Colin M

Hi Mark Thanks for this. I have thought about looking for a replacement wing from a car being broken but the wing I have, apart from the wheel arch lip area, is very good and I think I am unlikely to find one that is any better. But thanks for drawing these to my attention. Regards Colin

At some point in the not too far distant future, I will need to replace the offside front wing wheel arch section on my 1996 LS400. I was wondering whether anyone knows of a repair section available for another vehicle which has a similar profile to the wheel arch lip on the LS400. Any information gratefully received. Thanks. Colin

Maybe it hasn’t been changed! If that is the case, the belt has lasted very well. Not really any cause for concern when it is a non-interference engine if the belt does snap.

The cambelt on the non-LPG car was changed in 2018 at 226,000 and the current mileage is 240,000. The cambelt on the LPG car was changed prior to my ownership but I do not know the exact date or mileage. I am looking to change it now based on age as it has been on for 10+ years, although the mileage will be well under 100,000. 10 years or 100,000 miles seems about right to me.

Thanks, that’s reassuring and good to know. Ward End is not too far from where I am (about 12 miles), so that would be quite convenient. Thanks for the recommendation.

My LS400 Mk3, which has a LPG conversion, is due a cambelt replacement soon. Does anyone with a LS400 LPG car have any experience of having the cambelt replaced? I am not intending to do this myself but would be interested to know if this has proved problematic for installers. Any information gratefully received and if anyone could recommend an installer in the West Midlands or Staffordshire areas (I am in the West Midlands but very close to the Staffordshire border) that would be most helpful. Thanks a lot. Colin

There is a lpg app called myLPG.eu which enables you to search for the nearest lpg filling stations in particular areas. I have found it easy to use and very helpful.

Yes, lots of life in it! My 1997 LS400 is currently on 237,000 and my 1996 LS400 is on 196,000, and both are running well. Fingers crossed they will continue to do so.

I hope Kieran is able to fix this for you, James.

I am just providing an update on this post to notify members that Carl Spinks (see my last post above) is retiring at the end of this year and therefore will not be available in future to fabricate any of these brackets. He does, however, have some additional brackets that were produced at the same time as when he made mine. If anyone is interested in obtaining a bracket or pair of brackets, then send me a personal message and I will see if I can arrange a purchase for you. Thanks , Colin

Yes, James, it is disappointing. I don’t know whether it is the bulb filament that goes or the solder joint that no longer provides the electrical connection but an easily replaceable bulb would have been much better. I haven’t found it to be too much of problem as I can still see the pre-set radio channel buttons when it is dark even without the radio light.

As far as I am aware, there isn’t a bulb that can be easily replaced - the light is, I think, soldered in and replacing it is quite an involved job. The radio light does not work on either of my Mk3 LS400s and this seems to be a common problem.

I have been with RH for a long time, going back into the last century! They have covered my Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire 346 since the late 1990s and cover both of my LS400 Mk 3 cars on 5000 miles each per year. Neither of these cars is garaged and they are both parked on the drive. Driving of the cars is not restricted to me and my wife, son and daughter can all drive them as named drivers.

The car jacked up ok on the near side but I will be taking the sill cover off to see what the rear of the sill on that side looks like.

I have always used a slotted puck to avoid damage to the sill flange when jacking. This works fine as long as the sill remains strong enough to take the car’s weight but there may come a point when, due to rust, it is no longer strong enough … I recently jacked up the offside rear of my 1996 car in order to change the wheel and tyre, only to be met by a crunching noise as the car started to lift. With the sill cover in place there was nothing to suggest anything might be amiss but on removal of the sill cover it was readily apparent that all was not well. The following areas needed replacing: the bottom section of both the outer sill and the inner sill, part of the area behind the sill lip and the lower front section of the wheel arch. I took quite a few photos of the repair work as I was doing it and have added these to this post as others may find the photos helpful. As you can see, all the rot was cut out and new metal welded in. This should make for a long lasting repair.

