Mike Floutier

Haha, this is great, I've just sold my 2002 LS430 and got 2006. One of the first (of many) things I want to customise is turning off the steering wheel motors. So, as you do, I googled it and lo and behold here I am again. As you can imagine, in the intervening 4.5 years I had forgotten where the fuse was:) Isn't this forum great!

Hey Guys, sorry for the delay, I've been busy getting my new LS430 as I need one for my work. Got that sorted now so I'm back to fixing the old one for selling. Ok, I've sourced a replacement leg and made sure all the nuts and bolts will come undone BUT the only thing I need help with is HOW to disconnect the air-line on the suspension air-bag. The instructions talk about an SST but obviously I don't have one of those. Any ideas about how to remove it? I'm probably going to replace the leg with a non-airsus type so I can always just snip it off BUT in case the new owner wants to put an air bag strut back in I'd like to keep things intact if I can. PS Haven't fallen out with UK Steve, I just love some of the names of these US guys - eg CuriousB and Eatingupblacktop. Also my son is a US army Ranger and my daughter lives in S California so it just feels right to alternate.

My off-side rear looked low this morning and I noticed it bumping a bit. I got it home and raised it manually using the air-suspension system. At first I thought it was ok and was just a bit low but then I heard the air escaping from the air-sus bladder and realised that I needed to get it fixed. The car has done nearly 350,000 miles so I don't want to pay for a new leg with the bladder etc. I would rather put in a stronger (ie. non-air sus) spring which would obviously be cheaper. Anyone any experience of this or any ideas. Regards, Mike

Thanks Guys, for some reason I thought the thermostat was very inaccessible - must have been thinking of the water pump. It's been on the car for 321,000 miles so I guess in the very hot weather we're experiencing here in the UK it has every right to complain a little. I've ordered a new one and let you know how it goes. Many thanks. Mike

Although this is an old thread I thought it would be good to add my symptoms/question here with a view to gathering related info together for future reference. As some may remember my 2002 LS430 (now with 320,000 miles) has a gradually worsening mis-fire, now on a couple of cylinders, caused by valve seat recession due to driving many miles on propane. My temp gauge has always been solid on the mark just below the horizontal BUT recently it has been edging up, either half or a whole mark, where it sits solidly for a minute or two before returning to normal. This has only happened during high engine/ambient temperature situations. I noticed the comment in the earlier conversations about the increased engine temperature attributable to mis-fire situations and this made me sit up. I guess I may have a problem with the Thermostat - is this easy to get at for testing? Also I suppose the fan(s) may be at fault; is there a good way to test them? Thanks for your help. Regards, Mike

Thanks Landar, I'm able to get it up an inch or so, the plug hole gaskets are all clear of the tubes. The problem is that however I move it around its fouling on something. I'm concerned not to force it for fear of damaging the cover gasket which looks in perfect condition - no leaks when I replaced the cover (phew!) Have you removed this cover? If so do you remember how you manoeuvred it out?

Thanks Landar, I'm able to get it up an inch or so, the plug hole gaskets are all clear of the tubes. The problem is that however I move it around its fouling on something. I'm concerned not to force it for fear of damaging the cover gasket which looks in perfect condition - no leaks when I replaced the cover (phew!) Have you removed this cover? If so do you remember how you manoeuvred it out?

Thanks Laurence, I appreciate your input. The main thing I need help with at this stage is removing the DS (PS in UK) valve cover. I can get it an inch or so up BUT can't get it out completely, hence I can't check the valve clearances. Would love to hear from someone who's done it.

Yes Landar, all correct, and that was my strategy. I finally got the valve cover bolts undone BUT I could only raise the cover an inch or so - I couldn't figure out how to get it completely out and with time running out, rain forecast and concerns about damaging the gasket I re-assembled it all. It was quite exciting to actually get to see the cam-shafts etc. and after 300,000 miles to see that it all looked nice and clean BUT sooo frustrating not to be able to check the clearances. I may well have another go at getting the cover fully off again at the next suitable opportunity but in the meantime I'll continue to drive around the problem as best I can to avoid damage to CAT. I have had one or two Heath Robinson ideas which I may run past you guys in due course because, on balance, I tend to agree that the cost of any proper valve work might not be economic. Will let you know how it goes.

While on the subject of P0420/430 I thought it may help someone in the future to recount some of my recent experience. I had a horrible power loss problem that was getting progressively worse and I was getting these P0420 and/or 430 codes coming up. It turned out to be failed aftermarket MAF sensor (which I had put on in trying to diagnose a mis-fire); for some reason no MAF sensor codes were showing up. I put back the ancient Lexus MAF and order was instantly restored. Probably unusual but it did happen so might help someone down the line.

