Tomtit

That is good news. It looks really clean underneath.

The LS430 passed the M.O.T. today with no advisories. Not bad for a 20 year old car with 146k on the clock. I am happy.

If you look on ebay at lexussparesdirect you will find some used air suspension struts for sale.

I would be happy with a 119k engine with full history. My LS430 (with the same engine) has 146k on it and it drives like a new engine. I replaced the engine oil a year ago and it is still golden-coloured. How often do you come across that? I have owned more than 60 cars and have never experienced that before. They are superb engines.

Just a brief update: the mechanic put the car on a ramp to look at what the job entails. He rang me to say that there could be 7 or 8 hours work, depending on how badly stuck the driveshafts are. He may have to use heat or even a big sledgehammer and drift if they won't come out. The garage is always booked up for weeks in advance and he could not risk the job going over to the next day due to other commitments. I have booked it in again for early next month. In the meantime I will spray penetrating fluid at intervals. I will post the outcome in due course.

Yes, and like yours the drawers are labelled so we don't waste time looking for tools.

My suspension began sagging on one side but the compressor would pump it up again. Eventually it sagged when left overnight. It was entitled to fail at 19 years old. The suspension strut cannot be repaired. It will cost a four figure sum to replace it, unless you want to take a chance on a second hand unit. At that age, when one strut fails the others may not be far behind. I converted the car to conventional coil springs and shock absorbers. I did the work myself. The ride is not quite as good as air suspension, but for just over £1000 the new parts will probably last the life of the car. I left a post on this forum with details, part nos. etc. On a positive note, the seats will be like your favourite armchair.

Ant. Photo of tool cabinets attached. I sometimes need a pry bar to open the drawers on the Halfords cabinet, even 'though they are not full. I cannot fault the SGS cabinet. Thumbs.db

I have a tool cabinet made by SGS. Far better quality than the equivalent Halfords one which I also have.

I wonder if some insurers are trying to keep their clients by rewarding loyalty.

This year's premium for the LS 430 was £115 less than last year. I am not complaining.

Bob. I sprayed GT85 into the outside of the hub where the splines are. I did not leave it a few days since I normally get results within minutes on rusty nuts etc. I never thought to spray the inner side of the driveshaft, but I will do this a few days before it goes into the garage.

Ian. When the engine management light comes on the problem will be emissions-related. You will not be in immediate danger unless exhaust gases are entering the car. In this case you will start to feel unwell due to carbon monoxide. Hopefully the new O2 sensors have solved the problem.

After a long struggle I cannot remove the first driveshaft. It seems well and truly stuck in the hub and at the differential. It has probably not moved in 21 years. I am not a trained mechanic and I have not done this job before. The workshop manual says to gently tap the shaft out of the hub with a brass drift. This did not work. Penetrating fluid and a good crack with a ball pein hammer and drift had no effect. It only produced a bit of grease at the differential end. I don't know how hard I can hit it without doing any damage. An experienced mechanic would know. I have asked my trusted local garage to do the job. That will give me time to prepare the LS430 for its M.O.T.

At 100,000 miles your engine has a lot of life left in it. Mine has done 147k and still feels ultra smooth. I changed the engine oil a year ago and it is still straw coloured. I have owned many cars and have never experienced that before. The oil usually starts to change colour after a few weeks' use. If you change your car someone else will get the benefit of your £1200 spend. I would keep the car and enjoy it.

According to the workshop manual we disconnect the driveshaft at the differential end and drift the shaft out of the hub. There is no need to dismantle the hub. The upper control arm and toe control link have to be disconnected before drifting out the shaft.

The Halfords torque wrench arrived 24 hours after ordering. It looks like a quality piece of kit. I am now well-equipped to tighten the hub nuts.

I photocopy the relevant pages, put them in plastic sleeves (the ones with holes down the side for clip files) and take them outside to work on the car. This keeps the workshop manual clean.

Bob. Thank you. I already have 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive torque wrenches. I have just added to my set by ordering the Halfords Advanced Torque Wrench Model 300. It will tighten up to 300 Nm. I suppose that tightening the hub nuts is a safety issue, so now I will be properly equipped. I don't mind paying to expand my toolkit as I will be saving money on labour charges.

Bob. Thank you. I had been wondering about that. I will definitely leave the guard rings off. Regarding the hub nuts, are they both conventional right hand threads? Also, they are supposed to be torqued up to 289 Nm. My torque wrench will barely reach half that value. I was thinking of measuring the length of exposed thread before the nuts are removed, marking the nuts at the 12 o'clock position and using a long breaker bar to tighten them back in the same position. Has anyone come across a better way?

Last year I converted my LS from air suspension to coil springs and dampers. I obtained some parts from Amayama and have not had a problem with them.

Anthony. If you look on the Machine Mart website and search for Irwin 5 piece bolt grip set you will see some images. The basic set comprises 5 sockets. An extension set is also available which would give you 10 different-sized sockets. I don't use them often but they are still a great addition to the toolkit.

I need to remove the wheel covers and some of the screw heads have been previously damaged. One was particularly stubborn, and even hitting it with a hammer and chisel would not shift it after soaking for a day in penetrating fluid. I was ready to butcher it with my Dremel. I then remembered my Irwin bolt grip set. In the past I have only used It on hexagon-headed bolts, but it gripped the round head of the screw and moved it in seconds. The end result was not pretty but new screws are not expensive. The Irwin set has got me out of trouble in the past and I can recommend it for D.I.Y. owners.

Anthony. Thank you for that. I will replace only the driveshafts at this stage. I will think about diff oil seals if I get a leak in the future. Richard.

Andrew and Anthony. I have had no formal training as a mechanic, and your level of knowledge will be greater than mine. I have looked at the Lexus workshop manual (pages 29-4 to 29-8). It seems to me that when I unbolt the driveshaft from the differential side gear shaft the latter will stay in situ and no oil will come out of the differential. Perhaps you could confirm. The reason for asking is because the M.O.T. on the LS430 is not far off and I need to spend time on that car getting it ready for the M.O.T. I don't want to do any additional jobs on the SC430 if they are not strictly necessary. I have to work outside on the drive and they are forecasting a lot of rain for early September. I will have to pick my days carefully. (In my younger days I have crawled about under the car with a fishing brolley for protection against the driving snow. I am getting too old for those antics now.)