Razor61

Lexus said the brake fluid failed the ‘brake fluid test’ and I intended to change it anyway as the brakes didn’t feel right but still stopped ok. I did suspect the the master cylinder as pumping the brake pedal didn’t ‘harden’ it as I expected when there is air and/or water in the fluid and the pedal still went down but will see when the fluid is changed if it improves.

Thanks Malc, I will get it done and the thermostat. I’m not saying the thermostat is knackered but worth doing at the same time. I did actually do something today because I got home early, jacked the front of the car up, put it on axle stands, took the front wheels off, removed the calipers and pads etc ( they are meaty ‘proper’ callipers indeed!! ), cable tied them to the springs, removed the discs after drilling out the retaining screws, wire brushed and rust treated the disc back plate ( the one that is still on the car ) and that was it, it went dark and started raining. The retaining screws were a pozi head and were not coming out with a screwdriver bit at all! First bit of ‘not so good’ engineering but maybe the OEM original retaining screws were torx and the ones fitted were not the proper ones. I’ll find out when I buy new ones. Tomorrow when I get home it will be cleaning all the brake parts, spraying the back plate with a few coats of paint and then fit the new discs and pads over the weekend and probably remove the strut arms, press out the old bushes and in with the new poly bushes then refit. All weather permitting of course. After having a new car and not doing any mechanical stuff, I’m quite enjoying it to be honest. I’m in IT and it’s a nice change to do car mechanical stuff again and enjoy doing it.

Well, my Dad was very impressed with how smooth and quiet the LS400 is. He had a good drive in it, loved the drive and the build quality. At the moment my Dad drives a 2005 C230K saloon which has seen better days to be honest, I drove it to Liverpool and back last weekend (100 mile round trip), it's difficult/not fair to compare but I'd rather drive the LS400 any day and don't care if it uses more fuel. Regarding the LS400, it was at the main dealers on Saturday morning for a 'health/safety' check and the result is below. After the check I sat down with the service manager and went through everything they found, they love getting a LS400 in and we spent some time discussing all about them. The service manager has worked for Toyota/Lexus for a long long time and is very passionate and knowledgeable about the LS400. All the people were great and nothing was too much trouble. The results: Underneath is very good (after the work I did removing rust and treating etc), timing belt needs replacing as it's 10 years since the last one (according to an old receipt) and maybe a thermostat plus water pump depending on what they find doing the belt, front strut bushes are split, missing front brake backing plate (I didn't notice this but I was concentrating on other things), front brake discs and pads needed (I knew this and have these ready to fit), brake fluid needs replacing, needs an alignment, rear discs are good but pads need replacing really. I'll be fitting poly front strut bushes @ £38 for the pair and see how it goes, if they turn out to affect the ride etc too much I'll have to bite the bullet and pay for 2 x new arms but for £38 it's worth a go I think. I've read that the Toyota Century front strut bushes ( part# 48674-40051 ) fit the LS400 but I don't know if that is correct. If I could get them from Lexus UK at a reasonable price then I may try them so will need to give them a call. Oil level slightly low so they topped it up. The car is going into Lexus Bolton in a few weeks for them to do the following: Timing belt plus thermostat and water pump if needed, new front brake backing plate (there is a way to do this without removing the bearing etc apparently), new rear pads while they are at it, full alignment and brake fluid replacement. Before it goes in I'll be doing the front discs/pads, drop links front and rear, anti roll bar bushes front and rear, front strut bushes (drop links and anti roll bar bushes will be done if they arrive in time). I will be doing the capacitors in the ECU soon as well. Sorry this isn't exactly 'what I've done today' but more like what I will be doing or having done.......

I used a piece of 2x1 today but I’ll replace them I used a length of 2 x 1 today, I will replace them though cos I’ll always be tinkering doing something even if it’s just cleaning. Oil and filter change every 3k miles as well, oil is cheaper than a new engine as they say!

Forgot to mention the bonnet struts need replacing as well even though, again, I was told they were fine. I blame myself for not checking properly and just taking someones word for it. They’re not expensive and easily replaced but the cost of everything needed all mounts up........

