ArmyofOne

I must say welcome on behalf of LOC. Im the resident ES250 guru, and a mechanic by hobby. Still learning about the othermodles, but the LS400 is coming up a close second. i learn everything i can from this forum on all the cars, im taking them one at a time. i learned what i needed about my car (what little was out there, most of it i had to learn myself). and now i am moving on to learning about the LS400/430, since this is what will most likely replace my current car in a year or so. spend some time and search random things you are curious about, you will learn alot. there are also many people here available for help. Myself, i am almost alwyas on the forum, SW03ES, blake918(owns an ES and an LS, the LS has the same engine as your GS4 will), SKperformance, and many many other people who probably know as much about these cars as the people who design and build them. Im not there yet, but hope to be someday. My family bacground is in engines and cars, i rebuilt my first car engine at 13ish (i was 12 or 13, dont really remember, long time ago) my father was an Aircraft Mechanic for 20 years (F-15 Eagle) in the air force, during that time he was also a car mechanic/restorer by hobby. later that grew into a semi-sort-of-business, now he restores cars for peopel and makes lots of money doing it. My grandfather (his dad) was a mechanic for a long time (almost 50 years) and my great grandfather (his side) worked on for ford in their infant years. OH, and If you ever need any parts, let me know, as i have a few sources that can get them at whoelsale, or cheaper. :D

http://www.jcwhitney.com

are these carpet covers? or are they vinyl?

That's why I suggest you take your car to your local Best Buy mobile install bay. They do this sort of thing every day for people who buy new stereos and have them installed. Even though you aren't buying a stereo from them, I'm sure they'd be happy to remove your head unit. They have all the tools and their techs are trained on all the lasted cars to work on. They'd probably charge you 50 bucks, but it's better than the $80.00/hr labor rates at the dealer. You can actually call them right now, ask to speak to their mobile install technician, tell him the year, make, and model of your car, and ask how much it would be to just remove the head unit. ← was told by them yesterday, that they will not do an install on this car. the dash and center console have to be removed, as they are a single, integrated unit. what to do next?

Exactly. Also, the Avalon and the LS are completely different. The LS is a larger car with a totally different engine, chassis, suspension, etc. You may find that matching the Avalon to the GS is a better comparison. I have a customer that is a Toyota Dealer who let me test drive a new Avalon about 2 weeks ago and my dad has a '92 LS430 which I have driven on occasion - there is absolutely NO comparison between the two cars. ← is that a 92 LS400, or an 02 LS430? assuming a typo here :whistles: ;) I dont think the GS is even a fair comparison, the car has mor in common with the ES330/Windom/Camry platform than any other car in the lineup. IIRC the Avalon was originally based off the camry, was it not? I know the avalon is now significantly larger than even the ES, but the previous gen wasnt. it was nearly the same size. Oops: researched a little more anf found out it replaced the cressida. More can be read here: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t69081.html

Called the dealer yesterday. service guy said the center console will have to be removed to remove the headunit. this is not something i can do. dont have time or tools. maybe a custom car audio shop will know a trick?

the other issue i have with the avalon is, its still FWD. if i get an LS, the fact that its RWD will play a major role.

how do i get negative 2 private messages? because thats what i have...it says "-2 New Messages"..how is that possible?

dude, your interior is strikingly familiar!!!

You have a PM, Homer said initially around $1200. but then he said it could be as high as $1400, but definately not any higher. he has to calculate the sales tax for your state and shipping costs, but definately no more than $1400. thats for everything you said in your PM. THATS A HUGE SAVINGS for 4 upper and 4 lower control arms(ball joints included), 2 TRE's and that other thing you wanted (forgot what it was at the moment, but i have it in my PM's) Discount Toyota Parts is another source i use, but Homer can usually get everything cheaper, he si the Assistant Parts Manager at a local Toyota dealer. :) so no, DTP wasnt THE source i was initally talking about, but if you want to call homer before you buy and find the best deal, you now have a PM with his contact info :). tell him Joshua Morrison says to hook you up! :)

ah! good link, yes, we were told how to do that, spent a few weeks on it in auto shop, never really did much with it though. but i have seen some goooooood looking body drops. i see this done with sport trucks alot. and lowriders. its still a pretty common practice, but known as Body Drop, rather than channel. am i right?

