ambermarine

I made a bush extractor for the removal of the trailing arm bushes from a piece of threaded rod and several washers and three nuts. There is a pic of it in the archives under trailing arm bush removal or renewal .

One can in the states but not likely here especially from Lexus.

Hi Roger I need to correct you the VSC system was introduced on the LS400 mark 4 and can be turned on and off.

Alan Snow mode was an application that set the gearbox in a fixed low gear this was to stop the wheels spinning it was not much use as the car tended to slide around with no steering control and the abs would interfere with the stopping effect of the brakes the abs could not be turned off on the early models that came in later with vsc.

Sounds like a chauffer driven car and most of the miles will be motorway.

The answer to that is the UCA front on the LS400 is non servicable and new bushes cannot be bought and even if they could there is no way of inserting them. I had the problem on My Mark 1 of worn top hub connection bush and after much research and trying second hand from the states gave up and purchased them from Lexus. Reports on this forum suggest aftermarket refurbed units failed after short lives. The trailing arm bushes on the rear are servicable and I did a photo topic which is in the archives on that project I even made my own extraction tool and that was a succesful outcome.

Interesting info as this part is not quoted as a replacement on any brake suppliers sites but is by Lexus .Lexus spacer.pdfLexus spacer.pdfLexus spacer.pdfLexus spacer.pdf

You will probably end up with a requirement for a Auto electricians input as the wiring diagram for these cars are very difficult to source unless you are prepared to shell out for the Lexus LS400 manual (electrical).If you have tested everything at source and the problem is now in the electrical innards of the car it is going to be very difficult to find the fault without a illimination programme of possible causes.

My attitude and input as helped a lot of members over fifteen years on this forum and also contributed to a lot of solutions to problems the last person to call my car a barge is now regretting it because he had just bought a BMW and that coined the phrase "box made for #ankers". just saying.

Reffering to the Lexus LS400 as an old Barge is sure to make you lots of friends on this forum think carefully what you write.

The consensus of advice on airbags is not to mess with them in any way they are lethal outside of their safe environment and proper insallation . The liklehood of you getting anyone at a dealership or independant to mess with this scenario is zero so my take on it is put your old seat back in and stay safe.

The alternator should output around 14.3v to battery with no load if you are dropping to 11 volts with ancillaries on there is a fault with one of them either a bad ground or a faulty circuit within a individual unit. connect a voltmeter on the postive and negative poles of the battery and check the drop in voltage as each ancillary is switched on another other check is to connect a wire from your alternator ground connection to the engine to make sure your ground connection is ok check the voltage at the battery when you have this connection in place. The battery will be reading around 11.5 volts when all your ancillaries are on as none of the power from the alternator will be charging it and some load will be taken from it.

Hi Guys Check this out and if you have a pre 98 Lexus you can't use E10 Lexus say ,a 2006 LS 460 version is also suspect as well as some other models that are not LS. ACEA_E10_compatibility.pdf

Looks like they are part of the retaining spring and pin mechanism and should be imovable, looks like an exchange is called for as it is unlikely those parts are available.

If you feel the integrity of the calipers as been compromised just exchange them for refurbished as a core unit ,the refurbishers will take care of any missing bits on yours before they sell them again.

Short answer is no,there was a switch to dvd in the ls430 but even that had a short update life and the LS400 was cd and had no updates . I use mine to take me to the general vicinity but depending on what that is the kind lady will politly bail on you thereabouts.

I replaced the brake fluid on mine a couple of weeks ago and to be honest the fluid was pretty clean and so were the nipples which loked like the rubber boot had never been off . A retired garage owner friend helped me with the pedal pushing and was amazed the condition of the fluid after twenty years. I cannot say it as been in that long but it as never had a Lexus service for that long so it could have been.I did find the brakes a tad more keen after the job and there was some air in the system when we did the expulsion of old fluid. The fluid changes on the Lexus service schedule are aimed at worst case scenario of wear and tear of moving parts and of course time, but I change my oil every two years because I do less than 4k a year and the car as done 43k so I won't be changing the transmission fluid as it is as pink as a baby's bum and smells like new.

It might have been Doc Martin.

The Mark 4 towing eyes are on each side of the car below and behind the lower valance they are in fact the tie down shipping anchors and a similar pair or bolted onto the rear crash bar. The issue when using these hooks is the towing vehicle height and the angle of tow rope/bar, if the tow rope/bar is anchored too high on the towing vehicle it will rip into the bumper and damage it . If anyone as to be towed backwards or forwards make sure this factor is checked and do not let the operator tow the vehicle with the wrong angle in situ. Ideally the car should be transported if it as broken down as the transmission could be stuck in gear and will be very badly damaged should it be towed in gear. The early Lexus LS400 had screw in towing eyes that screwed into the front of the chassis and were kept in the boot when not in use, there is still a compartment moulded in to the boot insert but no eye was issued because there is no provision to fit one to the car. I presume Lexus felt the best recovery method was by flat bed lorry.

Unless the mats in the boot are lead lined the suspension is suspect.

I bought two strutts year and half ago off a chinese site and they came within three weeks quick fit and still working great £25.

Yes i think you are spot on, avoid !

George Check out www. toyodiy.com you will get the correct part numbers for your particular model with vin or year input. You can then look for them in numerous places here and abroad.

Paul If you go to www.toyodiy.com and key in your vin number or year it will go to the exact parts list and identification of parts numbers for the car It does not show diagrams but it is easy to find those elsewhere and identify the part name.

This is raising serious questions about what the various marks can tow or not tow if one looks at the Watling price list they do not quote beyond 98 on the 400 and only the 2003 version of the 430, all very confusing.