VBdenny

The NO TOUCH in the purple can is great stuff. Kind of like spraying lacquer. I use it on the black plastic underbody trim and wheelwells too. I hated that nasty foam stuff. I bought a 3-pack at Costco cheapo

I got the same supplement from Road & Track today as well. Considering the car will be worth about half of what you pay for it in a few years, it isn't a great deal. I agree that 25mpg on 4 cylinders is pathetic. Let's see, you buy a hemi and go really eazy on the gas to run on 4 cylinders? No, my foot would be way too tempted and then I'd probably get 12 mpg.

Sounds about right on prices. I have a friend who has an 84 C380 (black) which they have owned since new. Everything works well and the car always had regular service. She said it has electical problems which cause the battery to go dead all the time and she gave up pouring money into it. Said she wants a grand for it. The LS looks better unless you really want that 3 pointed start leading the way. Thatfully Lexus never got into stupid looking hood ornaments. Mentioning prices, when my rear caliper stuck the dealer quoted me a MINIMUM of $750 but said it would probably be more once they got into it. I put one on myself for $95 and it took less than an hour. It was then I realized that Lexus service is geared for the wealthy.

Beside, your parking brake only needs to work once a year anyway. When you get your car inspected. That is the only times mine has ever been used.

There are quite a few things that can cause this. I never knew that Autozone would do free Check Engine light checks. Thanks for that info Linux

Fantastic upgrade there Blake. Sounds like you made a killing on that deal. I will still be damned if I can figure out how to add the pictures like you did. I just took some of my PS pump and wouldn't mind posting them. denny

Do these pads come with all the original shims or did you reuse the originals? When I bought a caliper at Bop-Geon it came with the crappiest looking pads I had ever seen. They even supplied one cheap looking shim and some paperclip looking spring. I saw Irontoad (i think) had brake pads pretty cheap as well and supposedly genuine. You may have heard about a new process where they actually turn the rotors on the car. My brother Chevy Z-71 shook so bad braking that he finally had it done. It was glassy smooth after that and they never removed the rotors. He said the machine attaches to the rotor or something.

I guess I never thought of trying regular gasoline in the Lexus. I put regular in all my other cars, but none of the recommend premium. I rented a Cadillac one time when I was in Seatlle and we drove to BC. At first I was pretty excited seeing gas so cheap, but then I realized they sell it by the litre. I said what the hell, it's a rental and put regular in (even though it was labled premium only). I never heard such a racket of pinging knocking and other annoying noises. If it had been my own car, it really would have bothered me. Since we rarely put more than 10,000 - 12,000 miles a year on the Lexus, it doesn't make all that much difference I guess to pay the extra. I pumped the air pressure on the tires up to 38pis all around and picked up about 3 or 4 mpg. The handling is certainly better. The tires say max pressure 44psi, and they seem to sit better. We got about 26.1mpg on Interstate driving and I was doing 85 to 90 most of the time. Still not as good as my 92 Caprice which pulls in nearly 30mpg on the Interstates, but it does have a wicked overdrive. Going 65-70 in the Caprice drops the milage down around 24-25 mpg. I figure this is because it drops to 3rd for every incline. I hardly ever use cruise control, only when I want to stretch my foot for a minute, then it's off. Cruise control will only get you better milage on absolutely flat terrain, on hills it really drops it because it brakes down the hills the accelaerates up them. I accelerate down and ease up them to keep it in 4th. Regarding the paper issue... I guess the only expensive paper I uses is toilet paper. There is one place it is tough to save money. The stuff we have at work is similar to newsprint in every respect but the print. I guess if I had a business or something I would spend more on print paper. There are many ways to save money on gasoline. I use one of my smaller cars like my pickup or Corolla 5 speed around town and save the Lexus and Caprice for highway driving. I can get by without luxury going to Food Lion. Interesting thread though. Denny

Don't put ANYTHING on the car unless you spend the time to throughly clean and prepare the paint first. I detail cars for people for $250 and usually spend 10-12 hrs. on each one. If you seal in road dirt, tar, bugs, oxidation etc. you won't be happy. If you have more money than time, seeek out someone who will clean your car like it is their own. I liked the part about the cops. No doubt. I guess it depends on the cop but most I know keep their cars fairly nice. By the way, this is also a useful tip for Interstate driving. Watch out for people with crappy looking cars are they are usually crappy drivers. I was and detail my car before and after every road trip (like the Transporter). My driving while offensive, is not as aggressive as the Transporter. Great movie with a black 745 that is driven. Any driver should enjoy most of this movie.

