Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 15]
Discussion
Right - the LS460 and its steering rack issues.....it IS a common problem. I was looking through the service history and found Lexus near me had the car in back in February this year to investigate the fault. They said it needed a new rack but the work wasn't done. They had it back in May to recalibrate the steering. The issue with the rack as that the steering wheel can be off-centre.
The previous owner had it serviced by a Japanese car specialist not TOO far from me (about 30 miles). I gave him a call and he knew the car very well (it must had visited him at least 20 times in around 6 years). He said that he fitted another rack off a low mileage scrapped LS460, reset everything and then got Lexus to recalibrate the steering angle and all has been fine ever since.....so whilst mine hasn't had a NEW rack, it's had a much newer one, which is a little reassuring I suppose! He also said the previous owner wasn't afraid to spend money on it and that it was very, very well looked after. When I told him I paid a fair chunk under £6k for it he just said I have got a bloody good car for that price. He said if I have any other questions about the car or problems etc then to just give him a ring
Dead chuffed about that.
Visited, inspected, drove and ultimately...no forecourt shot. Car was a little too scruffy inside and overall I think spend more/get more is the way to go.
BUT what a wonderful, wonderful machine an LS430 is and and worth at least 0.5 Willoughby's as an experience actually inspecting and driving one. Reaffirms my need for one in my life.The LS430 is in danger of being overlooked as the ugly sister between the original 400 and our later infatuation with the 460; that would be a mistake. The 430 is every bit as worthy and generally cheaper. They are well-worth hunting out and I wish you well with the search. I think the face-lifted version is much, much nicer. I think they suit darker colours, personally. I saw a black one with almost-black wheels a while ago and thought it looked pretty good!
The previous owner had it serviced by a Japanese car specialist not TOO far from me (about 30 miles). I gave him a call and he knew the car very well (it must had visited him at least 20 times in around 6 years). He said that he fitted another rack off a low mileage scrapped LS460, reset everything and then got Lexus to recalibrate the steering angle and all has been fine ever since.....so whilst mine hasn't had a NEW rack, it's had a much newer one, which is a little reassuring I suppose! He also said the previous owner wasn't afraid to spend money on it and that it was very, very well looked after. When I told him I paid a fair chunk under £6k for it he just said I have got a bloody good car for that price. He said if I have any other questions about the car or problems etc then to just give him a ring
Dead chuffed about that.
CharlesdeGaulle said:
SlowV6 said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
15 pages back (already!) CdeG nailed it with "High mileage and a little scruffy, but cheap."
Visited, inspected, drove and ultimately...no forecourt shot. Car was a little too scruffy inside and overall I think spend more/get more is the way to go.
BUT what a wonderful, wonderful machine an LS430 is and and worth at least 0.5 Willoughby's as an experience actually inspecting and driving one. Reaffirms my need for one in my life.
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
Right - the LS460 and its steering rack issues.....it IS a common problem. I was looking through the service history and found Lexus near me had the car in back in February this year to investigate the fault. They said it needed a new rack but the work wasn't done. They had it back in May to recalibrate the steering. The issue with the rack as that the steering wheel can be off-centre.
The previous owner had it serviced by a Japanese car specialist not TOO far from me (about 30 miles). I gave him a call and he knew the car very well (it must had visited him at least 20 times in around 6 years). He said that he fitted another rack off a low mileage scrapped LS460, reset everything and then got Lexus to recalibrate the steering angle and all has been fine ever since.....so whilst mine hasn't had a NEW rack, it's had a much newer one, which is a little reassuring I suppose! He also said the previous owner wasn't afraid to spend money on it and that it was very, very well looked after. When I told him I paid a fair chunk under £6k for it he just said I have got a bloody good car for that price. He said if I have any other questions about the car or problems etc then to just give him a ring
Dead chuffed about that.
That's proof that you made a good purchase, what a piece of good luck. The previous owner had it serviced by a Japanese car specialist not TOO far from me (about 30 miles). I gave him a call and he knew the car very well (it must had visited him at least 20 times in around 6 years). He said that he fitted another rack off a low mileage scrapped LS460, reset everything and then got Lexus to recalibrate the steering angle and all has been fine ever since.....so whilst mine hasn't had a NEW rack, it's had a much newer one, which is a little reassuring I suppose! He also said the previous owner wasn't afraid to spend money on it and that it was very, very well looked after. When I told him I paid a fair chunk under £6k for it he just said I have got a bloody good car for that price. He said if I have any other questions about the car or problems etc then to just give him a ring
Dead chuffed about that.
