Checking Air Suspension On Prospective Purchase Of Ls430

[Colin M]

I am going to have a look at a LS430 in Birmingham tomorrow for Phil, The Acre.

I have no knowledge of experience of air suspensions so would appreciate some guidance on how to check the suspension is working properly.

Any help would be much appreciated.

I am making assumptions, which may or may not be correct:

1) there is some button inside the car which adjusts the suspension height setting (if so, where is it, how many height settings are there, and how long does it take for the setting to adjust?)

2) the engine needs to be running when you make an adjustment (does this need to be done when the car is stationary or can it be done on the move?)

Thanks in anticipation of some help.

Colin

[cruisermark]

to determine a leak you have to make sure the car has been left overnight - if the car has been started or driven before you get there - you may no spot this

you will spot it when you have bought it and parked it overnight

HTH

[cruisermark]

also wanted to mention there is a facelift model in blue on piston heads for £3995 - the chap sounds genuine and decent by the sound of the ad - that maybe worth a consideration

[Colin M]

Hi Mark

Thanks for this.

What will be the symptoms of a leak if the car has been left overnight? How will I check if there is a leak, assuming it has been left overnight (which I suspect will be unlikely)?

A hissing noise (air leaking), fluid underneath somewhere?

Cheers

Colin

[cruisermark]

if there is a leak the suspension will sag overnight - it will probably rise when the car is started but this sort of problem will only get worst and expensive to fix

so initially check there car is not sitting low especially the back and the ride hide looks the same all around.

i dont think you will hear air hissing but yeah check for fluid leaks

HTH

[Colin M]

Yes, that helps a lot - many thanks.

[The-Acre]

also wanted to mention there is a facelift model in blue on piston heads for £3995 - the chap sounds genuine and decent by the sound of the ad - that maybe worth a consideration

Thanks for spotting that. There's also another on eBay that looks good, but I do have to set a limit.

I spoke to a very helpful guy at Lexus Bradford today, and although he couldn't give me too much info as it's not my car, he did say they had serviced it from 2005 and sold it in 2012. Although their last recorded service was at 85,600. So what happened for the last 20K and why did Lexus Bradford come to sell it I have absolutely no idea.

[steve2006]

Sorry Phil I've been stuck in the office for the last 2 days so not had the chance to escape down the M42 for you but it seems you have it covered with Colin.

There is a factory method for checking the air suspension but the car needs to be on a ramp so you can get under the car.

The method I used yesterday when setting the ride height on my Celsior was to start the engine, switch the suspension to "High" and wait one minute,switch to normal and again wait a minute then repeat.

After the second cycle move the car forward a few yards and back then bounce each corner to settle the suspension.

Make sure the car is on level ground.

This is where the cheat comes in,instead of measuring from a point under the car I measured from the ground through the centreline of the wheel to the edge of the wheel arch.

Compare sides to make sure they are equal to within 10mm.

Any greater differences could indicate a height sensor problem although a warning should be displayed if a fault with the AS is detected.

If you have the time it may be worth rechecking the measurements after it has been stood to see if any of the airbags are leaking.

[Colin M]

Thanks for this post, Steve - I will follow the method you have used and see what the measurements come out at.

Whereabouts is the ride height switch located, incidentally.

[The-Acre]

Sorry Phil I've been stuck in the office for the last 2 days so not had the chance to escape down the M42 for you but it seems you have it covered with Colin.

There is a factory method for checking the air suspension but the car needs to be on a ramp so you can get under the car.

The method I used yesterday when setting the ride height on my Celsior was to start the engine, switch the suspension to "High" and wait one minute,switch to normal and again wait a minute then repeat.

After the second cycle move the car forward a few yards and back then bounce each corner to settle the suspension.

Make sure the car is on level ground.

This is where the cheat comes in,instead of measuring from a point under the car I measured from the ground through the centreline of the wheel to the edge of the wheel arch.

Compare sides to make sure they are equal to within 10mm.

Any greater differences could indicate a height sensor problem although a warning should be displayed if a fault with the AS is detected.

If you have the time it may be worth rechecking the measurements after it has been stood to see if any of the airbags are leaking.

