Ls400 Or Ls 430 For Lpg Conversion

[WarwickT]

Hi Everyone

I drive a Toyota Avensis estate which needed some repair work, and ended up getting a lift in the garage owner's LS 430 which was converted to LPG. I was completely blown away by the comfort and serenity of the car and am now seriously thinking of owning a Lexus LS and am looking for advice from all the expert users here.

I wantt to know if I should go for the LS 400 or 430? I do about 15000 miles a year and do travel to Europe by car at least twice a year for a holiday.

Please advice

Many thanks in advance

[jonthetourist]

I am sorry I can't answer the question, but I would like to know which garage in Warwicks has an owner with an LS430 with LPG

You probably know that you can't take LPG through the tunnel.

[cruisermark]

Hi Everyone

I drive a Toyota Avensis estate which needed some repair work, and ended up getting a lift in the garage owner's LS 430 which was converted to LPG. I was completely blown away by the comfort and serenity of the car and am now seriously thinking of owning a Lexus LS and am looking for advice from all the expert users here.

I wantt to know if I should go for the LS 400 or 430? I do about 15000 miles a year and do travel to Europe by car at least twice a year for a holiday.

Please advice

Many thanks in advance

hi john

both cars respond very well to LPG conversions and there are members on here with both - there is hardly a case of engine problems.

the deciding factor is which car to buy:

the mark 4 lexus LS400 (97-00) is the understood to be the best in terms of reliability - The Mark 3 (95-97) is not far behind engine and comfort wise but doesnt have the VVTi engine, touchscreen controls, Xenon headlights and VSC.

The 430 has more toys such as :

keyless entry and start

heated and cooled seats

rear blind

reversing camera - 04 onwards

soft close doors

rain sensor

rear reclining seats and vibrating

it does have some weakness over the 400

exhaust is not stainless like the 400

air suspension - most common failure is seized ride height sensors prevents suspension from adjusting

steering motors prone to failing

early 430 are at risk of gearbox failure due to the design of the rad where transmission fluid leaks into radiator

at least one parking sensor fails causing constant beep therfore have to switch sensors off

if you decide to go for a 430 try to go for a newest one possible with full history - cambelt must be changed 10 years or 100k miles

hope this helps

[jonthetourist]

That's a helpful post. Did the design weakness of cooling the transmission fluid with the rad get changed with the 2004 update to the LS430? If so, that's very interesting to know.

Jon

[ls400lpg]

I did 85,000 on my mk3 in 2 and a half years which was already converted, before I blew the head gasket. Own fault due to only changing oil once and had a slight coolant leak and only used water to top up.

It was a romaro system with a single point but worked very well but very old says the lpg service guy. I am going to convert my mk4 this month using a single point again for under £1000.

[Mybikes a cx500]

I would think a LS 400 mk4 would be the best option, but wouldn't ignore a good 430 if I came across one, but would fit an external trans cooler!

ls400lpg, I have had both single and multi-point lpg on my ls400's, if yours has distributors rather than individual plug paks, I would renew the plugs and HT leads, My single point system kept blowing up the inlet tract as worn leads and plugs sometimes track across, and you get a spark occasionally at the wrong cylinder with its inlet valve open, which ignites all the gas back to the gas injection point, usually causing some damage

[WarwickT]

Mark and Ian thanks a lot for your replies, really helpful. I have decided to go for an LS 400, and am now looking for one, will keep you all updated

Cheers

[ls400lpg]

Prefer the ls400 to ls430. I have driven 3 ls430 as test drive and never satisfied. LS400 is built like a tank and has the traditional looks. I let you know when I LPG it

[Titch LS]

Both cars suit multi-point lpg injection which is MUCH superior to single point in every way. I've had both, so I know from experience. I've had multi-point on my mk4 LS400 for 3 years now and 35k miles later have not had one problem to date. It's a bit more expensive to install but worth every penny in the long run. Just find a reputable installer. You won't regret the extra outlay.