I do wonder about the LS460 steering rack problem - is it something like the Porsche IMS bearing problem where the incidence is low but expensive? It's reckoned that the IMS affects < 2% of cars.
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
He also said the previous owner wasn't afraid to spend money on it and that it was very, very well looked after. When I told him I paid a fair chunk under £6k for it he just said I have got a bloody good car for that price. He said if I have any other questions about the car or problems etc then to just give him a ring smile
Dead chuffed about that.
Good news sir! Dead chuffed about that.
How many trips have you done now as an excuse to use it? I'm still trying to curtail my enthusiasm for mine and not take it out for every little thing 
Krikkit said:
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
Right - the LS460 and its steering rack issues.....it IS a common problem. I was looking through the service history and found Lexus near me had the car in back in February this year to investigate the fault. They said it needed a new rack but the work wasn't done. They had it back in May to recalibrate the steering. The issue with the rack as that the steering wheel can be off-centre.
The previous owner had it serviced by a Japanese car specialist not TOO far from me (about 30 miles). I gave him a call and he knew the car very well (it must had visited him at least 20 times in around 6 years). He said that he fitted another rack off a low mileage scrapped LS460, reset everything and then got Lexus to recalibrate the steering angle and all has been fine ever since.....so whilst mine hasn't had a NEW rack, it's had a much newer one, which is a little reassuring I suppose! He also said the previous owner wasn't afraid to spend money on it and that it was very, very well looked after. When I told him I paid a fair chunk under £6k for it he just said I have got a bloody good car for that price. He said if I have any other questions about the car or problems etc then to just give him a ring
Dead chuffed about that.
That's proof that you made a good purchase, what a piece of good luck. The previous owner had it serviced by a Japanese car specialist not TOO far from me (about 30 miles). I gave him a call and he knew the car very well (it must had visited him at least 20 times in around 6 years). He said that he fitted another rack off a low mileage scrapped LS460, reset everything and then got Lexus to recalibrate the steering angle and all has been fine ever since.....so whilst mine hasn't had a NEW rack, it's had a much newer one, which is a little reassuring I suppose! He also said the previous owner wasn't afraid to spend money on it and that it was very, very well looked after. When I told him I paid a fair chunk under £6k for it he just said I have got a bloody good car for that price. He said if I have any other questions about the car or problems etc then to just give him a ring
Dead chuffed about that.
I do wonder about the LS460 steering rack problem - is it something like the Porsche IMS bearing problem where the incidence is low but expensive? It's reckoned that the IMS affects < 2% of cars.
Also for all you LS460 lovers, all 5.18 metres of bmthNick1981's LS460-L steering rack has been replaced according to the history on the ad. Surely due a berth on this thread soon.
SlowV6 said:
I believe it is hideously expensive e.g. £5k expensive. Great news for username-fluid TyrannosauRoss that his is done.
Also for all you LS460 lovers, all 5.18 metres of bmthNick1981's LS460-L steering rack has been replaced according to the history on the ad. Surely due a berth on this thread soon.
It's £5k if done by a Lexus dealer, you'd be mad to pay Lexus dealer prices. I reckon you'd halve that by getting someone else to do it. Although I gurss it depends on how much the part is and how much of that is labour. I can't imagine it's a quick fix...... Got to be quite a number of hours? If it's £180/hour and a 10 hour job that's almost £2k in labour. That said, that'd still make it a seriously expensive part!Also for all you LS460 lovers, all 5.18 metres of bmthNick1981's LS460-L steering rack has been replaced according to the history on the ad. Surely due a berth on this thread soon.
There was talk of it being a recall since it is a common problem. If it were to happen to mine I would very much try to get some sort of goodwill gesture, I even found an article where it said Lexus were considering a recall on them.... That would be a good bargaining chip.
