BA.

yup, he's right. I just read the K&N site as a reference and they mention that they have CARB for their various modified intake products. (a filter alone would not need CARB of course, but I guess the "non stock" filters and modified intake does need CARB certification) http://www.knfilters.com/faq.htm#4

Sounds very odd to me man. I've not heard of any transmission mileage problems on the GS or the LS. Now, I DID hear about some minor problems from a guy with a supercharged GS400! :) ....but that's a different story. Those cases sound really out of the ordinary.

I'm kinda guessing here based upon the verbage "open element", but I believe she's referring to the "intake filter" as opposed to the actual intake manifold. The manifold would certainly have to be CARB approved to be legit, but, I 'believe' that any of the aftermarket air filter's and their cool piping to the throttle body are OK. I did not think that the parts forward of the throttle body were part of the visual check or the certification requirement.

I purchased a PI torque converter recently for my 99 GS400. I'm thinking about buying a Service Manual and just doing the darn thing myself with the help of some friends. My question is, Is this going to be much different than doing the same thing on say,...a Chevy or a Ford? Sure, there's some electronics here, but, I was viewing that as probably being an unpluggable harness or connector. (or 2 or 3) I've done a handful of TC replacements on older muscle-cars, done head swaps, carbs, intakes, and one main bearing replacement on a 327. I think they call for 6.5 hrs of work for the TC installation. Should I do this myself?? I've had 2 shops now quote me between $500-$590. I've only got one or two more places to check!

it didn't sound like you actually called the DOT which I would highly recomend you do. Most states do allow you to do a "license plate" search for a very small fee. $20 or less. Even if all you get is a NAME, that will be a huge extra bit of info over the license plate. Post back what you find out. Other than that, it sounds like you need a friend of a friend of a friend in law enforcement. ;)

I dunno. I need to chat with him! maybe work has him busy....or more house mods!

the sound you describe sounds like the noise made by the anti-lock checking feature. Not anti-lock engagement,....just a check that is done the first time you touch brakes after firing up the car I believe. Start keeping mental track as to whether this is the case.........I have heard of many that do it. (and mine does as well)

that bushing you referenced is kind of like a lower stiffening brace. you can find lots of info on it at www.clublexus.com. I believe that the balancing that they do to our rims/tires is usually at 35-60mph and that's it.... anyway, that bracing arm is about 12" long or so and I believe it's around $100 at the dealer. (unsure if that's each, or for two)

yes there is a fix and now I challenge you to try the search feature. :) for many, and this is from a very recent thread, there is a bushing on a part of the front suspension (radial arm?) that can wear out. try new ones for around $100 and a few hours of your time.

I don't believe a limo qualifies as a "passenger vehicle" under the laws. It takes a different license (cdl?) and doesn't apply to the tint law I believe.

anyone seen my kitty? heeerrrrrrre Mercury!!! c'mere boy!!!! :whistles: :whistles: :whistles:

GooGone available at walmart, home depot, ACE hardware, etc....... I guarantee it will not hurt the paint.

MY guess is that there's a good possibility that you simply need a front end alignment and that the REAR tires look that way because the previous owner ROTATED the tires front to back and didn't fix the real problem! Some cars these days have a bit uneven wear on the inside like you see because that negative camber helps in cornering......BUT, I doubt your car should be THAT bad! :) I'd say, get the tires replaced since you'll have to do it anyway. You should also get the car aligned. Some shops like Firestone, Goodyear, etc, maybe even ProCare all say they offer 4-wheel alignments too. If you were real curious, after the new tires were on you could go to a flat piece of road for a test. Make a mark across each tire with something like chalk or a thin line of paint using something like a model paintbrush. Drive just a few hundred feet, maybe an 1/8th mile and see if there's a change in the mark you made. I'm still betting on my first comment though. :whistles:

I'm not going to be much help, but, I recently bought a 99GS400 and I too noticed about an $8000 spread or so. The only options that I was aware of were the "sport rims", then there's some chrome rim options (which I have), there's the Nakamichi Stereo option, the HID headlights (option?) and the Navigation system. (cannot get Nav with Nakamichi) Heated Seats are an option somewhere in there too, but some of these things were probably "bundled". Rear Spoiler was an option as well. The difference that I noticed weren't just in the options, but moreso in the vehicles location, mileage, condition (of course) and even the sellers Payoff amount. Naturally Dealers are going to be asking a good 3000-6000 more than you could get one direct from the owner. (thats what I saw when I was looking)

