ambermarine

Pete 10/4 Rubber Duck

Yes it is a normal straight edge, not philips etc ,You need to cut quite deep to get decent keying,and to keep the driver central to the nut.

Matthew Using a dremel cutter blade cut a slot in the plug and use an impact driver to shock it out . It won't do any harm to soak both plugs for a couple of days in wd40 ,but the cut a slot impact driver works most times,be sure to use the impact type slot bit, an ordinary one will snap.

The timeline for the radiator replacement suggests a possibility there as been a leak or a very cautious owner and you are right to have concerns. I doubt a run round the block would show any problems and I am not suggesting there are any but it would knaw away at my confidence in the car's integrity. Personally the known issue of transmission fluid contamination and other faults with the 430 put me off buying a 430 when looking to replace my Mark 1 400 and to that end I opted for a mark 4 400.

Damien 4P7 is the colour code for your car and the colour is classified as "beige mettalic" You can get this colour online at any autopaint suppliers but I would caution trying to spray it yourself as you will never blend it. Better to take it to a good bodyshop and get the bumper resprayed as it will probably need filling.

Hi Keith I have checked and your code for cladding UCAB0 www.paintscratch.com use the cross reference for two tone

I have posted several times on removing the pan on the transmission I was vehemently against interfering with this part of the transmission in any way. The requirement to remove it is not there as the filter will not require any renewal or cleaning it is there to pick up any swarf or debris during the running in period and is not going to get clogged up . It is also impossible to seal unless the box as been drained and flushed then dried as the transmission fluid will destroy the seal as soon as it is applied. The factory setting period for the seal is judged as a dry application and to that end there cannot be a seal made if there is any fluid in the box ,which there is because when the pan is removed there is still two thirds of the fluid still in the box and torque converter. I have to say it but you will now likely have to live with a leaking seal for the rest of the life of the car.

Matthew Check out utube and also the usa owners site for videos I have seen one somewhere but cannot recall where.

I rebuilt one but it was on my Mark 1 the Mark 4 is different in the reservoir attachment but is still the same with regards to the pump parts ,the rebuild kit is available but not from Lexus.

Denis No one who knows anything about cars in general is in any doubt as to the implications of buying an example cited in this topic,The point is that there are LS owners who are in a position to benefit from the purchase of this vehicle and they will be well aware of the pitfalls or can find them in this forums archives as there are plenty of references to virtually everything that as ever gone wrong . The experiences you have suffered in the London area are typical of the BIG CITY but not everyone lives in the big city and some of us have drives and garages. When I stripped the Mark 1 the panels, door cards went in the loft with the ecu's also the seats were swapped over and the rest was dumped the shell was taken by the engine buyer so the whole operation took less than a week. Transportation is a factor that should be taken as an expense relevant in any delivery of parts,its just that you get all the parts delivered in one package. If you have one of these Icons the opportunity to get good replacement parts are getting scarce which is why I brought up the subject.

Denis I did not realize I was abnormal thanks for the heads up, Your experience in London boroughs is not the norm nationwide so it must be you that is abnormal. There are a lot of LS400 owners nationwide that live in normal environments and having been on this board for most of its life I have noticed most of them have a liking for the LS400 and do indeed regard it as a classic because they have owned them like me for over twenty years. It is not just the owners who regard this car with affection and admiration most of the motoring experts also regard it as an icon,your regard for this catalyst of the modern Luxury car era does not seem to be in alignment perhaps you have not come to love yours yet.

There is out there someone with a Mark 2 with a couple of hundred thousand miles on the clock This is a great opportunity to get all the worn running gear, seats, electronics body panels replaced because the 60k on this car means the parts are better than you would get from a breakers yard. I did the same operation on my Mark1 years ago buying a written off 80k clone of mine I sold the engine and shell for what I paid for it but stripped everything else off it. I doubt the engine is goosed as the garage looks dry the oil leak is the pas pump most likely. The car is worth what someone who wants it will pay your task should you want it is to find that person.

To be honest I doubt weather the fact your car is optioned to the hilt will make a difference to the trade or sale price as it is now 10 years old and the type of buyer you will attract will not care. The general condition and mileage will be the criteria for resale and PX value. I can also see why the original owner did not take the wooden steering wheel, they are not very comfortable on the fingers over long journeys and tend to be a bit hard on the hands.

