GrahamG

John, is the complete duct too large to put in a box and send to me? I have everything needed here [ Fleet, Farnborough ] in my workshop and would not charge you.

John, I did not expect the Araldite to actually bond the plastic; gluing polypropylene is like gluing butter. My idea was that the tow being continuous length/s could be wrapped around the spigot and the larger diameter branch pipe it is attached so many times it would end up encasing both parts within a strong sheath/shell of carbon. . They would be physically locked together rather than bonded by glue. Imagine in essence a very thick walled 15mm copper female T piece in domestic plumbing Come on, stick at it!!

Many thanks for this excellent report. My telescopic motor was replaced at 11years/82,000 miles by the main agent selling the car so I will be returning here when the tilt motor packs up. Have you been tempted to play with the original motor? A diagnosis of how it actually failed perhaps.

Adrian, I hope I am not wasting your time but if I remember correctly for the LS430 conversion from air suspension the only fuse they remove is that for the compressor. Removal of other fuses results in the dash warning light. There could of course be a difference between the two models. They certainly do not cut any wires or remove bulbs. Waxoyl works perfectly well but it stinks and goes on stinking a long time because it does not dry in the conventional sense. Dinitrol and other products do not have that drawback and get better reviews from users. I presume the primer you refer to is a rust killer/converter before you apply any paint. I have researched replacing the air struts on my LS430 because they are so expensive to replace when they fail [£1000 plus and there are no refurbished units on offer] and it seems they can fail at any time. For the cost of one corner air replacement it might/should be possible to renew all four corners with steel. I say 'might' because like you I have not found anyone in this country who has done this conversion with Lexus parts for my iteration of the LS430. If I were to suggest such a step to Lexus Guildford they would surely weep and have me escorted from the premises. Good luck

The MFD, multi functional display ie the touch screen on these cars can fail. Could it be the display has failed and the AC is perfect? Search on this site for remedies.

There is considerable interest on the USA owner's site about changing out the air suspension on the LS430. I have followed that thread closely and it is now agreed that the solution to the warning light on the dash is to leave the ride height sensors in place and electrically connected. Obviously they can no longer be physically connected. The fuse to the compressor is pulled and the latter can be sold further improving the economics of the exercise. From what I have read I would not install coil overs but would go for original Lexus metal. Would reserve Waxoyl for agricultural machinery.

Just ensure you thoroughly wet ie. saturate each fibre of the tow with the epoxy. Do this with the tow/yarn on flat surface by gently pressing the resin in with a scraping action and a small piece of wood; not your fingures. A plastic clothes peg will stop it unwinding. Do the work in the warm and do not let the temperature drop below 21degC for 18 hours. I would leave an electric lamp 6 inches away overnight to provide warmth.

John, I would use carbon fibre tow [untwisted yarn] to wrap around the join, wetted with long cure Araldite [not the 'rapid' cure because it will not wet the fibre]. Drill out and insert whatever metal tube will fit the hose or even use the broken plastic spigot but that might not give enough length. Degrease with acetone, not alcohol for epoxy resin. Fix in place initially with epoxy and when set wrap as much tow as you can around the joint and larger diameter branch arm. You might end up with an ugly lump but it will not fail. If you know a keen model aeroplane enthusiast he will show you how.

As I told the wife today the OSA [Olfactory Spectrum Analyser] will identify and record up to six different perfumes and as this is quite an old car it had taken some time for it to lock onto her. As she uses more than six perfumes I asked if I should upgrade the sensor to the 20x version for an extra £1,317.28.

No big deal this but if you have the smart key system each key can be paired to a driver seat memory position. As soon as you touch the door handle to enter the car the seat will move to the memory number chosen for that key. To register the key, get in car and close door but do not touch the ignition. Hold down required memory button and hold down 'Unlock' button on fob until beep and clunk in door. Did not tell the wife I had pulled this trick and when she saw it happen with her key for the first time I could see her mind working. Ventured the guess the Lexus had memorised her scent.

Nick, our excitement tends to work against us as customers when checking out a purchase because we do not really want to find faults. Have you thought of having a RAC inspection carried out on the car? I did this many years ago and yes it was expensive but the thoroughness impressed me and it was well worthwhile. With just a few days notice they will visit a garage or private seller and I know of instances where the cost has been recovered by negotiating remedial work. You are also often armed with useful information about the car going forward. If nothing else check the body along the 'chrome' door strips for rust bubbles [you may have to look very closely to see these] and do a bounce test of the suspension on all four corners with the engine running. Also that the ride height cycles as it should [very slowly] according to the button on the dash. Plenty of other lesser checks needed on this complex car and they can be found on this site and its sister site in the USA. No I do not want to ***** on your parade for if you can find a good LS430 it will be real pleasure to own.

