Razor61

Maybe it doesn’t boost the octane but I remember the old version of V Power did, at least I think it did!! Without causing a ‘heated debate’, all I can is it made a difference and it was a marked difference. I didn’t need to be an engine performance, F1, or performance car expert etc to notice either. It’s done 72,000 now and it might have been run all it’s life on, dare I say it, lesser quality/cheaper fuel as I have been doing most of the time since I bought it. I honestly did not expect much, if any difference, using V Power. I just thought I’d stick some in the car and see what happens that’s all.

Ever since I bought my 1996 LS400 last year, my first one, I've felt that the performance should be better than it is/was. It seemed like I had to press the throttle pedal further down than expected to get anywhere and it seemed to be sluggish. I didn't know how the performance should be as it's my first LS400. I purchased a service kit with a set of plugs with the intention of replacing the plugs to see if it made any difference and planned to run some fuel system/injector cleaner for the same reason. I haven't checked/replaced the plugs yet or used any fuel system/injector cleaner, all I've done is remove the bits needed to do the job and fitted them again as a sort of 'dry run' in preparation. Last weekend before I went on a 60 mile journey I decided to fill the tank with Shell V Power which cost a fair bit....I've always used it on high performance cars, M3's etc. I'd say after using 1/4 to 1/2 of the tankful of V Power I noticed the car performing better and continued to get better and better, I don't have to press the throttle pedal any where near as much as before, car is more responsive, zippier and is better to drive because of it. Performance is very good now and fuel economy seems better as well, how much better I haven't figured out yet. Granted, V Power is higher octane fuel and I'd expect an improvement in performance but nothing like the improvement I experienced, it really was a big difference. I've read about the additives etc that help performance and help clean/keep clean the intake/fuel system in general. I suspect it's the cleaning bit that has made the biggest difference as it was a gradual improvement, I didn't notice anything straightaway, or maybe the UCU is adjusting to a better fuel. Regardless of the reason, I'm pleasantly surprised what a difference it's made and will try another tank of V Power then a few 'normal' fill ups and see what happens.

Lexuspartsnow website

I’d like to know, and others I’m sure, which US or Japan supplier/s if possible, the suppliers I tried in Japan and in the US could not supply them. One US supplier listed them and I ordered them online only to be told they were not available anymore.

No need to do anything with them, they will press in with a decent press but make sure they are central with equal over hangs as they are wider than the originals (this will become apparent when you do it) Getting them pressed out is the harder bit, I couldn't shift them with a 10 ton diy type press. An engineering company pressed them out or 'got them out' for me.

Hi Jack, the poly bushes in the link don't look right and look like the front lower arm bushes not the front 'BAR ASSY, STRUT' rod bushes. The failed bushes on my car were the front 'BAR ASSY, STRUT' rod bushes. The poly bushes I bought for the 'BAR ASSY, STRUT' rod are PSB531 but I didn't use them in the end. I was going to fit these poly bushes as the original OEM bushes are no longer available and see whether they affected the ride etc too much. I figured I'd give it a go and if the ride was too hard, fit new OEM arms. But I found some rubber bushes that would do the job. The rubber ones I bought and actually used are part number 48674-40051 (cushion, strut bar) and they are originally made for a Toyota Century. The diameter is the same as the originals but the width is greater meaning about 10mm more rubber. I'm glad I didn't fit the poly bushes because of the work involved replacing them again with rubber bushes or replacing the arms. After doing my car, my advice for anyone thinking of replacing these bushes would be: The vast majority of the work is removing the arms themselves. If you are good with spanners, have all the needed equipment and tools, somewhere to do the work off road, access to a good press and plenty of patience then replace just the bushes as I did if you want to save money. If you have the cash then buy new arms and no need for a press. Because of all the stuff you need to remove its a good idea (in my opinion) to replace the drop links, anti-roll bar bushes and clean/de rust/ rust treat anything you can see and get to including the inner wing arches etc.

I can tell you about a similar issue I had on my 1996 MK3 LS400 which may help. Symptoms: when stabbing/slamming the brakes there was a clunk at the front end. With the car on the ramp you could also see where the anti roll bar had been moving in the bushes. The cause was the lower front suspension arm bushes or 'BAR ASSY, STRUT' bushes. They looked fine on the car but once taken off the car you could see where they were cracked all the way round in the middle which meant the arm wasn't solidly attached to the centre tube/bushing anymore. I replaced them both along with the drop links and anti roll bar bushes and it cured the problem. I guess when braking sharply the 'BAR ASSY, STRUT' was moving laterally and this moved the ant roll bar as well. It's not an easy job to replace them though and the bushes themselves are not available separately anymore, only the complete arms are available. £330 for both sides from Lexus Parts Direct, one side is cheaper than the other for some reason. I went down a different route, see my post link below.

MAF maybe? You could try unplugging the MAF and see if it makes any difference. Or it could be a vacuum leak somewhere, there are a a few vacuum pipes connected to the throttle body on my 1996 LS400.

Car is not listed anymore on eBay, Autotrader or website. I wonder why..............

You can also see the original colour in one of the pictures on Autotrader, the picture of the drivers door window switches shows the sill.

