bbunn1

My son has found a 1995 ES300 that has an aftermarket radio (Dual XD6210 I think) and apparently someone has removed the power antenna from the car. He was wanting to install a "std" antenna (no power). He tried to simply attach the old antenna wire to the new antenna but there is no power to the radio. He was told the radio worked before removing the power antenna. I've checked all fuses and they are all good. Does anyone have a wiring diagram for this model showing the radio wiring. Thanks!

Well I finally got the right transmission and it's installed and so far so good (everything works and no codes). Actually not as difficult as I expected but very time consuming. It took me about 3 weeks working an hour here and an hour there. I estimate about 35-40 hours of actual working time. The tranny cost me $325, I also bought a HF engine hoist for $99. While i had the thing all apart I went ahead and replaced power steering hoses. All in all I think I spent about $500. bb

Nevermind...I was able to place a piece of wood stock vertically to help pry against the shaft and voila...it came out.

I've started the tranny swap and have a question. The driver side axle came off easily. the passenger side is a little more difficult. Any suggestions on how to get the center axle out? It appears everythng is removed and disconnected that needs to be but it won't pry away from the tranny. Thanks!

The problem with the 2 codes has been resolved but still no reverse. As I understand this transmission, solenoid operation has nothing to do with reverse (if I'm wrong in this assumption please correct me). So, I have an opportunity to get my hands on a used A541E that is still operational. I plan to do a swap at this point...can't wait! Thanks!

You know I did not...good thought. I will give that a go and see what happens. Thanks!

Recently our '95 ES300 threw a P0770. I drained the fluid, removed pan and saw no particles on magnets or in pan. I put everything back together and erased the code. All was fine for about 300 miles then my son said the CEL returned and a little while later slipping in all gears. We towed it home and checked the CEL and it was P0770. This time when I pulled the pan I also remove the shift valve and the SL solenoid. Solenoid tested ok so I cleaned it and reinstalled. On my test drive I can manually go thru the gears but if I start out in D there seems to be no shift. Also I have no reverse now or very little reverse. The CEL came on again. This time there are 2 codes - P0753 and P0758 which I gather are related to solenoids 1 and 2. I noticed when I had the valve body out that the wiring on all solenoids was very brittle. I'm wondering if during install I might have done something to the wiring of 1 and 2 that could be causing the CEL and the lack of 1-2-D shift. Also, would that have any bearing on the no reverse issue? Thanks!

Question about the wife's 1995 ES300: Recently the backlighting that makes the instrument cluster visible at night went dark. All the individual lights on the dash work (except the "D" for Drive) and the backlighting. No fuse problem. So I removed the instrument cluster and found the 8 bulbs I suspect are the backlights. They all have a blue cover or coating and they are all burned out. My question is, before I go replacing bulbs I'm wondering what sort of electrical issue she has for them all to go out at the same time as well as the "D"rive light. Thanks!

Well, FWIW, I just wrapped up replacing the left control arm bushings in my wife's 97 ES300. All in all, not as difficult as I imagined. The most difficult part was getting the control arm back on. Pressing the bushings in the control arm proved to be much easier than I expected. I just made sure I placed them in the freezer for several hours before trying to install them. Some molykote and a vise did the trick after that. The reason for the replacement was a slight counter-steer that had developed when shifting from 2 to D. When it shifted there was a slight tug on the steering wheel. Upon inspecting the suspension I found the left control arm bushing was wallowed out pretty good and there was a lot of play there. I asked Lexus how much for a bushing and they told me I needed to buy the whole control arm, they did not have just the bushing...very weird! Anyway I was quoted $246 for the control arm. I called my trusty parts house and he could get me just the bushings for $45 the next day. I went that route and pressed it in myself. The counter steer issue is gone and it handles much better. We had planned on getting the front end aligned anyway so I tackled the job of replacing the bushings myself knowing that we would get someone else to do the alignment later.

My wife's 1995 ES300 has developed a slight jerk or veer to the left whenever it shifts from 1st to 2nd. It's very noticeable when loosely holding the steering wheel. It feels as though the sterring wheel was ever so slightly turned to the left then back again. Anyone else seen this?