BMCWP

I won't be spending any more money now and thankfully my hearing is still good even though I am knocking on the door of 60. From the early days of recording and live gigs we used hearing protection - from the humble foam earplugs up to the new noise cancelling headsets (that I am glad I am not paying for!) but like all things in life as we get older our hearing deteriorates anyway so new systems are not on the radar. I have a 15 year old Sony surround system at home and have no intention of changing it unless it breaks down. And I also tend to stick to high end headphones for home use (Sennheiser mostly) I often tell my friends when in the car its not how loud it is but the clarity. Yes you can spend thousands (and I know quite a few that did) and have the loudest window shattering system in your car but the novelty soon wears off and just because its loud does not mean its good. I suppose also I have been lucky enough to experience sound systems in various high end cars (Jaguar, Range Rover etc) and this car is by far and away the best I have heard. Especially when using genuine CD's there is a major difference with the "home recorded" ones both in level and sound "space". It's not obviously a home system by any means but certainly it stands out even now some 16 odd years later (a true testament to the build quality if you ask me) Oh.. btw the cassette test will have to wait I received the new Gary Numan CD in the post this morning and its getting played to death 🤣 🎹

Sadly I can (audio engineer for 30 years) 😆 I never use MP3 its either a direct .wav copy from a FLAC file and stuck onto an SD card or an original CD In other news I'm about to find out tomorrow if my cassette deck still works as I have been reliably informed (by the previous owners son) that his dad only ever Listened to the radio and its never had a tape in there in its life. I have a couple of tapes coming tomorrow (nothing that I can't replace just in case) to test it 😁

Thankfully postage is the same as the rest of the UK so its now the front runner - Just need to book a slot with my mechanic (it may be a simple job but not to me 😕😆) and then order the bits.

I've sent a question re postage to NI so will see what that is but by the looks of it this might be the better option.

So as per another thread I have mentioned I am considering changing out the radiator due to the possibility of some parts giving way and I do live in a seaside town so rust can get to cars here.... So any way I have the model in the photo below and a quick search seems to be drawing a bit of a blank. has anyone with a facelift done this and if so what did they use? another pain in the **** is I am in Northern Ireland so it is actually cheaper (and quicker!) sometimes to get parts from rockauto due to brexit a lot of mainland traders won't sell to us or quote stupid prices to ship. 🙄 thing is I am not 100% sure they even do a rad to fit my car (still looking)

So I did a bit of searching and yes finding one of those is proving a bit awkward as most OEM do seem to be US spec - I would have thought by now an OEM would be available? I'll put a request in another thread in case there is.

Took the plastic cover off and this is what I have - at least I know what I am looking for now 🙂 Do I just need the radiator or do I need a "fitting kit" of clips and hoses? (if such a thing exists)

Got the old girl through her MOT today - We have had an exemption in place for over a year now and before that had a 6 month extension due to faulty lifts in the test centres here (NI) so its been literally 2 years since the last one - but no advisories and straight through (although they recorded the miles on the "new" dash even though I told them it was wrong and showed the paperwork to prove it 🙄) Anyway its not important as I am not selling it 😁 Now.. further to the above with the radiator its something that has been on my mind for a while and I'm at the point where I need to think about a replacement or that oil cooler thingmabob mentioned for piece of mind - however I've only 86,000 or so on the car and have read before its not always needed. Both seem to be more or less same price and I am sort of wondering what to do now...... anyone any thoughts on it? If I am replacing the rad I will have to check which one I have first I imagine to get the right one.

Cheers I did think of that but my phones Bluetooth audio while good is not as good as the audio that comes from the SD card as it seems to pick up a bit of interference from somewhere. Also it would mean using my phone as the player and draining the battery unless I plug it in and then I will end up leaving the phone in the car (again) the Chinese android head unit looks interesting though but I'm happy enough for the moment until I get the car through MOT this weekend and see if I have any money left 😄

I'm sort of between a rock and a hard place with the upgrade I want v's what I can afford and what actually works. Currently I have the factory ML system and one of these. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transmitter-Bluetooth-Handsfree-Adapter-Compatibility-Black/dp/B07T9BSZ1K I put the little head unit on the right hand centre air vent, and ran the cable down and round to the rear seat power socket meaning its as neat as I can get it and also gives the rear seat passengers a couple of USB sockets. (it is also very easy to remove and hide should I wish to do so) I use conversion software and make sure my music goes onto the SD card at the very least in .wav format to give a reasonable sound. I also buy blank CD's and clone any downloaded FLAC or WAC files onto them as well as buy actual CD's as my factory system still works perfectly. I know what with the age of the car its only a matter of time until something gives but so far while not perfect it gives me the best value for money without getting a new android head unit that may (or may not) work properly.

My keyfob takes a CR2030 and I get Duracell ones for about £1 each off fleabay and as mentioned takes me a few minutes to change them. Have to buy them from eBay as amazon wont send lithium batteries in the post to Northern Ireland 😳

Turtle Wax 51768 Headlight Restorer Car Headlamp Polish Cleaner Kit about £10 on Amazon and Halfords have it as well. Just as an aside, they give you one plastic glove for putting on the final stage cleaner and sealer (you really need those as it does help) I'd bin it and use a pair of standard surgical type gloves as the little sachets contain folded bits of soaked paper/cloth and you need to unfold it which is a bit difficult with one hand. The kit has little sandpaper pads as well if the compound on its own doesn't do a great job and there are some youtube videos that show how to use it that are quite good.

