IanH

I am in Texas, but from England, so am I an English American ? Anyway I am new here so haven't got my personal stuff loaded up yet, this reminds me to do that !!!

I forgot to tell you to unplug everything when doing the tests above. And turn everything off....

Sounds like more than one problem. Ok get the battery charged up, use your battery charger or buy a 6 amp charger and leave it on overnight. Do you have an in-expensive multimeter, Digital, 20V DC range ? If not buy one for under $10... With everything on the car off, disconnect the negative cable from battery. connect the meter switched to DC amps, highest range, between the battery post and the connector. It should read close to zero, now turn the switch to milliamps one step at a time and note the reading. Stop when you get a reading. We are looking for less then 50 milliamps. Post result. now replace your cig lighter fuse. repeat, start at high range and work down. Should be the same.... post result. connect battery back up. put meter across the battery terminals / posts, use 20V DC range. measure voltage...post result. Start car. put meter across the battery, measure voltage, then have some one rev to car to 3000 rpm approx, measure voltage again. post results. Now if all is OK see if the A/C controls are working correctly. If noise is when A/C is off get belt and idler bearing checked.....All I have time for now.

Thanks Smooth1. Anyway to test which at home, or do I need shop equipment? So each caliper has a valve on it? That would make sense. It does not look like either rear caliper is grabbing great. Thanks again. I don't know how far you got with this. Sounds like a seized caliper. If you remove it you can overhaul it or just get a re-built.

Well I can't claim to have needed one for the IS but you can try In approx order of price... IS / Lexus forum classifieds Wrecker yards... use something like car-parts.com... think that's right, find the going price and a yard near you thats got one... I find this site very good.. Or online at rockauto.com Or NAPA or other car part houses. Lastly the Dealership... probably the best part but highest price.

Since the only version sold here in USA is the IS300 you wont find much info here, I suggest you try forums based in UK or Asia. But step back and think about this, you have the mech side, engine mounts, clutch, gearbox and mounts, propshaft etc plus cooling, rad, hoses. Then the electrical, engine harness, ECU, instrument cluster, and harness for the inside of the car to support these changes. So I disagree with you about the cost, although the GTE swap is expensive in some ways its cheaper than this swap because a lot of the peripheral stuff doesn't change.

Yes but its rare !!! so it can command more money now !!!

Well this is fairly simple. here is a link to a sticky in another forum. http://my.is/forums/f115/diy-install-serpentine-drive-belt-minutes-346845/ hope it works ok if not i can cut and paste.

Sounds like the headlight auto level control to me. there are instructions on the forums on how to get this disabled if you search. Mine already was disabled when i brought the car.

Opps yes you have a 2004 !!! early IS300's had CD problems. why not change the changer, it has power !!!

What are you looking for stock 7 inch, 7.5 inch or mixed 7 8 or 9 inch staggered ? What size tires?

Well as always it depends. So to put in perspective, My 200SX SE-R was damaged in a minor accident. Repaired. Then a year later I get rear ended, this previous accident shows up on CLUE and only get offered 2/3 of book because of the previous accident damage. This is from my insurance company !! ( and a different one from the claim !! ) Note it had a clean title !!! So from this and other discussions on the IS forums I would say 50% to 80% of book. Make sure you get the two Master keys and they both work !!!

You know this is IRS not a rigid axle ?

why would an aftermarket one only last 12 -18 moinths ? how about getting a used "good" one from a forum member? check the classifieds there was one for sale here in dallas on craigslist.

The dealer is the easiest, should not be that much. you can check the online Lexus parts sites for a ball park cost.

Welcome. Thanks for searching. As above what bulb is bad, please try to give as much info as possible when posting.

Well mine are very easy to hand lock using the inside knob. So maybe the handle assembly is worn out or jamming. mine has 138K btw, but this may be more years and door uses than miles. I Expect if you disconnected the handle assembly and try and actuate using the rod it will be very difficult. Its hard to imagine its the solenoid is bad, but check any intermediate rods and pivots. I don't know what it looks like in there, but will look at the FSM when i get a chance. Just a side note, i had the first year legacy and the handle assembly would go bad, several were replaced under warranty. Out of warranty I couldn't adjust or fix. very strange. But buy a new handle assembly and rod, don't adjust or touch, drop in, worked great for some more years. and the newer replacements did last longer.

i will hand lock mine to see what they feel like ....

I am only interested in the battery temp, if the car has been off for some time then the ambient approx temp will do. This is so i can check the voltage at this temp if we need too. However based on your reply it doesn't sound like its an electrical/battery/wiring issue at all !! So you are saying the other locks don't feel like this, moving in thick grease ? and at lower temperature they not only work but don't feel like this ? Well it sounds like something is binding in the solenoid/ lock assembly. I would expect something like this with cold not heat. I suggest taking the door panel off the rear door, since you can still drive around for a few days, when its hot enough to produce the symptoms. lubricate the lock mechanism, and check the solenoid action. maybe disconnect the linkage and check each piece. I think it will be obvious when you find it, the solenoid give a hard shove so whatever this is will appear seized to hand movement.

Well an interesting problem, not heard of this before. So what can I say to help you? When you say it 'sticks' can you feel abnormal resistance to locking by hand or by the key ? IE is this mechanical? Well i doubt it but have to ask.. So what happens when electrical stuff gets hot !! Resistance increases, current flow goes down, bad connections get worse. So first thing is to check you battery voltage, everything off and car sitting for a while, say 30 -60 minutes. Digital Multimeter, 20V range, note temperature of battery in case we need it later. Waiting for your reply.

Check your idle control valve, maybe needs cleaning, called IACV on most cars. Not sure what its called on IS300.

Evidently it's died recently. If I know what you need I maybe can upload the corresponding pages. Can you upload to my Skydrive ? I will send the link if you can. thanks Ian. I should be able to. The original download I have are compressed files. well i have the 2005 finally. Is there a link to the wiring diagram somewhere, i have searched and cant find it. If needed I can post the 2005 manual on my skydrive and post a link.

Evidently it's died recently. If I know what you need I maybe can upload the corresponding pages. Can you upload to my Skydrive ? I will send the link if you can. thanks Ian.

opps.... Ok found the owners manual and downloaded and the FSM, Thanks a bunch.

I cant get the link to open, If its good is the forum hiding characters in the address ? Maybe remove the http:// so it doesn't recognize. What year is this for ? Thanks Ian.