ambermarine

Well the problem this guy on the video had was self inflicted, you should always check the parts before placing them on the vehicle and he knew he was placing an incomplete part on the car . If he had waited until the part arrived before stripping the old part the customer would not have been put in the position of a bad fix in the first place. Online companies deal in logistics and are not partco men who traipse off to the stores as they did in the19 50s/60s and leave you chatting to a calender on the wall for half an hour while they look for your part. if you have not experienced that scenario I can tell you done properly buying parts online is the best experience if you follow the correct procedure.

Yes Paul I am working on it , the struts I bought from China are identical to those in the video same fixing method

Have just fitted new replacement gas struts to my Mark 4 ,they came from China and are not as well engineered as the oem originals but at £20 for the pair I thought I would take a punt. There is a bit of engineering involved in the fitting but no problem if you have a Dremel and cutting discs for same. The original ball sockets have to be cut into to release a circlip so the swivels can be clipped into the replacement strut which is simple to do. The process of removing the old strut requires the bonnet held in its highest position with a solid prop ,unscrewing the ball with a spanner from the body and bonnet. Take the strut to the workbench and remove the ball from the ball socket by cutting across the edge of the socket so the clip is cut remove the clip and the ball comes out of the socket . refasten the balls to the bonnet and body and the new struts just clip on with a push fit.

On the subject of replacement parts Paul frost has contacted me he as two new Mark 4 LS400 s in for dismantling one being a DHP green and the other red if you are looking for any parts.

The same way the transmission fluid is changed, take out a basting syringeful from the reservoir and replace with new syringeful. When you start it will be black when you have put about 2 litres of new fluid in it will be nearly pink or red but it will be 85% new. Much better than any additives.

Why did you not just change over the power steering fluid it will change around 90% using the method you used to put in the additive . I did mine last autumn and used around two litres to get it back to pink.

Yes the garage man is correct 5X 120, prior to the 460 all the LS range going back to 1989 were 5X114.3.

Yes Stuart I had forgotten about the pump and alt, its that long ago they were the most expensive of the niggles yet cheap to fix with a new o ring in the pump I discovered later. I got my replacement pump off Freddy Starr's Ls400 which he wrote off on the M6 when he rolled it ,that was'nt funny at the time.

I had one Phil and it lasted me 16 years but it was not as well built as the Mark 4 very susceptible to rust around the rear mudguards and arches the brakes were not as good and the ride was very spongy .There were also electronic display issues which have disappeared on the Mark 4 There is a 10 year gap of production improvement up to the Mark 4 mainly based on customer feedback so the mark 4 should be better.

Pete this is exactly the same as my Mark1 turned out although the hole was more in the centre of the front part of the arch. The same result though and eventual rotting of the cill,I glassed my cills and epoxied the mudguard and it survived until I sold the car. I think I need to go and buy me some Dinitrol.

I do not think you will get a warranty with that mileage anywhere ,if you do it will be full of onerous conditions and will cost a fortune.

I agree with some of the comments the colour is wrong and the wheels are wrong the price to someone who believes these are future classics is about right and if anyone wishes to dispute that point find me another in that condition apart from mine which as only 38k on the clock. Malc your comment about being used depends on the user I have no reason to use mine other than a couple of times a week and maybe the odd trip down south twice a year. I have put about the same amount of miles on mine in five years that the previous owner put on in 14 years and it has'nt made any difference to how the car runs or behaves and apart from new pads on the front it and timing belt it as had no replacement parts regards consumables . I concede that putting it in a garage and bringing it out when the sunshines is not ideal but any other type of light use does not affect these cars.

The exercise was certainly a success as your idling speed should be at 650rpm on the vvti engine and the variables you experienced at various stages up to that was the results of the engine ecu learning the output from the engine after you had cleaned the throttle.

As I understand it Limp mode is a pre- determined engine rpm for a low gear ratio when a fault occurs in the autobox to stop further damage by changing gears . If you have converted the drive to manual the the engine ecu as been confused because its getting conflicting signals or no signal at all from a defunct auto gearbox.

Well done for making the effort and taking the time to photograph the process . look forward to the next installment. .

This scenario occurred on my Mark 1 the skins on the inside of the mudguards are very thin and the stone chips piercing the metal are not spotted because the factory applied underseal conceals them .On my Mark 1 rust bubbles appeared on the wheel arches next to the seat as early as the car being six years old. We pumped in gallons of waxoyl and that cured it for the cavities in that location but eventually ten years later the cills rusted through on the bottom and end of the rear door location both sides this became a mot advisory and required welding. I thought the issue had been resolved by the time the Mark 4 arrived , but from your experience looks like another good looking at is required. There is a rubber bung just inside the line of the cill at the rear in the chassis which if removed gives access to the inside of the chassis cavity. Rubbing about inside with your finger will feel any damp and rust, it is also a good access point to pump in waxoyl although this process for the whole of the cill is easier done by removing tread plates on the door cill. As for the sunroof drains causing rot in the ventilation wells it is a myth ,they are designed to drain from there.

I have stated my case and stand by what I have said.

Cannot understand your point The Lexus ls400 is a luxury sedan with a 4 litre V8 engine with a uncomplicated drive system that as plenty of torque designed to get you up to a safe speed in the shortest most fuel efficient way possible. Your video example shows exactly the opposite a tyre screech at the start heavy acceleration burning gallons of fuel and for what to beat that boy racer I mentioned earlier. The thrust of my reason for not redlining the tacho is that the speed limit is likely to be broken lets agree to disagree.

You are not being practical The first gear slot is for special circumstances ,why would you redline a tacho when trying to drive slowly.Rocket science by the way is pretty straight forward.

I don't think I have ever red lined either of My 400s ,in any gear the car would be breaking the speed limit.I can,t agree with you as the car is an automatic by the time you have redlined the tacho in normal gear increments in any gear you will have gone past 70mph. The ls400 is well capable of 70mph in 2nd gear and is only doing 1950 rpm in top at 70mph or are you just revving it up at the lights when a boy racer turns up.

I don't think I have ever red lined either of My 400s ,in any gear the car would be breaking the speed limit.

Phil Check around the covers on the camshafts, the seal on the Vti camshaft seems to be a suspect that did'nt occur on the earlier non Vti engine.

Hi Mark There is a site online "Febest Autoparts" that quotes that part as TGB-JZS160 to fit Toyota and others it is listed as a fit for all the 430s Comes in at 12 euros and free shipping within Europe and the UK.

Update Received quote for the part this morning and it is available at a fraction of the cost of a UK sourced replacement.

Welcome to the forum George That is a nice looking example and you are obviously clued up to the techs of these wonderful cars if you need any advice or guidance this forum as it all both in members experience and archive material. Enjoy your gem.