Today I was mostly using a bit of elbow grease on my manky headlights. One Turtle wax headlight restoration kit, couple of cloths and a roll of masking tape later..... Literally took me 15 minutes to do and I think the results speak for themselves. Its not 100 percent but its good enough for me

Especially the loose screws! One tiny thing I looked it up and I have had the clocks since June 2019 😳 Bought from lexus spares direct on fleabay - one thing I noted is that the miles quoted when I bought it were 76,000 not the 126,000 on the ones I put in but its not an issue (and indeed too late to do anything even if it was 😄)

I had to bite the bullet and change my dash clocks over as I am due an MOT soon (long story short as my clocks were KPH only Mr MOT man said I would fail - actually 2 did and one of them was the supervisor) so, Northern Ireland rules and all that – first faulty lifts and then Covid meant no MOT since 2019. 🙄 I was worried as my steering wheel is not movable (failed motors) and I had visions of having to fix that first before I could get the clocks out – thankfully that was not the case. So, changing it over was in fact very easy and despite some sucking of teeth by a few local mechanics I found it was simply a matter of removing the trim (two screws in the top of the black dash “cowl” then prising out and unplugging the two switch packs either side and not touching anything else. I did not need to remove the covers behind the wheel and once I carefully (but with a little force) took the black plastic surround out I could see the 4 screws holding in the clocks. I was VERY worried I would drop one of these into the dash (done that before on previous cars!) so a lot of care was taken using a magnetic bit and they came out with no fuss. Pulling the bottom of the clocks towards me it was a simple enough (if again scary for me) to manoeuvre them out far enough to get my hands on the single plug and unplug it. Refitting (as the old manuals say) is the reverse of the previous steps. Plug clocks in, sit back into dash, screws back in, cowl and then switches and trim bits and the 2 screws from the top of the pod. I understand I can reset the miles with a computer at the mechanics? but failing that I have the original clocks and photos of the previous miles but to be honest even though the new clocks show more miles I am not really concerned as I am keeping the car anyway. So, that’s a major one for me off the “to do “list and well done to Lexus for making it simple 😁

YouTube video thing 😁

Must be the weather or something as my struts have just failed 😕 so I was also looking at the cheaper option - I've replaced the tailgate struts (and lower chains) on my range rover before and it was a simple enough job of levering off the old ones and clipping in the new ones (one side at a time) and reading above I assume need the ball socket end plug things as well as the struts? I was just going to order the struts themselves until I saw that, and the washers? No bother ordering unless the seller decides Northern Ireland is now an instant £50 surcharge for delivery like the last lot I ordered stuff from 🙄

I rarely use the heated seats but my passengers always use them in winter and love them so maybe its a drivers seat thing. I also had a 2006 S class and yes it was comfortable but ultimately an absolute dog of thing that cost me an arm and a leg before I got rid of it. Best seat I ever sat on was in a Citroen CX Prestige - a real armchair experience (although I am told some older American cars have big plush chairs as well) I've as yet to get around to fixing the hard seat on my car as some thing called a pandemic closed the place I was going to take it to and the usual round of no travel restrictions alternated with the lockdowns and I never got a chance.

Just discovered today that my ventilated seats have filters 😵 I suppose it makes sense as most cooling systems do but I never imagined there would be such a thing (and if you have the rear vented seats they have them as well) Initial investigation so far to purchase said filters (as I would imagine mine would need replaced by now) shows an average price of about $23US each so thankfully I will only need 2 I wonder what other unknowns await 😆 (if links not allowed feel free to delete - I tried using the link only option but it unceremoniously kicked me off the page!)

Must take a look and see if there is a cap - as for the seat I have since found a couple of places here in NI that might be able to do something so I am going to contact them on Monday and see if they can give me a rough idea of price before I vandalise the seat 😆

Guess who didn't answer my last email 😕 There is one on eBay that matches the "correct" one in your post above Phil and I have family in England so if I have to I can get them to order it and then they can send it over (why some of these companies won't supply over here has always been an unanswered question) Another issue I still have is the drivers seat cushion - I am very tempted to get a Stanley knife, cut it open and stuff a load of memory foam into it and stitch it up myself

I may just leave it alone then and stick to the radiator again just as a precaution as mentioned here on site. My mechanic thinks I am mad as he can't see any faults with it but I pointed him to the various threads and he will do it once I get the parts. Biggest issue I have is sourcing one that will deliver to Northern Ireland as most won't even answer my emails! 😕 if somebody has a part number I'll check around my local motor factors and see if they can get one.

So I am finally getting around to changing the radiator as a precaution as recommended - I am also considering changing the gearbox oil as I am at 86,000 now and was also told that was a good idea (but equally others have said to leave it) so I was wondering if anyone can point me to the exact radiator I need and what fluid (and how much) and is there a filter/gasket to get as well? are there any hidden surprises awaiting me and is there any hoses on the radiator that I should change or do the ones that are already there be ok?

Yes they do - at £45.44 for the front and £47.74 for the rear 😵

Yes - I got one in the last order as well 🙂 I think when I ordered the trim parts as I was not really in a rush for them I just used the cheaper option but on reflection I should have just took the FedEx as it would have been a few quid cheaper and a week quicker. next on my hit list is the radiator just have to work out which one to choose 😕