Razor61

I got some more photos of the car after a good wash and polish, one thing I noticed though was in the engine bay. Look at the coolant reservoir, doesn’t look right. I think the coolant should be red?

Is anyone interested or bidding on this car? It’s up to near enough £5k now……..

I received an AC compressor from them last year, the plastic connector bracket on the pump was broken. I fixed it ok and didn’t affect anything but I agree the packaging could have been better but compared to the cost elsewhere I wasn’t too upset. I thought it must be a ‘one off’, maybe not though. Didn’t affect the compressor I bought but other stuff may be worse.

That’s the key to keeping an expensive car on the road whether it’s a LS400 or something else like a BMW M3. Parts are not cheap but if you can fit them yourself it makes a huge difference. For what you have had done it would be approx £300 for rear discs/pads and brake shoes, genuine Lexus parts as well and that’s not expensive at all in my opinion. The time fitting them, and I can speak from experience, would be around 4 hours if done properly. Removing everything, cleaning everything, fitting the parts correctly, adjusting the parking brake if needed (it will probably need adjusting). All that is assuming everything else is working ok, calipers are not seized etc.

I’ve no idea if a 5 ton puller would work, I’d either buy a press or take the axle hub assy to a garage or engineering company for them to press all the stuff out and refit.

Yep, the DHP and sports wheels isn’t right but not everyone knows about the differences on these cars. I’ve bid on the car and would be happy to go to £4K, I won’t get it for that because the item will be taken off sale. Right or wrong, that is what will happen if it doesn’t reach the price wanted. But, for arguments sake, imagine I won it for £4K and travelled down to pick it up and pay for it. I find it’s nowhere near as good as described or it wouldn’t start or whatever, I would not buy it and walk away. Yes I’ve wasted a journey and I would not feel guilty about winning the auction and then not buying it after seeing it in the flesh.

After talking to the seller, I don’t think it’s going to be sold for less than £9k - £10k. My bid of £2500 isn’t going to cut the mustard😢 so I’ll forget it. I would have gone to £4K for it as I think it’s worth it.

Could be rotten but could also be in excellent condition if it’s been stored well. Only one way to find out which one is true, if it was nearer I’d be having a look. If it’s in excellent condition and only done 15k it must be worth at least £2500, especially if you can do any needed mechanical work yourself. Timing belt and water pump etc being one of the first jobs I would think, £500 at a friendly Lexus Dealer or tackle it yourself. If you maybe spend £1k - £2k in parts and do the work yourself then you could potentially have a near brand new LS400 for less than £5k, I say ‘potentially’ because it may not turn out that way of course. Worth a go in my opinion, if you have spare cash and can do the work yourself otherwise it would be expensive paying garages to do any work.

I'm pretty sure you will need a press to do it yourself, for removing/installing the Axle Hub and for removing/installing the bearing. That is once you've removed the steering knuckle itself to work on.

It might be Malc, we’ll see next week. It will be more of a ‘project’ which I was looking for really. Might be an investment as well judging by how prices for Japanese rear wheel cars are going.

That is one of the best posts I’ve read in a long long time😂 it made me chuckle, especially the ‘changing lanes’ bit, and has made my day……..thank you👍

Well I looked at the 95 LS400 this afternoon, after 10 mins I was on my way back home. The car looked stunning in the flesh and the coil overs gave it a nice stance along with the refurbished LS430 18” wheels, it really did look spot on. Interior excellent etc, so far so good. Checked the rear arches and the trims were missing, looked closer at the inner arches at the bottom where I had issues and work had been done and I could feel filler or something and could pick bits of rusted metal or filler with rust stuck to it. Seller did say some rust on the outside of the passenger lower arch had been sorted between the door and the arch. I think it had rusted through from the inner arch hence the other work on the inner arch. The arches have been worked on and filled I think then painted but the paint finish was really good and you couldn’t tell it’s been painted. Running fingers round the inside of the arch lips told the story…………….so that was it, thanks but no thanks. I had taken my rhino ramps and a list of things to check but it all stayed in the car. It was a shame as on first look I thought it may be worth pursuing, it did look stunning though and the suspension mods and wheels really made the car look better and more modern, if I find another car I think it would be worth putting the LS430 18” wheels on.

If you don't want to run the LS400 as a daily driver, what about an IS250 auto or ISF or IS250 F Sport? I had a 95 LS400 until Nov least year, I sorted all the issues on the car, it drove and performed as it should and loved using it daily to work everyday (50 mile round trip) rather than use the Mrs IS200 a few days a week to keep the mileage down but it was written off. At the time I didn't want another LS400 and bought a 2010 IS250 SE-I auto in silver from Lexus Wolverhampton. The IS250 is a very good car, very smooth and reliable (apparently which I don't doubt at all), comfortable, quiet, not the fastest thing in the world but fast enough, all the modern stuff if you get a SE-L or most of it if you get a SE-I. There is the ISF if you want performance but a lot more expensive or the IS250 FSport for the sporty look etc. Not in the same class as a LS400 for smoothness, quietness and room but it's still a very very good car. Just a thought and maybe a IS250 type model is an option for you.

