Razor61

I was a bit concerned too but soon realised what caused it. I adjusted the throttle cable 6 months ago due to too much slack. I didn't really have any drivability issues, I thought I did after reading the post about the 'delay pulling away' but wasn't the case or at least that's what I think. I'll be doing a 110 mile journey tomorrow, mostly motorway, and it's a journey I've done regularly over the past 18 months so will be able to tell if it's made a difference to anything. Maybe mpg will be better, but we'll see. I'll know if the mpg is better or not pretty quick. Not that bothered if it isn't better because it averaged 34 - 35 ish anyway. This morning driving to work the mpg seemed better but that's no measure at all. I only looked at it because of the work done over the weekend. The idle was back to normal at the very least and probably better. On my MK3 the idle should be 650 +/- 50 rpm according to the manual and I assumed the MK4 VVTi was the same. But it's not according to the manual and should be 750 +/- 50 rpm. Some LS400 PDF manuals say they cover the MK4 but they don't, I have 2 x versions. 1 x manual covers the MK4 VVTi and the other doesn't and must be up to 97 only. MK3 94 - 97 MK4 VVTi 97 -2000

Not done much on the car for a while, today I looked at the ‘air mix path holes’ on the throttle body. I didn’t know they existed until I read the post below. Removed the cover on the throttle body, cleaned the chamber, cleaned out the ‘air mix path holes’, cleaned the throttle body and butterfly, cleaned up and put everything back together. Started the car, it fired and stopped. Started again and it fired and stopped. Started again and all good. This was caused by all the throttle body cleaner in the intake manifold after spraying on the butterfly and throttle body. So far so good……….however, the idle was higher than normal so left the car to warm up. I could tell that the idle was higher while warming up. I’ve read other posts about high idle after cleaning the throttle body so was a bit concerned. Disconnected the battery for 20 mins, reconnected and went for a run in the car round the block and the power was lower, got back and the idle was still high. Disconnected the battery again, washed the car, about an hour later connected the battery and went for a 12 mile drive to the local supermarket. Power was back to normal, stopped at home and left the car on idle, idle was stillhigh still but gradually came back to normal. Makes sense that after doing what I did the car needs to re adjust ‘things’ to compensate. Time will tell if cleaning the air mix path holes and throttle body/butterfly will make a difference, can’t do any harm though. Before and after photos, the clean bit on the first pic is where I ran my finger along to see how baked on the crud was. It wasn’t baked on so some crud went in the holes. http://1999 LS 400 - on pulling away there is a delay in engaging gear and car lurches forward

Earlier this year I had a faulty Temp gauge, new Temp gauge wasn’t available anymore so swopped the cluster for a spare I have. That left me with a cluster with a faulty temp gauge which is good for spares or emergency use. I keep an eye on eBay for LS400 spares, while looking last night I saw a brand new cluster circuit board with 4 x new gauges for a Mk4 LS400 for sale - part number 83277-50231. Not the exact part number for my year of manufacture but the gauges are the same. Price was £96.89, thought about it for a bit and came to the conclusion it’s a bit of a bargain so bought it. I know eBay isn’t what it used to be for bargains but I think this was a bargain.

I think it has settled now, a few weeks ago I realised it felt smoother and more supple. It rides better over uneven road surfaces now as well I think.

I don't think so, done some proper testing and there isn't an issue with the car taking off quicker or delayed, it just 'seemed' like it was. I'll still have a look at the air mix path holes and clean them though.

That’s a very interesting post and link thanks, my car does seem to accelerate and take off quicker than normal/expected sometimes - mainly when pulling away quickly and put your foot down to get out of a junction quick for example. It’s a bit like the throttle cable is sticking slightly and then suddenly off you go. I’ll have a look at this and clean the air mix path holes described, can’t do any harm. The gasket for the cover plate isn’t available anymore but it’s easy to buy a sheet of gasket material and make one. Making a new thicker cover plate with a domed cavity makes sense as well, I’ll look into getting one made.

If you want a good LS400 you can have my 1998 LS400 for £10k.

