LS Jasper

Sorry, 1995. Will check under the cover this evening. Idle is perfect normally, just with the A/C that it is up and down like a yo yo! I have also seen some other threads on checking/cleaning the IACV. I run on LPG and assume that this should minimise the build up of carbon deposits on IACV? A mechanic mate told me than when he strips down an engine run on LPG it looks like new compared to petrol-run engines. Certainly the inside of my exhaust when I was under the rear bumper looking up into it has a lovely silver/gold sheen.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, more pedal pressure required than normal. How do I find out where all the vacuum pipes are!?

Hi,

First warm day in ages so gave the A/C a good cold blast. Working well but when I slow down the idle is erratic and takes an age to come down to the usual. Idle is fine with A/C off. Braking also feels a bit lumpy too. Any thoughts?

Jim

Disconnected the heater matrix and tried to flush it through. At first I couldn't get the water through but connected up a hand pump and forced the water through. Nothing obvious came out by way of an obstruction but water was passing through nicely. Filled it up with coolant, connected it back up and started her up and I now have hot air coming through normally! Must have been some sort of blockage. I have been out in her three times today just to check that it all still working! Kid with a new toy!

Cheers for everyones help.

Jim

I think I have found the problem to my heater blowing out cool air when engine is idling. I have a PRINS LPG system which was fitted in 2003 and serviced in April 2011 - all works well. As mentioned in my earlier comment, the LPG system is linked to the cooling system in order to cool the LPG vaporiser by way of a T from the flow and one from the return into the heater matrix. When the engine is up to temp and the engine is idling the flow pipe into the heater matrix is hot, but the return up to the T is not. However, the return pipe into the T from LPG vaporiser is hot.

It's actually to warm the vaporiser, not cool it (without heat, they frost up in no time & stop working).

Thanks Ade, learning all the time! Any thoughts on what I can do to stop the draw to the vaporiser and away from the heater matrix at low revs??? Will contact the lpg installer tomorrow and see if he has any suggestions.

I think I have found the problem to my heater blowing out cool air when engine is idling. I have a PRINS LPG system which was fitted in 2003 and serviced in April 2011 - all works well. As mentioned in my earlier comment, the LPG system is linked to the cooling system in order to cool the LPG vaporiser by way of a T from the flow and one from the return into the heater matrix. When the engine is up to temp and the engine is idling the flow pipe into the heater matrix is hot, but the return up to the T is not. However, the return pipe into the T from LPG vaporiser is hot.

Sorry - hit reply by mistake

Interesting - I have been trying to resolve my low pressure / cold air at low revs heater problem. I did change the pollen filter six months ago but not checked since. Could there also be blockages in that area that would restrict air flow? Will go and check now.

Jim

Wonder if running on LPG makes any difference? As part of the Prins system I have, there is now a T on the heater matrix inlet/outlet hoses in order to include the LPG system in the cooling process. Not sure if that T upsets the flow at low revs?

Also anyone have a view on whether running on LPG will increase the visible exhaust fumes when engine is idling? I have been experimenting, running on both LPG and petrol and I definately get more visible white exhaust emissions when idling at cold external tempretures. Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Jim

Did the full coolant flush last weekend. The pinkish stuff that came out was pretty grim. Quite a job to find both the drain valves either side of the engine block plus surprised that both needed different size sockets! Gave it a full flush too. Outcome - no change on the heater issue. Have read back on some older threads and now wished i had disconnected the in and outlet hoses to the heater matrix to check for any obstructions. My mechanic feels that there may be a flow obstruction which restricts flow during low revs. Other thread has Ruud disconnecting and flushing the heater without having to drain down and so that is my next plan.

All thoughts welcome.

Jim

Also get a bubbling sound when I accelerate shortly after starting up. Read somewhere that this could indicate air in the heater unit. May be an airlock in my cooling system, particularly the heater unit. Would that result in cooler air being blown through the heater system when the car is stationary? When I accelerate does that result in increased coolant circulation? Although I have nothing to compare with I don't think even at max hot the system gets that hot.

Need to do full coolant change anyway so perhaps now is a good time???

Thoughts?

