nc211

I hope one day to have an 80's style 560SEC in my garage as my hobby car. But, I'll go into that knowing the repairs and upkeep will require disposable income of 3x's the purchase price. But, I do agree on the history of the MB brand. I LOVE the smell of that leather...My dad still has a 1985 500 SEL from Italy, and although the seats are too floaty "Italian model", and technology is ancient....going down the road in that mother led-sled has not, will not, and can not, be duplicated. MB hit a funny patch several years ago, where building buy hand was costing too much to sustain profits, enter Chrystler's involvement...and exit the ledgendary realiability. But, I'm sure that's on it's way back. I do want a MB some day, hopefully not too far off. If for nothing else, to say that I've had one and can relate. But when I do, it'll be that 80's style, or possibly early 90's. And I'll have to be at a place where $10k can be set aside and my time can be spent, on saturday morning repairs. I was actually thinking today while on the way back from the coast how much fun it would be to have a nice older car my son and I could spend time working on. I'm a BIG fan of the show Home Improvement. Tim The Tool Man Taylor is one of my idols! 'course, so it Forrest Gump...so go figure...

We haven't had any political chatter in a while... I found this article recently and found it quite interesting. Not to incite old 9/11 feelings again, as I think they should rest in the history books for future generations to learn from, not act upon. But, this is quite interesting to review in light of today's environment. My my, how we've come... http://usatoday.com/news/poll001.htm

J', if you're seeing the fluid that dark, then I'd recommend doing the ole' drain n' fill again soon, like next weekend perhaps, until it starts coming out red. ;)

I can't get the bolts to turn. I have the upper control arm popped, but can't get the two top bolts to move or the bottom bolts to take of the coil to make more room. Which direction are the control arm bolts suppose to go? Pull the wrench downward towards me or push it upwards away from me? Righty-tighty / lefty-loosey - when facing the bolt. So to answer you question about direction: both! Man, are you bringing back some memories when I did this. Wore myself out to the point were I nearly passed out in the shower afterwards. I can't recall ever being so tired. My legs were like rubber, and thought I was going to puke, I was that tired. Hit the bolts with some WD40, liquid wrench preferred, but WD will work as well. I assume you're using a basic wrench? If so, and this is a little tricky, but let the liquid wrench/wd40 sit on the bolt for a few seconds, then with one hand holding the wrench in place at the bolt, take a hammer and tap/hit the other end a few times to loosen up via shock. Then put a little more wd40/liquid wrench on there and tap again, then let it sit for a few minutes to let it work it's way in. It should bust loose shortly thereafter. OR, and this makes EASY work of those damn bolts....a cheater bar or breaker bar. It's basically a 30 inch wrench. The further away from the bolt you can get, the more leverage you'll acheive. BUT WARNING:: WATCH OUT ON THE BOLT THAT REQUIRES YOU TO MOVE THE WRENCH UP!!! YOU'LL HIT THE FENDER OF THE CAR AND DING IT! Breaker bars are sold everywhere, very common in automotive stores. Probably cost around $25 bucks. Or if you have a hollow steel tube that you can slide over the handle of the wrench and achieve a decent enough fit to lift with it, use that. But nothing beats a breaker bar. It's one of those tools that you'll keep forever and use again and again as the car ages and you take on more chores yourself. Especially on the bolts to remove the calipers if you take on the brake rotors. Those puppies get so much grime on them, then gets cooked on with the heat....damn near impossible to loosen them at first without some serious leverage...

The shocks & springs are connected to the car via the lower control arm and bracket in the wheel well. The upper control arm simply slides over then, like a horseshoe to the pin. No need to remove them. Good luck, and let us know if you have questions!

This is strange, and the first time I've ever heard of a 430 acting like a generation 1 LS400, which would do this due to engine computer issues. I remember test driving a 98' GS300 with about 80k several years back, and it stalled on the highway as well. The engine shut down, but the electronics were still active. I believe it turned out to be a bad tps. It was a repo my former employer had in their consumer lending department. I would assume a check-engine-light kicks on when this happens? I'd swing by an Autozone type store and ask if they'll connect their computer to the car and get the codes from the computer. That might point you right to the problem. Even if the light isn't on, I'd still scan the computer, as I'm sure something has to be stored in there.

