ambermarine

Roy I refer you to the thread you started on the steering pump for an answer.

Graham First of all having been a taxi driver back in the late 60s I have a intimate knowledge of the requirements of the vehicle. I can assure you that the LS400 is not old and in terms of the reliable quota it is more reliable than the LS430 it as less that goes wrong. The issues you will have are more about economy and to all intents and purposes the two models are expensive to operate on fuel as the Mark 4 Lexus 400 and the 430 have the same engine other than an extra 299 ccm . If you were able to collect premium tariffs for the extra luxury I would go for it but as you are unlikely to circumvent the local authority regs on the tariffs I doubt the use of the cars as a taxi are outweighed by fuel costs. But if you want to build up a regular client base who enjoy premium travel and you want go home after a shift not realizing you have been working then go for it.

Additional or optional lights may be a loophole but the proximity of the fog light is a cause for concern , clause" f " . The way to resolve the question is to go to your test station and ask .

The daylight running lights situated were the fog light cluster is might run foul of the Mot testing station.there is certain criteria on light placements and their function on the vehicle. I would do some research on this idea before taking it on.

Roy I fitted a steering pump to Mark 1 and that took about an hour the alternator being just below is probably 10 minutes as access is easy with the steering pump out.

Hi Dusan Looking at those underbody photo's I must say I have never seen corrosion as bad as that on any Lexus. It looks like it as been driven through seawater,you need to get the wire brush in action and some preventitive coating such as Dinitrol or Waxoyl on that subframe as soon as possible.

It should read between 13.8 volts and 14.2 volts at 2000 rpm if it is charging the battery, before you start changing the alternator put another battery on the car and recheck the voltage because the battery could be on its way out and taking a limited charge . The way to check the alternator is using a multimeter place the positive red probe on the alternator positive terminal and the black negative probe to a earth on the car not the alternator case. That way you take out the battery influence and get a true alternator output reading.

The blocked drain is a problem at the front as the accessability to these drains is difficult to say the least the drain is fed through the corner above the windscreen into a plastic pipe which exits in the crush bar inside the front wing and the water drains out of the liner in the wheel well. I have to say that the overflow from the tray when braking or parked with front sloping down would cause water to run into the body of the windscreen area or even drip into the cabin via the roof lining,how it would migrate into the door frame is beyond credibility. Any water ingress to the door mirror surround and the tweeters would likely come through the window seal,or the seal to the mirror fixing.

There is a workshop manual procedure for removal of the mirror on the LS400 which I believe is the same on the 430. Get a strong rag and insert from the bottom and get up behind the mirror so it is equal on both sides and pull upwards and outwards at the same time with equal pressure on both sides. this does remove the mirror and mirror back frame from the mirror internal chassis.

Thanks for that ,I reverted to a K&N drop in filter as a replacement for the Lexus filter when I bought my Mark 4 it had 20k on the clock then so I was intent on getting a filter for the lifetime of the car. I have done 15k in 4 years and had no problems with any of the issues you have experienced but as you say its a drop in filter and I have not cleaned it or oiled it. There will be some difference in air intake through the Maf if oil is applied to these filters but it should be short lived if the correct oil is used.

Can you show me some evidence of that statement regarding K&N air filter.

Hi Phil Love the mods .K&N air filter and a outboard motor fitted to the front end, brilliant.

There is no need to remove the under tray ,I take off the front nearside wheel which gives access to the oil filter by removing two screws from the plastic vented horizontal screen, one under tray screw and the oil filter is easily removed.pulling down on the under tray below the oil filter allows any oil escaping from the filter to drain into the tray or plenty of old rag will soak up the oil. The car is canted to the drivers side with the jacking up so all the oil runs out of the sump plug which is accessible on the drivers side, this does involve some rolling about on the ground but not as much trouble as removing the under tray.

Hi Max This is a link from a clubLexusus member who had your problem; Gauge cluster removal - 1998 LS400 - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion.html

First of all there is always a lip on the outside edge of the discs this is caused by the wearing down of the face of the disc by application of the brakes and the pad taking off the metal over time. The cause is probably a wheel bearing starting to fail as the sound is present when loading is applied to the bearing,from your description it is the front nearside

Hi Steve here is the sequel http://www.evansweb.info/2009/11/22/ls400-centre-console-illumination-repair-part-2

http://www.evansweb.info/2009/11/15/ls400-centre-console-illumination-repair-part-1 Hi Steve Care to try this.

Take off the belt anyway that way you can identify weather it is the cambelt tensioners or the ancillaries

It might be the water pump and if it is you could lose your cambelt if it seizes,take off the serpentine belt and if the noise stops it could be any of the ancillaries or tension pulleys. If it is still whining then your water pump is failing This happened to me many moons ago on my Mark 1.

Max Just google "remove combination meter from Lexus ls400 mark 4" several links come up for instructions. If your Lexus is a 98 its a Mark 4

Max There are numerous instrument repairers on line who do this kind of repair to different vehicle makes but will normally expect you to send the dial cluster which means removing it from the car . The forum archives and the american US Lexusowners forum have tutorials on these procedures.but you need to be competent and have the confidence to take these tasks on otherwise leave well alone or you will get in a mess. If you don't feel you can take on this task look for a repairer close to you and ask them if they will take out the instrument cluster they may have that service but you will probably have to leave the car with them.

The needle on the rev counter as failed and will require a strip down of the combination meter to rectify it ,there are numerous options in the forum archives. The temperature gauge is probably a loose connection caused by your remedial action and can be fixed when you take out the instrument cluster.

I have a 38k 400 mark 4 and would not sell it at any price the graveyard plot is already booked for me and the car.

The Lexus franchises have a no return policy,when you order it you own it.