lenore

grab the belt on the half way point between the alternator and the next pulley and try to twist it 90 degrees from its normal motion. It you can turn the belt more than 90 degrees it is too loose.

yep tighten it a little, then try to twist is 90 degrees if it goes further than 90 it is probably too loose.

here is a post that I used for my non navigation 99RX that works. It discusses the pro and con. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...ux+in+for+RX300

Should be fine, but is the alternator output enough? I would use this controller as it has a soft start, brings fans up to speed slowly so there are no spikes of currant. I dont know what clearances you have, but also the method of mount is important, try to find a fan that doesnt require the through the radiator mounting. Here is the controller site: http://www.dccontrol.com/0820.htm

A haynes manual would probably be just fine. They have them at bookstores and Toyota Dealerships which cover the Highlander/LExus RX300. However here is a posting with pictures that will show you everything including parts numbers: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=41266

If your system is discharged you wont get 12v. the line sensors will disable the system, you could momentarily jumper 12v to the compressor and see if it turns on, but make sure you go to the right side of the circuit, you dont want to jumper 12v to ground. Still could be a relay, not turning on do to loss of coolent. the dual pressure switch may be deffective or no coolent and telling the Engine Control modulue to shut 12v off to the compressor motor.

See if your car has a MG CLT RELAY, it should be in the engine junction block. That relay gives you 12v to the compressor. This is out of a RX300 haynes manual, may be similar to yours.

if you have high rpms, I would suspect some wrong with the throttle valve or a major vacuum leak. You need to go back again and start from zero and recheck all of your work...

All I do is take 5 qt's (they drain & fill a little over 4 qt's total & give me the rest back....which I use to change the PS fluid myself) to my dealer and a drain plug gasket.....my Lexus dealer charges me $20. I do this every 2 years or 30k miles religiously. Ok just the standard 4.3 qts drain and fill. Thanks

I am checking for a AMsoil dealer today, So did you do several drain and fills or use the manual fluid exchange method that Amsoil has on their site??? I am still thinking of moving the external tranny cooler to the front of the vehicle so it gets better air flow. and yes I agree with you, Amsoil is available, so why not use it, It is still cheaper than the stealership for a tranny fluid change if you diy.

It is not a poor design but a very poor maintenance spec on that transaxle. Telling people they don't need fluid chenges until 100k is ridiculous. T-IV fluid is simply not robust enough to go past 30-50,000 miles before it starts breaking down and causing accelerated wear on the clutches and TC. If you simply did one complete fluid exchange at 30,000 to get all the break-in debris out of the unit and then simple drains every 30k you most likely will get full service life out of the transaxle. That is the schedule I use for mine and it is at 140,000 and still shifts like new. Shame on Toyota for that service schedule or not developing a synthetic ATF that will go the distance with a real filtration system versus a screen. When mine failed the tranny fluid had been changed three times, every 30k miles. So your implication of poor maintenance doesnt fly. It has more to do with a bad design and the type of driving you do. My wife has a terrible commute going through city streets no more than 50 mph and less. Well, that would definitely be considered severe service. My wifes driving is a 50-50 mix of city & highway daily. I still say it is the fluid spec that is the culprit. You might want to add a magnefine filter to your system. I am considering that. I already added a external filter to my system... made by perma cool.... Where did you place it? Did you put it in the line to or from the cooler? I believe it is to the cooler...That way no contaminants get into the cooler. I mounted it on the left frame below the battery very close to all the coolant lines. Made my own bracket to space it of the frame about 1/2 inch. access is by removing the plastic undershield on the vehicle, Huge filter (ph8 size) so it takes quite a bit space, but probably provides plenty of flow so their are no problems with pressure changes. Have been running it for over 50k miles so far.

I have heard of no one having a problem on their steering on the RX. Maybe the system needs to be flushed and new fluid put in.

