bob95603

Trying to take out the woodgrain heater/ac control & radio panel to put in a radio. Pryed off the top of the clock panel, but there seems to be a tensioner or spring holding the bottom of the piece. I was thinking that it was just held on with clips, but this sucker just won't detatch on the bottom. Has anyone done this? Do I need to go in thru the glovebox and disassemble part of the dash? Just found the answer at http://www.carstereohelp.com/stereoremovalLexusES250StrR.htm

Have you checked the level of the transmission fluid? When was the last time the fluid was changed? Is it red or brownish red? I don't know what your transmission warranty is, but it would seem that at 52K it should be covered. Check the fluid and change it if necessary but do not do a power flush. That may void any warranty. Next step would be send a letter (to make sure it's documented) to Lexus USA. Also copy your state's Attorney General. Lexus wants to ensure that they continue selling previously owned vehicles.

Glad you were able to get it smogged, but how did your neighbors like the smoke that the Seafoam leached out?

Have a '90 es250. The gas guage only shows 3/4's when the tank is full. Have read that this is a fairly common problem for these cars and nothing could be done about it. Today I'm driving in this lovely Northern California monsoon with the heater on. I turn down the temperature on the heat control and hear a click. Suddenly the heat goes off. No heat at any setting . Drive the car for another hour and still no heat. Turn off the car for about 10 minutes (thinking that might reset something) while I fill the tank and still no heat. Drive another 45 minutes with no heat and go into a store for an hour. I come back out and the heat works and the fuel guage goes up to full. WTF??? Anyone have any ideas?

Where's that sensor located?

I'd disconnect the battery (appears that you may have done this) to reset all the codes. Leave it disconnected for about 2 minutes to ensure everything is wiped out. Reconnect and see if you still get the code. Take the car on the freeway for about 20 minutes and then get a smog pre-check (about $35) to see if it will pass. If it doesn't pass, go to DMV and see if you can get an extension. Tell them the part is on order but delivery is in about 10 days. I just got an extension this AM for a brake and light inspection. Get there about 10 minutes before they open and you'll be in and out in about 10 minutes (vs the normal 3 hrs around here). Where are you in N Calif? I'm in Auburn and have a 1990 FSM but couldn't find anything in there regarding a knock sensor code.

Would like everyone's opinion regarding two questions. 1. I have the opportunity to buy oem struts for a very good price for a 1990 es250. Considering that these struts have possibly been laying on a dealer's shelf for many years, do you think the gas in them has leaked out? 2. Dealer only has 3 of them (both rears and 1 front). My feeling (if I buy them) is to only buy the rears and get a matched set for the front elsewhere. What are your thoughts?

I have to pull the driver side headlamp assembly off my 1990 ES250. It looks like I may have to pull the front bumper also to get to it. Has anyone done this? Any help would be appreciated.

The engine running at about 1200 RPMs when started is normal. I don't know if running at 750 RPMs when warm is normal for that model. I have a 1990 and the RPMs drop to 650 when warm. The oil in the exhaust is probably due to oil leaking into the valves overnight. You could increase the weight of your oil to see if that helps. It probably will work and your shouldn't have a problem with it living in Houston. If you lived in the northern US you wouldn't want to increase the weight during winter. If you have sludge on the oil fill cap you most probably have sludge in the engine. The easiest/cheapest way to fix it is to use Seafoam, but be prepared to be banned from your neighborhood as it will send a tremendous amount of white smoke out your exhaust for up to an hour as it burns the crud out of your engine. I'd suggest that one of the first things you'd want to do is to drop and clean out the sludge and crap in your oil pan. What's in there will eventually add more sludge to your engine.

