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Lexus_Luxembourg

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Everything posted by Lexus_Luxembourg

  1. The subwoofers can be refurbished. Have a friend who had this done although on his expensive home unit. Costs probably between 50 and 100$ I'd guess. Sole problem: The repairman is located in Germany. If you can't find any other place PM me and I'll try to get you his adress.
  2. Just my 2 Cents... Remember it's hard to make a diagnostic over The Net. Let's see what can cause this. Your engine doesn't fire up immediately like it should do. 1. Electric problem. Maybe the starter just draws too much power so it literally pulls off the juice from the ignition. Not very probable but I'd have the batterie checked. Also remove the connectors and look if there's white deposit. No, it's not enough to look at it from above, you must remove the connectors and also check the insides. Also wiggle at the starter connectors. Might be a loosened one on that side. Not very probably either. Finally it may be an ignition spark not strong enough to ignite the mixture. Hm, have the spark plugs be changed at 60.000mls? 2. Fuel supply. If so the fuel mixture is not correct at start up. A faulty pump can not feed the engine and takes time to build up pressure. (Now wit restrictions as I may be wrong on this:) Injectors need a certain pressure to "open". If the pump is bad it takes a longer time to build up that pressure. Regulators have similar effect if they go bad. Pressure remains in a sound system for a long time as all those who ever opened a fuel line can attest. It will be necessary to put a fuel pressure gauge into the line. This will tell you what's happening. You will see if there's residual pressure, how the pressure builds up and if there's any fluctuation. Yes, a gauge will set you back at least 50$ but consider how much you will spend when a pro does this. :( Another possibility are shot injectors. They should last a long time, almost indefinitely IF the fuel filtration system is always in top condition. But if metallic particles entered the lines they will have worn out the injectors. Diesel or high pressure injectors are easier harmed than the "low tech" injectors the LS400 used. Injectors can be tested and refurbished by specialised companies. It's not difficult to take them off (on most cars, not sure about the LS) but flow testing is not possible at home. Beside this it's always possible this is caused by an altogether different fault. So to resume: 1. Check batterie under load test. Even when it's almost new. Have had brand new batterie with a broken cell. 2. Change plugs if not already done. 3. Get a pressure gauge and see what it reads. Hope this helps.
  3. Gel inserts are well known in Europe among motorcyclists. The older they grow, the worse the butt hurts on long trips. Either that or my seat also ages on the bike. You must search a bit, I'm quite sure they exist in the US too. Here (in ole' Europe) a common option is to combine a gel insert with a heated mat. Gel itself does not cushion but it makes for covering any hard spots. It's abit like a water bed. So gel must always be covered with foam. Foam for seats is available in a wide variety of specific softness. Often 2 or more layers are combined to form an increasing resistant padding. The best would be to junk out the old foam completely and have it refiteted with new one. Foam ages with years, ever noticed foam padding on old carpets that just desintegrates into a powdery mess? Increasing thickness might be possible if your leather is still flexible enough. This can only be judged by a good upholstery shop when they disassemble the seat. The job itself isn't complicated, just a question of know-how. And, to Shaggz, didn't want to give you a lesson. Sorry if that came over a bit harsh. And you may be right. Probably I have way too much free time. I used to fiddle on my cars just to keep them running. Now my daily driver is a LS and suddenly I don't know what to do in the evenings.
