skeemer

So I gave my car full detail this afternoon, for the first time since last summer. I only had the car washed once over winter, at an automatic wash. Anyway, when I was cleaning the wheels, I couldn't get all the brake dust off. There are black spots in each gap that would not wipe off with soap and water. I'm guessing these are from brake dust that has etched into the rim? Anyway, is there anything I can use to clean this? Simple soap and sponge would not do it, what about wheel cleaner? Thanks.

Nobody has any input? :(

Hey guys, sorry I forgot to reply to this to update everyone. Sort of just forgot.

I got my rear main engine seal and front transmission pump seal replaced about a month ago. Before the work was done, I had a very noticeable amount of white smoke coming from the bottom of the car. When I was stopped at a light I had to put the air on recirculate and keep the windows closed, because the smell was so strong. I could also see smoke pouring out from under the car if there wasn't a strong wind. The smoke could be smelled from a good distance away from the car as well. Looking underneath the car when the engine was hot, I could see lots of smoking coming off the exhaust under or behind the transmission.

So my mechanic replaced the two seals. He quoted me at $800 for labor. Three days later I got the car back with a total bill of $853, including parts. He said it took him almost 20 hours to complete, as it was much more work than he expected. He also told me had he not quoted me at $800 for labor it would have been upwards of $1300-1500. Almost 500 mile later, there is almost no smoke at all from the engine. There is a very faint smoke smell sometimes, but he had also found a leak on the oil level sensor, and he will fix this the next time I have my oil changed (he said he called Toyota and the part is unserviceable, so they will make a custom gasket to replace it). All in all I am happy with the results, and hopefully this will help some others with the same problem. If anyone does have this done, get the quote set in stone before the work is done, because it may be much more than expected otherwise.

I am finally getting around to trying to sell my stock headunit after replacing it for aftermarket almost a year ago (just got pictures taken and uploaded). I plan on selling it on ebay, unless someone on this board is interested. It is in complete working order, the display is perfect and all buttons work. I was just wondering what these normally go for, or what I should expect to get for it. There aren't any currently for sale on ebay, so I can't really get a good idea of how much it is worth. I have seen an SC headunit for $85 and an LS unit for over $200, so I really have no idea. Any help?

thanks

Looks good. The hybrid engine sounds like it works out great. Some very nice amenities too. I just can't past the exterior styling. I don't understand why these car companies can't create a hybrid or eco-friendly car that looks great?

Looks good though. How much room inside is there?

My roommates 98 Hyundai (i think its an Elantra) has an ECT button too.

Yeah I almost bought a 98 Altima 5 speed from Sheridan before I found my lex last may. I was dealing with a guy named Andre, maybe you've talked to him before too. After taking it to my mechanic for a checkout, they found salt residue at the exhaust joints, and said possible bad head gasket, that it could go anytime (coolant in the chambers leaving salt in the exhaust). It was unfortunate because Nissan obviously didn't want to fix it, and I had fallen in love with it. I love my ES and everything, but that was a great car too. I really wanted a stick when I was car shopping, and had refused to look at automatics, i only made an exception in this case because it was a Lexus. But I bought mine from Martin Honda on Cleveland Ave. in Newark. I could walk there from my house at UD haha.

Being a mere college student, I haven't the money to visit the wilmington lex dealer. I can't even afford to have Toyota do any service, my independent mechanic does everything for me.

I grew up in New Castle. I lived in Cambridge Gardens until about 7 years ago, when my family moved to Bear.

I went to Gunning Bedford and graduated from William Penn HS, I'm sure you know where that is. I've still got alot of friends in NC too.

Small world huh?

Where do you have your service done?

hey philbe, where in delaware are you from? i go to the university of delaware.

maybe i've seen your car around before. i always notice other ES's :D

I ended up deciding to have my mechanic do the work. After getting final quotes it looks like it will only cost about $100 more for my mechanic to do it, and I feel more comfortable with him. My friends dad seemed kind of hesitant when I asked him if they would be comfortable working on a Lexus. I don't distrust him or think he was lying, but the hesitation made me uncomfortable. Hopefully everything will work out ok with this repair, and I won't have any more major repairs while I own this car.

My mechanic is actually going to do me a favor with the car. His garage is too backed up right now to devote 8+ hours to my car, so instead of making me wait a few weeks, hes going to start when the garage closes and work straight through, he expects to finish around 2 AM. He's also getting a guy who used to work for him that works for another garage now, to help him with it, a guy he says has done lots of work on Lexus' (Lexii?) and Camrys. So I feel very comfortable with this job. I just wish it didn't cost an arm and a leg.

Thanks for the advice steve, and sorry to hear about your accident, glad you're ok and hope that everything works out ok.

I will update when the repairs are done, probably Tuesday afternoon I will get the car back. Hopefully my situation can help the others on this board that have been posting about similar problems.

No advice?

I've gotten two quotes on this, one from my mechanic for ~$900 parts/labor, and one from my friends father, who runs a shop, for ~$700 parts/labor. This is to replace rear main seal and front transmission seal. I trust my mechanic and that he'd do a good job, but he doesn't have alot of experience with camry/lexus tranny pull, and I don't know alot about my friend's dad or his shop, but they said they would feel comfortable doing this and that they've done this with a camry before.

Which do you think I should go with?

My mechanic has checked the valve cover gaskets on two separate occasions and said they are not leaking. I asked him to check the rear ones too and he said they are fine.

Bad news guys, he says the rear main seal is the culprit. Also, the oil pan has a very small leak but its almost non-existant he said.

