ArmyofOne

i'm sure she will, the idea of not putting a trans in ever 15-20K is appealing to her too. :chairshot: :)

I fthey wont let you watch them do the tint, dont let them do it. ask them how long it takes, if they say less than 2 hrs, then dont let them do it. ask them if they use a computerized cutting system or if its done by hand, if its not computerized, i wouldnt use them unless they have demonstrated their skills adequately in the past. window tint is one of those things, if its done quick, its not done well. dont get the $99 dollar job either, cause thats what yu will get. ask them what kind of film they use, if they say anything other than 3M or Llumar, RUN FAR AWAY.

Thanks once again Toys! I've got my work cut out for me. I'm off work all next week :D so I'm hoping to get a lot done. damn you brandon, you only got here before i did! LOL.

As i said in the thread on electric superchargers:

Why don't you just remove the cats? thast what i would have said. more perfoemance if you gut them completely. to eliminate the CEL, i believe you can "piggyback" the circut so it reads from an O2 sensor on the manifold...PM Toysrme abotu that.

Remove the CEL bulb and go about your merry way. No, seriously, dont do that. if the light is on, there is something wrong. code 52= Knock Control Signal. If the engine is running fine, chances are its not the computer. go from there. try switching fuels (works sometimes, especially for the knock sensors, the higher octane will cause the light to go out.) or isolate the sensor thats the problem, by doing a resistance and voltage test. Go over here: Toyotanation.com and ask about the CEL, they can explain it to you in more detail as a few of them have the FSM's for the car. i have one too, but its in NY and im in TX at the moment LOL. or if you would rather i can ask the question and post the results. I have rebult this car from the ground up and know more about them than most people around. If i dont knwo the answer, rest assured i can find it out for you. Fell free to PM me for anything, anytime.

Interior Shots, much better quality that the Kodak. Best pic so far: In the texas sunset:

More pix guys, Im loving the new camera! Freshly "Joshu-ized" (what i call my detailing process): A good shot, i dont knwo why, i just like it: Gauges

Wow, my info does help people LOL. Iam "that army guy" ;) the RMS is a fairly complicated repair. expect it to run you between $650 and $800 for that repair alone. at a toyota dealer, expect all those other repairs to run well over $1,000 altogether. i think a TB/WP is like $700 by itself. I noticed you are in houston. Drive it up to Jason at JP Importz here in Dalas Texas (im here right now on leave). He is a 3.5 hr drive and will save you tons when you tell him i sent you. BUT...if you dump $1800 into this car now, it is justified, you know how its been maintained, and dumping money inot another car will be a gamble. Fix it, consider it maintenance and move on. almost EVERY Lexus has a Repair bill over $1,000 at least once in its life. its becaus we as americans tend to let things go until they become problems. My ES250 had so much wrong with it, i ended up paying over $4,500 in repairs, and i still wasnt finished. That was kinda stupid, but a fun project. If you put $1800- $2,000 into this car, it should last another 5-10 years before it needs that much again.

start with checking the fuses, all of them, as many times multiple fuses are involved with multiple accessories. steviej even if they dont look bad, i would replace them. fuses can be bad without looking bad. and monarch, who in the HELL would pay $7,000 for a gen 1 LS4 when they can get a gen II with 80K for 10-12? even in the BEST, most pristine condition, a 90 LS4 should only run $4,000...MAX.

PIX! Gauges off: Gauges on: I love the way the gauges fade on when you start the car. and now, the money shots! I like it, but the hubcaps (snap on wheel covers) HAVE to go!

Its peppy, it surprised me.

Replace your serpinitine belt first, it may be slippig. have you noticed a drop in your voltage lately? otherwise it may be the compressor. my ES250 did the same thing in the rain, would flash for a few minutes. If you switched it off and then back on it worked normally. but then sometimes int he rain it wouldnt work at all. i replaced the serp belt after i fixed the oil leaks and it never came back. the owners manual stated: "If the light blinks steadily for any amount of time, consult your lexus dealer for A/C System Service."

After the 4th transmission replacement (now needing a 5th) in 70,000 miles, my mother had enough of her 2002 Chrysler Concorde Limited. Wednesday night she picked up a 2005 Toyota Camry XLE. it has the 4 cylinder, but its decently peppy. Im just happy she now has a dependable car that wont break down every 2-3 months with a major hassle. I'll have pix up ASAP as i am home on leave for 6 days. heres the options though: Silver metallic Cloth interior (leather int he texas heat burns her skin she didnt want it) Real Wood Trim. 6 disc In dash changer with JBL audio premuim sound system. Dual Zone climate control (pretty sure thats standard now) Dual power seats Sunroof (wil be dealer installed on the 3rd of january, currently doesnt have one) Sunshade in rear window (not sure if its power or not, havent looked) Foglights VVT-i (again, standard i think) ABS (stadard again LOL) its nicely equipped, but not loaded. the only reason she didnt get the leather is because of her location. I'll get pix up as soon as i can. its a used car with 18,001 miles on it on delivery. finall something she can own thats hassle free.

everyone here knows what tires i reccomend. :D Falken Zeix ZE-512. probably better ones out there, but they are an incredible bargain, they look nice and they are quiet! excellent grip too!

what i mean is, if you go to a service center and say you want a trans flush, they flush the trans with new fluid at well over 100 PSI. that will quickly demolish most trannies much over 3 years old. 10-15 psi is about the most you want to use.