If you have access to a pressure washer, they work great, If not use or car wash wand. I reach up in there with an old scrubbrush and sponge, when they dry I spray them with No Touch tires dressing. If you drive in snow at all, it is a good idea to wash the whole underside of the car extensively to remove the salt and sand trapped.

Agreed. I saw one yesterday in person. I'm sure Chysler will have a lot of interest in them. A hemi is always a good thing

I have to agree with you CW, buy another LS. You might oughta see what they will sell it back to you for salvage. You could still sell it for a good sum.

Big Dog, I'll give the new rims and tires a solid "phat" Looks killer. How bad did you get beat up for them? Nice choice. Denny

Unless she was on the Interstate, I doubt if drivng around town for awhile would do anything other than shorten the life of your rear brake pads. I know exactly the smell. Why was the parking brake set? I have always found it a bad practice to use the parking brake unless you park on the side of a hill or something. The rule with parking brakes is use the all the time and jam them down good so you CAN'T move, or never use them. I'd take the car to Lexus and tell them about the smell and have them figure it out. Since it's under warrenty, they won't charge you. If they ask you if you put the parking brake on, you can honestly say YOU didn't

Z I have given considerable thought to your problem as it is most unusual. I have to agree with several others that something is binding up. Since I have never replaced my motor mounts because they show no problems, I'm not sure what parts could be affected. It does probably have something to do with that. Jb mentioned that they might have shifted or something, certainly worth considering, but I can't understand how a motor mount placement could hinder the steering unless you accidently pinched the high pressure supply hose or something. When you figure this out, it will be one for the LOC record book because this apparently is a problem noone has ever encountered. I'll keep thinking, but as I was looking under my car yesterday, I couldn't think of anything. Keep at it, you will solve the mystery. Denny

Thanks for trying to find the bolt size, no biggie, if worst comes to worst, I'll just pull the other one and match it up. Anyway, This morning I drove the car to Wiliamsburg and back to VB, about 120 miles. I did and inspection and no leaks, fluid level stable. So We ran it back up to NJ (about 360 miles) and still no leaks, fluid level still stable. I guess it is okay for now. I didn't run too awful hot, maybe 90 a couple of times, but mostly about 75-80. Luckily it isn't the pump leaking or it would have continued leaking. Now I'll just get up in there and get it all right. Very nice ride today, I love driving. Tomorrow, back to VB. Denny

Zdeno, Be real careful driving it until you can check it out. Run the car up on some ramps and pull the engine splash pan. Then do a very careful visaul inspection. Here are a few things it COULD be. Most likely, something is bent or binding. probably not a bad rack, but it is something. Your power steering is probably working fine as well, just can't overcome whatever is binding it up. When it finally forces past the obstruction, is when you get the jerking motion. Torsion strut bushing bad, causing the suspension to shift. The bushing are seen looking under the car from the front and attach to about 1" black steel tube looking things that go back and attach to where the tires and brakes and stuff are. When mine were bad, the car pulled to the right wicked bad sometimes. You could have bad upper control arms. They are the magnesium wishbone looking things that contain your upper bad joints. If they are loose all kinds of bad things happen. You would notice tire wer and steering problems as well from this. When you get under the car just look around, you'll probably see what it is right away. Good luck Denny

yes, i saw the cover. i don't think i need it at this point since the pump itself wasn't leaking. i'll probably do a flush on the system this summer, don't have time right now as I'm going to Jersey tomorrow and really didn't want to drive my truck. I'll have to go back in and put the bolt on when I get it so I'll probably do it then. I'm taking the car up to Williamsburg in the morning and if it does alright, I' ll take it to Jersey as well. If it looks like it's still leaking, I'll take my truck or the Corolla. Seems I have plenty of vehicles to choose from, but the Lexus IS the ultimate road car, so I certainly prefer driving it. Wish me luck, and if anyone has the bolt size I'd sure appreciate knowing. Thanks Denny

