steve2006

Hello Chi and welcome to the LOC. What’s led you to diagnosing the motor needs cleaning? Hardest part is removing the mirror glass without damage replacement glass alone is several hundred pounds!) The glass clips each side on the bottom and the top is hooked so basically to remove the glass you need to pull the glass away from the housing at the bottom then unhook from the top. I found the safest way is to thread a cloth around the rear of the glass, bring the ends together in the front centre and give a tug. Once the bottom is free unhook the top and remove.

Mine’s just a single garage but plenty wide enough. The problem was the length! The Mercedes S500 was too long so it had to be extended out, the LS430 just fits also but I fitted wooden stops on the floor. I can’t get my fingers between the bumper and wall when the car is in and the door just clears the rear.

According to this video it took 30 minutes 😀 Pretty sure on the older FE V8 engines there was a solid metal pipe which carried the coolant from front to rear mounted above the V which apart from possible O ring failures was pretty much problem free.

I watched a YouTube video recently on this problem and the guy mentioned the problem was being caused by using the wrong type of coolant (Toyota pink instead of red) which reacts with the sealant resulting in the leak?

More recently discussed than I thought just a couple of posts down the list.

Hello Tee and welcome to the LOC. I’ve only driven an ISF once so that’s about my expertise limit but I’ve heard “Valley plate” mentioned a few times by owners. Apparently the sealing around it fails resulting in a coolant leak which emerges in the place your pictures were taken. The ISF guys will help you further I’m sure.

The final figures video on the LS430 is the latest but then the EML came on!

Even more so given where you live John 😀

Or LS owners come to that 😀

Good result, I myself and I’m sure all other LOC members hope you make a quick and full recovery from your ailments and soon get back behind the wheel of your Lexus. Having said that I wouldn’t mind being chauffeur driven in mine occasionally 😀

Bill Gates maybe 😀

Double winner ...... Problem sorted and wife now pays 😀

Just browsing and came across my old 1994 Celsior on Fleabay. New suspension fitted since selling. https://tinyurl.com/2s3fbub3

If your “current insurance co have been fine” could you not stay with them on renewal instead of possibly being rejected by others which may lead to further problems? The issue here may be that you will no longer be the main driver, maybe get your wife to renew in her name and then add yourself to the policy later?

From my previous experiences with any government form filling I can understand why there are hundreds of thousands of people not claiming “Pension Credit” I think the only question not asked is which type of toilet paper do you use. Most of the forms cannot be filled in online you either have to print off 20 odd sheets of paper or sit in the telephone queue to request a paper form.

Hi Sam and welcome to the LOC. I owned a 1994 and presently own a 2004 JDM Lexus LS400/430. The latter owned for 16 years before upgrading and can only say both were/are ultra reliable with regular servicing. Bear in mind the LS600h is hybrid so pay particular attention to the service history and hybrid batteries. These are heavy cars so front suspension issues arise and I think they are air suspension which is big money when failures do happen. If you have a link to the one you are considering post it up so members can give advice or history. If you have the registration number you can check the past MOT history on the .gov website which generally shows any fails and advisories.

You need the “Flag Ship” model which unfortunately is the LS range. 😀

These 100+ point inspection checklists and service checklists are just that......checks. When I look at the servicing checklists it’s just a tick box exercise, points and condensers have gone along with spark plugs with a 10,000 lifespan. OK things have moved on, plug in diagnostics are the norm and computers tend to either work or fail usually without any prior warning. Fluids and filters appear to be the only “hands on” service items but do dealers actually check the moisture content of the brake fluid for example or is it a case of “the colour looks right” They may also inspect the suspension components but is this a pry bar exercise or just a visual check on the rubber components? I’m pretty sure it’s first new owner MOT will confirm its state. Locks and hinges again is this just an inspection exercise or do they get a squirt of white grease, do the battery terminals get a smear of petroleum jelly. Fortunately given my age and acquired knowledge I can do all of my own servicing and repairs confident it has been done correctly.

Looks great Pete, so how long from ordering to final collection then?

Bouncing the car may not be enough to initiate the problem, there’s a good travel of the strut in the video but bouncing the car won’t give the same amount of compression.

A bit late to the party but this may help with a solution. Although for the earlier model the principles are the same. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/clustercolor.html

Long gone are the days of loosening the clamp bolt and turning the distributor. I bet if I spent enough time in “The shed” the Dwell meter would be rediscovered still boxed 😀

I’ve not checked but I wonder if those nice fluid filled engine mounts fitted to most early Lexus models have now been replaced with convention rubber mounts as a cost saving measure. Similarly the full stainless steel exhausts are now mild steel.

Having looked at your video several times the point at which you hear the noise appears to coincide with driving through a pothole resulting in a long suspension compression. Given that the suspension has previously been checked fault free and some parts replaced this and my previous comment may suggest a strut problem. If the top mount or as Lexus call it insulator has worn out it would allow metal to metal contact, the fact that it also coincides with long suspension travel would get me looking in this area. Unfortunately getting access to check means removing the strut but it should be fairly obvious on examination if this is the cause.

My 2004 LS430 a Japanese import was converted from KM to miles before purchase however the UK spec cluster was also mileage corrected. Not sure if the previous owner still has the old cluster but will ask.