It is decent money, if it’s a good one though it may be worth it. The first one you looked at was the same money. As for being off the road for 5 years, if it’s been protected then it may not be an issue. A good look at the car is needed of course, paying attention to the areas where they can rot. My current LS400 was off the road 2008 - 2015 and again 2016 - 2021. I have done lots of mechanical work, some work I expected and some I didn’t which is well documented on here. Some stuff was probably due to the car being off the road. I bought the car off the condition, no rot in the common places and my view was that mechanical stuff I can do but rot and bodywork is a different matter and can write off the car if bad enough. I looked at a fair amount of LS400’s in the £2k - £4k range, all of them had body rot issues in different places depending on the model year and were pretty rough on closer inspection. On the outside the car may look really good but dig deeper and there are places that can be really bad, you need to know where to look and check. My car has the parking sensor button things in the rear bumper, fitted in the past no doubt but have now been disconnected. Didn’t bother me at all.

This one looks decent. https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210060487378

There is a 1999 LS400 in green for sale and the same car is on eBay, looks decent to me.

LH or RH is determined by sitting in the car looking forward, therefore for the UK - LH = passenger side and RH = drivers side.

Noticed a brand new LH passenger side door mirror glass for a 94 -97 LS400 for sale on eBay, link below, in case anyone needs one. They are not available anymore and would be expensive if they were. Not sure if the passenger mirror on the Mk3 is auto dimming or not though. It’s £70 or best offer. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125573133006?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=N-15uCReRm6&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=im66MZjLQ6G&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Thanks David, it's much appreciated👍🏻 I'm getting to the end of all the work. I still have the rear shocks/mounts/UCA's to fit but I can't motivate myself to do them yet, mainly because I need to remove the drive shafts to get to the UCA ball joint nut. Manual says to remove the complete hub to replace the rear UCA's but removing the drive shaft gives access to the nut, whether I can then split the ball joint is another matter though. If anyone has a crafty method of replacing the rear UCA's with removing the drive shaft or complete hub then please let me know😉

The car passed the first MOT in my ownership at Lexus Bolton yesterday without any advisories. I would have been very annoyed if there were advisories after all the work I've done on the car.................... I knew the headlight aiming was too low and Lexus Bolton adjusted this for the MOT. I assume this was caused by replacing the suspension arms and needing to disconnect the height sensors. Rather than disconnect the sensor arm from the suspension bracket on the front, I had to disconnect it from the sensor itself after marking the position. This was due to the nut being seized on the suspension arm and I needed to get it into the garage to work on it.

Applied the vinyl wrap to the passenger door trim which was the only one with chunks of paint missing. Spent a bit of time working out the best way to do it. Wound the passenger window down, measured a length of wrap and applied it. Trimmed the edges and it went on really well. Shut the door and was very pleased, ready now to do the rest. The rest are in good condition with no paint missing but I wanted them all to match. However, I stood back and looked at the result. The finish is pretty close to the rear door so I didn’t bother doing the rest. Next job………the black button on the rear passenger side glass were most of the paint has gone. Button is the same size as a 1p coin so just that as a template to cut a circle. Dried the button and applied the wrap. It’s not perfect and I may do it again if it starts coming off after washing etc but it’s a hell of a lot better. Overall I’m pretty chuffed and thanks again to Howard for suggesting it. pic of before wrapping, not the best pic cos it’s cropped from another pic of the whole car but you can see where the paint is missing and I’ve used a permanently marker. Trim done button done

I've took the plunge and ordered the satin finish and a toolkit to go with it. I'll see how I get on and posts some pictures.

Thanks Howard, good advice and good to see a piece of the vinyl in situ.

Maybe it was due to a ***** up when I flattened the primer which I haven't mentioned....................... I used panel wipe after flattening and it started to remove the primer and in places it was back to bare metal and uneven, thinking about it I shouldn't have used panel wipe at all but you live and learn. I did leave the primer to dry for 24 hours. Very very annoyed with myself so wiped down (not with panel wipe), cleaned and gave them a another thin coat of primer. I really couldn't wait until the next day for it to dry for 24 hours again, flatten and spray the top coats so left them for an hour, used a hairdryer for 10 mins, wiped down and sprayed the top coats. The orange peel effect is all over the trims not just at the bonnet end, in real life you can't really see it unless you get close and in the high res pictures I took you can see it. Proof is that further up the trim it looks fine in the pics. When the paint hardens I could try flattening the paint and buffing it but I'm not bothered because it looks spot on and I quite like the subtle 'textured effect', a professional sprayer may disagree but I don't care.

