Razor61

I’ve been following this and it’s a tricky problem. I’ve had the leaking boot issue on both LS400’s I’ve owned and replaced the boot seal/weather strip with an OEM replacement and no issues at all after that. For what it’s worth, in your case this is what I would do. First off I would put some Bilt Hamber Deox Gel all over the rusted areas, cover with cling film and leave for 24 hours, wipe off all the gel and repeat until all the rust has completely gone and you know exactly what good metal is left. Deox gel removes the rust and doesn’t ‘convert’ it and works really well. Once that is done and you know how much good metal is left, it can hopefully be dealt with by cutting and welding in new metal without damaging the surrounding body/paint. The next issue, once the rust has been dealt with and new metal is in place and painted etc, is a new boot seal. They are no longer available to buy so an equivalent type is the only option.

What seals do you mean? From what I know about Automotive AC, I don’t think that using the AC all the time stops bacteria, due to how AC works moisture is created (condensate, hence the need for a drain) it’s this that can create the damp environment for mould and bacteria. Using AC all the time is better than only using it sporadically but if you don’t want any or more mould/bacteria then don’t use it at all. Switching off the AC and running it for 5-10 mins with fresh air flowing over and around the system to dry it all can help mitigate the mould and bacteria.

I always have the AC on auto, can’t speak for the previous owners though.

I've seen differing opinions on what an 'AC service' or AC clean or whatever it's actually called includes and whether it is worth having done or is it a bit of a con? I fixed my aircon leaks last year, O ring on pressure switch and the 'sight glass' slight leak. All good until a few months when during the hot weather I noticed all was not well and it wasn't cooling as it should. Also a 'smell' in the car in the morning, severity depended on what the weather was like at the time and I had it on my agenda to get the AC looked at. Last year when the MOT carried in Lexus Bolton they mentioned some dye residue on the 'other' connector to the condenser which had been checked for leaks when I sorted the AC out a month or so earlier. Residue from sorting out the AC I thought and wiped off the dye and thought nothing more about it until a few months ago. Yesterday the car was in for it's MOT, passed with no advisories, and I asked for the AC to be looked at. The technician and myself looked at the car and I explained everything, when he looked at the 'other' connector to the condenser, which had the dye residue on it last year, he immediately said it's leaking from there and it's lost gas so it's sprung a leak since I the AC was sorted last time. This particular connector was the only one that wasn't replaced last time, in hindsight I should have done this one as well. So, AC system discharged, new O ring fitted (I took a bag of assorted AC O rings with me in case they didn't have any), AC system recharged and checked for leaks. All good and AC is back as it should. That's the AC issue done. Lexus suggested an AC Service thing, I was a bit sceptical about this but they did me a 'deal' for the AC work and the AC service so I went ahead with it. I have seen a Car Care Nut YouTube video on this very subject where they pump foamy/foaming 'stuff' into the AC system via the condensate drain tube into the system round the evaporator etc and it drains out with all the crud or whatever, it looked really good and that's one of the reasons I went ahead with it. The result......................car smells great now and the stale/old car smell has gone so I'm happy with that. How long this will last I don't know, time will tell though, and Lexus said the method described by the Car Care Nut is what they actually do. It was worth having done in my opinion and I guess it should be done every few years to keep the system 'clean' or as clean as possible.

Finally got round to replacing the front KYB shocks with Lexus OEM shocks, I now have new LEXUS OEM shocks all round. The 'bouncy' thing has totally gone and the soft/smooth ride is back and the soft/smooth ride over speed bumps is back. The KYB shocks are stiffer for sure so were not as soft/smooth over speed bumps. Great for handling though but that's not what I was after. Original shocks were very much past their best but not blown, which is normally the main criteria for replacement when inspections/servicing is carried out. Body role is far far better compared to the original shocks but obviously not as good as when the 'go kart' KYB shocks were on the car but still very very good for a big car. Initially when I rebuilt the front suspension and fitted the KYB shock I assumed that the 'stiffness' in the suspension and 'stiffness' going over speed bumps was because I'd replaced all the suspension components and it would settle down after time. This was wrong, it was because of the KYB shocks being quite a lot stiffer. You live and learn, I won't make that mistake again.

I'm not sure the cost of replacing the Timing Belt is included in the 'fixed price' servicing or 'service package' cost. In the 'ECO Poster' there is a 'condition' with an * for timing belt replacement 'Additional charges may apply.....', this maybe also applies the 'service package' mentioned by Max.

I presume this relates to having the ECU rebuilt etc. - Relentless Motorsports is another option for the ECU and has a good reputation.

It depends what you buy. UCA's on their own are maybe 50% of UK prices landed. Other stuff is a lot cheaper compared to UK prices. For example, rear drop links - 48830-22041 LINK ASSY, REAR STABILIZER Amayama price from Japan - £24.14 UK LPD price - £192.58 plus if you buy a lot or all of the stuff you need, the overall price comes down compared to UK prices because the shipping costs are lower.

I remember looking at the original advert and thinking it looks nice, plus it's one of the last LS400's and with electric folding door mirrors. I did laugh at the comment 'the suspension looks like something from the Titanic', I know exactly what you mean. Although the suspension arms etc still 'work' (bushes are probably way past their best though), they can look really really bad, especially the rear arms and subframe. Regarding the cost of replacing. I reckon for all the suspension stuff (excluding front strut bar arms and shocks/springs) - insulators - top mounts - bump stops - front strut bar bushes - front/rear drop links - arb bushes - tie rods - front lower ball joints - camber bolts - various nuts/bolts/washers - the cost would be around £1700 plus duty and tax etc from Amayama in Japan - if everything is bought at the same time to reduce overall shipping costs. You can at least double that cost and in my view the reality is you can treble the cost for UK prices.

