Colin M

Hi guys, Thanks for your comments. I have a problem with a new set of shoes. I bought some new Lexus rear discs, which my indie fitted and he said that the parking brake shoes needed replacing as well as there was hardly any material left on them. I bought some Brembo shoes advertised for the LS400 but when my indie fitted them he was unable to get the brake disc back on over the shoes as there was insufficient clearance i.e. the shoe material seemed to be too thick for the disc to fit over them. Hence my question about what the correct thickness of the pad material should be. Having looked at the thickness of the material on the Brembo shoes, it measures about 3.5-4 mm, so it does not seem from your comments that this is any thicker than it should be for new shoes. Any thoughts on why the discs will not go over the new shoes would be gratefully received?

Does anyone know what the correct thickness of the pad material should be on the parking brake shoes on a Mk 3 LS400? Thanks in advance.

226,000 on my 1997 car and 176,000 on my 1996 car.

It can be difficult to get a watertight seal when welding. After welding in any repair sections, I have always covered the welded seams with seal sealer to prevent water ingress. Good luck with the repair, Pete, when the weather gives you a chance to do it.

The weekend is anything but dry around here - a few inches of snow outside - and I guess it may be the same where you are. I have done repairs in the area you mention on both of my LS400s. I thought about welding in a repair section but ruled it out, as it is a difficult area in which to weld and I thought the metal was probably too thin anyway. I used PetroPatch to make the repairs. It is made for repairing fuel tanks but can be used for bodywork repairs as well. I have found it easy to work with and it seems to have done an effective repair job on both of the cars.

If the car has been serviced properly, 200,000+ miles should not be a problem. The LS400/LS430 engines can do high mileages and still run really well. I bought my 1997 LS400 in 2014 with service history and a mileage of 211,000. It has now done 224,000. It ran great when I bought it and and it still runs great. Gearbox still changes very smoothly and no noise from the differential on the rear axle. In short, the LS range ears high mileages very well.

I think that Simon will have meant Birmingham UK. I have had quite a few parts off them in the past. My contact was Jo Mitchell but she left towards the end of last year and sent me an email just before she left saying that I should contact her colleague Connor Paggett in future and he would look after me. I have not yet had any contact with Connor but it would probably be worth you asking to speak to him if you ring them. The number is 0121 223 7494.

If it is the same remote as on the two Mk 3s I have, Malc - three buttons, a LOCK, an UNLOCK and a picture of a car with a boot open - get a flat blade screwdriver with a blade the same size as the indentation in the plastic at the top above the LOCK button and twist the screwdriver. This will separate the two halves of the fob. You will then see the battery. It is a CR2016 circular type. There are a couple of small slots at the bottom (by the green circuit board) where you can get a very small screwdriver in to lever out the battery. It is just a press fit to put the two halves together when you have replaced the battery. I have opened and shut mine as I have been writing this.

Yes, Denis, it has certainly been traumatic! Sleepless nights abound indeed! Now where's that valium ...

Thanks for this, Pete. Having watched the video, it looks as though this is showing how to by-pass the key button to the left of the boot release switch if you do not have a master key and the key button is pushed in. I am not sure whether my key is a master key but it does release the key button from the pushed in position. If only a master key allows the key button to come out, then my key must be a master key but it does not solve the problem. However, perhaps any key allows the button to come out but only a master key gets the boot release switch to work when the button comes out. I think I will follow the instructions on the video and on another video which I have watched (How to open 1998 GS300 trunk without key) to see what happens. Fingers crossed!

Being a Lexus, Chris, I would expect the switch to have lasted longer than 20 years without failing - I have must have been using it too much!

Yes, Malc, it works fine with the remote key fob or if the key is used in the boot lock.

The boot release switch inside by 1997 Mk 3 LS400 has stopped working. There is no movement in the switch and it cannot be pulled forward to open the boot. The lock to the left of the switch has not been pushed in, which I understand stops the switch from opening the boot. I have put the key in the lock, pushed the lock in and then released it by turning the key several times to see if this releases the switch but it does not. Any thoughts on what the problem is here? I am wondering whether it is worth disconnecting the battery for 10 minutes and then reconnecting it, so see whether this returns things to the default position and (hopefully) releases the switch. Any help or suggestions gratefully received! Thanks in advance.

I agree with Richard about making more of keeping well maintained older vehicles running. The environmental cost of producing a new vehicle far exceeds the cost of keeping an older vehicle which is properly maintained on the road. This is the response I always given to anyone who says old cars are not environmentally friendly, cause pollution etc.

Good luck with your hunt for another Mk 3, Steve. I am sure a good one will turn up if you are prepared to wait.

Yes, very helpful - thanks a lot.

Contact the guys at the Power Steering Store - www.powersteeringstore.co.uk - who should be able to help you. They supplied me with some hose to connect to the long U shaped power steering pipe that runs in front of the radiator. Look in the Contact Us section at the bottom of the page on the home page of their website.

If there is movement in all the rubber, I would replace the trailing arm as a first step before doing anything else. This may well cure the problem. I would check both trailing arms - the other one may have similar wear, although not necessarily, as only one arm needed replacing on my 1996 car and the other one was (and still is) fine.

Like Phil, I had a clunk from one trailing arm bush so definitely worth checking them. I don't think Lexus do the bushes separately. I bought a new trailing arm from Amayama in Japan which worked out quite a bit cheaper than buying a new one from Lexus, even after paying postage and customs expenses.

The Lexus discs do seem to last well, Brian. There is nothing in the service history for my 1997 car to indicate that the front discs have ever been replaced, so they could well be the original ones. If so, they have done 20 years and 223,000 miles, which is pretty good.

Brian, you can still get front discs from Lexus for the Mk3 or Mk4 LS400 and they are reasonably priced. I bought a pair from Lexus Birmingham a couple of months ago for £115 which included delivery.

A quick wire brush down and a coat of waxoyl or similar wax-based rust inhibitor should avoid any future advisories on the springs - probably better than flexible paint, as it doesn't matter with wax-based products if there is some grease or dirt/dust on the springs.

I would try to remove as much rust as you can from under the weatherstrip before using any rust converter, paint etc. Lever the weatherstrip back a bit away from the paintwork using a paint/wallpaper scraper and then use a needle file to remove any loose rust from the paintwork under the weatherstrip. The best primer I have used is Bondaprimer, which can be used over rust or a rust converter, but it seems to be no longer available in small tins. I agree with Roy that removing the trim is best avoided. Good luck with the repair!

Pleased to hear that you have managed to track down the cause, Allan - hopefully not too expensive to fix.

Another possibility might be wear and play in the universal joints on the prop shaft. Put the car on some ramps and twist the prop shaft backwards and forwards to see if there is any play or movement. If there is, this might show up as a clunk or thud on acceleration or deceleration.