Howplum

Which only goes to prove that mileage is not necessarily the be all and end all. However, it makes me optimistic that hopefully I might get a reasonable price for my 90,000 mile LS400 next year, once I've finished polishing the new paint.

A bit steep for a quarter of a million miles!

On the subject of the Clarke "tent", I bought a small one as a garden store. Whilst it keeps the rain out, by no means could it be deemed as dry storage because of the condensation from the roof support, which also runs down the inner surface to drip on the contents. Perhaps some pipe lagging on the metal components might alleviate it.

As far as the lower suspension arms (front or rear?) are concerned, Lexus will probably only sell a complete arm. However, assuming the bushes are the issue, which is usual, aftermarket ones are available in either rubber or polyurethane. The brake pipes can be fairly easily replaced, if short, or repaired by inserting a section of copper and nickel, using the correct joint with flares (NOT olives!) on longer pipes. They usually rust where they connect to the flexible pipes and/or behind the supporting clips, which is usually hidden.

Hopefully it will be worth it in the end.

Well, the car is back from the paintshop, and in the picture looks nice and shiny, although it really needs flatting to make it look its best. However, there is a problem in some areas which will need rectifying. The probable cause is silicon contamination, so more sanding and spraying required. Overall though I am happy with the result and I'm sure had I sprayed it myself more remedial work would have been required. I now have to leave the paint a few days to fully cure before sanding and polishing. Meanwhile I will start refitting some of the trim.

My journey for this job starts on page 8 this topic: There might be some differences for the LS430, but at least it can be done by a DIYer.

I changed the timing belt etc. myself a couple of years ago. It took a few days, but wasn't overly complicated, if I recall correctly. I found the instructions on a US website and I used a kit from Rock Auto. The only specialised tool I needed was something to lock the crankshaft, so I used a piece of angle iron bolted to the front flange, which I might still have somewhere.

I've now finished sorting out the front brake pipes andfitted replacement steering tie rod ends, with the help of an angle grinder! Using the angle grinder to remove what little remained of the dust shields I then cut a slot in the new ones and have reattached them using Tiger seal and some large stainless steel jubilee clips. It all seems sturdy enough, but I will check after a few miles to see how things are. All that remains now is to refit the discs and calipers, bleed the front brakes and paint the front suspension with lanolin grease. Pictures follow.

I suspect someone dismantling one and selling the parts on Ebay would be your best bet.

It tends to detailers that use it, rather than general car washes. Detailing is expensive though, because it is very labour intensive.

Using a clay bar removes surface contaminants prior to polishing. Use it with a little soapy water for lubrication. https://www.autofinesse.com/blogs/guides/how-to-use-a-clay-bar Unfortunately it won't help with peeling lacquer. You'll need to speak to a bodyshop about that.

Well, this isn't going according to my plan! I've just spoken to the sprayer and it now seems he, and his booth, are booked until the end of October. On the positive side it means I can get on with a few other jobs in the meantime. I'm considering getting a Clarke garage to protect all my hard work. Does anyone have any experience of these? The reviews I've read seem positive.

Or, if you can live without the car for a few days, you could have it refurbished. There are several companies advertising on the internet.

Taking a break from bodywork I thought I would have a closer look at what's involved in changing the front dust shields, and it's not looking very promising, I have to say. The problem, as mentioned by Paul in an earlier post, is that the M6 screws are well and truly seized and I suspect the only way to remove them is to use a drill, which involves removing the hub, which no doubt will lead to other complications. Although it's called a dust shield it looks as though its primary function is to stop dirt etc. from contaminating the inner face of the disc and pads, although apparently its absence is not relevant to the MoT. I've been using the car since last summer without any untoward side effects, so I may just learn to live without it, in view of the limited mileage and absence of use on dirt roads. At the last MoT test in April it was mentioned that the brake pipe on the offside front was a little corroded, so I shall insert a new length of (copper) pipe, probably on both sides. Whilst I had my head underneath the front wing I also noticed the one of the steering tie rod boots now has a split, so I will be replacing both tie rods once the parts arrive. Another thing I plan to do underneath is to remove as much loose rust as possible from the suspension components and coat them with lanolin grease, about which I have only read positive reviews. Finally, I have noticed that when coming to a stop with the front wheels at a slight angle, such as when parking, there is occassionally a very slight noise from the front, which apparently could be something to do with the ABS. I did try and remove one of the sensors to investigate, but it seemed to be stuck fast, so I decided to leave well alone. I suspect it's another job that could easily escalate.

The car is now ready for paint. All I'm waiting for now is a call from the sprayer to let me know when he can fit me in. In the meantime I have applied black satin vinyl wrap to the windscreen pillar trims and the vertical door window trims. I'm currently repainting the wheels, although they weren't too bad, but would have looked worse against the fresh paint. I've bought a set of SC430 "pie dish" wheels which I will repaint at some point, although I appreciate opinion is divided on these.

On the LS400 spacers are needed so that the SC430 wheels clear the brake calipers, at the front anyway. Therefore I imagine the offset could be the deciding factor in your case. I am sure this scenario will have been discussed on one the US forums.

