alsalih

That's crazy, I wouldn't do that yet. Although you could have a low charging or intermittently charging alternator, the fact that it ran fine after being jump started indicates that it's most likely an old/dead battery. Go to Wal-Mart and buy the top of the line battery for $62 and I'm willing to bet that this is the only thing wrong with it. If it reoccurs after replacing the battery then it could still be due to a slow drain from a bad door/hatch switch. FYI, the price that this place is charging is equal to or more then a Lexus dealer. I would consider going to dealer next time because they are more likely to diagnose it correctly and the repair will be $700 to $800 anyway if it was a bad battery/alternator, plus you would have use of a free loaner. Let us know what you find out.

RX in NC, it's unfortunate that we're not seeing any feedback on this thread as I'm also interested in the long term experience with the RX. I'm at a crossroad myself with my CPO FWD RX300, which has been fairly trouble free (01 with only 65K miles). The primary concern for you should be a repeat transmission failure. Aside from that, you can expect normal wear which is similar to what owners of the ES300 are experiencing, since it has the same engine and accessories. I think aside from the transmission, you can expect any of the following issues to arise at your mileage alternator, starter, power steering pump, front crank shaft seal leak, cam shaft seal leak, and front CV shaft boot tear. I still believe that this is sold and reliable vehicle, and if your able to find a competent independent shop to work on it instead of the dealer you will come out ahead by keeping it.

You da man, Grand, thanks for the numbers and the follow on information. However, I wouldn't use water to clean the manifold or any other part you have, just because you could initiate corrosion if settles in certain voids or areas. I would stick with throttle body cleaner for cleaning your parts. If your worried about cleaning the intake above the head then I would spray throttle body cleaner on a piece of cloth and try to wipe the insides if possible, I really don't think this will change much so you could just leave it. Now, I know many have had success by only replacing the contacts on the starter, however I would be concerned about the brushes on the starter motor wearing, or the bearings seizing at a later time. If you feel like you can do this job again and it's no big deal for you then replace the contacts and see how it works. If however you don't feel like going in there again then I would just buy a rebuilt Denso starter (rebuilt by Denso). By the way, the cheapest place I have found is www.sparkplugs.com, you also get to keep the core!!

But you didn't ask for their opinion, you asked for them to be replaced. Your willing to pay extra for preventative maintenance because you know very well that these seals will likely leak before the next water pump timing belt job. You clearly don't want to pay $700+ for them to replace these seals if they start leaking in 10K miles from now, when they could have easily replaced them when they were in there. The dealerships near me use the same philosophy, they're not doing it to save you money, they're doing it because they know very well that you'll be back paying them to replace the seals.

Nothing to discuss, it's very clear, you specifically wanted those other items replaced (which is the right thing to do) and they didn't do them. Second, they're workmanship is not to standard and your going to need to go back to get the leaking hose taken care of. Third, overfilling the car with oil can contaminate and damage your oxygen sensors, will they compensate you for that if that happens, I doubt it. Take it back ASAP and have them fix everything!

Bluethunder, at that mileage you should definitely replace all 4 shocks and the spring isolator (isolates between the spring and the shock mount). You will notice a big difference in the smoothness of the ride. I'm assuming your strut rods have been replaced, if not then they are most likely in very bad shape given the temperatures and some of the roads in Riyadh (lived there before so I know how bad some of them are). The problem for you is that your at the mercy of the dealer unless your able to inspect it yourself or have another shop inspect it to give you a second opinion. Take it in for an estimate and let us know exactly what they say and we'll go from there.

There you go, you got. Just two things to watch out for 1) insert paper towels inside the intake openings to keep dirt/sand and possible parts from falling inside 2) Don't take a chance with any gasket or o-ring you remove, replace it while your in there, which it sounds like your doing anyway.

Grand, not sure what you mean you got some of it off, it either loosens or it doesn't? I'm assuming you have the exact size wrenches that your using on the hex nut and your not using pliers!! Also, for a better grip you should use flare nut wrenches to avoid stripping or damaging the hex nut (Sears has them). The steel line is pretty flexible you would have to do some serious bending to actually cause it to break and leak.

Check your tire pressures before you do anything else. Had the same thing happen on my 01 RX and it was a slowly leaking tire which caused the VSC to trigger on every turn I made.

Grand, that's it you got it there. You will need two open ended wrenchs one to hold the hex on the flex line (the brown colored one, the larger one of the two, don't turn this one). Then with another open end wrench turn the smaller hex that's actually on the end of the solid line (metallic colored hex). Keep taking them pics, real nice.

