What Year Had Standard And Is The 93 That Bad?

[akewlguy]

Looking at a Long Island 93 ES300 with 75k miles for about 5k. Maybe I should get a 97 or 98, but I am unsure costs and benefits..

Presently I drive the LS and love it, but my wife want a minnniii--meeee (ES300)..

So any information or links to past ES threads is greatly appreciated. Cheers

[monarch]

I'd tend to go for the low mileage, older car, especially if it was senior owned. Time and time again I see senior owned, 15 year old Toyotas that are in excellent condition both cosmetically and mechanically. Seniors drive so gently their cars don't suffer much mechanical damage even if preventive maintenance is delayed / neglected.

[chrispiss]

I've had my 93 for almost two years and never had a problem with it overheating. I use green coolant, works great. I bought mine with 66k on it and it currently has about 89k on it. I think the overheating issue was more of a rumor that got blown out of proportion through discussions on bulletin boards. you know how that goes.

[tckcumming]

'92 and '93 had a manual trans available.

My '93 has never had an overheating issue. It's never had any mechanical issues to speak of, other than the usual maintenance things. I've owned it for about 9 years (I think)... I had a '92 before this one, same story - no real problems to speak of.

The way the car was treated by its previous owner(s) really determines how good it will be as a used car. If it was abused or neglected, chances are that it will cause grief at some point. If it's been maintained properly and driven with some common sense, it can last a long time. These cars are quite "bulletproof" in my experience as long as they're treated properly. I still love the way mine rides and handles, it doesn't feel or look like a 13 year-old car, especially when you consider the harsh environmental conditions it has to endure here in the Great White North.

tck...

[Toysrme]

Old car, low mileage, or get one coming off a 1 year lease & do maintenance like crazy on it 'cause it probably hasn't seen any.

89-93 had the M/T option. The 92-93 is rare for an ES (findable, but not many for a Camry) The gen2 Camry v6 & ES250 both had the E52 M/T option, and both are *extreeeemely* hard to find.

You see a few 92-93 M/T ES 300's around. I've heard of one, maybe two ES250 M/T that were M/T from the factory.

AFA the overheating, it is overstated because of it's brother by engine family & name (But really only sharing a few minor parts, like bearing) the SOHC 3vz-e Truck engine. All pre multi-layer steel Toyota headgaskets from 89 on are weak. Just like nearly every other OEM. Some are prone to external leaking, some will blow up.

The differance in a 92-93 3vz-fe and a 94-late '96 1mz-fe is that a 1mz-fe is an aluminum block. It will heat-up & you'll see it on the temp gauge. It may drag along performance wise, and you'll get to a stop & let it cool off before it roasts. The 3vz-fe is a near 400lb bottom end. It'll heat up slowly, the coolant will overheat, then cool back down & the coolant gauge may not fully show you what the coolant is doing. (Yay Dummy gauges! LoL!) That can mask the fact that you're overheating. It'll go from normal to overheating faster than most people look at the dash. At which point, by the time you let it cool off, the overheating has likely warped the aluminum heads & blown the head gasket. Which goes back to the part about being overstated.

Flush the coolant every other year. Change the thermostat & pressure caps every few years. Change the water pump every timing belt change. (Now 90,000 miles.) All of which, is something you as the owner should be doing.

Overheating is normally traced to two main causes:

1) Ignoring the coolant. Which eats turns corrosive & eats parts, while gelling in the coolant system.

2) Failed thermostat.

If you don't let it overheat. It'll never blow up. So do your maintenance.

Otherwise, if the new GR family isn't stronger. It's still tied with the 5vz-fe for the strongest v6 Toyota's made to date. ;) MInus the whole don't let them overheat & blow a headgasket deal.

[akewlguy]

Kewl.. If I see a 93 standard I will get it.. Have to talk the wife into it, but I want standard!

[monarch]

If you found a '93 that never had a coolant change, you'd find the factory original coolant did NOT "turn corrosive & eats parts, while gelling in the coolant system". Auto parts coolants do that, but not the factory coolant. For proof, see wwest's post about what he found after changing the factory original coolant on his '92 LS400 only last year.

[Toysrme]

Yeaaaah.

My '93 had that stuff in there when I bought it 4-5 years ago. The only time it was changed was after it blew a head gasket & Lexus did it. It only blew a radiator from that stuff gelling within 3-5 months of me buying it too. Radiator probably weighed 40-50lbs pulling it out. Yeesh.

[mburnickas]

I've had my 93 for almost two years and never had a problem with it overheating. I use green coolant, works great. I bought mine with 66k on it and it currently has about 89k on it. I think the overheating issue was more of a rumor that got blown out of proportion through discussions on bulletin boards. you know how that goes.

BINGO!

[monarch]

wwest wrote in January this year: "Well, first of all I didn't change out the factory "red" coolant in my 1992 LS400 until about two years ago, at about 90,000 miles. And I only did it then because while it was still pickish it was starting top look somewhat murky. Ph and freeze level were still within the proper range. I don't think my brother's 1992 LS400, now well over 100k, has had its coolant changed out even to this day."

There are no chemicals in the factory original red coolant mixture (50% distilled or deionized water and 50% Toyota Long Life antifreeze) that can gel or form mineral deposits even if the coolant is not changed for 15 years.

[Toysrme]

<- still doesn't care. The 1uz-fe is aluminum. The VZ blocks are not...

If there is waster in the coolant, it rusts & turns nasty. Look at any puke tank on any iron block v6 that isn't religiously changing coolant.

It's brown for a reason. Just like the block coolant ports are brown for reasons.

[5spd Lex]

<---- 5 speed B)

[SW03ES]

<- still doesn't care.

HAHAHA, made my day.