Tomtit

Welcome. bba-reman.com are regularly mentioned in Car Mechanics magazine. Might be worth a phone call.

Anthony. I was shocked to read about your accident. I hope you are making steady progress. It will be frustrating looking at your car and being unable to drive it. When the time comes it will be raring to go and you will enjoy the drive. Stay positive.

My car's Christmas present is a new vacuum switching valve for ACIS. I am not looking forward to doing that job outside in these temperatures. It may have to wait for its present until after Christmas when the weather is hopefully warmer than the current minus 4 during the day.

I did that job on mine. Converted it to coil springs and shock absorbers for just over £1000. I now have all new suspension which will probably last the life of the car. My insurers said that the market value of my car was £1100, so there was no way I was going to buy new Lexus air struts. Although the ride is not as good as air suspension it is still better than many cars. I am happy with the conversion.

Dark green with cream leather is classy. I've never seen a dark green one.

For the benefit of others, the Haynes workshop manual shows that the numbering of the cylinders is as shown in Ken's post above.

Bob. I thought about it at the time but I was in a rush to fit the new covers. I have now removed the Lexus logos by drilling out 4 plastic rivets on each cover. Some of the chrome had already peeled off so i will try to find some suitable chrome spray paint for plastic to refurbish them. I will post the results.

Colin. I can confirm that the nav units in the SC and LS430 2001-2003 are the same part no. I know because I have both cars.

I bought them on e-bay and they came from U.S.A. They are worth the money, especially as my wife has agreed to pay for them!

I have just replaced the plate pie wheel covers with different covers. Before and after images attached. I think it is a big improvement.

Russell. When I booked the car in at the garage I asked them to remove the dust shields, and I explained why. Bob. I would rather have road dirt on the reluctor rings than have the rings worn away again. Cleaning the dirt off the rings is no great hardship. Remove the wheel speed sensor and this gives a hole for a screwdriver or toothbrush to get rid of the dirt.

I told the mechanic to leave them off. I don't want this problem again. I suppose I will have to expect this to happen on the LS430 as well, unless they have previously been removed. The workshop manual shows that the LS also has wheel bearing dust shields.

For the benefit of others, this is what happens to the reluctor rings on the driveshafts. The castellations are almost worn away. Without help from this forum I would not have been able to diagnose the problem.

Collected the car today after the local garage had removed the wheel bearing dust covers and fitted the new driveshafts. The car is now braking as it should with no noises. The mechanic said that the job was "a challenge." I bet the language in the workshop was not fit for use in decent company. It took him 5 1/2 hours. The workshop manual made it sound like an hour's work. Waiting for the vacuum switching valve and gaskets to arrive before I tackle the next job.

Graham. I have done plenty of fellwalking in the Lake District and I know what you mean about the weather.

A few days ago after heavy rain a couple of drops of water fell into the car when I opened the door. They seemed to drop from the rubber seal above the driver's side window. Yours may be similar. I will spray some silicone lubricant onto the rubber to keep it supple.

I cannot criticise High Peak Autos. The invoices show that they spent a lot of money putting things right and I don't think that they made a profit on the sale. (I hope they made a profit on my part exchange). When starting the car I did not notice the absence of the MIL, and I suspect that many other potential buyers would not notice it. I always buy older cars and in my experience it is rare to get one without any issues. I still feel that I have come away with a good car and I would buy again from this dealer.

Bob. On the video where the man from High Peak Autos shows us around the car, the engine management lamp did not come on when he switched the ignition on. This suggests that the light had been blocked out before High Peak bought it. I should add that the repair work was done by another garage, not High Peak Autos.

You will need to have a scan done to find out which fault code(s) are present. This will narrow things down and make diagnosis easier.

I have just discovered from the paperwork that the garage tried to fix the P1651 fault code by replacing the vacuum switching valve for the emissions control system, not the valve for the acoustic control induction system. I have looked at the valve for the emissions control and it looks new. It is not surprising that the P1651 code will not go away. I have ordered a new valve and gaskets.

Bob. It is difficult to say. I have spent the afternoon getting the car up in the air and sealing 4 exhaust leaks. Good news: the MIL went out after starting the engine. Bad news: it came back on with a new fault code. P1651 - vacuum switching valve for acoustic control induction system circuit. The paperwork shows that this code was there before I bought the car and a new switching valve was fitted. It was a genuine part bought from Lexus. I had this problem with the LS430 and fitting the new valve was a long job; the inlet manifold has to come off, and that is a heavy item when you are working on your own. Another job to look forward to !

Today I removed the cluster again and managed to access the LED's. I have attached a photo. The black sealant is covering the LED for the malfunction indicator lamp. Needless to say, the MIL is now working as it should. At least I don't have to start investigating the wiring. I may be the only person who is pleased to see the MIL lit up with the engine running. That is part 1 of the problem solved. Now, fault code P0430 with a louder than usual exhaust note will point me in the right direction.

Colin. Thank you. I will have a look at the ECU tomorrow when it has hopefully stopped raining. For information to help others, it is only a few minutes' work to take the cluster out. The bezel is clipped in place and comes away using a plastic trim removal tool. The cluster is held by 4 screws.

Colin. Thank you for that information. The car was M.O.T'd in February this year. I would have expected the tester to spot the missing light. I have watched the High Peak Autos video again and there was no MIL showing when the ignition was turned on. The problem has been there for some time. Someone has previously looked at the instrument cluster as two screws are missing. Inside there is a complex-looking printed circuit board. There is nothing obvious like a burn mark. I don't have the knowledge to test the PCB. I will have a look for connector E6 tomorrow in daylight. In the meantime I have found (in the diagnostics section of the workshop manual) a diagram of the connector at the back of the cluster. I can now work out which wire feeds the MIL. I was hoping to put voltage to the feed wire and see if the MIL lights up. If it does, it would indicate a wiring problem further back. You mention low voltage before the engine starts. If I apply, say, 4.5 volts d.c. to the feed wire would that be enough to light the MIL? I will try the engine ECU as you suggest. Checking at the cluster will give me another option. Thank you.

When I bought the car I was looking into the ABS problem and I did a full scan for all fault codes. The only code showing was P0430 catalytic converter efficiency below threshold bank 2. I deleted the code and thought no more of it. I have now realised that the engine malfunction indicator lamp does not come on at all. It should come on for a few seconds when the ignition is turned on. I need to check for a voltage supply at the instrument cluster. I have ordered the electrical wiring diagram supplement to the workshop manual, but it is coming from the U.S.A. and will arrive some time next month. There is a multi plug at the back of the cluster. Does anyone know which wire is the feed for the engine malfunction indicator lamp, please?