nc211

You can retap the pan if it's threads are stripped, or get a new plug if it's just the plug threads that are stripped. New pan? Not seeing it.

Blake! Good to hear you and your family are ok! If you or your family find yourselves in my neck of the woods, let me know. I'll hook ya'll up on some Carolina BB-Q. Hang in there amigo, I think it's going to be a bumpy ride from here on out. Keep us updated when you can, thoughts and prayers are with ya' Bubba.

Now I've been through some hurricanes in my day down in Wilmington, NC "Bertha, Fran, Bonnie, Dennis "twice", Irene & Floyd" but the one that just hit MS is by far the biggest I've seen. I've actually fallen asleep, woke up thinking it was over, but was still in the eye, went back to sleep, woke up thinking it was over, and STILL in the eye "Bonnie back in '98". That storm sucked, ran out of beer before the second half of the storm hit. It actually stopped right over my house and was in the eye for 12 hours while is fizzled itself out. Played frisbee during Bertha in 96' and nearly broke my nose.

Blake, hope you're ok..where ever you're at.

Hahaha! Blew his doors off huh! Yeah, when you turn these V8's loose, they will scream! I like how they just keep going faster and faster and faster, keep on pulling and winding up. I love this V8! Now that I know what the problem is, I can actually hear the brake dragging and feel it now too. I feels like I'm towing something behind me.

Bartkat, what part of Bama are you in? Any updates on B'ham?

Well, I checked for that sticker, even called the dealership and asked where it would be...No sticker. However, they did update the manual saying it was done, and I do have the original invoice of all parts, including part numbers, that were replaced. On that list, the actual sticker part number is not listed as being installed. So, I think they did do the timing belt and water-pump, but they just forgot to put on the sticker. I'll be heading up there sometime this week to ask some questions.

Guys, I think I've pinpointed the source of my strange wobble. It is the e-brake. I think it's dragging. When I slightly put the brake on and drive slowly, the wobble is magnified. I take the brake off, drive slowly, slight wobble. Apply the brake, drive slowly, wobble is intensified. Now, how much does this cost to correct? I'm going to put on new rotors and pads in two weeks on the back anyway. I'm wondering if I need to order some other parts for the e-brake?

EDIT 7/31/2006:: As the starter of this thread, I want to post to those new here reading this for the first time. There is a lot of helpful information in these pages, but the ultimate answer is at the end....The driveshaft center bearing was bad due to years of having a bad engine computer which created something called "Off Throttle Shock". The reverse torque of the off-throttle-shock was too much for the center bearings to handle. Read the pages if you like, but the cause was the driveshaft.

90LS400, was curious, did you ever fix the tires on this old thread?

Can a rotor get so bad that it will graze the pad when the car is moving? And if so, would the effect be worse at slower speeds? I'm trying to pin point a wobble, of which I'm sure most of you wish I would just shut up about! The slower the car, more noticable the wobble. It goes away at highway speeds, but 40 and below, it's there, and especially in a turn. So, can a rotor get so bent out of shape that will actually hit the pad in travel? Is this rare if possible?

Ditto Gumart..exactly. I'm curious because I negotiated the 90k service into the purchase price, and made damn sure "timing belt and water pump" were on the dealer "we owe you" ticket for the service. I'll know more on Monday for sure.

I'm going to go through my original paperwork this weekend and look for that timing belt sticker under the hood. I would think they still have that on file at the dealership, even though it's been 16+ months, don't you guys?

I'm going to check for that sticker here in an hour or so. Would those fluids be that bad off with 21k miles of normal driving? I wouldn't think so, but I've never had a car like this before, or of this age. I would have thought that if the tranny fluid was completely flushed and replaced with new, it wouldn't go dark maroon/black that quickly.

Timing belt box? Are you referring to the cover(s) for the left and right side? I'm talking greek here and a bit lost.

