runsgrateasanut

Its like Credit Card details you mustn't leave a gap between the letters and numbers

Saharan Sand OKA Beige surely? Very nice

click on the hotlink in Steve2006 thread above, to see. Perhaps not for the faint hearted.

Excellent tutorial thread to help, If mine started having this problem ( much like the M104 Mercedes Engine which loved to leak at the front but fortunately was not onto the Alternator - I loved that W140) I'd be tempted to make a shield for the Alternator and just keep an eye on the oil level, topping up as necessary. Too much work for Moi to attempt, and looks like a very expensive fix to have sorted. I've drawn the line at sorting a Starter Motor which (not tempting fate I hope) so far has not occured.

Powerflow replaced y pipe with S/S welded direct to both Cats and centre box for £200 as per a thread on this forum and others have had the same thing done (quoting the forum thread) at the same cost. I got mine done near Ipswich and very pleased with outcome. Took about three hours. You may want to check out the thread if you are not commited. "Rotten flanges to Cats" I think was the title?

Just a few thoughts - engine oil is rarely black in these engines unless the engine has had a very hard life with no oil changes. Not seen a change of colour in my own car when oil changed. Have you checked your Gearbox level? If you had a pin hole in one of the transmission rubber pipes perhaps it could be spurting upward on to the Alternator, but it would likely be red, or brown if you are running below level

1/4 mile turning circle

If the Cassette works then there is a conversion to have an input socket for a 3.5mm jack on a thread in another forum which looks most interesting. Unfortunately my Cassette doesn't work so i have to use my MP3 via an FM Transmitter and whats most gauling today is that Phones etc won't play Sony's ATRAC which means I need to convert the hundreds of CD's stored on my MP3 to WMA to put on my phone if my Walkmans battery dies (replacement is tricky). I do still have the CD's but what a bind.

I decided not to replace the brake shoes as new shoes will inevitably not "grab" as well as the old, which in my case should never get worn unless I leave the handbrake on. I use it every time I park up though I'm on level ground. Recommended by my Mechanic and makes sense to ensure parts don't seize.. Reason I won't replace them (though Ive got a brand new set languishing in the Garage) is having got parked up on the P&O Ferry side Ramp in a W140 once, I found it very difficult to keep the car from rolling back. OK they chocked it -eventually! but....Wouldn't want that to happe in the Lexus. I really hate those P&O ramps, bl**dy nightmare!

looks like its had a shunt up the back.

If it aint broke don't fix it. Why would you want to, if the Car is going like a dream? On the LS400 I changed mine after 115k and also the leads and ended up with a severed new lead when replacing the plastic covers. Can't imagine that the plugs will make much difference to the economy on such a young mileage but others may educate me?

must be the same on the older LS as I have yet to have warm tooties. OK so the sphericals are treated in the hot Summer to an ice cold blast which is very comforting, but can't believe owner drivers have to feel chilly in the Winter for safety's sake. Not on. Bad design.

Thats really rotten luck - its what I fear, after ploughing a fair amount of filthy lucre, not to mention sleepless nights into getting the Car to A1 (to me) condition. As I suppose you will likely only get less than a thou in value from the insurers I can imagine that they will ask for it back if you want the Car. Are you compelled to accept their offer and have no choice on getting it back? Interesting what Mike says? Do you get a refund on th cancellation period of the insurance?

Not quite sure I follow the logic here. Indecision, is it an age thing? I know that I courted the idea of a Renault with electric fold back top not long ago (under 1K) but fortunately the brain regained its connection to the circuit board.

Thanks Keith. Good of you to offer. I've got a second key which has a brass screw from an electrical light socket holding it shut as the original screw disappeared. I've also got a master key which doesn't have the button. My regular key only has a small crack at the screw point so not a problem but thought I'd change cases if like MB keys they just fall apart. So, I'm OK thanks.

I had the job done by a Powerflow guy and it cost £200 after quoting a thread on here where a similar price was the cost by other Powerflow branches. He took about three hours and I'm well happy with the result to have a new Y section welded the the flanges. As to buy the Y pipe alone would have cost I believe nearly £350 and you'd still need sort the Cat flanges it seemed a good price to pay. It should be mentioned that where the flanges fit the Cats when removed from the car there is a perfectly good S/S pipe jutting out about 3/8" to weld on to. No new Cats or Lambda's needed. Blowing exhaust bugged me for too long.

Surely you can't get away with a numberplate in that position? Have the wheels been put on backwards?

Could be OK as long as you've got the oil hot, first. Total fail trying to suck out cold oil from my Boat Engine sump. Manual pump far simpler. Never used either on the car as to remove the filter is just too much trouble so let my Mechie do it. Most local tips have a container for waste oil. speaking of which, the one near me has just removed its Aggregate skip saying that I'd need go ten miles to find another. Why Councils fail to recognise that his sort of stupidity just means that the Countryside will be clogged with fly tipping which will cost much more to deal with, I just can't fathom. I'd rather pay say £3 a load to be able to go a couple of miles than travel ten to dispose of the odd Wheelbarrow of rubble.

Wet boot, check your sunroof drains aren't blocked. If on a slope when it rains can happen apparrantly.

I add to that list a Starter motor repair kit, inflate a tyre can, extra set of Wipers and 12mm copper front oil cooler pipe work cut to size, not to mention 30 kg of tools. Never needed anything but a 5v sidelight bulb so far. Good tyres essential. Need to get that sill repaired or I would imagine its an MOT fail issue? Rust on sills always was/is ...

I think you must be right. Which explains why you don't see many /any of those keys for sale. If you can't transfer the blade then a s/h one is next to useless. If I get desperate because of a total key plastic breakdown then I may experiment with opening that one up. Not likely soon as only today did I strip down for a second time a Tomtom Go300 which I put in a new battery only to find no image on the screen. Reclipping a one inch wide by a hairs width ribbon cable when joined to two linked parts was really fun - but successful. Why did I bother? - I just won't give up when things don't go right.

Anyone any theories / experience on how the blade is removed?

From memory it only accepts .com or .co.uk certainly I couldn't log in with a .info and I daresay it won't accept googles gmail, or hotmail addresses or the myriad of extensions now available. Its an old bulletin site and maybe it tries to avoid spammers who are likely to use modern extensions?

Corrosion on/in the vaporiser and the time/cost of someone else dismantling / cleaning out the heavy ends and replacing diaphrams is probably a higher cost than replacing the Vaporiser. ( assuming they do the job which you can't tell as its internal) A diaphram kit is about £28. The Labour cost ? What did the last overhall cost you John? Its not difficult to replace the unit as long as its the same spec. A Vaporiser has an LPG inlet pipe, outlet pipe and two Water hoses. They only have to Clamp the water hoses, slow release of the gas pipe from the Solenoid (gas and engine off obviously) Keep track of the exact screw positions on the old one so that they are copied on the new. A bit of fine tuning may be needed?. There is a diagnostic plug for a computer read out Personally I'd insist on a replacement Vaporiser rather than a kit change. Check out the price. You then know its been done. I think I deleted my heavy ends photo's which might have been of interest.. I'll have a look.

Is your Car running a single point system Colin? Changing the valve in a tank is best left to the pro's who have the equipment to extract the residue LPG. I did change the shut off valve in a Mercedes when the tank was very low. Used the release valve to gently allow the gas to escape over a period of some hours at an out of the way place. Went back and gingerely undid the screws to replace. I'd never bother with Vaporiser replacement parts kits, just buy a new same model Vaporiser and its an easy change. Got a new Bigas M84 surplus to requirements. Every 20k miles.