tckcumming

Here's a link to an old thread ... might answer your questions. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...mp;#entry147778 tck...

As the topic says... fluid leaking from the area of the rear proportioning valve. Not sure if it's a brake line, a fitting, or the valve itself. I am sure that removing it to inspect will be opening a whole can of worms that I'm not sure I want to tackle. I took it to a local repair shop that specializes in brakes for a second opinion, they looked at it and recommended I take it to a Lexus or Toyota dealer for further investigation. They admitted that they didn't want to get into the job either, they couldn't even find a part listing for the valve itself, so it would have to be a dealer part anyway. This thing (the proportioning valve) has been a PITA for quite a while. The link between the valve & the rear suspension broke 3 or 4 years ago, of course the link itself cannot be purchased from Lexus, only the entire valve. I eventually just pushed the lever up out of the way and left it disconnected - brakes worked fine, no issues at all. So I just ignored it... until now. Any advice?? tck...

'92 ES300 is filled with R-12 - hard to find and pricey when you do find some. My '93 had the same problem a couple of years ago (no/little cold air), no A/C repair places would recharge with R-12 because it's illegal now (here in Canada, anyway). I didn't want to buy one of those R-12 recharge kits on ebay, so my only option was to convert from R-12 to R-134a refrigerant. I wasn't sure how well this would work, had heard (and read) some stories about this conversion, opinions were both good and bad. I just went ahead and had my ES converted - new refrigerant, receiver-drier, some new o-rings, and that was it. Not expensive (can't remember how much, but I was surprised it wasn't more $$), the shop gave me a warranty and 2 or 3 free visits to check that there were no leaks or problems. AC worked fine after conversion, back to normal. AC still works great, no problems at all. If I had it to do over, I wouldn't mess with trying to find R-12 and recharge it. Just go to a good shop and convert it to R-134a. tck...

I had my '93 ES300 converted to R-134 a while ago (2 years??). Easy for an A/C shop to do. They just pumped out all the old R-12 and oil, changed the receiver/drier and some o-rings and refilled with R-134 and new oil. Original compressor, condenser, etc. left in place and untouched. A/C has worked perfectly ever since, no issues at all. tck...

Just pull the rubber tube off the other end (there's a little spring clamp you might have to squeeze open with pliers). Take it to an auto parts store & buy a new piece with the same I.D. - it's only about 6 inches long. You might also make sure you have the right PCV valve, it should be the same size as the old one. Connect your new hose (use the old clamp), plug the other end into your new PCV and you're good to go. BTW, I always get a Toyota OEM PCV for my Lexus (a few more dollars but WAY better quality) and a new grommet. Put in the new PCV, grommet and vacuum hose all at the same time and then you can forget it for a few years, until it's time for a change again. Lots of mysterious symptoms can be cured or avoided just by changing these 3 simple parts. tck...

The buckle on my '92 cracked when my dimwit relative slammed the car door on the belt - twice! The piece circled in yellow broke right off. lexusbelt.bmp There was no metal underneath that part, just the plastic. I just smoothed the jagged broken ends with a dremel. The rest of the buckle did have a very strong - looking metal substructure under the plastic covering. Dealer wanted a fortune to replace the entire belts, retractor, bolts - everything. I just left it as it was, it looked safe to me. Luckily I never had the chance to find out for sure. tck...

The "cluck cluck" noise is caused by chickens that have snuck into your car and are hiding under your seat. Removal of chickens will stop the noise, as well as possibly making a tasty dinner for you. I couldn't resist after reading your "smart aleck" comment above. Seriously though, as far as the noise goes, a shop will do anything you tell them to do. But it would be a mistake to just change the struts when you take the car in. The new struts might not cure the noise, the noise is just as likely to be coming from worn strut bearings or mounts. Replacing some of the parts and leaving the other old ones in will not save you money, it will end up costing far more. The labor to disassemble and reassemble the front suspension is the major part of the cost, it's best if you only have to do this once rather than over and over again each time something else wears out. Save up until you can afford to get the struts, mounts and bearings all done at once... then you will be "cluck cluck" free for many years to come. As far as the vibration in the gas pedal... I haven't got a clue. Maybe it's rubbing on the engine or something else - could it have been re-routed incorrectly when you cleaned the IACV? Just a guess. Enjoy your chicken dinner. tck...

