousy.

[Scribe]

I'm sure I've said this on here before, but from time to time I get scared that I'm running a 16-year-old car with 150,000 on the clock. I feel I should have a newer one because it will be more reliable. But my Lexus runs like a 6-year-old 'normal' car, and it isn't much trouble. Next year it will need a new cambelt and probably upper suspension arms, but that's about it. And if I keep it maintained it's not going to depreciate in value. My mechanic has told me that I should hang on to it - not that I'm in a position to trade up anyway - because he's got experience of knackered ones that need a lot of work.

Re Malc's post: when I was young I wanted the newest car I could afford - it was all about the letter at the end of the number plate. And more than once I got rid of a car that was in better nick than the newer one I replaced it with. I'd like a 430 but I'd be worried that anything other than a late one (which I can't afford) would be a money pit. I'm not jealous of 430 owners, just grateful that I'm not facing potential problems as listed above - because I couldn't afford to get them fixed. I don't know whether 430s are more troublesome than any other big luxury car, but at least with an old 400 there's less to go wrong.

[Malc]

The upper control arms are frightening to replace costwise BUT you might be lucky with yours. Mine's now done 160k and the MOT tester confirmed there is absolutely no play in them at all ( yet ).

On my Mk1 I replaced them at 150k miles and even then they cost a fortune, £250 each if I remember, years ago now but simple to fit.

But I did live at the end of an unmade track and that abuse might just have prematurely aged them of course.

Malc

[Titch LS]

As the owner of a Mk.4 LS400 the only thing I would be jealous of in regards to the 430 is the LS430's cabin. It is much nicer than the 400 cabin in my opinion. But, as for the rest of the car,--- I'll be sticking with my 'best ever Lexus' Mk.4, thankyou very much.

[runsgrateasanut]

As a newbie I s'pose I should keep out of this debate.

The word "envy" is perhaps more appopriate than jealousy in this context..

Personally as a guy now beyond retirement I've never had the wish to own a brand new car. I couldn't afford one when I was younger unless it was on terms which I never gave a thought to as bringing up a family was costly enouth. .

Perhaps its an age thing. I'm more happy on a comfy lived in old Leather Sofa than a brand spanking new one. I suppose its all down to expectations and before the Seventies I don't think people were so materialistic.

I had an Austin Ambassador many years ago (yes another old mans Car my Children would now say, though OK for them when Children) and I rather liked that car. I did have a problem with the Air suspension which was cheaply fixed backstreet. Can't recall why it died on me, rust I suspect. The guy who collected it on a trailer said it was going to be used for Target Practice by the Army just outside Colchester. So blowing up Motors has all been done before, Jeremy.

going back to the original issue, when I recnetly bought this car I was told that it has a power steering leak fixed. The Bill however quotes 1 Control Vale £99.07 and PAS fluid. Not sure about this part. Will check that diagram again.

[Bluesman]

As a newbie I s'pose I should keep out of this debate.

The word "envy" is perhaps more appopriate than jealousy in this context..

Personally as a guy now beyond retirement I've never had the wish to own a brand new car. I couldn't afford one when I was younger unless it was on terms which I never gave a thought to as bringing up a family was costly enouth. .

Perhaps its an age thing. I'm more happy on a comfy lived in old Leather Sofa than a brand spanking new one. I suppose its all down to expectations and before the Seventies I don't think people were so materialistic.

I had an Austin Ambassador many years ago (yes another old mans Car my Children would now say, though OK for them when Children) and I rather liked that car. I did have a problem with the Air suspension which was cheaply fixed backstreet. Can't recall why it died on me, rust I suspect. The guy who collected it on a trailer said it was going to be used for Target Practice by the Army just outside Colchester. So blowing up Motors has all been done before, Jeremy.

going back to the original issue, when I recnetly bought this car I was told that it has a power steering leak fixed. The Bill however quotes 1 Control Vale £99.07 and PAS fluid. Not sure about this part. Will check that diagram again.

Everyone is allowed to input their feelings or knowledge despite how long they have been a member. Mike

[steve2006]

The Control valve mentioned on the invoice is probably the Idle Up Valve fitted on the PS pump which increases power steering effort when the car is idling ( moving out of a parking space for example).

This valve tends to leak and causes PS fluid to be sucked into the intake manifold where it gets burnt in the engine producing white smoke.

Most owners remove the valve and blank this and the pipes off with no apparent difference in the steering feel.