ambermarine

I have never come across a failed or knocking steering shaft being reported on this forum in twenty years. I agree with Malcolm get another inspection of the steering setup and all of the bushes and joints associated with it.

Hi Jack Don't buy a new one yet, I took mine out after buying a new one from Lexus £90 and stripped it down it is a common fault on the 97- 2000 . The cause is over indulgence of lubricating grease and this migrates onto the contact points and causes power cuts . The switch is easy to strip down and clean the grease off . The hardest part is getting at the damn thing.

I know you can get them done in the States for around £250 but I do not know of anyone in the UK who offer the service apart from Lexus who I believe charge around £350 for new programmed keys. There is little point in not having it programmed as your security is compromised and that will affect the car insurance. There is a company in the Midlands who may be able to advise you on a local company to you www.panickeys.com

Interesting remarks regarding the indicar development on the engine and its initial design criteria is it a myth or was the engine derived by Toyota for race cars and then developed for the LS400 by the F1 team.

Yes Vlad ,but someone as to pay for the marble tiled showroom and pretty receptionist and all those suits running about looking busy.

To be honest the service schedule on Lexus models is 90 percent checking the various moving parts and consumables. I have never had either of my two LS400s over 24 years serviced by Lexus I have had a cambelt change which the tech ballsed up and cost the dealership over a grand in new parts . I do my own servicing and brakes I also change out fluids in the trans and brakes .The stated tasks are not beyond anyone with a grasp of simple mechanics and will save a fortune in labour and vat . I use recommended oils and parts and follow the service items in the service schedule apart from the fact I change the oil and filter every two years as it take me that long to do 9k miles, I regularly check the underside for any rust at the same time checking the suspension, obviously I wait for the better weather to complete those tasks. My service schedules are signed off by me and I know that means nothing in terms of credibility for resale but as that is not a option it just keeps me up to date.

With regard to the issue on leaking coolant and transmission mix within the radiator of certain Lexus models it could be that those issues are in part caused by the coolant itself. It as been said that Lexus insist on Toyota red because they are making a killing on the price, this is nonsense the mix of coolant is very specific to the reaction of metals that are in the engine and cooling system and to that end any deviation from the science is likely going to cause issues. It seems pertinent that the issue occurring in the LS430 were to say the least in a minority which points to a cause outside of manufacturing tolerances and is probably why Lexus did not acknowledge there was a design or product fault. It cannot be emphasised enough how important it is to adhere to the specs issued for coolant in the LS range.

Yes George As you say water coming out not vapour as in a combustion engine just as the water comes from an exhaust at first start up as the heat of the exhaust system is not yet warm enough to turn the water to vapour.I agree that the water will need to be collected somehow because there will be volumes of dribbles as you quaintly put it.

☹️ Only downside is the water emissions with hundreds of thousands of the type on the roads the surface will be constantly wet if not flooded.

Before you refit the plastic trims spray the lips with dinotrol or waxoyl as the pressure washer will remove some of the old protecter.

Looks like you have it ready for you254393856634 hub.html

The gearbox transmission fluid is not designed to run at cold tempratues and one reason why the transmission fluid is run through the cooling fluid radiator is to warm it up quickly and reach the optimum viscocity for the clutch plates the early LS400 would not kick down on flooring the accelerator until the engine was near to running temp and was sluggish at start up in cold weather. If the drive is sluggish when the engine temp is normal you have a problem with your transmission fluid try and get it renwed if it is past 100k miles use.

Think about this way its approx a tenth of the price when new and it looks like new.

My mark 1 was burgandy and it was a lovely colour but was nothing like the one depicted in this topic.

Never done in that colour in any of the series, factory colours history is available online and that is not on there and it is a mark 4. 97-2000

They had an automatic choke and you could take out the aluminium engine in ten minutes and wheel it away in a shopping trolley.

Two Yuasa batteries in seven years and the second one as done four still going strong and fits exactly in the mark 4, best price at the time and guaranteed three years .I dont expect to get more than that from any battery these days if I do its a bonus.It is on a maintanence intelligent charger when the car is idle which helps to prevent the plates sulphating, the main cause of battery deaths.

Very good write up with one incorrect submission the dash mounted cd player was not available in 89 it came in series 2. Prior to that it was located in the boot and you needed long arms and two pairs of them to change the 6 disc cassete whilst driving.

The difference here is thirty years on from when Lexus introduced their flagship model is that the LS400 was better than what was available and a lot cheaper this is cheaper but it is way off better in fact for a luxury brand its a bit tacky .

Just to put a myth to bed here the methane that a bovine animal emits is from the mouth because the digestive system excretes waste matter from the rear and the gases are expelled from the first and second stomach back to the mouth as the contents are regurgated to be chewed again(cud).

With that colour of upholstery the original colour would have been blue or green maybe but that is not the original and could be a wrap.

The figures you have quoted are from enviromentalists and a electricity producer in the UK who is trying to use sustainable carbon friendly fuels but they only show part of the problem and are very much inclined towards the green lobby. I have no doubt that the LS produces more carbon than a EV but that is because there is a thirty year time lapse in technology,aside from that It is still one of the cleanest vehicles in its class and turns out a lot less polution than later diesel and petrol vehicles. The recycling factor is not shown in these figures and niether is the ongoing consumables that EV 's will require such as tyres and new batteries. This is a interesting debate and will tax the minds of many a individual over the coming decade and I for one see the march of the EV as a inevitable conclusion to the burning of fossil fuels but it is not without its negatives.

I wrote a comment on this subject a few years ago when the question was first raised,it is a safe estimate that even destroying(recycling) the car creates a bigger carbon footprint than the footprint of its use is over a 4k miles per annum for ten years based on the emmisions the LS400 has. So the carbon footprint of replacing with an eco friendly car does not even figure in calculations because it is massive just from the manufacturing angle. The downside for us who own these vehicles is that some academic being paid by the green lobby will produce figures that eventually will pursuade our politicians that compulsory scrapping of all large petrol engined cars (just because they are) is the way forward.

The yellow fog lights were fitted to the mark1 1989 Launch model in the Uk and were more effective than the white ones.