Jim

Hi Dale,

Not checked the Owners Club for a while. I'm the other member that Ambermarine mentions. I had a go at replacing the same bushing as you with an Adus one. Was assured it was the right one but I didn;t find it so! How did you get on?

Jim

Like Richard said, doing a full transmission fluid change is not difficult and saves the time doing just a sump change. I did mine jacked up on axle stands. You just need a mate to turn the car over for short intervals while you are under the radiator checking how much is pumped out. I'm a real novice at such things and so if I can manage it.....

Jim

Nothing noisy going on. Temp gauge reaches the usual postion just below half way after about 5 mins. Not sure when I start to get warm air from cold but will check Could I have an air lock? I am planning to change the coolant soon as the car came with blue rather than the red coolant.

Haven't been out in the car this week as had a little sporting injury to my leg and so been laid up! Will have another check of possibles tomorrow.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Jim

Topped up the coolant but it only needed about 75ml - not enough to make that much difference. Kept an eye on the coolant level with the engine ticking over and no movement in the resevoir. By temp gauge, do you mean the outside gauge next to the clock or is there another heater gauge I should be looking at?

Cheers,

Jim

Hi all,

Cold weather has got me using the heater properly for the first time since buying my 1995 Mk3 LS back in April. When driving heater works ok, but when I stop at the lights, traffic etc it starts blowing out cold air - not nice on my toes on a cold morning. If I turn the blower down to minimum at the lights then I get the hot air back again. Once I start revving again I get full power and heat again.....

Any thoughts?

Jim

Good to read your progress. The LEXLS.com site suggests 2hrs. Like you, it took me a day to do one side. With my Mk3 the bushes on the hub seemed in good condition, the worst one was on the body side of the trailing arm. According to the various diagrams I had this should be the Adus 5056. Took everthing apart again yesterday and ended up taking the arm and bushes to Kwik Fit where a friend of a friend works and he had a go at pressing the bush in. No joy. I also had a pack of bushes for one of the suspension arms, the one which has bushes on both ends (the other has a ball joint on one end). These came as a set, Adus 583. Anyway, one of those proved to be an excellent fit for the body side of the trailing arm, although, once again, I had problems with the sleeve being too long for the flanges. When I torqued the bolts the bushing was still loose. So cut down the sleeve to allow the flanges to compress against the bushes when torqued. Success!

Had a go at the other side, feeling confident! However, took me two hours to get the bolt out of the body side of the trailing arm. Finally managed it. Car feels nice a firm and as I still have rubber bushes on one end I don't feel the ride is overly firm.

BTW did you have to jack up the hub in order to get the trailing arm to re-fit?

There definately seems to be differences between the Mk1 and 3.

Jim

Thanks for the feedback. I still have the other side to do so would love to be able to use the Adus 505 as is, without any modification. It is hard to explain the problem I had and I am no expert! I'll try again, if that's ok:

When assembled in the strut the sleeve is much longer than the bushes (which fit nicely as you describe). It is difficult to actually slide the strut back between the flanges but not impossible. The bolt slides back nicely through the flange, sleeve and out the other flange. The sleeve is now firmly wedged between the two flanges, with a gap between each flange and the sides of the bushes. So when the bolt is tightened there is no compression happening onto the bushes. I did think that maybe the sleeve was supposed to fit 'inside' the flange, through the bolt hole itself? I tried this but there is no way the sleeve would fit into either side of the flange.

I had a good look at the LSLex.com site before starting this and the strut arm is a different shape on the older model in that tutorial. Would that make any difference?

As you say, these Adus 505's are pretty standard in the US for both my model and earlier and so I was surprised and disappointed not to get it to fit. One of my mates who came to give some advice is a mechanic and he too couldn't see how the sleeve was going to fit.

Suggestions welcome!

Jim

Hi,

The sleeve is longer than the flanges and so when tightening the bolt it cannot compress the flanges as the sleeve restricts any contact with the flange. Does that make sense?

Cheers,

Jim

OK, had a go at tackling the rear trailing arm (strut rods/rear axle carrier arm) bushes at work today. Got the Adus 505 snd 5056TA from the states and the packaging says they are for LS400 '89 - '00 models snd so should be ok for my 1995 Mk3.

