Mike_Mac

Episode 2 of the GS430 saga has just dropped and, just like and middle segment of a trilogy, this is where things suddenly go wrong... 🙂 As a hint, you should not see daylight through there... Video here, Enjoy! (I didn't... 😞 ):

Looks like you got a good result on the paint! 🙂 Regarding the quote for the shock - if you're not fussed about 'non-genuine' parts, 😄 it might be worth considering a set of aftermarket coil-overs, as a complete set will be considerably less than the cost of that one shock!! When one of the shocks blew on my GS I installed a set of Tein Flex Z's (adjustable for both height and damping). So far they've been great - you can set them to standard ride height and the same level of damping, so no need to go 'boy racer' with them, or tweak them to be a bit lower and firmer. You will lose the 'sport' damper setting if you've got it, but there's no error light displayed so it's a small price to pay IMO...

Thanks! 😀 Trust me, after 4 months of it (you’ll see why!) I came close to a Basil Fawltey moment many times!😉

Well, as promised, see below a link to my first video on the (about to be) four-month epic that my initial plan to replace valve cover gaskets and spark plug seals turned into... It's still processing but should be live soon, so I hope you enjoy it (let me know if not ) As said, this is just a hobby and done because I enjoy it, not because I'm good at it! Parts two and three will be dropped on successive Fridays, as I finish sorting them out.

The M5 is a good tram-lining tester route, isn't it!! 😄

Personally, based on previous experience, I'm suspecting worn bushes in suspension arms as the likely culprits, now that I've been able to drive the car again today and spend a bit more time observing this issue (thanks Essential journeys!). As said these cars are reasonably weighty and the arms take a pounding over time. A long time ago I had a Supra that had over 100K and it was genuinely frightening at times - the back end had a mind of its own on rutted roads. I changed all the rear arms (cost a packet) but that solved it. The ones that came off weren't falling apart or anything, but there was movement... Driving home tonight, I was reminded of that in the way my front end likes to schmooze about depending on the road's camber. Don't get me wrong, it's not horrific and is usually 'ok', but it's definitely not 'right'. Alignment can be spot on, tyres can be spot on, shocks can be spot on, but if the bushes are goosed... thoughts? 🙂

Hi All, It’s been a while since I bought my GS (Oct 19!!!) and I’ve been a top lurker since then 😌, but my intention was always to tweak it a bit, when I finally got ‘round to it, as I’ve been unable to not tinker with any car I’ve bought, ever! This one was going to be no different and this build thread is the result. So, to the car, a 2006 Mark 3 GS430, with a Black exterior and Grey/Black interior. I spent a long time looking for exactly that colour combination and still love it! Pics below… As I do a high (ish) mileage, there was no way I could afford a V8 running on normal Petrol, and I never planned to, as it was always on the cards to LPG convert it. This was completed straight after purchase and I now have it running fine, although I had to sort out a few issues first (not with the LPG per se – it’s just very sensitive to existing issues in the car). Over the last year, not helped by COVID-19, I’ve worked through the little issues, which I wanted to get done before posting on here, which including giving it a much needed clean first off: Interior Leather: Mats: … although cleaning the exterior just highlighted that the paintwork needs a full detail, which I’ll get cracked when the weather gets better in Summer, hopefully: Swirled Paintwork: However, before I could get stuck into the proper mechanical stuff, there was a slight mechanical hiccup in Aug last year that put things on hold, which I’ll expand on soon (I’m still editing the video on that one), teaser here: Heads: So, I’ll stick up a link up to the video when ready. It’ll be in three parts – which gives an idea how much of an epic it all was (!), but hopefully all will become clear! Now that the car’s back on the road after five months, I’m going to be working through all the little things that I hadn’t had time to do before, so will be sticking all the updates in here. I’ve already managed to get a few little jobs done, starting with refurbing a set of these: Calipers: The plan (Small ‘p’). As there’s not a massive amount of performance upgrades for the Mk3 GS (please don’t mention superchargers… 🤐) my focus was going to be getting it cosmetically spot on and making a lot of improvements to the ride and handling, without compromising comfort (one of the key attractions of the car to me). This will be focused on Suspension (coil-overs, sub-frame, bushes, anti-roll bars) and Chassis (bracing front and rear) plus whatever else may come along. As I’ve alluded to, my intention is to document the work through a small (capital ‘s’) You Tube channel I have, which I’ve been doing as an interest thing for just over half a year. Still very much learning as I go, but I’ve found it really fun to do and a bit of a challenge to try and get things that look and sound decent. Very much not there yet, but practice makes… so criticism will be more than welcome! More to follow soon! 😊 ETA: A flipping link to the Channel wouldn't have gone amiss I suppose!! - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKsjaW4uQpjLO6zKekj6wiw Enjoy, hopefully!!

Cheers Vlady! Yes - that's exactly what I'm experiencing too. The alignment and checking of bushes/tyres is primarily to make sure the baseline is sound before moving on. Ref shocks, because I've got the Teins, I can now adjust damping to a reasonable degree, so that will allow me to test different variations between front and rear jounce and rebound bias and see what differences that makes. I feel the anti-roll bars don't help either and body-roll is one of the first things I want to get at in the future, along with chassis stiffness too. I'm just composing a build thread now where I'll keep track of it all, but I have lots of plans for this car, all centered on ride and handling, just need to save for a bit and wait for better weather to start spannering. Your thread just prodded me into actually starting to type stuff out!

Hi guys! I'm coming a bit late to this topic, but have found the same 'wandering' nature to my GS430 throughout my brief ownership, especially on M-way/A-Road driving. I had a lot of other issues to deal with before getting to that, but it had always been high on my list to investigate. Up front it felt like a degree of tram-lining on certain, rutted, roads, but more than that I thought there was alignment issues or worn suspension bushes, so am getting mine into a friendly local place to check all those before doing anything else. Regarding shocks, I've recently installed a full set of Tein Adjustable coilovers, as one of my OE shocks had failed (worked out cheaper!!), which I've used to lower the car slightly, as well as firm up the damping slightly and can't say it's improved things - although a worn shock certainly wouldn't help. The other factor I'm going to look at is tyres, as they can make a big difference and the ones on there now (came with the wheels) are fairly 'low-rent'! I'll be really interested to see what others come up with and will post on here if I find anything.

Considering I joined this forum in 2009, it's a bit strange writing an intro post, but I've not been on for ages, so here goes... My name's Mike and I've just returned to a GS, having had 2 x Mk1s a long time back: and have just taken on this Mk3 two weeks ago: A GS430 in exactly the colour combination I'd been looking for and in very good condition. A few things needing sorted out, but all in the minor DIY category. The plan is to use it as a daily driver for commuting (so an LPG conversion is being fitted the week after next) and enjoy wafting about in comfort and reliability (it's replacing a Honda Accord, so this was a key factor 🙂 ). Considering that this now makes it the third V8 in the Macdonald stable, I think I may have a bit of a condition! I've also never been able to leave a car alone for long after buying it, so will probably be asking lots of tech questions in the not too distant future...