Mike_Mac

Yes - NSF tie rod was broken (now fixed) - lots more to do though! Which one did you get then?

Thanks - wasn’t this one was it? 😀

Saw that - we’ll see how it checks out, prepared for a hit if needs be….

Well, I've done it again... I am now the owner of a prime, sourced sight-unseen from a salvage auction in Edinburgh, Non-running, High-Mileage Lexus IS 250: The backstory is three-fold. First, I was getting bored out of my skull sitting in accommodation at work, and couldn’t risk doing too much to whatever car I drove there (at risk of being stranded if something unexpected happened). Second, my wife has decided to start learning to drive in Jan and this could become her first car (or, if sold, provide the money for her to buy what she wants, assuming the option to make money on it still remains…). Third, I’ve been interested in doing some kind of ‘auction rescue’ project for a while, so recently joined Copart and started browsing the salvage Cat N, S or U cars. Having always liked them, a Lexus IS 250 was settled on as the project of choice and, having bid and lost on a few with structural damage, I finally won this one with minor cosmetic issues but a non-runner, for £900 (Cheapest Lexus IS 250 in the Country?) The auction notes said the following: The ‘VSC, Non-Start’ thing is potentially down to a few different causes, most of which I can solve. That Copart had it listed as ‘Runs and drives’ was of some interest, but I resolved to see what turned up and diagnose the actual fault from there. Ultimately, if it’s anything top end, VVT, fuel or electrically related I should be able to fix it, and have a fair budget to work with depending on resale value (fees and shipping added a lot to the overall bill so far). If it’s bottom end, I’ll be either punting it on, or sourcing a used engine (have a few candidates already). These engines are direct injection so are liable to carbon fouling and a design fault in the earlier ones can lead to high oil consumption. I have plans to tackle both these issues, depending what I find, but again if it starts looking like a lemon then I’ll just either go for an engine change or get rid. SO! The newest ‘biggest mistake ever’ arrives on Monday and I’ll be getting stuck into it in a car park at my work weather, availability and facilities dependant. Just hope the first fault code read doesn’t look like this: (Much) more to follow, I’m sure – including, potentially, a lot of pain…

Not GS related, but has relevance in the whole 'suspension setup' theme - I've just finished changing out my XKR's coilovers for a full set of XK (softer) ones. I'll be doing a fair bit more work on the XKR over the next few months (it's due a bit of attention as I've been focusing on the GS a lot in the last year), but I will keep future videos off this thread, as it's not exactly GS-related 😇 Just thought it may be of interest...

I always laughed at the 'Grandad Car' and similar labels. Someone who says that is all about the perceived image by the herd, and likely knows nothing more about the car than that label and is therefore not worth listening to much IMO. Most of my cars have been 'grandad' cars. Why give a fig what other people think!

Well mine will be in on Monday, so I'll know by the end of the week. Suspect it'll be quiet, though; as I said, it wasn't too loud with half of it hanging off!! 😄

Thanks - new wheels are on and TPMS is sorted (finally, no dash lights!). Just need to deep clean the car and I’ll get some photos up. LPG equates to about mid-40’s to the gallon or about 13 ppm ish. Lot better than petrol and I do a fair mileage. It’s about 80 ppl now, but you can still find a few garages around 60, it is less economical but the price still makes it very worthwhile.

Turns out I've had a bit of an issue for a while... I recently noticed my LH exhaust was at a bit of a jaunty angle, jacked the car up to check, thinking a hanger had gone, to find the whole LH section dangling by a thread! 😄 Removed it and can genuinely say I noticed barely any difference in sound! It must have been blowing for ages, but the rest of the system is so muffled it wasn't noticeable. I had thought it sounded a bit nicer recently and driving home tonight on half an exhaust I could quite happily leave it like that, if it wasn't an MOT fail... sounds just about right. So, it's booked in to get a backbox fabbed up on the 18th (no way is a stock 'box going on there - way too quiet) and I'm quite happy driving it about as is until then. Next step will probably to take the mid-pipe resonator and secondary cat off and either replace with a smaller resonator, or just straight pipe it. Will wait and see how the new back box sounds first.