Car booked in for December 11th for a gearbox oil and filter change (confirmed my Uncle's place can use a suction tool to drain it so they get more oil out), clear all drain holes as a precaution and secure my wing mirror so it doesn't move so easily. So nothing major..... Shouldn't be too expensive
nobrakes said:
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
ElectricSoup said:
My barge has smoked its last. 2005 Merc E320 CDI estate. I have poured thousands in to repairing it in the last 3 years, and now it needs a turbo and injector work. Could be the thick end of £2k, and the car isn't worth that. So it's bye bye time.
I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Sorry to hear that, fingers crossed you delve into bargedom again. Trust me....it's a big come down I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Edited by ElectricSoup on Monday 18th November 10:36
although perhaps going from 3.0 diesel E class to 1.8 Civic estate is less so from 4.4 petrol 7 to a 1.6 old Corolla....!Had it almost three years now and somehow have yet to lose at SBC/Airmatic bingo.
Sterillium said:
Barge musings...
From any and all of the cars you have driven, which was the vehicle with the most luxurious, most quiet and most comfortable of all...?
My very cheap and rusty e38 750, 16" balloons, dual pane glass and about an inch thick buffalo leather made for a very quiet supple ride, quite brisk too when prodded. Edit: It was very luxurious in 1995 aswell From any and all of the cars you have driven, which was the vehicle with the most luxurious, most quiet and most comfortable of all...?
Edited by PowerslideSWE on Monday 18th November 15:55
ElectricSoup said:
My barge has smoked its last. 2005 Merc E320 CDI estate. I have poured thousands in to repairing it in the last 3 years, and now it needs a turbo and injector work. Could be the thick end of £2k, and the car isn't worth that. So it's bye bye time.
I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Is the 320 CDI spoken for? (I might be the idiot to take on the borkfest)I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Edited by ElectricSoup on Monday 18th November 10:36
JF87 said:
nobrakes said:
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
ElectricSoup said:
My barge has smoked its last. 2005 Merc E320 CDI estate. I have poured thousands in to repairing it in the last 3 years, and now it needs a turbo and injector work. Could be the thick end of £2k, and the car isn't worth that. So it's bye bye time.
I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Sorry to hear that, fingers crossed you delve into bargedom again. Trust me....it's a big come down I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Edited by ElectricSoup on Monday 18th November 10:36
although perhaps going from 3.0 diesel E class to 1.8 Civic estate is less so from 4.4 petrol 7 to a 1.6 old Corolla....!Had it almost three years now and somehow have yet to lose at SBC/Airmatic bingo.
bolidemichael said:
His work seems to be entirely engine related. The SBC isn't such a great expense these days as it can be bypassed i.e. told to be quiet for a while, replace with a reconditioned item or if you're feeling flush - replaced with new. TBF, that's a bit of a red herring, as there are a number of jobs on the S211 that cost a similar amount of money. Have you refreshed the suspenion/subframe mount/engine mounts etc? Any leaks from the engine or crankshaft? Replaced Lamba sensors?
His current work is engine related, but from what he says that's the (big) straw which broke the camel's back. I've had to shell out quite bigly on plenty of other stuff (a/c compressor, steering bits, SRS module, major suspension refresh etc), just not the SBC/Airmatic borkages that are always trumpeted as the W211's likeliest woes. As you say, SBC death isn't the disaster it's often perceived to be, and the Airmatic can also be sorted (a bit) more reasonably these days with Arnott struts etc.
I did manage to successfully change the crank position sensor the other month, which is about the limit of my own capabilities (fun job involving some impressively long socket extensions).
Doesn't leak anywhere, though it's always consumed a bit of oil (at a rate which mercifully hasn't increased in the 20,000 miles I've had it). Running splendidly right now, but due a service. My preferred The Man is Wayne Gates up in N London.
ElectricSoup said:
My barge has smoked its last. 2005 Merc E320 CDI estate. I have poured thousands in to repairing it in the last 3 years, and now it needs a turbo and injector work. Could be the thick end of £2k, and the car isn't worth that. So it's bye bye time.
I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Send me some more info, I may be keen to take this on I'm afraid I shall be departing bargeage entirely. I have put a deposit on a 2016 Honda Civic estate. It is a 1.8 petrol automatic, but is neither a barge, nor a smoker.