It is not a poor design but a very poor maintenance spec on that transaxle. Telling people they don't need fluid chenges until 100k is ridiculous. T-IV fluid is simply not robust enough to go past 30-50,000 miles before it starts breaking down and causing accelerated wear on the clutches and TC. If you simply did one complete fluid exchange at 30,000 to get all the break-in debris out of the unit and then simple drains every 30k you most likely will get full service life out of the transaxle. That is the schedule I use for mine and it is at 140,000 and still shifts like new. Shame on Toyota for that service schedule or not developing a synthetic ATF that will go the distance with a real filtration system versus a screen. When mine failed the tranny fluid had been changed three times, every 30k miles. So your implication of poor maintenance doesnt fly. It has more to do with a bad design and the type of driving you do. My wife has a terrible commute going through city streets no more than 50 mph and less. Well, that would definitely be considered severe service. My wifes driving is a 50-50 mix of city & highway daily. I still say it is the fluid spec that is the culprit. You might want to add a magnefine filter to your system. I am considering that. I already added a external filter to my system... made by perma cool....

It is not a poor design but a very poor maintenance spec on that transaxle. Telling people they don't need fluid chenges until 100k is ridiculous. T-IV fluid is simply not robust enough to go past 30-50,000 miles before it starts breaking down and causing accelerated wear on the clutches and TC. If you simply did one complete fluid exchange at 30,000 to get all the break-in debris out of the unit and then simple drains every 30k you most likely will get full service life out of the transaxle. That is the schedule I use for mine and it is at 140,000 and still shifts like new. Shame on Toyota for that service schedule or not developing a synthetic ATF that will go the distance with a real filtration system versus a screen. When mine failed the tranny fluid had been changed three times, every 30k miles. So your implication of poor maintenance doesnt fly. It has more to do with a bad design and the type of driving you do. My wife has a terrible commute going through city streets no more than 50 mph and less. The tranny is constantly searching for overdrive (by design) and I would consider city driving as severe condition when it comes to this crappy design with a cooler that is mounted in the wheel well with no access to good air flow. I agree totally that the fluid is substandard, and plan a change to AMsoil when I get my hands on some. I have already added a transmission filter (PH8) size andthat adds about 3/4 qts to the total capacity. I have 50k miles on my second/third tranny with no issues. I change the fluid every 10k miles. As for filtration none of the Japanese trannys have it. The burnt smell in my fluid at 30k miles tells me that the fluid is not keeping cool, another of my future projects is to add a fan or move the stupid cooler to the front of the radiator area so it gets some air. As it is now the air flow is blocked by the windshield washer bottle. I have probably spent more time maintaining this car than most people do and the failure of the tranny is my most irritating thing, and then Lexus of Roseville screwed it up when I took it in for the repair. I have a friend that has the exact same car same year and AWD and their tranny went 176k before the failure with minimum maintenance. However her commute was all highway with speeds above 50 mph the whole distance. I attribute the longevity to the lack of the tranny constantly in overdrive and not searching. I have instructed my wife to turn overdrive off while commuting to stop this rediculous design. Toyota in their search for fuel economy did a bad job by design. This is also basically a Camry tranny stuck in a vehicle that weights a whole lot more and add AWD and the load on it is tremendous. Lexus Sucks big time for not doing a recall or fix. At least Honda/Accura did on their MDX and Oddessy. I am going to monitor the tranny temp soon when I get my Scanguage and see what it really is doing. I will post with results. I'm not altogether sure that additional ATF cooling capability is a solution. It is my belief that the ATF overheating is somewhat localized, specifically the ATF gear type oil pump is overheating, and by the time the heated volume remixes with the "mass" in the sump the overall average is within the norm. Does anyone know if a thermostat is involved in controlling the flow to the external cooling system..?? And I have not enough information to make such a judgment call, viscosity, etc, I would NEVER substitute a third party ATF brand/type for whatever the manufacturer recommends. I was just saying the filter being very large added some fluid, not intentially. West I am going to monitor the tranny temp when I get my Scan guage. As for the third party AMSOIL, it has been used by many with great success. The only other fluid is the Mobil 3309 which I believe they are the manufacturer of the Toyota Type IV from what I understand. Same fluid.

Oh by the way his tranny did fail, (probably from the racing) the torque converter mounting plate broke loose and caused a bunch of damage in his tranny. He has full pictures of everything about that too.

LexMex is an alwsome guy. He has pictures of just about everything you want to see on this car. He is now back in the United States in Florida and continues with his input. I really enjoy his post, because I never dreamed of 1/4 miles racing this vehicle and he does it all the time. Great forum Club Lexus.... I am on both sites all the time. Knowledge is power to control my time and costs.