It is awful it looks like a cross between a ES300 and a Mark1 LS400 and in my opinion the Lexus look as been destroyed.the other reason for not buying is where will you get spare parts to the lights and body if it as a prang . I can see why Lexus did'nt sign up for trashing their image.

Martin I cannot agree with you on the issue of higher mileage being of no consequense I have owned these models for over twenty years and my Mark 1 needed all the suspension bushes doing by the time it had done 130k also the exhaust flange on the Y section had rotted away the brakes rotors had all been renewed the gear changes were not as smooth as they were a 100k earlier and the leather interior was worn. The rest of the running gear would be a lot more worn than a 50k model and the paintwork was not as good as my present car simply because it had been used and when I sold it after 16 years of ownership it had 180k on it ,I bought it with 50k on it and it was at that time mint. I look after my cars but no amount of care will stop them wearing away on constant use. As for the seals and rubber theory there are better products fitted to these models than most other run of the mill cars and we are not talking 1970s FORD or BMC. If the car is stored dry and the fluids are changed as per service schedule the integrity of these items will not be compromised.

That next to mine is probably the best example you will get in a Mark 4 mine as done 35k and as been used more in the last five years than it was in its first 14 it had 19k on the clock when I bought it and I do not subscribe to this notion than under used cars are in some way suspect. I have never had any trouble with the car in the 18k Ihave done in it except the iffy ignition switch which seems to be a common fault on the Mark4.If I was in the market for one at the moment bearing in mind how rare these cars are I would pay that price.

I paid £19000 for my Mark1 back in 96 the car was then 6 years old and it had 50k on the clock the new price was about £37k so if you extrapolate those figures across the years and the difference in new and resale price on your model I would say you are about right on the price. I had the Mark 1 for 16 years and apart from running costs it cost nothing to maintain that is why I have a mark 4 now and you are already a Lexus man so go for it. With only 50k on the clock why would the battery pack be on its way out.

Further update the spare plug was in fact the ignition illumination which was in the way when I removed the switch, I had tucked the lead away and did'nt notice it until I realized the light was not working on entering the car. Fortunately it did not require removal of the upper shroud and with deft work with two pair of surgical tweezers I managed to connect the socket and plug. I realized after consulting the pics I took on first exposing the wiring a plug was not in the shot but difficult to see, this highlights the need for progressive photos when doing these type of jobs.

Just an update on the faulty ignition switch some of the members reported on the Mark 4. I purchased one at Lexus Glasgow exactly two years ago and what with one thing and another have only this afternoon fitted it. Let me tell you now it is a pig of a job,getting too it entails removal of the lower footwell shroud then the upper section the steering wheel cowl and the ignition key surround. The pig part comes when the access to the phillips machine screws holding the switch onto the steering lock becomes nearly impossible ,they are mounted so that access is from the bulkhead side and is restricted to about 2 inches making regular screwdrivers useless, I ended up using a 1/4 inch ring spanner with a phillips bit but even then only a quarter turn is achievable. It took twice as long to take off and put on the new switch as accessing and replacing everything including disconnect and reconnecting all the plugs 10 in all plus at the end I found a plug but no socket which I did'nt notice when removing them. It is a two pin on a short lead with very thin wire which is probably a loom extra for something not fitted too my car Having put it all back together and everything working I feel better now I have done the job, just have to see over the next few journeys weather it was the switch that was faulty.

You are probably spot on with the poaching of pics theory, its standard practice these days.

The first two adverts or probably connected and are selling the car from two different address's the third advert is of a different car the paint is coming off the first car's bonnet and it looks like a bag of s--- .the last car as been valeted and the paint is in good nick.

Well done I hope it serves you well,the workshop manuals are available from a specialist publisher in the states and also from Lexus but they are expensive. The Satnav is not updatable as it is a CD and they are DVD format after 2000. 371815207816 lexus repair manual.htm

I Paid £3750 for my Mark 4 back in 2012 and to be fair I did get a bargain it as still only done 35k and is in better nick than the Gumtree example but that was five years ago . The issue is ,if you want a low mileage example in decent condition this one will be amongst them and getting scarcer because those who own low mileage examples are keeping them. If the wheels need a fefurb or the ariel needs attention so what ,they are minor items on the path of owning one of these rarities, well worth a look at.

There is a very nice example of a 98 Mark IV on Gumtree 65K miles in my favourite colour