Hey guys, I'm starting to wonder if my local dealership actually did the full 90k service as agreed upon when I purchased the car at 84k miles back in May 04'. I know they did not change out the air filter in the glove box. From draining my tranny fluid two weeks ago and it being nearly black, that makes me wonder too. The differential fluid was nearly black as well. They said at the 90k service, the fluid is flushed, not just drained. After the 2 quart drain n' fill last week, it shifts smoother now than it ever has under my ownership. The car is making a sound at idle like the ildler bearing is going bad...the engine doesn't sound very tight, if that makes any sense. I'm wondering if they really did change out the timing belt and water pump as promised now? Any thing that I can check easily on the car to verify this was done? I saw lexls site, but not sure if it's applicable to the gen 2 models? They did the 90k in a one day time span. Dropped off at 9:00 am, picked up all washed and cleaned at 5:00pm the same day.

Also, how hard is it to replace the idler pulley?

By the way, the car now has 106k miles. I've put just a tick over 21k miles on her since I bought it and the 90k service was done.

Kewl, I think it was when they switched generations in 95 that they made some changes to the suspension, but I don't know to what extent. I say this because you can get those Diazan suspension bushings for the 1st generation models easily, but you can't get squat for the 2nd + generations "except for rear carrier ASUS bushing"...Or at least you couldn't a few months back when I decided to blow $1,600 for all new suspension components all the way around. There was a guy in Australia "Vlamos" that was working on them, but I haven't heard a thing from him since last January.

lsrxlex, sorry man, I have no idea how to use the kit. But one idea that is a cheap alternative, although I don't know if it'll work or not, is to clay bar and really wax up the corners to make them super smooth. I have noticed in my 17 years of car ownership that a car seems to be much quieter when waxed really well. I've also noticed that rain-x on all the windows, especially the windshield makes a dramatic reduction in wind noise against the glass. That might be an idea. I took some cleaner about a year ago and cleaned out the sunroof seal settings, and then conditioned the rubber seal with some lubricant to prevent it from sticking. I had a small water leak from a dirty contact seal. Haven't had one since, and it also quieted down the wind noise around the sunroof.

Here is a TSB about wind noise on our cars. It is a repair hit that I think you can buy, it has part numbers, so I would figure so.

14.pdf

Another satified customer...Welcome to the club amigo!

Ooops, sorry man...I've got the Tauranza on the spare as well. I got confused...it's easy to do these days. I too have the Mich tires like Blake has on his. I like them, I think. The car is in the shop right now being checked for some strange damn wobble I've had now for months. It might be one of the tires, but I doubt it.

Dude, you must keep this car...it will blow the doors off that avalon in every aspect...every aspect...hands down. Just drive it for a few days and then see if you really want to get rid of it for the avalon. You'll ask yourself "why was I even thinking of that?"

Hey Morg, I did the transmission fluid drain a couple weeks ago while doing the rear differential oil. It was super easy, and I have noticed a much smoother transmission becuase of it. It drained 2 quarts, and I replaced it with oem tranny fluid. The fluid was dark dark maroon, almost black. The new stuff is alabama red, and did reduce the lurching a bit. Unfortunetly, the drain and fill method only gets out 2 of the 7 or so quarts "or so I hear". I think with the combinatin of the new diff bushings and the eventual replacement of all tranny fluid, it just might fix it.

PK, I used the Valvoline 80-90w / gl 5 stuff. I have not a clue what gl 5 is, but the manual called for it. Mine was normal stuff, not synthetic. I decided to stick with the oem spec of original date, and went with non-synthetic. You can get this stuff at autozone for like $5 a quart. You'll need 2 of them, as it will take about 1.4 quarts. Also, a pump of some sort is REQUIRED to the new stuff in there. I bought one that looks like a caulking gun type. You put the plastic hose into the new bottle, pull back on the handle which fills it up. Then put the plastic hose into the top fill hole on the differential and push the handle back down to release the oil. It was super simple. A little tight under there, but super simple. Remeber, make sure you loosen up the fill plug FIRST to make sure you can fill it. My Lexus dealership didn't sell this stuff either, they have just big oil drums of it and use thier auto injector to fill the car.

i've got the 95-97 years in pdf., but i don't if it is the same for the 98-00 vti engines?

I was wondering this as well, but got a question regarding the TSB for the ECM unit replacement proceedure. I had my computer changed out by the dealer a year or so ago. The TSB indicates new spark plugs be put in, with a different part number from the original plugs. Anyone know the story on that? Here is the TSB in question.

41.pdf

Ronen, check your fullsize spare in the trunk as that might be an original. Mine is, and it's a continetal