New Owner, Ga: 1995 Es300 Restoration!

[vstolyarov]

I just got an automatic lexus 1995 es300, everytime i sat in a lexus at autoshows I knew this car is made the right way, everyting feels great and when i rode the one I bought its a pleasure to drive, you don't even want to take sharp turns or speed.

I need to purchase new seats rear and front.

gauge cluster needles burned out so I am shopping for a cluster,

whats the difference between 94-96 and 97-01 for these things, and most important will connectors fit, I am sure seats will just bolt in?

I want to get an aux out of the stock pioneer system, which sounds great for its age in my opinion, my car doesn't have cd player but all wiring is there, so i want to use my mp3 player. Is there a connector for that that can go onto cd player plugs?

here is the info i got from car review for 1997 new body redesigned

redesigned seats

The optional leather used for seats and trim is the same as is used on the LS400, and leather seats include two- position memory for the driver's side. The revised, improved rear seat is roomy, comfortable, and has cupholders, storage space, and ashtrays. The instrument panel uses an "Optitron" white cold-cathode-tube instrument cluster, which is bright and easily visible in all light conditions.

the previous owner maintained the car well and got all oil changes done on time but i see some sludge where you put oil in on vavle cover, should i do engine flush? and with what? I am going to run it with mobil 1 10w30 for now.

what tires do you guys use, my rims are stock on 215/60/15, I need cheap but quality ones around $70, anyone tried fuzion?

i had them on my last car but the bigger size might produce road noise?

also the transmission jerks in reverse when engaged, it happens at 1500rpm when cold, is that normal at high idle?, the car shifts smooth going in drive. i am hoping its just motor mount

i also removed intake plenum b/c i saw how dirty throttle body was. i used carbon cleaner but it takes a while to get all stuff out and dissolve it. i am sure car was loosing horsepower b/c of dirty intake. its a good idea to change the spark plugs as you go.

[vstolyarov]

you should really clean your throttle body and intake if your engine has more than 100k miles...

better yet if you got headgasket problems or transmission/engine issues replace the whole engine and transmission if you plan on keeping the car for a long time.... You can get engine tranny for like $1200 on ebay, I had some jdm engines installed in my nx2000 and ford contour svt

its not polished yet!

now with lexus dealership quoting pervious owner over ~$3000 just to do gaskets.

7/12/2005 pervious owner got some crazy estimates from a lexus dealer

rear main seal $1065

oil pan gasket $315

dip stick seal $55

oil filter housing $137

cam seals + timing belt + water pump $850

he had timing belt done like 10k ago and refused to do these except for the valve cover gasket which costed him $400.

The car has 164k miles now.

I found common wear out items start occuring at 150k which are

ignition

gaskets

transmission

sludge in the engine?

differential leaks

most of the oil leaks i saw were due to oil pans bolts being lose.

I'll have to drive the car to discover other ones.

what do you need to remove to get to the rear main seal? where is it? what does it look like?

[blk_on_blk]

Wow, man, you are really diggin' into your new ride, huh? I hear you on the intake... mine was pretty 'soupy' looking with sludge when I pulled it apart at 164K.

[vstolyarov]

yes i usually restore/maintance cars before i start "driving" them

just got some new seats 99 will update when they arrive

im getting a deal on fuzion tires, right now at tiresplus for $65 each 215/60/15 buy 3, one free. until march 31st

they are sporty tires like potenza. which i had before on my nx.

Intake part 2 B) cleaning intake some more

I am thinking of spraying some carb cleaner down the spark plug holes... is that a good idea? i got compressed air to blow out junk. and some towels

[vstolyarov]

99 coach edition seat more wiring/motors, more automatic, seat position control module, has airbag, and automatic lumbar support. just need to rewire everything to install.

[vstolyarov]

back in one piece, looking much cleaner in the engine bay, inside too

going to try to start her back up today

very complicated process of installing half driveshaft boots cage with 6 bearings, which never seem to go back when you pull them out to change boot. outer part was dissasembled completely to change the boot.

if im doing it again i will buy the whole assembly and have less problems.

-2 driveaxle boots replaced on pass side, inner boot was torn, i going to inspect drivers' side also, it made licking sound while turning.

[es4me]

Hey VSTOLYAROV (Couldnt think of anything to shorten it, LOL)

I wanted to know how your seats came out? I know that you purchased seats from a 99' Coach Edition and had to do some wiring before you installed them. I had thought about putting the new seats in my 94 ES (which the front seats were recovered when I bought my car which was a year ago) but after reading several post I wasnt sure if it was possible? Did you just do the front seats or was it both front and rear from the 99? I was thinking about the 00 or 01 front and rear seats, I like the rear seats especially since I like the way the head rest were intergrated! I'm too into the way the rear seat headrest were designed on 97-99 (which my Mom has). I love the fact that both front seats are power, however I dont like the way the seat rises for height! Only the bottom portion of the seat moves up or down, unlike my Mother's which the entire seat raises. I have noticed that my valve cover gasket (front) has started to leak.........It's not fun walking in your garage and slipping up from the small puddle on the floor! LOL. So I will try to get that taken care of this weekend. Does anyone know if I should change all of the seals / gaskets since I am going to do the front? I think that I will do a tune up while I'm under there! Oh yea, how are you liking your car? I have enjoyed my car since the day I bought it, but I know that my next car will be another Lexus. Perhaps the 00 or 01 ES, or GS? I thought about the IS but after my sister got hers I didnt want one because my 94 ES seems to have more room than her 04 IS.

Here are some of the mods I am thinkintg about doing, so let me know what you think of them.

Changing out the standard 15' tri spoke wheel to either an 00-01 16' tri spoke or 5 spoke Platnium Edition wheels.

Replacing the headlights with that of the 95/96 (love the black headlight housing and 3 lines running through the lense).

Relacing the stereo with an after marker (still thinking about that one, b/c I dont like the way they look afterwards)

Adding more woodgrain accents to the interior, steering wheel (not sure where to get that done), around the air vents, window controls, etc..

I have already cleared my taillights of the orange amber , and it looks really good! (just make sure you dont put your lights on the oven rack itself, because it will start melting....found out the hard way. Part of the light was off of the aluminum foil.

Thats all I can think of right now..... I will wait to read everyone's response!

ES4me

[vstolyarov]

seats didn't turn out. the mounting points are different, newer models have thinner rails and mounting points, so i just returned 1 seat i bought back to the junkyard.

i am looking for 96 coach edition seats or 96 seats non heated driver seat in good condition.

so far the car has been very good to me, the 200hp really kicks in at 4000rpm and is mean sounding, the ride is sporty, this car takes corners very good on new fuzion 205/60/15 tires. i will need to replaced rotors soon b/c of small vibration when braking.

has anyone replaced cranckshaft seal? mine is leaking

i also want to fix the window noise issue by getting new gasket around the mirror and probably adjusting window stoppers.

[cnstarz]

aw that sucks that seats dont fit. i want power bucket seats in mine. I'm so used to the bucket seats in my 01 protege that I just slide around whenever i drive my lexus.