designdude

iTrader: (1)

A few months ago, I bought my first Lexus, a 2003 LS430. It was a perfect used car find, SoCal car, one owner, dealer maintained, no accidents, always garaged. Not quite show room perfect, but close. I had it detailed, including refurbishing of the headlight lenses, and then joined the ClubLexus forum.

Based on what I read here, I decided to buy some OEM mudguards. I went about installing them this week. In the process, I also did some clean up and detailing around the wheel openings, and the underside of the trim beneath the doors.

The hardest part was cleaning off the road tar and accumulated dirt. Normal washing and detailing rarely goes below the visible areas, so the area on the underside of the trim panel was filthy. Soap and water cleaned up some of it, but what really worked was turpentine and a little bit of polishing compound (NOT rubbing compound). It adds just enough abrasive to help. The work isn’t hard, but it is tedious - you are basically lying on the ground, reaching sideways and up with your hands, polishing away, moving along inch by inch.

When I was done with the cleaning, I washed everything down with soap and water, and after it dried I touched up the nicks with some Duplicolor touch up spray paint. Not a lot, just a light mist, spraying upwards. I did this with the doors open and some drop cloths to prevent overspray. After the paint was dry I then installed the mudguards.

The front guards went in no problem, but I had to remove the rear wheels to install the rear guards. In the process I also painted the calipers and the wheel mount in metallic silver.

I have to say, the mudguards look pretty nice, and the clean trim panels really make the car float. Time will tell if the guards help keep the dirt off the car body, but for now I am quite pleased with the effort.

KING

iTrader: (1)

I've had'em installed for almost 2 years now.
They don't help at all in matters of keeping the under sides clean, I guess it's just the design of the car that makes these areas you talk about to accumulate dirt.

Nice looking car. Welcome to CL.

designdude

iTrader: (1)

Funny enough, years ago I had an Acura Legend coupe. I think it was a '88 MY. Those cars had a two-tone paint job, with the lower trim panels and skirts a darker color than the main body (similar to the older Lexus ES models, except the second color was not on the door, just the trim parts). What was interesting was that the trim panel was metal (on my LS430 it is painted plastic),and not only was it painted in a dark metallic color, the metal itself was textured. So not only did the color hide the dirt, the texture worked like camouflage, and all the little chips and nicks from road debris were basically invisible. Just another one of those subtle design details that makes a difference.

bmore430

Can you share where you purchased these and did you order as a complete kit or separate part numbers? I've been eyeing these on the lexus parts site diagram but can't find the install nuts/bolts etc on there as it looks like you have to order piece by piece. They look great and you did a nice job making everything mint condition in the process down there.

KING

iTrader: (1)

you use the bolts that are already on the car.

designdude

iTrader: (1)

I ordered these from Stevinson Lexus in Lakewood, Colorado, through their website: http://www.lexuspartswebsite.com/. I had sent email inquiries to several sellers. The folks at Stevinson were very responsive, and their prices were competitive.

I ordered the mudguards as assembly numbers.

7662150050B1, right front
7662250050B1, left front
7662550050B1, rear right
7662650050B1, rear left

The shipment came with each mudguard individually wrapped, along with some packets - screws w/washers, some plastic nuts, and some metal panel clips. The front mudguards installed very easily, some of the holes in the mudguards lined up perfectly with the existing screws in the fenders. I think I only drilled one hole on each side, and then added a metal panel clip. For the rear mudguards, I had to drill holes for every fastener in the lower rear trim panel of the wheel well. (It is a plastic trim panel, so quite easy to drill). The instructions indicated that you should use one of the plastic nuts on the top hole, but I couldn't figure out how to install that, so I just used a metal panel clip. I have several left over screws w/washers, and two left over plastic nuts, and I am short two metal panel clips (I drilled the holes, and will install the screws after I get some panel clips).

All in all, the installation was pretty simple (other than having to remove the rear wheels).

Some times instructions are meant to be followed, other times I think they are simply useful guidelines.