Lex3486

Mine's got 130k and I seem to be having head gasket issues...guess that's just my luck, but my dad had an 88 Supra once w/250k on it when he sold it, and all we ever did was head gasket and clutch on that car (but the Supras are known for bad head gaskets...) I hope to get alot more miles outta the Lex though once I fix the head gasket ;)

Well actually, we were hoping that it could be done without pulling the motor; mcelligott sent me pics of his while it was being rebuilt and it was done in with the engine still in the car. I know it'd be much harder to do, but it just seems like less work, plus I'd be sorta wry of replacing the entire engine with one that may develop the same problems over time...I'll keep that in mind though. If I were to do that though, I'd wanna go ahead and make it a manual...I think I'll just fix what I've got for now and eventually get a SC300 5 speed; I'd rather do that then invest in making the ES a manual. B)

Man, if one of my friends did that to my car and survived the crash, they wouldn't survive me is all I can say. What was your friend thinkin? He must surely either be used to drivin a sportier car or he's just outta his mind, b/c you can definitely tell when you're pushing the limits in an ES, and it's long before the "point of no return" that the car lets you know this, if you'll listen. I'm glad y'all are alright, but I'd definitely think twice about lettin my friends drive my car, especially that SC you're talkin about! :whistles:

Well it was cold out but the car was driven around for a while before, so as to warm the engine up, and it still smoked; the smoke not only has a white color but smells like antifreeze to some extent. Also, when I let it idle for a while, I get lots and lots of condensation on the bumper, signifying lots of moisture in the exhaust gas, and the pipe starts to spit water out when I rev it too. The miss doesn't seem related to the battery b/c it was fully charged for a day or two before I noticed it, so...I'm just gonna have to tear it down and see what's up. I'll keep everyone posted, and thanks for all the help so far! Please stick with me as I tear it apart, as I'm sure I'll have more questions once I get into fixin it.

Well, I started the car for the first time since Monday today (had to charge the dead battery-another problem I've found) and it didn't run worth a . It idles terribly rough, as if it has a miss, and it's started smoking white smoke, which smells an awful lot like antifreeze, and spitting large amounts of fluid outta the tailpipe when I rev it up, this fluid smelling suspiciously like antifreeze. Yep, don't think there's much doubt at this point what my problem is... <_<

my bad; it does doesn't it? Sorry about that. In my defense though, it only says "Is It Worth It" on the forum topics page...

Haha. Cool. I like to hear that, b/c I considered buying a Legend one time right after I got my second ES. Glad I didn't! But my friend on the other hand; he's more interested in straight line speed, as almost everyone I know has a Mustang and me and my best friend are always left in the dust, me being in my ES and him in his POS $300 (really a good buy though) 1991 Chevy Lumina lol. But it's in our best interests to not be able to go that fast anyhow. I swear one of my friends is going to kill themselves and possibly others in those stupid Mustangs. Ford, as well as their parents, should be shot for making a car that fast affordable to teenagers, and their parents for letting them drive them. Like they're not gonna speed in a 5.0 Mustang...psh, gimme a break! <_<

Okay, did I miss somethin here or was the year and mileage of the car ever mentioned? I wrecked my 92 and although the insurance appraiser deemed it to be in "excellent" shape, it had 145k and was a 10yr. old car at the time, so the extent of the damage was too great to repair practically speaking. It was gonna cost near or more than the value of the car to fix. I guess what I'm sayin is that the year and mileage have a great effect on the worth of the car, which goes hand-in-hand with deciding if the repair costs are worth spending for the car. I'm guessin since the car was bought in 02 for 19k that it's probably around a 97 or 98 model? Possibly a 99? Another thing is the availability of junkyard parts for the year; there's many more 92-96's layin around out there than 97+, so this also has a great effect on the price of fixing it. ;)

4-600 BUCKS? ARE YOU INSANE? You must have some connections or somethin, b/c everywhere I've looked said somewhere in the range of 1,200-almost 3k $$! I seriously doubt you could find one that cheap...but hey, I don't know everything I don't suppose. :whistles:

Okay, I want good looks (not slammed but noticeably lowered; like I said, about 1", 1.5 at the most) and I want the body roll reduced, but I don't have enough money for new tires and rims, plus I just now replaced the tires, so...Also, I want the ride to be about like it is now; maybe somewhat stiffer, but not rock-hard. Mostly just want to reduce bodyroll and dive. I DON'T want it to ride harsh. SO, with all those in mind, does anyone know of the right product(s) for me? I'd also like some pics of a car on the Eibach drop springs.

