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  1. I was also sold this "invisible" ad on! Only to be told by the dealership "after" that it's not adjustable. So basically it's just a dimly lit thin strip! This should be included. Lexus could and should've done better!
    4 points
  2. Hi. Some friends of mine suggested that I should post this here for more people to see. Hopefully it'll help people for years to come. You will need: About 50 bucks budget for the balljoint rod and the pipe clamp. Height sensor with bracket. 10mm wrench Washers that fit 10mm/M6 bolts. 10mm/M6 nuts Some smaller (8mm wrench) I own a 2001 LS430. The height sensor control arm's slider has rusted and become damaged over the last 19 or so years. The ball joint rod to the height sensor has also seized too. The height adjustment rod there in the red was seized, and the height slider in the blue was badly corroded and broken off. Rather than buy an entire control arm (green) this is an alterative method to repair it The arm is ~26mm in diameter. Buy yourself one of these pipe clamps in 26mm diameter. Or make one. Shouldn't be expensive. The hole needs to fit a M6/10mm bolt. Grind off the remnants of that slider from the control arm, and slide the pipe clamp over, and put your 10mm/M6 bolt and nut through and secure it in place where the slider used to be. Rather than using the control arm as a slider, we can instead use a sliding ball joint rod such as this one; This is a 220 320 00 32 from Mercedes - a height adjustment rod with a 8mm locking and a 10mm/M6 ball joint bolt. You can pick one up off eBay for cheap. Or find some other M6/10mm adjustable ball joint rod. Look at the diagram and try to imagine it in your head. This is what your bracket and rod/clamps should look like. One day I might snap a picture of what my repair looks like, but I hope you can make out what I mean via the diagram. This repair should be very easy. Maybe some sanding/grinding and surface preperation. The clamp will hold on tight and is easy to replace. The adjustable link rod will last longer and allow for easy adjustment, and less risk of corrosion damage. Hope this helps. This is a fairly easy job and took me less than 2 or so hours to do.
    3 points
  3. Did I mention this?..... I don't like the fact that our governments plan to force us to buy EVs. I wouldn't mind having one, as we already have solar panels and don't pay for electricity, but I think we should be able to choose what we drive (within reason).
    3 points
  4. At the part store they run a load test on the battery that mimics a big draw. If it holds up to a certain voltage it means the battery itself is not weakened yet. As the battery ages it will weaken as in not be able to supply a given amount of cold cranking amps. When its cold the oil thickens some thereby making the engine have to work harder to rotate. Hence the term "cold" cranking amps. I'd say you should investigate why the check engine lamp is lighting up. It could be a sign of what is taking place to cause your car to struggle to crank over. The part store can often "read the code" and determine why the CEL is lighting. My gut tells me your voltage regulator in the alternator is hit and miss. A long time ago that was a little box on the fire wall or fender. These days they are inside of the alternator. It determines how much electricity goes to the engine to keep it running and to the battery to charge it. It only has to be off by a little to keep the engine running but not have extra to charge the battery. Another issue could be a parasitic drain. An out of the ordinary draw on the battery when the car isn't running. In my 04 GS 300 for example the CD changer kept trying to change discs and the seat memory kept activating. Now I could not hear the disc changer nor was the seat memory moving the seat, but they were drawing on the system leading to a weak or dead battery if I didn't drive the car every day. Yet another issue may be short trips don't allow the battery to charge enough. Example; start the car, drive to a store 10 minutes away, finish there, start car and drive 10 minutes to another store. Never giving the engine a good 30-45 minutes to charge the battery back up to the voltage used to start the car can also lead to the hard to crank or dead battery issue. Hope you find it soon and it's a cheap and easy fix.
    3 points
  5. No reason to upgrade, Those stock wheels are Classic on the SC 😉
    3 points
  6. But you love the Covid virus? 🙄
    3 points
  7. I just installed the rr racing supercharger. It’s the only way to go bud
    3 points
  8. That one is my son's new puppy. Her brother came home with me Chocolate lab mom, stranger in the night dad Yesterday they played all afternoon.
