Redefined

Thanks Lex. But can't really affoed to be without a car whilst they get refurbed. Plus the place I will be using is a nice chap with high standards in York. So would be a bit of a job getting em there and back.

Lastly, i find the LS430 wheels rather boring so trying to add a slight bit of spice! 😆

Hi all. My wheels really need a refurb as they are curbed all over. Add to that the fact that my 8 year old once took a kitchen scourer to one of em.

Money is limited but I've been offered some SC430 wheels which need a serious refurb. Size difference is 17 inch x 7.5 profile (width in inches). But the Sc430 are 18 inch by 8... so half an inch wider. Would they fit, is my question if anyone knows...

Pls, thanks.

Car looks lovely. Welcome to the forum Chris.

Front bumper on the wifes 1st car put back in place. The headlight wasn't breathing too well and had condensate inside. Took it out and noted one of the plugs for one of the the air vents was missing (it appears to allow water/humidity out but not let mist in).

But, more importantly, a whole tub of 20L 5w30 arrived from an authorised Mannol (German made I believe) arrived.

That's her car speted for life and another 3 oil changes for mine. £41 with lots of eBay discounts 😊

I've already taken your tip for the rwar number plate. I too have a touch of rust there and always wondered how I'd get it done.

With the aftermarket stereo though, just be aware that they do go bad after so long, so obviously look after your original for if that time comes.

Wheels... I really want a wheel upgrade. But don't like to advertise the fact that I find the standard LS430 wheels rather dull and boring. Had my lenses refurbed a few weeks ago and they look mint - but I need to get some 3m clearcote on em.

Regards the HD lights @Dezi that's a rather cool thing as I really miss mine from the Subaru. Looking forward to seeing how you get on with yours (and how easy are they to fit). I think mine is misnamed (V8, Suits You Sir) and in the wrong section. I never thought for a second that we have a dedicated 'Lexus Builds' area on this forum... 😆

Nice one for sharing Dezi. I'll be keeping an eye on this development. I'm also charting my progress with the (older) LS430. Yours looks absolutely lovely. Flint Mica, lovely (name and) colour.

NB. You mention about car having 162k and by 168k you're seeing the issues. Also sounds like what I went through as the car was just too good to be true. But there was something about the coolant that I just couldn't put my finger on. Had black bits show up every so often.

Could have been a coincidence but I really think the last owner (lovely couple who had all their work done at Sub Main Dealers) had been forewarned of the upcoming failure. Not too worry, it wss a lovely car for me and the 5 or 10 k it lasted me (from maybe 140k to 148k) was a whole heap of fund and comfort 😄

If you have a situation where the history mentioned the oil being bone dry (well, as far as the dipstick could get/translate) then I'd have thought (if the issue is ongoing) then there will currently be water mixed in with the oil. Can you take a look and see if you can check/see.

How is your coolant levels? If the pistons/rings were still quite bad then maybe you'll see air in you coolant levels or dropping of coolant levels. I had bubbles in mine. According to Car Care Nut recent video about myths of car maintenance. He mentions the use of 'plugs'..

Stuff like K Seal or WonderWeld (there plenty others on the market now) which essentially plug any holes (if there is any). If you get to the point that a garage suggests this - and hopefully you won't - then don't take it. I also bought myself a boroscope as I had bubbles in the coolant and was losing it at the head gasket I assumed.

I used all sorts of 'plugs' like K Seal and the likes. I'd used K Seal successfully previously you see, but this time the leak was too great. I ended up clogging lots of stuff, including probably the radiator core. Was gonna have the engine replaced but thankfully the Subaru engine-replacement specialist spoke to his mates at Subaru MDs. They advised him not to do it.

I also spoke to another Indy who was ex Subaru and had done 6 of my car (3L horizontally opposed 6 cylinders) whilst working at Subaru. Again, he advised me not to on my engine as it only goes from bad to worse. Hopefully your situation isn't as bad but from the sounds of it (compression testing, investing in boroscope), you sound just like I was just last year this time!!

All the best, and remember keep smiling!! It really could be alot worse... 1st world problems n all that. For me the blessing came in the guise that I finally took the plunge to Lexus with the LS430 and here I am...

Well done them. Always a real boost when you/your mechs get to yhe root of a problem. Hope it keeps going well Martin.

Thanks @johnatg doesn't stop me feeling that for some reason NGK are to spark plugs, what YKK is to zippers. Didn't know Denso is Toyota though. Makes sense why I always see it plastered everywhere (Denso) in various cars and other bits.