Thanks Steve, I'm afraid Colin is going to be more of a scientist today than anything else!!

I know we read a bit about these suspension problems, but we than seem to expect it to happen. It seems that if it goes wrong, it can be anywhere from 60K-200K and beyond.

One question I meant to ask, does it usually result in total failure, or is it a gradual thing? (if it happens at all)

[steve2006]

It depends if they leak when the suspension on that strut will lower in the night (spooky) or a catastropic failure where the airbag actual blows ( not heard of latter on the 430s just those who fit height controllers to the older models)

The other problem is the height sensors which apparently allow water in,resulting in height detection problems and a dash warning light ( apparently the warning light symbol is £££ and $$$ in the USA ) :)

For what it is the AS is reliable, it's just expensive when it does go wrong, a bit like that fango dango braking system on the MKII GS300/430.

I'll tell you something the ride comfort with AS is great compared to conventional spring/dampers, I took my LS 400 for an MOT this morning and the difference to my other LS400 going over road humps was unbelievable.

The only other car that smooth was an old Citreon XM with that Hydropneumatic suspension I had years ago.

[steve2006]

Anyway what was the outcome of the trip to see the car, did Colin come away with a steel tape measure wrapped around his neck?

[The-Acre]

Anyway what was the outcome of the trip to see the car, did Colin come away with a steel tape measure wrapped around his neck?

Colin did such a brilliant report, very thorough, and I'm truly grateful. I have decided on a fellow members car. The one in Birmingham will need an immediate cam belt, and it does have a missing 20K of history, even though the seller said full Lexus history! The main difference really is that it has 35K less miles, but that's not really an issue with these. Mine will either be sold to a guy at work, or it will be on that site for a silly price to sell quickly as I don't want two cars!

[steve2006]

My project Celsior went in this morning for an MOT,just waiting for the phone call. That will be going then so will be down to just 2 from 4.

[Bluesman]

My project Celsior went in this morning for an MOT,just waiting for the phone call. That will be going then so will be down to just 2 from 4.

Fingers crossed

[Colin M]

Thanks for your kind comments, Phil, and I have to say, Steve, that it did feel like I had the steel tape measure wrapped round my neck at times!!

I am pleased to see Phil has come to a decision on which of the two cars to buy and I hope his new purchase proves to be a good one.

I would be interested to know whether the compressor which raised the air suspension height on the car I went to look at was noisy. I had the window down when I raised the height and it sounded like a motor bike driving away, albeit some distance away. Should it sound like this?

[The-Acre]

My project Celsior went in this morning for an MOT,just waiting for the phone call. That will be going then so will be down to just 2 from 4.

No point in being greedy! Anyway, two's company....

[steve2006]

Thanks for your kind comments, Phil, and I have to say, Steve, that it did feel like I had the steel tape measure wrapped round my neck at times!!

I am pleased to see Phil has come to a decision on which of the two cars to buy and I hope his new purchase proves to be a good one.

I would be interested to know whether the compressor which raised the air suspension height on the car I went to look at was noisy. I had the window down when I raised the height and it sounded like a motor bike driving away, albeit some distance away. Should it sound like this?

Mine just hums,you can hear it in the cabin with the windows up and doors closed.

[Colin M]

Perhaps the compressor was OK, then ...

[steve2006]

Perhaps the compressor was OK, then ...

It sounds about right, similar to a microwave oven on cook.

[cruisermark]

on my 04 you can hear the compressor - it makes a dull humming sound - similar to the aircon compressor but you have listen out for it

[brendangeorge]

on my 04 you can hear the compressor - it makes a dull humming sound - similar to the aircon compressor but you have listen out for it

On my 2002 the air compressor has been noisy since I spanked a large cone on the motor way (front OS bumper) - I lost the inner wing liner in the process - in 2007. I have been waiting for a failure since - it is noisy first thing in the morning but once up to pressure it is not too bad. I still have noisy winter tyres on so it may sound like a Gardner 180 on the outside and I would not hear it

I had a fault with a link to a sensor and the back end collapsed on to the stops - fixed by my local indi and is now as good as new.

If you look under the rear suspension when the car is on a ramp it looks very fragile but mine did 220K before probs.

Bren