    3 points
  9. Purchase has been made!...I could not turn down the deal I got & the actual ES...2020 ES 350 'premium' with only 11k miles in Nebula Grey Pearl (windows are already tinted)....over 2 years of full factory warranty remaining; 1 owner, full service history & Lexus CPO. Our 'premium package' in Canada is equipped quite differently than our friends south of the border....with more features / standard equipment. Originally I wanted the UL package....but in these parts, they are very rare (I reached out to 17 Lexus dealers in a 400 mile radius of me...the UL units that are available are 5 to 6 k more & only about 20% are actually at Lexus dealers...the premium pkg checks 95% of the boxes I was looking for....as the expression goes 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'. I literally have a 6 minute drive to work... I pick the car up this Saturday.
    3 points
  10. I like it when I'm trimming a rose bush, grab one to place in a jar and while heading indoors the Mrs arrives from work so I hand her the rose. Or when I come from work and the dog greets me at the door, tail all wagging-like. And the parrot says "welcome home"…… Or when a nice breeze blows just as the grass cut chore is over and the Mrs brings out a tall glass of ice cold spring water. Or when a new baseball cap fits my noggin just right without adjusting it. Or I step on the bathroom scale expecting to have gained weight but the scale shows I actually lost a little. Or when my son and I went to do the first start after an engine swap, expecting a hard to start issue but ole bessy fires right up. Or when the lawnmover starts first pull……again. Or helping out old people. Or thanking a soldier/veteran. Or tipping the person at the toll booth. Yes I stop and pay in cash so I can do that. Or when the voicemail on your phone was not a robo-call and instead was a friend telling you "hello, here's my new phone number" Or when you sneeze and a perfect stranger says "bless you". Life is short. But smiling makes you live longer. Trouble with being dead is it lasts so long.
    3 points
  11. The cost of dental work, especially deep cleaning by laser and periodontal surgery, but also including implants.
    3 points
  12. That's the view when I pull into the driveway after work. Unseen in the photo is the dog wagging his tail "it's that guy, he's back, yay!!"
    3 points
  13. Update: I think I have got it after all the work, time, and money spent. I started checking again I found an unbelievable vacuum leak around lower intake manifold. replace gasket today runs great thanks for all of the support. something that simple fix. when the engine was swap the starter was replaced. The gasket moved or something apparently cause a vacuum leak. I had no idea a vacuum leak could cause random misfires. I was sure it was an ignition problem.
    3 points
  14. The Lexus brand cell phone that was a dealer installed option lowered the HVAC fan speed and muted the audio system while a call was in progress. I even connected an aftermarket Nokia CARK-91 phone system I installed in my second (2000) LS400 to mute the audio system but I didn't bother to connect it to lower the HVAC fan speed. Even when a Lexus phone system was never installed, corrosion of the factory installed cell phone harness in the trunk can cause HVAC and audio system issues.
    3 points
  15. 20 years ago I swapped a domain name for a Lexus. The love affair started and I am now on my 10th Lexus
    3 points
  16. My Lexus is my weekend car. My daily is my 2009 Mazda 3i.
    3 points
  17. 2 points
  18. I reached out to the place that sold me the car and they recommended a locksmith they use. He provided same day service, cut 4 keys for me, and programmed them All in for $160. Thanks for the help!
    2 points
  19. re: 400h Thank you for your reply. I'll have to jack it up and check. I happen to have a new crush washer for the drain bolt. I hope I can use that one.
    2 points
  20. Fixed! Put the transmission in neutral, took off the bolts and rotated the driveshaft. Tightened everything down and drove it and it was connected back the right way. Thank you to everyone for your help!
    2 points
  21. This partially why I gave up riding a motorcycle to focus on convertible sportscars in which I can drive with shorts and a tank top during Summer months.. 😏
    2 points
  22. I hate the common cold...
    2 points
  23. Much less likely to get shot due to reaching in glove box
    2 points
  24. I'm not sure tbh. I didn't look that close. I did find where it plugged in, and the engine seems to be running fine. So I'm choosing to assume I guessed and got lucky.
