AWJ

I personally have not done a valve lash job. It takes some special service tools to be done correctly as well as a selection of shims that need to be inserted. It is really pretty tight work and takes a little bit of skill. It is not impossible, but I have not tried yet. I Usually take it to a trusted mechanic for that one.

Polished intake manifold on the way. Supra TT brakes wait for installation. Need fuel management, intercooler, piping and turbo. *this never did work out, but things have a funny way of coming around*

How may we get this rolling a little more and get vendors in?

How about a compromise? The first annual official American LexusOwnersClub.com meet for Spring Break in Panama City Beach. A meet in Florida would be great - but I need to plan ahead in order to get the time to do it. The first week in April would be ideal. Plan a week of events and get some group rates at a hotel. Cruise, chill on the beach, eat 10$ seafood buffets during the day. Then cruise, chill, party all night long. Lexus style.

No way. The manual shows standard metric bolts as well as my car. I just ran outside and checked to make sure. Bring a couple of combination box end wrenches with you. Guessing it is a 14 to 17mm standard metric socket or wrench. An m14 socket head cap screw is way too huge - maybe on a big rig. :)

Welcome Nick. I am about to take this job on myself, but I am swapping the entire caliper assy out as well as the rotors. Anyways, to merely replace pads - you just need to remove the center top portion of the caliper secured by two bolts (not sure on size). Pull the pads. Note all clips and shims. You will want to replace them and put anti-squeal grease on the shims. Get the pistons retracted, by bleeding and pushing or they may just push back in. Put in your new pads with new shims, clips and grease. Bolt the caliper back up and your ready to go. You could bleed it if you like. IF you need to pull the rotor for surfacing or replacement, then of course you will have to remove the caliper in the whole piece. That is also secured with two bolts (again, not positive on size). But it is not hard. Just have a complete tool set of meteric wrenches and a torque wrench for piece of mind. The rotors have to holes in them so you can use two bolts to Jack the rotor off the assy there. Pretty freindly job. Reinstall and bleed those breaks and your ready to roll again. Good luck. I may be able to fax the pages from the service manual for this job if you like.

It is not so much a leak as it is an issue of inadequate ventillation. Over time the ventillation or breather holes for the headlamp assembly can and do become less effective. Adding a few small holes will rectify the situation. This is not only a problem with the Lexus line of vehicles. Good information fellas.

So it's on now for sure. PM me if anyone is interested.

Rob: I am arranging a meet in Lexington on October 5. I know it is short notice, but better late than never. For a more general southern meet lexus28160, throw some ideas, and we can get somthing cooking. Maybe a meet in Philly or DC or something. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=56899

Welcome: ES300 hmmm, are you looking for performance upgrades? Or all around kinds of things. I know the newer toyota V6's are much better than they were in the earlier to mid 90's - the camry powerplant was problematic on a few issues if I recall correctly. The ES and Camry shared the same motors. Not sure if they still do but I think so. There are some very easy simple things to do with the intake but this could be confusing if you have not done it before. It would involve removing the lower resnator and filter box - and getting an adapter to fit a conical k&n style filter to the stock upper intake duct that would give a little increase in performance. There will probably be a vacuum line or two to cap. Hard to say. The market is very limited on these. I'm sure you could find some lowering suspension items. I would recommend some 18 or 19" wheels, enkei to HRE depending on how much you are willing to spend these things can get really pricey. Depending on taste, I have always stayed from chrome. Then you can always do the sound system and interior type items. It depends on what you want basically - but you will want to keep warranty matters in mind. Engine modification will void warranty or at least they will give you a real hard time. Shoot up some more questions and we'll see what we can do.

So here is a little update. I've located a oil pan that is ready to go for turbo. Got fuel rail ready for high flow. Working on a deal for this puppy. A custom exhaust turbo header w/ dp and wastegate, powder coated for good chip off of new price. Just need the head gasket, fmic, ducting, BOV, ignition modification, fuel pump, injectors, tranny cooler, and gages. Woohoo! I'm gonna go broke.

For all the n00b's - holla! For those whom have been around a while - holla too! Andrew Johnson 25 Savin for a turbo.

That's not Masterson Station is it? I missed it. I would be up for organizing a Cincinnati/Lexington or 200mile radius meet. Rob - we ought to meet up in lexington some time.