Got the arm off without too much bother but hadn't supported the hub with jack/axle stand and so this caused a bit of head scratching later in the day as it twists out of position once the strut is removed. Jacking up the hub under the brake disk did the trick to bring it bsck into line with the strut.

Also got the old rubber out with a 3-jaw, as shown on the LexLS.com site, without too much bother on the non-hub end of the strut first. However, while the Adus 505 fits very nicely, the metal sleeve is about 3mm longer than the one I removed and has a wider internal diameter and so the original bolt to attach it back to the frame would rattle around inside it !

I cleaned up the old sleeve thinking I could re-use that part, but this has a much narrower external diameter than the Adus and so wasn't a snug fit either.

I thought that maybe I had the 505 and 5056 the wrong way round but there was no way the 5056 was going to fit that end and the sleeve on that is exactly the same size. Although I hadn't started looking at the bush on the hub end at this stage, I thought I would have a quick look and realised that neither 505 or 5056 would ever fit that end and so decided to leave the orginal rubber where it was at that end.

Back to the other end I have a nicely cleaned up strut rod but no bushing that will fit! Was beginning to panic about how I would get home and be ready for camping tomorrow...... Made a couple of 'Help!' calls to mates who kindly came over to offer their advice/laugh. Ended up cutting up a Fosters can into strips the same length as the orignal sleeve and tightly wrapping the strip around the sleeve before threading through the new Adus bush. Nice fit! Bolted it all back together and although I am only expecting to use my Fosters beer can fix as a temporary one, the strut felt nice a secure and doesn't seem to need the hub end bushing being replaced.

However, I still have the other side to tackle and did wonder whether I would notice any difference on the drive home. The Foster-fix side did feel more solid but that may just be my imagination!

In short it would appear that the Adus 505 is not an exact replacement bushing for the Mk3 as the sleeve is not the right size. My next plan is to have a couple of sleeves made up to the right dimension at a local Engineering workshop for both sides (although I'm also keen to see how long my Fosters-fix will last!) The 5056 is definately not a replacement option for the hub end of the strut rod.

Happy days!

Jim

This is the price I got from Jerry at Auto Warehouse for my 1995 Mk3

Adus 505 $32.04 X2 $ 64.08

Adus 5056 $32.04 X2 $ 64.08

Adus 583 $43.69 X2 $ 87.38

Shipping $ 13.95 Priority. First class is more.

Grand Total $229.39 (about £140)

The 505 and 5056 are for models 89-00 rear strut rods/rear axle carrier/rear trailing arm.

The 583 come as a pair for both ends of the rear lower suspension arm. Jerry assures me they will fit my 1995 Mk3, as well as earlier models.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180680890949&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

This link will take you to the eBay site for the 5056 part and there is a handy diagram to enlarge which shows all three bushings.

Jim

Hi

Just an update

With regards to the Mark 3 LS according to the following link the bushes fit the 90 -00 models.

www.armstrongdistributors.com

The source I am using for the bushes is

USA ebay Auto wearhouse.

Hi,

I too have been researching these bushes. My car is judderings when braking and castoring at the back. The car has been in my workshop for a week, jacked up, Wheels off, and ive been lubricating all the suspension nuts and bolts with WD40.

I got the bolts off the rear bushes on saturday.

I have found Prirace.com in the UK that will supply the rear trailing arm/axle carrier arm bushes for under £40 delivered.

Im about to order a set today.

Looks like the rear axle carrier/trailing arm/strut rod has the same bushes for all 89 - 00 models. That's my first project! The rear suspension arms (No 1 and 2 in my manual but also called Upper and Lower Arms) appear to be different. There are aftermarket bushes for 89-94 models but can't find anything yet for 95-00 models for these two arms. Anyone with a Mk3 done anything other than replace the whole rear arms? There seems to be more 'choice' for front suspension parts. Is that because they wear out quicker?

Got the first MOT tomorrow since buying the car so fingers crossed.....