That’s the one……

Good advice, I know the car has been in a barn for 10 years but I don't know if it has been started periodically in that time. Not happening tonight anyway and I may have found another before next week.

Seller of the 1990 LS400 has cancelled for today, car is struggling to run due to old fuel and a new fuel pump ordered apparently, not a surprise after being sat for 10 years in a barn, pump should be fitted next week..........................it may not be the right car for me but will probably have a look anyway next week if the 95 LS400 I'm looking at tomorrow isn't for me.

Yep, there isn't many of that vintage about and the wheels are 15" but the car will need to be in really good condition underneath otherwise I won't be interested. I'll find out tonight though as much as I can without putting it on a ramp. I'll also make some notes and post it on here if I don't buy it, someone else may be interested.

Thanks Steve, I have the later LBJ's already which are part of the many new suspension parts I have for the 95 mk3 I had before but didn't fit. I also have a set of 16inch rims, they need refurbishing but will do the job to see if they will fit etc. If the later dust shields will fit maybe the best idea is to buy new ones, £43 each from LPD. This is all hypothetical at the moment, I'm looking at a 1990 LS400 tonight, Taupe Metallic 3H9 I think, brown interior, 100k, been stored for the last 10 years, looks in great condition, EML light is on, brakes need attention anyway (no surprise with that) and is the reason for this post (if they need doing I may as wheel look into upgrading them). Bodywork looks very good but I need to look underneath, round the arches, lower arches, in the lh/rh boot wells for rot and the normal general areas. I prefer the mk3 out of all the LS400's but if this one is as good as it looks, and will have to be very very good, then I could live the brown interior. It looks proper retro 90's inside and it's worth a look at least as it's only 30 mins away from me. Also, tomorrow I'm looking at a 95 LS400, looks in amazing condition, 104k, Metallic grey and maybe Moonstone Pearl, timing belt/water pump/dissy caps/rotor arms/plugs/aux belt done last year. It has a few mods, coil overs, 18 inch rims with new tyres last year, stereo replaced with a touch screen modern unit with amps and subs in the boot but original stereo is with the car. It's not cheap, nearly 3 x times the 1990 LS400 but all the parts I have will fit. It wouldn't take much working out which car this is on eBay😉

Regarding the aerial mast, I fitted one of the eBay variety and it didn't last long either. One thing to note is that the aerial mast changes length according to whether the radio is on AM or FM, it extends out more or less depending on AM or FM. I can't remember which way round it is but it does change. Maybe that's why the cheap non OEM ones don't last long

I had the same issue and bought an OEM one from Lexus, fitted it and it did make a little bit of a difference but still not perfect. There is some adjustment on the assy to adjust the length, I read the manual and followed the procedure (pic below) but in the end I think I ended up using trial and error until it worked correctly. I don't know if the old one just needed to be adjusted or the old one was in fact knackered and the new one needed adjustment to fit. I compared the new one and the old one for resistance and I couldn't see much difference.

Hi, has anyone upgraded/changed the front calipers and discs on a Mk1 LS400 to the later Mk3 94/95 + 4 pot calipers and discs? I've read that the Mk3 94/95 + calipers and discs are a straight swop but may need the 16 inch wheels and possibly the later bottom ball joints then alignment. Just wondered if anyone has done this successfully and whether it was as easy as it sounds.

Nope, ask @Tel or @ColinBarber They will be more help than me😉

What a shame, very annoying when it's not your fault. Second hand wings are available on eBay and from looking at the parts numbers, the wings are the same for the IS200/300 saloon and sport cross, apart from the difference below, which widens the scope. There is a difference in part numbers on a IS200 (not listed for the IS300 though) depending if Discharge Headlights are fitted, from what I can see an IS200 saloon or sport cross without discharge headlights, part number 53801-53040, is the same as an IS300 saloon or sport cross. Fitting a second hand wing should be straightforward and the colour match would probably be ok, new car spraying/painting is pretty consistent. I replaced the front wings on a silver BMW E46 M3 a few years ago with a second hand pair. I was concerned that there would be a big difference in colour but I needn't have worried. I detailed the paintwork on the car, clay bar, buffing etc, and did the same on the second hand wings to give the best chance of a colour match and it was spot on. I couldn't tell the difference so I wouldn't be worried about using second hand wings if in good condition. New wings are available new from Amayama, £305 from Japan or £190 from the UAE plus shipping and other costs. Not sure I would trust that a new wing would arrive in perfect condition but Amayama package their stuff well. They may be available new from Japan but not from Lexus UK i.e. new ECU for a LS400 is available from Amayama, or at least it is listed, but not from Lexus UK, I know because I asked the question. IS200 part numbers IS300 part number

That looks a decent car and same colour as my last one I think, Ebony Teal Pearl. It's listed on their website for £5250 which gives some idea of what price they are looking for.

Car went for £820 which was over what I was prepared to pay, not by a huge amount but you have to draw the line somewhere and stick to it. I'll keep looking for a 'project' car to occupy my time, ideally a MK3 but maybe a MK4 as most of the parts I have will fit.