Well, well, well you can't seem to trust anybody to do your car repairs correctly. Since it finally stopped raining, I pulled the LS up onto the ramps and removed the engine sheld to see what was going on. Apprently when the idiots who replaced my power steering pump a year and a half ago did the work, they neglected to put all of the power steering pump mounting bolts in. One is missing, the other was loose. The fluid was leaking from the high pressure connection (the through pipe) which was also loose. I wiped it all off (what a mess) and tightened everything and ran the car for quite a while and it doesn't appear to be leaking. My neighbor Steve who happened by said that by having one bolt missing, vibration probably caused the others to gradually loosen up. Naturally, I didn't have an extra bolt around that fit. If anyone has a way to find the specs on the fine thread metric bolt that attaches the pump to the engine I would be very grateful. I'll have to get one. I took lots of pictures but my hands and me are rather greasy at the moment. Luckily, since it was the connection, the fluid wasn't getting on the alternator. Denny

My local Lexus dealer changed the oil when I specifically asked them NOT to change it. I had just changed it with synthetic 3 days before. They put expensive dino oil in and then left the engine splash pan off so I had to go back and srew around for another 2 hours while they found it and put it back on. I haven't been back since. If Lexus really cared about people are cars more than money, I would be happy to use them. Paying top dollar for shoddy work is not something on my list, so I either do it myself or use a Japanese Auto repair place. Mentioning synthetic oil, I have used it in all of my vehicles for years. I put it in my Cadillac that had over 300K miles, no leaks, my Caprice with 185,000 miles, no leaks. In fact I have never had a leak on any car I have ever put it in. I think leaks from synthetic oil is a myth.

I have no image problem with the Lexus. I paid less for my Lexus than I did for the 99 Corolla I just bought. Pound (lb.) for pound, you get more for your money with the Lexus. If anyone tells you it's an "old man's car" they are obviously mistaking it for a Buick. I realized I instinctively change lanes when I see a Buick ahead. The Lexus is a highway hot-rod in sheeps clothing. Let them think what they will. They are certainly better than battletank SUV's which in my opinion are at the bottom of the driving chain. Rude, impatient, obnoxious view blockers.

My wife said the pump on our car was making noise. The fluid level was low. Apparently I overfilled it a little which may have cause a whole nother problem. Leaked out at high speed causing oil to get on the manifold and exhaust which made a bunch of smoke. Oh man........

Bill Gates needs a bulletproof Lexus? Maybe he should consider a Hummer or a Sub-Urban

That new Chysler 300E is a beast though isn't it. Radical look, hopefully not with the typical Chrysler durability. Seems to me only a few years ago how the 300M was suppose to be the hot new car and now they aren't worth Still, not many companies have better styling. The jusry is still out on cylinders deactivating. Think it has an override?

hey 99 What I meant was that there were spots of oil deposits on the back bumper and trunk deck where the back draft made it stick to the car. By looking down where the PS pump is I can see that it is leaking somewhere. The rack also leaks, but not very much. I just don't understand why I would get such an amount that it would get all over the manifold and exhuast for a brief time. When I thought about it, I probably had overfilled the reservior a little and thought maybe there is a bypass or something that blew out the overfill? Freaked me out though seeing all that smoke. At first I thought I might have blown the engine or something, but since it still ran perfectly and when I stopped I realized it was oil burning off the exhaust pipes and manifold and not being emitted from the exhaust pipes. It seems fine now. Didn't someone mention some gasket between the reserviour and the PS pump? It seems to be leaking in that area. Of course it has absolutely poured down rain here for the last 4 days so running it up on ramps is temporarilly unavailable. As VH said, we like our babies to work perfectly and oil leaks are unacceptable especially when the make smoke. Thanks for the input guys and let me know if anyone has replaced a PS pump and/or rack as that id the route I will probably take. I'd just like a heads up on mistakes I will make. Denny