Oh man, you're right at the perfect spot to make that car brand spankin' new again! Mileage wise, you're more than good, but age wise, I suggest addressing the fluids in the mechanicals. If you've got water on the plugs, then someone certainly did use a pressure washer on the engine, which might toss a code or two in the coming days, but nothing major. Things I would suggest you do now to restore her back to new include: 1) Tranny fluid. Swing by your local Toyota dealership and buy a case of Toyota Type IV transmission fluid ($50 bucks +/-). You're only going to use 2 bottles at a time, but it's nice to have the xtras around for later. Do a search on here for "drain n' fill", which will show you how to perform the EASIEST service on the car. It's super easy man, takes just a few minutes. 2) Rear differential fluid. Again, run a search for how to do it, it's quite easy as well. I would suggest using synthetic gear oil. 3) Power steering fluid: A new procedure i've read about on another forum is to use a turkey baster, remove some of the fluid from the resiviour tank, replace with new. Run the car to cycle the new through, and repeat. Do this about a dozen times and you'll have effectively replaced the fluid with new. There is also a power steering solenoid underneath the car that houses a tiny screen. Search "solenoid" or something along those lines to find picutres and proceedures. That solenoid communicates the amount of boost issued to your steering at certain speeds. If you have 1 finger steering now at parking lot speeds, you're in great shape. If it's tight, then that screen is probably ready for a cleaning. This simple proceedure will preserve your steering rack for a lot longer, as it relieves pressure on the seals in the rack. 4) Brake fluid. Simple bleed and replace. Start with the furthest one away from the master cylinder. 5) Air filters: You have two in that car. 1 is the main one in the engine bay. I'd just check it, clean it if needed, or simply replace it. The other is in your glove box. This one is the in-cabin filter and will prolong the life of the a/c system "and eliminate any odors in the car". I can't recall if you have to remove anything to get at it, or simply open the door and slide it out. Take a look, it's pretty easy to figure out. 6) Coolant: At that time (97), I don't think Toyota was using the 100k coolant. They might of been, I'm not sure. But, you might want to check it. Outside of that, you've got at least 300k of sheer bliss in front of you man! I'd swing by the lexus dealership with your vin number and sweet talk one of the service tech's to run the mechanical history on the car through their computer. I have a feeling, if you've got a car that's 11 years old with those low miles, it was probably well taken care of by the dealership. They'll have the entire history of what was done, when, and by who. Here is a website that you can join for a day and download the shop manual to your car. It's several Pdf. files all littered around, takes a few hours to get everything. But once you've got it, you've got procedures/torque specs/how-to's/ TSB (technical survice bulletins), for every single nut, bolt, and clip from top to bottom, front to back. https://techinfo.toyota.com/techInfoPortal/...o.toyota.com%2F

you need the MAF sensor working, otherwise the balance between air and fuel will be off, a lot. That is your problem. It sounds like you might need a new one. It's not a difficult repair. But without it's input into the engine's operation, it's going to supply more fuel into the engine than is normally required, because it can't figure out how much air is going into the intake chamber. It's running rich..way rich.

with that mileage on the toyo tires, I wouldn't be suprised if you're hearing the little crossbars between the tread hitting the pavement, indicating time for a new set.

How many miles on the car? What kind of tires are on there now? What is the condition of the tires? In the past, me included, usually start to notice more noise coming into the cabin around the 80-120k mark. And although tires play a very big part, so do engine mounts/tranny mount. As the mounts age and compress, or even crack, the mechanical sounds of the engine or tranny are tranmitted to the frame. Wheel bearings have not been a big repair item on here over the years. Not to say they don't wear out, but it seems to be pretty rare, espeicially on the gen2+ (1995+) models. When you start the car in the morning, do you hear a single knock sound from the engine right at start up? If so, then that would indicate the driver's side mount, which is usually the first one to go, is close... You can pop the hood, have a friend hold the brakes-put in drive-and gently rev the engine a little. While he/she does this, you watch the engine for movement. If it's shifting around by more then about 2 inches or so, the mounts are close to being done. But first, let us know the mileage/tires/condition of tires/ and if you've rotated them on time. Wouldn't be flat spots on the tires from the car sitting for long periods of time in this summer heat, could it? #2: If you like your friends who are interested in buying the car, then I wouldn't let Firestone touch the car! Just my opinion on that one though...

