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RDM

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Everything posted by RDM

  1. If the tint is a film, it's not OEM. Many dealers offer window tint as an add on package, but they send the car out to have it done. I've never seen OE tint on an LS but for the RX and all SUVs/trucks sold in the US the tint have it embedded in the glass when it's made, and is only done on the rear windows, and is legal in all States. Cars have different laws though and I'm pretty sure NC is 35% maximum.
  2. You don't want the breaker bar to hit the ground, that's the bad way of doing it. Place it underneath the passenger side frame rail, up against it. That way you're not digging into your driveway, breaking the bar and sending it recoiling back into the car, or worse, lifting the car up in the air.
  3. The strut bar he's referring to is the rod that connects the lower control arm to the front of the car, below the radiator. Toyota calls it something else but it's essentially a tension rod, the later '95-'00 models use a better design than the 1st generation but still can wear under extreme loads. The struts themselves are easy to replace with a compressor, but instead of buying the cheap camp-on/bolt-on unit maybe find a shop that has a wall mounted compressor you can use, take them there and it's literally 60 seconds worth of effort versus the 15 minutes you'll spend putting the other type together.
  4. An aftermarket hose will be a lot cheaper and should have a good warranty with it, as far as replacing it's pretty easy to do since it runs underneath the engine.
  5. You can buy the red/clear lamps and then tint them red pretty easily, it will look better than tinting the OE lens since it won't be as dark. The main issue though is any kind of tint/paint will decrease the light output. You'd hate to be rearended because the driver couldn't tell if your brakes were on or not.
  6. A tool like this is very nice to have: http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/p-3097-lisle-36880.aspx, they also make a plastic version that sits between gears and has an adjustable slide, anything to lock the gears in place is good. For the crankshaft, the method of starting the car with a breaker bar wedged in does work, but you want the bar up against the framerail, underneath it, not towards the ground. I've seen a Toyota Starlet stand up in the air once when someone tried it with the bar resting against the ground. If that scares you, I remove the flexplate cover, take out one of the torque converter bolts, and thread a much longer, heavier grade bolt back in place, once rotated it will rest against the bellhousing and lock the crank in place. You can also drop the lower oilpan and wedge the crank that way, although it's more work and mess. ALWAYS replace the water pump if you're in there. There's no point not to when it's a few more bolts away.
  7. OE 17" wheels are typically 7" wide. The 18" wheels are 7.5".
  8. It's your car, how would you like them? That's the only answer you need as we don't drive your car and may not have the same taste in wheels as you do. Those wheels look like GS430 wheels, but maybe some LSs came fitted with them too in Canada.
  9. More than likely it's a bad solder joint on the board. Temperature extremes affect it, that's why it's randomly working. You can pull it and find the bad joint, have it rebuilt (with a new LCD if yours is already black), or find a used one to throw in.
  10. