Just Did 150k Mile Present To The Car

[os2]

Hi,

It's my wife's daily driver, she put an average 50-100 miles a day (real estate agent;) We've been getting sick of squeaks, clunks in suspension, engine noise and last year car developed some oil leaks, so I took it as project to make it feel and perform "like new" again :)

again it's a '96 es bought five years ago with 50k _cheap_ on famous pennsilvania auctions. I've changes synthetic oil every 3k mils, for everything else brought it to

the cheap shops. Car has been absolutely reliable on numerous cross country trips, never let us down.

I've used to work on and modify cars myself (subaru RS, S2000 and my current daily driver - Lancer Evolution) but never worked on 3l v6 toyotas. So I got Mithchell manual (really good), put the car on a jackstands and started assessing damages...

It turned out that

rear valve cover gasket leaked (a lot)

front valve cover gasket leaked (moderately)

both outer CV boots were badly torn with almost all grease dried out, but no clicking noise while turning yet

alternator whining (bad bearing) and not giving enough current

power steering fuel pump leaked

some dirty muggy green stuff in a coolant system (not Toyota red definitely)

leaking rear camshaft oil seal

really low automatic transmission level (barely up to cold mark even after a long drive) but no metal particles on a magnets at all

front camshaft position sensor gasket leaked

both front ball joints were shot

all front/rear sway bar bushings cracked

all four front rear sway bar links (with 2 ball joints each) no good

all front control arm bushings cracked

dog bone (engine control rod between right strut mount and an engine) bushings torn

after removing both valve covers and dropping the oil pan

there were a lot of sludge (not in valve areas though, thanks to synthetics). looks

like before 50k previuos owner really neglected oil changes :(

How much did it cost -

parts (bought on internet, most were original Toyota OEM, some were 3-4 times cheaper that Lexus dealer charged for the same p/n) prices are approximate in USD

2 valve gover gaskets - $22

camshaft oil seal - $9

new gasket kit for power steering pump - $30

timig belt kit (belt and belt cover sticky foam gaskets) - $50

new dog bone - $75 from Lexus dealer

new water pump with new gasket - $205

four new KYB GR2 struts with boots and four KYB strut mounts - $500

new four rubber inserts (between spring and strut) - from Lexus dealer $90

two new front ball joints - $78 each

two front / two rear sway bar bushings - $40

two front / two rear sway bar links (same p/n as 96 canry xle) - $295 from Toyota dealer

Toyota silicone sealant - $5

oil pickup gasket - $6

automatic transmission gasket - $30

new drain/fill gaskets (differential, tranny, oil pan) - $5

Fluids - case (6qt) of mobil 1 synthetics 5w30 - $25

two cases (12gt) of mobil synthetic ATF Dexron-III - $80

2 gallons of Toyota red concentrated coolant - $25

10gal barrel of parts cleaner - $30

new Nippon Denso plugs - $70

new power steering and alternator belts - $30

2 rebuilt CV axles (Lobro, german company does OEM for Porsches) - $150 each, $90 would be refunded as soon as I return my old ones (really time saver instead of fixing CV myself)

Extra tools - I already got plenty of them but needed spring compressor, some extra sockets, ratchets, pry bars, plyers, towels, gloves - about $450 - but most of is an investment, next time will not have to spend

I also decided to do something in a stopping power department and got

front/rear KVR carbon pads (they bite, do not dust, but squeak sometimes under hard braking) - $180

KVR cross drilled cadmium plated rotors - $330

and my favorite part that I put an all cars - goodridge stanless steel brake lines - another $100

and 2extra qts of Motul 5.1 brake fluid - $15

It took me almost 2 weeks total to do the work - lazily after work.

before starting I flushed that nasty green coolant out with flush kit and running water on a running engine until it came up clean, then flushed with distilled water twice.

Also did valve adjustment - 3 out of six were out of specs - bought shims from Lexus dealer.

Soaked an cleaned valve covers, oil pump, pan and pickup mesh grill from sludge

Rebuilt power steering pump with new gaskets, put new water pumb, put all

new belts, all new gaskets all around. Washed everything with an engine degreaser

put all new fluids in

Engine did not start initially, I was like WTF is going on, took a battery out of the EVO and it worked from jumstart, what a releif ;)

Took her for a ride and heat trated new pads and rotors, let her stand overnight,

next day - final ride. Boy oh boy, what a difference it made. Apart from torn driver seat, chiiped winshield and hood, it now has that tight new car feeling.

Engine whispers, can barely hear it, all suspension rattles/squeaks/clunks

are gone. And when I say gone I absolutely mean it.

So after spnding almost 2.5 grands and 2 weeks we've got literally a new car.

I'm really amazed how much of a beating and neglect can Lexus take and still reward you after you take care of it.

thanks everyone

[os2]

I also fill and drained automatic transmission 4 times with Mobil 1 synthetic ATF to get as much old fluid out as I could. Shifts are silk smooth now even if I floor it.

Also pressed all new polyurethane bushing into front control arms.

Installed rebuit alternator. Washed throttle body and intake with O2 sensor safe cleaner, put new air filter. It turned out the there was no air conditioner filter installer so I cleaned all the trash out of the filter slot - leaves, bugs and put a new one in.

Will change fuel filter and probably recharge air conditioner soon...