Really sorry to hear this news Pete. A very sad day for you after 16 years with a LS. Those of us who have had a LS for some time (12 and 10 years for my two cars) will know how you feel. Good to know that you will be staying on the forum. All the best Colin

Sorry guys - hadn’t realised that the topic had moved onto the rear screen, as I had not read Mikael’s post …

I had the windscreen on my 1996 LS400 replaced earlier this year (on 8 March) by National Windscreens in Birmingham and I am not aware of them having had any difficulty in locating a replacement windscreen. Might be worth contacting your local National Windscreens branch to see if they can source one.

Thanks, Stuart. I think I have used South Wales Props myself in the past and they have a good selection of ball joint rubbers. I have just had a look on their website and one of their rubbers has the part number DC153K. This may be the one that you are thinking of - on this particular one, the small hole is 13mm, the large hole 35.5mm and the height is 30mm. I may have to see if I get the measurements from the ball joint rubbers that are on the car, unless anyone happens to know the measurements. Another good website that I have found for ball joint rubbers is www.ej-parts.co.uk

Has anyone replaced the upper and lower ball joint dust covers on the front suspension steering linkage? The rubbers on the off-side are starting to split and I would like to replace them if possible before there is any ingress of water and grit. Does anyone know what the measurements of the dust covers are (small hole size, large hole size and height) and if the dust covers are available separately? Any information gratefully received and much appreciated. Many thanks, Colin

Thanks for all your helpful comments. I will have a go at removing the sensors and see if I can clean up the reluctor rings.

Thanks, Simon. Is the first step to remove the sensor (and is it threaded so removal is by unscrewing or is it a push fit so it needs wiggling out) in order to access the gear wheels? Also, are the gear wheels on the end of the sensor that goes into the hole so as to mesh with the teeth that can be seen through the hole? I have done a fair bit on work on brakes over the years but never anything on abs (as you can probably tell by the above questions …). Re the brakes, yes, they were given a good clean as well as an inspection.

Thanks, guys, for your helpful comments. Giving the abs sensors a clean up might be a good first step to see whether this solves the problem. I am not sure whether the abs sensors are OE or not. They have been on the car since I have had it and there is no record in the service history (which is pretty comprehensive) of them having been replaced. They just might be the original ones! I do have OE brakes as regards pads and discs - new front discs and pads were fitted about three years ago.

I wonder if anyone can shed any light of an intermittent brake problem that is occurring on my LS400 Mk 3. Occasionally, usually at low speed when braking and just before coming to a stop, there is a grinding/grating noise and some juddering. I have taken the car to my local garage for them to have a look. The fault did not appear on their first road test, so they gave the brakes a good look over and inspection, reporting that “All look to be in good condition. No signs of uneven wear, scoring or corrosion”. The fault did occur on a second road test and the tester said “It feels like the abs system is kicking in” but he was unable to run a diagnostic check as the garage did not have the correct adapter plug to access the OBD port. Before taking the car to the garage, I had thought about a possible abs fault which might explain the juddering as the brakes are being applied on and off but would not have expected any accompanying grinding/grating noise. I had also thought about a small stone being trapped somewhere around one of the brake discs (we have a gravel drive), which I mentioned to the garage but there was no sign of any stone. I may have to visit a main dealer to get a diagnostic check (is the LS400 diagnostic plug an unusual one so other garages are not likely to have an adapter to gain access?) but thought I would put up a post on here first before doing so to see if anyone else has experienced anything similar. Any comments or suggestions gratefully received and thanks for taking the time to read this.

The fabricator I used is Carl Spinks of T.Spinks Fabrications, who are in Maybrook Road, Brownhills WS8 7DG. Carl’s contact details are set out below. Phone: 01543 379015 Email: t-spinks@btconnect.com I have posted up some photos of a new bracket alongside the secondhand template bracket. The new bracket is 3mm thick, which was probably the thickness of the template bracket when new. The template bracket, with rust removed, is a bit thinner now, making the new bush a looser fit. The application of a few coats of paint may make it usable and a firmer fit but the new bush (polyeurethane, part number 211934B, obtained from Strongflex UK) is a nice, tight fit in the new bracket. The last two photos show a new bush fitted to the new bracket and to the template bracket. An additional plus is that the new bracket is made from galvanized steel which will minimise the risk of rusting on the outer and inner faces (although the cut edges, not being galvanized, will need painting).