DaKa

De Ja vu, This week I had to change my rear parcel shelf brake light on my LS430, the previous bulb from Halfords only lasted about 4 years, but as I'd bought 2 at the time I had a spare. The new bulb seemed to last just a few hours, so I went back to Halfords and bought another 2 at £4 the pair. It turned out that the brake bulb I'd replaced had not blown, but coincidentally, the near side top rear side light had gone after 17 years in situ. That was another £2 for 2 bulbs I had to splash out on!

I had a problem with vibration braking from circa 70 mph on my LS430 and thought it more likely to be bushes (upper/lower control arm or track rod ends) rather than the front disc/rotors. However changing the front Rotrs/Pds also cured my wobble? On the Lotus owners forum where I go for Esprit issues there is a lot about how the bushes can look fine but under the stress of braking etc they show their weakness causing juddering/wobble. So if your happy that your rotors are premium and not imperfect then you are right to look at other wear and tear items that may have perished.

I'm going to collect John's wheels kindly offered this Thursday evening unless another forum LS400 owner states their preference beforehand, they will be given a DIY refurbish.

There is a set on Ebay at the moment for £550 making John's offer a must for any Essex or neighbouring county location LS400 owners https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-Ls400-Alloy-Wheels-And-Tyres-17-Inch-DHP-Mkiv/202297293549?epid=597043105&hash=item2f19dbbaed:g:0bgAAOSwyytat5h2

P.S. If they were for an LS430 I would have bitten your arm off.

I hope that someone appreciates your kind offer John. It's great to have a set off the car that you can refurbish DIY at your leisure and/or fit with winter tyres as we all know how slippery they get sub zero.

Let's hope the Prius driver is a 'decent' person comes clean and your whiplash isn't permanent Don't be afraid to ask the motorway police if the section is covered by cameras - they should be prepared to send or hold any recording in case of problems. I have a Trascend2 (dashcam) permanently wired and thoroughly recommend it to others. Regarding your car - that's a shame, my daughter whacked into the back of my LS430 when returning to university a year ago. She was adjusting her driver seat (manual lever) on her automatic Ford Focus when manoeuvring in our driveway that has a slope - the seat slid fully back and her feet couldn't reach the pedals with inevitable consequences! I'm just going to patch mine up DIY, but you should get yours thoroughly checked including the exhaust and then worry about your injuries!

I concur with John, the AC should blow in at 5-6 degrees when working well. My front LS430 now works well, but I had to blank off the rear (damage to the AC pipe above the differential caused by a 'useless' mechanic that didn't tighten the drive shaft bolts properly 'not once but twice' when I had the near side rear hub unit replaced). I fitted the second set of replacement studs at his garage myself but by then the damage was done!

So Dennis, Let us know how you get on when you take it for a regas? If the system is secure enough for the fresh gas they will tell you, but leave it a week before confirming as the first attempt on my LS430 onyl lasted a few days. Best of luck

If the regular Halfords/\Kwik Fit tell you it can't hold the gas then a specialist put a gas into the system that colours any leak points. They did this to my LS430 and unfortunately I needed a new condenser rad that could only be supplied via Lexus at circa £225 plus VAT.

I regret letting my SC (2003) go so cheaply but I couldn't convince my wife or daughter to keep it for themselves even though they loved driving it. I do see them as future collectables and if buying again I would either look for an original mint condition, or buy a cheap one that looks tired but with a sound engine (change belts and pump and stiffen suspension) perhaps fit a body kit and then get it sprayed or wrapped with something unusual. That would definitely make it a marmite thing.

Every few thousand miles seems a little more often than necessary but I'm sure that your car will appreciate the attention. I change my Lotus Esprit oil every 5k miles but for me that circa 18-24 months apart as it's just a weekend fair weather toy.

Rob, I had my LS430 wheels refurbished locally (between Brentwood/Billericay at a cost of circa £270. The main thing is to get a company that completely strip the old paint using an acid bath and then powder coat inside and out before finishing off in your preferred colour - I stuck with original silver. I believe that they have other franchise locations under the trade name 'PaintItuk.com' - My wheels came with a 3 year warranty - that was 18 months ago and they are still perfect.

I appreciate your posts here Peter. I had to replace my CD player recently and found a couple of good youtube clips to explain the procedure you kindly detail. Packing your socket with a little grease can also prevent those awkward bolts from falling into the never to be seen again crevices.

I used to buy the expensive oils, Mobil 1, Castrol etc, but with 6,000 mile annually I now just use a 5-30 fully synthetic oil purchased from Wilko circa £20. Probably will be frowned upon, but better I think to change the oil and filter regularly?

There are a few second hand units on Ebay at the moment if you want to check they are the correct model? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEXUS-LS400-PASSENGER-HEAD-LIGHT-NEAR-SIDE-FRONT-LEFT-LAMP-1994-1997/132582042643?hash=item1ede816c13:g:qqsAAOSwubFagglP Best of luck getting someone to fit/fix. Some manufacturers design their light expecting water ingress and leave a ventilation tube or similar.

