Colin M

I hope a fully recharged battery sorts the problem. If it does not, it might be worth checking the engine earth strap connection. If that is not making a good contact, the starter motor may not turn the engine over as fast as it should. I agree with Steve and Phil that it would be wise to invest in a smart charger. They are very good for vehicles which are only used occasionally.

Like everyone who has commented above, I would say keep your LS400. You will lose little or nothing in depreciation, the cars are very reliable and there will not be any massive bills (unless you are unlucky), and they are great cars to run and drive.

It is good to know that different Powerflow branches can do it for the same price. I have just looked for the nearest ones to me - Wolverhampton and Tamworth, both within 10 miles - so I will know where to go when the time comes. Surprisingly, the Wynn's sealant is still holding up on both of my cars ... but no doubt the time will come when it fails.

I'm with you Barry on having two LS400s. Both are used regularly and alternately. In the unlikely event of one of them breaking down, there is always another one available for use!!

I think you are probably just the wrong side for classic car insurance. This seems to be available when cars are 20 years old. I have got this on my 1996 LS400 (about £176 for 5000 miles with Footman James) but my 1997 car does not yet qualify with FJ. But it will next year. I do have my 1997 car on my classic car insurance policy with Richardson Hosken (for my Armstrong-Siddeley Sapphire) but it costs me about £260.

Yes, a big improvement- it's even given the paintwork on the car a better shine! Never been a fan of grey or black wheels - silver always look much better to me.

Yes, it needs a firm pull on the duster to release it but, as Phil says, it does come off OK. Going to back to Malc's original query, I have fitted a cheap mirror with heated elements which I bought off eBay and did a write up on the forum of what was involved. I think it was last year some time and, as far as I know, the heated elements work. The mirror does not dim at night, unlike the originals, but I can live with that.

Hi John I have sent you a Personal message about this. Cheers Colin

Yes, I do not work on gravel for the same reason! If I had to, I would put some old carpet down over the area where I was working.

There are ways of getting a second key cut even if the key you have is not a master key. I thought a key I had was a master key but it turned out not to be and Lexus Wolverhampton were unable to make a second key from it. However, they put me in touch with someone they use when they have key problems that they cannot resolve and he made me working key. It was not cheap (about £80 from memory) but it was well worth it to get a second key. PM me if you want his details.

I think only the Mk4 (1998-2000) has traction control, as neither of my Mk3s have it. The Mk1 and Mk2 are very similar (the Mk2 had bigger wheels and brakes) and the Mk3 and Mk4 are similar but with quite a few differences. Have a look on www.lexls.com (fourth letter is "l") in the Info section - there is a LS Generation link which details all the differences.

OK, Roger, glad you found it interesting. I came across the site when I was first looking to buy a LS400 but was unsure which model to go for and decided to bookmark it for future reference.

There is some good information on the lexls.com website (note that the fourth letter is "l") Google Lexus LS evolution and this will turn up a link to the relevant section on the lexls.com website (which is LS Generations in the Info section). It was the second entry down when I did a Google search. There is plenty of information on the differences and some pictures.

Yes, very useful, Malc - thanks for sharing this.

I have tried a few good taps to try to break the seal and used lots of plus gas but still no movement. Obviously difficult to get any movement when the internal hexagonal on the plug has been rounded off, which was why I was thinking of having a hexagonal piece of steel welded to the plug so some torque could be applied. I hope not to get into any slanging match with anyone over this ...

Thanks, Steve, that is a concern, although it might be minimised by a tack weld, then allowing it to cool down completely and then another tack weld etc. This would prevent too big a build of heat whilst (maybe) enabling the hexagonal piece of steel to be welded sufficiently firmly to the plug to enable the plug to be undone. No guarantees but may be worth a try. The only other alternative I can think of is trying a hammer and chisel on the edge of the plug in the hope that this might free it off. But again this has risks too. No easy solution, which is one reason why I have not done anything so far.

Someone has rounded the keyway on the filler plug on mine ... I have cut a hexagonal piece of steel the same size as the key that fits inside the keyway (10 mm) and am thinking of having it welded to the plug to see whether I can then remove the plug by using a 10 mm socket on the other end of the piece of steel. Has anyone tried this?

OK, Hugh. As Brian says, it might have been painted that way because of the preference of a previous owner. It should be an easy fix for the paint sprayer to repaint the mirror back in main body colour.

The mirror backs and brackets are the same colour on both my LS400s - both are main body colour. I think on any LS400 I have seen they have always been the main body colour. So I do not think it is correct to have the mirror backs in the lower body colour, unless anyone else knows different ... Presumably the mirror backs were the main body colour when you took the car into them to have the sides resprayed, so I would have expected them to have kept the backs the same colour or at least to have asked you about this if they were going to do them in the lower body colour.

The LS400 makes a good second car (for bridesmaids) at weddings. I have used my silver one a couple of times when I have done a wedding with my Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire.

I think the post Malc mentioned yesterday was by Tim Hunter ( who used to own my silver LS400 ... ) and was in respect of replacing the front struts, but the position may be the same for the rear struts.

A very impressive job by the guys in Morecombe and a really good price too. Thanks for sharing this info with the rest of us.

Welcome back, John, and car looks good. Many more miles of happy motoring hopefully. I have found that my car with LPG will run for quite a distance with the red light on the gauge - perhaps 20-30 miles. I thought when I first had the car that it needed filling up more or less straight away when the red light came on but this is not the case. I hope you manage to find someone good locally for any LPG work.

I have now removed the stiff pin and given it a good clean up, a light coat of grease and it now moves freely. I initially tried to remove the rubber boot where it was attached to the cylinder but it was reluctant to part company so I left it in place there. Instead I released it at the pin end where it was just pushed over a lip on the pin and it came away here quite easily. I squirted some Plus Gas dismantling fluid down the pin to help release it and get it moving. Working the pin backwards and forwards with a spanner on the nut using one hand and a screwdriver in the other hand pushing the edge of the nut on the pin, I managed to ease the pin out. I cleaned up the inside of the cylinder using a flat blade screwdriver to scrape the debris out that was in there - several scrapes with a dab of grease of the tip of the screwdriver removed most if not all of it. I have done the other car as well, which was much the same. Three pins moved freely but one was seized. This is now moving freely. It was the pin with a groove in it (bottom pin) but there was no O ring on the pin or left in the cylinder. I tried an ordinary O ring on the pin but it this made it too thick to get the pin back in the cylinder, so I left it as it was. There were no shims fitted to the pads on this car either, so I will try to source some used ones or new aftermarket ones if there are any. Thanks to all of you for your help and comments.

Hi Rupert, many thanks - I will make sure I only take one pin out at a time and then replace it. Three of the pins move very freely so I am only planning to take the one stiff one out. When I have done this one I will have a look at the pins on my other car to see what they are like - hopefully all be moving freely but probably unlikely ...