Razor61

There is nice looking LS400 for sale on eBay and a good price considering what some of them are going for now. 121K and all keys present. https://ebay.us/Rhckn7

So do I, he did a 'proper' job on the sills and the rear end. It was interesting to watch how it all came together. Obviously it cost a bit, around £2k iirc, but not sure if that was just for the bodywork or if that included the cylinder head replacement as well (there are a couple of other videos about this for the same car) I think the car came in for the bodywork but before it arrived the timing belt moved a tooth or 2.

Had a look at the front brakes today as they were pulling to the right when braking from a high speed. Up to 50 ish you wouldn’t notice but at 80 you do notice. As I suspected the front left calliper was the problem and one of the pistons wasn’t working correctly, released it so it moves better but I think new callipers are needed or a rebuild. Checked the drivers side as well and it's fine but both will be replaced if it still pulls to the right.

I did the same thing and iirc couldn't find the ETCS fuse either. 20amp EFI 1, 10amp EFI 2 sounds about right when I did it.

That is exactly what I experienced but you describe it better I think, the car shouldn't be driving forward or speeding up by itself without you pressing the accelerator. I didn't think I had an issue with the temp sensor, it was a case of 'I'll give it a go and see what happens' based on the info I found. The biggest thing that convinced me to replace the temp sensor was the comment below. In his case the sensor was knackered but didn't throw up any faults, in other cases the sensor was working but not giving the right signal to the ECU to a greater or lesser degree. I'm not saying changing the sensor is a magic cure by any means. "After studying ECU theory, I found out the Coolant Tempurature Sensor is the "MAIN SENSOR" for the computer. This sensor has more control over the computer than any other sensor. To make a long story short, my COOLANT SENSOR was telling the computer it was -20 degrees farenheit(thats minus 20 degrees) and no check engine light. Cost of new sensor was 50 dollars. I now get 23 miles to the gallon higway with a light foot. I now save 650 dollars a year in gas driving 12000 miles a year and I can feel the 250 horsepower when I open it up. If you have an old LS400...CHANGE THIS SENSOR!!"

My car idles at 600 rpm with AC off and around 700 rpm with the AC on and fluctuates slightly around that depending if the clutch is engaged or not. So 100 rpm (ish) difference which fits in with the 'standard'. I thought I'd seen an idling standard table in the workshop manual for 'AC off' and 'AC on' but I've looked again and can't find what I thought I'd seen. But I did find the stuff below. It seems with the AC 'on' 800 rpm in neutral should be the highest. If it's significantly above 800 rpm then it's not in 'standard' and you will get issues like I had and Rich has, would anyone agree with that? My car did peak at 1100 - 1200 rpm periodically but not all the time after I fixed the AC. All fine and dandy now though. Idle 650 +/- 50 with AC off, as mentioned above. Then this in the aircon section, 900 rpm idle seems high to me (does say approx. 900) but I'm not a mechanic, just a humble 'diy mechanic' jocky😁

👍 your issue is the same as mine after I fixed the aircon (nowhere near as erratic as when I bought the car) and was sorted by fitting the updated ECU. Thinking back it was constantly high more than erratic with the ac on, turn ac off and the idle settled down to normal. Also my definition of ‘erratic’ may be ‘pretty steady’ to someone else......... Regarding the cutting out, I didn’t have any issues with that for quite a while after I bought the car and thought mine wasn’t affected...................then it happened. Not saying you are going to get the issue though.

Forgot to add the topic about the ecu temp sensor.

I disagree that it’s a feature and nothing can be done about it. I think the book says idle should be 600 rpm with aircon off and 650 rpm with it on or something around that. Certainly not high like 800 - 1000 or even 1100 as mine was. Have a read of the posts below but here is a brief summary. I had the cutting out issue and erratic and high idling. My aircon compressor then went kaput, it was the clutch assy on it, but while the aircon was kaput I replaced the ecu coolant temp sensor and the idle was spot on after at 600rpm and didn’t cut out anymore at all. But when I fixed the aircon and used it all the time, the idle went wonky again. High idle, erratic speed which was annoying when sat at traffic lights etc etc and engine running on when driving at low speeds when it shouldn’t. I think if I turned the AC off the idle went ok, it’s a while ago so can’t remember exactly. Anyhow, I replaced the ecu for an updated ECU and everything is as it should be. I checked with Lexus UK that the updated ECU I bought was correct for the car first. Apparently in the USA there was a recall to change the ECU for the cutting out issue.

No problem, I’ve learned a lot by reading other people’s posts and info on this forum and other places so I try my best to give something back. It’s a shame that the sill rust problem can result in the car being scrapped at worst or you get rid when mechanically there isn’t much wrong. All cars have their weak points of course which don’t appear until they are many years old and Lexus isn’t immune to that. The IS200 I bought is 17 years old and the LS400 is 24 years old so all things considered they are doing pretty well, rust is the enemy rather than the mechanical bits.

This may be of interest.

