TunedRX300

Check at every oil change. I would not flush the tranny, play safe and do drain and fill with Toyota T IV ATF. No need to change if your ATF are still cherry-colored.

Discussion threads on a TSB on Lexus brake pads making noise. In addition, RX300's front pads do not have wear indicators integrated w/ pads - they are clip on. Whoever design the OEM pads should be fired. TSB on Lexus Brake Pads Noise OEM Brake Pads Shifting Noise TSB I would go for ceramic pads since you are out of warranty. But if you have excellent negotiation skills, try to have Lexus to do this TSB under goodwill. Or you can go with ceramic pads as I did - JDM cars have used them as OEM pads for years. Japan Ceramic OEM pads

I just checked, exhaust manifold is covered in my 00 User Manual. Bring yours and show it to Lexus service manager as RX in NC indicated.

Keeping there foot on the brakes even slightly--engages the pads, so driving like that gets the brakes a tad hot running at 70+ ← Driving with two feet with an automatic tranny? I would like to know who does that because I want get away from him/her on the road.

I would check and clean the MAF

Still get gains from intake alone, dyno proven. Sure high flow exhaust will add more HP but there is even less # of aftermarket products other than mufflers.

It increases air flow, but the source of inlet air is still inside the hot engine bay. It would be better just remove the intake resonator and put an air horn to collect cold air from the left front bumper hole. Cost is about 1/10 of Weapon R, probably higher HP gain. Another way to increase power is to insolate intake manifold from heat transfer Thermoblok Spacer Better HP gain is achieved if you lower intake air temperature and increase air flow.

Cat is an emssion item and should be covered under 8 year 80k emission warranty. If you are out of warranty, talk to your local trusted muffler shop. they may be able to take a look at the crack. In most cases, weld it close instead of getting a new cat. Good luck

TunedRC, is the front differential drain plug easy to find? I have no clue where it is? Is it obvious to spot? Keep in mind I have the FWD version. thanks! ← You need to jack up the car slightly and go under the front axel, in the middle of the axel is the front differential. See my posting near the end of this thread. Be sure to loosen the fill plug first. Front Differential DIY

press "info" again to get out of the dynamic calc mode. My 00 has a long term avarage which you can't reset, and short term average you can reset by long pressing "info".

Front differential you need a suction gun (Autozone), 15/16 socket, and an open 15/16 wrench in addition to the 10mm socket.

Brake rotor is a wear item, yours are "warped"

Really? You waited that long to change the belt. That sounds risky. I have this notion that one should replace the belt around 100K. If the belt breaks, severe problem can result but not sure if the RX has the same risk. I think tune up can wait. If the car doesn't miss a beat, it probably is not necessary to get it tune up. I bet that someone might think otherwise. ← RX300's engine is non-interfering. If the timing belt broke, nothing in engine will be damaged.

See my survey posting on assessing interests on developing a pheno spacer for RX300, ES300, Camry V6 (1MZFE). Spacer keeps intake manifold cool and increases power. Thermoblok Survey Third generation ES (97-01) shares the same engine as RX and Camry V6. If there is enough interest, we can ask Outlaw Engineering to develope a new application for our cars. Note: postings are approved by SKPerformance.

There is a survey on Thermoblok Spacer to increase power. Pheno Spacer for intake manifold

Yes, that is why it rusts like crazy. People have done it before ask your muffler shop.

No need to replace it, you can find any muffler shop to weld the crack.

10 mm L shaped Allen wrench is good enough for me to loosen tranny and transfer case drain plugs. If need more torque, Sears has craftsman 3/8 or 1/2 drive sockets, just use breaker bar, torque wrench, or a long rachet to gain leverage.

See my survey posting on assessing interests on developing a pheno spacer for RX300, ES300, Camry V6 (1MZFE). Interest Level on Thermoblok Spacer for RX/ES I believe most ES/RX owners may not be as interested as members visiting this modification sub-forum. Note: postings are approved by SKPerformance.

This survey is approved by moderator (SKperformance) Outlaw Engineering makes Thermoblok Spacers for many cars with excellent results. Spacers insulate intake manifolds and throttle bodies from heat generated by engines. Cooler intake manifold and throttle bodies lower temperature of inlet air and gains horse power and torque. Unfortunately there is no application for RX300 or ES300 yet. If there are enough owners interested in this modification, I can take the lead to contact Outlaw Engineering to start developing an application for 1MZFE based cars (including Camry V6 and Highlander). The installation should be easy when it is time to clean intake manifold. But there is cost of $100 estimated for the product once it is developed and they do need about 20 interested owners before making a spacer for a new application. I am not affliated to Outlaw Engineering, just trying to see if there is enough people. There are very limited performance oriented products on the market now, I hope this is just a positive start to change that trend. Anyone interested, please reply or PM. Thank you. Please also see FAQ for their answers on questions such as "would this void my warranty and affect emission?"

bank1 is the rearward bank, bank2 is front most. Toyota/Lexus part# 89467-48011 for both according to one member of this forum. You can verify it with Lexus parts. I would buy the part and use an open wrench to install myself.

Transfer case is right behind tranny and shares the same ATF. Front and rear differential use GL5 gear oil to lubes where gears connect to drive shaft. This picture came from ederny's web

Find someone to share the kit, or buy the whole kit and sell the rest on ebay

I would try to clean the old MAF before buying a new one. It is a 10 minute DIY job, just need carb cleaner and a philips screwdriver. Lexus just wants to make more $ and apparently did not try cleaning first. MAF DIY cleaning

IMHO, I would compare 00 RX300 to your 00 Ford Explorer. Same year, same class. You already said yourself it is invalid to compare a SUV to a sport coupe, let alone to a more expensive and four year newer model. In 2000 very few cars have HID as a standard equipment. Today even reflective HID is not up to standard, people want projected HID. I know it is hard to live w/o goodies once you are used to them but you can't go back in time. The best you can do is retrofit your halogen to HID or buy a newer model. My 00 RX AWD was silky smooth and very quiet when I bought it. I love the LCD, that is one of the reason I bought it. May I ask, if you have rattles and hate the LCD and halogen, why do you buy it?