I hope the car continues well for you and the left pull is resolved with geometry adjustments. I also had a slight pull to the left - don't underestimate the importance of the right tyre pressure as mentioned above when it comes to unwanted pull left/right.. Having fitted new front rotors, pads and tyres (N.B. asymmetric) it's now perfect e.g. no alignment changes were made! I had thought a control arm bush or track rod end may have been the problem but it was likely just the tyres/pressure?

I believe the mats you refer to on Ebay do represent excellent value (especially compared to originals) and the eyelets to stop the mats moving at the front are essential. My LS430 driver's side eyelets got ripped out the last time I had the car valet cleaned - I think on cheaper build cars they pull out more easily and the valet guys assumed the same. Fortunately I was able to replace one of them which is enough to keep the mat in place. Treat yourself to the thicker pile!

Sorry for the delay responding. Phil is correct, there is no retaining screw, but there are 2 x threaded holes to help you remove the old rotor if the thing is stuck fast. Not sure if it is an M6 or M8 bolt size? Screwing the bolt into the holes forces the rotor off the hub. You will need to remove (or at least I did) the 2 x caliper bolts in order to remove the old rotor. I must confess I didn't attempt to remove without doing this as some cars do allow enough space - I had an old Elan M100 that only required the pads to be removed. Anyway, Phil's point about cleaning the hub before putting the new rotors in places is essential together with a little copper or silicone gunk.

Definitely do not connect the 2 separate AC pipes under the passenger seat that run to the rear. I did this and could have caused a lot of damage had I not corrected my mistake - seemingly they are different pressure pipes? They need to be capped off separately. One of my posts from about 18-24 months ago has some more detail and pics if needed. Just remember when you go for a re-gas that the car need less 90 instead of 140?

I agree the price is too steep, in my opinion £4-5K seems more appropriate, but if you're selling you need some wriggle room. If the timing belt has just been done (the mileage is right for a new belt) then perhaps a little more. My guess is the original wheels would have pitted badly as mine did and it was easier to buy LS430 clean wheels which have an inch extra on the rim size if I'm not mistaken. The driving mats look after- market but knowing the cost of Lexus replacements I can understand why. As mentioned recently on other posts, I do expect these prices to rise slowly over the next 5-10 years. .

I've found that going to exhaust places (national chains) is not good as they only quote for fitting parts. In my area (Essex) there are some small workshops that specialise in welding and pipe bending 'Pipecraft' and this is the type of specialist you should try and find. Best of luck.

Well maintained/preserved Lexus LS400 models are desirable classic collectables now, so your timely purchase will reward you with both the pleasure of ownership and a good investment.

So as per my post on 27/3 my Polk sub woofer arrived from USA this week (it only took about 10 days from order to delivery Amazon total cost circa £65) and I've fitted it today as per the youtube link instructions above. The sound is back to amazing (better than I ever remember the bass) and the quality of the new speaker (if judged by the weight) is 3-4 times better than the factory stock Levinson. I don't profess to understand the 4 to 8 ohms thing, I just followed the wiring instructions using some quality speaker wire from Wilkos. Only 3 problems, 1) The rear offside single bench seat had two push in connections for the base and pulling it up wasn't enough. I had to get low peer inside and put a long screwdriver in to wedge the seat out from the push fittings made easier with the wider near side base bench seat removed first. 2) I removed and disassembled the old speaker but then had to keep checking back the youtube post to remind myself which way round things had to be refitted - I found it best to remove 4 small sections of the raised edge of the new speaker metal rim so that the original Lexus part used to secure the speaker with 4 grub screws could be used again. Removing the plastic cover rim from the new speaker required a small screwdriver to force them apart as it had a silicone seal between the metal and plastic rim. Cutting the raised metal 3mm rim on the new speaker was simple enough, just a small hacksaw cuts 1 cm apart and then pliers to bend back forward until the raised rim broke away creating a flush fit. 3) The quarter side panels were a pig to remove but there is definitely a knack to it as mentioned in the youtube. The Polk came with a gasket that works well between the old 4 bolt fitting bracket and the new speaker, some small silicone or gasket seal between the top of the new speaker metal rim and the original Lexus plastic rim at the top of the speaker is optional but I recommend it. Definitely a DIY task, it took me about 3-4 hours start to finish but half of that was the quarter side panels either side of the rear shelf and removing the single bench seat (I didn't want to force and break something).Tools needed: 10/12 mm sockets with 6-8 inch extension rod, medium/small screwdriver, panel prising tools, electrician wire cutter tool and red/blue connectors P.S. Pack your socket with a little grease so that you don't drop the 12 mm fixing bolts when refitting through the small access hole near the rear head rests that should be raised but not removed. It also helped to have the rear seat slightly reclined so the access hole and the bolts line up better. I must confess that half way through the job I was regretting starting it (there's a lot of stuff packed into those rear seats so take your time) but once it was all done with everything working I was delighted with the results and cost saving.

Lexus spares are selling these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-Ls430-Facelift-Air-Suspension-Shock-Absorbers-Strut-Left-Front-Nsf/202244768398 You will need to know which shock(s) has/have blown as £185 each and you need at least one new sensor plus fitting etc. Best of luck. If you do go down the coil over route or not - please let us know how you get on?