Benjamin Tang

my friend had a new acura in which he t-boned someone turning left in front of him... $18k damage on a 30k car and the didn't write it off :( both frame rails were bent and it cracked his transmission case and engine mount... when he got it back nothing went right with the car. when he finally traded it in a year later, he lost about 30% compared to the same year/mileage of car.

do you have your owner's manual? the service schedule should say what it is... if i recall correctly (mine is in the car... i'm at work), i think it's 6-7 years max if you don't reach the prescribed mileage first, so yes i think you're due. the water pump, tensioner, and some of the front seals should be done as well while the belt is off. i know a lot of people skip it because of cost, but i decided upon peace of mind instead rather than hoping every day it will hold together. again, i went to a private mechanic (ex-toyota) to do my belt. i've forgotten the price but it came out to $400 less than what the dealership asked for. it was hard for me to find a private mechanic to do it because of the vvti... if you don't know how to set/reset the cam timing, the engine will eat all it's valves because it's an interference design :o

i have the same noise i think. but i went to a non-lexus mechanic for diagnosis. he told me it's the pads shifting in the calipers and the retaining clip is making the noise as the car tries to rock between the shift from park/reverse. i try to live with the noise, but sometimes in enclosed spaces like underground carparks it's startlingly loud.

have you hit anything recently, like a curb or pothole? worst case scenario is that you have a bent wheel or damaged a tire (belt separation). a competent mechanic should be doing this checks anyway.

as stated above, they never came with a manual trans from the factory, at least for the 2nd gen model. however, from reading all the japanese car mags and trolling the japanese car sites, i've seen the 2jz twin turbo aristos overseas being converted to 6spd using supra components... ie. pedal box, ecu, trans, etc. ... it may be possible to convert a gs300 here to 6spd since it shares the same block with the twin turbo version... but i lack info :whistles:

if you like the driving experience, i would go with the IS. the GS has many nice qualities that make it better than the IS, but it's fun to drive quotient lacking... an i own a GS :cries:

not knowing your service history and mileage i don't know if we can comment i'm wondering what is wrong with your calipers that would require them to be replaced rather than rebuilt...?

if all else fails, look underneath. if there is no driveshaft to the rear axles, then it's FWD only.

didn't you already ask this before? http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...2154&hl=key

here is a rough guide (there might be more model specific stuff that's not listed): http://owners.lexus.com/lexusowners/nonaut...SchedulePreview

yes the 3-series competed with the lexus is series. the gs was in the same category as the 5-series, but the 5-series is a better car to drive from a performance point of view... but i cannot say the same of it's reliability however. what you enjoyed with your 3-series does is not reflected in the 5-series' breakdown and repair history. if you want to go synthetic, do not get a high mileage car like i did... i went synthetic after almost 60-70k mi of dealer oil changes with conventional oil and it smoked on me :cries:

you are in ontario? i guess costco is not the same here as it is where you are... over here they would only do nitrogen for customers who bought and installed tires from them :( wow you run 50psi in your 20's?!!? i'm running 40psi and some shops told me i'm asking for trouble (overinflated)... how is your pressure drops so far? i tend to lose as much as 5-7psi in a summer month... it's getting worse with the cold weather that's coming though

that suggestion about the brakes came from my experience with loose pads in my parents' rx300. it is a known complaint with the rx... not sure if it's the same problem on the gs. some things to consider: that the daizens are adjustable and the TRDs are not. the daizens are noticably stiffer than stock, but the TRDs are even stiffer than the daizens. some people have complained about the TRDs being too stiff because they can really limit suspension travel and it can be uncomfortable over unven surfaces (eg. sideways over railroad crossings, speed bumps, etc.).

the clunk might be the brake pads being loose and shifting around in the calipers? do you hear the sound with the brakes applied when at speed while turning? i would go with the teins first and worry about the swaybars later. some people say the daizens are not aggressive enough and suggest TRD blues.

you need to bring it into the mechanic asap. the override is only a temporary solution and may also fail and then you'll be permanently stuck. i remember reading somewhere of someone with this problem getting diagnosed for a some sort of shift interlock linkage that needed replacement. i can't find the post at the moment....

tein cs version 2. always go with coilovers over springs/struts if you can afford it, or wait until you can, i always say... at least with coilovers you don't have to worry about rust (cs is aluminum), and you can adjust the ride height to whatever you want.

i was just on clublexus and someone over there is talking about getting the dealer to readjust the steering rack pretensioner... i don't know much about it because my 99 dosen't have it, but i think yours does. if it's bushings, it's not cheap... not sure of the exact prices (don't have time to search), but i think it's in the $500-700 range w/parts. again, it's very labor-intensive to do.

i have a 2nd gen gs... there is a shift override slot where you stuff a key or screwdriver in the shift console... do you have one of those?

i'm surprised that you did not find any info online. it's well documented that the 2nd gen GS has a front end shimmy issues, mostly resulting from worn out front suspension bushings. a mechanical inspection should determine if this is the case for your situation. if it is indeed worn out bushings, you have to either buy new oem arms (cannot buy the bushings separately), or go with aftermarket replacement bushings from daizen. in either case, it's expensive because it's very labor intensive to do, so factor in these costs if you are going to buy the car. other factors could be bent wheels, out of round/balance tires, wheel spacers, or missing hubcentric rings/non-hubcentric aftermarket wheels.

ours only makes noise when it's retracted. with it usually closed, it dosen't cause any issues on our rx....

go to sewell lexus: http://www.lexus-parts.com/partdetail.asp?...ubCategoryID=22

i'm using a napa gold filter. i went for the best lower cost filter as opposed to the cost is no expense option.... i try to get all my oil-related info from here: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ i used to use lucas until i found that site... now i stay far away :o

i am going to hazard a guess and say no... i'm not aware of any toyota product that has a manual transmission option with that V6, both here and overseas, in either 2WD or 4WD.

my aunt just went through this dilemma... used 03 rx300 premium with factory extended warranty until 2010, or lease a brand new rav4 v6. she went with the rav4, and i have to grudgingly admit it's pretty nice, and it's faster/stronger than our rx300. shame about the rear cargo door however...try closing that thing parked facing uphill with the spare tire hanging off it

wheel bearing???