Grand, on the driver's side at the aft most end of the fuel rail you will find a fuel pressure regulator. You will find a flexible fuel line that comes out of it and has a connection fitting at the end of the flex line before it goes the vehicles body. You can unscrew this hex fitting. In other words, you will have about a foot length of flexible fuel line left hanging/connected to the fuel pressure regulator. It should be clear once you follow the line.

Grand, I have the hard copy of the 98 book. The manifold and all the water bypass joints go on at 13 ft-lbf. The starter installs with the two bolts at 29 ft-lbf. Set aside some time for this job because there are several o-rings and gaskets which must be replaced. The recall was actually on the starter for the 95 model and not the 98. Let us know how it goes.

Columbia MO, I've spent some time there and there are not many Lexus service centers out there. Unless your willing to spend $1K to $2K, I would avoid the dealership. Do some research and see if you can find an independent Lexus or Toyota service center. It's likely that you'll need to spend some money to get all the bugs fixed so it helps to have a good independent for that. Make sure you search this forum, it has tons of information, and anything you can think about or have a problem with is most likely already been discussed many times over.

If your comfortable working around cars then yes this is an easy job if you have the below tool. http://www.lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=822 I bought mine from PepBoys for $55 and without it I wouldn't even dare get near an inner tie rod.

Not surprised with what happened. I just had a very similar experience with my 98 (read my posting). Anyway, syn is thinner and will leak through worn or weak seals which normal oil wouldn't leak through. I went from a perfectly dry car to massive leaks 4K miles after switching to Mobile 1 and I switched right back to regular oil and I'm pleased to say that 2K miles since the switch back my seals have swelled back and the car is no longer leaking. To answer your question, nothing special needed just switch back to regular oil or even better use the one made for vehicles with higher miles which has additional additives that will help seals swell and maybe stop your leak. Give it 2K miles before you look for any improvement. Good luck.

Grand, actually on that off-road link you gave us there is a picture of a totota contact set with part number 28226-72010. Now you can't pull this up on the Lexus parts site (park place) but they can get for you if you contact them or simply you can get it from any Toyota dealer. It retails for $12 and I'm fairly certain that it will work, however I haven't tried it myself so I can't guarantee that. Very interesting what Shadow did, however that starter on the Supra is much easier to get to then the LS. I would be less inclined to experiment on a starter if you have to remove the intake manifold just to get to it.

Try www.jpimportz.org they sell high output rebuilt Denso alternators.

Grand, I'm curious how many miles do you have? I just want to get an idea when mine will likely go too. Given the amount of work you need to get to the starter I wouldn't recommend rebuilding your starter with unknown (likely Chinese) components. I'm sure it will work fine initially, but you'll be back in there again shortly.

That still doesn't rule out a bad alternator. Have the alternator output checked (when the lights are dimming) and also make sure you don't have oil leaks that are dripping on the alternator. Also, make sure you don't have corroded battery terminals.

Intermittent operating problem with the alternator, it's going out and needs to be replaced.

This is the first that I have heard of this ring breaking a tooth. Anyway, yes it is pressed into the end of the CV half shaft but it's a simple fix. NAPA sells a rebuilt half shaft for $100 bucks which also includes the gear ofcourse, and any independent shop could install it for you with no more then one hour labour. The dealership is charging you $600 for a new half shaft plus 1.5 hours labor to replace it!.

Denso does offer a rebuilt of the alternator, yet he chose to go with a Bosch rebuilt..that's an automatic disqualification!

The cooling system on this car is pretty darn good such that you will not notice an increase in temperature unless it's a 100 outside and you have the A/C on, then it will become obvious that your fan clutch is not working. The oil leak you described is a common failure on this clutch. I drove my car for probably six months without a working fan clutch and only during the summer when the A/C was slow to cool did I finally realize what was going on. By the way aftermarket ones are cheaper then OEM however they tend to be louder/noisier.

This is actually an electrically controlled solenoid, not sure how the engine will run with it not working! You might be able to get one used from TAP recycling in California. How many miles do you have on your car??

nc211 you forgot a very important step when you installed your new pads that's why they're still squeaking. The shims must be glued/bonded to the back of the pads using permatex disc brake quiet or similar. Without it you will get brake squeal! http://www.permatex.com/products/automotiv...Brake_Quiet.htm