ambermarine

Just following up on Steves excellent review on clarifying the series by reference to the gear change lever layout,I was informed at the time of stepped mechanism introduction by my then techy at Lexus that the change was brought about due to customer feedback in the US. The problem was that drivers were by accident knocking the lever into 2nd gear at high speeds and causing tailspins and brown on white underwear. I had a couple of times this happened bearing in mind it was possible to reach 100mph in second gear.

Thanks for that clarification Steve, I have followed info that up with a visit to "Lextreme" and they have some very interesting views on the tuning specs for the LS engines through the years up to 06 .It seems the con rods on the series one were the sturdiest they built ,after that engine was upgraded in 95 the con rods have gone weaker and are nowhere near as strong as the first engine. This reinforces my view that the first LS400 was the best Lexus ever built from a quality viewpoint.

Denis The Mark 1 Lexus LS400 89-92 was non interference I had the only one known to fail 10k after renewal at 130k but the cause of failure was the water pump seizing . And the fix for me at the time 2003 was £800 Lexus Glasgow which at that time was Arnold Clark and whilst my car was in I saw a lot of his private collection of vintage cars passing through for checks etc. All Lexus engines after the 92 year were interference.

Those bushings were available for the Ls400 and could be bought on ebay and shipped but inserting them into the arm was the hard part even harder was getting the old ones out and we built a special device, but that was 14 years ago and is now shrouded in the mists of time. The issue you will have buying from the suppliers in the states is they will not be able to coralate your vin number as they have no database for cars sold outside the US this then complicates the length required for the trailing arm for your car. I am afraid you will probably have to source those at a Lexus dealership here in the UK.

The trailing arms are the 48710 and 48720 part no,s, but looking at the pics the lower control arm looks very suspect. 48730 and 48740. Make sure when sourcing these parts you give the vin number as the trailing arms have different lengths depending on type of suspension

Allan There is no point in putting second hand units on, they will be worn and the problem may get worse. Google the Japanese car spares sites .

Allan Looking at that pic I would say your problem is identified. We changed the bushing back then with a tool we made to extract the old bushing and inserted a new bushing bought in the USA It is now more economical to buy the complete trailing arm with new bushings on both ends as after market suppliers are now supplying at reasonable prices.

Allan Check out all the suspension bushes on the rear with a close look at the trailing arm bushes on the body fastening if you can wiggle the arm at all the bush is very worn, the fastenings are under compression at all times so they will look tight even if worn. I had this issue on my Mark 1 Ls400 and it turned out to be the trailing arm bushing both sides completely shot in the end but by that time I was getting vibration at certain speeds. The clunk sound was identical to your description. The suspension on the LS430 is updated but the components are similar

I would go back to the DVLA and ask them to give you a path out of this scenario ,There is a procedure that was used for vehicles that were either kit cars or vehicles with no original registration history that was known as "Q"registration and the vehicle after an inspection by VOSA and all the particulars noted a unique Q reg is issued basically giving the car a new registration preceded with the letter Q.

Archie The first registration date will also be held by LEXUS and can be verified through the vin , contact Lexus UK in their UK HQ office and they should be able to help. Are the DVLA saying there is no record of a V5C which is the registration certificate within the UK. The EU as similar first registration criteria but a different document is issued within each country . If you can get the first registration date and where it was done you should be able to get a duplicate from that locality.

I have noticed recently whilst using car parks for the first time in 20 years that the spaces are now very much smaller, they seem to be catering mainly for what the americans call a compact,less than 3metres long . The danger is is very obvious in multi storey car parks and the Lexus LS400 really sticks out over the line in those.

Denis Thats it, made by Johnson the family company in the US ,believe me it works. The 6 ounce spray bottle that is nearly £12 is the one I have still got the Walmart label at $4.40. I used to bring 12 aerosol cans back for friends and family every year until aerosol ban on hold luggage came in at US airports 2015.

Yes Denis a problem for those that are very vunerable to midge bites and react to them badly ,I have seen several anti- midge potions used including Nivea lotion but the one that worked 100% is "Off" which is not available in the UK and is sold in the USA it contains Deet and was developed for the US army during the Vietnam war.