You know you own a Lexus when... * - You post on a Lexus forum complaining about squeaks, rattles, or worn out parts - without realizing that your car is now 15 years old and has 200,000 miles on it! * - You don't even think twice about taking a 1500 mile road trip over a long weekend in your 15 year old car with 200,000 miles on it. * - Your neighbors all think you make way too much money because you drive such a nice car - they don't seem to notice that it's 15 years old and has 200,000 miles on it. * - You hope to keep your car for 15 more years and put 200,000 more miles on it! tck...

we took the spark plug out, black as hell and then we cleaned it and put it back in for like 30 minutes took it back out and the spark plug was black as hell again. Sounds like a bad injector in cyl. # 6. Black sooty plug = too much fuel in that cylinder, causing the plug to foul. Can be caused by bad spark, too - but switching plugs, coils, wires etc, as you say you have done, should have ruled that out, for now. Try a new injector (or one you know is good) in cyl. # 6 and see what happens. If it fixes the misfire... you're good to go. If it doesn't - then you will know it's probably an ignition problem & needs further detective work in that direction. Just my guess, as usual. tck...

I've had two body shop experiences with my Lexus ES300 ('93). I was rear-ended at a red light, the other car punched a hole a couple of inches wide right through the plastic rear bumper cover, and put a couple of creases in it, too. I was sure it would need a new bumper. I took it to the Lexus dealer's bodyshop. The manager told me that they send bumpers out to an independent shop that repairs and re-paints them. I was skeptical, but when it came back it was perfect, couldn't tell it had ever been touched. Still looks fine today. My second bodyshop adventure... not so good. A neighbor backed into my car, put a dent in the rear left quarter panel. I took it to the same Lexus shop, they took more than a week to fix it. When I went to pick it up, it looked awful. Sanding marks, overspray, dirt in the paint, etc etc. I refused to sign the work order, told them to keep it until it was done right. I drove away in their rental car. Got another call a few days later to come and pick it up. It was better, but still not right. They had cleaned the overspray, buffed the paint... but had done nothing to correct the crappy paintwork and bodywork. I told the shop manager that I could have taken the car to the local high school auto shop class and had better results - he didn't take that too well. I drove off in their rental again, told them to call me when it was done RIGHT. I called my insurance company and told them not to pay the bill until I authorized it. Got a call a few days later from some Lexus rep. He said they had looked at the paint work and had deemed it acceptable, and they wanted their rental car back. I was more than a little upset! I told him that I didn't care what they found acceptable, the only thing that mattered was whether I found it acceptable or not. I was paying (through my insurance), they would do it to my standards, end of discussion. I also told him that my standards were getting higher all the time they kept the car... it had better be perfect the next time I went to get it. Well, they had the car for more than a month in total. I had their rental car the whole time (put about a million miles on it, too). When I went to pick it up the last time, they had quite the wecoming party. Manager, body guys, some guy in a suit... the whole gang was there. I took a LONG walk around the car, crawled underneath, even moved it to see how the light reflected on the paint. This time it really WAS perfect. I don't know what they did differently this time, but the car looked really good. After about 10 or 15 minutes I pronounced that the job was "acceptable" and gave them back their car. They all said "thanks" except suit guy - he just looked annoyed. The moral of my long-winded tale? Don't get taken for a ride. If you're not happy with the work, take it back. Take it back as many times as you have to until you ARE happy. Don't settle for poor quality or excuses. Be polite and cordial, but be a pain in the a$$ until it's right. There are many independent shops that do excellent work, some that don't. Then there are the high priced places (not only Lexus) that try to slide shoddy work out the door because of their name and supposed reputation. Don't assume that you'll get better workmanship just because there's a "LEXUS" (or other) sign hanging over the door. If they promise you something - make them deliver. tck...

I guess I'd better give it a little more elbow grease, as I have tried Meguiar's and it still appears as if its inside. In any case, thanks for your suggs! Here's an old post on this very topic... http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=23160&hl= tck...

Check out this thread from the ES300 forum for some more opinions about this. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...mp;#entry179357 Let us know if you figure out what causes it. tck...

Why the gas milage not improved after I did these many changes on my car? 1.Was this Good Milage what I am getting currenlty(21-22 MPG)? 2.I used to travel with my family 95% of my travel on this car,Does this drop any milage? 3.After I updated I didn't get a chance for having fair driving conditions and Weather too, was this causing any problem in getting more Milage? 4. After I change PCV valve does it improve the Gasmilage? 5. Wasn't any of the above brnaded oils won't improve the gas Milage? Thanks, lexilove. You can't really compare summer and winter gas mileage, in my experience - winter driving is always harder on fuel. My fuel mileage ('93 ES300) always decreases in the winter. I've read that it's because the gasoline sold here in Canada in winter months has a different formulation for winter conditions - easier cold starts, etc. - that results in lower mileage. Don't know if it's true, I haven't done any research on this or anything. But my gas mileage always increases (a little) when the warmer Spring weather returns. Maybe yours will too. Synthetic engine and trans oil, new plugs, new PCV, etc.... all good for your engine's long-term health. You will be able to keep it longer with few expensive repairs if you keep up the preventive maintenance. The only other thing I would do is clean the intake and your idle control valve. Lots of posts here on how to do this. Then you're good to go - just drive it and enjoy! See if your fuel mileage improves in the Spring when warm weather returns. tck...

