blake918

Just paid $2.21 for Shell 93...sure beats paying 2x that over the summer.

You must own stock in the company that makes the cabin filter! I don't see how that'll solve the problem. Can you explain? I'm sure he means that your filter might be causing the low flow issue you mentioned. It's certainly worth checking before you start diagnosing and repairing expensive a/c parts.

Thanks Denny! LOL Thanks again Lex! :D I also thought the sticker looked better (relatively speaking) on the bumper too!

This is interesting since I just repaired some of the wiring for my '99's highbeam. Was this high or low beam? The only reason I knew it was out was because I noticed my DRLs were out. You can get Philips xenon bulbs on ebay for about $60/bulb. ;) After you remove the headlamp assembly, it's very easy to change the bulbs (as is removing the headlamp). For the tool kit, ebay or junkyard would be fine. Search for some wrecks in your area using http://www.car-part.com; you might have to email the junkyard since it doesn't look like you can search for the tools. I bought hood struts off of ebay for my '99, and they were only $50 or so for the pair. Make sure that you get some that come with the ball screws so that you don't have to remove them from your old hood struts.

I did hear it a little. I'm not a hard accelerator, so I didn't hear it too much, and it would lessen as the car warmed up. I didn't know what the noise was either. I thought the valves were ticking very badly (since it's somewhat common on the GenI cars), but when I checked them, 31/32 of them were still in the proper spec. I then started reading about the EGR pipe. I put it off some more since I thought the repair was going to be awful since I didn't know what I now know about it. The noise from the video is exacerbated since they were shot in the garage. On the road, it was barely audible with the radio and ac on.

I modified the broken EGR pipe that came out of my car. I bent it, and then crushed it the rest of the way in a vice. Here's a pic: LOL I've never heard that one before. To me, it seems that if there were any credence to that, Lexus would have the EGR temp sensor set off a special malfunction light if there was a chance of this fresh air causing engine damage...like a low oil pressure/level light. I believe there is CEL code for the egr temp sensor, but I guess the temp sensor is either not very sensitive or the air that my car was sucking in was warm enough to fool it since I never had any check engine lights as a result of this EGR modification. I drove my LS with my EGR sucking in fresh air for almost 2 years. It was probably longer than that; I drove around on the repair for 2 years. The pipe was completely cracked in two when I capped the bottom end of the EGR, so I suspect I was sucking in fresh air for a long time for the pipe to have severed in to two pieces, and my engine ran perfectly every day I owned the car. $800 for the repair?? I'm guessing he told you the tranny needs to come out?? Well, he's wrong. For comparison, the Lexus dealer nearest me only wanted $500--that includes parts and labor. I'm sure they wanted $120 or $150 for the part (whatever list is), and the rest was labor @ $110/hour. I wouldn't attribute that to the EGR pipe. My '95's highway mileage always met or exceeded the hwy EPA estimates all of the 4 years I owned the car even with the broken/capped egr pipe. Depending on what kind of city driving you do, 12-15mpg is perfectly normal if you are running short trips, stop and go, etc. If I stay just in the city, I will see 13mpg. On the hwy (outside of the city, with the cruise set), you should easily see 25mpg-26mpg (I got 27mpg on the hwy in my '95 with some minor tweaks). Sounds like it's time for a tune-up.

Thanks yall! B) Lex, I'm no fan of bumper stickers either; what you are seeing is a parking permit that must be placed right where it is. It sucks, but I have to have it. ;)

I love this feature...I really miss it on my ES. I've got no use for it since I don't tilt or telescope the wheel (only a slight tilt, no tele) enough to make it difficult to get out of the car. Too, I wanted it done from a longevity standpoint, since it's not useful to me I figured I'd turn it off and keep it from wearing out after seeing all of the TSBs on this. I'm sure I'll turn it back on if I ever have to sell this car since most people love this feature. This I don't understand. Why with the auto headlamps? Even when the headlamps are turned on manually...they still shut off automatically... Extending the headlamp delay is also somewhat pointless since the lights won't shut off if a door or the trunk is open, and I really only use the delay if I'm unloading in the dark. I thought I might have a use for it at some point, and if they are changing other things, they can change this while they are at it. I just went through the TSB and highlighted any changes that seemed remotely interesting to me to, and the light chime made the list even though it is worthless. LOL

Cool pics Josh! I'm glad your training went well down here in Hell's Waiting-Room! :)

From what I saw on the Lexus website, it shows that leather is optional on the 2009 ES and RX models. It didn't say if they come with vinyl or cloth (probably cloth because of the JDM). I'm sure that you would have to special order one without leather. I've always wished that Lexus offered a MB tex/vinyl upholstery option since it is soft enough for me and it lasts much, much longer than leather.

LOL Thanks! I had some CBES changes made too, and they only charged me $40 to change 6 functions. It was well worth the $40; I'm so happy with the changes. You'd think Lexus would let you make these changes from the dash like you can in a lot of cars, but no. I had them change: -1 click unlocks all doors -1 click to open trunk (instead of press and hold for 2 seconds) -extend the headlamp delay to 90s -kill the auto tilt/tele each time the key goes in to the ignition!!!!! -turn the unlock/lock chirp to max volume -turn the headlamp reminder chime on

My '95 made it up to 315,000 miles when I sold it, and I suspect that the only thing that will take it out of commission is a crash. It was an absolutely fabulous car to own and drive. I came really close to putting 100,000 miles on it in the 4 years I owned it, and it never gave me any serious trouble. I love my '99, but seeing these pics from when I cleaned-up the '95 one last time sure does make me miss that wonderful old car!

