Leaderboard

Things you might like to know...de-brief from the Cam Belt, pulleys, drive belt pulleys change: A couple of forums have this as a 9/10 and a not for the faint hearted. Well, if you are a regular DIY mechanic it’s a 4-5 peaking storm force when things are not what they seem! It is about confidence and persistence when the annoyances appear becuase it's an OK project. Once you have done it - you could slash the hours/effort off it. 1) You don’t have to remove the radiator or loosen the aircon compressor You might want to tape a thin layer cardboard across the rad to add protection when you get past removing the fan components. Rad in situ does make undoing and going the fan bolts more fiddly. 2) The big stuff is really quite straight forward - even the timing. If the cam snap rolls, use the old belt to put it back to where you want it. If it springs backwards when you are moving it back, best use a socket and ratchet to ever so slowly, little as possible nudge it clockwise. Slow as you can and it won’t snap roll. If you have the tool - great or not - so what. Slowly and it won’t roll or spin a bit. 3) Don’t take the plugs out, engine turns just fine. 4) I missed a wide pair of pliers for those bloomin rad hose clips. Horrible and getting the hoses disconnected. (See what I mean it’s the silly stuff again). 5) The electrical connectors were awful - took far too long and a pta (See silly stuff). Poor design. 6) Crank bolt if CORRECTLY torqued and not previously removed and replaced by a bloody gun, will be one of the easiest tasks on the planet. If it’s over torqued by a gun, you may need a gun to get it off. Or the starter method. I used the allen key in the flywheel and this, apart from my own idiocy on refitting, was the best way. Don’t use anything small...big as poss and you will be fine. My small allen key took a trip around the flywheel before luckily popping down to where I could retrieve it. 7) I read across the pond “yeh simple with a set of spanners” on removing the fan pulley bracket. There are fibs, fibs and well our friends across the pond. Should be simple but it is not. You have little clearance for the top 14mm bolt. Putting it back...tighten up beyond loose, nice and firm...grease up the 14mm’s a little and do those last. I used a small 1/4 drive ratchet and socket. A spanner is doable but use a cloth to protect your hands. That bolt has more turns that a comedian. 8) The electrical connector bracket attached to the fan bracket/ac pump is such a poor idea it beggars belief. Secured by x2 Phillips head small electrical bolts - they are well torqued and stuck and very difficult to get at. Best replaced by small hex headed nuts and not at such a torque. If you strip the toughest one to get at either don’t use the bracket next time around but secure the wiring differently (carefully of course and as or more securely) or cut the head with a hacksaw to accept a flat blade to give you greater leverage. Unbelievable. My 1/4 ratchet to the rescue with screwdriver blades inserted into a 1/4 socket. 9) You think you have researched, oh yes from all over the place. You think you are following the steps. You find yourself deluded/mistaken/over interpreting a single source say over the instructions. Or you lose your confidence. Or both. Hint: Fit the cambelt without the drop-down tensioner to the pulley fitted. I saw photos with it there...don’t pull the pin they said. Well the belt won’t fit with it in position. When the belt is on, that’s when you fit the tensioner and torque it’s bolts up evenly, sharing the turns. That belt will be so tight you’ll pull that pin expecting something to happen? The pin nearly falls out! Nil resistance! Sure obvious, I know. The Gates kit came with instructions...that bit I relied too little on them. 10) Thanks to posts from Lexus comrades, I had plenty of help and encouragement. Hammer and block of wood removes stuck inlet and water pump. That was great advice and gave the confidence to use apply considered and appropriate force. 11) It’s all the silly stuff that causes so much grief. 12) Don’t expect all the fan bracket bolts to fit flush...there’s one that does not! That’s the one that has to secure the plastic cover: left - centre...if you don’t have the cover in hand or to mind. 13) I was always advised that a thin bead of sealant is adequate for mating services. One of the best tutorials shown, has it slapped on like salad cream. When you are using a gasket anyway this does worry me. You want to preserve the olerances/clearances but most of all we don’t want sealant debris in our system. You can brush it flat with your finger (gloved) and remove the excess where you can. Thin bead is enough. 14) Personal preference: on new rubber seals I use silicone grease. Good for the rubber, seats the joint and sub aqua divers swear by it. 15) I know nothing. Different folk will find different challenges. If you are experienced, this will be a walk in the park. That’s how I would feel should I tackle the same project again. 16) OEM or not to OEM is your choice. There's plenty of reasonable to good quality after market to suit all budgets. That what it comes down to: budgets...with a bit of preference. These are sadly, service items...no good having a timeless part when all around it will be dead or failing in a few miles or years. When Lexi are classics and worth loads, that’s the time to fit OEM. 17) Definately refill the coolant via the hex nut at top front of the engine, it's slow and keep going until you fill the main bottle to a good level. Topping up thereafter is minimal and the level won't dive down and suck more air in! Pink is the new red: good quality OATS fluid is fine. It’s not helpful listening to single accounts of “this part from x failing after x and that part from y.” You would need the full comparative stats to even be able to assess the value/difference/reliability. There are poor batches, one off failures...or manufacture-wide failures, as we are all too aware of. I could not have done this without this Forum and the US Lexus forum where there are great and skilful enthusiasts, helping people like me do what we should probably not be doing...but doing it well and safely I am certain. The encouragement and following makes a big difference. Tools: my best friends were torque wrenches. My good old 1/2 drive socket set, 1/4 drive and assorted oddments that helped me problem solve. Bagging up bits and labelling is useful and does not take much time. Still what bolt goes where can be annoying especially at the final stages of putting it all back together. I’d do a faster job next time around!