It's not that simple. You would have to change the seats also, since the cars that came equipped with seat heaters had heating elements enclosed in the seats and backrests. Anyway, why would you want heated seats in San Diego? I went there once to check out the famous zoo and from what I remember it's a pretty warm place, even in winter. Cheers Stephen My previous '92 and my present '93 both had/have heated seats. I'm pretty sure they were standard equipment in Canadian ES300's of that era. Same with the headlight washers - standard in Canada. Can't really see why you would need "bun warmers" in Southern California OR Sydney, Oz - other than the fact that no-one else has them. Now where I live... the temp on Monday morning was -33C (about 28 below F). Talk about freezing your a$$ off! tck...

The key words here are that the belts "don't USUALLY need changing" at this time. 34K is very soon for a belt to start to slip, but it can happen. And you KNOW it will be perfectly fine every time you take it in to the dealer to have it checked, making it very difficult for the dealer's mechanics to do anything about it. Here's a cheap way to find out if a slipping belt is your problem. Buy a little spray can of that "Belt Dressing" stuff at an auto parts store - only a few bucks. DON'T follow the directions on the can. Just put the can in your glovebox or under the seat. Drive the car as you usually do, until it starts making that "squeaky" alien noise. Pull over into a parking lot or some other safe place off the road ASAP. Leave the engine idling, open your hood and take that can of stuff - it usually has a little red tube to attach to the nozzle. If you can still hear the squeaking, spray a short burst or 2 onto the inside of the A/C belt - the V-shaped inner surface that rides in the pullies. If the noise immediately goes away, you have found your problem. Resist the temptation to spray more of the belt dressing stuff on the belt - it will only work for a short time and will make a big mess on your belts and pullies (it's very tacky and gooey, it will coat everything and probably make your other belts slip or cause other problems). A very short burst is all you need. Take your car to a shop and tell them to change the A/C belt and clean the pullies. Any Toyota dealer or independent mechanic who has ever worked on a Toyota can do this, it doesn't have to be a Lexus dealer. Belts are pretty cheap, just replace it instead of messing around with multiple trips to the Lexus dealer to diagnose the noise (you will already have done your own diagnosis with the belt dressing test). You'll save your money and gain peace of mind in the long run. Hope this helps. tck....

Don't be frightened, everything will be OK.... I agree w/ 92lex, carb cleaner could do the trick. Warm up the engine, make sure the A/C is OFF. Use the little red tube on the nozzle and just squirt a little shot at each spot you think a vacuum leak could be. Don't forget to spray a bit around your intake too, even though you've replaced it. And around the brake booster hose. Any change in idle when you spray, you've probably found your leak. I've used this method many times on some of the old beaters I've owned over the years, it usually works. Good luck, and be brave! tck...

Toysrme - How did a valve seal failure cause that kind of damage? Looks more like LOTS of detonation over a period of time. That piston is trashed but good! I had an old British car that had leaky valve stem seals. I just ignored it for a long time, until it was burning oil by the quart (that's a litre here in Canada) and running poorly. I pulled off the cylinder head to have a look. The valve stem seals were really bad (a couple of them had disappeared), but that wasn't the worst of it. The valve stems (especially the exhaust valves) were coated with large lumps of black greasy carbon, from the burning oil. No wonder it ran so poorly. So I'd agree that, if left for a long time, leaky valve seals can cause bigger damage. Not to the exhaust system, but to the exhaust valves and eventually to other parts as well. Once they start to leak, it's all downhill until they're repaired. Only a matter of time. tck... edit... didn't read your previous post before I posted this... not trying to "gang up" or anything. A dropped valve explains the damage - holes in piston and all! Leaky seals usually slowly deteriorate over time, you usually have plenty of warning that bad things are starting to happen. A "fix it now or fix it later" kind of thing. Hopefully it's fixed before the valve falls onto the piston! tck...

Replacing your PCV valve and the grommet it plugs into, as well as the short hose from the PCV to the manifold will go a long way towards ensuring that your new valve covers don't start to leak again for a long time. Cheap insurance and easy to do yourself. MMMMM..... time for a roadside picnic! tck...

My hood stays up just fine in the summer, the struts hold it up perfectly. But as the temperature drops in the fall they don't work as well. In winter (usually very cold here), they do nothing, the hood won't stay open at all. So I have constructed a custom hood prop especially designed to work in cold weather. Custom-fitted to my ES300. Can also be used in summer if desired. It looks good, too - made of exotic hardood. It stores compactly in the trunk when not in use and it never fails. It's a stick about 3 feet long. I'll gladly share exact dimensions and specs for anyone interested in duplicating my invention. tck...