Now I'm back from a two week cruise around Great Britain I decided to get on with the dismantling process, which, thanks to Toyota's tendency to over engineer, provided a few head scratching moments. For example, whilst it might be possible to remove the front door handles with the glass in situ, it's fairly straightforward, but still fiddly, with the glass removed. Mind you, refitting the glass, and the guide channels, might be challenging. Everything that has been removed now needs a good clean, as do all the now exposed nooks and crannies on the car.

I'm just grateful that at 76 I still have the enthusiasm, energy and physical ability to do it

I went to see the sprayer who rents out the spray booth, and the course of our chat about types of paint and correct sequence of spraying such a large car, I became increasingly aware that my modest skills might not be up to the task. Out of interest I asked him how much he would charge to do the spraying if I did all the preparation work and masking up. He quoted £300, which seems very reasonable to me, in addition to £180 for the booth hire. He suggested/recommended that we use direct gloss, which is probably what Lexus used originally. Because it incorporates a lacquer, which presumably gives the shiny finish, it is easier to flat and polish without any risk of going through to the base coat, because there isn't one. Hopefully there won't be too much need for any major rectification work though. Instead of masking around the window trims and door handles I decided to remove them entirely, which was interesting! In for a penny........ I did discover that there seems to be no need to remove the window glass to remove the trim assembly, despite what I had read somewhere. It's just a case of removing a few screws and the whole assembly lifts off the lower window flange. The lower screws securing the metal trim to the assembly have seized, and the brackets have become detached as well, so I will probably end up gluing the trim in place on reassembly. Nothing will happen for a couple of weeks, but I am still hoping to get the spraying done by end of September.

Malc, the previous finish that failed was spray painted, this is the real thing. This is the company I used: https://www.thegoldplatingcompany.co.uk/

Progress has been slow, but at least I seem to be getting somewhere. I marked the stone chips and blemishes on the bonnet, of which there were quite a few! A combination of stone chips and guano damage. I put a small drop of touch up paint in the chips and then sanded the bonnet until it appeared smooth. I then applied two coats of filler primer and sanded that. I also did the top of the bumper again because I discovered some chips I had missed. I then applied a guide coat of black to see if I had missed any chips, and I had, so more localised touch up paint, sanding and priming will follow tomorrow. The same process was done on the boot lid, although that suffered mostly from guano damage. Tha car has lived outside since 1996, so it's not surprising. In the meantime, I had the new grille emblem plated with 24ct gold. I still have to deal with the window frame rust, but am going to investigate renting a spray booth at a local body shop , which will be much easier than trying to spray it in my single garage. It's a big car!

I thought the DHP springs were 10mm lower than standard. Anyway, you could try Springcoil in Sheffield. They were very helpful when I enquired about lowering springs for my LS400. They indicated about £100 each, but would require the technical specification or a sample to work from. https://springcoil.co.uk/

I found this, but it doesn't appear to have any loopholes though: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/ultra-low-emission-zone/discounts-and-exemptions And this: "If your car is not ULEZ compliant, and you don’t want to pay the daily charges, you might consider retrofitting a non-compliant van or car to meet the requirements of the zone. This can be achieved by either upgrading the vehicle’s exhaust system or changing its engine. However, it is extremely pricey to have this work carried out – and, after the work is completed, you will also need to have the vehicle re-certified by the DVSA to ensure it is recognised as compliant." From tfl's website: "Retrofit your vehicle Check your vehicle to see if it meets the LEZ emissions standards. If it doesn't, you may be able to retrofit your vehicle with emissions reduction technology. Emissions reduction technology Emissions reduction technologies include: Selective catalytic reduction, which reduces NOx emissions Replacement Euro VI engines Converting a vehicle to electric power Retrofit technologies need to be approved by the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS). This government scheme, funded by Defra, establishes common standards for all Clean Air Zone cities. CVRAS has certified emissions reduction technologies for certain buses, coaches, HGVs, and refuse vehicles. As retrofits need to be calibrated to specific vehicle models, and not all vehicles can be covered. We expect more conversions to be available in the future. Information about the retrofit process and a list of suppliers is on the CVRAS website." I would seriously question any company (if you can find one) that offers to make your car compliant, especially if there is an initial fee involved before any work is done. Perhaps you should look at post 2005 alternatives, such as the LS430 or 460 and GS300, although beware the increased tax on later models, i.e. £695!

The front and rear bumpers, along with all the lower plastic cladding pieces, are now finished. When reinstalling the headlight washers I discovered that the spring clips were rusty, and very weak, with the inevitable result. New ones are available from the dealer, at £8 each! Amayama's are cheaper at £2 each, but the postage wipes out any cost saving. I therefore made my own up from modified plastic spacing blocks, which lock into place because of the serrations, and won't rust. Necessity is the mother of invention! Next, it's preparation of the body itself, which will also involve dealing with a small amount of rust in a couple of wheel arches, along with some rust peeping out from behind the window trims. Every panel seems to need some work.