jbarhorst2

Well I answered my own question today. Even though I really did not have a good sight line to see what that other bolt did, I loosened it. After that I was able to adjust the belt tension very easily. Apparently it is a lock bolt of some sort. So, for those of you who are going to change your own belt on an RX300 (or probably an ES300 since the engine is the same) there are 3 bolts on the alternator you must loosen to remove and reinstall the serpentine belt. Tom

Thanks for the help, but unfortunately the RX does not have the spring loaded pulley. There is an adjustment bolt to set the tension. I believe the bolt below the adjuster needs to come out also, but I am not sure yet. Thanks Tom

How many miles are on the car?

Thanks in advance for the help. I tried to change the serpentine belt on my wife's RX300 yesterday with frustrating results. I loosened the top bolt on the alternator and loosened what appeared to be an adjustment or tensioning bolt that was kind of hidden under the alternator. This loosened the belt very slightly, but not enough to remove it. I am apparently missing a bolt somewhere, but I haven't yet found it. Can anyone tell me what bolts I need to loosen to change the serpentine belt that drives the AC and alternator? Thanks Tom

The Cadillac Deville series is actually still FWD. The next version will mark its return to RWD. I believe they are using the Sigma platform for this. Tom

Sounds like you have 2 issues. It sounds like the fuse is blown - that's why you cannot control anything. Check your cigarette lighter and see if it is working. Your second issue is the part of the panel that is not lit up and the buttons that are not lit. This problem is burned out bulbs in the HVAC control head. Once the bulbs are replaced inside the unit you will be OK. I changed about 3 in my own car. While you have it apart you may as well change them all because it is a job to get it out and apart. Tom

Has it gone black or is it just blank? If it's black, yo ucan replace the LCD. If it's blank, it sounds like you may have blown the fuse for the system. It is the same one as for the cigarette lighter. Is your cigarette lighter working? If not, make sure there is nothing down inside it (like a coin) then replace the fuse. Hope that helps. Tom

Sparks for 10 seconds??!! Sounds like the electric clutch is going to that big wound armature in the sky. My guess at this point is that it will need to be replaced. Tom

It could also be caused by heat. Can you give more detail?? Does it work only when it is hot outside? If that is true it could be that you are on the very edge of being too low on freon for the system to run. When it is hot outside then the vapor pressure of the freon is higher telling the pressure switch that there is enough to run the compressor without damage. Or, it could be a pressure switch that is going bad. Or, it could be a lot of things. It could be the clutch. You won't know until you have it checked out. Tom

I wonder if your sensor is bad???

No, you do not need to replace your front shocks as well. I replaced mine with original Lexus shocks, so I cannot comment on the others. I don't know how you test springs other than looking at their condition (how much rust) and looking at how they keep the car level when it is sitting there. If your car is sagging at one corner, the spring is probably weak and at fault. Tom

I agree. You should replace your shocks in pairs. Tom

Did the SC you looked at have Lexus Link? I thought they could trace the car with that?? Tom

Line out is the volume level that it puts out to your radio. Your radio sounds like it is adjusted differently from mine. The more modulation you add, the louder it will sound and the more likely to sound distorted. I've never had mine turned down that far. I'll have to do that and see what it does.

That looks cool. Any idea on where to purchase or how much it costs?? Tom

I just checked mine and I have 2 empty boxes on the right of the scale. Is that what you meant by position #2?? Tom

I am assuming you have the SKYFi radio like I do. Press the MENU button. Turn the Scroll Wheel until you land on LINE OUT LEVEL and press the center button. Then adjust the level with the Scroll Wheel. I think I set mine down 2 clicks. I can check if you want. Then I think you press the center button to lock it in. Then press MENU to exit like normal. I think you will find that this fixes your problem and you will enjoy it so much more. After you adjust this you will have to turn your volume up to compensate, but now it will not be distorted. Tom

Yes, I did have to take apart the console. Let me know if you need help. I can take some digital photos and help guide you along the process. It really is not bad. I need to take mine apart again anyway to replace a burned out bulb. Yes, I made my bracket. I designed it and drew out the plans for it then I went to a local guy who has metalworking equipment. He cut it out and bent it for me. Then, I used a good primer so that it would not rust and then gave it a few coats of black. Powdercoat would have been nice, but I didn't want to go to the trouble of asking some of my suppliers from work to do that for me. It sounds like you are having the same problem I had when I installed mine. Mine was terribly distorted. Turn down the modulation and try it again. You need to turn up the volume on your car stereo, but at least it is not distorted. Let me know how that works out. Tom

Here is a picture of my antenna when looking in the back window. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/gallery/SC/outside And here is one as you look from the inside of the car. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/gallery/SC/inside I put a piece of tape on the bottom of the antenna to keep it from sliding around on the back shelf. Tom

I drive a lot at night and love my Silverstars. I can definitely see a difference. I think my HIDs on my RX are great, but I would not spend the extra money to put HID in my SC. That's how good I think the Silverstars look and perform.

My bracket allows everything to clear. I have slightly less than an ince between the glove box door and the bracket as the door opens. I accomplished that by having a slight angle toward the driver on the bracket. My bracket also does not really creep into the passengers area. My wife says that it is not in her way. Also, it is not turned so far so that she no longer has visibility of the screen or the ability to change stations. I did not want to put my antenna outside of the car. As careful as you want to be, there is still going to be a mrk left on the paint from the antenna. I placed mine in the rear window. I'll take a couple of pictures and show you. It works well for me. I live in a somewhat rural area so I do not have the luxury of having the land based repeaters to pick up the slack. However, the only time I have any problem is when I am next to some tall buildings that are blocking the signal (only in one direction) or I also have an area where a thick area of tall trees blocks the signal. Once again only in one direction. In the winter time when the leaves have fallen off the trees I don't have any issues. When I am in a bigger city, I don't have any dropouts because of the land based repeaters. It really works great. As for the dropouts that I have mentioned, I drive 54 miles one way to work. I only have these 2 places where I have a problem and they both last less than 5 seconds. I only get it on my way to work in the morning. I don't have any issue on the way home in the evening. Tom

I would go back to an original Lexus battery. You certainly cannot complain about the life you got out of the old one. I think that's superior to anything else out there. Mine lasted about a year less than yours. So, it seems like that is a pretty reasonable expectation of lifespan. Tom

You should be fine, and yes you will probably notice a difference. When you disconnect the battery you erase the computer's memory. The car then has to relearn everything and during that time the performance will be different.

These pics are real. I spoke with my guy at my dealership yesterday. The dealership owner is on the Board of Directors for Lexus US. He said they were real pictures. The pictures come from a meeting the board had recently. They also told me that the IS will have a lot of different styles. There will be a 250 and a 350. Two door versions and 4 door versions. And a convertible. Tom

I finally was able to talk to my guy at the dealership (our schedules were not meshing well) and found out some interesting info. Apparently the date is set from the satellite link in the GPS system. On some other models the time is set by the downlink as well. It is automatic. Hope that helps. Tom