Howplum

Having completed the first stage of tidying up the paintwork I thought I would see the complete picture, instead of individual panels. I still have to polish and wax the car, as well as sort out the paint scrapes on the offside and around the aerial hole, but it's now looking a bit more presentable. There's still plenty to do, but the list is getting shorter. I am no longer I finishing one job and then adding two more! Without wishing to jeopardise anything, it sounds as though Steve has been able to work his magic on my instrument cluster and all the lights apparently now work. Obviously I spoke too soon about the electronics having survived the damp atmosphere unscathed, because corrosion was indeed the cause of the problem. Hopefully I will get it back next week.

Thanks Phil. As far as I can tell it is only the clear coat that is affected. As I mentioned I was very wary about taking too much off in case the base colour was exposed, which would involve more work. To be honest the boot and bonnet are much worse, having been quite badly affected by bird droppings etc, so at some point in the future I will address all the defects again, but for moment I feel the car looks a great better than when I got it. At least I won't be ashamed to drive it in it's current condition, although no doubt the perfectionist in me me will kick in at some point.

Yesterday I tackled the scrape on the driver's door which I hoped was superficial, although my friend, the original owner, did manage to take some paint off on the front of the door, as well as the front and rear wings. First I went over it by hand with a pad of 3000 grit wet and dry, although I was careful not to get too enthusiastic because I didn't want to go through the lacquer coat. This is what it looked like afterwards: The mark is still there, but less pronounced. Next I went over the area, again by hand, with some Farecla G3 Professional scratch remover, which got rid of the scratches very effectively: After that I used my polisher and went over the whole door with the 3 in 1 product I have been using. The mark is still there, but much less noticable, especially when standing up!

My rear subframe is quite rusty, although mainly superficial, and this seems quite common when looking at the MoT history of prospective purchases. If it's an issue for the MoT then the temptation/requirement is to rebuild the entire rear end, which I suspect is when the costs really start mounting.

Have you read my topic "1996 LS400 project. Let the fun begin.....!" by any chance? Mine had never been garaged in 24 years, and nor had it been looked after especially well. In fact, the only saving grace was that the mileage is less than 80,000. It was very damp when I got it, although there were no obvious leaks, but there is a lot of surface rust behind the dashboard, although the electrics luckily seem unaffected. I bought the car for £400, without an MoT, although at least it ran, once the alarm/immobilser had been disconnected. My budget to bring the car up to scratch was between £1,500 and £2,000, and so far I have spent £1,300 on parts, the only major expense on the horizon being the parts to change the timing belt and water pump, unless the MoT tester has a surprise for me. Hopefully I will end up with a very nice car for under £2,500, although this is with me doing all the work myself, including any paintwork. The work I have done so far is chronicled in my topic, and I must say that if it wasn't for the quality of the engineering and components I doubt a lesser car would have been able to brought back from the brink. Obviously Lexus are not perfect, but so far it has been pretty easy to work on. I would imagine restoring the car you have seen is never going to make economic sense, but's that's not the point. Perhaps a first step, before parting with any money, is to see what works and what doesn't when a battery is connected (if the owner will let you).

Pending a diagnosis on my instrument cluster and delivery of a few bits and pieces I have been doing some work on the paint, which seems to be responding well: Whilst I was fiddling around with the aerial I noticed there was a little bit of rust, so that has been addressed. It just needs basecoat and lacquer now. The bonnet and boot have suffered over the years, with lots of blemishes, such as this: This is the colour of my white polishing pad after doing just half of the bonnet. I assume it is dirt, and not black paint, because the paint is lacquered. Still, the bonnet is starting to look better, as least from a few feet away! Ideally the bonnet and boot need repainting, but that will go on the backburner for the time being, although I'm sure it will be easier than repainting the Mercedes 420SEC I did a couple of years ago.

Mine looks in need of some TLC at the join closest to the radiator, and obviously someone has been there before, judging by the worm drive clips:

I must admit that discovering the instrument cluster is faulty was very disappointing, especially when the car was just about ready for an MoT. I did try and track down a used replacement, but with no luck, although that would be around 24 years old as well. In the end @steve2006 has kindly agreed to have a look at it for me, so hopefully it can be repaired. Meanwhile I have been playing with my polisher, starting with boot. There is definitely a difference, but the paint has several blemishes from bird dropping, sap etc., so I might try using 3000 grit and see if that improves things. Still, it's a bit shinier: This is the product I have been using, and it works well: I had a small sample of black satin vinyl wrap so thought I would have a go at tidying up the window guide buttons, which had lost their paint. They certainly look better, although it remains to be seen how long it lasts: Yesterday I decided to change the differential oil, but unsurprisingly the drain plug didn't want to come undone. However, this essential tool, plus a 2 foot long breaker bar, won in the end: And yes, I did undo the filler plug first. Mind you, it made a mess of the drain plug, so as a temporary measure to enable me to do it up again I filed some flats on it to fit a 22mm open ended spanner: Something else to add to the shopping list. I also changed the engine oil and filter, which went smoothly. However, whilst I was under the car I thought I would check the power steering connections at the bottom of the radiator, following @Malc's earlier suggestion. This is what I found: For now I have just wirebrushed them and applied some Kurust, but if the radiator ever has to come out those connections will not survive. I therefore plan to change the radiator and all the clips when I do the timing belt and water pump, as well as dealing with the rusty mounts.

