rosecityrain

I don't know sludge from fudge. What I know is that I have a well maintained 92 ES300 with 252,000 miles on it and it runs great. Maintenance is the key so have a good mechanic give you advice, then follow it. The members here have been fantastic sources of information and wisdom. Good advice only helps if you take it, though, lol. Welcome to the club. ;) rosie

Laugh if you must but, when I got my Lexus at 245,000 miles I thought the driver's mat was toast. The others were (are) like new. I have a little bissel cleaning machine and tried it on them and they came out beautifully. They are still worn (they are a 92) but are very clean and look pretty good for their age. Bissel little green machine: $65.00. Clean car mats: priceless. rosie

Don't know if you've already made your choice, but CD changers are quickly becoming antiquated. With iPod hookups interfacing into nearly any type of stereo system, it is far more convenient and economical. ← No kidding! My husband and I were looking into an ipod for an upcoming birthday in the family. Discovered the smallest ipod at $99.00 can be used in my Lexus! Of course, you need the adapter at $50.00 but it is upgradable in the future or removeable if you sell the car. The last time I was offered a factory CD changer, it was offered at $200.00 and it was used. Since it only holds 6 CD's before you have to go into the trunk to change to new ones (no biggie really) and the ipod holds about 12 hours of music, the ipod looks pretty good. Plus, you can use it anywhere. rosie

Cleaning mats and carpets: Little Green Machine. Easy to measure (more is not better!) cleaning solution as it is marked on the tank. It is small and the one that comes with the heating element is worth the extra 5 dollars. Buy only the solution for use in the little machine. Does a fabulous job. My aunt had a rotten tangerine under her seat and it was black and was part of the grey carpet by the time I found it. I didn't have much hope for it coming out totally. Gone without a trace. rosie

I had a couple of wear lines on mine. I took a black sharpie and went over them with a fine point. They totally disappeared. My seats are not faded, though. The color is uniform and in excellent condition. Test in a spot that won't show first, just in case there is a color difference. Sharpies come in all difference colors, though I wouldn't recommend them on anything but black leather. Anyway, this was the solution that worked on my ES300 (92) rosie

] you are right on the HB saw for like $55. The problem I say when I needed one was slow shipping and high shipping. the great thing I think about the $88 is after you are done, you toss it out unless you need it. In the end, you are still making out MUCH cheaper then any tile guy will post in writting. ← I work in this field and can tell you that that $88 wetsaw ids great. Using new blades will get a cleaner edge. Also, I think you are looking into the ROTO Zip (made by more than one company) This take a little practice to get control over the precise cuts you are looking for. Also great for cutting holes in tile (for plumbing a shower, floor drains etc) Lastly, for really small precision cutting, a Dremel will drill holes and cut tile also. Good for lots of other stuff that wife may see on HGTV, too. When I have done complicated backsplashes, I have laid the tile out and pre tiled onto backerboard., then installed and grouted when up. Don't you love that? PRE-drilled, PRE-tiled, PRE-whatever? Oh HGTV! rosie

I had a car stero place put on a new one. Didn't cost very much. The part cost $20 if I remember correctly. Works great. They couldn't make the lighter work (no charging the cell :cries: ) without taking the dash off. (fuses all checked) Oh well......... rosie

So, we took her out for a ride on the freeway yesterday (blew the soot out of her, I guess) Today, no blue smoke or smoke of any kind on start up! Take a bow, ToysRMe. rosie

If your insurance company is not advocating FOR you, then hire a lawyer and take the lot of them to court (or, at least, threaten to) your company, the other company (if they are the same company, you have a conflict of interest going on) SAFECO lost a court case like this in Oregon and I got a check recently on a car I sold a couple of years ago. due to diminished value. You have legal recourse here. rosie

In my situation, I could likely go at least another year by using the strategy suggested here and advised by my own mechanic. I am relatively confident that my mechanic is giving me a worst case scenario that would be modified downward (costwise) by what he finds when the time comes to actually open her up. Much is based on her mileage and age. It is ALL a crap shoot with a car this age as the transmission and other mechanical parts are still really good (knock on wood) but who knows in a couple of years? I have never had cause to be concerned about being oversold. I would rather fix it good the first time even if it costs a bit more than a patch up. Obviously, if I expected this car to be new again, this is unrealistic. Ultimately, the car is an old car and it will last only so long. So, I asked him what rebuilding the engine would cost without giving him any opportunity to check compression or anything. That sounds like excellent advice and I plan to take it. Had I known about it yesterday, I would have had it done at the same time as the IAC cleaning and oil change. thanks rosie