Aaah, that makes sense thanks. Probably the incline, I noticed the way the water runs off when rinsing and it seems to pool in the top corners with no way that I see to drain away apart from towards the rear. My drive slopes, not massive, but I always back the car in so it’s lower at the front end and probably that’s causing the pooling. I suspect if the car is level I may not have the issue. I could of course drive the car in and reverse out but that would be a headache being such a long car reversing onto a busy road.

Absolutely, now I’ve done as much work as I can underneath at the moment I started in the engine bay to clean and have a look round. The air cleaner assembly is a nice piece of engineering in itself! Cleaned out the drains in the corners just below the windscreen as they were full of crap and blocked, they drain nice and clear now. Secured the bonnet seal under the windscreen properly using plastic nuts and bolts for the missing clips and the ones that were broken. Worked really well, just got to remember this if I need to remove it. While under the back end this morning removing more rust and rust treating the arches, I looked at the drop links and they are definitely shot so need to replace them. New boot seal needed even though I was told there wasn’t an issue with it. It’s weird how the water gets in. I cleaned the boot seal and put some Gummi Phledge on (can’t rememberer how to spell it) just in case that cures it but I’m not hopeful. The electric aerial is not fixed in correctly I noticed as well. It’s been stuck in with some kind of black sealant. I’ll price up a new aerial and take it from there. Not in a big hurry to fix it as there are more important things to do. I’ll let you know what my dad thinks, he’s always had big cars, back in the day Humbers ( Hawk saloon, Hawk estate and a Super Snipe ) Daimler 2.5 V8, Volvos and now Mercedes plus others. Maybe that’s where I get my love of well engineered cars from. He is a precision engineer by trade and from a very early age I’ve always helped doing work on the cars he has owned, cylinder head removal decoke and refurb, engine rebuilds and the rest. I learned a hell of a lot while doing it all, I reckon I could still remove a cylinder head and grind in the valves etc😀

I am now to be honest, it’s a car I’ve read all about and wanted one for a long while for how it was engineered and put together. I originally wanted an LS430 but the more I read about the LS and the more I looked at cars for sale, I changed to wanting an LS400. I have also been banging on to my dad about how good they are. He lives 200 miles away and is visiting next weekend but I haven’t told him I’ve bought one, I was looking forward to surprising him, for him to drive it and see how good they are. I’m glad swopping the wheels has made such a difference and it drives good now, it drove like like s#*t before so I don’t think he would have been impressed at all! Now I think he will be impressed.

Thanks, it’s a good site. Good information from the vin. The bushes are available from the US for my car. But, they are extremely expensive and not much less than a complete arm from Lexus UK including shipping and taxes etc, something like $140 each. The same bushes for a slightly newer year were a hell of a lot less, $40 or so iirc. As it happens I don’t need to replace suspension bits just yet. I took off the DHP wheels that were on the car and put on the original wheels and tyres, it drove like a different car after that. I’m gobsmacked at the difference it made to be honest.

Mmmmmmh, what can I say.................I thought I’d bought a car that needed a lot of work. The car still needs work to get it how I want it ( some welding but not catastrophic ) but not as much as I feared or thought. Tomorrow I’ll be pulling out the ECU and replacing the capacitors all being well. No symptoms of the ECU issues on the car but I’m doing them anyway for prevention.

What did I do to my 1996 Lexus (1995 production year) today?.........well quite a lot so here goes. Bear in mind that I do most mechanical work myself, I’m not a mechanic but I’m certainly not ‘green’ when it comes to cars and how they should run and handle etc. First thing was to clean the spare set of original alloys and tyres meant for the car, excellent condition but took me 4 hours to make like new. The wheels and tyres on the car where DHP wheels and tyres and to be honest it drove terrible. Any rut or uneven bit of road and it was all over the place and didn’t feel safe at all. Motorways were a nightmare. This is my first LS400 and I thought there was something seriously wrong, suspension/ball joints knackered maybe and was pricing up the needed stuff. But, I put the original wheels and correct tyres back on the car and took it for a drive. I kid you not, it was like driving a different car!!!! Yes, the bushes and suspension are not in perfect condition and I didn’t expect them to be when I bought the car but the difference between the DHP wheels and tyres and the original wheels and tyres meant for the car is huge. I was thinking about getting rid of the car as it didn’t live up to what I expected. By the way, apart from the way it drove, it was a smooth as silk engine/transmission wise which did live up to what I expected. So I’m pretty pleased now and will probably keep it. After all that, onto the main job I planned to do today, scraping off the rust and rust treating the back subframe etc. as it is pretty grotty. Jacked up one side of the car, got underneath and scraped off all the flaking rust that I could get to. Sprayed degreaser over all the areas, rinsed off and left to dry as, for once, it’s not rained today. When it was all dry enough I sprayed rust converter over the rear subframe etc. The stuff I used ( Corroseal ) takes a while to work so will check tomorrow and give it a good rinse ready for being painted and waxolyed. If it needs more treatment I’ll put more on. I also removed a couple of link type bars (just 4 bolts) removed all the rust (there was a lot), treated them and they are drying ready to paint and put back on tomorrow. That’s it until tomorrow and more work but I now think it’s worth the effort!