Steve, I must admit that fitting remote locking to my project is some way down the list, but it is interesting to hear about your experience. Does that mean it overides the locking switch in the front doors? Do you have any idea why? I had assumed the gear selector was mechanical.

Aren't Volvos supposed to be reliable? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174207867047

Another option is to investigate having it repaired. Does anyone have any experience of this?

The part number is 257410-1275 &/or 83010-50650. I have enquired of eBay breakers and Lexus Spares Direct (Paul Frost?) and am awaiting replies. Any other sources?

That's very kind of you Paul. I'll decide what to do once he replies. In case anybody reading this needs to know, the part number is 257410-1275.

Thank you Paul. I sent him a question earlier, so I'll see what he says.

Something to be aware of indeed, @Malc, thank you. I'll have look next time I'm under the car, which will probably be fairly soon! My more immediate concern is that having replaced all of the warning light bulbs I am no further forward. In fact, in addition to the previous non-functioning lights towards the top of the cluster (main beam, lights on, fog lights front & rear and right indicator) none of the check lights along the bottom right come on either now! Having previously said I was lucky not to have any electrical gremlins in view of the historic dampness, it looks as though I spoke too soon. A visual inspection reveals nothing obvious, and I doubt it's economically viable to get the cluster wiring checked, so I'll try and get a used one. Contact cleaner made no difference, unfortunately. Luckily the odometer can be easily swapped - just a couple of screws and a multipin connector. Anyone got a spare cluster?

There's a market for the engine amongst the modifying fraternity. It seems to have replaced the Rover V8 as the weapon of choice. Retrorides would be a good start, assuming the owner wants to sell.

Do you have pictures, @rich1068, for inspiration purposes?

Today I changed the spark plugs, which all went according to plan. I also decided to change the power steering fluid, which was dark brown, so presumably is 24 years old. It's the one on the right!: I followed the procedure shown in this link: http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/steering/psflush.html This is my setup, which worked well enough: The low pressure return hose is 10mm internal diameter, if you want to try it. Unfortunately, what I didn't realise was that when I briefly started the car the bottom end of the hose extension would flail around under the car and not stay in the jug I used, so it made a bit of a mess. That aside, after that brief burst and with the engine off the fluid continued to drain out, albeit very slowly. All I had to do was keep topping up the reservoir, eventually using about 2 litres. However, after an hour or so I got bored, so reverted to the usual method of using a turkey baster to empty the reservoir, as much as I could anyway, and refilling with clean fluid, doing that several times. The neck of the reservoir is quite narrow, so I could only empty the reservoir to about halfway each time. Anyway, the job is done now, and the fluid looks much more like it is supposed to, and in all I used about 3 litres, but then the fluid was particularly mucky.

Well done. I think mine might take a bit longer!:

Thanks @steve2006. Out of curiosity, has anyone tried, or considered trying, this sort of kit?: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heated-Warmer-heater-retrofit-Universal/dp/B0051BMMJ0 Obviously there is a lot of work involved in removing the seat covers, and connecting them to the original switch would be ideal, but they seem to get good reviews.

I cannot recommend a particular company, not having used one myself, but have you tried this company?: https://www.theleathermend.co.uk/car-leather-repair-derby.html I imagine sorting out the rip would involve glueing a backing behind it to restore structural integrity, after which the seats can be cleaned, coloured and treated, so essentially fairly straightforward, in theory. This is based watching The Repair Shop!

Not immediately, as I discovered yesterday. However, I am getting quite adept at removing the dashboard lower panels, so it didn't take long to adjust the switch enough to solve the issue. Because we had a lot of rain last night I thought it would be a good idea to check and see if any had entered the car, and fortunately everything was dry, so that was a relief. I wonder if melting snow at some time in past might have been the cause of water getting behind the dashboard. As mentioned in my more specific topic, I discovered that what I thought were non-working front fog lights do in fact work, but only with the engine running, unlike the rears. I am currently awaiting delivery of sidelight and warning light bulbs, and then the car should be ready for an MoT, which will be a landmark.

The answer to the fog light riddle is quite simple. Not mentioned in the Owner's Manual is the fact that they only work with the engine running! Luckily I had the idea before I started dismantling the fuse box. In layman's terms, does that mean there is a break (or maybe several breaks) in the wiring? Are the elements repairable or replaceable? Can the elements from the rear seats be adapted to fit the fronts?

Thank you all. I will investigate further - once I find the relay!

According to the Owner's Manual "The front fog lights come on only when the tail lights are turned on", which seems an odd way of expressing it. Anyway, having done a bit more research, it looks as though the relay is behind the footwell fusebox, so a little dismantling is required.