Hi

You are correct and the lower arm configurations were changed on the Lexus LS400 after 94 when the suspension was updated ,I think that the lower arm was redesigned to incorporate the bushing on the hubside within the arm rather than the knuckle on the hub and as there are no bushings shown anywhere for that after 94 period I am assuming it nessacary to purchase a arm and that will be from Lexus I am afraid to say.

With regard to the upper arm I have not seen any reference to wear problems on this arm probably because the hubside fastening is a balljoint and could not be replaced anyway and to that end it is probably a new arm .

I should as you say concentrate on the struts first get them done and see how the suspension feels then before you embark on any further effort and expense.

Hi

Need to make a correction to my last post ,the part I reffered to as the upper suspension arm is in fact the lower suspension arm no 1 and it is also called the toe in arm.The upper suspension arm is in fact the dished wishbone and as a bush to each end,These were replaced on my lexus 10 years ago and according to the tech who did it a ballache

as the exhaust as to come off.

At the time I got a deal from the service manager as they had cocked up a previous job on the car so he underestimated the time it took by four hrs he had it in for 2 and the job took six and that was replacing the arms not putting new bushes in because at that time bushes were not available anyway so it was not a diy job.

I would seriously check out the need for replacing these componenents before starting the job because the cost of the bushes alone from prirace is nearly £200.

Ordered the bushings for the rear struts from Auto Warehouse and will tackle that job first and see how she feels. Jerry from Auto Warehouse says he has bushings for the lower suspension arm for a 1995 model too. He has sent me his rear suspension diagram and it is the same as mine and the same as the one I got from my local Lexus dealership today. They are the Adus 536 bushings. Gonna get him to include those as looks accessible for a DIYer. Removing the lower arm does affect the rear wheel allignment but if I mark it up before removal I should be ok!?

BTW car failed MOT today because one of my tyres was on the wrong way round!! Got a tyre changing machine at work so will get it turned round tomorrow and then another years motoring!

Jim

Well, that was so easy! Once the gear lever panel was out and the vents removed, it took literally 5 minutes to swap the radios over. The worst part was putting the first screwdriver between the leather and wood panel.

So now my radio has working backlights-funny how something so simple makes a car so much nicer to drive!

thanks for the advice-I'd never have worked it out without it.

Am jealous! Having tried the solder fix and it not working I know what you mean about having something so simple working makes a big difference. Might have to source a working secondhand one.

Hi

Just an update

With regards to the Mark 3 LS according to the following link the bushes fit the 90 -00 models.

www.armstrongdistributors.com

The source I am using for the bushes is

USA ebay Auto wearhouse.

Hi,

I too have been researching these bushes. My car is judderings when braking and castoring at the back. The car has been in my workshop for a week, jacked up, Wheels off, and ive been lubricating all the suspension nuts and bolts with WD40.

I got the bolts off the rear bushes on saturday.

I have found Prirace.com in the UK that will supply the rear trailing arm/axle carrier arm bushes for under £40 delivered.

Im about to order a set today.

Looks like the rear axle carrier/trailing arm/strut rod has the same bushes for all 89 - 00 models. That's my first project! The rear suspension arms (No 1 and 2 in my manual but also called Upper and Lower Arms) appear to be different. There are aftermarket bushes for 89-94 models but can't find anything yet for 95-00 models for these two arms. Anyone with a Mk3 done anything other than replace the whole rear arms? There seems to be more 'choice' for front suspension parts. Is that because they wear out quicker?

Got the first MOT tomorrow since buying the car so fingers crossed.....

Hello,

I was underneath my 1995 Mk3 yesterday for a 'look round' and found that the rear strut rods (are they also the rear trailing arms and rear axle carrier arms??) had a fair bit of play in them when I wiggled them by hand. I don't notice any problem when driving but suspect the bushes are pretty warn. I can find loads of threads and web info for 1990-1994 models but not 1995 models. Some sites appear to show that I can use that same bushes for Mk1 - 3 models. Can I?

Has anyone replaced theirs recently? Where did you source the bushes? Any advice? I've read that Lexus dealerships only supply the whole arm. Is that the case?

Cheers,

Jim