IndyKen

Well like I said, once it was all resolved, I'd post the final update. Tire rack extended me the offer to let me purchase the 215's for 50% off if I still wanted them. Short story: I took their offer and they shipped em out today. I was able to sell the 225's with no problem on ebay over the weekend so it came out even!! Thanks to Penny at Tire Rack for helping me out the best she could and going the extra mile to call me with the offer. Kudos. Moral of the story: "Know exactly what you want the first time round." Steve, sorry for the earlier ebay link. Some forums let you post em, others don't. Regards, Ken

Thanks guys for all of the chatter and tips on buying local. I probably was a bit hard on tirerack for the return policy but you know as well as I do that Goodyear would credit them for these and classify it as a defect like every other retailer would. Anyway, Tirerack called me tonight in an attempt to help me out if I still want to buy the 215's for the rears. I'll probably take them up on the offer as soon as I sell my 225's on ebay this week (hopefully) I posted em up there for $110 each plus shipping if anybody is looking for a set. It's a great deal for tires that have 312 miles on them as of tonight. sorry, specific ebay links are against forum guidelines. have members PM you for the link or details and feel free to post them up in the Buy and Sell Forum here. In the end, I'll post what the final resolution is with tirerack just to be fair. Ken

Guys, I recently experienced something you may want to weigh before buying your next set of tires at TireRack, their exchange policy. If you are not satisfied with a product you buy from them and drive on for less than 24 hours, too bad. A bit of background first. I've been a fan of tirerack since I purchased from them for the first time in 2004. I've now bought 5 different FULL sets of tires from tirerack and have referred countless people to their site since then because of their ability to drop ship to my local installer. The total costs are just a little less than the local tire dealer after you factor in shipping and mounting at your local shop but the products from tire rack are a little newer as it relates to "production dates". Last week I purchased the 5th set from Tirerack. This time it was Goodyear F1 GS-D3's for my IS. I ordered 215's for the fronts and 225's for the rears as this is an option for the sportcross. Here's what transpired. Dear Tire Rack, On Monday of this week I ordered my third set of 4 new Goodyear F1's for my 2003 Lexus IS 300 Sportcross from Tirerack. I've ordered 5 times from you guys and have been more than satisfied with your service even though I've picked a couple of "dog" brand tires in the past. Anyhow, I had the F1's installed yesterday and have put about 20 miles on them. I have a problem though. I absolutely hate the way the 225/45ZR/17's handle on the back of the car. They feel like marshmallows while fronts feel quite stable and responsive. Is there any kind of policy that exists where I am able to exchange these for the 215/45ZR/17's that I bought for the front? Sincerely, Ken Dear Mr. XXXX, Thank you for your email. I'm sorry to learn that you're experiencing a different ride in the tires. Unfortunately, there is not a return policy for tires that have been driven on. We cannot accept them back. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please let me know if there is anything more I can assist you with, I'd be happy to help. Thank you, Melody Gersey | Customer Service Representative __________________________________________________ ________ Tire Rack 7101 Vorden Parkway South Bend, IN 46628 O: 888 981 3953 ext. 641 O: 574 287 2345 ext. 641 F: 574 236 7707 melody@tirerack.com Dear Melody, Wow, that's really surprising considering I've bought a number of sets in the past without any issues. I gotta be honest and say this issue will weigh heavily for me in the future when buying tires and I will be certain to pass along the tirerack policy to the people in my auto forums. Sincerely, Ken With that said, my local Goodyear & Discount Tire shops both confirmed they WOULD HAVE exchanged my two rear tires if I would have bought these tires from them. Grant you, the Tirerack price was a lot lower than the local shop but once you factor in shipping & mounting costs at a local shop, I saved a total of $20 with Tirerack and NO EXCHANGE POLICY. For that difference, I just can't justify going to Tirerack for my 6th set. So, just beware. Ken

Hell, here's my solution after my previous IS's cd player took a crap. I got a new Is that had a new factory CD Changer in it (because it was under warranty), bought an ipod and a cassette adapter and will NEVER use the new Cd changer ever again. Well, at least until the cassette adapter takes a dump.

Heck yeah, I'd replace it if you are going to all of the trouble to replace the water pump. Is it a pretty difficult job to do? Can you list what parts need to come off in order to correctly get at the timing belt?

Smooth, He stated he had 76K km on the car. That equates to about 48K miles. What's the recommended interval for the timing belt/water pump? Isn't it 90K miles? If not, I'm waaaay overdue. Let me know. Ken

Thanks guys.

Guys, I'm really needing a source for the part circled in red in the link to the diagram below. The stealership wants $49 per door per side. That's $200 plus shipping for strips of rubber. I need all four of them. Sincerely, Ken

Heck, if you're gonna go to that trouble, why not just disconnect the plastic air dam underneath the motor? It's only 8or 10 nuts and it'll allow you to get right up in there to access the filter from below. I've always ran 5W30 Mobile 1 in all my vehicles since day one and the lifters look new after 90K in the vehicles I've had in the past. Commend you for wanting to keep the oil change clean. Something else I swear by is the "Sure Drain" plug from FRAM. You can usually find them on ebay pretty cheap. That way you never have to worry about a crush washer.

Smooth, Don't forget your post on switching out the struts/shocks. A+

I had to replace my front bumper as well back in March. Use this guy before ANYBODY. http://myworld.ebay.com/theonlinebodyshop I can't say enough about his work and service. Oh yeah, his price was AWESOME for a painted OEM replacement bumper. Luckily for me his shop is in my city so shipping was not an issue. I can't say enough about his work though. Wish I could help you on the wheels but ebay might be your best bet for those as well. Ken

A quart of Type IV Transmission fluid says it's one of your O2 sensors. (The one AFTER the catalytic converter) I'd take it to Autozone and let them tell you the code. (it's free to test)

Yep, get the Toyota Type IV and you'll be safe but be careful where you get it. Some of the Toyota Stealerships HOSE YOU! I typically expect a kiss when I get screwed but my Toyota dealer here in Concord NC (up the street from Lowe's Motor Speedway) refused to show some love after charging me $8 per quart for this stuff!! So I went back to the internet and found another dealer Frank Toyota in CA who is selling it for $3.80 per quart. Even with shipping 10 quarts, I came out on the winning end in a big way. Hope this helps. Ken

Yep Smooth, I took your way. It was much easier than unbolting the entire shock mounting bracket (lower) See the other post here. http://my.is/forums/f67/is300-coil-spring-install-341238/ The whole assembly slid right out and the new one slid right back in. Again, great write up and especially the part about LOOSENING the upper control arm bolt first rather than taking the whole nut off at once!! Not so good to have the entire rotor assembly smacking you in the face. Appreciate the reply, Ken

Yes, great detail on the write up Smooth. Question though. I am just swapping my stock shocks out for set of Bilsteins and another post on MYIS showed you had to compress the springs and didn't mention anything about loosening the Upper control arm nut. Did I miss something? Many thanks, Ken