Tinonline

I’d go for the reds right now. How handy are you with a spanner? You can do the battery? If you have a good/friendly local mechanic or garage then source the parts from US and get them fitted...I do this if I’m not fixing the car myself...you can get a good price quality balance. Garages want revenue so they’ll generally do this. Always try Lexus Birmingham first and ask for a discount...🧐 I prefer genuine parts but don’t get hung up if your budget is tight. As mentioned by Texas it’s all come at once. Think of it this way...it’s worth doing. Unlike my wife’s S type Jag...(same age as my LS400) year 2000, under 73000miles...scrapped the other day. Head gasket...air con hasn’t worked for 5 years...other niggles...pile of rubbish and horrid to work on. My Lexus would be fixed if it had the same issues... 🙂

You need to get this checked and a good garage will cope at not too many £’s. Gearbox oil has to be red. Engine oil clear light see through light tan. If new almost too clear to see. Rough changes from time to time are normal when you catch the system at the wrong speed/time particularly on deceleration. It’s called catching the gearbox out. But again, gearbox oil should be red and not smell bad even if it’s old.

If you don’t have an owners manual...do get one as it’ll be useful. Depends upon speed and load but you won’t go too far wrong around 30 but please check exactly as it makes for safe, efficient driving.

Yep I get Blueprint blue washers...identical and a quid or so...depends on whose offering what at the time. I get a Lexus oil filter but from any reasonable source...they’re made in a few countries but seem ok. I too got plugs from Opie...very good value. Air filter changed (now) every year as I failed emissions in latest MOT but non OE but not too cheap...changed filter, added cat clean and thrashed around for a few miles...results were perfect-very good indeed.

I agree and doubt there will be any appreciable wear...in fact there won’t be. Needs a thorough service and some mileage...it’ll be good as new. Given that it’s a straight car...

Me neither Lee...I’d ask for the real reg number and validate the mileage. Looks trade or is this a library pic and is not the car itself? Looks a cracker...

I didn’t get as far as driving it...didn’t feel the urge. If it gets off the line my wife will be happy and with a roof down...delighted...I’ll get to drive more of a match to what I’m after...

Good afternoon I've just stepped in to this room as I'm to be found in the LS400 lounge...🙂 My wife's Jag S Type 4ltr has crossed the line and after 10 years of ownership and too many new parts...looks like a head gasket failure. Reading through the manual...I'm not going to fix this and I'm certainly not going to pay for it. I've had my eye on an SC for a while now...floated back and forwards and I'm in no doubt whilst not perfect...(what is?) the SC is a very good prospect. Today I visited one for private sale in Reading. Asking price was £4,500 for a 87k 02 plate. Summary MOT due 4th June - previous advisory was exhaust leak Lowered suspension Non standard exhausts - sounded well throaty on idle but when wellied actually went quiet...what was the point of that...? Ground clearance very compromised. Non standard wheels - tyres were good Oil was old (very smelly) and halfway between min & max Coolant looked clean and didn't smell but needed a slight top-up No cam belt service sticker and owner stated this had been done approx 6 years ago Break discs looked very clean (brake fluid looked fresh) Everything worked that I tested - there was damage in stitching to rear seat swab, headlight lenses were not clear My conclusion was this was at the high price range for a non-standard car, particularly with an imminent MOT. I noted that the car had been warmed up prior to my arranged visit, there was a lack of receipts and no evidence of cam belt change. I didn't make an offer on this basis. Hunt goes on. 😊

😀 Ok so a quiet day at the office... Picked up a new air filter and a bottle of Wynn’s lower emission additive. Rang ATS and booked a retest so after fitting the filter and chucking in the fluid to my just over 1/4 full tank I had just under 1.5hours to Italian tune. Damn...M4 has roadworks for miles at the junction nearest the centre. There are some good straights in the business parks and they were deserted so I thrashed about trying to burn as much fuel as possible. Drove in 2nd for a spell, hard accelerating and braking. Do I put some good fuel in now or let the additive work with what’s in the tank...keep as is. Clock ticking and I pull up for the test and let the car idle for 5 minutes and Rev it a bit before switching off. The test started a few minutes after I’d arrived. Result: Pass Take a look at the results (attached) 👍🙂 Now what sort of dumb idea is it to just thrash the car, burn fuel expelling all the rubbish to the atmosphere then run a system that will clog again in traffic? Air filter though will be an annual event from now on. I will use this additive again, I do use Redex once a year...will use premium fuel more often if not all of the time.

Well the air filter certainly needs replacing. I did think of the Cats but then the results for other test points are a Pass albeit with high readings.

Thanks Pete Given the miles I do (not many) I don’t need to worry so much about fuel costs. To my shame I realised my air filter is nearly 3 years old and has done just shy of 10k miles. I’ll fit a new one this evening. Time goes so quickly I thought it was younger than that. I’ve also got some MAF cleaner on order in addition to cat/emission cleaner.

