SRK

Do not underestimate the resilience of the Japanese. They will be affected for sure, but will begin rebuilding almost immediately. They are not Haitians, but rather a very goal-centered and industrious society. Many parts are in the North American system, and replacements will be only weeks away I am sure.

Lexus/Toyota is very good at providing drains for the rad and the block. The rad one will be obvious, and the block one a bit above the pan rail, at the back. I don't know exactly on the six, only the 8. Even if you get some coolant into the oil, which is nearly impossible to avoid, change the oil at the END of the job, after the coolant has sunk to the bottom of the oil in the pan. That way it will get flushed out when you pull the plug.

I'm glad you fixed it, and at such a good price!

My understanding is that starting in '05 Lexus offered a 72 month, unlimited mileage rust perforation warranty. That may or may not be expired, but it applies only to perforation, not surface rust. As well the selling dealer no doubt allowed you to inspect the car at your leisure, and you made a deal based on that inspection, on a six year old car. That means you are now responsible for any pre-existing defect, not them. They would be very generous indeed to offer any compensation of any kind. And that's only if they are a Lexus dealer - any other dealer cannot be expected to do anything.

As Jim says the transmission will shift later when cold in order to light the converters a bit faster and improve emissions. My GS does it as well. Because of fluid viscosity the shifts are also firmer when cold. As to warm-up you can simply change the coolant thermostat. That's about all there is to delay warm-up.

Denso makes excellent stuff, so the cheaper pump should be fine. The problem is whether the dealer will install customer supplied parts, if that's your intention. If you are installing it yourself, they'll charge you diagnostic time ( gee I love that term....) whereas if they install their own pump they may not. You'll have to ask. Sounds like it's about to be fixed either way.

Well it was a great topic title! As to the question, if your heater core was leaking you'd have a fine scum of coolant on the inside of the windshield. It would be difficult to remove. If that isn't present, then more than likely you have some sort of growth occurring in the heater box/evaporator box itself. There are biocides on the market designed to be fogged into the air intake for the HVAC system, that will kill whatever is growing. It's also possible that something has already died in there, but I doubt it. Smelly AC is a concern in many climates, Canada included. Once cured the best practice is to shut off the AC a few miles from home, run the fan up to full speed, and dry the evaporator core so that no moisture is present, eliminating the "growth medium" for various types of molds and other buggly-duds.

[quote name='landar' timestamp='1297736911' post='429624' With as much sludge as is claimed, did you NOT see some evidence of this "goo" coming out the oil drain plug and around the oil filter port long before it became a major problem? I would think that the evidence had to be plainly visible for many oil changes. An excellent point! Wish I had thought of that myself!

Knock yourself out boy. Spend it if you've got it.

If the mechanics "came up with nothing" then they are not mechanics. Replacing parts as some sort of maintenance that "needs doing" is just going to waste your money. Diagnose the damn thing and fix that, and only that. That's been said many times already. It's not the plug wires, or the plugs, or the temp sensor, or the distributor caps. It's something that affects ALL cylinders and prevents fuel or spark completely. Get it?

Exactly what is causing the exhaust leak? A crack in the stainless tube and/or casing of the converter? Have it removed and welded up by a professional welder experienced in stainless. Any shop that fabricates restaurant kitchen equipment or a good welding shop can do that easily.

The belt has to be replaced, obviously. The water pump should be inspected as it has a weep hole. Any coolant there, replace it. Seals are inspected, and I've never replaced one. On the Vvti engines the cam seals are very difficult to get to, not and easy or cheap deal. Idler pulley bearings can be inspected, and the bearings replaced individually without having to replace the pulley as well. Cheap.

I was unclear. I had changed the belt at the time interval of seven years, one year late, but still 50k kilometers under the mileage interval. The belt was intact, but obviously badly worn - the teeth were printing through to the smooth side, which is one indication. So the engine is fine. My point was simply that Lexus knows best when to do the change by statistical analysis, not by anecdotal evidence. The Lexus V-8 is probably one of the best engines in the world, ever, and it would be a shame to destroy one for trying to save a few dollars. SRK

Hey Jeep, see if the mechanic Tofu's talking about will rebuild your engine when the belt breaks, having taken his advice about not changing it.... It doesn't matter what the damn belts look like, the factory says change them at specific intervals. If you're not going to do that, why waste money even changing the oil? My GS belt came out at eight years and 97,000kms, and it was toast.

The first gen GS is not one of my favorite cars - and Lexus knew the general public thought the same way and changed them in '98. They were a great car then, especially the GS400 ( I'm biased of course...). The 95 LS was a great car as are all LS's. I'd agree with DC that the LS is the one. The amount of expensive repairs needed on that GS are not all age related, and I'd pass on that car for sure. Find a second gen GS400 and drive it and you'll see.

I run 30 psi. That's what I did with the LS and also with the GS. For sure do not set the pressure to the max indicated on the tire sidewall - that's not appropriate to the car. And the tire is supposed to bulge at the contact patch. I run 30 in the Corvette, and the rears are 295/35-18's.

Yep $5000.00 plus. Maybe plus quite a bit. That's to fix it correctly. Some back-yarder may charge less, and you get less. But it's a moot point. The body shops will be paid according to the adjuster's estimate.

My first thought is that you have a bad ground path someplace. I'm not sure where they are on these cars, but given the age of the car, some ground point is not making good contact. As the revs come up and the alternator output increases, the ground reveals itself. Good luck.

We can help with better and more information. Firstly it sounds like the engine is in fact cranking on the starter motor, but not firing (starting) up. If it cranks you can diagnose it without resorting to throwing parts at it. Both coils would not have failed, and the engine will run on one. Checking fuel pressure is simple enough, without changing the pump and filter. Relays the same. Too late now. As to the timing belt, the engine will sound different during cranking - not make normal compression sounds. You can remove the upper belt covers, roll the engine to TDC and check that the marks align. Diagnose it before spending any more money.

Apex certainly offers a long warranty for an independant repair shop. Far longer than dealerships offer. That said, the warranty is established through the contract (work order) with the person for whom the work was performed. That person ( the pilot ) paid the bill. From a legal standpoint the Apex warranty expired when the car was sold. They don't have to stipulate what they won't do, only what they will do. Unfortunately I can't see that any judge will rule in your favour in this civil action. And you may very well be correct in that Apex caused the leak through their workmanship or oversight. I can't offer advice as to the location of the leak. I think that the only solution is to begin dismantling the engine until the source is found. With the myriad covers that Lexus uses, it may be revealed quickly when they are removed. Good work on the instruments - that's a big savings!

Size 14 Tim? My goodness that's an awfully big foot for a twelve year old. Your poor mother.

That's quite the attitude you've got there Tim. My advice is to go stamp your little foot someplace else. Not here.

No it only comes on with engine coolant temp when the engine driven fan can't keep up, or excessive AC pressures, or when certain trouble codes are tripped. So you are saying......?

That's the normal position for the temperature gauge. Thermostat is working. You are thinking of the ECU coolant temp sensor, not the gauge sensor correct? Many parts people are messed up on the difference.

Drive the car for fifteen minutes, then lift the hood and with the engine running carefully grab the upper rad hose. It should be hot enough to make you want to let go, but not burn you. If it is comfortably warm only then you have a faulty thermostat. That's the test I use and it works every time.