blake918

Well, I eliminated the problem :D . I took the car to AutoZone, and they did a free electrical test on the battery and alternator. The battery was a-ok, but at 2000rpms the alternator was only pumping 50(watts or amps...I can't remember). It was supposed to be at 60 or 65 I believe. All has been well since the replacement last Sunday, and now my needles even flicker less B) , so it all worked out well. Replaceing the alternator was a breeze, and I replaced the belt while I was at it, so I'm good to go! Thank you soo much guys :D .

He just emailed me back, and said that there is no check engine light.

I found a '98 ES on ebay that I absolutley love(my fav. gen.)...and could afford, and I want to know what yall think about it. Here's the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2453388239 . I asked him a few questions about the problem with cylinder 6, and here's his answer "as far as the engine is concerned, the thing that is wrong with it is that there is a misfire (what the dealer said) meaning there is a minor shake at idle, but when the gas is applied everthing is running smothly. so yes the car runs, shift smothly." This sounds like my '94 all over again. What I mean is my '94 has a jittery idle, but she shifts(except at 80) and drives well. I asked him if there is a cel, but he hasn't responded yet. I know that the taillight isn't a prob, and I could live with the scuff on the bumper until I have the money to get it fixed by an expert. However, I don't want to shell out all of my life's earnings only to find something that needs a new engine. Mechanical junkies what do yall think? I was thinking that if it's just 1 cylinder that's misfiring you could cross out a lot of possible causes that I found in my service manual(it's the same engine). From what the manual suggests, I think these are more probable: spark plugs and wires, fuel injector that is cloged, and worst case bad cylinder or rings. Then after his email, I started thing about motor mounts. What do yall think of the car??? Anything out of the ordinary? I love the mismatched floor mats and "300 ES" ! thanks guys, Blake

Take a look here: http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...993&catalogid=2 ...they're a Lexus dealer out in Texas. They have a new fender for $240. All of their parts are really, really cheap! They also have any other little componets that you might need to go along with it.

I thought you got this fixed by changed the fluid (...you said was burnt and very dirty!) <_< .

It will be really hard to find, but the ES300 had a manual tranny option in 92 and 93. Jill(a member in LOC) has one. Just a thought

Actually it's in the general discussion forum . Here's the link: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=5471&

Denny, They didn't put full door pillars until the 2002 model. It's not so much an issue with the stripping, but rather an issue with the doors with out full pillars. The windows fall out of alignment over the years because people use the windows to slam the door shut. When the window fall out of alignment, is when you hear the awful wind noise. You can burn regular, but very few of us actually do. I've never put anything put Premium Shell or Chevron in my tank. Saving $2 per fill up just isn't worth the risks to me. ;) What years are you looking at?

So?? Don't be sorry ;) , That's what makes the club more interesting :D . Imagine if everyone just wrote xxx,xxx miles w/o their little stories...how boring would that be??? I'm all for the tangents .

The dry blade I got at WalMart is not made by WalMart. It has the Califoria Water Blade co. on it with the "Dry Blade"...model name if you will. It has the "T" shaped squeege also; I guess that's why it has the same patent numbers as the origional CWB. I'm guessing its a value model or something <_<

I made a dreaded trip to walmart the other day, and I saw and bought something called the Califoria Dry Blade-it's a big squeege just like the CWB. I believe it is the same thing. It has the same patten numbers as the CWB which was double the price. I love how when you use it properly it takes about 98% of the water off. So, anyone know about this "Dry Blade?" The main reason why I got it was because it was only $10 which is 50% off of the CWB :P .

I just got some Silverstars a few weeks ago. I love them, and you can't beat them for their low price. They look awesome...a kind of hid-ish shade of light B) , but it is not over done like some wannabe's that you see on ricer Civics (which looks like a blub they spray paint blue/purple to me). Installation takes all of 5minutes too! They put out a very clear and bright light(....for $40). I highly recommend.