@MartinH I don't think anyone thinks you're a neglecter at all. Besides, we're all in together 😆

Maybe your car is someone else's next one 😊 and well done having so much of it 'rebuilt' at the MDs. Must've cost a bit 🤗

His latest one here (I think latest or a recent episode). Interesting to see what he does on his own cars during breaking-in. He actually does an oil change at 1000 miles aswell...

Just to add... Anyone thinking of going yhe distance on spark plugs. They must be iridium and they only one's I would trust are the NGK. For some reason I'm not 100% about Denso.

Also, coming back to Denso and NGK. There are alot of knock offs in various stores and that's why when you buy NGK (AFAIR) there is a way of confirming that they're original items made by NGK.

Also, if it's gonna play on your head whether it's the right thing to do (putting it off for another 50k) then you'd be better off just getting em done. Not worth the stress on the head thinking about if you made the right decision 😊

@Malc1 I didn't mean to offend... Just my opinion based on what I've seen when getting em out and what those two said (Scotty and CCN). But, I come from a slightly different mode of thinking as I try to just get it righy. Between spending too much (not because I'm tight fisted but because I seldom have spare cash at all) and getting the job right to last a long long time.

Not just for myself but also the next owner. Hence one of the reasons I spend alot of effort on the LS430 😉

Not quite @MartinH I started building bikes after my local bike shop allowing me to apprentice there part time (his dyslexia and our friendship, meant my bikes were always put on the back of the pile so eventuallygetting frustrated I asked to work with/for him and he allowed it). Then after so many years of slowly becoming more and more frustrated with the local 'fitters' I eventually started working on my own cars.

Sadly, honest expert advice/opinion online is scarce - there's lots of opinions and advice but generally the experts keep that info to themselves and why shouldn't they. After about 5 or 8 years of maintaining my own cars from a servicing and sometimes bearings POV, for Toyota there wasn't much info in YT. Dueing Covid Car Care Nut started his YT sharing his expert knowledge with the world and since then Ive gone from 'thinking I know' to 'knowing' IMHO.

Malc, I don't think him (Care Care Nut) or Scotty Kilmer are saying to leave the problem to the next owner and nor do I have thay philosophy. I personally like to sell my items in a condition that's the same or better than how I bought em. For example, the wife has bought the 22 year old Honda Civic as her first car. She doesn't plan on keeping it too long (lots of reasons that fly about in her brain) but I'll be sorting out as much rust as poss, have already ordered the auto gearbox fluid and oil/filter (filter being an original Toyota).

I've also figured out why the headlight isn't breathing properly and has condensation in it so that shall be sorted v soon too. Regards the auto fluid, generally the capacity is much larger volume than how much can be flushed and replaced at a time. During my guesswork days - and most people on the forums or YT would condone or suggest this - I'd do a flush, drive it and then another flush or two. Trying to get as much old gearbox fluid out of the box as poss.

Since Car Care Nut has come to YT (he's a Toyota Master Technician and learnt his trade startting at a tender age of about 7!!) I've since learnt that the flush is vital in allowing the gearbox to run smoother. If you purge out all the old fluid then the tiny particles that help 'plug' worn areas cannot do their job and can lead to failure...

Spending the extra £250 on the plugs certainly wouldn't do much harm, but what Scotty Kilmer and Car Care Nut as suggesting is to spend the time and effort in servicing other vital areas. Like for example (and I learnt this from CCN also) the coolant flush is vital to be done regularly and on time (or more often). It stops worn/dirty coolant from circulating around the engine and seals.

Also, he (Car Care Nut) suggests that the 8k miles or longer oil/filter change is too long. He advises to change the oil at least every 5k miles (which is what I now do on the Lexus but was also doing in the Subaru 6 cylinders before this) and its a better investment of your money. Hope that helps 😊

So true Malc... 

Thanks @HPS13 . Yes, that's right, passed her driving test, a day I rather worried about. But, the manay many lessons she's taken over the years means she's rather good at it.

Just isn't in agreement at the car I ended up buying (technically hers but she prefers it not be called that, to give an excuse to splash out!). But if it hadn't been this we may have ended up with a Daihatsu Charade which I had a hard time explaining 'why she shouldn't'. Sometimes it's good to allow people to learn their own life/car mistakes but I couldn't bring myself to do it! 😆

Sorry about the grammar/spelling mistakes above, for some reason the forum won't allow eidting of previous posts. Maybe that's a paid privelege!?

Where to start  - ie. is there a section of the forum where we can discuss 'off-Lexus' topics or is it frowned upon. Don't want to be shown the door 😊 but equally don't want to join Piston Heads just for this occassion...

One might think that joining the Honda forum is a reasonable thing to do, but it used to be rather political the last Honda (won't say which to try keeping anon) forum I frequented. The owner seemed to want to control various aspects of the users lives!