Hi Landar, Oh yes, it's one of the reasons I'm persevering with these exhaust valves. Based on $1.60 to the £1, it cost me around $4,000 to convert the 430 to propane and my annual fuel saving is around $5,000. I converted it when I bought it for $11,000 in October 2008. My first year or so was fairly slow business-wise as I'd only just started the car service, so let's assume the savings paid for the conversion by March 2010. Since then I've probably just about paid for the car through the subsequent savings on fuel. What I'd really like to do, now it's all clear profit, is to save enough to pay for the replacement car, the only question is, should it be a 430 or a 460, but that's another story. If you really want to know how beneficial propane is, it's worth considering that, in practice, I actually paid cash for the current 430 from the savings I made running my previous car, a Ford Scorpio; that is having already covered it's purchase price and propane conversion cost. So you see why I'm keen to sort this out. Anyway, thanks to your encouragement, I invested in a universal joint type socket connector which seems ideal for working on these well concealed bolts. Even with this I finally gave up accessing the dip-stick guide bolt from above and took your suggestion to go below. Having removed the under engine cover and the left side under engine cover I was able to get my trusty new U-J socket onto said bolt (using multiple extensions as it was a long way up). The bolt felt like just another 10mm bolt but it turned out to be a 12mm, worth noting. Also, although the manual mentions bolts for each of the dip-stick guides, the one bolt beems to fix a single bracket that is attached to both; which is good news. Ok, I've just got to wait for a quiet sunny day and I can check these valve clearances, will let you know how it goes. Thanks again! I'd never tackle this stuff without you guys.

I've used Kumho Ecsta SPT KU31, they are very quiet and about half the price of the Primacy tyres over here. I recently had to replace a tyre quickly after a puncture and had to take what they had in stock. It sounded as though there was a serious problem - wheel bearings or something, but it was just a noisy tyre. I put on my spare, which was a Dunlop SP270 which I keep at home due to propane tank in the tyre well, and quiet was restored. Tyre selection certainly makes a huge difference, I found it hard to believe.

Thanks Landar, that's encouraging, I've been able to get a swivel headed socket onto the cover bolt you mention so that's not a problem, I'm just waiting for a ratchet tool to arrive as otherwise the bolts would take forever to remove. Will let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

Hi Curious, You're right when you say the "normal" wear is for valves to open less; this is bourne out by the replacement shim thicknesses available which err on the thick side (ie.2 - 2.8mm compared with the 2.3mm originals). However my situation, with running on propane, leads to more wear of the valve seat than the push points - see http://holdenpaedia.oldholden.com/Valve_Seat_Recession. Changing the heads, in-situ, in a 430 is an enormous job, and given that it would probably be best to do both (as you say) it would be easier to change the engine/transmission completely - however, this would entail the additional removal and refitting of the propane injectors.... Anyway, I've pretty much decided that any immediate repair work would depend on confirmation of valve seat recession (ie. no valve clearance at all - valve cannot close). Obviously to do this I need to remove the valve cover on the left bank (DS in the US). I've been able to get to all the 9 cover bolts BUT the dip-stick bolts have eluded me. My only questions at this stage are: 1. Do you really need to remove the dip-stick bolts to get the cover off? and, if yes, 2. How do you get these bolts off; from above or below? - Any tips would be gratefully received as it's this dip-stick bit that is the real hurdle at present. Many thanks!

Hi Landar, Many thanks for this, I agree with your thoughts about fixing it, I believe it will be worth it. Regarding the exhaust valve I've no doubt that it's one of the No.1 cylinder exhaust valves and I guess it doesn't really matter which one it is. In fact I suppose it doesn't really matter which cylinder it is since I'm going to need to do some general dismantling and it's highly likely that all of the valves have deteriorated to a greater or lesser extent. The next step, it seems to me, in this long diagnostic process (having implicated one or both of the No. 1 cyl. exhaust valves) is to check to see whether the non-closure/sealing of the valve(s) is due to deterioration of the valve OR valve seat recession. As I think I mentioned, valve seat recession is a common feature with engines run on propane (as mine is - 160,000 miles on propane) so I'm expecting it to be that. What I'm planning to do next (partly because it's simplest) is to check the valve clearances. As I've not had the valve covers off before I'm planning to do bank 1 first due to easier access. I was very interested to see these photos on http://www.clublexus...question-3.html which seem to show a variety of wear on the backs of the cams (ie the bit where there should be a gap of 0.3mm at TDC; ie exhaust valve closed). Clearly any metal thats not rubbing against other metal is painted with this golden gunk. The clear picture painted here is that some valves are closing but some are not, the reason for non-closure seeming to be a lack of clearance. This is what I expect to find when I check my clearances. So my immediate request is really for assistance by way of any tips for removing the valve covers; especially the bank 2 cover and most especially the dipstick bolts as I can't even feel them let alone see them!! Ps. I just realised I didn't say why I wanted to distinguish between the differing causes of valve non-closure. If it's valve seat recession, as I'm expecting, then it won't be necessary to take the heads off; simply find an easy way of reinstating the valve clearance.