    2 points
  25. I don't like hurricanes when the roof is coming off the house but the sky sure is pretty after it's gone.
    2 points
  26. The first thing you should have done is to look at all the codes. That would be easier if it has OBD II and not OBD I which flashes to indicate a problem area. Simply guessing and buying parts can be very expensive. You might want to spend $150 to have an expert look at it. That way, you'll have enough information to determine if the car is worth fixing.
    2 points
  27. My goodness. Haven't read all the back and forth, but 50 years plus of being a mechanic means you should RUN, or have it towed asap from the current shop. Reasons: No car in the history of the planet has 3 coils go bad all at once. Not possible to diagnose injectors unless they are pulled and flow tested. Head gasket problems are relatively easy to diagnose on the V6. Since head gaskets don't blow simultaneously, unless you SERIOUSLY overheated the old girl, the sparkplugs on either bank will be utterly absolutely clean, cleaner than the other bank. Really, the best way to QUICKLY check a bad head gasket is to smell the exhaust. A sweet smell, obvious as hell. Timing problems, more than likely. Car can easily be saved with a competent mechanic. Don't be afraid to pull out of the shop -- money spent is money gone. Which is why is use YELP, etc. Good luck.
    2 points
  28. I like giant Tonka toys
    2 points
  29. I've been researching car wraps for a while, possibly for a future body color swap when I eventually get a new car. Apparently, wraps last about 3 years because if a wrap is left on too long, it may be very difficult to remove it. This is true with many types of tapes, even those with very weak adhesion. So before you have a wrap done, I suggest discussing this with the "wrapper".
    2 points
  30. 2 points
  31. I like cherry Pepsi on occasion. That's about as close to whiskey as I'll go these days.
    2 points
  32. USNews claims the Lexus RX provides 18.4 cubic feet of room behind the second-row seats and 56.3 cubic feet with the second row folded down. Unlike the 3-row model which keyesLexus.com shows that for the RX350L, with all rows in an upright position, it has 7.5 cubic feet of cargo room. Folding down the third row increases the SUV's cargo room to 23 cubic feet. Congrats, Mike! If your dealer is like mine - they put your Lexus in a special delivery showroom with lots of lights. Then they bring you in to inspect the 350.
    2 points
  33. Before pulling the bulbs, you should look for a change in voltage on the meter with and without the lights/audio on. If fact, what I typically do when performing a quick test, observe the meter as you switch each component on...one by one. If the brake lights are showing a large dip on the meter or with everything on together you are dropping below 13 volts...you have a problem. It's rare, but you could have a bulb that's not lighting up and instead shorting out. If the charging system stays above 13.5 under full load than I'm leaning towards a problem with the wires coming from the battery or loose/corroded battery terminal. Most of the situations that I've worked on where there seems to be an electrical demon and all the tests are good...It's usually something like a poor body ground.
    2 points
  34. The cost of gas and food...Thanks o'biden
    2 points
  35. My company is Fuel Injector Specialists, located in Colorado. I own a 1990 LS400, and I"m not here trolling for injector business, but my advice (and experience) on these cars is this: The chance of you having 8 good injectors is just about nil. I've rebuilt plenty of these, and about 10 percent are not buildable -- the spray pattern goes sideways or they leak down. Denso from the factory. The quality of Bosch? Nope, but if you keep water out of the gas, the majority of the factory injectors will last forever, it's just that Bosch uses a higher quality rust resistant super hard stainless metal alloy. Bosch will not substitute for Denso, in this case. Alas. Rough Idle? One or two bad injectors. Same with hard start. Same with burned up catalytic convertors -- these cats will outlive the car, if they have the correct fuel ratio ahead of them. Pintle caps and seals and filters? All replaceable. Good injectors and these engines will purr. Factory shop manual (of which I just paid $350 for the complete paper set) infers that it is possible to pull these injectors with the intake on. Nonsense. Think ahead and buy the throttle body and upper plenum gasket from Rock Auto. You'll need both. As another hint, the bottom bolts on the throttle body are impossible to start without a flexible magnetic/grab hook retrieval tool. Invaluable. NAPA, $20. Best money you will ever spend. Eliminates many bad words. Put the head of the bolt on the tool, using only the magnetic function not the grab hook, then bend yourself way down to see the opening in the throttle body, insert the bolt, then slide the tool off at a 90 degree angle. Voila. You don't use this tool, and the bolt will drop into the valley. Ouch. Intake plenum off, but first, careful careful with all those hoses, and be even more careful with the hoses at the front EGR temp sensor, the one that has two plastic barbed outlets and screws in vertically into the cooling passage. Aw, forget it. These outlets all break. You will break yours. Remove the sensor (unobtainable now, and was $300 plus dollars anyway. What the?), go to Napa and buy some small plastic barbed tees, cut them to match the ones you broke off. If you can pull your broken originals out of the hoses, even better. Then, take some super glue, a powerful magnifier so you can see to match the broken edges up perfectly, and judiciously super glue the broken tee back onto the temp sensor. That means don't use so much super glue that you block the ports. You will check with a small drill bit when you are all finished anyway. That super glue's only function is to get the tee to stay on from whence it (they) departed. Not strong enough to be anything but a placement. Next, buy some J&B plastic mender epoxy. Squeeze out a small amount of this stuff from its double syringe, on a cardboard piece, and stir while counting slowly to 30. Daub this mixture onto the tee/sensor broken area, which you cleaned of course, covering all sides nicely, leaving the barb exposed. Set the sensor aside ( as mentioned, you pulled this sensor from the engine, right? 15/16 combo wrench. And drained the radiator to even make this possible? This only makes sense. Ahem. ) Set this sensor aside for 24 hours. In a warm room. Don't be tempted to readjust the tee outlets even slightly. That''s what the super glue was for. If you do, the epoxy strength will absolutely disappear. A day later this fitting will be bulletproof. Never seen an older LS where these aren't busted off. This sensor stops the EGR from working when the engine is cold, and lets vacuum pass when it's warm. Your engine needs this. The earth's atmosphere needs this. All of humanity needs this. You get the idea. Pull the intake. Put all those bolts in a container. They re-torque at 20 lbs or so. Not much. You set them somewhere under hood and they will fall off, never to be seen again. Passing children will learn new words. Now, you can easily reach the fuel rails. The supply line to the pressure regulator and the line itself has banjo bolts. Nice design, but each banjo bolt has a copper washer on top and bottom. Take a very deep breath, put on your glasses, and DON'T lose those copper washers. Factory shop manual insists you need to replace them. Not necessary. Available at NAPA if you do. The fuel rail holds the injectors in. The hardest part of injector service is removing the wiring clips from the injectors. The little tab pushes down, and the clip pulls off. Don't rush this step. Don't yank without being sure the clip is released. Push down, then pull up. If you successfully get all the clips off without breaking some you qualify for a trophy of some type. Perhaps an old bowling trophy, or a second place spelling ribbon, etc. Indeed, you are truly a master mechanic. Buy quality new injectors if you can, but you can't. Don't buy Ultra. Chinese garbage. Not worth the effort to toss in the recycle bin. Rock has rebuilds, but we kick back about 15% of them because they are defective, usually pattern problems. Or they leak down. Slow engine death. Perfect injectors and this old girl purrs. Oh yeah. There is a cold start injector at the bottom of the intake plenum. Unobtainable. We can clean and build them. If they're not rotted out. We are junkyard doggies. A proud thing. When the occasional first gen LS400 comes into the wrecking yards, we grab extra injectors, computer, complete padded dash and glove box door if possible (very rare), all the missing top engine shrouds, a mass air flow sensor, throttle position sensors (plural), door lock motors if needed, etc. Final note. Don't think you can upgrade from the Pioneer radio to the Nakamichi. Ain't like the Buick Riviera with Bose GOLD. All the good stuff is in the radio, not due to additional active amps in the door units. Nakamichi rear speaker is a monster, but needs its own amp in the back. Meaning the wiring harness. Meaning the wiring harness is completely different at the radio. Oh well. Life is too short. And Interior? Went with the Katzkin leather, $1000 plus. We shall see. Doesn't have that extra double pleat in the center, but we'll live with that.