I've bought a car for my wife. She passed recently and she hates it, but it's a lovely car! A 21 year old Honda Civic 1.4L auto with 1 or 2 owners before me with the last owner being about 25 years in owndership. Him and his wife looked after it exceedingly well.

Obviously being a Honda, it's full of rust and being so old there's various things that need doing. My question is, is there a place on Lexus Owners where we can start a non-Lexus car project thread. I usually like to sell my cars in a conditonbetter than how I bought em and docimenting the journey... well, it's nice.

Thoughts or directions!? If so, where should I start such a topic)..

No probs. I'll probably end up buying similar to what I already have. So will give it a miss. Thanks for the response.

Hi @The Lexus Enthusiast  any more details on the wheels. How much are you selling for (for ref, my budget for wheels at the mo is nil, but my current ones are curbed and scuffed quite maximally, as well as my 8 year old trying to clean em for dad with Brillo type pad!) and what condition. Any pics... Ta

@Malc1 this guy is just golden. So informed and straightforward and some of what he mentions is the reason I started building my own (push) bikes (for customers eventually). That then LED me to be more confident working on my own cars.

At the rnd of this vid he mentions who he follows in YT. Automotive Express will be one I sub to soon (though I may just delete the YT app again for the mo as I found myself wasting so much time and only downloaded it just now to try and find the content of Ahmed talking about spark plugs.

If anyone loves auto engineering and Toyota/Lexus in particular then this interview is priceless (sprry for saying twice).

1 hour ago, Malc1 said:

Wow …… are you quite sure these iridium plugs can satisfactorily last for 150k miles ? 
Malc 

There you go Malc. I'd been changing the iridium plugs at 60k or less on all my Subarus and mever really noticed any change or wear on the plugs (though I tried to justify and sell it to myself). Car Care Nut appears to agree with Scotty Kilmer and I definitely value CCN alot more for our cars.

Other servicing is alot more vital... Really good thorough vid...

Martin. I changed mine at about 75k. In my opinion they didn't need doing and subsequently I found a vid by Scotty Kilmer explaining how these newer iridium tipped plugs that don't need re-gapping can go 150k without a problem... Possibly alot more!

On my H6 i would try to change em (myself as it was a flat 6 engine and hard to get to the tighest plugs, meaning many mechanics didnthave a clue and would leave them out) at about 60k. But after reading/watching Scotty Kilmer (and also that Car Care Nut doesn't include it in his list of things to keep your car running nice) explaining how we're OCD with our plugs on newer cars, I'd say not to worry about it.

If you really want to check em out, they're easy enough to get to. So save the £250 and maybe just pop one out - I think in my V8 thread I talk through how I did my change and it was straightforward - and take it from there!?

Am sure you'll make the best decision and a good question indeed to ask... Scotty vid below (but bearing in mind, he's esssentially a YouTuber now so does need 'content' and an opportunity to talk lots to gain them extra watched-time minutes).

Driving to work today at Grimsby. Red/burgundy LS430 spotted. Looked mint but I didn't get chance to do much more than lightly pap the horn. That (pap of the horn) was an exp in itself. The padding of the car meant I could hardly hear it and did an extra few bursts (sorry if it was you)...

Thanks @MartinH Thankfully it went well (and I knew it was probably impossible, but it needed to be attempted) though I didn't complete the full elevation. 11 hours of riding and 35H total time spent - including 3 or 4h of sleep which is against the official rules but I'm not too bothered  - before chucking in the towel.

Maybe the heat got to me, but also started having issues with gwtting the calories in. Used a (mainly) liquid diet method to allow the tummy to absorb and not need to spend blood flow churning. Last couple of climbs, to manage the heat and keep the HR down to a manageable 151 instead of the 161 and more it was hitting, I put the helmet on the bike on the way up. Then helmet on head for the way down which wasn't gravel as one of my mates had assumed.

Full sized goats head rocks that are constantly on the move, so took the smart decision to pack it in. Before I forgot to don the helmet and a smashed face forced me to pack up. Lost my salt despite having taken lots of electrolytes, so ended up needing to lick my arms.

Did a couple of write ups which I can link to (screenshot maybe) across if you wants a read. Definitely enjoyed it and definitely will be back to attempt again. £44,000 (to reflect the 4400m of half-Everest I managed) donation target for the starvation crisis happening/developing in Afghanistan due to the crippling freezing of govt funds. Of which I've raised just shy of £2000 and it should feed a few young uns (or elder ones, or whoever is starving, which means 98% of the population according to reports in the charity depts).

Some pics below... Of either training days, or recce schedules (my son, the little marvel took a recce in the rain and came to climb 7 reps with me of my 51 or so completions) etc etc. Thoroughly enjoyable and not a v8 in site!