I think those insects on the beach could have been sandflies or midges that shipped in on the Waverly

Malc Having spent the last 15 years in Argyll in a rural area I have in depth knowledge on Midges ;The females are the only biters they will not appear in bright sunlight and cannot cope with winds above 5 knots, they are most active around dusk especially in wooded areas. There life cycle is 24 hours and they start retreating around mid September.

Hi Stuart I have this type of steering wheel as standard on my Mark 4 I am not sure if that was the first time it appeared or weather it was fitted to the mark 3. The paddles are for operating the readout on the dash for such things as average fuel consumption time since last fill up average speed etc. The wooden steering wheel was an option on the Mark 4.

The Salesman is obviously a Lexus independent pre-owned merchandiser and by the sounds of it started his career in a Lexus dealership. To that end he is a Lexus for life man, having spent a lot of time in the states I have noticed the attitude of the recent generation to Japanese products welcoming in contrast to their fathers and grandfathers who would not go near or condone the presence of anything Japanese due to the second world war . These days its all about reliability and the Lexus although it is the leading import luxury car it is one of many asian models now sold in the states. The traditional US models such as Ford GM and Chevy have upped their game but in quality terms still lag behind.

Sorry Gents I have misled you all, the charcoal canister and associated parts are quoted in models from 94 onwards in the toydiy as" Q " says the Mark 4 as it above the fuel tank but I know on the Mark 1 it was not fitted there as I stripped a Mark 1 to the body shell. I think it might have been hidden below the front bumper below the offside headlight.

The charcoal canister was not fitted to UK Models of the LS400 as the requirement for preventitive fuel vapour emissions here is not as stringent as the California statute. They were only fitted to USA imports . The workshop manuals are based on USA imports as you can see from the diagrams they are left hand drive and have double A/C radiator fans which UK models did not have,also the brake servo and fluid reservoir is on the left.

John Sounds like a fuel pressure problem there was a member who had all kinds of problems with acceleration and engine revs which after trying every possible avenue over a four year period turned out to be a clamp on the fuel filter inlet that had been left in place after a service . I suggest you check your fuel filter Its at the rear just in front of the nearside rear wheel or if not there up over the differential. If you have never changed it it as never been changed in the last 15 years.

The warranty issue is something I had no problem with on my Mark1 back in 96. The dealer who sold me the car was a independent and he put a twelve month warranty on the car which I paid for in the purchase price. On delivery I took it to the Lexus dealership were I lived at the time and they found a sticking caliper that was replaced on warranty six months later the second gear solenoid failed that was done under the warranty including the vehicle pick up. Then a week before the warranty expired the security on the keys failed and that was replaced at significant cost. I did a rough calculation on the cost of these fixes and they amounted to just short of three grand at that time. The renewal of the warranty was never taken up as it was quite expensive. and subsequent failure of components did not occur so it was a good deal. I suggest anyone purchasing a new to them car should always ask for a comprehensive warranty as part of the deal even if they have to top it up to get comprehensive no quibble results.

Dave There is a jiggle procedure comprising door open closing multiple switch pressing etc,Take a look on the USowners forum I think it is there somewhere.

Malc Genearal motors had a stake in the Opel motor co during the 1920s and took full control in 1931 and like Toyota ,Opel started life as a textile machine manufacturer.

Hi Steve Your Celsior and the Soarers were the only engines fitted with hydraulic fans on the V8 ls400 engines they work through a pump within the fan hub that creates pressure using the fluid from the power steering reservoir ,this pressure engages a clutch that is activated via a thermo switch. The Lexus LS400 is fitted with a standard mechanical expansion type clutch that engages or releases as the temperature of the engine rises or falls. The fan runs on engine start up because there is no resistance to the blades the clutch is designed to operate if the car is stationary as the car makes forward motion the airflow coming through the radiator stalls the fan because until the engine temperature reaches its ideal economical level extra cooling of the rad is not required .If the engine starts to overheat the clutch on the fan expands the fan starts to operate and creates more airflow through the rad.

Steve Yes it was for the Aircon. The early ls400s for the UK market had one fan on the drivers side the two fan versions were US ,Asia and OZ. They dropped the fan on the Mark 4 as it was not required in the cooler UK and they had improved the compressor on that model.