So, let's make this really informative and someone tell us just what the ECU does when the ECT is set to Power! :) ie. If I should ever find myself in a race,...errrr. I mean, passing a Semi,.......and I'm in the "auto" mode, does the ECT help me? What if I go to Manual mode on the shifter? Does ECT operate the same there?

buy seats from a wrecked ES and install them. www.car-part.com

yeah, I am not sure if you're pulling our collective legs, or if perhaps english just isn't your native language. If it ain't, that's all good. If you have a GS400, I'd say that 17mpg city is decent -good. Not a whole lot you can do there to IMPROVE your mileage. (certainly you don't want to make it 'worse',.....do you?) Use synthetic oil, keep clean filters and plugs in it, drive with a light foot when pulling away from stop signs and stop lights, and keep from using the Air Conditioner if you can. Synthetic transmission and rear end oil might help a little bit as well, but that's expensive, even though it's awesome for the parts. Redline and Mobil 1 are good synthetics.

I like to get that road crap off before giving the car a real bath too. No sense in getting those dirt particles into the ol' wash bucket. I've found the aerosol Spray type of Bug & Tar Remover is nice to use because you can spray it on and it won't run. It's good to let it sit for a bit as well. After that, you can use a hose and old rag to wipe the nasty stuff off. I've had really good luck with TurtleWax brand Bug&Tar remover. BTW, for grease, Castrol sells something called SuperClean. It's purple in color. I buy it in a gallon because it's pretty concentrated, and then mix it around 5-1 or 10-1 with water in a spray bottle. Great degreaser! (rims too)

No doubt, the DentWizard peeps are good. I just used them on my Ac a few weeks ago. I can feel your frustration bro', .......it totally sucks!!!! The hauling carts up against your right certainly must've made you blow your top, especially when you do what you can to prevent that crap! Sorry bro!

Carparts.com great nationwide parts database. you may not find "just" a speaker cover, HOWEVER, if you select "door", and then get the list, you'll have a BUNCH of phone numbers of the places and or email addy's to contact them about just the speaker cover. You need a hit car that is getting parted out. dangit, I just saw a car being parted out at a website just 2 days ago. You might want to do a search on Google (that's where I was starting) and look for "used lexus parts" or something like that, maybe you'll find it!

IMHO, the first thing you do if you have the money is to get some R I M S !!!! For me, that is the most flash and the biggest head turner you can get. If money is tight after that, maybe you can get some $200-$400 lowering springs to go with them. Then the body kit later. I've got the same rims you've got, and for being stockers, they aint' that bad! I'm actually thinking about doing lowering first, with a roof spoiler and 3 piece spoiler out back with a new grill before the rims. Rims and tires are a hefty chunk of change. ......hmmmm. Looking at your car again, I think you need TINT and lowering first if you are on a little budget. If not, then do rims/tires too. That'll set ya apart from every other GS300/400 in your area. :)

welcome to the club yo. I'm curious about something! Why do you want to turn up the idle?? That's the second time I've heard that request here in only a month or two. Sure, it seems low at 500rpm, but, .....that doesn't make it a bad thing!

just wanted to note that the absolute BEST carpet cleaner I have ever used is from LIFTER1. It's a dark blue and silver/chrome can. It seems to get out any stain I try it on, but if yours is 'faded' or lost color, obviously, it won't help. :)

dude, you're muckin' up my thread here! :) Go to www.lextasy.com and click on the GS300/GS400 button. Or, go to the L-Sportline site. I've been looking, and MOST spoilers I'm seeing are shorter than mine. Heck, just looking in the GALLERY here and at clublexus.com shows that most are shorter than mine. I'm soooo starting to not like mine! :) doggonnit, I'm gonna post some pics......

saw a new blacked out GS300 today,........his spoiler was definitely shorter than mine as well. :-/