For someone like me (a regular josephine) who has a husband who can do the oil changes and a transmission and fluid flush, maybe, change brake shoes, but who is not willing to do anything more complex, it is hard to sort grain from chaff when facing an expensive repair bill. You are highly capable and motivated to source out the engine you are recommending. And I do not, for one moment, suggest that you are wrong or that your advice is in any way inaccurate. It is simply that you have advantages relating to Lexuses that I do not have access to (I'm trying!) Talent, experience, ability and knowedge, sources, smarts, to name a few. I do not know, and how can it BE known without a substantial labour cost on my end, what exactly the need is? Piston rings, valve seals? How do you know without taking it apart? That sounds like a critical distinction! ....Anxiety attack...It appears that taking the valve cover off alone is expensive and at that point I am commtitted to at least gaskets and work that is foolish NOT to do while it is off, "needed" or not. In for a penny, in for a pound ( or thousands) in my situation. If I buy the part, I get no warranty on the labour portion of it and could find myself paying for it twice. For someone like me, that is quite a risk. It seems to be an all or nothing kind of thing. Why have the thing opened up and not do the whole magilla at once? Are part way solutions more cost effective? How do I find out? I am completely willing to pay a mechanic who is good, honest, and straightforward less money to get this baby of mine working in fine fiddle. But, I am also willing to pay more for the insurance of working with someone I trust and who is trustworthy, has the experience and the knoweldge and who will back up the work (as they say, that one is priceless) Bottom line is, what do I have at the end of spending $4000.00 vs doing only part of the job and, portentially ending up spending more in the long run because some of it has to be done twice or more? I'm totally out of my league here. So, what would be incredibly helpful to me (and I will get there by talking with that relative who works for the dealership 3 hours away) is to find a shop (or lexus mechanic wanting to do some work on the side, I guess) that is willing to do the work (rebuild the engine) for less than the $4000.00 (asumming that is what I am facing) has the expertise and the "stand behind the work and parts" policy of my usual guy. I have no absolute loyalty to my mechanic if the work can be done just as well and save me big bucks. None. The car passed emissions testing this year (barely) Next year....who knows? The whole subject of rebuilding the engine was mine, not the mechanics, anyway. No one is telling me I have to do it. He pretty much said that it could be driven for a long time just the way it is but watch the oil levels religiously and (as advised) put a heavier oil in it, which we did yesterday(Valvoline total synthetic 20W50) Total bill (oil change with filter, IAC cleaning): $73.00. For now, I will keep driving the car and take care to watch the oil consumption. The car is running incredibly well after having the IAC valve cleaned. That was advice worth following up on immediately, believe it! Power had been down some and it is downright PEPPY now. I hope having this exchange is not too much of a drag for you. It has been incredibly valuable for me. I am certain that others who read and do not post, as I did for the last couple of years, will agree with that. thanks again, rosie

Thanks to all for your warm welcomes. I am glad to be here! Well, here's an update. I spoke to Shawn, my mechanic in Portland (GerBrock Performance), and discussed all the suggestions and good advice with him. Shawn is a GREAT mechanic and he is a performance type guy who races Nissans. Anyway, he thought cleaning the IAC is a great idea ($50.00 and before you say it, the cost of a good nail job runs about that or more) and he suggests changing the oil weight as well to 20W50 Valvoline full synthetic, so he is doing both as I write this. There's a rebate offer on from Valvoline that reduces it a little) My husband will be happy he didn't have to do it. He has been working a lot of hours lately anyway. As to the engine. It will cost about $4000.00 to rebuild the engine. Since I am into this car for basically nothing so far, this is not really so bad when you consider what I could get for $4000 by getting something else of dubious history. Oh well.....not something immediately necessary according to Shawn, but an eventuality it seems to me. If all the other mechanic systems are in good shape, this will be worth doing. So far, no other problems have shown themslves. It has never been in so much as a fender bender, either. Shawn says that he has never seen a Lexus in this good of shape for its age. He is amazed every time I take it in. It had a tune-up about 10,000 miles ago so he'll check all that stuff out. It has used about 1/2 quart of oil in the last 2500 miles and he doesn't think that is a cause for panic or immediate concern (as you guys seemed to believe as well) We have had a serious change in the weather here and one of the other guys in the shop says that can sometimes cause changes in the way a car runs. I'm not sold on that, really, but what do I know? (answer: not much :whistles: ) So, I am leaning toward an engine rebuild in the spring or so, unless the blow by gets seriously better (I can dream, can't I?) You are a great bunch! rosie (Car is home...more power, no doubt about it. IAC was DIRTY. Thanks again)