Thank you Howard, next job is the door trims in Gloss Black. The drivers side is ok but the passenger side is pretty tatty and permanent black marker only last so long. Removing them to spray isn't an option or practical, I don't fancy masking off the side of the car just to rub down/spray them and doing them outside with the time you need to wait between primer and top coats isn't an option either. So I think your idea of vinyl wrap is the best option. I'll need to build up the paint where it's come off with some kind of fine filler or just spray the affected areas with some primer and paint and flatten so the surface is nice and flat for the wrap. I'll order the stuff today when I get chance and see how it goes.

Job completed, trims refitted and I’m pleased with the result. Bigger job than I thought but glad I did it, if nothing else I sorted the rusty bits under the trims. The worse rusty bit would have rotted through in a year or so I think. There is some glue on the roof from where the masking tape was stuck for a few days but will remove that when I next wash the car. Leaving that for a few weeks to let the paint harden. The paint is still soft but should cure and harden in a few weeks, I hope. Wax applied to give some protection. I nicked a bit of paint with a fingernail putting the door seal back, only a very tiny bit so touched it up with a touch up stick using the black paint I used, did it after I took the photos. If there is a next time for this I would buy a second hand pair if possible, paint them and swop them over. There is a pair for sale on eBay but they are £55 each and were available before I started this job, if they were £20 each I would have bought them. I might buy them anyway, will have a think about it.

I feel your pain and have been there myself a few times, what should be a straightforward job turns out to be a pita and is always something that ‘has’ to be sorted. I.e rear anti roll bar bracket - bolt snaps - can’t leave it and needs to be drilled and tapped. The rear engine mount or transmission mount wasn’t a 5 min job for me to do under the car even though the bolts came out ok. Getting the mount etc off was fine, getting it back on wasn’t as easy. I struggled with it and needed another trolley jack under the mount to push it up so I could get the outer bolts in. A lot easier done on a ramp of course, like most things. I think you have been really unlucky for a bolt to snap, it’s not an area I would expect it to happen. You are right to take it to a specialist to get it on a ramp with good access and get it sorted out. Worse case, if it’s not a blind threaded hole, it could be drilled out completely and fit a nut, bolt and washers maybe.

They did look like new and it did go well…………until I came to glueing the rubber trim on one of the trims😠 I should have glued it on before I sprayed the trims. I didn’t realise the paint wasn’t quite dried/hardened so when I placed them onto some clean material to check and glue the rubber trim, the material left a weave pattern in the paint in some areas with just the weight of the trims. I wasn’t chuffed at all………….so with rubber trim glued in place now, it was back to the garage - cleaned them down and another 2 coats of paint. Left them for an hour then moved them into the house where it’s warmer. They will stay there for a few days before I fit them to the car.

If I had some paint I may have done but I’ve already bought the satin black paint. flattened the primer this morning, 3 coats of satin black applied approx 6 mins apart and they are hung up drying. Painted the bits around the screw fittings that were rusted with a touch up kit I bought a couple of weeks ago from Chipex to sort some stone chips. I’ve covered everything with cling film and masking tape so it doesn’t get wet where the trims are supposed to be. Tomorrow, when the paint is dry, I’ll glue the rubber seal on and refit them.

Removed the windscreen trims and sanded off the old paint, the finish looks really good so placed them on the car and took a pic. Looks really good on the car but they are being painted and 3 coats of etch primer has been applied. Tomorrow they will be gone over with very fine wet and dry, cleaned, wiped down with panel wipe and sprayed with satin black. One of the thin rubber seals has detached so will be glued back on after they have been sprayed with the final coat and dried overnight. There was some corrosion round the top screw fitting on the drivers side so it’s been cleaned, scraped and De-ox gel applied to work it’s magic overnight. Whole thing should be finished on Monday, not spent a lot of time on it. It’s the time you need to wait for things to dry properly or leave to do their stuff.

The problem screw which had the pozi rounded.