It’s item number 48674 in the parts diagram from the link below. It’s actually called ‘bar assy,strut’ but common name is lower front control arm or something similar. When looking for parts etc I was unsure which parts were for my car, some of the model year options are 02/95 - 01/96 or 01/96 - 08/2000. My car was first registered in Jan 1996 so wasn’t sure which was correct for my car but I now know it’s a 1995 model year. https://www.amayama.com/en/genuine-catalogs/epc/lexus-europe/ls400/UCF20R/5092/chassis/4803/48670

Thanks, I've checked the US for parts and they look available but the part numbers are not the same, even if they are ok for my car the total cost for the 2 x lower front arms is approx. £380 after carriage and import taxes etc. Probably round about the same price for Amayama as well. The arms from Lexus UK are £222.31 each including Vat so £444.62 for them both plus the nuts and bolts so I'll buy them in the UK from Lexus if I go ahead with it. I'll be fitting them myself as they look straightforward so no need for a garage. If I can replace the lower arms on a 2001 Audi A4 Quattro Sport, which I did a few weeks ago, I'm pretty confident I can do these (hopefully!!!)

Yes, the lower front bar/arm with the camber setting bolt for which, according to Lexus, the bush isn’t available as a separate part anymore for a 1996 LS400 maybe they are for a 1998 onwards LS400 though. When I said ‘strut bar’ I was using the description on the parts diagram on Amayama.

Hi, I suspect I need new strut bar bushes/cushions for a Jan 1996 LS400. I've already ordered 2 x new OEM anti-roll bar bushes from Lexus, £20 each, as I noticed the anti-roll bar had moved approx. 2" laterally and could see where it was/should be. I moved the anti-roll bar back through the bushes very easily using a prybar. I'm not sure if this is normal but I seriously doubt it...………...so new bushes will be fitted. Which leads me to the strut bar bushes/cushions which may have/had an effect on the above. I've looked on Amayama and the bushes/cushions are no longer available, part number 48674-50052, for a 1996 LS400 01/96, but there is a bush listed that 'may fit' according to Amayama but no guarantees, which is part number: 48674-40051. Has anyone on here ordered these bushes/cushions for their applicable LS400 and had them fitted or tried to fit them? If anyone has, can you let me know please? If they don't fit then the alternatives are 2 x new arms @ £222 each (can't remember if that is including VAT or not) from Lexus or poly bushes from somewhere like Armstrong. I've read that installing poly bushes ruins the ride. Which I can understand if all bushes are replaced with poly bushes but would replacing just the strut bar bushes/cushions with poly bushes have that much effect on the ride? I don't know the answer until if/when I fit them but just wondered what other people think. I've also read that re-bushing all the front with poly is a definite no no and kills the ride but doing the rear doesn't make much, if any difference, to the ride. Any information/advice on this would be appreciated and if anyone knows where I can obtain the correct OEM strut bar bushes/cushions it would be great.

So, I had a look at the car mentioned previously (There is another light purple 1998 MKIV for sale on eBay) which is now for sale at £750. I didn’t buy it for a few reasons but if anyone is interested in the car and wants information about it I’m happy to to pass it on if you pm me. I will be looking at yet another LS400 in the morning, a 1995 model, maybe this will be the one...............

No problem and cheers. It did sound like I was willing to pay more, I knew what I meant but it didn’t translate into the post😀

I’d be happy with something similar to that and some work to do.