My GS430 is running a Stag system installed by Andrew - really nice bloke and very good aftersales support. The 3UZ is fine on Gas - plenty have been done with no issues. Regarding Flash Lube, I was advised it wasn't needed for a 3UZ, but had it fitted anyway, more for piece of mind. If Bluesman has been running without for that long, I wouldn't worry about it. Overall, I'm getting low to mid 20's to the gallon on gas and getting about 12p/mile which is superb for a big V8. The conversion paid for itself within a year, at the miless I do.

Critical for them, maybe...

Which one's your favourite? 😉

The GS's new shoes have arrived, and I like! Just need to Ceramic Coat them, then it's off for tyre fitting, balancing and mounting.

It's a Loreal upgrade (worth it!) 😄

I'd vote (funnily enough) for the 450h/430 4-pot Advics calipers. I found them to be really well designed and easy to rtefurb (because aluminium) and have been genuinely surprised at the stopping power, once refurbed of course 😉 Plus the refurb kits for them weren't daft money from Lexus, whereas I suspect ISF rebuild kits will be... a bit more!

Just to update this topic with what I've found after replacing my Anti-Roll Bars with F-Sport ones (and bushes) and installing aftermarket coilovers (Tein Flex Z). Different car! 🤗 The shocks and anti-roll bar bushes I removed were all very tired (which won't help handling), so I suspect refreshing those would have made a difference in themselves. However, I would strongly recommend upgrading too. Why? Because from the outset the GS Mk 3 has been noted for pronounced body roll and soft suspension. While suspension firmness is a personal thing, sometimes being too soft can actually adversely affect ride quality, in essence because the shocks and springs can't react quickly to the larger bumps and imperfections. Anything more than a little body roll, however, is never good; it alters the suspension geometry from the ideal, as the car's frame shifts, and generally results in an unsteady ride and poor handling. Therefore, upgrading Anti-Roll bars (in my case to F-Sport ones) has been the biggest (positive) change I've had in a car. When combined with adjustable coilovers that allowed me to dial them in to exactly where I was comfortable it's a wholly transformed car for the better. Plus the cost of the coilovers (around £800-900 IIRC) was under half the price of a set of new Lexus shocks, so it's cheaper overall too. The bars were around £400 delivered from the US (PTR02-30101 will fit the GS 430 and I'm pretty sure the GS300 too). So, for just over £1,200-£1,300 you can transform the handling of your car, or for a lot less you can replace the ARB bushes and/or the coilovers and still reap a benefit (you'll need to buy a rear bar though, as the bushes are bonded on...). Ultimately it's a personal decision as to whether that's VfM, but I only wish I'd been in a position to do it sooner! HTH! ☺️

I've just made a big step towards making the GS handle well - and it has made a massive difference!

Two is just greedy! 😄 Pics?

I have a few 'spare' used ones - so could send one over to you for postage plus a few beer tokens. Let me know if you're interested?

Thanks, although it’s more like re-doing the work so far into a good job!! 🙂

I've got the same split in my Y-Pipe, so have looked into it and the options appear to be much as you've siad - Tanabe or go somewhere for a custom back box. Interested to hear what yours sounds like!

Well, after almost a year of one thing and another, I think the GS is finally sorted, engine-wise! I've few more things planned in the short term, but mainly things that have already been set in motion, as I need to let the Bank Balance calm down a bit first. Lexus parts prices are not cheap...

Thanks guys - that’s decided then. It’ll take a bit if work to remove the mounts for the inserts, but I think it’ll be worth it I also have a spare wheel to practice on, as one original was warped, which will probably be a good thing. This’ll be the next job after the engine’s back together - lots of Dremel action!!

Final mockup - what it'd look like on the car:

Gents/Ladies - your thoughts would be appreciated! I have just dropped off a set of GS450h alloys for refurb, and was planning to have them painted shadow chrome. I was also planning on refubising the chrome inserts (5 per wheel) as they were a bit tarnished and would probably look especially so on freshly repainted wheels, but suspect that'll be quite pricey, which is probably not an issue, but it got me thinking... What if I left the inserts off, ground down and weld-filled the upper and lower mounting tabs for the inserts, and just turned them into a set of 5 x twin-spoke alloys? Very very rough comparison below: What's your thoughts, both on the shadow chrome and whether I should go with/without inserts? (Don't factor cost into it - either way it'll cost money!).