Maybe it's a power issue or wiring issue somehow to the tilt and telescopic ECU and/or other bits.

I had a look at this car on Friday morning last week, the eBay advert has ended now. Paint fading was worse than in the pictures, fading is to be expected with the Gold colour though. Boot seal leaking - bottom rear inner arches are going so they would need sorting - antennae needs sorting Engine bay looked ok but I didn't start the car or anything, it was only a look at the overall condition and potential 'trouble areas' before going any further and I decided not to go any further.

I wouldn’t describe a rusty arch with an inch of bubbling paint all round a ‘blemish’, I’d call it ‘rot’.

Apart from the rust and bubbling on the rear arch in the pic below.

I had a look at the MOT history on this car - N97 PPG - and in March 2021 there was a long long list of advisories - 50 in total!! I can't remember seeing a longer more in depth list, most of them are for corrosion or slight corrosion which is to be expected on a 1996 LS400. Next MOT's had no advisories at all, either everything was rectified and every bit of corrosion or slight corrosion was sorted or it was a very dedicated MOT tester in March 2021🙂

saw that while browsing this morning, I'll be up Edinburgh way in a couple of weeks and plan to have a look at the car if it's still for sale.

The ‘bouncy’ thing has more or less gone with tyres at 35psi, replacing the front shocks with OEM should eliminate it altogether. They have been ordered and are a far easier job to replace than the rears. I have to say though that with KYB shocks all round the handling was excellent. With softer OEM rear shocks the handling isn’t as good but I’d rather have the comfort. I will miss the improved handling, it really did handle well with KYB shocks all round and was like fitting ‘sport’ shocks.

Ordered 2 x new OEM rear shocks, received this week and fitted them both this morning. From start to finish it took 3 hours. I compared the OEM shocks to the KYB shocks, OEM are softer and not just a bit softer. I did a video of the 2 shocks which is below, OEM on the left and KYB on the right. I did spray paint the shiny metal bit before I fitted them to stop it rusting. Few things I noticed, the OEM shocks are far better quality. Thicker and the bushings are bigger and better. The section where the spring seats has a thicker/different coating of paint which is a bit like rubberised paint. Pic below of the 2 x bushings as a comparison. The KYB bushes are showing signs of wear and they were only fitted in April. You get what you pay for in the end. Took the car for a drive and I could instantly tell it was better, the acid test is on Monday morning when I drive down the same stretch of the M1 to Sheffield where I first noticed the oscillating bouncing issue but I’m pretty sure it will be better or gone altogether. The ‘issue’ seemed to get worse, maybe because it was bugging me but I don’t think so. The more I drove the car the more convinced I was that it wasn’t right. I will be replacing the front shocks as well with OEM as soon as I can so they are all OEM. With the KYB being ‘harder’ shocks no wonder the handling was a lot better and it was excellent with not much body roll at all, now I know why. If you want excellent handling then fit KYB shocks but be prepared for the bouncing issue. I suspect the issue I experienced is the ‘odd’ ride mentioned by Pete and the suspect ride mentioned by Number27 on YouTube on his LS400 with coil overs fitted. IMG_2533.mov

No I didn't, couldn't go to see it yesterday. I can maybe go and see it at the weekend, 200 mile round trip though so will need to think about it. The air strut thing on the MOT has put me off a bit to be honest, the condition of the car got me interested and I didn't look at the MOT history to start with. Buying a car without any air strut issues and being prepared for the inevitable issues in the future is one thing, buying a car with existing air strut issues is another thing. I think £6k is too much for me, even £5k is too much, given the air strut thing and the other stuff. My head says at £3k it's probably worth a punt, because the condition looks really good, but not likely to get the car at that price.

I hadn't looked at the MOT history for the car until yesterday, it's usually the first thing I do and don't know why I didn't. Dust covers - track rod end or tie rod ball joint covers - new ties rods approx £100 for both sides delivered from Amayama - no big deal. New front tyres needed - outer wear maybe caused by tie rods or bottom ball joints or other suspension bits - could turn out to be expensive Offside front shock absorber reduced damping effect - this could be very expensive and depends on what MOT tester means by 'reduced damping effect'. So £6k could turn into £10k very quickly.

So it’s the rubber insulator/concertina protector for the standard shock absorbers in the screen shot below then? This doesn’t apply to the air suspension shocks/struts for the LS430, the rubber protection is all part of the shock/strut. Or have I got it wrong?

What’s the dust cover thing?

That is a cracking price for the air struts, that makes a big difference to buying a LS430 or not. Just front struts though, is it the case that the front struts are more common to go bad compared to the rear struts?

Does something not look right on the pictures with the suspension height? I'm not very familiar with checking the air suspension, apart from checking if the suspension goes up and down. Lot's of discussion about the air suspension and cost of around £4k for all 4 air suspension struts, 4 x normal/standard struts would cost around £1k anyway so it's £3k extra compared to normal/standard struts/shock absorbers.

As this is all about the LS430, what you think of this one for sale on Facebook? I'm very tempted to have a look on my way home to Lancashire from Middlesbrough tomorrow. https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/977410556943337/

Yep, especially the brake/stop lights🤣