juanspagan

The transmission and differential probably have separate drain plugs, but both are re-filled by pouring new fluid through the transmission dipstick tube.  If you want your  transmission and differential to last many hundreds of thousands of miles, drain the transmission oil pan and differential every 10,000-15,000 miles.  The fluid can be found cheap in 1 quart bottles at the Parts Dept at Toyota dealers.

About every 150,000 miles remove the transmission oil pan and clean the magnets and metal mesh filter screen.  Both can be reused after cleaning.

The transmission fluid cooler is built into the radiator.  Therefore it is important to keep the radiator clean internally and externally.  For the internal part, simply drain and refill the radiator with the factory original coolant mixture (50% Toyota Long Life Antifreeze and 50% distilled water every 2 years / 30,000 miles, to keep the insides of the cooling system immaculately clean.  For the exterior part, remove the radiator about every 100,000 -150,000 miles and clean off the accumulation of bugs and dust http://www.saber.net/~monarch/radjunk.jpg

No "flushing" of the cooling system or tranmssion is needed - it just makes big money for the service shops, plus the shops will refill with aftermarket brands of coolant and tranny fluid which could be harmful.

The factory Maintenance Schedule lists the MINIMUM amount and frequency of maintenance required to keep the drivetrain warranty in effect.  It is not the OPTIMUM schedule for long component life, although it is adequate for owners who plan to sell / trade their cars every 100,000 - 150,000 miles.

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:) Dear Monarch:

The ES 300, 1992 diferential is filled at a side plug at the diferential itself, not at trans. dipstik tube. I do agree on everything else you state. Juan

Two whole days of good weather ?  is that summer ?  :D

Very nice job.

The whole cute niece on the scooter so close to the car made me a little nervous !

George

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I'm afraid it may have been :(

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Dear Mattew:

Great job! Your car looks beautiful.

I have a 2000 Lexus ES-300 with about 45,000 miles on it.  When purchased the local Lexus dealer provided their own recommended Maintenance Schedule for various time and milage periods. At 45,000 miles, this schedule recommends a Automatic Transmission Service. I called the dealer's service department and they said this involved draining the fluid and replacing it with a fresh charge.  I called several other transmission specialists and some have special equipment for draining and flushing plus removal of the pan and replacement of the filter. Their prices were about the same as Lexus, although it seems like they would do a lot more.

Then I read the 2000 Lexus Owner's Manual Supplement: Warranty, Maintenance and General Information booklet that came with the car.  At 45,000 miles it says only to replace the differential oil (not the automatic transmission fluid) but "only if vehicle is primarily operated while towing a trailer or using a camper or cartop carrier". I don't engage in these special operating conditions so I interpret this to mean no such service is needed or adviseable. The manual continues to the 150,000 mileage level with only one reference to just inspecting the automatic transmission fluid.

I take it from this that nothing needs to be done with regard to the transmission maintenance. Would appreciate your thoughts or experience in this regard.  :(

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I change the transmission fluid every 10,000 miles. In my case I drive my Lexus (one 1992, and a 2004) at city traffic. Two times a year change of trans. fliud will be fine, if the use of your vehicle is not "stop and go". Once a year I take the fluid trans. crank out, instead of draining it. By doing this I will take out more used fluid, clean the trans. filter, magnet (has at least one to prevent metals flowing with the fluid). If the fluid in your car trans. is not like chery color, CHANGE IT as soon as possible. My ES 300, 1992 has 115,800 miles and never had a trans. problem. Check the type of fluid needed. The owners manual or the trans. dip stik will indicate fluid type. My 2004 uses Toyota Type 1V fluid, while my 1992 uses Dextron. The only way to prevent trans. problems is by an agressive preventive maintenance. Hope this helps, juanspagan

If your trans fluid looks more black than red than yes it is time to change it. Do the flush and fill and fill with toyota trans fluid this will certainly help.

JT

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If changing the transmision fluid you should use Toyoya Type 1V transmision fluid. Try to take out all the old fluid. If the crank is taken out, clean the filter and the crank. I put an outside transmision filter to prevent metals from flowing.

I purchase one ES 330,2004 from a Miami, Fl dealer that used Ebay :D .  The price and the car were very good.