I've only ever looked at one ES250, and I seem to recall it had a 3 or 4 disc in dash cd player; stock too. I don't think it was 6 disc like the ES300, but I know that it had one.

Latoilette, I noticed an Acura Legend was on that list of your past cars. Did you like it? Both me, my brother and my best friend all like these but don't know if they're good cars. Was it sportier/faster than the ES? Was it a Type 2 6 speed? Last but not least was it a coupe or sedan? Sorry for all the questions lol, but I've just been lookin for someone who's had one of these for a while now. B)

I know I know. I figure sk will pop up with the same thing just any ole time now :P

Oh, and yes; I have read the FAQ! ;)

Okay, I'll admit; I don't know alot about suspension, so I need some help here. I'm interested in lowering my car with the Eibach ProKit lowering spring kit, but I'm not sure what all this should include. What I mean is that will I have to also replace the stock struts/shocks (what's the diff. in those two anyway?) and if so, should I look for ones specifically designed for lowering springs? Seems to me that if you lower the car, then you'd need shocks that are designed to handle the new springs better. Is there any particular combination that anyone has found most desireable? Also, I wanna buy a strut bar for the front (I'd like to do the back too, but I don't think I've ever seen one for the back, plus it'd have to run behind the seats which I'm not sure that you could even do the way this car's designed). Lastly, I also wanna get stiffer swaybars; I looked into Whiteline and they don't have a specific listing for the ES300, Windom, or VCV10. They do however have a listing for the VDV10 (Camry); will these parts work on the ES? Has anyone had any experience with this company? They seem a little smaller than the others such as Eibach and KYB. Any help is appreciated! B)

Personally, I can't tell too much difference. I don't think there's any harm in drivin it in ECT all the time; I used to do it. Just depends on if you like the car to hold the gears for sportier driving and more throttle response or to shift to higher ones for quiter ride and more fuel economy. B)

Haha Wubbman; that's exactly how I'd react lol. Anyhow, sux about not gettin your car yet! Do you know what's bein done to it right now and if the people doin it know much about Toyota/Lexus? They're really picky cars ya know...not just any GM mechanic would know all they need to to work on em... <_<

Welcome man! Fellow 17 yr. old here (we are a rare breed, 17 yr. olds w/Lexuses aren't we?!?) B) . Wow, the ES250; don't see too many of those around. I don't think too many people around here have those, but I could be wrong. I'd suggest this stuff called Engine Brite; it's a degreaser and it comes in a white aerosol can with an orange lid. It works miracles if you let it sit for a while on whatever you spray it on, but beware; it smells AWFUL, and it'll take the clearcoat off your engine and wheels if the paint is damaged, so be careful of how long you let it set on there. Also, I don't know that I'd put too much on the engine b/c it'll smell like it for a while thereafter, but it's awesome for wheels. Also, I've been impressed with many of those spray on wheel cleaners, but they're not much use against hardcore old brake dust. Man, those wheels on the ES250 and the 90-92 LS400's are IMPOSSIBLE to clean, such tiny holes and so many of 'em! One of my friends had an LS and we detailed it once..ugh. The wheels had to be the hardest part of that cleanup. Anyhow, good luck man, and we hope to hear more from ya in the future! Give some specs on your car too (year, mileage, color, A/T or M/T, etc.) Later ;)

First off, welcome! Second off, yes the K&N will fit a 92; it is the exact same motor. I bought a K&N for my 92 and when I totalled it, I put the same filter in my 93, so yeah it'll work just fine. I guess what they say about the filter lastin longer than the car is true! B)

