pberku

i went to autozone for the muffler tape and couldnt find it.i found an epoxy type product in a tube.says to slap it on let sit 2-4 hours and it suppose to seal up the holes.

That stuff is also very good. Just make sure that the area to which you are applying it is clean. It would have been best however, to apply that Epoxy, and than, once dry, to wrap it-up with the Muffler tape. You would end-up with an almost permanent repair. The muffler tape should have been easy to find. Try other places, including Walmart.

Phil

You can add a UV dye leak detector to the engine oil. Its available at most auto parts stores and costs less than $5.00. Using a UV lightbulb, or UV flashlight, you can than easily find the source of your oil leak by shining the UV light in the engine bay area. The source of your oil leak will immediately become evident. Its easier to spot the leak in the dark.

Just make sure that you purchase a UV dye that is specifically designed to locate oil leaks, and not coolant leaks for example.

Phil

Hey Guys, I recently completed the 90K mile service on one of my 2001 Lexus ES300. I changed the timing belt, water pump, pulleys, belts, and cabin filter using all of the info from this forum. Tested everything out and it ran great. After a short test drive, it over heated. :( Back at my garage I tested again letting it idle for a longer time. Everything ran fine: engine heated up, thermostat opened, coolant flowed. After about 15 minutes, hit the red line. I noticed that the fans never came on. Back to the Lexus Forums. After chasing the Power Steering sensor wire disconnected topics for a while I realized that I have the electric cooling fans. I tried to see if I knocked loose some connectors but didn't see anything obvious. I performed a couple of basic tests on the fans - 1) with the ignition on, the fans do not operate, 2) with the ignition on and I disconnect the #1 ECT switch connector, both fans run at full speed. Compared to my other ES300, the fans cycle on and off briefly when idling.

The service manual says that if the fans don't run after the coolant reaches 208F, replace the ECT switch connector. Seems more likey that I just didn't connect something correctly rather than a sensor breaking at the same time. Tomorrow I plan to put my other ES300 side by side to see if anything is obvious. Anyone have any ideas?

If when changing the thermostat and the water pump you drained the antifreeze and then refilled it, you probably now have some air pockets trapped in your cooling system. If additionally, the air pockets are trapped near the temperature sensor, than the temperature sensor will not be able to obtain a correct coolant temperature reading, and consequently not activate the fans.

You have to BURP the system in order to release some of the trapped air. Several cycles of highway driving (with the heater set at full high temperature) and cooling down overnight should bring things back to normal. Your coolant level will also decrease as the air escapes. So you will need to add some additional antifreeze until everything stabilizes.

Phil

There aren't any oil leaks. The bottom of the engine is dry and the driveway where it is parked does not have any oil stains at all. The oil is being consumed through the engine. Again, the oil and filter were changed every three thousand miles. More than the interval recommended by the manufacturer.

I am looking for someone who has had a similar problem and has gotten satisfaction from Lexus.

Ron, I feel for you, and your dilemma, but unless and until , someone (i.e.: a qualified mechanic) diagnoses the cause of the oil loss, than you have nothing to go on.

You can not, and should not rely on someone else that may have had similar symptoms. The cause of your problem may be totally different.

Phil

Our '99 ES300 exhibits similar behavior with these exceptions: 1) Problem did not develop until 90K-95K miles (currently have 113K); 2) No smoke - or oil leaks under vehicle; and, 3) Ours only uses about 2 quarts in 550 miles, but still enough to be annoying. Our mechanic replaced the PCV valve hoping that would correct it, but problem persists. I will be interested to see if anyone has other suggestions. Our vehicle was serviced at Sewell Lexus in Dallas for the first 75K and at Davenport's, an independednt Lexus garage in Plano TX, since then.

Woow Thats lot of oil to burn in 500 Miles. With that amount of oil consumption, you should consistently see Blue Smoke out the Exhaust, and not just the occasional puff of smoke.

What grade of Oil are you using? Try switching to a higher Weight. If for example you have been using 5W-30 then switch to 10W-40 and see what happens. You should also be aware that if most of your driving is in town, then there is the possibility that your oil was contaminated with Moisture and gas. As such, although your car may have already been burning oil even in town, you may not have noticed it as the amount of oil lost was replaced with other contaminants such as the 2 that I mentioned. Therefore your Oil level may have appeared to remain normal.

When you then take the car on the highway, the contaminants are burned off, and it then appears that your oil consumption goes up up dramatically when driving at Highway speeds.

Juts my 2c Worth.

Phil

i just bought an es300 and was wondering what some of the easiest things to do first to it to make it better since im still in highschool?

Wash it. Wax it. Clean it. Enjoy it.