I purchased my 97 ES300 on eBay in June 2003 from a company in Florida.  The nice thing for me about buying on eBay is that many of the cars are from warm areas like Florida, so you don't need to worry about the salt factor (except from the ocean).

My parents have also purchased 2 cars on eBay, so we have done this 3 times now.  Usually shipping will cost somewhere from $650-950, depending on distance.  I would be willing to bet that it is higher now because of gas prices.

Make absolutely sure to speak with the dealership or private party.  As mrsel3 said, ask a ton of questions.  Ask for all original documentation, if possible.  Look closely at the pictures.... usually, the more pictures, the more trustworthy. 

Make sure to look at their feedback score.  If it is under 95%, I would be cautious. 

As for taxes, I purchased my ES300 for $10,300 (86k miles) back in June 2003.  We managed to talk the guy down from $10,900.  It is very important to find a good shipping company... the company I went with last time was very professional and I was really impressed.  Let me know if you want the company's contact information.  Keep in mind that most sellers will assume that *you* will arrange for shipment.  It is merely a courtesy if they provide you with the name of a shipping company.  But even if they do, shop around and get quotes.  Most of the shipping rigs make trips around the country and it will really depend on the timing.  When I bought my ES, it took about 3-4 weeks to receive it because the shipping company had already been to Florida very recently beforehand.

The one thing about buying on eBay is that you are buying the car without test driving it or even seeing it in person.  It is a bit risky, but I think it's well worth the risk.  At the time, I would have had to pay around $13k for the same car that I bought for $10,300, so I got a great deal on it. 

Regarding payment, we wired the money to the dealership after the car was purchased.  (By the way, if I can remember correctly, we did not purchase the car by bidding... the time had expired and the bidding had not met the reserve price, so we called the dealership and worked something out.)  We sent a down payment to the shipping company (about $150) and paid the remaining balance (about $500) when the semi truck dropped the car off.  Later that day, we went to pay tax and license fees.  I remember that the licensing was around $100 and the tax was something like $700 I think.  I am not aware of any penalty for purchasing a vehicle from out of state, but I could be wrong.  I would call your local county service center and ask them, because it may be county-specific.

Personally, I would definitely buy on eBay again.  You can save A LOT of money by doing so and while the shipping, tax, and license (and inspection if you choose to do so) will cost some money, you will more than likely still come out saving money in the end.

If you want any more information about it, let me know and I can email you or talk with you.  We have done this with 3 vehicles so I am relatively familiar with it.  I also have all of my original records from purchase and I can break down the exact price if you would like me to.

-Chad

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It basically is 4-5 inches long

about 3 inches in diameter

looks kind of like an accoridan

It is a fluid filter for trannies and has an internal magnet to catch any extra metal debris as well. The magnet is just a bonus as the 3 in the pan are pretty good already.

It takes about 20 minutes to install on the tranny cooler return line attached to the rad. This line is needed as the tranny fluid needs to be heated to operate properly not jsut being cooled so it is dual purposed.This is why i did not add an external cooler also as the stock one is fine and i have a tranny temp gauge to monitor it anyway for problems.

To install it you need to disconnect one of the 2 lines from the cooler.

Basically the filter is directional so it has to be hooked up with the flow of fluid not backwards. Warm fluid is less viscous so i placed mine on the return line from the cooler as i mentioned it also heats to operating temp. This way i don;t have cloggin issues from cold fluid. Mine came with an extra hose so i did not have to cut any hoses. Basically i attached on one end to the old hose and connected it to the supplied hose and the cooler. Then tightend the 3 worm clamps and i was dones.

3 weeks later  the improvment was drastically better.

I would no longer have my cold shift points of 1-2 at 5000rpms but back to where it shoudl be at 2000-3000 when cold.

It has progressivle gotten better since then as well.

For $50 i saved my tranny and plan on changing the filter shortly and cutting the old one open because i liek to do that sort of thing.

So all in all 20 minutes of time and $50 is a great investment.

I explained this to a few people but will mention it again.

The reason why so many of us have tranny problems is not the actually bad tranny but an infeior filter. The metal mesh sceen used on the a541e tranny is crap. It cannot catch the small particles which then clog the valve body. This becomes compounded by drivers who do not warm up the cars properly as it makes the cold fluid even harder to get by the vavles and check balls in the valve body. Thus creating less force on the clutch plates making them slip and creating mroe debris the mesh can't stop . So you end up with a dead tranny or at the very least a bad slipping between 1-2 and kickdown.

hope this makes sense

the first pic atached is of the filter mounted to the frame under the battery

the second is a further back picture so you can see the location more in relation to the engine

the third is one looking down from the front of the battery.