Just to clarify the bit above. It should have read as below because it sounded like I was willing to offer £50 more than the asking price for the light purple car..............ha ha. I don’t think I would do but you never know! “There is another light purple 1998 MKIV for sale on eBay (link below), it's done more miles but description says it's excellent and drives like new for £1,050 so was I that far out or unrealistic with offering £1,100 for the car I viewed yesterday. I haven't seen the car of course but it's very close to where I live so may have a look.”

Good advice thanks, I'll probably go and have a look, curiosity will get the better of me but I won't write another essay on what I find...………….

Thanks for all your comments, it's very interesting to know other peoples opinions and get their advice for which I'm grateful. To put the record straight concerning my interest in purchasing a Lexus LS400. Am I hell bent on buying an LS400? No I'm not. Would I like one? Yes I would. If I end up purchasing one I would be using it daily to commute 25 miles to work and back, 50 miles per day. This being the case, I may not be able to live with it as a daily driver. I think I would but I won't know for sure until I do it. So I want to spend around 2k to find out. If the car I looked at yesterday didn't need a cam belt etc, I may have done a deal near the asking price because cosmetically it is in excellent condition. Take off the cost of the bits for the cam belt work, around £500?, that makes it £1500 and absolutely needs to be done asap if I'm running it daily to work and back. Another factor is I'm not that wild about the colour at all to be honest and ideally would prefer Silver or Gold maybe, these colours seem to be more desirable and I prefer them. The brakes need attention plus maybe suspension work. I could easily spend another £500 for this work, just my opinion of course. So that brought me to the figure of £1,000. If I could not live the car as a daily driver then it would stand me at 2k so wouldn't break the bank as a second car and if I decided to sell it then I could stand waiting for a while until it sold. There is another light purple 1998 MKIV for sale on eBay (link below), it's done more miles but description says it's excellent and drives like new for £1,050 so am I that far out or unrealistic with offering £1,100? I haven't seen the car of course but it's very close to where I live so may have a look. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lexus-ls400/254346126030

Maybe I was being cheeky but a car is only worth what someone is prepared to pay. £1100 is what I’m prepared to pay so that’s it as far as I’m concerned. I’ve owned 2 x M3’s, a 2002tii, 728i, 528i and latest a M140i from new which got knicked, damaged and recovered so sent it back to the PCP company plus a Saab 9000 and a 900 Turbo and an IS200. So it’s fair to say I am predominately a BMW guy. But, I’ve always admired the LS400 for the quality/engineering and would like one but at a price that makes sense for me otherwise I’ll go back to a BMW M3 or a 335i M Sport. Relatively expensive fast sporty drivers car v cheap big comfortable well engineered car that will last forever, I know they are opposites. So the ‘big comfortable well engineered car that will last forever’ has to be cheap for me, that’s the way I look at it. The car I looked at today maybe worth £1500 - £2000 to someone but not to me.

He is a nice guy and the car is pretty pretty good to be honest. Offer went in at £1,000 and rejected, £1,100 rejected so that’s it for me. I think you have to do the math and work it all out without emotion to arrive at a figure that works for you. Which is what I’ve done I think. I’ll wait and see if I get one at a price that works for me or back to BMW and another M3😉