The power steering has always had a sorta constant "whine" to it, but it's not the sound that they make when the fluid is really low. It's not quite that loud, but it never goes away. Also, in corners, I've noticed the steering has the slightest fluctuation in it; by this I mean that you can just very slightly feel it shaking, and every once in a while the steering upon cornering feels like it's almost locked in one position, but I think this in particular is the feeling of slight understeer, something I'm sure we're all familiar with. I've noticed this same noise and feeling on my moms' 96 also, so I assume it's normal...? I know my 92 didn't do that. Visually, I'm havin a hard time tellin if the pump is leakin for two reasons; one is that there's antifreeze all over everything on that side of the engine on account of the overflow tank overflowing, and two, it's extremely hard to see anything in there in general, especially on that side of the engine. But I haven't ever noticed the car leaking anything of any kind nor is the fluid level low. The fan runs at a pretty good speed right now when the car's just idling; I assume this speed is normal b/c it's not too fast but it still moves a good amount of air at idle speed, plus the fan operates faster when it begins to overheat, so I guess I'm assuming that it's workin right. Is there any way to test if the fan is operating at the right speed? As for the oil, it's perfect; no condensation on the dipstick, no milky appearance. I haven't replaced the radiator caps, and yes there are two. I guess that's the next step really, but I'm extremely doubtful, reading other people's experiences here as well as other places, that this will solve anything. I guess it's still a good idea; just another step in the elimination process I suppose. I'm just lucky that I've got the Land Cruiser to drive!! :D But I still wanna fix my car ASAP <_<

Thanks a ton guys; I'll try that stuff out soon, and yes su24 you're right about the hose being the lower one. I haven't checked the pipe itself, but I have removed and tested the thermostat against a new one and it works just fine; within specs too, so I doubt that it's it. And it had the red Toyota longlife antifreeze in it originally, which I have more of but am afraid to use b/c it'll just boil over..I'll try the compression tests and see what I come up with.

As for your struts making noise, I believe that on the Toyota Avalon, the bushings on the top of the front struts are defective and will deteriorate some, allowing the struts to move around inside their mounts, thus making noise. My aunts' 97 Avalon as well as my best friends' 98 Avalon both do this, so I would assume that this is your problem. I don't however think that it is anything that is endangering; If I'm not mistaken, I think, and I could very well be wrong, but seems like there was a recall on these parts-might wanna look into it. I used to know this website that has lots of cars and all the recalls that have been placed on them; maybe someone who reads this knows what I'm talkin about, b/c I can't remember the webpage right off. I may research it and post it if I find it. As for your tranny questions, I myself wouldnt' know b/c I've never driven a 97; my family's newest Lex is a 96 B)

I've been finding all over the web people with the same problems, and everyone tells them the same; head gasket or cracked head/block... I was hopin for an easy fix. <_< Any more suggestions are still welcome! Speak your mind! I need some help here!

I've done all of the above, and nothing has really helped; tested the thermostat, and it works fine. I can let the car idle up to operating temp. and the upper hose eventually gets hot, signifying the thermostat allowing the system to circulate as it should. I wouldn't imagine that it has to do with timing; the car idles and runs smoothly; revs quickly, not indicative of timing problem I don't think. It's always driven fine up until about a month ago starting with transmission problems, which I believe a simple fluid and filter change seemed to have fixed, and now this... <_< Any more suggestions anyone? I'm thinkin as I said head gasket problem or even possibly a cracked block or head; this could be it in that as the engine heats up (driving it for a while) the crack gradually expands and forces air into the cooling system and fluid outta the overflow tank. Air in the system could throw off the operation of an otherwise properly functioning thermostat as well...

I've been doing that but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference; once the car heats back up, it just boils whatever I've added back outta the reserve tank. <_< I'm REALLY hopin that it's not as serious as a head gasket, but it could be. One thing I'm still worried about is the coolant; I'm using that orange dex-cool stuff and I'm not sure if I should be. I've seen many an argument here about this in the past, but have never seen a real solution...I bought a jug of the OE Toyota red stuff-what came outta the car when I first replaced the coolant way before I had to replace the radiator. I don't think I'd mixed the red and orange together b/c I ran straight water in the system for some time before puttin the orange in. I just don't wanna put the expensive Toyota antifreeze in it if I know that it's just gonna overflow; it's like flushing money down the toilet the way I see it, unless the stock antifreeze has such a large affect on the system that if I used it, all my problems would be solved, which I highly doubt. Another thing I forgot to mention was that it never once has "overheated" (i.e. steam and water boiling outta the radiator or engine). It just sorta spews randomly fluid outta the reserve tank and gets really hot. Power steering fluid is normal, and no noises coming from the pump when I turn. I'm pretty sure the fan system works a.o.k. I think the next step is to replace the radiator caps; I used the one off the old radiator and had some trouble gettin it off and onto the new one, but it never once has leaked any antifreeze. After that, I guess I'll have the pressure in the coolant system checked. Keep the suggestions comin! I need all the help I can get, b/c I can't trust the car to drive right now, and I really need to fix this ASAP!! ;)