  4. LL, I don't buy your person-size argument. If the target market for Lexus was the U.S., why would they use an average Janapese person to model the size after? That makes no sense. A smart company would have used an average person from the target market. The last time I checked, Toyota/Lexus was a smart company. Did they start off "not-so-smart"? <_< ← Hm, probably didn't express myself clear. So let's try again. No, Toyota is smart. They surely did take into account the 95% human model. This means you have to design a car the way 95% of all the people will find a good position in it. This ranges from the 5-feet woman to the 6feet 8 man. It does however NOT take into account variations out of this selection. You must stop somewhere, right? Problem now is that you take, like in Toyotas case, a worldwide average. And fact is that this average is a bit on the low side considering a lot of middle-age and older american white middle-class males. Europe males are still not as heavy but trying to catch up. So you design a seat with a load index ranging approximatively from 100 pounds to 180 pounds. You make your calculations and try those seats, even for long periods and they work out fine. They are in fact but all engineers employed in the project F1 were of japanese origins. This prevents problem from arising. Long time testers at the factory did not find it uncomfortable as they weren't heavy. The seat cushions only degrade after long periods of compression under heavy weights. Occasional other test drivers did not find them uncomfy as the seats were still new. So all this creeps up slowly and around 95' Toyota reckons it has a problem with the seats. So a change is made and - voila - from that time on the problem almost vanishes. Oh, you still got it. Imagine what a 300pounds-plus, built-like-a-brick-wall man does to a poor seat. I have seen Porsche seats crushed, BMWs seats torn open and most european manufacturers products completely broken. Strngely light truck and full size freight trucks seem not to suffer from that phenomen. Also cheap seats age better. Look at my old Land Rovers. They are still as uncomfortable as they were when new. :D
  5. Just remember who made the seats together with the rest of the car. The average Japanese does surely not weight over 150 pounds, right? So the seats were designed for the "average" local human which is a bit on the low side for most, even for me. The seats have a very complicated construction as they were indeed designed to be the best on the market. Cushioning was designed to be between the american "too soft" and the european "too sporty" settings. You can still feel this in the backseats and on the vertical part of the front seat. Now what happens if an average a bit over the top american or european with careful acquired 250 pounds of muscle (sic.) drives day-in day-out in a seat that's made for a hondred pounds less? The padding and springs (although not real springs in this case) gives up and you end up on the hard supports and completely out of position for the backrest. No wonder the bum and lower back hurts. I bet those with no problems have a car that has been driven by lightweight people, right? So what to do? If you know a real good interior shop they can upholster the seats. The leather, if needed is still available as genuine part. New appropriate foam will help a lot. For the desperate cases or ultimate comfort you can fit gel cushions inside the foam. A costly operation but those cushions adapt to your bum like a bag of feathers. But generally simple foam will do. Hope this helps.
  6. This is a call for disaster if it's really an U-joint. Those do let go under changing loads which means either when applying heavy load and changing gears or when backing up a hill. Just figure out what a 5 feet long iron tube, weighing about 30 pounds and flying around under your car at 3000 rotations per minute will do. I have seen cars that jumped up when the joint let loose, being propelled in the air for dozens of yards. Even if it's "only" a trans or motor mount it will cost you more the later you have it changed. Remember that once gone the other mounts, which are already old, will have to carry twice the load they were designed for. At the end something will give.
  7. Hi and welcome. Although I'm still quite new to Lexus I'll try to add my 2 Cents. Paint flaking around windshield. I have seen this once and it was 'cause the screen was replaced and they didn't do it right. In that specific case moisture crept in and run along all the top of the screen making the paint buble for half an inch over much of the roofs with. Extremely nasty and VERY expensive to correct. Just do something immediately. Cold start good, bad on warm? Hm it definitely IS not correct. I'd do the regular cap/wires change and see if it helps. It can't hurt anyway. But you can't ruin a starter in such relative short atempts. License plate bolts rusty. Rust remover works over TIME. This is the clue. Soak it for about a week once per day and they will come loose. Replace with new ones and coat them with copper grease before fitting. Idler pulley bearings can go awry. If it's the only one that wobbles I'd replace it as a preventive measure. Should be quite straightforward. If the bearing fails it will leave you without alternator and power steering. Not ideal if you are a long way from home. For the fan: Grab it and check for ANY lateral movement. There should be close to nothing. Fan bearings can go bad and if you are unlucky the fan grabs the radiator which results in an expensive mess. Collant reservor. I'd put Epoxy glue on it, the 2-components type. This will surely do it if you degrease it thoroughly before applying. But question is WHY did it come apart?
  8. Use plenty of white grease or even hand lotion. It helps setting it a lot. Also clean the bushing bore with fine emery paper and apply a coat of grease. Do NOT use axle grease. BTW, nothing replaces a hydraulic press for this job. You don't need much pressure, usually around 800 pounds should do. To get the old bushings out is usually harder than to fit new ones. Use 2 different sizes of nuts for this (together with a press or your makeshift press).