I didn’t realise that the cost for the cam belt was that price, the price I put was an educated guess for replacing cam belt, water pump, thermostat and all pulleys/drive belts etc. Everything that is worth doing at the time. So, after have a good look at the car and talking to the seller below are my findings, for what it’s worth as I’m not a mechanic but have good experience. Engine oil is good and a good yellow colour. Transmission fluid is red, I’ve seen a better ‘red’ on another car but it’s by no means brown at all. Forgot to check the coolant colour though but I suspect it’s fine. I couldn’t see any signs of the power steering pump leaking from looking down on the right hand side of the front. Couldn’t see any signs of leaks on the drive. Car was cold, started no problem and was super smooth. Everything electrical looked to be working, windows, steering column, sat nav, audio, lights etc. Didn’t check the aerial or the dash illumination with the lights on, just forgot really. Boot opened fine with the key, spare wheel present along with toolkit and torch. 2 x keys with one the 3 button master key. User manual and all other books present, Lexus stamped service history up to 64,000 miles, cam belt replaced in 2004 64,000 miles with sticker to that effect on the engine. No warning lights on the dash that I could see. Y section on the exhaust has been done/fixed, I could easily see that. The pipes that sit between the radiator and front of the car and run horizontal were corroded, not looked up what these are. Some small circular rust areas on front suspension top mounts, engine bay pretty clean but could do with a good clean especially in the corners at the bottom of the windscreen, looks like crud from leaves etc after being sat in a garden for 6 years. Had a look under the car as best I could and looked fine but as it’s been stood in a garden for 6 years I suspect there will be corrosion somewhere, brake pipes etc would be a concern until up on a ramp and checked. Brakes looked ok, lipping on front discs but none on the rear discs. Rear brakes looked like they have been worked on but I suspect they haven’t been bled correctly, spongy pedal until pumped and then they are harder. Not sure if they just need to be bled or it’s a master cylinder issue. Bodywork: Car was still wet after the rain but it looked spot on with no rust anywhere apart from a couple of small chips on the edge of passenger front and rear doors and a small chip on the boot edge. Some rust on the drivers door, inside outer edge at the bottom where the bottom rubber seal is attached but just inside and not outside. Wouldn’t take much to sort at all. Drain holes in the doors looked fine with water draining out after the rain and testing the windows. There is a blackish colour inside the drain holes but I think this is the Waxoyl. The owner told me it had been Waxolyed and to be honest it shows because of the condition externally and round the doors etc, underneath might be different though. Original wheels are pretty bad (no surprise though) but the wheels on the car are pretty good. Carpets and interior were in excellent condition and all electric adjustments work. Not sure about the heated seats but I suspect they will work because everything else does. One thing that puzzled me is that there looked to be a colour difference between panels, boot lid to rear quarter. Rear quarter to doors. Bonnet to wings and wings to doors. But it seemed to change depending on the angle but didn’t ever look ‘right’, if that makes sense. Maybe it’s the particular colour as some of the cars I’ve seen for sale in this colour look similar. Test drive: Car isn’t taxed or insured so couldn’t do a decent test drive. However, I did do a small test drive round the corner to a supermarket and drive it round there. Seemed very smooth and changed gear fine. Most roads in the UK are not exactly smooth so I did drive over some bumps and small potholes, no clunks or knocks that I could detect. As mentioned above, the brakes need attention to be up to standard in my opinion. That’s all I can remember from this morning. Overall I think the car is in excellent condition and could very easily be made ‘mint’. But, there maybe more small blemishes when examined in the dry. I don’t think there will be much though at all. It runs very smooth given the lack of a proper test drive. A proper test drive may throw up some mechanical running gear issues but without taxing the car you wouldn’t be able to find out. This car was for sale on eBay approx 6 months ago and I remember it, ‘been stood in the garden for 6 years, put new battery on and it started first time’ was part the description. The current seller bought the car but I can’t remember how much it was up for or what it sold for. Where does that leave me? Well, I’m not wild about the colour but it’s pretty good and would look stunning when detailed etc. Bodywork is excellent so no issues there. Interior is excellent and everything works. It needs work on the brakes. Timing belt, water pump along with the pulleys etc need doing. Suspension may or may not need attention, suspect it does. Gearbox seems fine, it may not be but I suspect it is fine. Possible corrosion underneath after being stood for 6 years in a garden (where in the garden though....who knows) but may be fine if the underside has been Waxoyled, which I presume it would have been. I’ll have a think about it some more and maybe put in a really cheeky offer. I think given the ‘essay’ above, if I could get it for £1,000 it would be be worth buying and sorting out all the issues that need attention. What do you guys think? Is £1,000 a bit too cheeky😉 if anyone has any questions about the car I’ll answer them, if I can remember😀

Thanks for the information guys, especially on a Sunday morning. I’ve just arrived and it’s raining......looks like it will clear though. I’ve looked at the MOT history and doesn’t look bad to me after being garaged for a few years but I’ll have look at the car at least. Condition is more important to me as I can do most mechanical stuff myself. Cam belt is a bit of a worry just for the cost of having it done which I guess will be around £500 ish if I do it myself or around £1,000 if I get someone to do it. Anyway will have a look and take it from there.