Hello Nick, had a similar experience 18 months ago when I bought an '04 with 82,000 miles from Lexus Hull for £7,000 with full Lexus service history and it has been a total delight to own. The agency had even bought it back from the previous owner as in your case. I have bought 3 old second hand Lexus cars from main agents and do not begrudge them their premium on the price. In fact I would not buy from any other trade source.

If your local Lexus main agent would give you the name of the best body repair shop they use a visit to them might be worthwhile. They might know better than anyone where the vulnerable areas are.

I know it is not the most likely culprit but if you temporarily taped/sealed the sun roof you could eliminate that source.

Sorry to hear you are still in the wars. Everyone on this site must have had their fingers crossed for you. Have you searched the USA owners site? They have such an enormous number of these cars over there that problems are more frequent.

Yes, a very pretty sight but I bet you never want to see it again. Very useful reference photos for the rest of us. Just out of interest does anyone know what is the 9" diam circular cone shaped metal dish with a black pipe exiting the centre located on rear floor pan?

Hope I am not confusing different models here but as you are being so thorough worth checking the cabin air filter is not wet. Yes I know it is on the passenger side but if there is a blockage in the scuttle drainage then the filter might be soaked. Access by releasing stays which hold the glove box lid.

Worth investigating which cartridge type sealants are used by reputable body repair shops. Sorry I can't remember the German sealant I bought for critical applications like yours but builders silicone for instance is not good enough. Apologies for stating what may be the obvious.

Certainly there have been reported problems when the roof rack has been removed and the bolt holes have not been sealed correctly. The only difference was ingress of water at the back. Can well understand you must seal this car up properly before fitting those new carpets. To test if your roof rack sealing has solved the problem, rather than a hand held hose, how about one of those lawn sprinkler units and leave it 'raining' on the whole car for a good few hours. Good luck.

As an alternative to a three stage process involving a final coat of bitumen or wax I applied Rustbuster's epoxy mastic after their rustkiller liquid. The wings are double panels with a void in between and I used a £10 Ebay usb endoscope to check for rust therein. Any rust inhibitor can be sprayed therein. The Rustbuster site is worth a read and there is plenty of info elsewhere on the web. Waxoyl literally stinks and to my mind there are better alternatives. Worth getting the car up on a ramp or over an inspection pit to do the job right in my opinion.

Perhaps the choice of metal is to blame. Would have expected stainless steel. Strangely I do not have this problem on my '06 RX350 but do have severe rust on my '04 LS430. Each summer I put the car up on a friendly local garage ramp and spray all the underside with ACF-50 with an extra dose on this pipe. Not sure how much time this will buy me.

This photo shows the offside rear corner of the car and you can see the bottom of a rectangular black plastic box which is held in place in an aperture in the body shell with press fit lugs. I do not know what this box contains but it is in an identical position and of a similar size to the valve on the near side and like the valve if not seated properly would let in any amount of rain water. I would advise any owner to check this area of these cars. In my case the floor area in this photo was clean and dry with no sign of rust so I left well alone. The other side was a different story but the good news was the tiny amount of rust despite the shallow pools of water. It must have been leaking for at least four years. The metal of the body shell does seem to be well protected on these cars despite the absence of any thick coating of traditional style rust proofer which you might find underneath a car. There is another source of water ingress that has caused problems for others and that is a faulty lap joint weld directly above the attachment of the rear door air struts to the body. The weld runs across the gutter the edge of the rear door sits in when closed. Any sign of a crack there and I would scrap away the paint and apply sealant.

I should have added that in my opinion that bullet hole could well account for the water ingress. Regarding the hole through which the wires pass to the rear light fitting, that should have a large soft foam gasket for water proofing. On the nearside of mine this was missing and may also have allowed water in. My car had suffered some minor damage at the nearside rear and the missing gasket and improperly located pressure relief valve may well have resulted from shoddy repair work.

I admire your thorough approach and wish you the best of luck. You certainly deserve to succeed. May I suggest you check the pressure equalising valve is seated correctly. This allows pressure to escape when doors are closed. It is found on the nearside of my RX350 vertically located in a cut out in the body panel in the rear most corner and side of the car. It is covered on the outside by the large plastic moulding of the bumper where it wraps around to the side of the car. It is a black plastic moulding with soft rubber flaps acting as valves and is held in place by lugs which in my case were not seated correctly and allowed rain water to pour in.

Yes, RUST! Just because it is a Lexus does not mean these cars do not rust. It fascinates me how variable this problem is including within each model range. Talk to some owners about it and they are quite indignant you can suggest such a problem but I would certainly get under any prospective purchase with a strong light and examine carefully, especially at the rear. Also along the 'chrome strips across top and middle of doors' where the holes for the fixing studs can rust. Research this and see the photos and you will be appalled. Interesting how few of us when buying second hand would consider having the car up on a ramp as if what can be seen from below is irrelevant.