Razor61

When I asked Lexus about doing the rear carriers and UCA’s, the Lexus tech asked if I had new bearings and hubs and if not to buy them because getting the hubs out normally destroys the bearings and leaves half of it on the hub shaft which also gets damaged knocking it out. It may be the same for the front.

Your welcome, I still have some more stuff to do. Just when I think I've sorted everything out, something else pops up. Temp gauge has gone faulty - tried Amayama and could order it but then came back with a refund as they are no longer available. I have a spare cluster which I tested a while back so I'll probably swop the gauge over or change the whole cluster out - not decided on the best way forward yet. Rev and speedo needles stick sometimes so may sort out the whole lot on the existing cluster using the spare one for parts, with some help from a member on here - all being well😉 Fuel leak has re appeared during the hot weather - new fuel sender ordered with new gasket and will be fitted along with all the other tank gaskets this time. Brake wear sensor light pops up now and again - must be the rear one cos I replaced the front - had a quick look when I fitted the new wheels but couldn't see it - I was looking at the top of the pads and I've discovered it's on the bottom of the pads so will look at that at the weekend or just wait until I fit new rear discs/pads/fitting kit/shoes etc.

The manual says you need to remove the hub but the technician at Lexus Bolton has a method of replacing it without removing the hub. On the mk3 I had he did it no problem. I don't know what the method is though, I'll ask the service manager at Lexus Bolton though and see if he can tell me. However, I suspect the new brake shield is cut at a certain point and twisted/bent a bit to get it over/round the hub. Probably cut in the caliper area where its very narrow. Getting the bolts out is a challenge, you can't get the access you would normally need to get them out. If you snap one then you can't get in to drill it out and tap it, unless the hub is removed.............. For the bolts it's the same old story of soaking with penetrating fluid, leaving for a while and repeat as many times as needed with a bucket load of patience until they free up. There are 4 small bolts holding the shield on with a 6mm thread iirc so easily snapped, I managed to get 3 of them out but snapped one of them. First one came out ok, this lulled me into a false sense of security and then wasn't patient with the second one. Made sure I was very patient with the rest though, working the bolt out and in gradually with plenty of penetrating applied each time.

Cheers, brand new tyres of course which makes a difference as well. The balance weights on one of the front wheels are catching the caliper slightly so I need to get them rebalanced with either thinner balance weights or weights put in a different place on the inner rim. There isn't much room between the rim and caliper on the 16 inch wheels............

Wheels on the car now, went for a drive and the magic carpet ride is back. Before it was near magic carpet ride but not quite. Pics of wheels on the car below. Gap to wheel arch is more than it should be, I had just lowered off the jack and car not driven so it hadn’t settled to how it should be.

Had a good look at the centre caps I bought a while ago and they are not solid plastic, there is a metal plate/cover on the outside. That explains the original diamond cut finish to match the original finish on the wheels. Cleaned them up, clay barred, buffed and polished. They are very very close to the finish on the wheels and in great condition with a few marks, not worth getting them sprayed and should look good. They have been sprayed in the past so I may try removing the emblem/badge and use some thinners to get the chrome finish back. Or I have the emblems from a set of mk3 centre caps which may fit.

£250 is a good price, hope you’re happy with them. What colour/finish did you go for? I was advised to get them finished in straight silver.

It was around £400 iirc, centre caps are solid plastic like the mk3 but a different design.

Dent in the boot lid done today, looks much better and I won’t get nagged by Lexus to get it done cos it spoils the car😀 £50 to get it done. The mk4 wheels I bought a while ago have been refurbished by Lepson’s and new Falken tyres fitted. Cleaned with Gtechniq panel wipe and applied Gtechniq C5 Wheel Armour this morning. Not fitted the wheels yet because the centre caps I got with the wheels and touched up by Lepson’s are too ropey and bent to fit with the new wheels. I didn’t see them and Lepson’s said they would send pics of them but I said just do your best with them, they’re pretty bad to be honest. One of them is ok and that’s it.p I have a spare set I bought a few months ago which are in very good condition and not bent, I’ll have a proper look at them tomorrow and put one of them on a wheel and see how they look. If I’m not happy they will be sent to Lepson’s and be painted in the same colour. Few pics of the refurbished wheels after applying the Gtechniq C5

I think you’ll find there isn’t a part number for the complete cluster, I asked Lexus Bolton about this and they said there isn’t one. There are part numbers but they are for the components i.e. for the plastic covers. Part number on the main board is the key of course but the cluster needs to be dismantled to get it. Amayama lists 3 main boards for various production periods. If you get the actual production date you can figure out which main board is installed, finding a replacement though is the difficult bit………

I thought it was, I actually rang Jack when it was for sale but he had already sold it.