Interesting! I didn't know that west! I've learned something new today

Good question, I'm confused too....where are you Dens?

Threadcutter, good too see you again my friend! I love that part about needing a new throttle body! My guess: if it's leaking, they probably didn't use a new crush washer on the drain plug. I have never heard of a "vent" on a rear differential. It doesn't sound like it would make sense to have an opening on a differential, which would allow debrie and moisture to get into it. From my standpoint of my old 95, and current 05' 4runner with two differentials & transfer case, neither one had/has a "vent". It's a fill plug on the top, a drain plug on the bottom, with seals along the axles into the unit. But to answer your question about the warranty: As mentioned by the former rookie-now all grown up-jcrome, YES-IT'S ABSOLUTELY covered under that warranty. You might have to argue with them a little to get them to pony up, as they tend to hate to pay for things on their own. But, it's part of the driveline, and if they say anything different, then ask them how in the hell a driveline could possibly work without a differential? No differential, then all you have is a driveshaft hanging down under the car. If you don't want to go all the way back to the dealership for the service, just call Lexus corporate and see if they'll allow your local toyota dealership to do the repair, on the lexus dealership's dime. This is a very easy DIY repair, if you're a diy type. I've flushed differential fluids in both cars several times. The only hassle is that the fluid stinks to all highhell. The dealership will drain the fluid, clean the drain plug-which has a magnet on the internal end to hold any metal shavings that naturally happen, put a new washer on the plug, put it back in, and fill it up from the top port "which too has a plug". Any shop can do it, takes 20 minutes, tops. But first, just look under the car and see if the bottom of the differential is wet, or the axles. If it's just the differential, then it's most probably just the plug "or excess fluid from the change". If the axles are wet, then you've most likely got a worn-out seal, which you'll want the dealership to fix under the warranty. BUT, I would be stunned if it's the seals at this mileage and age. There have been few to no differential seal leaks posted up here that I can recall in the 3 1/2 years I've been on here....even Chilkoot's rear differential seals weren't leaking when he bought his neglected LS he has now "brought back from the dead". Right Chilkoot? PS: After seeing your other thread with the pictures, I'd not be suprised at all if the dealership is trying to snake a few extra bucks out of you, for giving you such a good deal!

I've found that the fewer repairs needed for a type of car...the nicier the owners seem to be.... ;) That's why we're a happy bunch over here! That, and the fact that you can buy a 15 year old car, spend a few hundred bucks in new fluids and a few mounts, and be right back to new driving status for the next 100k miles! Not to knock the MB owners of the world, as they truely are beautiful cars to look at and drive! But, if I had spent that much money on a car, only to have as many problems as they seem to produce, I'd be pretty ticked off too!

Hmm....

Aside from the costs, hassles, and possible damage to the car "which is quite possible as those crane operators tend to DROP the cargo containers onto the ships, I know for a fact", I think you'll face even more expense with getting it past the port authority due to our strict regulations on emissions and safety requirements. I don't know if the bumpers, airbag gear, seat belts, and such are the same for the CR-V world wide, but I seriously doubt the emissions of a car built for the Philippines' market will pass here, especially in California! If I recall, California cars have slightly modified emission equipment. I recall this from the VW GTI I had as a kid. The California version-only had 5 less HP due to emissions equipment. The damage to cars during shipping has been well documented in my circle of life. That VW I had, turned out to be a military man's car, and was shipped to Germany and back. When we got in 1987, we came to realize all the rims were bent, several mounts were bad and it never made it past 50k. One of my buddies who was a Navy Jag lawyer in Hawaii had two cars shipped over, both arrived damaged with severe scratches, broken mirrors and bent rims as well. One was shipped via military contracts, the other was a Jeep he bought on Ebay from Kentucky and paid to ship it. Another buddy who was Army, bought a BMW 325 in Germany back in 2000. After his service was up, in 2004, he and his wife had it shipped back to the states to Ft. Bragg. Again, it arrived in rough shape, and after chasing several electronic glitches "loose connectors", new wheels and funky engine issues "probably associated with US gasoline", they traded it in for a new one locally, and have never had a problem with it.

