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Ownership Verified: Four more litres of displacement ('92 LS400)

Does it really have the headlight washer button next to the ashtray? :p That's 70's Citro?n levels of button placement. What does the ReXTRA FLOW(?) on the HVAC do?

I still have to try even sitting inside a Lexus.
 
Perc said:
Does it really have the headlight washer button next to the ashtray? :p That's 70's Citro?n levels of button placement. What does the ReXTRA FLOW(?) on the HVAC do?
Click to expand...

Haha, yeah. That's where the buttons for extra options go. Like traction control or heated seats, or headlight washers. As you can see, this one is very well equipped...

Rr. EXTRA FLOW sends more air to the rear. There is a button for it near the rear vents, and it's duplicated on the console.


Adunaphel said:
Speaking of consoles, how about some proof pic action?
Click to expand...

Well shit, my bluff has been called! I was taking apart and repairing someone else's car all along :lol:

I'll try to remember tomorrow..
 
Already did a LHD swap? That was quick.
 
That was awesome. :lol:
Thanks for playing along.
 
Also, the non-mirrored parking permit on the floor. :lol:
 
I thought it was just the element of surprise.
 
Did the steering pump rebuild. It was fairly straightforward, even without removing much stuff from the engine room, but still took 2 days. Would have been a lot faster with a press.

Basically every O-ring in the pump was hard as plastic, so they all got replaced, as well as a shaft bearing and an oil seal behind it. Hard to say where it was leaking, specifically, as everything was covered with a mix of oil and dirt.

 
I've been pondering my options for bringing back keyless entry. Car came with remote keys originally, and the receiver is there.

Option 1:
Original key. The problem is that the system is pretty old, and you can't bind keys, you have to get it with a chip that you install into the receiver. So a key+chip pair from a parted out car, and swap the insides into a key blank. Or a new full key+chip through the dealer (quite expensive). Another drawback is that it's only one button, no possibility to open the trunk. And the killer issue, is that it's a fixed-code system, not unlike the cheapest garage door openers. Trivial to hack with a simple repeater, or even just by bruteforcing in seconds.

Option 2:
Aftermarket keyless system. Cheapest option, plenty to choose from, rolling codes (so a decent security), will be easy to swap the original receiver box for one of theses. The big drawback for me: can't have the remote in the key, it will hang on a ring, and will bang against the dashboard all the time, ugh.

Option 3:
Lexus key from a later car. I can get transponders with keyblanks from ebay for a reasonable price, and a receiver box from a parted out car. The key is a 3-button, including the trunk opener, which would be great.
key.jpg

This is the kind of remote that was used in later LS400s, but also IS, GS and RX. Quite possibly in many Toyotas too. The issue is that I can't find too much information about how this works. The ads call it "Chip 4D68". I can't even figure out if it's a rolling code system. Also, I'm not sure if the receiver modules offer any analog signal outputs, or if it's just communicating on a bus with a body module, which then controls solenoids. That would be a lot harder to retrofit. And there are countless variations of receivers, different for models, production years, markets...

EDIT: Hm, I guess 4D68 refers to the immobilizer chip, and has nothing to do with the actual remote functionality.
 
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Yesterday I've been mostly fixing the results of last week's repairs :lol:

A few days after the steering pump rebuild I found a spring washer that is supposed to keep the rotor of the pump in place on the shaft. Rebuild kit didn't come with one, so obviously I left it out when reassembling the pump :wall: It's the red-circled part on the schematic:



So everything had to come apart again. Luckily no damage was done, the rotor slide plate moves rather stiffly, so it kept the rotor sandwiched. Reinstalled.



And another little hacky fix just this morning. The central locking button in the door panel was missing. The button itself was there, but the brackets that keep it in place were broken on the panel, and the U-shaped tabs that go down to the board to press on the contacts were missing. The only proper fix for this is a full new (RHD) panel, but I figured a cosmetically acceptable fix will be enough, since I'm never using this button anyway. So I replicated the U-tabs from a few layers of an old credit card glued together. To keep the button in place I drilled a 3mm hole through the tilting axis, and put a small bolt through. Had to file its head a bit to sit perfectly flush with the wooden panel.



This actually worked much better than I expected, the button look right and is functional, the only thing is missing is the clicky-action, it just rocks smoothly back and forth on springs.
 
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Yay :dance:
 
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