New To The Forums 92 Es300 Questions

[whitekhai]

Hey everyone my name's Andrew and I've never owned a Lexus but I'm looking into buying one this week. There's a guy selling a 92 ES300 at a good price but I have a couple reservations that someone here may be able to help me out with. I read the FAQ and it says not to buy a 92 or 93 because of overheating issues, will an engine from a later model, say a 95 bolt into a 92, and if so would that solve the overheating issues? The FAQ also says not to put anything larger than 18" rims and this particular car has 19" rims and low profile tires. The guy told me he still has the 17" factory rims but he hasn't had a problem with rubbing from the 19" rims, has anyone here seen an ES300 sucessfully function on 19" rims? I'm just starting to learn more about cars now that I'm in the market again and this forum has answered a lot of my questions, but with 238 pages of topics in this section alone I didn't find the answers to these yet, so thanks a lot for taking the time to read this. Lastly, I know you have to get quotes on used motors but can someone tell me about what cost I would be looking at if possible to order a 95 engine and have it put into the 92? Thanks again!

[Lexucan]

Hey everyone my name's Andrew and I've never owned a Lexus but I'm looking into buying one this week. There's a guy selling a 92 ES300 at a good price but I have a couple reservations that someone here may be able to help me out with. I read the FAQ and it says not to buy a 92 or 93 because of overheating issues, will an engine from a later model, say a 95 bolt into a 92, and if so would that solve the overheating issues? The FAQ also says not to put anything larger than 18" rims and this particular car has 19" rims and low profile tires. The guy told me he still has the 17" factory rims but he hasn't had a problem with rubbing from the 19" rims, has anyone here seen an ES300 sucessfully function on 19" rims? I'm just starting to learn more about cars now that I'm in the market again and this forum has answered a lot of my questions, but with 238 pages of topics in this section alone I didn't find the answers to these yet, so thanks a lot for taking the time to read this. Lastly, I know you have to get quotes on used motors but can someone tell me about what cost I would be looking at if possible to order a 95 engine and have it put into the 92? Thanks again!

Hey Andrew

I think if you ask toysrme who is a long time forum member and who knows EVERYTHING there is to know about these cars from a mechanical prospective, he will tell you differently about the '92-'93 ES having inherent overheating problems.

[sgtschlang]

Hey everyone my name's Andrew and I've never owned a Lexus but I'm looking into buying one this week. There's a guy selling a 92 ES300 at a good price but I have a couple reservations that someone here may be able to help me out with. I read the FAQ and it says not to buy a 92 or 93 because of overheating issues, will an engine from a later model, say a 95 bolt into a 92, and if so would that solve the overheating issues? The FAQ also says not to put anything larger than 18" rims and this particular car has 19" rims and low profile tires. The guy told me he still has the 17" factory rims but he hasn't had a problem with rubbing from the 19" rims, has anyone here seen an ES300 sucessfully function on 19" rims? I'm just starting to learn more about cars now that I'm in the market again and this forum has answered a lot of my questions, but with 238 pages of topics in this section alone I didn't find the answers to these yet, so thanks a lot for taking the time to read this. Lastly, I know you have to get quotes on used motors but can someone tell me about what cost I would be looking at if possible to order a 95 engine and have it put into the 92? Thanks again!

Hey Andrew

I think if you ask toysrme who is a long time forum member and who knows EVERYTHING there is to know about these cars from a mechanical prospective, he will tell you differently about the '92-'93 ES having inherent overheating problems.

Andrew,

I've got a 92 ES300 that I've had for over 3 yrs and I've put over 40K on the clock. The car is driven every day in your geographic location - the Bay Area -between Fairfield and Danville. This car has never overheated. Only cooling related issue I've ever had with the car is the factory radiator that I replaced with a quality unit at about 140K. This car routinely sits in bumper to bumper traffic (Bay Area traffic sucks) and we experience summer temps well over 100 F. It hit 105 in Fairfield last week and 107 in Livermore to the south.

My car is a 5sp - automatic trans cars may run hotter. Not disputing that some may have experienced cooling issues w 92/93s but that didn't stop me from buying the car.

Good luck with your LX search.

[greenie]

Hey everyone my name's Andrew and I've never owned a Lexus but I'm looking into buying one this week. There's a guy selling a 92 ES300 at a good price but I have a couple reservations that someone here may be able to help me out with. I read the FAQ and it says not to buy a 92 or 93 because of overheating issues, will an engine from a later model, say a 95 bolt into a 92, and if so would that solve the overheating issues? The FAQ also says not to put anything larger than 18" rims and this particular car has 19" rims and low profile tires. The guy told me he still has the 17" factory rims but he hasn't had a problem with rubbing from the 19" rims, has anyone here seen an ES300 sucessfully function on 19" rims? I'm just starting to learn more about cars now that I'm in the market again and this forum has answered a lot of my questions, but with 238 pages of topics in this section alone I didn't find the answers to these yet, so thanks a lot for taking the time to read this. Lastly, I know you have to get quotes on used motors but can someone tell me about what cost I would be looking at if possible to order a 95 engine and have it put into the 92? Thanks again!

Overheating is usually indicative of poor maintenance practices. E.G. thermostat not functioning properly, water pump, slipping drive belt, clogged or defective radiator or a coolant leak in the system. Other variables could enter into the equation but that's where basic cooling problems usually crop up. My '94 has never had an overheating problem but that's because I'm very picky about preventative maintenance procedures. Has the present owner experienced these cooling problems? If not I would not be too concerned with the overheating caveats. You can usually tell by close inspection whether or not a car has been abused.

I can't address the engine swap question so maybe someone else can steer you in the right direction here. Engine swaps especially on intricate and highly engineered cars such as Lexus could be problematic due to the electronics involved in engine management systems. Not trying to discourage you but be prepared for Murphys law.

I wouldn't get too radical on up-sizing wheels because of alignment and handling issues.

Take your time and shop carefully.

[mburnickas]

Overheating is usually indicative of poor maintenance practices. E.G. thermostat not functioning properly, water pump, slipping drive belt, clogged or defective radiator or a coolant leak in the system. Other variables could enter into the equation but that's where basic cooling problems usually crop up. My '94 has never had an overheating problem but that's because I'm very picky about preventative maintenance procedures. Has the present owner experienced these cooling problems? If not I would not be too concerned with the overheating caveats. You can usually tell by close inspection whether or not a car has been abused.

I can't address the engine swap question so maybe someone else can steer you in the right direction here. Engine swaps especially on intricate and highly engineered cars such as Lexus could be problematic due to the electronics involved in engine management systems. Not trying to discourage you but be prepared for Murphys law.

I wouldn't get too radical on up-sizing wheels because of alignment and handling issues.

Take your time and shop carefully.

I would not go that far. There where problems early on with the ES with overheating.

[whitekhai]

Cool, thanks for the responses everyone. I'm looking to buy within the next week but I'll try to stay smart, I don't think I'm going to go for te one I was looking at, the 19" rims kind of make me question the condition the car may be in. opefully I can find a nice elderly couple to buy from I'd say that's the safest bet.

[whitekhai]

Cool, thanks for the responses everyone. I'm looking to buy within the next week but I'll try to stay smart, I don't think I'm going to go for te one I was looking at, the 19" rims kind of make me question the condition the car may be in. opefully I can find a nice elderly couple to buy from I'd say that's the safest bet.