January 1991 11 Months MOT 127k miles Full service history Not a single dent or scratch Not a great fan of the wheels, but they will get changed for Lexus ones soon.

Very pleased that she passed the MOT last week with no advisories. At 196,893 that's impressive. The tester said all was looking good, although the rear pads looked as though they would need replacing soon, and he suggested discs might be a good idea at the same time too. Blow me down, 5 days later the tyre wear warning pops up! I love this car. I'm doing my annual Hampshire - Versailles - Edinburgh - Hampshire trip this week so my local indie is doing the work this afternoon, he's handy as his workshop is 5 minutes walk from the allotment. Lexus Guildford parts quoted £205 incl 10% for LOC member, but when I asked if the pads included the sensor he said no. Add the sensor £266.39....... (£60) I'll let you know when I get the bill.

Sylm has an RX not a GS. There is no sport + mode, or AVS, or rotary switch To alter the ride height I believe you have to hold the button for about a second before it will respond.

RX doesn't have avs

About suspensions, you have to switch from Sport mode to Sport+ mode, moving clockwise one more time the mode knob. You should notice also a stiffer steering wheel.

I think I should reveal that my spectacles come from Shanghai. I'm envious. In late spring I searched for month for a good LS400 to no avail. Just don't tell me it has the tool kit & that the A/C works. Promise?

............. excellent result,a piece of superb engineering and a good life ahead and all for half banger money .. well done ............ must be worth all of that weighed in for scrap !! ( I'll wash my mouth with soap and water ! ) ... I wouldn't have hesitated to buy it, brilliant, you could possibly get £1500 for it now. Malc

Well done £500 cant go wrong. Enjoy. Mike.

500 quid!!! Next question how did you find out about it, was it advertized and if so where ?

Happy days! Congratulations on the car, she looks great.

Did you ply the seller with Scotch before you made an offer? LOL

It looks really good. enjoy !!

It made me look twice!

127K! its barely run in. I am soooooo jealious I might come and steal it

Age 68, and soon to get my first Lexus - currently drive Merc C-Class, 2 cars ago I had a Rover 75 - now that could be said to be an old man's car! BUT - my other car is in my avatar photo, a sports 3 wheeler, not a replica, but a tribute to the 1930s Morgan. Honda V-twin up front, red-lined at 9500 revs, sequential 5 speed box, all in all quite a bit of fun.......... Malcolm

Lovely motor You jammy sod. Where's it been hiding? £750 is my guess only because whoever sold it must either be about to die or they're an idiot and don't realize its true value which is on the up

Itll happen on most cars. If you wash the car a thin layer of rust will form on the brakes. When combined with a lot of water and sub zero temperatures, it tends to freeze pretty badly. Only happened once mind and that was because I left it for 3 weeks after washing with the parking brake on. It wont happen if the parking brake isnt on

When I bought my Mk 4 LS around 5 years ago, I spent ages trying out all the climate controls etc. for the past 4 and 3/4 years I've remained in "auto" and just set the temperature. She knows best.

Looks good Stu. :) He does nice work.

Probably my driving style then :/ I did drive it like I stole it. I loved the car, goes as well as you'd want in day to day driving and stops pretty good too

As Malc has said, here on the Continent the LS is a rare beast indeed. In the last 2 years I have seen one other 460 and a 400. I was in a bar the other day with some friends, who are all BMW owners. The conversation was all about which model and what extras they had. They asked me about the equipment on mine. I just smiled smugly and said that I had a Lexus LS - and there are no extras.......it comes complete :)

All real wood mate. The interior pictured is the 450h Premier with matt finish Bamboo wood, very nice looking. Still havent seen one on the road but saw one in the showroom, personally thought it looked a bit old school. Id say top trumps should go to the RX for outright presence. The grill itself is pretty intimidating and of course the triple LED headlights with the LED DRL's should be good. If you're looking for an F-Sport in Arctic Pearl, I may be able to hook you up when I buy the new one around November time next year :P

Seems a bit drastic, just to get some rust killer in place....

If a "family car" is defined, independently of considerations of space and adaptability, as one capable of withstanding a certain amount of abuse from its junior occupants, then the 300h does not IMO fit the bill. I have always looked after every car I have ever owned, but none has ever inspired the same level of fastidious- ness in me as does the 300h. The tiniest speck of dust or the merest suspicion of dirt somewhere in the cabin makes me reach for one of the four special-purpose cloths (for glass, leather, plastics and screens) I keep close to hand, these being additional to another set I keep in the boot for the car's exterior. The mere thought that the car's occupants could ever include kids in age-groups up to and including late adolescence with the concomitant risks of dirt and grime, solid or fluid, organic or otherwise, being deposited on any of the car's sleek and perfectly sanitized surfaces is therefore wholly abhorrent to me. Not that I am particularly fond of most adult passengers either, but this is not pertinent to the Topic under discussion.

There are 3 part numbers - 2 printed on the disc and another one printed on the box (this is the number you would normally use to order) The part number will normally be very close to your original disc. e.g. if you have 86271 24121 then the next one would be 86271 24122. If the numbers are completly different then it is probably for a different version of nav unit unless Toyota have changed their numbering.