there is a harmless way you can do it, but only if the tranny fluid looks red, if its black or even slightlky discolored use the method detailed above. otherwise, buy about 20 quarts (4 cases) of ATF. drop the pan and clean it the magnets and replace the fliter (this model has no screen, its an actual filter that can be replaced). put a new gasket with RTV on and bolt her back up. take off the drain plug, pour fluid through the trans until the fluid that comes out to bottom is cherry red. once it is, put the plug back in and refill to proper level. you just did a non pressurized flush which is 10x better that a pressurized one is for your trans. DO NOT powerflush your trnany, ever. Army, Are you saying that pouring new fluid through the dipstik will push out ALL the old fluid out via gravity? not all, but some. you will have to do it again. if you really want all the old out, you have to put some air in there, blow through the dipstick, (laugh, but it will work) or something of that nature. just make sure its completely empty when you refill. just dont use highly pressurized fluid. what works evenb better is to put trans fluid in a pump and squeeze it through. It worked on my ES250, may not work ont he 300. never tried it. the 300 has a much larger tranny. simply using gravity probablyw ont work on the es3. it does ont he 250 though, i had to blow on the dipstick a little. but once the tranny was completely empty, all i did was refill. same concept. sorry for the confusion.

The 430 has a 3uzfe not 1uzfe. ;) I was always told and everything I've read says that the 95-97 is a noninterference. But, who really knows?!?! thanks blake, sorry! LOL had a brain !Removed!! haha.

there is a harmless way you can do it, but only if the tranny fluid looks red, if its black or even slightlky discolored use the method detailed above. otherwise, buy about 20 quarts (4 cases) of ATF. drop the pan and clean it the magnets and replace the fliter (this model has no screen, its an actual filter that can be replaced). put a new gasket with RTV on and bolt her back up. take off the drain plug, pour fluid through the trans until the fluid that comes out to bottom is cherry red. once it is, put the plug back in and refill to proper level. you just did a non pressurized flush which is 10x better that a pressurized one is for your trans. DO NOT powerflush your trnany, ever.

Not nessicarily 90LS400, i have seen some pretty serious collisions in my life, and i have seen some miraculous repairs. that one is a total, rest assured, but if it was a $70,000 2006 LS430, 20K would fix it. maybe a little more. the insurance woudl rather pay 20K to have it fixed than $70,000 to payout. know what i mean? Not saying ti would happen, just saying i ave seen cars worse than that come back from the dead. they can do amazing things with laser jigs and frame straightening machines.

Wanda, Good to hear from you once again, could you confirm, if it's not much to ask for, what 1UZFE means? I would guess it's the engine model? 4.0 V8? I guess it gets tougher to understand the more I seem to ask. I'm still where I was before. Some of us that are not that smart :chairshot: deeply rely in such expertise that we can find through the Lexus Owners Club site, however, there is sometimes conflicting information that I see between some (not all) discussions that may be applicable to my vehicle, and therefore I have to revert to the "go ask the Dealer" mode, and it stinks, since it's pricey. However, I service my car there for things that I don't understand or can't reach. Plus I go get a car wash once a week, so it is easy to mingle with the Reps at Lexus and ask these silly but legitimate questions. I understand that taking it to the dealership for service is the most expensive way, but sometimes you have to play it safe. To answer your question on the type "T" fluid (Not ATF type "T") which is the Approved Power Steering Fluid according to both Toyota and Lexus, no, it is not the same person, this was the parts dept. at Park Place Lexus in Grapevine TX. 1-888-354-7182 In respect to the Service Rep that told me the timing belt being critical due to interference, it was 2 of them, also with Park Place Lexus in Grapevine. Who do you suppose could probably confirm this info? Regards! Tex O'DeLuxe Let me see if i can help. 1UZ-FE = 4.0L/4.3L V8 Engine Designation #. Lexus uses corresponding #'s in their lineup for model designations. for instance, the LS400, has a 4.0L V8, hence 400. the LS430 has the 4.3L v8, hence 430. the ES300 has the 3.0LV6 the ES330 has the 3.3L V6, the GX/LX 450/470's share the 4.5L/4.7L V8 out of the toyota tundra, which is a derivative of the 1UZ-FE. The ES250 has the 2.5L 2VZ-FE. Hope this helps, they are simply numbers to designate engine models, lexus just happens to correspond their names fo the vehicles with the size of the engine. the 1990-1997 LS400 is non interference. i can confirm. if you still dont believe me, call JP Importz and ask for Jason, 214-221-3135. For future reference, i would take my car there since you are local. he is in garland off of security st. (i used to live in ft worth). his website is www.jpimportz.org He is by far the best toyota/lexus tech around. especially for the money.

oops, requesting a title change please! LOL... you dont want these turbos, they are too big...basketball sized.

Dont worry, i have supervisors approval to post, no classified material here. My Barracks LMTV Cat turbo diesel, inline six. Humvee in for glow plugs My tool bench Soldier working on his rig (HMMWV) Humvee, in for service. LMTV (2.5 ton truck) in for transmission/transfer case swap. more to come. I told ou all i had a nice tool kit. its the only thing the army gave me that i get to keep when i go :)

LOL, i had 15" wheels ont he ES too LOL. the contour had steelies for awhile though! haha.

Are you making fun of my escort? LOL I dont have any leaks, i dont have steelies, they are 15" wheels, i can do alot more than 45, and the headwork didnt cost that much. :D but humvees...yeah, they leak, its a fact fo life. LOL. Im going to Baghdad, Iraq. Not afghanistan this time around. Not only are we mountian infiantry, but we are light infantry, and as such easily moved from one place ot another, we take only what we can carry.