steve2006

I’ve always admired the 840, rarely seen but very nice or Lancia Gamma Coupe.

Taken from our sister USA forum. ” Some plugs come pre-gapped. Both NGK & Denso sell pre-gapped plugs for the engine, in every model of plug they sell. They also sell un-gapped plugs that are at the "traditional" .44 plug gap. All of the plugs that are refferanced to the specific engine *are* pre-gapped. If you look your car up, you'll get returned the right plug with a pre-gap.” Iridium plug gaps should not be adjusted as it risks damaging the iridium tip which if it breaks off would probably result in major engine damage.

Same here why pay £120.00 for a set of NGK plug leads when you can buy the exact same plus Bosch distributor caps and rotor arms for $80.00 including prepaid VAT and shipping within a couple of days. 😀 This is the company Nicholas. www.rockauto.com.

Prices of the earlier Celsiors have rocketed recently and you are now looking over £12K to bring one in similar condition into the UK taking into account the purchase price, shipping/insurance and the import duties. You then have registration, radio and speedo conversion and rear fog light retrofitting. This one is also the C-F packaged version with all the toys. Blemish free MOT. I paid £3750.00 for mine back in 2006 with similar mileage so all in all not a bad price “on the road” considering the above.

Hi Nicholas and welcome to the LOC. I have to agree with the parts situation which appears to have been getting worse in the last few years, there are more and more parts now showing as “No longer manufactured” on Amayama.com. I was recently looking for some original leather front seat covers for my 1994 model, they were showing as still available but at around £500.00 for each base and back section they will be remaining on the warehouse shelf until they rot. Certain suspension parts are now obsolete but you can buy aftermarket bushes from the likes of Daizen. The advantage you do have with Lexus is their reliability so parts are generally not required very often. There is a known problem with the LS430 model in that the engine coolant radiator and combined transmission cooler fail. This results in coolant entering the transmission wrecking the auto box so I would advise to check if this has been replaced. Good luck with your purchase.

Diplomatic plates and a Japanese flag on the bumper pole and away you go, or do what I have and a give a royal wave 😀

Exactly.....same advisories every year, did you spot the speedometer change year?

Not much on fleabay presently but this 98,000 example which the seller admits may be inaccurate ( 300,000 miles is closer) and it has had most of the front suspension replaced including dodgy UCAs with crumbling rubber ball joint boots looking at the MOT history. Finding a genuine good example gets harder by the day. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-LS-400/133598391800?hash=item1f1b15adf8:g:ldwAAOSwQrpfzMdl

Hi Phil and welcome to the LOC. You can’t just go out and buy the mega powered ISF as your first Lexus model you need to start a bit lower down the model range with perhaps a CT200 and get used to the refinement before building up on the power 😀 Only joking of course, good luck with your purchase and go steady with that right foot.......... for a while anyway.

Mine goes to an independent also, used to be £35.00 but now £40.00. If the cost is included in the warranty package it goes to the dealer obviously.

It sounds like a failed fuse somewhere, have you by any chance replaced any of the bulbs with LEDs recently?

Notice the complete absence of parked cars on the streets? If you don’t have a parking space either owned or leased you cannot buy a car in Japan plus you cannot stop on the streets.

I purchased a leather repair kit from Furniture Clinic to both repair and recolour my LS400 front seats. They will colour match the colourant if you can supply a small sample and sell a complete kit to clean, re- seal, repair and recolour. I’m no expert but the seats are certainly looking better.

Recently changed all my tyres from Rainsports 245/40/18 to Pirelli P Zero 245/45/18 100Y and they are so noisy! I only noticed when I had the window open and the tyre noise was heard, no more creeping up behind people in the supermarket car park now, they’ll turn around expecting a JCB behind them.

Interesting from what I can remember from previous posts involving Lexus dealers when “Slight misting” on shock absorbers/dampers and the vehicle being out of warranty would result in quote for several thousand pounds for replacements. However a “sweating” seal under warranty is dismissed even when it’s a known documented problem.

If the engine coolant/transmission intercooler has failed, as previously mentioned then doing a partial transmission fluid drain and refill will not prevent the 2 fluids continuing to mix until the radiator has been replaced. Also make sure the correct transmission fluid is being used, normally Toyota Type IV.

If you have an approved used Lexus with “Select” warranty you should be fine. The exceptions are listed below and the full terms and conditions on the link, it doesn’t mention water leaks as not being covered. https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/select_terms_and_conditions_2020_tcm-3157-1893670.pdf Also noticed that Lexus Parts Direct appear to be offering a BOGOF on extended warranties ( purchase one year’s cover and get 2 years). https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/extended-warranty/lexus-extended-warranty/

Hello Bilal and welcome to the LOC. From a Corsa to an IS250 .....good move, how did the insurance changeover go? I’m in the county next door so may see you around the A38 😀

The problem with sheeting is that it is normally brown marks 😀

Reminds me of that annoying TV ad..........”One sheet does plenty” Personally I prefer beading rather than sheeting myself.

The rear has sat higher since I replaced the rear springs after one broke, they were OEM springs too. I fitted 45 profile tyres to try and fill the rear arches more. Interior below, I refurbished the fronts and cleaned the rears.

I had the glazed roof, boot lid and previously repaired front bumper repainted a few weeks ago along with a wheel job. Finally a better day so managed to get some pictures of the job. Still not sure on the wheel colour ( anthracite) but pleased with the paint job. The old tyres (Rainsports) we’re down to 3-4mm so put a new set of Pirelli Zeros 245/45/18 100Y tyres on while they were off the rims.

Hello Martin and welcome to the LOC.

Also order these 😀 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5X-Heavy-Duty-aggressive-Rat-Traps-self-Setting-The-Rat-Splatter-Rats-Catcher/373136062143?hash=item56e0a476bf:g:t-cAAOSwVIxfJ9na

It looks like the vacuum switching valve as shown below. There appears to be 2 wires to it with a black one at the lower connection. The ideal solution would be to find another plug connector with pig tails allowing you to reconnect it to the existing harness. Found you a used one on ebay which still has the plug connector for £20.00. OK you only need the connector but given the time and cost of finding just that this would be a cheap and faster solution. You may have to disconnect the ECU fuse for a while after replacing the connector to remove the fault code and EML. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263726777819?ul_ref=https%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F710-53481-19255-0%2F1%3Ftype%3D2%26pub%3D5575403537%26toolid%3D10001%26campid%3D5338343596%26item%3D263726777819%26customid%3Deb%253Ag%253Avms%253Aeb%253Ap%253A263726777819%253BCjwKCAiAz4b_BRBbEiwA5XlVVrNnjzSdxcZOHYsLOHsxWXjLVGSNixtsCxcVZOmL1yJhkrttKWZXfBoCye4QAvD_BwE%26gclid%3DCjwKCAiAz4b_BRBbEiwA5XlVVrNnjzSdxcZOHYsLOHsxWXjLVGSNixtsCxcVZOmL1yJhkrttKWZXfBoCye4QAvD_BwE%26srcrot%3D710-53481-19255-0%26rvr_id%3D2739012065407%26rvr_ts%3D8b65948f1760aad926f70e23ffe90a05&ul_noapp=true