Malc

.... that's why we try to aim for getting one with full Lexus service history for a starter ... that way you know it's been well cared for during it's life. Malc

..... similar issues for me in Spanish and Portugese villages last year ................. narrow roads seem ok to start with but change width ad hoc, usually at the point of no return, oh, and go round bends too with little or no regard for post horses / donkeys and carts traffic .... just scuffed the wing mirror a little ...................... I'll be more careful next time around .................. Malc

......... and you thought you was buying a Lexus then !!! ........... hehehehe Malc sorry, couldn't resist it

3 simple rules when buying a car ............ never buy sight unseen, never buy in the dark and never buy when it's raining on the car new or secondhand Malc

Colin hi, regrettably, I think you are unlikely to solve the problem with a piecemeal solution. The mild steel construction of both the front pipe and the gubbins coming down to it has perished / rusted with effluxion of time, either imminent or shortly. Sadly I think you will find the design fault ( well if you can call it that after 20 years nearly ) will produce a likely catastrophic loss of pas fluid at some time or other. Wish you well with whatever solution you decide upon. Best wishes. Malc

........ just read the news headlines ........... JC called him a lazy ....... Irish .......... and put him in A&E no case to answer then !!!! Malc

......... my post was on summat like " catastrophic loss of power steering fluid " Malc

hey, somewhere on here recently ( well last year now ) mine went and I replaced the front piece with the standard plumbers copper tube, funny diameter tho but cost £3 for the length ( to bend over ). That didn't solve the problem as the leak came from the rotten steel conglomeration of pipes just below the power steering box.... further up. My indy did the job with appropriate flexi pipes and fixed the whole caboodle for me .......... . to give another 19 years life I hope. Cost me about £100 all-up with his labour at £30 an hour. Get it done before it just collapses on you, once it starts then it will become catastrophic, the old steel pipes just have rusted through by now. Malc

.... wait for the 460 and in the meantime relish in your Ls400 and the non bills that come your way Malc

.................. and back to Clarkson then ............. just run TopGear without him I guess .... might give a breath of fresh air with a totally new and inspiring, non-contentious commentator who isn't wanting to wind everybody up all the time................ and ***** off almost everybody he comes across. There will be somebody out there who's rather more acceptable to the BBC and the viewing public alike ............. I read that the BBC now owns all 100% of Top Gear, having paid JC and his guys some £14mn for the privilege.............. It's just NOT JC's fiefdom any more. Malc

I so wish you well with the Lexus remedy for your LS600 ills ......................... it beggars belief the grief you're having with this car ......... I really can't think that I'm going to ever change from my Ls400 now .......... . the 430 woes put me off bigtime as I can't see any point in getting what is now into " old banger " territory with potential huge bills to match. The Ls400 is way past being in that territory methinks, at 20 yrs old now too....... and hardly a bill in sight !!!! So it might be a 460 one day I guess BUT with the potential bills you would have had with no Lexus cover, well, a Ls600 would be ridiculously impossible for me to fund to keep in fine fettle and on the road ..... when I could be spending all that dosh on more holidays tbh Malc

........ when one follows blue / black smoking cars ( usually diesels btw ) you know they have a problem. White'ish stuff is as Mike says probably just steam from the condensation build up in the exhaust and will only last so long as you're going slow enough not to heat it up enough to evaporate. Go faster maybe Malc

Tim hi .. what are your replacement UCAs please.? Mine were absolutely fine at the last MOT last May but always fearful now at 167k miles. My Mk1 UCAs I replaced at 160k or so, albeit aeons ago now, and they cost a shed load at Lexus prices even then ( supply only ) Malc

...... so why on earth one asks can't the UCAs be non OEM and equally exceptionally well built !!!! ( rhetorical Q no doubt ) :outforcount: Malc

............ well, if you can't afford OEM UCAs then I would re-instate the originals and leave them for a further few years and / or until they become actual failures......... MOT Advisories quite often err on the side of ultra caution rather than actuality Malc

............. are the originals really that badly worn ? you would have to be amazingly unlucky to have one collapse on you Malc

............. maybe he thought it would appear " fresh " to the market ........ very few wiley- eyed people out there with a passion for these cars and know their movements. Malc

.............. and with no Lexus service history for 9 years .............. and 50k miles on " other " service providers .............. and with an expiring MOT ............. he's having a larf at £4k Malc

......... Windsor Race Course seems an excellent sales venue ...... I bought my Mk2 from a dealer in Windsor town and most of his secondhand cars for sale were Rolls, Bentleys, Mercs and Maybachs ....... my 1994 Ls400 Mk2 was a throwback, he'd sold the numberplate for shedloads of dosh ( BCA3 ) and sold me the old banger ....... 8542miles and £3750 at 13 years old in Dec 2007................ I like Windsor .... oozes a bit of quality, even for a car dealer.............. and this guy's write-up of himself reads well ( no surprises there of course ) ..... and the sales venue, wow, how does someone get that pitch !!! Malc

Mikeyv, don't know where you are in Sussex but my paintshop guy is nr. Broadstairs in Kent if that's any use to you ! Malc

........ two front wings, drivers door and front bumper prepared and resprayed and lacquer ( no rust tho' ) ....... £320 and gteed the life of the car ....... on my Mazda 323f , last summer. But generally spraying can be very expensive .............. suggest you find a local body shop that does work for other garages. .... the rust sorting out might take an extra hour or two to get right of course. Insurance companies beat the hell out of bodyshops on pricing and they have to charge challenging prices to others to make a living ! Malc

.. I do so prefer the grey to the black ...... mine's rather more blueish hue I think ...... but then my car's aspen green and it's really silvery'ish to me ....... maybe it's my eyesight .......... your Mk3 looks stunning Pepe, looks a lustrous car and if I didn't have one similar ( albeit rather less pristine, well nothing like yours tbh ) I would snap your hand off and buy it .... you could send me a message and tell me what you want for it if you don't want to tell other people on here Malc

Pepe ............... you have a Mk3 and a Mk4 ? Malc

....... assuming it actually passes the UK MOT !!! Malc

New Classic Car programme is growing on me a bit !!! ...... well, ever since the 26th Feb one shows a Porsche 288 around my neck of the woods in Kent ............. Sheppey .............. of course that wonderful Citroen DS convertible, oh so like the style of that car ( shame about the occupants tho' ) Malc