[dcfish]

B) LEXI feels better already , Knowing what you put into your ES even I sleep better sounds like you did a great job , TO YOUR GOOD WORK !

[jragosta]

Wow! It must be nice to be able to do that work by yourself.

I'm estimating that if I had to have the Lexus dealer do that work it would cost me somewhere around the GNP of Belgium.

[Lexusfreak]

That's awesome os! B) I'd love to see pics of your car....post them when you get a chance & welcome to the club! :)

[Firesavage]

:chairshot: OS you da man

my SC 400 needs you. 170 489 miles. If only I could do that myself I wouldn't have to sell her. She drives great but sure wants to drive better.

[vegas_winner]

Hi,

It's my wife's daily driver, she put an average 50-100 miles a day (real estate agent;) We've been getting sick of squeaks, clunks in suspension, engine noise and last year car developed some oil leaks, so I took it as project to make it feel and perform "like new" again :)

again it's a '96 es bought five years ago with 50k _cheap_ on famous pennsilvania auctions. I've changes synthetic oil every 3k mils, for everything else brought it to

the cheap shops. Car has been absolutely reliable on numerous cross country trips, never let us down.

I've used to work on and modify cars myself (subaru RS, S2000 and my current daily driver - Lancer Evolution) but never worked on 3l v6 toyotas. So I got Mithchell manual (really good), put the car on a jackstands and started assessing damages...

It turned out that

rear valve cover gasket leaked (a lot)

front valve cover gasket leaked (moderately)

both outer CV boots were badly torn with almost all grease dried out, but no clicking noise while turning yet

alternator whining (bad bearing) and not giving enough current

power steering fuel pump leaked

some dirty muggy green stuff in a coolant system (not Toyota red definitely)

leaking rear camshaft oil seal

really low automatic transmission level (barely up to cold mark even after a long drive) but no metal particles on a magnets at all

front camshaft position sensor gasket leaked

both front ball joints were shot

all front/rear sway bar bushings cracked

all four front rear sway bar links (with 2 ball joints each) no good

all front control arm bushings cracked

dog bone (engine control rod between right strut mount and an engine) bushings torn

after removing both valve covers and dropping the oil pan

there were a lot of sludge (not in valve areas though, thanks to synthetics). looks

like before 50k previuos owner really neglected oil changes :(

How much did it cost -

parts (bought on internet, most were original Toyota OEM, some were 3-4 times cheaper that Lexus dealer charged for the same p/n) prices are approximate in USD

2 valve gover gaskets - $22

camshaft oil seal - $9

new gasket kit for power steering pump - $30

timig belt kit (belt and belt cover sticky foam gaskets) - $50

new dog bone - $75 from Lexus dealer

new water pump with new gasket - $205

four new KYB GR2 struts with boots and four KYB strut mounts - $500

new four rubber inserts (between spring and strut) - from Lexus dealer $90

two new front ball joints - $78 each

two front / two rear sway bar bushings - $40

two front / two rear sway bar links (same p/n as 96 canry xle) - $295 from Toyota dealer

Toyota silicone sealant - $5

oil pickup gasket - $6

automatic transmission gasket - $30

new drain/fill gaskets (differential, tranny, oil pan) - $5

Fluids - case (6qt) of mobil 1 synthetics 5w30 - $25

two cases (12gt) of mobil synthetic ATF Dexron-III - $80

2 gallons of Toyota red concentrated coolant - $25

10gal barrel of parts cleaner - $30

new Nippon Denso plugs - $70

new power steering and alternator belts - $30

2 rebuilt CV axles (Lobro, german company does OEM for Porsches) - $150 each, $90 would be refunded as soon as I return my old ones (really time saver instead of fixing CV myself)

Extra tools - I already got plenty of them but needed spring compressor, some extra sockets, ratchets, pry bars, plyers, towels, gloves - about $450 - but most of is an investment, next time will not have to spend

I also decided to do something in a stopping power department and got

front/rear KVR carbon pads (they bite, do not dust, but squeak sometimes under hard braking) - $180

KVR cross drilled cadmium plated rotors - $330

and my favorite part that I put an all cars - goodridge stanless steel brake lines - another $100

and 2extra qts of Motul 5.1 brake fluid - $15

It took me almost 2 weeks total to do the work - lazily after work.

before starting I flushed that nasty green coolant out with flush kit and running water on a running engine until it came up clean, then flushed with distilled water twice.

Also did valve adjustment - 3 out of six were out of specs - bought shims from Lexus dealer.

Soaked an cleaned valve covers, oil pump, pan and pickup mesh grill from sludge

Rebuilt power steering pump with new gaskets, put new water pumb, put all

new belts, all new gaskets all around. Washed everything with an engine degreaser

put all new fluids in

Engine did not start initially, I was like WTF is going on, took a battery out of the EVO and it worked from jumstart, what a releif ;)

Took her for a ride and heat trated new pads and rotors, let her stand overnight,

next day - final ride. Boy oh boy, what a difference it made. Apart from torn driver seat, chiiped winshield and hood, it now has that tight new car feeling.

Engine whispers, can barely hear it, all suspension rattles/squeaks/clunks

are gone. And when I say gone I absolutely mean it.

So after spnding almost 2.5 grands and 2 weeks we've got literally a new car.

I'm really amazed how much of a beating and neglect can Lexus take and still reward you after you take care of it.

thanks everyone

What a great job! :P