When mine failed their was a very slight wine sound and I lost overdrive. The engine rpms went up to indicate this and then I got a CEL light. I cant remember the code that was present with the failure but I believe it was something with the shift solenoids. If you have that many miles do not do a flush, Only do a drain and fill and repeat it with a two week period. It is real easy to do. Here is a great post with pictures. Make sure you use Toyota Type IV fluid, no substitute. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220061

It is not a poor design but a very poor maintenance spec on that transaxle. Telling people they don't need fluid chenges until 100k is ridiculous. T-IV fluid is simply not robust enough to go past 30-50,000 miles before it starts breaking down and causing accelerated wear on the clutches and TC. If you simply did one complete fluid exchange at 30,000 to get all the break-in debris out of the unit and then simple drains every 30k you most likely will get full service life out of the transaxle. That is the schedule I use for mine and it is at 140,000 and still shifts like new. Shame on Toyota for that service schedule or not developing a synthetic ATF that will go the distance with a real filtration system versus a screen. When mine failed the tranny fluid had been changed three times, every 30k miles. So your implication of poor maintenance doesnt fly. It has more to do with a bad design and the type of driving you do. My wife has a terrible commute going through city streets no more than 50 mph and less. The tranny is constantly searching for overdrive (by design) and I would consider city driving as severe condition when it comes to this crappy design with a cooler that is mounted in the wheel well with no access to good air flow. I agree totally that the fluid is substandard, and plan a change to AMsoil when I get my hands on some. I have already added a transmission filter (PH8) size andthat adds about 3/4 qts to the total capacity. I have 50k miles on my second/third tranny with no issues. I change the fluid every 10k miles. As for filtration none of the Japanese trannys have it. The burnt smell in my fluid at 30k miles tells me that the fluid is not keeping cool, another of my future projects is to add a fan or move the stupid cooler to the front of the radiator area so it gets some air. As it is now the air flow is blocked by the windshield washer bottle. I have probably spent more time maintaining this car than most people do and the failure of the tranny is my most irritating thing, and then Lexus of Roseville screwed it up when I took it in for the repair. I have a friend that has the exact same car same year and AWD and their tranny went 176k before the failure with minimum maintenance. However her commute was all highway with speeds above 50 mph the whole distance. I attribute the longevity to the lack of the tranny constantly in overdrive and not searching. I have instructed my wife to turn overdrive off while commuting to stop this rediculous design. Toyota in their search for fuel economy did a bad job by design. This is also basically a Camry tranny stuck in a vehicle that weights a whole lot more and add AWD and the load on it is tremendous. Lexus Sucks big time for not doing a recall or fix. At least Honda/Accura did on their MDX and Oddessy. I am going to monitor the tranny temp soon when I get my Scanguage and see what it really is doing. I will post with results.

until you wash it down and look again who knows, could be the right drive shaft seal, and the fluid is blowing back to the transfer case. My wonderful dealer failed to seat the driveshaft properly after the transmission change and the fluid came out where you said. If you jack up the front end and pull on the drive shaft toward the tire you should get very little play, However the seal can wear for whatever reason, but not normally.

Yea, 17to 18 in town, and 22 on the road... LHowever California GAS sucks, When I go out of state its gets better by a couple of mpg...

here is a threadwith pictures for door panel removeal: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288373

He is very fortunate, I would love to pay half of my $4300 dollar bill. And the saga goes on. I know many of you feel this is do to poor maintenance, but it is not....it is a *BLEEP* poor design. good for him at half price...Have a great day everyone.

Where your two axle shafts come out there is a seal one on both sides left and right. Wash it down and then drive it a little and see if that is the cause. On AWD the transfer case shares the fluid with the transmission. There is a front transfer/differential case that uses 80/90 GL5 fluid and of course in the back of the car there is a differential that uses 80/90 GL5 fluid. Here is a link to the differential fluid changes and more info than you will ever need: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...ferential+fluid

Well from my old British sports cars days, and autocrossing, we called that a handbrake turn....I like flip a !Removed! better....ha ha

The clicking may very well be a bad starter solenoid contacts: see this site for explanation: http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/instructions.html Unfortunately to get to the starter is a real challenge on the LS....and all other V-8 powered Toyota products. Not for the faint of heart, but requires a lot of time and removeal of the intake manifold. good luck