I would feel comfortable recommending to you any model in the lexus line up depending on what you want. For me, particular models apealing to are( in no particular order ) IS300 - the new 5 spd GS series any year LS any year SC (of course) Good luck and welcome. For price concerns, look at an older model. They are some of the best holding vehicles I've ever seen. I have had not one problem from my 93 w/ 105,000 miles. Just routine maintenance. And I got it for a good price.

Bocholt Germany. I will be doing work with a company called Verfarhensteknic Huebers. I will be there for ten days or so from Sept 4 to the 14th.

Somehow, I think you got me beat. Gotta go to Germany monday - work all weekend. I could have done it before but I wanted to wait till I'm in my house. Oh well. On another note - I am inches away from my turbo manifold. How's about a how to on that?

off my supra tt brake set-up that came in last month all ready. Slap me in the back of the head and say "Hey - dude, when are you gonna put those damn breaks on the car!!!?". Sorry, just some inactivity goin on. They will be put on after my garage is done - yeuh! I'll make a how to.

fuel filter or fuel system ecu problem.

While strut tower bars and anti-sway bars and the like do provide more rigidity, I might suggest considering some other options also. Consider polurethane bushing replacements. Also lowering the car with some quality spring/shock combinations can provide for better tracking depending on the application. Wider tires/wheels will help also. There is anything on the market that enough demand exists for. I'm not all to big on strut and sway bars. The stock components are usually sufficient and allow for adjustment in their stock form. Don't get me wrong, these bars can/may provide significant feedback and performance on certain automobiles. They provide a enhanced look and if they are at a good price - more power to ya! Welcome.

I'm sorry? Much of that cost can be reduced significantly. The overall functionality of the car is not affected by a reduced illuminescent needle, or such other items. The car still drives excellent. With a little creativity, you can repair these items at fraction of the cost. Finding deals by looking hard for oem components or creating your own custom fix. Feel free to post ??or contact me and I'll do my best to assist. The starter problem I had cost me all of 15$.

My freind, there is no simple answer to this question. You first should consider wether or not you comfortable with going up to 10,000$ in the hole. The costs may not go this high for what you are looking for, but that is a very average figure. For about $7,000 you may have an entry level turbo set-up bought an installed at places like sound performance in Chicagoland. I have been to their shop and was very impressed by the work I saw, the shop itself, and the vehicles they put out. There are other shops like Toyomoto, Titan, Garage Advance in Florida, PHR in NY, SP engineering in California, and more. Expect to pay about $4500 to $7500 for the kit itself depending on what you want. The price climbs higher if you want upgrades like 6 fuel injectors, exhaust, front mount intercoolers, larger turbos, head gaskets, etc. etc. etc. http://www.i-m-racing.com/lexussc300400.html http://www.turbo-kits.com/lexus_turbo_kits.html http://www.howstuffworks.com/turbo.htm http://64.225.76.178/main.htm http://www.sound-performance.com/faq.htm#Q3 http://www.toyomoto.com/ http://www.vache.org/supra/links.htm These are a few links to help you in your search for information. There are many more. PM me if you would like to discuss this more. Right now I am in the process of making a decision on what exactly I want to do. There are a lot more options than one would expect. But it costs a significant amount of money to do this. So be prepared. Good luck and welcome to the forums. AJ

No, not comfortably. Two is the max. Big people are uncomfortable back there. But it could be worse. Get a GS for hauling the gang.

Sorry to hear this. My AC is not cold. I suspect it may be the same issue, but I have not checked up on it. I would try the relay first. I'm sure they can be found cheaper. Check e-bay or there are some other sites too. I'll get them. Either way, let us know what you find out please. This may be handy: http://www.used-car-parts-exchange.com/cgi...ml?l_make=lexus

You may also drill a hole in the backside of the headlight. Use a very small bit, I drilled 4 holes in the bottom of the housing at the front of the light assy. I did this when the condensation finally drove me batty on the driver side headlamp. Remove the headlight and have at it. It is easier and quicker than the other method. Be careful not to hit anything else when you go through. The holes can not be seen from any angle. I used a blowdryer and the moister left residue on the inside of the lense when it evaporated. I will eventually take the headlights apart and clean them well, or buy new ones if I damage the others in the process. But by all means, avoid paying that high $$ if you can get around it.