Lex3486

The one I ride on the street from time to time is legal; it's an 83 Honda XL250R-the only 4 stroke bike I own. Aside from that, my arsenal includes my first love, the one that started it all and still puts a smile on my face, an orange metallic 1972 Yamaha AT-1 125cc; I brought it back from the dead and I wouldn't sell it for the world. Then, I got a combo deal; a 1985 Kawasaki KDX200 (nice bike if it'd work right) AND a 1975 Kawasaki KX400 (2 stroke; a DEATH MACHINE! Most wicked dirtbike I've ever ridden, and probably one of the rarest ones out there-it was STRICTLY for pros, and for good reason) both for $700. The KDX is a mystery to me; I never have gotten it to run right for more than one ride, but man if it would...anyhow, then we found 2 Yamahas for sale on the side of the road-50 bucks brought em both home with us. They were the worst we'd seen yet; a 1969 AT-1 like the one I have, and a 1973 CT-175. Motors siezed up on both of them, both totally overcome with rust, but both complete. A few dozen hours work and the 1969 was in perfect condition and went on eBay; got over 1000 for that one (pretty good considering we got it for 25 and spent next to nothing on it) and I'm still yet to fly into the 175 this summer. It may be a lost cause, but I'm hoping not. Anyway, yeah, as you can tell, I'm into the older stuff, but I just LOVE bringin em back to life; the Yamahas are beautiful machines. The classic image of an Enduro/dirtbike in my opinion. I'll see if I can't get some pics of all my bikes together. Oh, forgot to mention daddy's bike, making a grand total of 7 bikes at my house, a 1998 Honda Shadow Touring 1100. No Harley, much to dad's dismay, but a danm nice ride if ya ask me B)

I believe I was the one who used the term "tuneup". To my knowledge, there is no "tuneup" when it comes to suspension; what I was trying to say was that there's a good chance that you probably ought to consider replacing the struts in your car, and along with that the bushings too (bushings are rubber "pads", if you will, that the struts and other components either rest on where they mount to the body, or are located in between connections of suspension parts. Their purpose is to not only reduce noise, but to also absorb the shock of the moving suspension parts. When they get old, they can deteriorate and sometimes disappear, but more often just make alot of noise) Toyota sedans are known for developing squeaky bushings over time. I don't know that it's neccesarily anything that calls for immediate attention; it's just plain annoying! That is, unless the suspension is so shot that it cripples the cars' handling; for example, my 92 had such bad suspension that when I'd go over bumps at interstate speed, I'd have to brace my hands on the steering wheel b/c it felt almost as if the rear wheels would come completely off the ground and then rebound up and down several times, thus making the rear end of the car go CRAZY. Yeah...it was pretty far gone, but I didn't have the money to fix it at the time. <_<

HAHA That's right about assuming all cars on the road are out to kill you, b/c that's really how it feels. I ride dirtbikes but on occasion get the urge to break the rules and go out on public roads some Bikes, I have a feeling, are gonna grow alot in popularity if gas prices don't go down, and I say bring it on; they're less wasteful (use less gas) and not as harmful to the environment (less emissions). Did anyone mention they're a blast to ride? B)

I dunno about him, but I know I'd be interested in that setup, for the right price that is...mainly I just need the amplifier though. Would you sell them seperately Bryan? I'd love you ever so much if you would

But you're certain that the amp is blown right? You do know that there are 2 radio fuses...just tryin to help out, I don't think you're an idiot or anything but always gotta look for the easiest most obvious b/c sometimes that's what it is lol.

Well I just rolled in from our Florida trip yesterday and on avg. I was gettin 27 mpg with the windows down and A/C off around 75-80mph and about 22 with the windows up and A/C on, same speed. Either way, at or near 350 mile range on 87 grade gasoline. No complaints from me! One thing I'm glad of though is that I don't live where I went b/c gas is mostly around $2.05/gal. there! Guess I'm just spoiled that here in TN prices are still $1.89 b/c I hear from other parts of the country it's about the same as it was in FL. :whistles:

Once my 92 got a low oil pressure light, so I dropped the oilpan and discovered that the screen on the oil sump was completely blocked with sludge. Thumbed back through my service records, including those done by Lexus when the car was still new, and discovered that LEXUS had put SLICK 50 in it!! I figure that's what caused my problems in the long run. Cleaned it up and never had that problem again, although when I had the valve covers off for gaskets, I noticed considerable but not terrible sludge on top of the cams, so I cleaned that up too. Face it, if you don't change your oil regularly and you use additives like Slick50, you're gonna run into problems. I'd say that the engine you got had a bad history of oil changes, therefore causin irreversible damage before you ever got it and started takin care of it.

I'd say that you're probably due in for a suspension tuneup. I planned on doin my 92 in the summer of last year, but I totalled it before then. My 93 may need it soon; startin to get that infamous bushing squeak... <_<

My 92 did the same thing, and the suspension squeaked like crazy too BTW. Anyway, I never found out what that rumbling was; I just assumed that it was worn out struts and shot bushings. Come to think of it, I was thumbing through that webpage (can't remember the name) that has a list of factory recalls and something to that effect was on there. ANYway, simple suggestion, although it didn't work for me, it might be the source of your problem-check that the spare tire is tightened down thoroughly..ya never know. ;)

Try ridin in an ES with cloth-world of difference, and no complaints on my part B) Amazing how an actual "downgrade" in options can make this car seem so much sportier! My car is "stripped" but I wouldn't have it any other way after owning one that was, in comparison, "loaded" ;)

Thanks for the suggestions! I recently installed new head gaskets and did some cleaning on the EFI system so it's probably about as clean as it's gonna get. I've never had any experience with synthetic oils.

