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Have a 2004 white LS430 with 59,000 miles on it. New looking car that I wanted to spruce up in a classy classic way so I engaged a custom pro.to do the following things.
1. Ad matching birds eye maple wood to the entire dash board area navigation , radio etc. etc.
2. Replace that ugly little black stick nib on the roof with a beautiful shinny chrome fin.
3. Put beautiful thick mirror bright chrome steel panels between the car windows and rear strip. What a beautiful difference and how it opens up the car up.
4. Had mirror bright chrome ,exact fit car door handles placed over the existing ones.
Also this custom co. when they do at least this amount of work they add a 1/2 inch high by apx. 4 inch long solid chrome emblem on both sides of the car in the exact style of the lexus wording/emblem that came with the car, placed between the front door and the wheel weld , 21/2 inches above the existing car chrome strip saying LIMITED
Hey @Romanova , don't forget what I just mentioned on another thread we are both on. Little plastic parts and motors don't like to be over-used or under-used. Make sure you plug it back in once in a while and give it a little workout.
A few weeks late on the report but I bought a used OEM power steering pump off eBay for around $50 and replaced the one on the 2005. Filled the reservoir with more fresh Dex/Merc and spun the pump by hand to circulate the fluid through the system and it definitely worked since it hardly growled at all when I put the belt back on and fired it up. I'd say the assist still isn't as good as on my 2006 but a marked improvement.
I also took the time 2 or 3 weekends back to detail the 06, including polishing the hood, roof, and decklid with my new Meguiar's DA. After doing that, all I can say is "WOW! What a difference!" and I need to do a paint correction on the entire car starting with compound. When I do that, I'll be ceramic coating the car instead of waxing it. I also turned the DA with compound then polish towards the driver headlight on my 06 and the passenger headlight on my mom's 05 and they almost look as good as new. I also made sure to use a UV protectant wipe from a 3M headlight correction kit I had to seal both lenses and so far I can't see any degradation or oxidation returning to them, really does a lot for how both cars look. Interior stays pretty clean as I'm persnickety about food/drink in my 06 so a quick vacuum of the driver side floormat and footwell was all it really needed. Leather will probably get its annual cleaning in a few weeks to keep it soft and supple.
I also found a broken belt in the sidewall of my PR tire so I'll be replacing all 4 soon since they're cheapo Solar 4XS and the road noise from them is atrocious. The new Pirelli P7 AS Plus 3 has caught my attention so I'll be giving them a try. I also want to get into the center console and apply Loctite 425 to the fasteners as I can tell the lid is ever so slightly loose. Lastly, I have some Shin Etsu ordered to treat the door seals and window seals/channels on both cars.
Changed timing belt with a Gates kit from Amazon $ 186.00 came with everything needed just bought the car Sunday has 146,000 miles and never done. everything looked new but you never know!
Changed timing belt with a Gates kit from Amazon $ 186.00 came with everything needed just bought the car Sunday has 146,000 miles and never done. everything looked new but you never know!
Always a wise decision when unsure, congrats on the new car ! Where's the pics ?
Not quite today, but last week. Sold and onto the next owner. Cleaned it up and detailed it for the last time before handing it over to the new owner. Hopefully they'll enjoy it as much as I did.
Realized that it wasn't quite what I needed for my lifestyle and with the car market in the state that it was in, I decided to let go of it in exchange for another Lexus product, this one a bit more rugged.
Having the car for this long, I certainly learned quite a bit about the chassis and how each change in setup affected how it drove. Between my last build thread post and now, I did quite a bit more to the car and I'll update it when I get the photos together. If anyone has any questions that I might be able to answer, feel free to shoot me a PM.
Finally finished the r/rear component speakers install .
Already had Alpine 6.5 speakers in the stock box but the alloy frame of the new speaker meant having to remove too much of the stock box so I made a new 19mm plywood frame which is screwed to the original holes plus Silkaflexed as well to stop any door frame vibrations .
The speaker sounds great even as it is, it will be even better after about 20 hours of use .
The tweeter also has a nice sound and very clear considering that was about the only place it could go .
Now just to do the left side !!
Finally finished the r/rear component speakers install .
Already had Alpine 6.5 speakers in the stock box but the alloy frame of the new speaker meant having to remove too much of the stock box so I made a new 19mm plywood frame which is screwed to the original holes plus Silkaflexed as well to stop any door frame vibrations .
The speaker sounds great even as it is, it will be even better after about 20 hours of use .
The tweeter also has a nice sound and very clear considering that was about the only place it could go .
Now just to do the left side !!
Last weekend:
Jacked it up on blocks and dropped the entire front end out of the car.
Replaced:
Steering Rack Bushings (Daizen Poly)
Sway Bar Bushings
Sway Bar End Links
Lower Control Arms w/Bushings
Lower Ball Joints
Upper Control Arms
New struts front and rear
New Brembo pads in the rear
Next week she gets new wheels, tires and an alignment. 02 LS 430 Ultra.
Got the timing belt/water pump done as well as replaced the 17 inch wheels with 16. I'll have pictures up soon. Was planning on yesterday but we're in the middle of a storm and it's too cold to wash.
Did you ever post pics of your LS on 16s? I couldn't find them.
Last weekend:
Jacked it up on blocks and dropped the entire front end out of the car.
Replaced:
Steering Rack Bushings (Daizen Poly)
Sway Bar Bushings
Sway Bar End Links
Lower Control Arms w/Bushings
Lower Ball Joints
Upper Control Arms
New struts front and rear
New Brembo pads in the rear
Next week she gets new wheels, tires and an alignment. 02 LS 430 Ultra.
Considering similar project. What components did you use? Aftermarket or Lexus, and how did the ride and handeling compare? Mileage would be good know as well.
05-23-22, 07:44 AM
