steve2006

The early LS400s were very over engineered, it is said that Toyota actually sold them at a loss. The LS430 did not have the same spent on them, for example the exhaust was no longer stainless steel but they are still reliable. They also have rust problems on the bodywork and de-lamination of the windows. There is a million mile LS400 somewhere in the world so that says it all really. If you get a good one to start with ( avoid Dudley!) preferably low owner and FLSH you should be fine.

Hello and welcome to the LOC. If all the control rods are connected and there is no noise then The usual cause is the motor has failed in the door actuator. Given the price of a brand new one I would be looking for a decent working unit from a breaker ( try ebay) you can just replace the motor but not an easy job.

There is a strainer built into the fuel pump in the tank but the fuel filter is located around the near side wheel arch area. Part number showing for the external filter is 23300-50020. For non Lexus types https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/oenumber/2330050020.html Or OEM expect around £50.00 retail from Lexus. Location and fitting tutorial. https://www.lextreme.com/how-to-change-a-lexus-gs400-sc400-ls400-fuel-filter/

I’m happy to let out some more rope on this one. 😀

Out of curiosity I have just looked up the prices for the original hoses from Lexus. I don’t know why but the top hose is around £75.00 and the lower £17.00, they look about the same size so why the huge variation in price between the two I don’t know. There is another set of flexible hoses further back too so maybe get your mechanic to also check these at the same time. As other members have suggested I would replace with petrol grade rubber hoses and some decent stainless steel jubilee clips, the last thing you want is total fluid loss!

When did you last clean the EGR valve? Any type of smoke from the exhaust?

Hi Tony and welcome to the LOC. The exhaust middle section comes with the cat and middle box as one piece, the only problem is that it costs around £1300.00 from Lexus! An alternative and probably cheaper option would be to have a custom stainless exhaust system made utilising a universal cat, have a google around your local area for a company.

“Indeed a very fine car having covered just 65,000/165,000/265,000 miles with only 1/12/25 previous owners.......indeed”

It’s the same in other marketing areas, I was looking to book a Caribbean cruise so priced it up with their UK website then with their US website. There was nearly a £1000.00 difference but they would not allow me to book via the .com website as I wasn’t a US resident. I then went via a US travel agent, provided a friends US address and not only got the cheaper price but $75.00 on board credit and a $32.00 wine voucher. When I boarded the ship I also got the pre paid port taxes refunded also.

I haven’t yet read the posts following this one but I can already hear the words “Dudley, Omar and Indeed a fine car”

You don’t need a press just a couple of pieces of wood to support the pulley and a socket and hammer, the bearing comes out and goes back very easily.

Just replace the bearing in the pulley, quick and easy to do and costs a couple of pounds for a good Japanese quality bearing.

IIRC if you go to any Lexus dealer with proof of ownership (V5C) they will print you out any service history they hold for the car, the other option is to get the former keeper’s details which will be shown on the present V5C and contact them. Another plus point with the latter method is you can ask questions about the car, for example why did they sell it?

There are quite a few companies that specialise in this sort of repair and there should be some local to you who will come out and do a repair for a reasonable price. Here’s an example but google “Car interior trim repairs” for you local area. https://www.carmedic.co.uk/dash-repair/

Blimey, looks like it’s been banger racing! I would imagine a rear end shunt that then pushed the car forward into one or more in front, unfortunately the insurance company won’t take into account all the money spent on it and will pay the book price. Certainly not a viable repair but good for parts especially if the LPG was stripped of it and sold separately.

When you drain the old oil some of it still remains within the engine coating the bearings etc. so you are still mixing the old and new unless it is a total dry engine rebuild.

A good overnight soak in penetrating fluid, use a short good quality single hex ring spanner and work the nipple in and out when it does start to turn. A little blowtorch heat may also help.

Looking at Amayama the earliest delivery is 24/12/2019 and by the time you have paid import duty/VAT I would be thinking of getting one from Lexus here in the UK, maybe try our forum Lexus dealer or Lexus Birmingham. I don’t know where the £190.00 price came from as this is still very expensive even if it included an hours labour for fitting! Even with the insulator gone all you have is metal to metal contact the strut itself is still firmly attached with the 3 mounting studs, top nuts and centre nut so it cannot just come adrift.

Part numbers are as follows Support Assembly (The bit with the threaded studs which pass through the inner wing) 48680-50100 £100.00 Bumper ( The rubber bit that slides onto the shocker piston rod) 48331-50070 £30.00 Insulator ( the part that has failed I think) 48157-50010 £40.00.

No Stuart, there are only 2 electrolytic capacitors on the board both of which are the low ESR Japanese quality ones unlike the brown ones in the engine ECU which as we know do cause problems, plus there is little or no heat within this unit which adds to the demise of the capacitors in the engine ECU. Regarding the cig lighter fusible I may have some, leave it with me.

Yep, that’s the one, it’s called a fusible resistor so basically if there is an overload of current (like a duff LED bulb) it will blow like a fuse and cut off the power which it has done. I cannot remember the exact value but believe it is around 0.56 Ohms and rated at 1 Watt, I should have some knocking around if you are happy to fit a replacement or post the unit to me.

You could be right Malc, the ageing is something I can put up with as like you say, it compliments the age of the car. It’s mainly the tear in the passenger seat that concerns me as it can only get worse. Having said that the other half tends to sit in the rear now days when we do go out in the car. Michael I’ll look into the products you suggest, the dirt is very ingrained and I’ve tried other products without much improvement afterwards. I have an immaculate set of black seats in the later model I am breaking but apparently these are not a plug and play fit plus the dash and door trims are another problem.

With the rear seats having very little use they are almost like new still but for some reason the front passenger seat and the driver’s for obvious reasons but a lesser extent now require some attention. There is now a rip in the centre base section on the passenger side. A few years ago I contacted a local leather car seat repair company who after looking at the pictures told me they could do the job of repairing them for around £500.00 but since then I lost their details. If anyone could recommend somewhere preferably local to Derbyshire it would be appreciated.

Just had a look on fleabay to see what’s on offer for Ls430s. First listing amusing...reversing sensors not working, this may explain the badly scratched bumper maybe. Second listing is damaged repairable so basically a scrap model with rear airbag failure for £1250.00. Lexus chap with his indeed a very good car but no warranty given or implied (Are you watching this one Dudley Trading Standards?) Then we have a selection of overpriced low mileage but early model JDM offerings all from the same dealer. No wonder I keep looking for something newer but then think no stick to the car you know, trust and that owes me absolutely nothing after 13 years of ownership.

I can’t remember but pretty sure it clips on, if I get time I will try and find my spare unit and take a look....told you it was a right PITA to get to and remove!