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I will like to purchase a RX 330 2004 Florida area. Any sugestions on price or dealer will be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Juan

:cries: My ES 300, 1992 (Pioneer) CD Player plays sometimes. When it plays the #2 Cd will not play. The cassette player does not play anything. Will any of you mates will suggest on who to sent it for repair, or what aftermarket CD and cassette player will work with the original control instruments. Thank You

I had the same problem with my ES300, 1992. The casu was the air intake hoose broken. After replacement it is perfect

I would suggest cleaning the ege as it sounds like it is having a problem moving the engagment valve to open and close ,alittle different from the 97 and ups since they are mainly contributed to their iacv for issues.

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engagement valve?? forgive my n00bness, but i have never heard this term before...

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The hesitation problem was caused by the air intake hoose broken. Thank You All

check the timing or a broken rotor or cap

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Check that your EGR valve is not coming on when the engine is cold.

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Mates:

:cries: I am having a problem with my ES 300 1992. When engine is cold the idling has a missfire. Can anyone suggest the cause, please . Thanks, Juan

a clear bra would definately work

there is also a clear material (sticker type) that  will ahear to any part of your car, ie....headlights, bumper, ect......you cut it to the shape you need and apply.....it will protect any part of the car from rock chips, bugs ect..........

i can't remember the company that makes it, give me some time and i'll post the

website

here is one kit made by 3M, but there are many others

http://www.clearmask.com/aboutourkits.htm

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I thank you all. Just bought the "Clear Mask" from 3M. Expensive ($159.70) ;)

I just bought a new car. All of the sudden became aware of stone chips on the front. Can you prevent this? How? :cries:

Go here for the Porter Cable instructions:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/inf-pc7424.html

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I thank you all for your information. I look forward to learn by doing. Thanks again, juan

Was told by a friend that he heard that car dealers often use WD-40 to clean the engine compartments up.  I had never heard this before...anyone heard or done this?

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I've been using it for 10 years now. Works perfect, loosens rust, protects rubber and leaves a good clean shine.

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I use WD-40 to dress the engine area (rubber and metal) after washing (degrease and wash). Looks real good and makes the engine area shine like new again.

I have a Dewalt Rotary Polisher and just bought a Porter Cable 7424. Can someone explain the uses for each of these polisher in detailing cars. Do you need them both?

Dear Steviej:

Thank tou very much for your answer to my request on Shop Manual. I think you are right. Juan

I will like to buy a Repair Shop Manual for 2004 ES 330.

The accesories are only available in this Special Edition. That is why it is called:"Special Edition". They are not factory options you can sellect. In any event, this top (carriage Top) looks very nice, but maybe not as durable as I will like it to be, Thank you, Juan

I just bougth a 330 2004 (Special Edition).  It has a carriage top.

Whoa! I didn't think that was even an option. Was that put on by Lexus or someone else aftermarket?

If your post didn't indicate that you were from Puerto Rico, I would have definitely guessed that you lived in Florida.

Canvas cleaners may work, but be careful about using something too harsh. Some marine cleaners are really strong.

I believe that you can find specific cleaners for convertible tops. These should be gentle enough to use on the top without bleeding any color out of the material and should help protect against UV rays (which I imagine are very strong in PR).

If you plan on owning the car for a long time than I would definitely look into a car cover. Sunlight is murder on woven plastic fabrics (even Sunbrella types). Over time the UV will fade the color and make ithe top very brittle if not protected.

Please post some pictures if you can. I would like to see it.

Dear Mates:

I thank you all for your advice, in particular to bransew, who dedicated many lines of great information. Excuse my late answer, but due to Jeanne (Tropical Storm) I have been very bussy.

Bransew, may I tell you that this is a Specia Edition made by Lexus (not after market). This edition consist of the so called:"carriage top", rear spoiler, chrome weels, and custom stripes. As soon as I can I plan to sent you all a photo.

I just bougth a 330 2004 (Special Edition). It has a carriage top. This top is somethin alike a strong cloth. I will like to know the best way to clean this top