Update on the car. All the rear arches and lips have now been treated with Hydrate 80 a couple of times, left to dry and then painted with Por-15 paint. It's all ready for the next dry weekend to be sprayed with Dynax UB/UC and then Dynax S50 sprayed into the sills. As a follow on from this I thought I'd share what I think about the 'rusty sill' issue that seems to affect a fair number of IS200's and I assume IS300's as well. Maybe everyone knows all about this issue/what to look for and I'm telling you how to suck eggs but what the heck. Before I purchased this IS200 I did a lot of research into the rear arch/sill rust issue. I have an LS400 which suffered with a similar issue and this prompted me to look into it. I searched forums, including this one, the web and anything else I could think of to gather as much information on the symptoms, what causes it and what the implications are if this issue exists. I watched a few YouTube videos on fixing the issue (links below if you are interested), one not so bad and another that was pretty pretty bad. I couldn't really find much info on what causes it but I have my own idea/s after watching the videos. After all that I decided I wouldn't consider an IS200 with any signs of bubbling in the problem area. I was assured that this car had no signs of bubbling and when I got to the car I checked myself, as documented above. Symptoms: Water gets into the sill and rusts from the inside out apparently so once there is bubbling showing on the outside surface it's already eating through the sill. Example pics I found. The first shows the bubbling and the second is an example of how bad it can get in the rear arches (similar to my LS400 but not as bad) The big question is, how does the water get into the sill in the first place? From my experience on the LS400, I think the bottom of the inner arches and up the sides of the rear inner wing get packed with dirt and mud etc (the plastic covers and shape of the metal contribute to holding it in place). If these areas are not cleaned out regularly, rust appears, eventually rots through into the sill area and water gets into the sill area. Picture 2 above illustrates this. Unless you know about this, which owners of the new cars wouldn't, you wouldn't pay attention to cleaning those areas and keeping them clean so over the years things get rusted. This is what I think based on what I've read and found but please correct me if I'm wrong and there is another cause, maybe the sill itself can rot on the inner side from outside as well resulting in the same effect. Links to repair/rescue videos: There are a few parts

Hi Paul That's the madness - I spent two weeks checking the level and topping up the tank, I put cardboard under the car etc. - nothing was leaking so I stopped. There was no leak. Bren Sorry Bren, I can't read. I thought Malc had wrote this................as a side note, now it's getting colder I've noticed the heating on my LS400 starts to warm up then blows colder for a while then warms up again. It's like the thermostat opens and lets the cold water through from the rad etc. Maybe that is normal or I have an issue as well I must start checking the coolant level.....

Hi Malc, No ‘visible’ leak maybe but it seems to be disappearing somewhere. Do you think there is pressure in the cooling system after a run? One way to check without loosening the cap is to feel the hoses. No pressure usually means a leak somewhere in my limited experience.

I don’t think you are so long as you always check it when properly cold as a reference point, first thing in a morning normally. Cooled down isn’t the same as ‘cold’ in my opinion but I’m not an expert Lexus Technician. But if after a run and cooled down you need to put some coolant in then I suspect you are losing coolant somewhere.

Here are the instructions from the manual to remove the headlining if it helps.

That is true according to the manual for a complete refill. Re fill system at the inlet housing and the radiator reservoir/expansion tank is then used to top up the rest and then to top us as required after running the engine and bleeding.

Could be the thermostat, stuck closed - coolant temp/pressure goes high and then escapes through the pressure release - then frees itself. Pretty straightforward to replace as well (unlike the Audi A4 I have which is behind the timing belt and has to be removed) so maybe a good place to start if it's not been replaced before.

I had a loss of coolant on an Audi A4 recently, I did a post about it (link below). In my case I could see coolant around the front grill and underneath the front of the bonnet but couldn't see where the leak was, even running it up to temp etc. Not exactly the same symptoms as you, as it was a sudden major loss, but still relevant. In the end I bought a coolant pressure tester and that found the leak straight away. I expected to have to look around all over the engine bay for the leak but in my case it was blatantly obvious. If your coolant loss continues then your indy mechanic will be able to pressure test and find the leak.

Yep, you know the score😀 pics of the car and one of the bottom rear arches after tweatment.

Just purchased a 2003 IS200 SE manual with 74,000 on the clock from a very nice gentleman in Chelmsford. Bought it for the Mrs to use (I have an LS400) instead of an Audi A4 Tdi. I had an IS200 as a company car 2003 - 2007 and I loved it so decided to get another to go with the LS400. First thing was a good wash and put some wax on it, clean the engine bay and then look at the bottom rear arches............. There was no sign of external paint bubbling in this area but I wanted to have a good look. After removing a lot of mud and muck then rear wheels off, I could have a proper look. I am very relieved to see that there are no holes (unlike my LS400!!) and only surface rust so I’ve caught it in time. Wire brushed, sanded with emery cloth, de greased, washed down and dried. Then 2 x coats of hydrate 80 to treat the corrosion that’s left. Next weekend, weather permitting, I’ll clean all of the rear wheel arches, treat any corrosion I find, paint the inner arches including the bits I’ve done today then coat them with Dynax. Also when I get chance I’ll spray Dynax inside the sills etc but not sure on the best way to do this. I’m becoming a dab hand at sorting out rear arches etc on Lexus cars, did the same on the LS400😄 Ill post some pictures later.

It looks like it's a common issue if the channels are not cleaned out regularly, which in reality wouldn't normally happen unless you know about it. The gulley/channels are pretty deep and wide so gather a lot of crud over the years. I suspect other of owners have this issue but don't know about it until it gets really bad and an MOT picks it up. And yes, you have probably seen the pictures on one of my topics, probably 'Lock down work' which is where I copied the pics from🙂

Looks like you caught the rust just in time but I'd be tempted to look closer if you haven't done so already. The rusted areas match exactly (more or less) to where my 96 LS400 had rusted through. The underseal gets thin towards the outer arches and these areas. It would end up looking like the first picture below if left untreated for too long 😬 I sorted mine with epoxy resin, wire mesh and stainless self tappers. It looks bad initially but when you get all the crud off and see what needs to be done it's not as bad. Not a 'pretty' finish at the end (I could have sanded the epoxy down to a smooth finish) but when all the trims are back on and the wheel you can't see it and it's done the job really well.

I'm green with envy, the car looks pretty much 'as new' as you could hope for, great colour combo and wheels look 'bob on' as well.

Looks spot on and a good find👍 was it for sale in Wetherby by any chance?