ArmyofOne

have you considered cold cathode...? I did cold cathode coutesy and map lamps in my contour, and i gotta tell you, it worked pretty good.

i wouldnt worry about fixing it until one of the following happens: you either: A) start leaking power steering fluid from it or B) Feel looseness or play in the steering. i would get it through autozone, not advance. just personal prefernece relaly.

piece of cake in my 1990 ES250. ← Looks like all you have to do is disconnect from cat on one end..and from the exhaust the other end..or is there more..? ← not sure, my exhaust goes OVER my transaxle, i simply undid my oil pan and redid it. see:

piece of cake in my 1990 ES250.

LoveLext, this would be the Rack and Pinion...and THAT is expensive... let me check... the boot itself is $12. however it will tkae 8-10 hrs of labor to gt to it, remove the boot and put the new one on, and then reinstall. a new rack (qhich will have to be done eventualkly, might as well do it now) will be...about $900. you have to buy it piece by pice at Discount toyota aprts. iron toad is the smae way, have to buy piece by piece in this case. Autozone.com has it for: $469.99 witha $165 core value. http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?U...RACK+%26+PINION labor for Removal and install on a LS400 is about 2.5 hrs.

On an LS? it has boots? if this is on the rear(and it has to be), and the LS does have Independant Rear Suspension (wasnt aware that it did), then the only thing i can tell you is go somewhere like autozone. the fact that its aftermarket (IN THIS CASE) will have little to do with reliability. your mechanic is right though, in my experience, people who Re-pack CV joints, ususally dont have a great sucess rate. im looking up prices right now. if you must have OEM, cause you like to waste money (j/k) ;) , then go here: Discount Toyota Parts, Austin TX they are the cheapest OEM option AFAIK. i am checking prices at autozone right now for you. EDIT: Prices are: http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker/?...E%29&PageSync=3 Lifetime warranty, remaned Axle, left side, $99.99 with a core value of $45. sas i said, in this case, remaned is the best way to go. it should last just as long. and if it doesnt, you cna replace it 3-4 times and still not have paid as much for ONE axle from lexus. Autozone only carries remaned in this case. good luck.

Definately struts. i hope you dont have air suspension. do this, go outside and push the front of the car down hard and hold it (careful not to dent or scratch). then let it back up. how many times does it bounce up and down? if more than 2-3 i would say you are due for struts. My car is smaller than your, but believe it or not, it still weighs 4,012 lbs according to its door sticker. On the ES, especially the first gen (mine), the car is simply too heavy for the shock, so you get alot fo bottoming out. i probably bottom out once a month on freeway dips, but i dont have a bit of problem with spongynes fo the shocks, and now after my $1300+ bill from JPI i have no more clunking (not saying yours will be that much, i had ALOT wrong with mine) either. it just bottoms out. i have driven one other ES250 and it has the same issue. there is nothing abnormal about it. as for your squeaks, this reinforces my opinion that the shocks are shot. replace with OEM if you do not hae air suspension. get them from the site i mentioned above. Seems like in the ES, the suspension was the week point, or at least in my gen. the struts just cant support the weight of the car. I hope (for your checkbooks sake) you have regular struts and not the air suspension. if you have the air suspension, it could cost you up to $600-$800 per strut. easily looking at $2,000 by the time its all said and done. if you have this option, best bet woudl be to replace with regular OEM shocks. if you dont, try my test and see how the shocks are.

guessing then that the ES doesn't have the powered self dimming rear view mirror? ← it should, my concorde has it. when you say powered, do you mean able to move with a switch, or powered as in, has electricity going to it...if its the latter then my concorde ahs it, if its the first one that scratch that.

sounds like you may have blown your amp.

about mine? not sure. it was around $1500 when i bought it.

if you intend to remove the roof lining anyways, take it to an upholstery shop and spend the $250 US to have it reupholstered professionally, and be doen with it for another 10-15 years. as i said, there are a few things you can do to slow thsi process down, btu it will eventually happen again. In the US, i look at it like this: In the northern US, the cars rust out usually before 10 years because most people dont care enough to get the salt off and spend 2 days a year cleaningt he undercarriage of their car. In the southern US, Heat ruins a cars interior, and sunlight ruins the paint. so doesnt relaly matter where you go, you will be hardpressed to find a car without SOME kind of asthetics problem. and if you do, you will pay dearly for it. May i suggest looking for a high heat adhesive? most adhesives garuntee their ability to adhere at 120F. most cars in the souther US (let alone austrailia) get MUCH hotter than that inside, especially in the summer months. another thing that helps, is let the heater gradually warm up the inside of the car in winter. the sudden heating fo things liek dashbaords and headliners is not good for them.

Wont even bolt up. With the addition of a passenger side airbag, i am pretty sure the mounting locations changed as well.