Done with some measure of regret, I shall miss the hilarious torque and the waftiness on the motorway. But I only do a 2-3 long trips in a year.
Farewell, fellows. May the road rise up to meet you and may the RAC be always at your back.
Edited by ElectricSoup on Monday 18th November 10:36
Cross posting from the classic/ retro thread, 406 3.0, auto and saloon and 130k and wheelbarrow handles aaaand towbar but, £1200.
https://www.usedcarsni.com/2000-Peugeot-406-V6-AUT...
https://www.usedcarsni.com/2000-Peugeot-406-V6-AUT...
Macron said:
Cross posting from the classic/ retro thread, 406 3.0, auto and saloon and 130k and wheelbarrow handles aaaand towbar but, £1200.
https://www.usedcarsni.com/2000-Peugeot-406-V6-AUT...
A recall a chap who had the 2.0 on here not so long ago, jap import with full spec and electric rear blind..https://www.usedcarsni.com/2000-Peugeot-406-V6-AUT...
SlowV6 said:
Also for all you LS460 lovers, all 5.18 metres of bmthNick1981's LS460-L steering rack has been replaced according to the history on the ad. Surely due a berth on this thread soon.
If the foldy mirror and the boot closer were fixed, I'd find it very hard not to buy this.TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
0a said:
Great news Ross. Always nice when that kind of news comes up post purchase!
I was rather happy I guess there's still a risk there with the steering rack but I guess that's the risk you take! Pretty much every car has some kind of issue, I would not worry about it too much!
This is not a barge, but it's cooler than a giant pumpkin. Or maybe it's a normal size pumpkin. I need it. A daihatsu Midget 2 Pickup.
https://www.gumtree.com/p/daihatsu/daihatsu-midget...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/daihatsu/daihatsu-midget...
Sterillium said:
SlowV6 said:
Also for all you LS460 lovers, all 5.18 metres of bmthNick1981's LS460-L steering rack has been replaced according to the history on the ad. Surely due a berth on this thread soon.
If the foldy mirror and the boot closer were fixed, I'd find it very hard not to buy this.The boot closer is nice.... But again, something like that wouldn't personally put me off. That said, I use the boot very infrequently.
Someone at work today asked me why I needed such a big car. Any ideas what to say if this comes up again? I just basically said I don't NEED a car that big.... But I want one. It's such a relaxing place to be.
I guess there's still a risk there with the steering rack but I guess that's the risk you take! What happens when the steering rack goes? It is just annoying and noisy, or non-drivable?
Pretty much every car has some kind of issue, I would not worry about it too much!Well.... From what I can gather the steering wheel goes a bit off centre when manoeuvring quickly. So if you're parallel parking, for example, and quickly go from one lock to the other, when you have finished the steering wheel isn't quite centred when the front wheels are actually pointing straight ahead. Apparently after a short time of driving it does reset itself. So from what I can gather it's not horrendous..... However, it does bring up 2 warning lights on the dash and I'm not 100% sure whether it'd pass an MOT or not?
Having driven the Lexus into work today I am slowly loving it more and more. There is a relatively long road with speed bumps along it but they are not as wide as the road. In the Corolla they were very noticeable. The Lexus is a fair bit wider (OK, a lot wider) and so it is ALMOST wide enough so the speed bump goes between the wheels. Where it only touches the wheels a bit you aren't hitting it as steeply, if that makes sense, so they are so much more gentle. It also helps the suspension is softer..... It's so much more comfortable.
0a said:
TyrannosauRoss Lex said:
0a said:
Great news Ross. Always nice when that kind of news comes up post purchase!
I was rather happy I guess there's still a risk there with the steering rack but I guess that's the risk you take! Pretty much every car has some kind of issue, I would not worry about it too much!
Having driven the Lexus into work today I am slowly loving it more and more. There is a relatively long road with speed bumps along it but they are not as wide as the road. In the Corolla they were very noticeable. The Lexus is a fair bit wider (OK, a lot wider) and so it is ALMOST wide enough so the speed bump goes between the wheels. Where it only touches the wheels a bit you aren't hitting it as steeply, if that makes sense, so they are so much more gentle. It also helps the suspension is softer..... It's so much more comfortable.
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