Ruud

Thank you for your reply. The problem is that the smell is there when the car starts to heat up with the A/C off. I have used the 'fogged' a/c cleaner, but that did not make any difference. I am pretty sure it is coolant I smell. I get the same smell when coolant drips on the hot exhaust. I do not have any coolant scum on my windshield though.

Does anyone actually reads the posts, or just the topic title?

The only official "special" LS400 models for the U.S. market I'm aware of were the 1994 "5th Anniversary Edition", the 1997 "COACH® Edition", and the 2000 "Platinum Series". There were sometimes special LS400 models sold in other markets such as the 2000 LS400 "Millennium Edition" for Canada which was essentially the same as the U.S. Platinum Series except without the emblems on the front fenders and the American Express credit card tie-in. There are, of course. those cheesy, vinyl top "Palm Beach Edition" Lexus cars from a Lexus dealer in Florida -- I thought I had a photo of one of his LS400 aberrations but these other two will have to do. Holy crap, that looks !!

any updates about this?

the guy in the below link has exactly the same issue http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9020 Anyone here knows what a vapor trap is?

Welcome I'm also from the Netherlands, but have given up living there many, many moons ago

Indeed I do :) I have found out that these are quite the collector's item these days. Lexus LS400 RC Limited Edition :)

Thanks Steve, I'll give it a try

umm..I have never even heard of them..lol How can they clean a closed system from behind the passenger seat?

It could be Wald International. Here's a Wald UCF10

No, it's not methane. The smell is really only there in the morning, when she is warmed up. The rest of the day is fine. Iknow the smell of a bad cat., that's more like a rotten egg smell :)

I have recently removed tint from windows. It's a ***** to get the glue off. I found using a stanley knive blade and autoglym tar remover worked the best. It's still a nightmare though. I'm not sure if the Autoglym range is available in the US?

ah, pollen filter was changed earlier this year.

lol..the smell is not coming from outside. Ah but the A/C filter could be clogged causing the poor air flow and the smell I don't have poor air flow though. Just to be safe, where is this A/C filer located? Is it the pollen filter?

lol..the smell is not coming from outside.

Hi everyone, My LS (1994) has hardly any warm air coming from the vents and smells like an Indian Takeout when it is warmed up :) I have been told this could be caused by the heater core/matrix being on it's way out. Has anyone attempted to replace the heater core?

The replacement interval for the timing belt has always been every 90,000 miles or 6 years on all model years of the LS400. I bought my first LS400 new in 1990 and had the timing belt and related parts replaced at about 75,000 miles when it was trashed (didn't really break -- just badly scuffed up) due to water pump failure and again at 180,000 miles a few months before I sold it after 13 1/2 years. The 90 LS engine was non-interference so I wasn't all that concerned about it breaking. I had the timing belt and related parts on the 2000 LS400 I currently have replaced at just before 90,000 miles and within a day of seven years from its in-service date. I have the original timing belt out in the garage -- it looks like new. "Killer" mentioned timing belt "dry rot" as being a potential problem on the 96 LS that is the subject of this thread. I've never heard of a timing belt failing on a Toyota vehicle due to the timing belt actually breaking due to wear -- it's always been caused by the failure of other parts ... tensioner, idler, water pump. One LS400 timing belt a repair shop owner told me about was trashed by a "mystery bolt" that apparently had been rattling around inside the belt cover. People should focus more on the need to replace the ancillary parts than on the replacement of the timing belt itself. The replacement of the timing belt is almost a side issue and should be replaced when the ancillary parts -- the ones that usually cause the problems -- are replaced. The timing belt replacement interval has always been a topic of discussion, especially on the UK forum. I've found out that every other country uses 90k miles except the UK where it is 60k miles. I guess they did not made enough money out of sales so they adjusted the service interval ;)

Hi, I think most ppl are stumped, incl me. :) It might be an idea to get your temp sensor fixed in the first place and go from there.. My old '93 ls used to spill some coolant from the expansion tank even on normal operation temperature.

I believe the non-interference engine was only the mkI & II not the mkIII ('95-'97)

I believe the interval is 90k miles or 7 years...whatever comes first. In your case, according to the dealer, the change is 4 years overdue.

An easier fix would be to move to a colder area ;)

pretty impressive 115k miles on 1 belt ...then again it's a Lexus of course :)

just out of interest. Was that the first timing belt chang since new?

Not sure if the 1997 engine is similar but in my case the noise came from a cracked EGR pipe. I've had the same on my old 1993 Ls400. More noticeable when cold and heave acceleration. On my '93 the EGR pipe went from the back of the intake (between engine and bulkhead) down to the exhaust. Halfway there is a 'harmonica' bit which easily cracks. I've managed to weld mine and the car was whisper quiet again :) Quite a fiddly job but certainly not impossible to do yourself.

any pics? :)