Howplum

Thank you both for your suggestions. I'll have look when I get the opportunity.

Earlier this morning the gear selector refused to move all the way across the N position to select reverse gear, although turning the engine off and on again seemed to cure it. There was no problems engaging forward gears. Any ideas? I'm hoping it was a one off, but obviously I am very wary of going anywhere that might involve reversing.

Does this help? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275305011237?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=ijOnDpLXRDa&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=bPQ54hZdSAe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

As I mentioned before, you might be disappointed with the gloss vinyl, firstly because they are not that glossy and secondly the finish is not as smooth as a paint finish. My B pillar trims are satin, and the satin vinyl has a much smoother finish, similar to paint. Included is a photo of a test piece I put on a chipped windscreen trim, without flatting, and the chips have not affected the finish. Ask for samples of both satin and gloss before deciding though.

They look very smart.

My inclination is that the car is unlikely to be targeted because of accessibility issues and age, but thank you for your replies.

We have a couple of friends who have had the CC stolen from their Prius, which I appreciate are target vehicles. As a result my wife is concerned about my LS400 suffering a similar fate. I believe it's unlikely because of its age and a thief wouldn't know the mileage, which could be a factor. Has anyone had them stolen?

If it's not required as daily transport then perhaps take it off the road for the winter and consider what to in the spring, when your health has improved. If the car is in good condition overall it would be worth fettling the minor issues instead of going to the trouble of replacing it, which may just present you with a different set of issues.

Or maybe spray it body colour?

To paint them properly would involve removing the existing paint and abrading the polishing surface before applying etch primer, paint and satin lacquer. Vinyl wrap would be a lot easier!

On my 1996 the black trims definitely look like a satin finish, although may be that's the effect of being outside for 26 years. If you opt for vinyl I think you might be disappointed with the finish. Get samples of both satin and gloss before deciding.

Or it could be a component on the circuit board. Apparently faulty electrolytic capacitors can cause the gauges to become erratic.

I recently fitted EBC Ultimax pads to my BMW and am impressed. Apparently the Ultimax are intended for normal use. They produce less dust and bite well straight out of the box. Made in Britain apparently. It looks as though they do both pads and discs for your model, so it might be worth checking out.

The screws for the windscreen side trims are revealed by peeling back the rubber seal along the front edge of the door aperture. I am going to do mine, but I found that one of the screws was seized, so my current plan is to vinyl wrap them in situ. You will need to remove the rubber moulding at the bottom of the windscreen pillar. To remove the vertical trims on the doors will probably involve some serious dismantling. I know that to remove the chrome trim involves removing the interior door trim, glass guide and glass before the fixings can be accessed. OTT! It should be possible to vinyl wrap the vertical trims in situ, with very careful use of a craft knife. I did the little "buttons" in the top corner of each of the door glasses and it still looks good after 2.5 years. I used satin black vinyl.

Reasonable is probably a subjective term, depending on experience and expectations. At that sort of price level I would suggest getting alternative quotes. As has been mentioned elsewhere a significant saving can be made on OEM parts by ordering from the likes of Amayama, even allowing for shipping, duty and VAT, although patience may be required.

All very useful information. Another job to go on my "to do" list, which never seems to get any shorter!

Actually Paul, or anyone, I have a question. In the diagram of the front suspension/steering the axle hub is secured by a nut on the inside face of the steering knuckle, but obviously passes through the bearing assembly and the ABS sensor rotor. Is it possible to remove the axle hub without disturbing the bearing assembly? It looks as though the outer bearing cage is held in place by a circlip (snap ring) in the steering knuckle but I assume the two parts of the inner cage are an interference fit onto the axle hub shaft. What happens if the nut is undone and the axle hub knocked through the housing? I suspect the bearing might not survive the experience, necessitating a new bearing assembly perhaps.

In the manual it sounds straightforward, but obviously assumes having the correct tools and not having to deal with 26 years of corrosion. Nevertheless, I would prefer to do the job "by the book" because it will give me a chance to derust and paint some of the components, which could possibly escalate into a full suspension rejuvenation. I'll make sure that the replacement dust shield is well protected with decent paint this time.

Yesterday there was a scraping noise from the front nearside, which turned out to be the brake dust shield. A good tug saw it completely removed. I bought a couple of replacements when I got the car, but replacing it looks like fun because it involves removing the hub from the steering knuckle. A challenge for the future, I think.

The IC105 was a straight swap from my original cluster to the replacement and no editing was required. It was done by a friend of mine who repairs computers because the soldering required was way beyond my skill level. I only paid £25 for the replacement cluster, because it had other issues, which I repaired, but I suspect you will have to pay a lot more for a fully working one. The main criteria was finding a cluster that had the same part number as mine, which was a lot more difficult than you might think. With apologies to @Scara for hijacking your topic. How is your project going, by the way?

Rob, in case it helps the mileage is stored on the device IC105 at the bottom right corner of the circuit board. I had mine swapped when I fitted a replacement cluster and it worked fine.

I found there were many variations when trying to source a replacement for my 1996 LS400. What is the full part number on the label? I have a spare that you might be able to use for parts.

I must admit, having wafted around for a couple of months, that I haven't really noticed any difference in the ride quality, which I imagine is a good thing. Today I fitted a pair of Fiamm trumpet horns because I felt the factory fitted items were a bit weedy, and not really in keeping with a luxury saloon. The car will certainly be noticed now! My next job will be to carry out some localised paint repairs to rectify the various stone chips, guano etching, small scrapes and minor rust scabs accumulated over the last 26 years. To this end I bought a small compressor and airbrush, which looks as though it will do the job. The spray pattern is smaller and more controllable than an aerosol or spray gun. I collected the paint today, and discovered that all paint supplied nowadays is a base coat, so designed to be finished with a clear coat , whereas the original paint has no clear coat, because it's not metallic, being 202 (Onyx black). Hopefully the clear coat I will apply can be blended into the existing paint without making the repairs too obvious.

In early June I ordered some bushes from Amayama, but never received confirmation that they had been despatched, so I sent an email last week and this is the reply I received: "The system automatically stopped the order because all air mail from Japan to Europe was suspended due to the Ukraine conflict. The order has still not been sent to the supplier. Do you accept submitting the order to the supplier now which will delay the order further (depending on part availability) and pay an additional amount USD 10.40 to have the order sent by UPS, or would you like to cancel the order and receive a refund?" Disappointingly Amayama did not see fit to volunteer the information before I chased the order. An order I placed in May was delivered without an issue, although that was from UAE, so maybe they had the parts in stock already. Just in case anyone is wondering where there order is.

Wow, you're going to be busy! Keep us posted. Out of curiosity, why did you choose coil overs instead of retaining the standard suspension setup?