If I were you I wouldn't do a complete flush immediately. You want to see if anything is wrong with the transmission before you totally flush it. Get a gasket for the transmission pan and a new filter for the transmission. You can get a kit at Napa for less than $15. Unscrew the hex drain bolt for the pan and drain it. You may want to put a sheet of plastic on the ground to protect against spills/drips. After it's empty, drop the pan (a little more fluid will come out). Pull the old gasket off and scrape any remaining gasket off the pan with a putty knife (don't use a screwdriver). Also clean around the transmission where the pan sits. Pull the magnets out of the pan and inspect them for any metal. No metal is good. Metal filings caught by the magnet indicate that something is wearing in the tranny. Clean all the sludge off magnets and from within the pan. Don't use any water based cleaner. I usually just use new transmission fluid on a rag or shop towel. Lightly wipe off anything you can see in the transmisson. Attach the gasket to the pan and screw it back in. You'll notice that the bolts holding the pan to the transmission were not very tight. Put them back the same way. Do not overtighten or you could create a real problem. Replace the drain bolt and fill with transmission fluid to the cold line. Run the engine to warm up the transmission fluid, go through all your gears and check the fluid again. As the fluid should now be at operating temperature, fill to the not line. It's real easy to do. Probably 1 on a scale of 1-10. Periodically (monthly) doing a drain and fill will get 99% of the fluid out of the transmission over a 5-6 month period.

When bleeding brakes you normally start with the brake furthest from the master cylinder first and work back to the shortest hydraulic line to the master cylinder. Bought a MityVac vacuum pump today to bleed the brakes and it states to bleed the brakes starting with the brake closest to the master cylinder and working to the farthest one. WTF??? Does anyone know why they would recommend starting from the closest rather than farthest?

A temperature of 24 degrees shouldn't affect power steering fluid. I noticed a problem once when it was below zero, so I doubt 24 degrees would be a problem. I'd suggest you flush out the current fluid and put in new fluid. It may be contaminated with either crud or moisture or may have air in the system which would give you a problem with hard steering. As a quick fix, siphon the fluid out with a turkey baseter (?) or a pump. I use a pump from an old shampoo bottle. Once you hear the pump taking in air, fill up with new fluid. Do that every few days for about a week. You'll probably notice a difference. The fluid I got out of mine was a murky brown and adding new fluid made a difference.

You need to replace the broken CV boot. While you're doing it also check the ball joints and rest of the front suspension. You should not have extensive play on any of these parts.

Better still, drain the fluid, drop the pan and see what's in there. Clean out all the sludge and see if there's metal clinging to the magnets. Put in a new transmission filter. Scrape off the old gasket (use a putty knife; don't use a screwdriver; don't gouge the aluminum), put on a new gasket, put the pan back on and fill the fluid to the cold line on the transmission stick. Drive it gently for about 15 minutes to let the tranny fluid heat up, check the dipstick again and top off the fluid. You could be presently surprised how the problem went away. The whole process will take about an hour and cost less than $25 including fluid, gasket and filter. It's a real easy job to do. BTW, you state you had the flush done at 60K. How many miles are on the car now?

Regarding passing emissions with the oil leak and transmission issue, you'll have to check Texas vehicle inspection law to see what they look for. Each state is different, and some states have inpections only if you live in a major city. I use to live in NY and at that time you couldn't pass inpection if you had a cracked windshield or needed shocks. Now in Calif and they only care about emissions and they check your gas cap. Best bet is to see if you can get a pre-inspection test. Most states have it. I wouldn't think that the oil leaks or transmission would stop the car from passing inspection though. Also check the law. In Calif the seller has to have the car inspected, not the buyer. There's probably nothing wrong with the transmission other than the fluid not being changed. Recently bought a 90 es250 and it had hard shifting between gears. I changed the fluid once, ran it for about 300 miles and dropped the transmission pan today. I had expected to find it full of sludge but it was remarkedly clean for a 15 year old car although the magnet in the pan was full of sludge. It's shifting a lot better than it did with only a slight hard shift between 2-3. Once you get all that crap out of the transmission it will probably last forever. Get the windshield reservoir at a salvage/junk yard. Whilie you're there, get any interior items you'd need also. Brakes are pretty easy to do yourself. If the transmission fluid was neglected, I'd flush out the brake fluid, power steering fluid as well as the coolant also. You can hold off on the engine work temporarily by tightening down the valve covers ever so slightly. Add a little Lucas Oil Treatment to the oil to see if it eliminates the tapping. That will buy you some time if you're cash poor right now (who isn't?). If only the CV boot is spit, get it fixed asap as you'll want to eliminate replacing the front axle if possible. I had seen somewhere on the internet a splitable boot that you can install yourself. Don't know where it was though. Best bet is to put on a new one though. Don't know how hard it is to replace the struts. Hope this helps.