You could try the link below and see if they have the correct cluster. I bought a wing mirror for my 1998 LS, just for the glass, they have a lot of stuff. Maybe send them a picture of the one you want, they are very helpful. http://www.lexusbreakers.co.uk/contact-lexus-breakers/

Cartronix maybe: https://cartronix.co.uk/ Or Sinspeed: https://www.sinspeed.co.uk/lexus-ls400-instrument-cluster-repair/ By the way, is your car the 'Sumo' car that was on Number27 YouTube channel?

Maybe not at the Maybe not exactly where I said in the inner wing area looking at the manual.

I think it's in the drivers front wing/inner arch area, at the front behind the bumper iirc. You will need to remove front of the wheel arch liner to get to it I presume.

Do you have a workshop manual with the Body+Electrical section?

Very true, even a Miele washing machine isn’t worth a huge amount after 20 years🤣

I would look for a mk3 but the reality is I probably wouldn’t find one good enough. I’m happy with the car I have, apart from being a MK4 and not a MK3 of course. It’s all sorted now for the next 100,000 miles, logic tells you to just keep it after all the work but logic doesn’t seem to fit with owning cars🙃

Absolutely I would………money talks and I would make a few quid, not a massive amount but a profit is a profit. It would have to be £10k though and not a penny less. Question is, if I sold the car for £10k then what would I buy?

I’d take £10k for mine right now😀

LS400 prices have increased, that’s a fact, but so have all other used car prices. The mk3 I bought 3 years ago with 65k on the clock was £2750 and wasn’t the cheapest at the time by any means. Same car now would be £6k I would imagine so doubled in value. The LS400 as an investment is an interesting discussion. We all know you need to be a certain type of car enthusiast to appreciate how good the LS400 is. Certain makes of car and models are desirable despite their inherent problems, whether it’s a BMW M car, Mercedes AMG car, Audi S/R/S car, Honda Type R etc. and is a badge thing to some extent. The BMW M cars are the best though😉 Personally, I don’t think the LS400 is an ‘investment car’ in the same way as the cars mentioned above or close to it. Some desirable cars will command a high price even though they are a bit of a wreck, not the LS400 though. A LS400 needs to be as near new as possible to command a high price. All the above is my opinion of course and I suspect the vast majority of LS400 owners simply want to drive them and appreciate how well they drive plus how reliable they are if maintained well.

One thing I haven’t mentioned is the handling on the car since I rebuilt the suspension. There is a route to work and back, which I don’t normally take, that has twists and turns, ups and downs, is a good test of how a car handles and I know it like the back of my hand. In the past I drove most of the same route on a daily basis in various cars, Lexus IS200, BMW E36 M3, BMW E46 M3, BMW M140i to name a few. I have taken that route a few times in my current LS400 before I rebuilt the suspension, no surprise that it didn’t handle like an M3. I avoided it because it’s not the best road surface at all and showed up how knackered the suspension was. However, since rebuilding the suspension and having the alignment done…………..I’ve driven on that route back home quite a few times due to traffic conditions and it handles really really well now. I was surprised at how well it handles now to be honest.

Yep, Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun - 67db noise rated tyre, the quieter the better.

I may sell them or keep them as a winter set. As far as I can tell, without paying the earth, the only correct size tyres you can get for DHP alloys are winter tyres. Compared to the mk3 I had with the original 16” alloys, this car with the DHP wheels/tyres doesn’t absorb rough surfaces the same. This is due to bigger wheels and lower profile tyres with a stiffer side wall. Yes the original 16” tyres look like balloons compared but I want the smoothest quietest ride/drive as possible which is what the LS400 is all about.

The finish I wanted wasn't full chrome, way too blingy for me. The finish I wanted is below, very nice in my opinion but not an option for me.