LOL Thanks! :D Maybe it was just strange camera lighting when I took the pics; the sky does look a little overcast. Look at the outside view of the car, it appears that there is a small visor up at the top... Even better, look at this pic...

I correctly understand that in this case there will be a water and dirt hit to the intake manifold and engine?? I never experienced any problems in that regard. ;) My '95 got great mileage--27mpg on the hwy @75ish mph. Lextreme says that if you remove the egr system, it's good for 2-5hp.

Guys, my windshield is a Toyota windshield (all of my windows have Toyota on them). It says Toyota Lamisafe; I'm not sure if it's original or not. Perhaps the visor is a regional thing?

Thanks Gill! Ed, I finally hardwired the X50, and wow, I can't believe I waited all these years to do it. It's a quick job too--took me 20-25 minutes. It looks 1M times better without the coiled cord dangling down to the ash tray.... Other little repairs I've done so far: A new remote key. The buttons on the one that came with the car didn't work as well as they should, so I bought a new one from Sewell for $110. The new key looks so much better too. New xenon bulbs since the old ones (especially the passenger's side) were too purple and weren't putting out good light (the new ones certainly fixed both problems). I bought Philips 4300k bulbs off of ebay for $110+shipping. Before: After: I had to do a little electrical repair when I noticed my DRLs and one of my high beams were not working. One of the little spade connectors that connects the car's wiring harness to the headlamp assembly was broken, so I crimped a new one on since the Lexus dealer I spoke with couldn't find this particular part. Both lighting systems work as they should now. Before: After:

It didn't affect my mpg at all. Basically, all that I did was cap a hole in my exhaust manifold. The egr system still worked; it just sucked in the warm air that was in between the firewall and engine (which it had been doing for some time since my egr tube had cracked completely in to two pieces.).

I don't believe there is. It's a 10 minute job at the most, and the gist of it is you unscrew the old one and put the new one in (kind of like changing a spark plug). The part number: 17630-16040 (it's $80 online). I noticed the white smoke mostly when I had it at WOT merging or passing.

You can reach the point where the EGR pipe attaches to the exhaust manifold from underneath the car. Put your car up on ramps and slide under the car just behind the front passenger's side tire (I don't know what side the steering wheel is on in Russia, so if you are standing at the front bumper, it's the left side.). After the car has cooled off, reach up towards the manifold and you can feel the EGR pipe. I was able to remove mine with a combination wrench. I believe you have to remove the heater control valve (and maybe some other parts) to unbolt the other end of the EGR pipe. We don't do emission testing here, so I just capped mine off at the exhaust manifold to make the exhaust noise stop, and it worked beautifully (which is also posted on youtube).

I agree with Lexus400 about the power steering pump air control valve being a possibility. It's a very easy repair. He's referring to the ps air control valve.

I changed the rack in my '95 LS because the steering feel was getting too loose (@ 300k+ miles). I was able to buy a rack from a '96 LS w/ 60k off of ebay for $150 (shipping is going to be high since the rack weighs something like 40lbs, and it is pretty big.). I think they were honest about the mileage since the rack looked like it was brand new. I remember reading mixed reviews about remans, so a low mile OEM unit was the simple choice for me. I changed the tie rod ends and rack bushings too; I think that added another $140 ($100 for the tie rods, and $40 for the two grommets). I should have changed the boots too since they had some minor tears, but it completely slipped my mind when I bought everything else. If you get the rack from Lexus, they are quite expensive. $1600 for a new OEM rack sounds a little high, but not too bad for not having ordered it yourself from an online Lexus parts department. We changed the rack in about 2 hours taking our time (there's nothing difficult or time consuming about it. All you're doing is disconnecting the tie rod ends, power steering lines, solenoid, steering knuckle, brackets, and out it comes.). The most difficult part (which is not difficult at all) is getting the rack to come out since you have to find that sweet spot for it to slide out. Is an alignment included in that 500 of labor (my Lexus dealer charges $125 for an alignment which seems to be the going rate around here)? What is his hourly rate? Well, whatever it is, I'd give him no more than 2.5 hours + an alignment. Why do you need to replace the rack (114k seems like low mileage for this repair)?

I'm not sure if Toyota makes the same springs for one of their cars (I'm doubtful though), but I would encourage you to check with the well know online Lexus parts stores. Such as, ......... http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...playCatalogid=0

Looks brand new! B) It's funny to see a LS without the floor mounted gas pedal! hehe

My '99 LS (168k miles) makes a loud clicking noise when I turn the wheel all the way to the left or right when I'm stopped or when I make a tight turn. The lower ball joints and tie rod ends are brand new with an alignment done by Lexus last Saturday. The car goes down the road perfectly--no wondering, pulling, etc. If I slam on the brake, I can hear an extremely soft "strut rod clunk" sound from the passenger's side. It sounds like the clicking comes more from the passenger's side than the driver's, and it only clicks when I make a very tight turn or when I am turning the wheel while I'm stopped. Here's a link to the video of the clicking noise as I back out: After some searching, I found this thread: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...83&hl=click where the poster says that new strut rods cured the clunking and clicking. I would have ordered the strut rods already, but my previous LS's strut rods were almost completely disintegrated, but it never clicked when making a tight turn (although the clunk from slamming on the brake could be heard two and a half miles away). Should I change the strut rods any way? Any thoughts?

Happy Birthday Smooth!!