I'm not sure about the 'testament to Lexus' part. Seems to be more a testament to how you (and the previous owner(s) if any) took care of the car. I couldn't personally live with cloth - not with kids in the house. ← Thats the funny part. this car wasnt maintained at all.it was just 2 old farts that owned it, then never changed the tranny fluid in the 12 years they had it...scared now? i was when i found out...after i paid for it. he also never did any kind fo interior work, if you look closely, you can see serious heat warp on the dash. cuased by not protecting it with armor all or something. ← ← no, it actually doesnt, its there in case i need it. its a Kroger Plus card (Grocery Store Discount Card). also gives me 3 cents a gallon off of gas. ask Blake, this car is as rattle free as it was when new. he drove it quite a good distance. I used to have a ford contour, i knwo all about rattles.

Yes, i have to agree with Gumart, Steve. You have the best looking 03 ES on the site IMO. :)

No, it wasnt an airbag issue. It was actually the rack and pinion. i will PM you with the details so as to keep the thread intact. :)

that is an AWESOME deal. you paid $900 more for yours than i paid for mine...and mine was a pile of *BLEEP* when i got it. you dont even want me to start. since i got mine, i was rfunded nearly the entire purchase price (thansk to my lawyer who found an undisclosed saftey issue) and have since spent about $2,000 in repairs. about to spend another $1,000 in a few weeks. god luck with your rare lex, welcome to the club. mine is pretty rare as far as es's go. post a pic or to eh?

I posted it in general discussion because more people go there than here. but ok...whatever works i guess... ← Allow me to say it, becuase i havent said it already, ALL DFW CHAPTER MEETS ARE OPEN TO ALL CURRENT AND FORMER LEXUS OWNERS, (and anyone else with a really cool car LOL). I will have a football this time guys. And hopefully a MUCH better camera. and a non leaking car. LOL. I will also be able to stay fro the entire meet. LOL. we have a few options as to where we can hold the meet, so heres my take: We can do it in the same place as last time. It was a nice park. It was River Legacy West park in arlington. We can do it at Arcadia Park in Ft. worth (kind fo a hike for all of you though, so i dont want to do this one if its an inconvieneice, and it probably is. LOL) We can do it in the parking lot of my College. on a saturday there wont be many cars. Still a hike for most fo you though. You all expressed that you wanted to have it closer to dallas after the last meet...problem is, i dont know anything about dallas. so you all will have to provide me with some suggestions. I have heard something recently about Fair Park. is that a subdivision? or an actual park? [Dr. Evil] Throw me a frickin bone here, ok? [/Dr. Evil] LOL so the list is: 1. ArmyofOne-Josh 2. Blake918 (LexusOwnersClub)-Blake 3. JPI-Jason 4. southernsc-derek 5. 1QWKLEX-Tom 6. HoeBag-Chethan* (hope i spelled that right ) 7. UTGS400* *=Possibly

I'm not sure about the 'testament to Lexus' part. Seems to be more a testament to how you (and the previous owner(s) if any) took care of the car. I couldn't personally live with cloth - not with kids in the house. ← Thats the funny part. this car wasnt maintained at all.it was just 2 old farts that owned it, then never changed the tranny fluid in the 12 years they had it...scared now? i was when i found out...after i paid for it. he also never did any kind fo interior work, if you look closely, you can see serious heat warp on the dash. cuased by not protecting it with armor all or something.

Welcome, is it an auto or a manual?

I posted it in general discussion because more people go there than here. but ok...whatever works i guess...

Thanks. Any specific manufacturer of Bluetooh technology that you have experience with? ← MOTOROLA. :D

Ah! he speaks the truth! finally we agree on something. LOL when i bought my car it was a little below the add line, still working fine. i keep it full all the time now, but it wasnt when it was delivered to me.

Get on AIM you knucklehead! Or call me at my house...you have been recruited to help me organize LOL! PS: Heres pix from the Christmas Meet! Peter Farell Supercars IS300 Panoramic Not a very great group pic... So: 1. ArmyofOne-Josh 2. Blake918-Blake ← The list is growing LOL! 1. ArmyofOne-Josh 2. Blake918-Blake 3. JPI-Jason 4. Southernsc (Clublexus)-Derek

mine has done it on the sunroof panel...but i have an ES. Humidity is a BIG factor, as is heat. to keep heat and humitidy from building up inside your car and causing this over the years, do 3 things: Get the Darkest Window Tinit as is allowed in your area Use a Sunshade in the front Windshield leave a window or 2 cracked when the car is parked. this will keep excess heat and pressure from building up inside your car. on an 85 degree day, the inside fo a black car can reach well over 120F. that is wayyyyyyy over tolerance levels for most adhesieves.

Get on AIM you knucklehead! Or call me at my house...you have been recruited to help me organize LOL! PS: Heres pix from the Christmas Meet! Peter Farell Supercars IS300 Panoramic Not a very great group pic... So: 1. ArmyofOne-Josh 2. Blake918-Blake