VBdenny

How much disk space did all the files take up? were all the files able to be downloaded in a single action? Did you use a cable connection? 6 hours seems like a long time for HS cable. It looks really great, I didn't know about this site before and for $10 how can you go wrong. Sure beats paying a couple of hundred for the manuals.

Thanks Michael, yeah I'm glad to at least have an idea of what is going on. I'll replace it this summer. I very much liked your photos and descriptions on what to do for repairs. I'm not loosing a whole lot, but I do have to top it off every month or so. I'd like to hear what happens if you plug the hose, does it alter the steering at all? My daughter doesn't really ever drive the car as she has the Corolla away at college and my wife never turns on the radio. This IS the best car forum on the Internet withour a doubt. I have looked at others and find garble and if you get a response it is usually smartass in nature, and who needs that? Hey, regarding the ACV valve, someone said Toyota has them, anywone have the Toyota part number? Denny

Did you happen to notice a "solvent" like smell from the exhaust as it was sucking the PS fluid? Mine looses fluid but it isn;t dripping on the alternator or the floor.

When I lived in NY State, cars didn't have titles. In Virginia, they print you out the title when you go to pick up the plates. Of course that is only if you don't have a lien on it, otherwise whoever holds the lien holds the title until it is paid off.

Someone must have been hanging around waiting for that big ole ice pack to fall off the roof. Probably didn't even tell the Lexus dude when he parked there. Took quite a hit!

Technology teacher in Virginia Beach. My wife works for a Pharma co. in NJ, my daughter is an engineering student at Virginia Tech (go Hokies). LOC is my favorite website because I repsect everyone here and have a lot of friends. Y'all are cool!

Lextreme, you say it took 6 hours to replace the starter? You didn't happen to make a tutorial for doing this did you? Probably a good idea while you have everything else apart. I'll probably do a waterpump this summer even though it isn't leaking. I put a waterpump on my Caprice last weekend, took me about an hour and was free (lifetime warrenty). I'm not sure which I prefer, an easy cheap job every 5 years or a difficult one every 15 years.

If the speedometer and trip meter work, the odometer will work unless there is a problem with the odometer itself. I had that happen on a Buick Electra I once owned, the odometer stopped but the speedometer worked. I never fooled with it but I suspect the mechanical gears got dirty and lost lubrication and just stopped. The clicking noise probably means a gear went bad in the actual odometer unit. I have taken them apart before and they have a lot of little gears in them.

Check your battery terminals. It could be that a little corrosion has developed and the contact isn't good. I have had similar situations with other cars. I don't know if that is your problem but electrical connections are the best place to start since 90% of all problems are electrical.

I run Mobil 1 in all my cars. My 92 Caprice has 191,000 and never drips or leaks a thing. Put the stuff in there.

If I had to replace the Lexus, I'd look around for another used one. I saw a 192 LS 400 in the paper here. Said perfect condition and 87,000 miles, $6900 If I was going to buy a new car it would be a Toyota Corolla LE or S. IF I had the money, which I don't right now, I would get a new, black LS430 but only if I could pay cash.

check your power steering fluid and make sure it isn't low. Mine leaks very slightly and when it is low it makes a sound like you describe.

If you can't tune it manually to 88.1 or whatever options you have on the monster FM transmitter, an easier way might be to plug the Ipod into your computer and burn a disc with all the MP3's on it. Works great and you can fit hundreds of songs on one disc. It would be nice if they had a port on the car radios to alow you to plug a thumb drive into it or at least an audio imput jack.

The problem with salt isn't just on the finish. Salt gets into everything causing exhaust systems to corrode, electrical connections to go bad, you name it. A car that has been driven in extensive salt suffers permanent damage. Go up to Syracuse (offical nickname is the Salt City) and take a look at 5 year old cars. That is why they ship them south to sell them, people there want soutern cars to buy used. If you love it, it has to stay out of salt.

I use the Collinite 845 Insulator Wax and have never found anything that has better durability. It was originally developed for high tension power lines. Of course any wax is only as good as the prep. Bugs you say? most can be washed off with the hose only. Read about it at Collinite.com

I just had an estimate of $187 to remove 3 small door dings.

Blake, you crack me up man. My wife and I just had a good laugh at that one.

Was the shop in Christiansburg?

Go to Sears and nuy one of those engine stethoscopes. I use it to listen to strange noises, they are very sensitive.

I had to laugh when I read the last post. When my wife took the Lexus to work several people commented on her "new" Lexus. They couldn't believe it was a 1990.

Guess I should have read page 2 huh. Anyway, glad to hear it wasn't that bad.

sorry to hear about your problem. I had a 1975 Plymouth Fury years ago and was headed to NYC on the eastern shore of Virginia. The car began losing power until I realized I had some kind of problem. I turned around and headed back home being only 50 miles out. By the time I got back to Norfolk the car wouldn't go over 30 floored. I removed the cat and replaced it with a "test pipe" which they use to sell. The car was fine after that. I will say that it never put out any white smoke. The only time I have ever seen white smoke is when I had a head gasket go out on my Caprice. I had to replace the engine even though it still ran okay. If anti-freeze gets in with the oil it will eventually cause the main and rod bearing to fail, usually within a year. imes a headgasket leaks the coolant into the combustion chamber instead of the crankcase. I suspect this might be the initial cause of your cat problem as the water and anitfreeze burn they can cause the cat to clog. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions, if it were my car I would take it to Lexus and have them diagnose the problems so you know what page you are on. I know that they are expensive on diagnostics but it will at least let you know where to start. Either way it bites the big one. Good luck with it.

eaking of math, did anyone see the new show numbers? It was on right after the Steelers lost to the Patriots. Awesome show, but of course it probably won't last since most people don't like math.

Really nice of Jr to do that. Once at DOver we were walking back to the motorhome and we saw Rusty riding in the passenger side of a car leaving the track. My buddy, Capt. Reese yelled out "hey Rusty, how about an autograph" The car stopped, Rusty got out an signed a bunch of stuff for people. The same weekend we sat next to Kenny Schrader in BK and he signed our newspapers.