Tomtit

Having read many posts on this and the U.S. forums it makes financial sense to fit a new coil spring and shock absorber setup all round. There was a previous M.O.T. advisory for oil mist on the front struts, so I don't know how long they will last. I would be looking for standard springs and KYB struts to aim for a similar ride quality to what I have now. The parts diagrams show that I will also need ancillaries such as strut mounts. Can any member recommend a supplier who will charge less than the main dealer? I can fit the parts myself. Thank you.

Steve/Phil. Thank you. The workshop manual says remove the outer dust cover then check the rolling diaphragm for damage. I need to remove the strut from the car to do this. I have no problem removing the rear seats; it looks straightforward. I just don't fancy doing it in this heat. I will leave it for a cooler day. I will read up about conversion to springs. I am reluctant to lose the magic carpet ride but I don't want to spend more than the value of the car just to keep the air suspension. I know that M.O.T testers don't do the bounce test on shock absorbers nowadays. Does anyone know if a low back end would be a M.O.T. failure?

The left hand rear suspension on my 2002 LS430 drops overnight. It drops a little further after each subsequent night. I have read a number of posts on this forum and I am now wiser for it. I have the Lexus workshop manual. I have checked the following:- 1. Techstream shows no fault codes. 2. I have sprayed soapy water on the pipe connections at the compressor, rear height control valve and the LH suspension strut. I also sprayed the rubber part of the strut in situ. There are no bubbles to indicate an air leak and I can't hear a hissing noise anywhere. 3. I removed both rear height level sensors and checked their voltage outputs as per the workshop manual. The readings were OK. The sensors were very clean inside with the faintest trace of carbon dust which I removed. The terminal connections were clean. I could not disconnect the sensors at the lower arm as the nuts had siezed. I disconnected them at the other end of the rods. With the LH sensor disconnected from the lower suspension arm I turned the ignition on and moved the sensor arm up and down but the suspension did not raise or lower. As an afterthought, I wondered if the engine has to be running for the compressor to work. I had the car jacked up at an awkward angle to get access and I did not want to cause problems by starting the engine. 4. When I start the engine the compressor will raise the car to normal ride height within about 30 seconds. When I set the switch to high the car lifts by a further inch. From this I assume the compressor and its wiring from the ECU are OK. I have not removed the suspension strut for a closer look. There is some work involved and I don't fancy doing it in this heat (27 degrees and no shade). I suspect that I will need another height level sensor or strut but I don't want to throw parts at it and end up spending more than the value of the car. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you.

One of the locks on my LS430 has just started to squeak when I unlock with the fob. It has coincided with the recent cold spell. When I feel brave enough to work in the freezing cold I will take the door card off and see what is going on. I will report back.

Earlier in the week I fitted a new VSV for ACIS to my LS430. It took me 7 hours. There were plenty of components to disconnect or remove. The intake was heavy and awkward to lift off. I didn't have the luxury of a helper. I put everything back together, started the engine and found a coolant leak from the water bypass at the back of the intake. It was leaking where the vertical pipe joins the housing, about one drip per second. Next day I tried to put some sealant around it but the part is very inaccessible. I sealed what I could reach, left it overnight to set and hoped for the best. Today it was still leaking. The only way to get access is to re-do all the work done earlier and remove the intake. After another 4 hours' work I managed to get the water bypass off the car. I could have tried to seal it with JB Weld but to test it would have meant putting everything back again and running the engine. I did not want to risk the repair not working and having to take the intake off again. I went to the main dealer and asked them to order me the bypass and 2 gaskets. Tomorrow I am going to enjoy not working on the car.

I had this fault code. I also had fuel seeping out of the fuel tank. When I had the tank replaced the engine management light had gone out. It has not come back on after a week. I wonder if the fault code was caused by a loss of pressure from the fuel tank? It might be worth checking for leaks from the fuel tank before going to the expense of having a new vsv fitted.

I have this fault code on my car. The engine management light has been on for a week and today it went off and did not come back on. I am keeping my fingers crossed now, but if there is a way to bypass it I would be interested.

DaKa. It was not working when I bought the car, and I did not expect a warranty with a 17 year old car. I have previously removed the unit and taken the covers off the cd changer. I could not see anything broken but then again I don't know what to look for. There is an identical unit on ebay but I have now found that the fuel tank is leaking so spending on a cd changer will have to wait. I think a leak-free fuel tank is more important !

The-Acre. Thank you for that. I have just banged it whilst holding the eject button. No joy. I have no cd's stuck inside; I have previously opened it up to check the mechanism inside. I have already looked on youtube but I couldn't find anything to fit my circumstances. If you have found something that I missed i would be grateful if you would tell me which article it is.

I have just realised that this post should have been in the LS forum. Can someone move it over, please? Sorry for the trouble.

I have a 2002 LS430 with a Mark Levinson audio system. Since I bought the car a few weeks ago the cd changer has not worked. When I press the "load" button there is a whirring noise inside but the flap will not open to allow me to insert a cd. The screen displays "cd error". The radio and tape deck work normally. I have searched these forums but there is nothing covering my situation. I have disconnected the car battery but that had no effect. I have taken the cd changer out and looked inside it but I can't see anything amiss (not that I am an expert). The cd drawers move up and down when a power source is connected. 1. Can anyone suggest anything else I could check? 2. If it has to be replaced I don't need a top quality cd changer. Is it possible to get one that I can just plug in and play, or is the setup more complicated than that? Any guidance would be appreciated.

I have recently joined and wanted to say hello. I have just bought a 2002 Lexus LS430 and I am enjoying the comfort. The car has done 140k and feels like it is just run in. I have already learned quite a bit from the forum and I will do my own maintenance and repairs as far as possible. If I come across an easy way of doing a job I will post details to help others.