Mmmmmh, I wonder.................... maybe you looked at the MOT history and decided not to bother😀

Probably why I've never seen one in that colour................I'm just curious about the car and will have a look, as it's only 20 mins from where I live, and get some info about it. I've no intention of buying it at the moment but you never know, I may be tempted😀

LS400 for sale on EBay in metallic red, link below. This caught my eye because of the colour, price and it’s near me. I’ve not seen many LS400’s in this colour and I quite like it so will have a look at the weekend. What do you guys think of the colour? https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F264605916694

Car all detailed and polished, didn’t get all the scratches out but it looks better than when I bought it!,

I've just sold a set of 5 but there is a set for sale on eBay at the moment for £400 with good tyres apparently. I can't say exactly what weight the DHP alloys and tyres were but I remember that they felt a lot heavier that the standard 16" wheels and tyres.

I thought someone had blobbed some mastic on my car to stick the trim down!

I removed the trim on my car, there are plastic fasteners holding the trim in place and some kind of sticky pad under larger corner bits. I removed this trim to clean underneath, glad I did because it was pretty grotty, I haven't got round to sticking the corners back down yet though. I uploaded some pictures of before and after etc here:

I had a look on the Denso website E-catalogue (link below) for the correct wiper blades for my car and there are 2 x types listed, standard and hybrid. Looks like the hybrid has the aero spoiler thing and the standard doesn't. LS400 94-2000 are the same wipers according the website. Denso E-catalogue: https://www.denso-am.co.uk/e-catalogue/

I have a similar dilemma, as far as I know the front UCA's don't need replacing on my car. But as I intend to keep the car a long long time and use it everyday, do I stump up the cash now and buy new genuine Lexus/Toyota front UCA's from Amayama while they are available..................approx cost for both £350 plus import taxes etc. of around £70. I already have new genuine rear UCA's, rear hubs and rear bearings so getting the front UCA's would complete the set! It's in for an MOT tomorrow at Lexus so will ask them to specifically check the front UCA's for any signs of wear and then decide what to do based on what they find.

Here are some photos after buffing the front end, clay bar - 3 stage buffing and then coating of Gtechniq C2. Done the roof and front end so far. Will do the doors and rear end over the holidays then wheels off again, clean and coat with Gtechniq C5 wheel armour to stop the brake dust sticking to the lacquer. The colour has really come out and you can tell it’s a very dark green and not black, hopefully it’s visible in the photos. There are still scratches in the paintwork when examined up close which can be corrected but will take a lot of time. For the time being a relatively quick detail and polish etc will do until next year when I can spend more time per panel.

Replaced the headlight bulbs with ‘H4 OSRAM Night Breaker Laser 150% Next Generation 12V 60/55W’ yesterday. Made a big difference, I wanted to keep everything original but the originals were just not bright enough on dip for me.

Cheers, I'm all sorted now though. Bought a 89661-50351 ECU to have a go with and when I fancy dismantling the glove box/s again I'll plug it in.

Some information on ECU compatibility, bear with it because it will make sense at the end I hope😀 and maybe help someone who has a duff ECU or an ECU with the capacitor issue and can't find the exact one to replace it. I have been trying to find an ECU for my 1996 LS400 (1995 model year) - part number 89661-50310. I purchased the needed capacitors with a view to replacing them in my current ECU but after examination the ECU was in pristine condition so decided to leave it alone as it functions fine. But as I have already purchased the capacitors I decided to try and find a used ECU to play with and replace the capacitors, plug it into my car, see if it works and if it improves anything on the car. There are a couple of ECU's part number 89661-50310 for sale but the price is around £180 which I don't really want to pay just to play with and have a try doing the capacitors. I looked on Amayama and for my car it lists ECU part number 89661-50351 as a substitute, as illustrated below. These ECU's - part number 89661-50351 - are more plentiful and cheaper at £60 - £70 which is more like what I'm happy paying but I wasn't 100% happy about buying one because there is no guarantee it will actually work. My question then was, how can I find out for sure if this ECU will work with my car? Amayama lists it as a substitute but.............. The best people to tell me are Lexus themselves so I contacted Lexus Customer Relations, explained the situation, supplied vin etc. and asked if ECU part number 89661-50351 is compatible for my LS400. It turns out it is and the reply from Lexus is below. Amayama is correct with the ECU substitute for my car so I assume it will be correct for others. Reply from Lexus: Thank you for your email about your vehicle. Yes this part is a direct supercession from 89661-50310 to part number 89661-50351. Part number 89661-50351 can be used in this vehicle.

Yes, I think that's all correct and thanks it does look good with the gold badges. The chrome trim really stands out as well being a dark colour. When the car's paintwork has been sorted out and nice and shiny I'll post some pictures. Struggling at the moment to get it done with the weather and dark nights. The link below gives you the information on the model history and there is a buyers guide plus lots of other information as well on the site. http://ls400data.com/history.html

Thanks, finding a car that you are happy with can take a long time. I printed off the check list and had a clipboard and pen to check off everything like a proper geek. I didn’t do this completely on the car I bought, still don’t know why. I should have bought the first car I viewed but I may have had more issues to deal with than the car I bought. You just don’t know, unless it’s looked at by an ‘expert’ and the cost could soon add up. Even then you can’t see everything wrong and only find out after running the car for a while. Ideally the best option in my view would be to arrange for a prospective car to be checked over by a Lexus dealership with an experienced technician who has worked on and knows all about the LS400 but in reality that’s not normally practical and will cost. Stuart at Lexus Bolton is that technician but I didn’t know that when I took the car in. I wish you all the best in finding a LS400 and if I can help in any way then let me know. If you want me to look at a car near where I live and give you my opinion, for what it’s worth, then I’m happy to do that within reason.