    2 points
  36. A new one can be found here.... I have used this supplier from their Japan located warehouse. worked well. https://www.amayama.com/en/part/toyota/8174050080
    2 points
  37. Welcome to the Lexus Owners Club Events forum section Its been a while since this section has seen the light of day, so thought it was time to revive it now that we have freedom of movement pretty much in most parts of the free-world. Got an event planned or just want to share one you are attending? Feel free to post up any national or local events relating to Lexus or even just events that will host Lexus cars amongst others. (please note: the Moderation Team reserve the right to remove any content that goes against Lexus Owners Club rules at any time)
    2 points
  38. Very nice! Is that a metal cup? You should also be able to find T-shirts with the Lexus logo. I have a Mazda one. There's a custom t-shirt store nearby. They can apply any kind of image to a shirt or shirts of your choice. I had them make a couple that are super-soft 100% cotton.
    2 points
  39. I don't like when I pour cereal into a bowl at midnight and discover the milk went sour. Dratz!!
    2 points
  40. Because LFA's are one hell of a car 🙂 And we love Lexus 😉
    2 points
  41. If it still drives take it to a shop and pay the $125 diagnose fee. That'll save you a ton of aggrevation and quite possibly money too. I've swapped motors and rebuilt cars stem to stern but when I can't figure something out mine goes to a place who can. It could be as simple as a vacuum leak, valves out of adjustment or something the monitor can find. They have machines now that can tell you all kinds of things you'd never find at home. My mechanic was working on a van that kept running hot and the machine discovered the engine was low on motor oil.
    2 points
  42. Hey bykfixer, thanks for the input. Ken
    2 points
  43. The 4th of July is upon us once again. While most folks frolic about on the 4th doing the typical American thing……you know, drink beer, eat too much, get sun burned and watch fireworks, one of my coworkers has set out for New York. He is a young engineer from Afghanistan who helped the US forces rebuild stuff over there after things got destroyed after 911. At first he said it was not so bad. But at one point his life was threatened by hostile forces for siding with what he says they call "the great Satan". He said members of his family were brutally killed in order to teach him a lesson. The US government gave him the opportunity to bring his wife and kids to America. So this 4th of July he, his wife and children are going to travel to New York to witness the statue of Liberty. He told me that after being in America some 4 years his wife no longer fears running over explosive devices or being hit by sniper fire and wants to travel to "the big apple" he said in broken English. I will raise a toast of apple juice this year to him and folks like him who truely know life under tyranny. I hope everybody reading this enjoys the 4th this year now that the pesky virus seems to be largely under control. I'll stay home and help keep a labrador calm who gets nervous when the fireworks explode. He's 11 this year so he doesn't have that many more days left and I sure don't want him spending any of them in panic mode. I'll hook him up with a hot dog off the grill while we sit out back and watch a small bonfire. Happy 4th everybody.
    2 points
  44. Happy Independence Day All, Make It a Great One, Be safe and Enjoy This Beautiful Country.
    2 points
  45. Funny you bring this topic to light...I use them to store parts when I disassemble a watch, Keeps groups of parts separate before cleaning. I also use for small batch paint mixes 🙂
    2 points
  46. Sure thing, Northwoodsperformance.com. The spacers are the same as the 01 to 07 Toyota highlander. Ask for Nathan the owner and he can give details. Much better quality than the Russian spacers. They have a kit that includes 4 spacers, front end links, and hardware. I am also going to lift my 2013 Toyota Highlander with their Gen 2 Highlander spacers. It has nearly the same suspension as the 04-09 Lexus RX series.
    2 points
  47. 2 points
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