ambermarine

Howard thanks for linking the terminal guide it is a useful bit of kit.

OK Howard thanks for the update.

Howard Forgive me if I sound a bit confused here but the connections will be made before you present this plug to the binnacle or am I missing something.

Howard To go back to the soldering method have you considered the combined heat shink / solder tube .I have seen these used and they are very effective . Simply place both wires in the tube then heatgun the tube the solder melts and the tube shrinks creating a sterile joint if you use the correct narrow nozzle on the heat gun you will be able to precisely connect each wire without affecting others if you shield each wire.

Yes Stuart same experience on my Mark 1 (Leaking steering pump) driving down the M8 Glasgow city centre and managed to get off at slip road just round the corner from Arnold Clark who had the Lexus franchise in those days. Tow truck for a mile and then a two day wait whilst they fitted a new alternator, not very good I think that is why they lost the franchise in Scotland

Years back my Mark 1 was serviced by Lexus in the first two years of my ownership ,the fuel filter change came up in the service schedule and the service manager said they reserved the right to not touch it as the unions were corroded and from experience knew it was a nightmare.I reluctantly agreed and eventually forgot about it, the car eventually did 180k and I never had any trouble with the filter. Just to be clear I am not advocating the omission of service requirements but if you know the history of your car and have never put derv or bad petrol in mixed with water etc then the filter should be fine and there is a filter on the fuel pump .

Hi Peter When you eventually get this part I would give it plenty of anti corrosion paint before putting it on the car or you might be doing it again in a couple of years.

Hi Peter Looks to me that Lexus don't build em like they used to that is very disappointing .I would suggest the the only place to source because it is part of the Exhaust is Lexus.

Hi Go to the Lexus UK website and there is a department that deals with this . It is not a dealership it is the Official Base Of Lexus UK Go to the owners section and scroll down to conformity.

Thats the trouble with LS400 owners we are all perfectionists, remember the promotion phrase "in pursuit of perfection".

The way I got round these type of scratches was to get down on both sides of the scratch to the primer which is were yours is then feather in the base colour with a scratch pen until it was just proud of the original lacquer.Then sand down with the 3000 grit or a very thin 3M compound,then lacquer and compound until it blends then polish. I did ok on the Mark 1 which was Burgundy, fortunately I have'nt had any scratches on the Mark 4.

The only caveat I would add to Howard's statement is how bad is the rust and where is it. The underside maybe in a very bad way and from the pics the doors look bad and the 400 is not a car you want to be trying to botch with body filler on the panels. My red line would be rust in more than three panels ,doors and excessive rust on the subframe at the rear.

Hi Paul With regard to the finished surface of the lip and the use of sealant . The main issue for this area is collection of dirt and the subsequent moisture it retains when wet the best finish is a smooth surface as it is as the moment so any dirt is washed off in the regular use and a quick hose down every time the car is washed.

Stick them on ebay,they are as rare as rocking horse pooh ,make sure they are on sale worldwide.

Hi Paul I could get into a long discussion on how good the West System is with all of its products from filling compounds and bead systems it is by far superior to most other systems but as you discovered not cheap which is why you really need to use it .I have used other cheaper systems on commissioned projects supplied by the client and the results have been very varied in application and end results.

Hi Paul I have owned several yachts over the years and also worked around boats in marinas and found epoxy a great material for the repair work on hulls and superstructure. A mistake a lot of people make is using new fibreglass on old it does not key properly and eventually the bond will fail ,epoxy will bond to most surfaces and as a good flow rate meaning it gets into all the nooks and crannies expelling air voids its tensile strength is also vastly superior to fibreglass resin.

I have a story to add here that may throw some light on the subject .When my aerial failed on my Mark 1 I took the assembly out along with a relay that was fastened to the aerial frame assuming this had something to do with the aerial motors . I fitted a aftermarket aerial and forgot about the incident, two years later the MOT guy was trying to figure out why the rear fog lights did'nt work . After a few minutes he gave up and I had a fail we got out the Lexus wiring manual which I had for that car and traced the fault to a missing relay,I then located the old aerial and took off the relay plugged it in to the wiring and the lights came on. Two results came out of this incident the MOT station in question missed those lights not working twice and I learned never assume anything with Lexus engineering.

There are no grease nipples on the LS400 period.

The perverse side of these two Lexus models I have owned . The Mark 1 1990 I bought in 1996 and it cost me £19k one owner 50k on the clock. New £32000 owned 18 years The Mark 4 1998 I bought when it was 13 years old and it cost me £4k one owner with 19k on the clock New £56000 owned 6 years The variances are enormous but the Mark 4 is better so there is no sense to the cost of buying or owning these vehicles. I know one thing the Mark 1 had 190k when I sold it and it went for £600 so it did not owe me anything as I wrote the cost off through Tax in my Business. The Mark 4 I think I owe it a few bob.

This is what my 1990 ls400 looked like when it was 20 years old

The wheels look like DHP if so the centre caps are worth a hundred pound also there are parts within that will still have a value. If you have plenty of room and places to store the parts for £200 you get an education and some parts for a decent project.

Hi Paul Its green coded as 6P7 goes under different names worldwide, did not care for it when I bought the car as my previous Mark 1 was maroon but it as grown on me.

Howard I agree with you on the scuttle plate drains and this is why I was concerned as to how water was getting in to the top of the bulkhead and contaminating such a large area with corrosion. If water was getting in somewhere surely the water would run down a specific path in a localised manner not spread itself all over the metal work.It is a conundrum and your discovery of standing water in the scuttle plate may have led to a leak through the seal at the bottom of the screen and this as got into the sound insulation material on the inside of the bulkhead which would act as a sponge . The fact you have determined regarding the floor integrity looks to have excluded the possibility the car as been submerged at some time and that is good news as treating that is virtually impossible. You are obviously on top of the situation and your work so far is worth the rewards you are getting ,keep it up.

Howard Yes it is a double skin with the cavity filled with soundproofing material but it still as a fair area of open space.

Hi Howard One source of investigation would be the cavity between the floor if you remove the oblong rubber bungs in the chassis just forward of the wheel arch at the back door there is enough room to place your fingers inside and feel what the surface is like it should be smooth and rust free. If it is wet or rusty It would point towards the cavity between the floor panels being filled with water at some time. Another way of checking is to remove the cill rocker plates this gives an even easier access to the cills and floor cavity and can be inspected visually, again this area should be clean and dry and lightly spray painted in the body colour.