Well, okay, regular unleaded it is, then. Advice on timing the seafoam treatments?: "So, doing a Seafoam treatment seems like a reasonable thing to do. Should I do this at the time of the next oil change all together or can I add to the gas now and add to the new oil (and intake) at the time of oil change? Does it matter? Is one option better than another? Both?" thx rosie

It doesn't make me feel better to spend money I don't have to on something just to make me feel better. Unless its a massage or facial but I digress........ I am, simply, mindful that my car is an elderly lady with 250,000 miles. She got to that point by being treated well and I want to keep her running as long as possible and avoid major repairs for as long as I can. There are a lot of newer cars in far worse shape than this one. No accidents, regular maintenance, no performance problems, reliable comfortable, safe, essentiall one owner. , Realistically, there have to be repairs and serious maintenance coming at some point and I want to be smart about it. I paid zero for the car and have about $1500.00 invested in her. That is less than I thought I would have to for a new transmission that turned out not to be needed. She will get me nothing on trade in and almost nothing if I sell her. I don't drive often enough to worry about racking on the mileage quickly. I am not opposed to spending a few dollars on her but, again, I try to assess the tradeoffs. Clearly a new car is going to cost more than doing well by this one and, being who I am with the values I hold (new is not always better and living simply but well is best of all) I really like driving this car and not scrapping the good ole gal too soon. Plus, you can buy a lot of high octane gas for just one Lexus payment. So, without being foolish about it, I want to preserve and continue to drive this car. So, doing a Seafoam treatment seems like a reasonable thing to do. Sounds like good advice to me, as does going back to the 87 octane. We have three octanes to choose from here, so I will do the bold thing and choose....medium and see how that goes. 87 is medium, right? So does cleaning the IAC (did I get that right?) if I could figure out where that is and how to do it (I read the FAQ, but so don't get it :cries: ) Should I do this at the time of the next oil change all together or can I add to the gas now and add to the new oil (and intake) at the time of oil change? Does it matter? Is one option better than another? Sometimes the messages are written way above my comprehension level. I so appreciate it when you take the time to add pictures and clear explanations. Thanks so much for that. Really! Unbelievably useful. That Seafoam thread is golden. rosie

Toysrme Seafoam looks like a very attractive option right now. Can't wait for your guide. 'Break down' might be a poor choice of words for writing the guide, though. Seafoam for Dummies, anyone? Do not take what I say as an argument. I have absolutely no personal opinion or preference (well, cheaper is better for the closet, that's true.) on fuel octane. And I am very grateful for your perspective on this. Have fuels changed such that today's lower octanes are what yesterday's higher octanes used to be? I mean is it about more than the octane number? Going by the owner's manual seemed like good advice and that is what I went with after reading through the thread on octane. Please understand that for someone like me (just a regular person with no particular knowledge or expertise) consensus would be a great thing to achieve on some of these issues. My car is stock, no modifications and no idea what the modifications would be, either. I would like to keep it running as long as possible just because I like it so much. (If only that cd changer were still in one piece!) I realize that searching first is highly recommended.........and I have done that, plus read through numerous topics just for the heck of it. So, confusion has come to me the hard way........ Seafoam seems to be one of those issues that everyone agrees on. I honestly look forward to recommendation on its use, particulalry for this application. 93Lexus I will take a digital pic of the car and post it for you. Right now it is raining and storming so it will have to wait a bit. Color is garnet (pearl?) with that grey bottom area, black leather interior. I have had no problems with instrument panel needles or anything like that. The rear light icon lights up whenever something comes in contact with where the CD changer ought to be (Ithat died when the car was still new). If I go into the trunk and move the wiring harness a little, it goes off and stays off til the next time. My umbrella is the usual culprit for getting lodged in there. Only the driver's side of the interior has any wear at all and that is minimal since my BIL is not a heavy or huge man and he usually drove alone in the car. The seat seam was slightly torn and I had that sewn up. Good as new. The steering wheel leather is a bit worn, that's it. I went over the carpet with my little green machine (if you don't have one, get one with the heating option) and they are like new, wear spots on driver's side notwithstanding. I do car interiors for the family with this and it is a fabulous little item for interiors. By the way, I use PONDS cosmetic facial wipes to clean the interior fabric overhead. Does a great job and makes it smell good, too. Just wipe it off. I learned about this after a mishap with some mascara near the mirror (don't ask) rosie