Rya, do you have a backyard area? If so, Dicks' has a "practice net" on sale for about 40 bucks this week. I'm hoping to get one this weekend. I've seen them before, and they're great! It's a big safety net that you hit into. You guys could practice your swings in the comfort of your back yard!

I'd ask them to issue you the "We Owe You" ticket for the 90k service, when you're ready. And if they give you that, and still keep it in the $17k window, then I'd say it sounds like a great deal. Not all of them had electonic bugs, but I do think some had minor quirks, nothing major though. Hey, at the end of the day, it's a Lexus LS..you can't beat them, period. Have the dealership fax you the service history on the car. They can do that easily by just running the vin the number through their computer. All Lexus dealerships do this, so if he says "we can't do that", then I'd be suspecious, to say the least. Dang...if prices are falling this much, i'm almost tempted to swap out the Mazda for another LS.

I'd love to get into it, but not just yet, I'm a little to tight at the moment to slice off some of the savings to start rolling with, plus my wife would have a fit! Maybe I'll slice off a piece of the next spring's bonus and start playing my cards. I remember back in school "finance major", we had a semester long contest on one of the practice site. My partner and I won the most money by a long shot, with pitting calls and puts against eachother. I know I have the notes on how we did it in a box in the attic, which I'd have to reread, because I don't recall how we did it (1999). But we had things coming and going like mad, and cleared out at the end of the semester with over a cool million, of funny money. I remember terms like straddles, spiders, and something he coined as the "derivative double dance". I'll always remember that phrase, because our instructor made him get up in front of the class and demonstrate what the derivative double dance looked like. Funny stuff! However, I do recall one of the good plays was Enron...so...whatever that means... But these days, and for the past 8 years, it's all NOI, cap rates, and DCF models on real estate for me. When it cools down a bit, I think I'll head up there and see if I can find that box. But not this weekend, that's for sure! Temps over 100 predicted. By the way, I think you might of jumped out a hair too soon, considering today's $11 rally up the ladder on oil. But with those kinds of returns you're getting, still ain't nothing to cry about! I'm jealous!

I'd go for the 03' for two reasons. 1) 01' was the 1st year of the 430 series, and I do believe they had a few funky electronic bugs that needed some attention. They were elimenated by 03'. 2) If the 03' is being sold by a Lexus dealer, then MAKE you offer contingent upon them issuing you a "We Owe You" certificate for the 90k service, make SURE that includes the timing belt and water pump, as some dealers don't automatically include them. If you do that, you'll be set for a good long time in a very sweet "and safe" ride! The 90k is the big whopper service, so if you can get it for free, then it's well worth the extra $2k in price difference between the two, as you'll spend that much anyway to have the 90k service done. ;) Edit: Just saw your part about having to drive hours to get one. Since you don't want to go back for the 90k service, which I don't think a Toyota dealership can handle, then make your offer contigent upon them doing the FULL 90k service prior to delivery.