Yep thanks for all your replies...it runs on Tesco unleaded most of the time although a dose of shell went in a bit ago... Think I’ll bang some quality fuel in with a cat cleaner and exercise the motorway tarmac a bit...👍😉

Bit annoyed really as I’m not convinced the car had been properly warmed up for the test. My Lexus yr 2000 mileage 89532 all servicing up to date. Fast idle CO. 0.01 Pass HC 8 Pass 1.010 Pass but natural idle test failed: CO 0.71 Fail Any ideas? 😢

Hi I use Euro carparts for oil and a range of stuff. For parts I try to buy Lexus but from Birmingham Lexus as they give a discount. Recently i’ve purchased lower ball joints for my LS400 from Rockauto in the States but I went for the top range at about £100 all in. Lower arm bushes were Lexus. All pulleys, waterpump, belt were Gates parts from the US too at a snip as they were on offer. One pulley was same manufacturer as original part...true might have been made to different spec but who’s to know? I’m careful of eBay and there’s a lot of cheap junk out there even by what seems to be reputable manufacturers and big distributors. Next job up will be rear brakes and I’m torn as a pair of Brembo discs and decent ceramic pads and shoes from the States even with tax and delivery are way cheaper than Lexus. For me price and quality are a balance. I need to repair probably about £2ks worth of dents, bumper damage and get the wheels done and other half has allocation for new kitchen, bathrooms etc.. 😂 I’d like to see quality standards applied to replacement parts so buyers have knowledge and choice.

Agree with comments doubt it’s cam related. I’d suspect one of the pulleys...waterpump included.

😉 For the cost of a new belt...I'd replace it anyway but given your mileage I wouldn't think twice. You need two pairs of hands for this - or that's just me...ha ha ha

I’d probs go for a second hand part...it’s one of those nigglers that should be fixed....keeps the rubbish/water from the discs and directs air too...

Looking through my LS receipts folder I saw that I’d slipped a month and a bit on my annual oil change. Thought it was April. I’d bought the oil: Shell Helix 5W 30 and in a few days I’d got the OE filter and drain plug gasket. All went to plan. As I waited for the old oil I had a mooch around the engine bay with my torch. Quite a while ago I’d been working on the car and managed to flatten the battery...lost that nut that holds the top support bracket on top of the battery...must have knocked it away but swore I’d put it in my tool bag. Couldn’t find it of course. Something caught my eye...right down the back of the battery on the bulkhead...dull shine of a washer like object. Grabbing my horseshoe magnet, I tied a length of scrap wire to it and went fishing. After a couple of sweeps and plonks on it I pulled it up. There it was...the nut with the washer base...now tightly and rightly in place. 😁

That’s certainly a bent backplate. You've a few options from buying new to second hand or straighten yours out, grind off the rust and paint in a hammerite type paint. Take the wheel off, brake caliper brake assembly the back breaks are more work. The hub might be seized on so wd40 and heat might be needed. The plate will be held on a series of very seized bolts by the look of it or it will come away as the hub is released. I can’t recall. The new part is expensive but labour shouldn’t be too much...any garage can do this.

With Cotswold Pete here...admit I’m biased towards a Mark 4. Brakes easily fixed...my suspension at 80k miles all original though needed ball joints, lower control arm bushes... Check that cambelt, water pump and pulleys have been done. Cheap 400s won’t be around much longer so if you want even now you have to pay.

Hi good luck👍 It’s good where garages are happy fitting customer sourced parts...my Jag indie will do same on wife’s car but I haven’t done that there yet as I’ve fixed a lot of stuff myself. Or he’s best placed to get tricky parts like front uprights. A useful aspect of this is you can buy parts over months or even years when offers or stock becomes available for later fitting. That spreads the costs. You can control the parts quality more easily too. I’m having a lot of business relationships with plumbers at the moment and need resources for my place so it just makes fiscal sense to run efficiently. 😉🧐

At long, long last I have had my MK4 LS400 front suspension sorted. The last MOT reported leaking ball joint covers and I've seen the cracks in the lower control arm bushes not to mention the clunk from the driver's side one. There's a small garage that does tyres and servicing in Caversham, Reading and I regularly source tyres for fitting there, not too far from me, always busy with all sorts of cars in for repair. A conversation a while ago ended up with me entrusting the work to them with me sourcing the parts. This was the damage: Lower control arm bushes only - Lexus Birmingham - £95.00 Ball joints - Beck & Arnley (premium) - Rock Auto - £105 including duty, carriage Tie-rod end x1 - £36 sourced on need to replace by garage Alignment - £42 Labour - £231 + VAT Total project bill was £513.00 (I paid the garage £312.00) I'm delighted with the work and the steering wheel is dead dead centre, no more clunks and everything feels steady and solid. I was looking at doing the job myself but on this occasion didn't regret leaving it to the professionals. My motor is also due its annual oil change so I'm just waiting on a sump plug washer. 😊

Yeh don’t bother. Maybe a search and wait but £900 isn’t nothing...could be a lot for a pile...

£500 tops if it’s too rough sell it for parts.

Hi Those seals look shot to me. 🧐 I’d check door seals too. And “moonroof” sunroof to most of the world... If in doubt replace them.