skeemer Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 My carI've had my 1992 ES 300 for about a month now, and I had a few questions, so I figured I'd put them all together in one post. 1. I'd like to get my windows tinted. How much am I looking at to have all 4 windows and the rear window tinted (not quite limo tint, but pretty dark)? I want to do this for two reasons, to keep it cooler during the summer and protect the leather, and cuz it looks so damn cool (it's the champagne color, this is pretty much the same exact car . Should I have this done at a chain shop, such as Pep Boys, or go to like a smaller place like Audioworks or a custom shop? What sort of price range should I be expecting for this? 2. If I want to put in HID headlights, is it just a bulb replacement or do I have to replace the whole system? I've seen bulbs on ebay and whatnot, so can I just replace the stock lamps with HID bulbs? If not, what sort of price range am I looking at to change from stock to HID? 3. I've been having trouble finding a service manual for 1992, but I've seen alot of 1996 ones on ebay. I know 92-96 are relatively the same, so would getting a 1996 manual suffice? I wouldn't be doing major repairs, just minor stuff that I might be able to do myself cheaply. 4. When I bought the car, the antenna didn't telescope out correctly always. It would get to the last piece, then make sort of a grinding sound. The dealer didn't want to fix it so they just made it stay out all the time, and said I could fix it if I wanted to. My guess is that they just disconnected the motor from the antenna, since the motor still runs when the car is turned on and off. I'm hoping a service manual could help me here, but would it just be easier to find a junked camry/es antenna motor? Or do you think the antenna just need some lube? I would really like the antenna to go up and down how it should. 5. Last one. About 2 weeks ago I had an aftermarket headunit installed (Pioneer to be more specific). Ever since, the car makes sort of an electronic whining sound, but it corresponds with the rpm (ie when I rev the engine, its a dull whining revving noise in addition to the engine sounds). I don't remember it doing this before the headunit was installed. Any ideas? Thanks for all your help. I don't know alot about cars, and I've never had a car that was nice enough to take car of and improve (my last car I shared with my bro, a 1996 chevy corsica w/ 135k miles).
lex Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 I have a 92 ES300, i can answer a few of your questions. 2. The REAL HID bulbs require a conversion kit, but is plug and play into your current electrical harness. Think of it as basically an adapter. The REAL HID bulbs require large 20 kilovolts to get them started which is what the kit (consisting of a ballast and igniter) does. The bulbs you see on ebay without any kit is basically halogen bulbs with tinited glass. 3. I bought the CD service manual for the 92 es300 on ebay, and its got some useful information. Its basically a whole bunch of PDF files, but I'm not sure if its exactly the same as the paper service manual. 4. My antenna broke too, it wouldn't go up and down but i could hear the motor turning. It turned out that the cable in the mast which controls the antenna movement broke and I had the dealer replace just the mast for $125. 5. About the revving noises, is this noise coming from the speakers?
skeemer Posted June 10, 2003 Author Posted June 10, 2003 The noise seems to be coming from the dash. But like most noises that come from the dash, it's hard to pinpoint the exact location of it. I'll pay closer attention to it tomorrow when I go to work, I just thought I'd mention it in case anyone knew.
amf1932 Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 They used to put in a condenser in the 12 volt power line to the head unit to eliminate the whining sound you're getting. Go to an auto radio shop and ask them if they sell them. Alan
lex Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 Forgot to mention the HID kits run from $350 for cheap kits to $600 for better quality kits. They have some at autotoys.com
SKperformance Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 My carI've had my 1992 ES 300 for about a month now, and I had a few questions, so I figured I'd put them all together in one post.1. I'd like to get my windows tinted. How much am I looking at to have all 4 windows and the rear window tinted (not quite limo tint, but pretty dark)? I want to do this for two reasons, to keep it cooler during the summer and protect the leather, and cuz it looks so damn cool (it's the champagne color, this is pretty much the same exact car . Should I have this done at a chain shop, such as Pep Boys, or go to like a smaller place like Audioworks or a custom shop? What sort of price range should I be expecting for this? 2. If I want to put in HID headlights, is it just a bulb replacement or do I have to replace the whole system? I've seen bulbs on ebay and whatnot, so can I just replace the stock lamps with HID bulbs? If not, what sort of price range am I looking at to change from stock to HID? 3. I've been having trouble finding a service manual for 1992, but I've seen alot of 1996 ones on ebay. I know 92-96 are relatively the same, so would getting a 1996 manual suffice? I wouldn't be doing major repairs, just minor stuff that I might be able to do myself cheaply. 4. When I bought the car, the antenna didn't telescope out correctly always. It would get to the last piece, then make sort of a grinding sound. The dealer didn't want to fix it so they just made it stay out all the time, and said I could fix it if I wanted to. My guess is that they just disconnected the motor from the antenna, since the motor still runs when the car is turned on and off. I'm hoping a service manual could help me here, but would it just be easier to find a junked camry/es antenna motor? Or do you think the antenna just need some lube? I would really like the antenna to go up and down how it should. 