Britprius

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the RX450H engine is the belt driven cam engine while the GS450H uses the chain driven cam engine with both direct, and indirect injection. This would explain the difference in power output. John.

Those figure are theoretical compression ratios not actual. The hybrid holds the inlet valves open for part of the compression stroke reducing the actual compression ratio. This give short compression, and long expansion strokes as in the Atkinson cycle engines. Normal engines have the same compression, and expansion strokes "the Otto cycle" Long expansion strokes make the engine more efficient by allowing more of the expansion of the burning gasses to push on the pistons for longer. If the compression ratio was as high as 13:1 the engine would run on diesel. John.

I used Blueprint parts for my GS. They have now been on the car for 2 years without problems, and from memory they were under £35 for the pair delivered. John.

Having suffered this problem myself for some while on my GS450H I can confirm the drop links definitely do cause a knock. Disconnect the link on both sides at the bottom arm and tying them out of harms way. Then drive the car "with care as there will be body roll" if the knock has gone you have found the culprit. John.

The test procedure for the links is:- Fit the nut to the ball under test. Turn the nut with a torque wrench at the rate of 2 to 4 seconds per turn. The torque required should be 0.05 N*m. Less than this figure is a worn joint. John.

Phil. If the roll bar link ball joints can be turned by hand they have had it. There is a turning torque figure for testing purposes in the workshop manual. Anything below that figure means they are ready for the scrap heap. I will see if I can dig the figure out. I have in the past effected a temporary repair on link ball joints by removing the gaiter putting the threaded pin between the jaws of a vice than smacking the circular lid with a hammer. This tightens the joint up nicely. John.

You cannot do an emissions test on the Toyota/Lexus range of hybrids because the engine cannot be made to run continuously with throttle control "holding the revs at a given level" the engine may stop running at any time. Further the emissions test is done with the engine off load, and this also cannot be achieved on a hybrid because the system will try to charge the battery putting a load on the engine this applies even in service mode. Under the regulations for the new MOT if a cat is removed or appears to have been cut open, and re- welded it is an instant fail if the tester believes the cat to have been tampered with. A small split or hole repair is acceptable, but obvious cutting open, and re-welding is not. John.

The puddle lights are not controlled by a conventional switch, but by a transistor being turned on, and off slowly. The load governing the rate of turn off. With small loads "as with small LED bulbs" this can cause the transistor to pass a small leakage current as it does not fully turn off. LED's only require a very small current to remain alight. A 30 ohm 5 or 10 watt resistor wired in parallel with the LED should cure the problem, but is wasteful on energy in effect loading the circuit to the same level as the OEM bulb. For puddle lights this is not rely an issue as they normally do not stay on for long periods. John.

I think you will find the radio has an automatic cut off timer rather than a device to turn it off if the battery is getting low. The 12 volt battery is not used for turning the engine it just readies the brake system, and boots the computers before issuing instructions for the HV battery to start the engine. With a hybrid it is difficult to tell when the 12 volt battery is getting marginal as the slow cranking normally associated with a failing battery does not apply. John.

I should also have said although a cam might not have caught video evidence it would have picked up the sound of the mirror being hit with the side of the van still in the picture through the screen. John

A dash cam would also have captured the number plate to trace the van. John.

No the angle is greater in the mounting bracket, but the glass can be changed over. John

The reason pheasants run under cars is that they have worked out they will not be shot at under there. John.

You may be able to make it work using perhaps some parts of your old mirror mounting. The angle of the "passengers" mirror to the side window of the car is much more acute than the drivers mirror to it's window. The reason why a passenger cannot see the same view as the driver out of the door mirrors. John.

The "A" figure quoted is the maximum instantaneous current that the jump start will supply not a continuous figure, and should be considered as cranking amps. This figure is important for vehicles with normal starter motors The mAh figure is a misleading figure as it sounds large. A 1000 mAh is 1amp so 18,000 mAh is 18 amps amp hours or about 1/3 the capacity of your car battery. This figure is the actual capacity of the jump pack. Your car battery is likely to have a capacity of 65,000 mAh or 65 Ah, and a figure of around 300 cranking amps. John

Jeff. The charger you have listed is a very good charger I have to say somewhat expensive, but does come with some useful attachment leads other than crocodile clamps. At the other end of the price scale is a similar offering from Aldi at £12-95 still with the smart functions. It has a liquid crystal display screen, settings for motor bike, car,and cold weather, and comes with a three year guarantee. It's down side is that if the electrical supply is interrupted it does not turn back on automatically. I have two of these. One keeps my sit on mower battery charged over the winter, and the other keeps my caravan battery fully charged over long periods of non use. This is important because the caravan is fitted with remote control electric motor movers allowing the van to be moved by hand held remote control from outside to get it out of it's tight parking area. I do not have experience of any jump packs. I have fitted a system in my car "basically a 300v to 12 volt inverter" that can be turned on to charge the 12volt battery from the HV traction battery if the 12 volt battery should become discharged for some reason. This is a bit of overkill as I also have a 110 AH 12 volt battery fitted, but although being disabled I like to be independent. John.

The 3gen UK GS450H definitely has a LSD as standard equipment. John.

Worn drop links do not alter the steering geometry. They cause a knocking noise on uneven ground. In severe cases where a link is actually broken will cause excessive body roll. John.

I recently had my wheels refurbished, and in anticipation of this problem removed the spokes myself. Many were seized. I found heating the aluminium around the holding pins with a small gas blow lamp enabled the pins to be knocked out from the rear. Do not use a large hammer, but rather a so called "toffee" hammer to avoid breaking off the holding lugs. The end of the pins "where the nut goes on" also is has splines to take a torque type socket. Using this the pins can be turned anti clock wise as the pins are tapped with a large course thread into the plastic spokes. After removal I found soaking the spokes in metholated spirits removed a layer of clear-coat that dulled the chrome. This does not harm the plastic they are made of. I then re-coated with clear coat from a spray can to protect them. I also drilled out the holes to a larger size to reduce the possibility of further seizure. John.

The GS450H has a LSD as standard equipment. This I would think would be a direct fit to the GS350 diff. John.

I do not see why not. I cannot the LS600 being any different to the Lexus cars with TPMS. John.

Not quite as easy as that. The battery is potted in a compound inside the plastic case. It is also soldered into the printed circuit by tags welded to the battery. The batteries are the size of a watch, but can be bought for as little as 50 pence each "non tagged". With reasonable care the batteries can be replaced, and is worthwhile doing in my opinion. By far the most simple way of doing this is to have the valve/monitor removed, and replaced with a standard rubber valve by your local friendly tyre depot leaving you free to fit a new battery at your leisure. Once this is done the valve/monitor can be refitted. John.

I also use the cheap bulbs, and find no difference in light output or longevity. I figure I can buy 10 of these for the price of one Lexus/Phillips bulbs, and would still be worthwhile if they only lasted 1 year. Also no problems with the MOT with the cheap bulbs fitted. John. I no what you mean about having small hands "I do not", but with patience, a light, and a small mirror the job is doable. John.

Try loading the files from the disc to a memory card or stick on your PC then use that on your laptop. John.

Hi Andy. Sorry for the late response. From memory to see the battery condition in Techstream you have to select one of the keys on the lefthand edge of the screen. I think it is marked "data". Further from what I can gather depending on the version of the software you have it will give you the actual voltage or a description from translated Japanese. I cannot remember the actual words but it was not high or low, or full, and empty, but you will understand the wording. When I get chance I will connect up to the car, and give more precise details. John.