Yeah, I agree RX.. I feel really bad for all the people out there that are stuck between a rock and a hard place "gas station". I ran the KBB trade in value on my 4runner the other night, just for curiousity, and it said trade value was barely $13k, at excellent condition. I laughed. But when I ran it at retail, in excellent condition, it was still around $20k, and I REALLY laughed then. It amazes me sometimes how quickly people react to things. Gas hits $4, and with 48 hours, people are giving away thousands of dollars of equity in their SUV's for much smaller and lesser cars. And most are trying to max out the financing on those smaller cars to include some of that loss on their trades, which just puts them in worse condition the second they title the car and take the depreciation hit. Just like a few years ago when lenders where pushing 125% loan to value refinancing on people's homes...automatically flipped over. At least homes will appreciate over time, unlike cars. If they would just sit tight, make cuts in other areas of their lives at the moment, and not make these trades, I think they'd find that they'll be MUCH better off soon. Think about how many gallons of gas $6,000 can buy! Instead of throwing it away to Joe Slick car salesman. But, some people never really learn the value of protecting your credit score either, and don't quite understand how important it is. Are you still running your options table on oil, RX? Do you have any hedges in place incase it tanks and you're still exposed? It's been years since studying that stuff, but if I recall, a "spider" play does this? I'm super rusty on my lingo... I only deal in commercial real estate investments. I'll say this too, in relation to all of these artictles about "the death of the SUV". Complete, total, and utter-CRAP. The SUV has been around since the beginning of the automobile, and will continue. What's next? The "death of the mini-van"? Because my dad's Nissan minivan gets the exact same mileage as my v8 4runner. As long as American's continue to reproduce, SUV's will continue to play it's part in American culture.

Not that this horse hasn't been beaten to death already, but I thought I'd post up an article from Fortune Magazine that came up on cnn.com. I tell ya' who's going to make a mint with this stuff, is used car dealers! They're giving pennies on the dollar for the floods of SUV's coming in on trade, which are more substiantial in terms of materials and build, and charging top shelf prices for the cheaper built economy cars! They flush out the cheaper cars at max profit margins, sit tight with the SUV's and wait for oil to tank, and then turn around and jack up the prices for the SUV's when people realize they can't fit the family in the econoboxes and want their SUV back, when gas is about $1.70 a gallon. Give pennies for the slightly used econo-cars on trade, and hit high profit margins on the SUV's...and the wheels of economic demand continues to roll... Why oil prices will tank Arguments that $4-a-gallon gas (or even higher) is here to stay are dead wrong. Housing's boom-and-bust cycle tells you why. By Shawn Tully, editor at large NEW YORK (Fortune) -- High-flying tech stocks crashed. The roaring housing market crumbled. And oil, rest assured, will follow the same path down. Not everyone agrees. In an echo of our most recent market frenzies, some experts pronounce that the "world has changed," and that the demand spikes, supply disruptions, and government bungling we face now will saddle us with a future of $4, $5 or even $10 a gallon gasoline. But if you stick to basic economics, it's clear that the only question is when - not if - prices will succumb. The oil bulls are correct in their explanations of why prices have jumped. It's indisputable that worldwide demand has surged, chiefly driven by strong growth in China, India and the Middle East. It's also true that most of the world's reserves are controlled by governments in places like Russia and Venezuela that mismanage production, thus curtailing supply growth. But rather than forming a permanent new plateau for prices - as the bulls contend - those forces are causing a classically unstable market that's destined for a steep fall. What do you think: Is $4-a-gallon case here to stay? In a normal oil market, the cost of producing the last, most expensive barrel of oil needed to satisfy worldwide demand sets the price for every barrel the world over. Other auction commodity markets work much the same way. So even if Saudi Arabia produces at $4 a barrel, if the final, multi-millionth barrel required to heat houses and run cars costs $50, and is produced, for argument's sake, at a flagging field in West Texas, the world price is $50. That's what economists call the equilibrium price: It's where the price that customers are willing to pay meets the production cost, including a cushion, naturally, for profit or "the cost of capital." But today, the sudden surge in demand and the production bottlenecks have thrown the market radically out of balance. Almost exactly the same thing happened in the housing market. And both housing and oil supply react to a surge in demand with a long lag. In housing, the lag is caused by restrictive zoning and development laws, especially in coastal markets like California and Florida. So when the economy roared back in 2002 