5. Last one. About 2 weeks ago I had an aftermarket headunit installed (Pioneer to be more specific). Ever since, the car makes sort of an electronic whining sound, but it corresponds with the rpm (ie when I rev the engine, its a dull whining revving noise in addition to the engine sounds). I don't remember it doing this before the headunit was installed. Any ideas? Thanks for all your help. I don't know alot about cars, and I've never had a car that was nice enough to take car of and improve (my last car I shared with my bro, a 1996 chevy corsica w/ 135k miles). not all tint is the same you have lots of styles to choose from like metal smoke and bronze as a few see which ones you like the hids are quite easy to do if it is a proper kit with the phillips ends it is just plug and play one plugs into the old harness and the other is for a new bulb for the projector you will have to ground the ballast case or it may not always turn on the 96 will not work for your engine nor any 94-96 you need a 92 or 93 manual the mast can be replaced for 25 dollars from the dealer just buy a new one the only problem is i only know how to change it with the stock head unit which is holding the fm button down and turning the key on so you may be sol on an easy replacement as you have changed you head and speaking of such take it back to the shop who put it in you have a bad ground probably coupled with a bad alternator putting a frequency filter is just a band aid not a proper fix i also have a slight whirring hum as well caused by my alternator i need to get it replaced but too many gorund on an audio system can do that as well but i would more than likely guess it is the alternator
amf1932 Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 and speaking of suchtake it back to the shop who put it in you have a bad ground probably coupled with a bad alternator putting a frequency filter is just a band aid not a proper fix i also have a slight whirring hum as well caused by my alternator i need to get it replaced but too many gorund on an audio system can do that as well but i would more than likely guess it is the alternator I doubt whether it's a bad alternator causing this whine. Since there are too many variables that would cause this, I would read this before I would replace the alternator: www.avweb.com/news/maint/182896-1.html Alan
SKperformance Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 sorry i missed the other variables what are they? besides the stereo being installed
LexuSY Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 About the window tinting, i just got mine tinted for $289. Formula One tinting. it supposedly reduces heat by 52% and glare, UV, shatter proof. .etc. i got it for the same reasons. but i chose formula one cause they are lifetime warrantied and have several dealers across the country. and since i plan to move some time to the east coast, i thought that was a good investment. this is their second to most expensive tint. they have cheaper ones for 169. and i also heard from other friends that you can get tints as cheap as 75, but i dont' know about quality and stuff... and welcome to da club!
chillaxin Posted June 10, 2003 Posted June 10, 2003 I just got my windows tinted for my car. I did some research, and it looks like prices are first based on whether you have a coupe or a sedan, because a coupe has 5 windows, compared to a sedan which has 7 windows because those small windows in the back count as a separate window (if you have the RX, I think you have 11 windows...). Tint prices also matter based on the type of tint, whether it's just the cheap tint, metallized tint, or a mix of metallized and something else, or there's a new type of tint out right now (which is what I got) which isn't metallized, but is a higher quality of tint (more on this later). Tint prices don't differ based on how dark you want them. There's four different shades, light, medium, dark, and limo. They do differ on the type of warranty you get though. The cheap places give you warranty for a few years for things such as bubbling, cracking, and chipping. I think most of these places have tints that end up purpling (I'm sure you've seen cars that have purple tint, looks nasty). The next decent place usually has a lifetime warranty against bubbling, cracking, chipping, AND purpling. But these tints tend to end up fading little by little as time goes by (fading is when the darkness of your tint slowly gets lighter due to the evil sun's rays). The best place has a lifetime warranty against bubbling, cracking, chipping, purpling AND fading. I got all 7 of my windows done with the lifetime warranty against everything including fading for $165. I got dark on my backs, and medium on my front two. The car looks so much more awesome with tint. Plus, the place I got my tint at actually drove out to my house to do the tinting. The only bad thing is that they are down in Orange County, and they service mostly the OC area. Now the reason I went with this place (other than the lifetime warranty against fading) is that they use a new type of tint that isn't metallized but is a higher quality. But the other reason I went with this place is I originally was about to go with a metallized tint, but found out that with my car (2003 ES 300), the radio antenna and GPS tracking system is embedded into my rear windshield. So by using a metal based tint, I would run the risk of interfering with those signals. I guess the FM would be ok, but it might interfere with my AM. Ok, I think I've rambled enough, hope that helps for people who are looking to tint their cars. (hey, this was my first post! )
skeemer Posted June 13, 2003 Author Posted June 13, 2003 Would a 93 Chilton be ok as a service manual? Specifically this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2418745822 or this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2419074777
amf1932 Posted June 13, 2003 Posted June 13, 2003 I prefer holding a book(manual) in my hand when I do a repair on my car, rather than having to depend on a CD to display the instructions for a repair on your computer screen. You could pick up a Haynes Toyota Camry repair manual which would cover most any mechanical repair on your '92 Lexus at most auto supply stores for about $12.00. Haynes book number is 92006. Alan
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