He said for the rear main seal you have to pull the transmission, so im looking at about $1000 for the job. He also said while its out I might as well have the front transmission seal replaced, because it can be easily disrupted when taking the transmission out and could cause new leaks in a few weeks.

I've got two other options that I'm going to look for a better price for. What does one normally pay for this kind of job?

Thanks for the replies guys.

I think Toyota probably saw a college kid with a Lexus and thought they could put one over on me, thinking I'm rich (I'm not...took me almost 4 years of waiting tables before I bought my first car, paid for cash by myself). The filter obviously could be the problem, but this has been a constant problem through 3 oil changes. I know there's not oil "all over the engine" because I can see that myself.

Anyway, I dropped the car off with my mechanic with the list from Toyota. He said he'd have to be all but blind to have missed that many leaks when he checked it out about a month ago. So I should hear back late today or tomorrow about what they've found or whatever.

How could I go about steam cleaning or power washing the engine? Should I just ask my mechanic to do this? How much would this generally cost?

thanks guys.

I just got my car back from the Toyota shop. Here's the diagnosis:

Tech notes oil leaking...all over engine...valve cover gaskets...p/s hose & pump...trans pan gasket...oil pan...oil level sensor...possible rear main seal.

estimate @ $2,000-$4,000.

I'm a little suspicious about this, because less than a month ago my mechanic couldn't find any sources of any leaks. I know they aren't that incompetent that they couldn't find all these leaks. It is smoking a bit more now than it was a few weeks ago, but it seems like too much of a coincidence here. On the phone this morning the tech told me it would be $1500-1600 to take the engine out and overhaul it. But the mechanics report says 2-4000. I don't have anywhere near the money to even pay for a $1500 repair, but I'm going to take the mechanic report to my mechanic and see what they have to say.

Is Toyota ripping me here on prices? I don't know anything about part prices or labor for these leaks. Thanks.

Well I'm all set to bring my car to the Toyota dealer tomorrow. How much will they charge me aside from any work they do (ie diagnosis or whatever) and is there anything I should be aware of when I bring it there, like questions I should ask or anything? I've never taken my car to anyone besides my local mechanic, so I've never dealt with a dealer for repairs.

Maybe it's just residual oil from before?

I wish it was just that, but every time I've had them look at it the smell has remained, even after 1000+ miles so I'm sure its not that easy.

I've posted about this before, but my problem was never fixed. I have a 92 ES with 125k miles on it. A few months ago I began noticing a burning oil smell that would enter the cabin whenever I was stopped/idle if the engine was warm. A few other people have posted about this problem too.

I took it to my mechanic and they found that the distributor seal was brittle and cracked and replaced that, and said that was probably causing the leak. The smell never went away. So my next oil change I asked them to look at it again. The only possible cause they could find was that the oil pan was a little loose, so they tightened that (they didnt charge me for that). Smell never went away. So I brought it back a third time and asked them to check the valve cover gaskets, because when I bought the car, that was one of the things the dealer had replaced, and other members on this board had mentioned that was the cause of their problem. They said they were fine and weren't leaking, and didnt charge me for this.

I still have the smell, and for the past 2 months or so, when I open the hood, there are very faint puffs of smoke coming from around the main block. You can smell it from 20+ feet away sometimes, its that strong. I plan on taking it to my local Toyota dealer this week to have them look at it. They don't have a certified Lexus mechanic, but they said they do service Lexus' regularly.

Does anyone have any other ideas about this? I'd really like to get this fixed, not only for myself but for down the road when I eventually sell it. Thanks

21, college student with 50/100/50 full coverage, defensive driving, steer clear, good student and clear record and i pay 1140 a year. It just dropped form 155/month to 95/month when i turned 21 a few weeks ago.

Oh, and I'm in Delaware (probably the only one on this board).

Thanks. I'll try and scrounge up some money and get it washed.

It isn't supposed to rain this week and will be snowing again on the weekend, but its really caked pretty thick in salt (180 miles of highway driving in someone's tire mist will do it nicely) and I don't want to see any paint damage, or metal parts rust.

Does road salt damage the paint job if left on for awhile? My car is pretty covered in salt now, and its supposed to snow again here this weekend so it will just get covered again in salt within a week. Should I wash my car, or will the salt not damage my paint job.

Its a 92, the paint is in fabulous condition other than a couple rock chips on the hood.

Thanks for the website steve, but I don't think I can afford anything from there. Maybe next ski season, I'm a little low on funds at the moment.

I never thought about putting it through the moonroof, but I would expect that wouldn't be too safe, not to mention cold.

Does anyone have any suggestions for bringing a snowboard in my ES? I can fit boards across the backseat from floor to cieling, or along the door (this is a tight fit), but they are too wide for the rear seat pass through. I can fit one set of skis in the pass through, maybe 2 but haven't tried that yet. Does anyone have any other suggestions/experience with snowboards or multiple sets of skis? What about some sort of trunk or roof rack for snowboards?

BTW, I have a 92 ES and I use a 157cm snowboard.

I hate how people always assume that my lexus is my mommy's car or something like that. I've worked since I was 15 and I paid $6000 cash for my 92 ES last spring, all my money. BTW I'm 20, almost 21, and a junior at college. I work part time now to pay car insurance and my other bills. I get no help from my parents except for tuition and house bills/rent. I pay half my tuition as well.

And I had a 96 Corsica throughout HS. It was my parents third car that they let me drive. What a POS compared to my ES :)