Screw their "specialist". It doesn't take a genius to remove a stuck fastener - just some brute force. Stop by your local muffler shop (Midas, Speedy, whatever) and ask them to put an impact gun on the wheel nuts. They remove rusted/seized/frozen nuts and bolts every day. They'll probably do it for free. Just don't let them tighten them back on with the impact gun. Use a torque wrench. Check the threads on each stud to be sure they weren't damaged by over-tightening. They should be OK. I also smear a VERY small amount of antisieze in the threads and on the tapered face of the lug nut before torquing it down. There are many different opinions about using antisieze on wheel lugs... many people say not to... but I've been doing it for many years with no problems. Just smear a bit on each stud and then wipe most of it off with a rag before you re-assemble - too much will cause your torque setting to be inaccurate. You'll never have a stuck wheel again. tck...

I just had a "brainwave" a few seconds after I clicked the "Add reply" button... If you have a leaky injector (or 2), you would probably get some black or dark smoke on a cold startup. After parking the car for the night, fuel leaks from the leaky injector down into the cylinder overnight, and burns off on first startup. That's where the black smoke comes from. But... the more serious effect of a leaky injector is that the fuel that leaks into the cylinder can also leak past the rings in that cylinder and find its way into the engine sump. Over time (short or long, depending on how much fuel is leaking), the fuel dilutes the engine oil. Oil viscosity drops rapidly as it gets more and more diluted, causing the engine to burn the thinned oil because it's now thin enough to pass by the rings. So your problem might be fuel leaking into a cylinder or cylinders, causing the puff of black smoke AND the burning oil. You should get this looked at ASAP, major engine damage can result if you drive it for a long time like this. An additive of some kind might help "unstick" the injector temporarily, but not for long. The good news is... it's a relatively easy fix if it is a bad injector (or a fuel pressure problem). Much easier than the alternative (rings, valve guides, etc). Of course, I could be totally wrong - just my opinion, as usual. tck... Scrub Hunter - didn't read your reply before posting this one.... seems like you're reading my mind too ( OOOOooooooo - (spooky music)

I've been around awhile, too. Black smoke = fuel mixture problem, running rich. There are many causes for this, all involving fuel system - pressure (too high), injection (leaking injector?), not enough intake air (plugged filter, air intake), vacuum leaks (causing the computer to inject too much fuel), or carburettor (ah, the good old days!). Sometimes poor ignition (fuel in cylinder not burned completely). FYI - I googled "engine black smoke" .... http://www.cabq.gov/aircare/smoveh.html http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/chat/phpB...opic.php?t=2132 http://www.autoupkeep.com/QAfuel.htm#Anchor-54675 http://pages.ebay.com/buy/guides/evaluate-...ne-smoke-guide/ http://www.trustmymechanic.com/troubleshoot_smoke.htm Different makes/models etc., but you get the idea. tck... PS... what year was your Chevelle? I had a '64 Nova, I still have a soft spot for the old Detroit iron.

Does your stereo still work? Mine is killed every time I disconnect the battery, but I know some years don't have this problem. Not sure about '94. I can tell you how to fix it, if that's your problem. tck...

Definitely get this fixed ASAP. It could be a minor alignment problem (fingers crossed), but it could also be something loose or broken or otherwise dangerous. I'm assuming your tires are in good shape and pressures are all in spec? Couldn't hurt to check that first. I would find the very best front end shop in your area and take it there for a diagnosis. The two shops that have looked at it already (your mechanic & the alignment place) are sure to claim that "the other guy did it" - that's just human nature and very common in the repair business, and gets you nowhere. You need a third party that has no axe to grind. Ask around at some local car clubs for the name of a shop they use. People who collect and restore cars are often quite picky and a bit "anal" about getting things done correctly, and therefore are a good source for competent repair shops, in my experience. If you hear the same shop name mentioned more than a few times, that's the place. Take your car there and just tell them what the car is doing on bumps or whatever and let them try to figure out what the deal is. If they DO find something wrong, you can get it repaired and then take the bill back to the other shop and make some noise about a refund. Works sometimes and worth a try. Good luck! tck...

A quart per 2000 mi. is a lot, especially with only 69000 miles on the engine. I never have to add oil to my '93 between changes (5000-6000 mi.) and it has more than twice the mileage yours has. But... Burning oil in an engine creates a bluish-white smoke from the exhaust, it has a distinctive smell too (anyone who has driven an old "beater" will know that smell). Thick black smoke = engine running too rich, too much fuel being injected for the amount of air. Might be 2 different problems. Have you had a tuneup lately? tck...