My battery is less than a year old, and my dad checked out the voltage on it which seemed to be ok. I don't think I've ever gotten the battery light before, but my steering wheel is always in the highest possible position to the point where I can't see the bottom part of the cluster, so I don't really know <_< . Whenever my car started to idle down, I gave it some gas, and it stayed at the usual 700 or 800 rpms. Also, this past week(before this incident) I've noticed a squeek or rattle type sound comming from under the hood. I'm guessing maybe a bearing on the alternator??? I'm pretty sure the alternator at Plano Lex is brand new. They say it lists for $350 and sell it for $290. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...994&catalogid=1 BTW, the alternator that is in the car now is a Bosch; do yall know if that's what Lexus uses? thanks for all of the suggestions Blake

BTW, I put some low beam Silverstars in a few weeks ago, and I leave my lights on even during broad daylight. Could the Silverstars be the culprit?

I had to run out to the library, and on the way there, the ES was acting strangely. The first indication of a problem was my CD changer stopped working. Then when I got to the library, the car idled down to about 300rpms. I went in and found my books, and then I proceeded out to the car. I went to start it, but I just got the "clicking" sound. My brother came and jumped me off so that I was able to get home. I'm guessing that my alternator is bad; do you guys agree? If it is the alternator, are all of the brands about the same? I found an oem Lexus alternator at Plano Lexus's online catalog for $288. Then, I found one on AutoZone's site for $90. Is it worth the extra $200 for the Lexus alternator? Lastly, how hard is it to change the alternator? Thanks

Be sure to take some before and after pics for us ;) !

Well I finally got this whole situation solved. It was never the fault of the key; it was my lock cylinder. Long story short, I bought 1 of those cool switchblade keys off of ebay and took it to the locksmith the dealer uses to cut their keys. So, after she used some laser machine to cut the switchblade, she went out the the ES to make sure that it worked properly. When she got to the trunk, she said how rough the lock felt when she stuck the key in; of course, I agreed and told her about this problem. She recommended this kind of special lock oil. While I was at the hardware store looking for plastic compound(to clean the inside of the headlights), I found the lock oil stuff. It's called Graphited Lock Oil; it was only like $2.50 too. I sprayed it in the key hole in the trunk, and all of this black fluid came pouring out from under the taillight; I guess trash from the lock cylinder. I worked the lock a little bit with my keys to try and free the little mechanism that the lady at the locksmith's office said. I tried it, and the valet key still worked perfectly on the trunk. However, after driving around a few days, I guess the little mechanism got unstuck, and now my valet key works properly :D :D . I remember a few other people saying that their valet key didn't work right, so hopefully it's the same simple problem I've had. BTW Alan, your prognosis was right on!

Hahaha :D lmao. I have removed the little needle valve things in the stem to reset the seal, and that did no good. I think I'll bring the car and have the tires checked for leaks. Thanks for the suggestions.

Not a prob.; I'm glad I could help :D . I've heard nothing but excellent reviews about leatherique! Don't call your Lex dealer; they love nothing better than robbing us, so call a junk yard. Here is a link for a bunch of networked junk yards across the country to get some ideas about whats out there http://www.car-part.com/ . An ES friend on here bought a perfect leather steering wheel from a junker service for $75...what a great deal! Good luck with your seats; special good luck if they are as bad as mine were B). After looking at the close-ups, I really love the un-perfect sewing lines on the seats; it adds a very neat old style charm to me!

BTW, call your Lexus dealer, and ask them where they send out their cars for upholstry work. That's how I found my guy, and he was awesome!