and 2003, builders couldn't turn out homes fast enough for buyers armed with those cheap mortgages. As a result, prices spiked. They no longer bore any relation to the actual cost of buying and improving land, or constructing and marketing a new house (at some reasonable profit margin). Instead, frenzied buyers were setting the price. Because builders were reaping huge windfall profits, they rushed to buy and develop land. And sure enough, those new houses were ready just as buyers were retreating to the sidelines because they could no longer afford to buy a home. That vast overhang of unsold homes is what's driving down prices today. The story is much the same with oil, with a twist. A big swath of the market isn't really paying that $125 a barrel number you hear about seemingly every hour. In China, India and the Middle East, governments are heavily subsidizing oil for their consumers and corporations, leading to rampant over-consumption - and driving up prices even more. But sooner or later the world won't keep paying those prices: Eventually, the price must fall back to the cost of that last barrel to clear the market. So what does that barrel cost today? According to Stephen Brown, an economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve, that final barrel costs just $50 to produce. And when the price is $125, the incentive to pour out more oil, like homebuilders' incentive to build more two years ago, is irresistible. It takes a while to develop new supplies of oil, but the signs of a surge are already in place. Shale oil costing around $70 a barrel is now being produced in the Dakotas. Tar sands are attracting investment in Canada, also at around $70. New technology could soon minimize the pollution caused by producing oil from our super-plentiful supplies of coal. "History suggests that when there's this much money to be made, new supplies do get developed," says Brown. That's just the supply side of the equation. Demand should start to decline as well, albeit gradually. "Historically, the oil market has under-anticipated the amount of conservation brought on by high prices," says Brown. Sales of big cars are collapsing; Americans are cutting down on driving. The airlines are scaling back flights. We've learned another important lesson from the housing market: The longer prices stay stratospheric, the worse the eventual crash - simply because the higher the prices and bigger the profit margins, the bigger the incentive to over-produce. It's even possible that, a few years hence, we could see a sustained period of plentiful oil supplies and low prices, meaning $50 or below. A similar scenario occurred following the price explosion in the 1970s and early 1980s. The price spike caused the world to cut back sharply on oil consumption. By the mid-80s, oil prices had fallen from almost $40 to around $15. They remained extremely low for two decades. It's impossible to predict how the adjustment this time will take shape, just as it was in housing. There the surge in supply came in places the experts swore there was "no supply," and wouldn't be any. Builders found a way to extend vast tracts of homes into California's Inland Empire and Central Valley, and even build "in-fill" projects near the densely-populated coasts. An earlier bubble is also instructive. In the early 1980s silver prices jumped from $10 to $50 on the theory that the world was facing a permanent shortage of silver. Suddenly ads appeared asking homeowners to bring their tea sets and jewelry to Holiday Inns for a big price. Silver supplies poured from seemingly nowhere, out of America's cupboards, of all places. And so it will be with oil. We don't know where the new abundance will come from, from shale, or tar sands or coal or an OPEC desperate to regain market share. We just know that it will appear. With prices like these, it always does.

Mine was the exact same way Jcrome, and it made it very difficult to see at dusk & dawn with the sun in your face. I found using a Mr. Clean magic erasure bar on both the outside and inside, followed with two applications of rain-x really helped a lot. I love that rain-x stuff. I Mr. Clean all my glass, head lights, marker lights, and put rain-x on all as well. Plus, it makes the glass very reflective, making it difficult for people to see you while driving in the sunlight.

I'd agree about the boss part. You know the phrase "never dip your pen in company ink". Granted, it's not the same, but you get the point.. However, this coming from a guy who had a secret relationship with a fellow employee for 2 years at his last job. But, that ended up with a marriage and now baby, so take it with a grain of salt.

Chances are you probably had a little water condensation get into the mix. Mine use to do that too, as does quite a few. From what I understand, you guys had a lot of fog in the area yesterday? The ups and downs of temp's, over time, can build up a little condensation on the lining of the tank. Before I'd start thinking parts are dying off, I'd just run a bottle of HEET with your next batch of gas to remove any water buildup, and eleminate that possiblity. Someone a couple years back posted the same thing, and it too turned out to be some water in the system. Or if you were at the Red Sox's game last night, a disgruntle Tampa Bay Ray's fan might of put a curse on it!