DruLS

It passed last time after I replaced a brake hose. The only advisory was a high lambda reading due to the exhaust leak, but since then the exhaust has started falling apart. I don't plan to keep it off the road for a long time, I'd just like to be able to take my time and have a backup car in case things go wrong. A broken bolt turns a 30 minute job into a 5 day ordeal! I'd only be buing a cheap little hatchback to last a few months that's all. It's also going to need some paint work - It's next to impossible to find panels in this colour.

Hi everyone, So I bought my second LS430 after I unfortunatley had an accident in my first one. I got my first one in mint condition before the crash which was unfortunate. I bought this one as a fixer upper but due to redundancy it ended up being my daily with no work going into it and it's starting to fall apart. Mechanically it's mostly sound, engine and gearbox are sweet as a nut. But it now needs a lot of work I can't really do over a weekend, so I'm thinking of getting a cheap run around and taking it off the road so I have time to do what work I can by myself. Some of the work it needs: A new or repaired front bumper as my current one is cracked after a small bump. Some body work on the rear bumper. The two front doors will most likely need replacing as they both have bad rust that I think is beyond saving at this point. Some paint work as it's the red/maroon colour which is pretty rare so I doubt I'll be able to find panels in that colour. A new petrol tank as my current one leaks if I fill it more than half way. A new exhaust as mine is very rusted and leaking; it sounds like a NASCAR - (luckily I have a full stainless steel catback from my old one). A new rear air strut as one is leaking (I may possibly convert it to coilovers but I don't really want to take away the ride comfort. Fixing the AC as it doesn't work. A new set of alloys, or have my current ones refurbed. Other than that a few bits and bobs but nothing serious. My AC doesn't work, nor did it on my old one. While I've never looked into it, I imagine it's the lines that run under the car to the rear. I can find the replacement hoses for not too much considering Lexus' part prices. I know you need to drop the exhaust and fuel tank to get to them but I'll be doing that anyway. Does anybody know of any guides to do this or have any of you done this repair yourself? I also heard of people just blocking off the rear and returning functionality to the front but I think I might as well fix the entire thing if I'm taking it apart. I also need to fix the leak on one of the struts, it's the rear right. I still need to check where the leak is coming from before I blindly put a new strut in it. In your experience is it the strut that goes bad or could it be a bad line somewhere? Also, while I'll have the car in pieces are there any other things I should be checking/replacing? Thanks guys EDIT: Forgot to mention, I'm hearing a clicking/clunking sound when I come to a stop sometimes. I imagine it's a bad bushing or something, although it seems to ride just fine. Any ideas where I can look first for the culprit?

I put some amber side markers in my old LS in that spare socket, but I didn't like the look - there's no seperation in the housing so the light leaks across. But each to their own.

For some reason in these cars, when the check engine light is triggered, the traction control is disabled too. No idea why but of course it freaks people out because they think there are many problems. I had the same issue and it was just an O2 sensor. Best bet would be to scan the car for codes to see what's causing it. If the car seems to be running OK, it's probably something simple. O2 sensors are common on these. FYI, if it is an O2 sensor get the equivilent Denso one instead of OEM. Lexus use Denso, but buying direct is cheaper. That's what I did and it worked just fine.

Thanks for the tips guys, didn't even think about the roof gutter I just assumed it was the door. I'll take a look, cheers 🙂

I'll look into the cost of the parts. Considering the car isn't worth much, and I never have people in the back I might as well cap it off if the alternative is too expensive.

I actually have that problem. Do you know if it's an easy DIY job to replace the AC pipes?

Hi guys, So it appears my fuel tank is leaking. After taking a quick look it's corroded. I think it might be coming from the seam as it doesn't leak unless it has more then half a tank. I know you have to remove the exhaust to remove the tank, but I'm installing my custom exhaust soon anyway so I figured I'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I've never had to deal with fuel tanks before. Would you recommend I repair it, or get it repaired or replace it? It would have to be used as I don't think I can afford a brand new one right now.

Has anybody experienced this? I have wind noise coming from the driver's door at motorway speeds. Sometimes I can make it quieter by rolling the window up and down but it's still there. I've looked at the rubber seals and all appear to be in good working order. Does anybody have any ideas?

I've checked all the fuses. I actually went back to the connector and found 12v on a purple wire, and some lesser voltages on others so I can only guess it's getting power properly. I just assumed the main power wire would be red. I opened up the amp to see if I could see anything obvious like corrosion or a blown cap but found nothing. I guess it's time to send it off for repair.

Hi everyone, I spoke with a nice helpful man at SVT services. He suggested I check that it's getting power. He said it's unusual for one of these amps to fail without some warning signs or intermittent failure. Mine worked fine one day, then was completely dead next time I started the car. He advised there should be a fuse under the bonnet. I've checked and I can't see a fuse for the amp under there. I went ahead and checked every fuse. The 30amp fuse in the boot is not blown, and it's getting power. I checked the harness and I can't find power anywhere on it. At least the cables I was checking. I don't have a pinout so I just checked all the red wires in the loom to see if they had voltage which they did not. Does anybody have a pinout for the amp so I can be certain which wire it's getting power from? And are there any other fuses in the circuit other than the 30amp fuse in the boot?

Where did you get your amp repaired out of interest? Just in case I need to get mine done.

Thanks, I'll give that a try. It was parked on the top floor and I think the weather was pretty hot while I was away. Fingers crossed it's something as simple as that. If it's not, does anybody know any repairers who are in the UK? All the ones I can find are in the US. Or does anybody know what the repair involves? I can solder so if it's a case of some bad caps or something I can do that.

I've never had an issue with the the amp in my last LS430. I miss that car and I swear this other one is cursed with the amount of things going wrong with it. Never had any kind of issue with the stereo before, although about a week or two ago I did put in the driver's side speaker and the sub which I'd replaced the surrounds on as they'd all cracked. From there is was working great. Never really cranked it up loud other than to test, I just listened to it at normal volumes. I should add that I've yet to add my iPod kit into this car, so I've never had the head unit out or messed with any of the wiring or connectors. All I've ever done was remove the sub and one of the speakers as I've said - although the amp never seemed to have issues running without those connected so I doubt that's contributed. I had to go abroad so on Saturday morning I parked it at the airport with the stereo working great. I got back last night so it had been sitting for less than 4 days. Car started fine but no audio from the head unit from any source. Not even any beeps from pressing on buttons on the screen or physical buttons on the head unit (which I never thought came from the amp, guess I was wrong). It was late when I got back so all I had time to do was to check the amp's 40a fuse which was fine. I also went into the diagnostic screen and got the following: Do you guys know of anything else I can try, or check or am I definitely looking at a dead amp? I'd hate to shell out for a repair or a new one if the amp itself is fine. Cheers!

Hi guys, I'd like to be able to transfer my contacts to my car for the bluetooth system. However, modern phones especially my iPhone don't seem to allow you to do this. I have a collection of early bluetooth phones release around the time the LS430 as well as some other phones but these don't work either. I can pair them and make calls but I cannot transfer contacts. When I try to transfer contacts the phone either disconnects or I get an error on the car's screen. I have heard you can get an app on Android phones to allow you do to this but I haven't been able to confirm this so I'm not going to rush out and buy one. So far, I've tried the following phones: Nokia 6310i (one of the first Nokia's with bluetooth so I was hoping that would work. Nokia 207 Blackberry 9700 Blackberry 7290 Blackberry Classic If anybody could recommend a phone that will allow me to transfer contacts that would be fantastic. Thanks very much.