I think I can help here because I have good experience with upholstry guys! Take a look: old: new: $75 per seat probably isn't too bad, but the thing I'm thinking about is when they did my seats they took they out of the car. Regardless of how careful they are with the dye, some is bound to get on some trim pieces and other areas surrounding the seats. I paid $600 to have the entire bottom, a piece in the lumbar section of the driver's seat, and 1 large lateral section on the passenger's seat. Then, it was all dyed to match the color inside my car. I think it looks teriffic! About the actual dying, I dunno if I'd go through with it because my guy dyed the entire seat front. It looks great, but the old lines that were there are poping through the new dye(look at the larger pic hard; you can see the little lines that are on the old leather on both seats.). Also, if you are looking to restore softness, then the dye won't help with this; I actually found the seats kind of hard from the fresh dye for a few weeks. I would recommend having a good upholstry guy replace some or all leather panels. Or a cheaper alternative might be to find some seats out of another LS that are nicer than yours.

The RE92 Bridgestone Potenzas on my ES drive me nuts. I like to keep them at 44psi for a firmer ride. However, the front two deflate to probably 30-35psi and stay there . They never go flat. It's only the front two that do this; the rears hold the pressure fine. What gives???

First off welcome to the club Sri(it's the best one on the net!) ;) . The wind noise on the freeway is completely normal, and it comes from both or one of these: bad weatherstripping or your "wonderful" pilarless windows have gone out of alignment from people using the glass to slam the door shut. I spoke to my Lexus dealer about getting the windows aligned, and they told me that runs no more than $200, and they also quoted me $250 per door for weatherstripping . I think I'm going to have them realign the windows soon; I'll let you know how it turns out. Depending on the severity of the creases/cracks on your weatherstripping, silicon spray or Meguiars Tire Endourance can revive the stripping to eliminate the hissing a little bit. I personally prefer the Endourance simply because it's easier to apply; I did notice a little improvement. Plus, I have it around the garage for detailing time! I get 18mpg in mixed city and highway driving, and I'd say that about 60% is city; I only use premium Shell gasoline. Steviej added a K&N airfilter to his '02 and picked up a couple extra mpg's in the city and on the highway(correct me if these figures are wrong!). Also, depending on the maintinance history on your car, an injector flush might be help pick up a few extra miles. However, I had it done and noticed no improvements whatsoever...my car's previous owner kept the ES in pretty good mechanical shape with regular maintinance. I save the more mechanical stuff for those more mechanically inclined....

I agree! The new board looks great!!! And the best part is the gallery now works on my computers; I'm uploading as we speak!!! :D I like how you guys put the car model on the side info section too! Plus, I finally got an avatar of my real car up B) . Keep up the good work B)

Thank you so much for the kind words acf :D . My dad is a mechanical engineer, so I knew what a V8 was when I was like 5 and always loved cars since(my neighbors think I'm nuts because I religiously wash the Lexi every week-that's why the paint is still a 10/10)...lol. My ES...I got it on May22, 2003 (How's this for obsession?!?!?) with 106k for $6300. Her interior was very shabby-which included a few holes the size of quaters in the seat and the steering wheel was so bad American Stitches had to rebuild part of it(!), but about $1300(steering wheel, seats, oem floor mats) later the inside looks brand new. I had pics up of the seats, but then the server crashed. Here is the before and after of the steering wheel http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...e=post&id=19968, http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...e=post&id=19969, http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...e=post&id=19970 (I have bought new mats since this picture-they cost an arm and a leg, but they are soo beautiful! they really make the car feel new!). I've got a good job which is where I'm at now! I'm a drawing organizer(boring, but great money!), and I cut 7 lawns(which is also good money!). I worked half of the summer at the engineering co(I only work when they get new sets of drawings in); I put about $2200 in my pocket, but it's all gone now...well the ES has commandeered every last cent ! At least it went into something worth while. I haven't graduated yet; I'm a very young senior(won't be 18 until aug.). I guess I really should go find some used LS's to look at to see for myself. I always get treated well because I pull up in my Lex, and they think I'm some rich kid with a lot of money. I just let them think that to keep up the good service B) ! BTW, I never figured out the dent wizzard thing either