yep, been there and done that too. ever chop the top on a 48 ford? never really channeeled all that much, what is involved? (PM me if you want). did alot of chop tops and custom molded fronts/rears, like a 59 caddy deville rear on a 57 bel air. that was COOL. B) heh, i was a car plastic surgeon. my dad did mopst fo the work, but i learned SOOOOOOOOO much. ← Not on a '48 Ford, but a '41 Ford convertible. But the biggest thing we did was to the engine & transmission. Full race cam, holly dual carbs on an Edelbrock manifold, put in Lincoln gears into the tranny. It's really hard to remember all the modifications that I used to do on the many cars I've worked on. It was a long time ago. Lot's of stories I could tell. :) BTW: I took a 6" section out of the mid section of a '41 Chevrolet Coupe and also chopped the top about 3". Doing this type of work required welding and leading in. Then plenty of adjusting the window mechanisms. Let's just say, we had the time to do all this stuff. It was fun and also a learning experience. ← ah ok. i was trying to get the context of "channeling" cause nowadays, that term is used alot when converting FWD to RWD, youhave to "channel" the floorpan to create a space for the tranny and driveshaft to clear. you are speaking in terms of the old school. i have done some of that too, but not too much exp in channeling. I do rememebr one time, we cut 2 of the early 90s bonnevilles (FWD) in half, and welded the 2 fronts together. this was a project in high school auto shop. never did get it to work quite right, the steering mechanisims were weird. we ended up goiong solid axle on one end, but it was FUNNY! we painted it all up, put rims on it and set it out in front of the school. it was great! we used it in the football games and stuff!

yep, been there and done that too. ever chop the top on a 48 ford? never really channeeled all that much, what is involved? (PM me if you want). did alot of chop tops and custom molded fronts/rears, like a 59 caddy deville rear on a 57 bel air. that was COOL. B) heh, i was a car plastic surgeon. my dad did mopst fo the work, but i learned SOOOOOOOOO much.

no, i do, i did it with the charger :) (the laquer paintjob)

no you stick the CD in the slot and it sort of sucks it in...if that makes sense.

the CD is in one piece (AFAIK) it just had a crack in the middle, i think around the inner part, where you would normally clip it into say, a personal CD player. i havent tried tweezers, but i will.

sounds like a restore project on your hands. similarto what im going through. let me know if you need help finding cheap parts gumart, i know the Assistant parts manager at Toyota/Lexus of Irving, and i can get virtually anything at wholesale prices.

yes as it gets older its wind noise will increase. i probably need new weatherstipping all around, even though mine is soft and in good condition.

Of course you should wax the car. dont listen to them. i dont get dealers sometimes.

ok, go here: http://www.discounttoyotaparts.com select your year and make. Click on the circle that says "collision parts". then select your model. then go: Front suspension--->Suspension Components (not "shocks and suspension compoinents")--->Upper Control Arm. repeat procedure for other parts. if you want me to get them from my guy, i can, but you will have to PM me as i will need personal info (Phone #, adress, things of this nature). if you go here you can do it yourself, for almost the same price (literally a difference of like $20). #8 is another $178 per side. Outer tie rods are $38 per side. ill call homer and see what i can do. to save you as much money as possible. EDIT: looks liek i will have to call tomorrow. he is not there today. Pm me with your name and Zip code for shiping costs. i will also need your adress, and a few other things.

Thats right, im an april fools baby. shout out to all my other april fools peeps and all my LOC peeps as well. Happy Birthday to me :D I get to go to fresco's (its a mexican rest.) and its paid for by my family and my lady. Free food! Im 20 BTW. __________________

Honestly monarch, they can and do fail out of the blue. how many times do i have to say this. toyotas arent gods gift to cars. things go wrong on every car, ITS A *BLEEP*ING MACHINE. What kind of warning was it supposed to give? should it speak to the driver saying, "you had better change me...Im going to go out in a few thousand miles" alsniecder, you have a point there, hoever, i dont thinkthat is the case here, as the motor is already knocking. too much oil usually keeps a motor silent as the dead until it spins a rod or main bearing. Lexus4mk25, a new oil pump will run you $126.55 here: http://www.discounttoyotaparts.com/

My brother made a mistake today. My brother took the concorde to the bank today, he currently doesnt own a car. When he came back he informed me he "accidentally" put a cracked CD into the CD player, and now it wont eject. Thats just fine, but this is potenially a $2000 "oops". What a Birthday present huh? So is there any way to manually eject a CD from a factory CD player? My warranty just ran out 450 miles ago...so this could get expensive. I was told by the dealer once already that if anything happened to the stereo, the center console has to be removed to get it out (which i thought was crazy, may not be accurate) and it will cost serious dough. So if i can just get the CD out, that would be great. If I push the eject button, i hear a grinding noise. sounds like plastic gears stripping. The CD player will not even read or switch modes. The car is a 2002 Chrysler Concorde Limited. Should be the same model stereo as is in the higher end Sebrings. it is a single disc, not a changer.

let me make a phone call, you want which parts? dont do anything yet. the upper control arms? thats it? 95 LS4 right? from the link i mentioned on page 1: Upper cntrl arm Right 95-00 List Price: $335.49 Your Price: $251.62 Upper cntrl arm Left 95-00 List Price: $335.49 Your Price: $251.62 i cant get em any cheaper than that, maybe $20, but you will pay that in shipping. Its #5 right?

Thanks for the quick reply mehullica, When you say air flow meter are you refering to the mass air flow sensor? If so this was supposedly cleaned and checked. if you are not refering to the mass air flow sensor, could you give me a idea where this animal is located. i have looked in my service book that i have and i cant find a airflow meter. Thanks Todd ← yes, the mass airflow sensor.