I will call my mechanic about the valves tomorrow and see how those prices hold up here. If that is what we are talking about, I'll just go ahead and have the job done. You say take them to an engine machinist. Is this as opposed to a mechanic? Will they take the parts apart and put them back together after all the suggested repairs, cleaning etc? I'm pretty good at sourcing as long as I know what I am looking for. Never been called a pimp.........but Ido like the idea of cheap power....so far, no performance problems. The reason I have been using premium gas is primarily the advice from this board. Now I am a bit confused. I have no problem saving money or spending it on something else (new shoes, Lexus, whatever....) Even Click and Clack (or as I call them, "Motor Mouths") suggest premium. Transmission has been serviced and the fluid is changed every so oftem (husband) as well as religious oil changes(ditto said husband) Currently using 5W30 oil Mobil 1. Higher viscosity suggested would be...what, exactly? 10W40? The last board discussion on seafoam was also a bit confusing as to how, exactly, one is to apply this elixir.......add to oil? I'm sure my husband can do this as long as I can adequately communicate what I am talking about (I'll show him your answer rather than try to explain it myself) I don't mean to sound dense, but if the stilletto fits....... Thanks rosie

Thanks! So, what does that mean in terms of urgency of repair? Should I have something done soon to protect the engine or is this a minor problem that requires no immediate concern but watchful waiting? I do watch the oil levels and add as necessary but it isn't using lots of oil (yet?) I have a terrific mechanic here in Portland and a family member who is a Toyota mechanic in a dealership living about 3 hours away......... rosie

Although just signed up, I have been reading for a long time. You guys are fabulous and have done me and my 1992 ES300 many favors. Thought you might enjoy the story of how I came to own my baby. My brother-in-law bought this car brand new and drove it until 3 years ago. He and his wife were in a remote part of Idaho visiting relatives when the Lexus started to shift poorly, then not at all. Since I had casually said to him that anytime he wanted to rid himself of the car to call me, he called and said "want a free Lexus?" I said "yes" and he said I had to go get it and fix it (well, almost free) and he sent me the title. Now, evidently his wife had decided the car needed a new transmission and had called around for pricing information on a new transmission. Discovering that the price of a new transmission was too much for such an old car (220,000 miles) they decided to buy a new one. And so, they did. We had the car brought to Portland on a dolly. I sourced out the re-manufacturer of transmissions on the west coast right here in Portland and had the new one put into the trunk and drove it to the mechanic who was to replace it. (Estimate $1800.00 for the transmission and another $500.00 to put it in) By the way, the Lexus was mysteriously now working okay.......(hint: cold weather) Got a call from the mechanic. He could not condemn the transmission. Nothing wrong with it! Needed a new radiator (lucked out and got a metal one: total cost $134.00) Evidently, when the car overheats, things start to go into some kind of mode to protect the systems. True or not generally, this is what happened here. Both the air conditioning and the transmission were not working for the in-laws but have since been fine. I have since put some money into spark plugs and cables and having the driver's seat sewn up and a few other small things. Car runs like a dream! It looks new since it has always been garaged. Paint is perfect. Interior perfect (I went over it with Lexol) Oh, the sunroof cable broke and the sunroof guys disconnected something so that it doesn't open and doesn't hang funny or leak in the rain. Just doesn't open anymore. Oh well, a small matter. I've had the air conditioning stuff replaced. We put in Mobile 1 (thanks to you all!) and now use only premium gasoline (ditto) There are no oil leaks or leaks of any kind. My brother in law had about $2000 worth of gasket and seal replacements the year before he gave up, so lucky me! I sold my PT Cruiser and am now happily riding around in my Lexus until it gives up the ghost (and a happy halloween to all!) Just turned over 252,000 miles. (It now blows some blue smoke on start up. I don't drive it often or long distances and oil changes are done like clockwork. No oil on the garage floor. So, something will need attention at some point. Input welcome if you are so moved.) Again, many thanks! rosie