  9. First try using a cleaning disk. Best a wet one, the dry ones are a waste of money. If that doesn't help you must have it readjusted. Probably it's just the head dirty or out of alignement. It's easy to correct it but you must know exactly what you do or you'll screw it up. Best take it out yourself and bring it to a specialised shop.
  10. One of the design goals for the F1 (Flagship One, the prototype of the Lexus 400) was a top speed of 155 Mph, 22.5 miles per gallon AND to have a noise level at 60 miles per hour of 60 Decibels (Mercedes S and BMW 750s are both over 60). All those goals were achieved. On the new LS430 interior noise at idle is 36 dB, an incredible low level. The second best car in the world in this discipline, the Rolls Roice Silver Seraph scores 37 dB. Keep in mind that an increase of 3 dB is felt double as loud. What's most amazing is that this level was not achieved by use of tons of padding. In fact noise insulation is sparingly used. Notice that increase in noise over 60Mph? That's tyre noise and padding could easily dampen that noise to unnoticable levels. But Toyota choose not to go that way. So at the red lights you hear your neigbours engine but not yours as the Lexus runs taht smooth.
  11. I agree with VMF that in this case it's probably not the thermostat. If your temp gauge shows normal temperature, about a hair over the second mark, the engine temp is right. If the thermostat would be blocked in the open position it would take way longer to heat up at all. But, at the attention of VMF, there ARE indeed cars that get cold when the engine runs. I own 3 different Land Rovers, all direct injection diesels. In a traffic jam their engines get too cold for the heater to defrost the windows. And there's no cooling fan running. I don't know if the LS400 engine is similar "overcooled" but I don't think so. Back to your problem. VFM is right and it might well be a faulty sensor or the electric motor that governs water flow to the heater core. If it were my car I'd manually open the valve and save the problem for spring time. Not an ideal solution, I agree. But at least you will stay warm. Alain
  12. For sure it's the discharged batterie. Recharging it for 10 minutes will help nothing at all. The VERY least is to charge it for 12 hours. Still better, take the batterie out and into the warm. Hook it up to a loader for 24 hours. Now try it. If the symptoms remain and the voltage is still so low the baterie is damaged beyond repair. Possible but not very likely. There is NO way the car will start with only 7 Volts showing on the meter. The very least is 11 Volts and I assume then the batterie is in top condition as well as the rest of the car. The clicking is the starter relay. Almost all cars do this noise when the batterie is too weak to throw over the starter. Alain
  13. I'd also bet on a faulty thermostat. Toyota seems to have used a special type that "opens" when it quits. Most thermostats simply stop working in the "closed" position, bringing massive overheating. My idea is that the owner affirms the car heats fine when driving on highways but gets cold when stopped. This can not be explained by a software issue. I'd also buy the genuine part from Toyota. Heck, I prefer a cold engine to an overheated. For the locks: It does not help if you lubricate them now if ice has formed inside. Deicer won't help in all cases too. If the weather is as cold there as I believe they will not melt. So back to the old method: Put an electric heater inside and let it run for an hour. Take care where the heated air is blown. After an hour all ice inside the doors should have disappeared. NOW use lots of lubrificants on them. Also apply to all visible parts of the lock mechanism. If you are lucky this will do it. Alain
  14. Just wanted to add my 2 Cents... Around in my corner here they drive plenty of Audis, Mercs etc, you name it. The A8 is really nice but gets terrible reports on unreliability. Besides, for me the worst thing is the alloy frame. Hit a sidewalk once to hard and the frame is distorted. And you won't find anybody willing to align this thing. It's a bit like the Viper V-10. Once you go off the road it's just a piece for the wrecker. But apart this it's anice car. Alain
  15. Well I think 2500 is way above what I'd pay. I would go to a Lexus dealer and get a quote for having the work done there. They will probably quote you about the price of a new LS430. Take that printout and go to the lady. Show it to her and offer 1000 cash (showing money is important). Tell her to take it or leave it. Beside the folks here are right. There are plenty of LS400 engines out there for less than 1000$. Get the same year and it will drop right in. The LS had so many unique features I believe putting anything different in will be a waste of time. Alain
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