That's all good and well, but I was hoping to hear from someone with a 92-93 model, as I know the newer ones get better mileage. Heck, my mom's 96 gets better mileage! Different engines=different mileage. I can't seem to determine what's avg. for my vehicle. BTW, I'm runnin new spark plugs (Bosch Plat. 4+, I was sold on the concept...now whether or not they're worth a danm I dunno ), Castrol GTX oil, K&N filter and a freshly rebuilt tranny :D, slightly worn tires (that could probably use some air here and there ) but they're in balance, could probably use an alignment...that's about all I can really think of. I took my ginormous and heavy sub box outta the trunk but didn't seem to notice much diff. so I put it back b/c I missed it

With gas prices so high, I'm beginning to really notice my cars' gas mileage. I'm getting on average around 17 MPG and I drive mostly if not all city. That usually equates to around 200 miles per tank of regular gas, whic btw was up to 1.85 last time I got any...grr...anyhow, so I was considering replacing my fuel filter and possibly running some injector cleaner too. Can anyone attest from personal experience that this would help my gas mileage any?

OKAY, sorry about all that, just read the first post and discovered that the 99 DID NOT have that option Just ignore my rambling, sorry bout that

Factory reman as in Lexus original equipment? Although I know next to nothing about the newer (96+) ES's, I'd be willing to bet that if it was a factory option, that the wiring would be there, just not the components, so if the unit you bought came with all neccesary components, I'd think that you could just plug n play but I don't know that nav was an option in 99...like I said though, I don't know much about your model. Wish I had all those cool doodads...I'm just a lowly 93 owner

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the ES330 not the ES300 they're talkin about? And what's this on the "minimizing the use of chrome" bit? Am I missing something here or hasn't there always been a tastefully minimum amount of chrome on the ES? I hate it when it's pointed out repeatedly that the ES is based on the Camry. I know it is, but truth told, it's a COMPLETELY different car; definitely not on the same level. Can't say I'm too wild about the "facelift" myself...I think it's fookin ugly. Not a fan of the mini spoiler either <_< Just my 2c!

This poor guy! Look guys, can't we just hook this dude up with a stock amp?? I know someone out there must surely have one sittin around...800 bucks is off the wall, no way I'd even consider it. I wouldn't put an aftermarket head unit in either myself, b/c then you start talkin re-wiring and bypassing stock stuff, replacing all the speakers, etc. etc...and I agree that you would have to redo all the speakers if you went with an aftermarket head unit b/c these systems are set up really weird; no one speaker, except for the 6x9's in the early models, get a full sound range input, so it'd sound like crapola. If the guys main concern is money, which it sorta sounds like it may be, and he didn't really have much desire to redo his whole stereo, which sounds to me like he didn't, let's hook him up with what he needs!

It is a pain but I wouldn't say it's impossible. Just the typical Lexus stuff-hard to get to, difficult to figure out how to remove, etc. Shouldn't just burn out though...probably something that could be repaired. I know on my 92 the plastic ring that holds the metal part in broke and caused the whole thing to come outta the ashtray. This coula happened to hers, causing it to come unplugged. In that case, the little plastic ring was like under 10 bucks if I remember right and took no time to replace. Check the fuse before you do anything though ;)

My car does this too (93 model) and it even has new valve seals. I dunno why, guess it's just b/c it's gettin old; so long as it doesn't do it any more than after initial startup, I'm not too worried, although sounds like mine smokes a lil more than yours-I can see the cloud in my rearview when I back through it

Beating on it works...temporarily...it'll last till the next time you beat on it As for the fuse box fix, I doubt that; it's a bulb problem from my experience. I replaced 2 of them, close in location to the ones you said in fact, and now I have 2 that are this nice crisp bright bluish-white color and the rest are a faded dim offwhite, ivory perhaps. I'm the only one who can see it though apparently b/c I've asked everyone who's been in my car and they all think I'm crazy...maybe so

I never have any luck posting pictures here or I'd post one but I'll do my best to describe it to ya and how to get it out. First off, ya need to remove the plastic underbody paneling beneath the front driver's side quarter panel (in front of wheel). Once this is removed, you should be able to look up in there and see the bottom of the silencer; it's a black "jug" about the size of a gallon milk jug. At the top up in there it has 2 bolts, one in front and one in back. Remove these and simply pull downward and it comes out. Once again, it's about the size of a gallon milk jug divided into two "sections"-top and bottom. Doesn't make a whole lotta difference, but a little more "growl" in the higher RPM range.

My mom's 96 just got a check engine light and apparently you don't check them in the same way as you do on my 93 b/c when I tried, the light didn't blink to indicate the code. Any ideas?

Sounds to me like (no pun intended ) you probably just have low steering fluid, if you know for a fact that your pump leaks. Easy fix, but only temporary. Oughtta get the pump fixed, shouldn't be too much. If you're a DIYer then you can buy the seal kit for the pump, but I wouldn't advise this if you don't have much experience workin on cars b/c we did it on our Land Cruiser and it was pretty tough to do...

I recently removed the "silencer" on the air intake. In theory it should allow the engine to breathe more easily, but in fact...? Who knows with these things!? I also have a K&N Filter and together with no silencer, the engine has a much nicer growl B) Other than that, I can't really think of anything that I've done or have heard of people here doing to increase performance without buying anything.

Hmm...that's always an option. Bet it'd end up costin just as much as replacing it though <_<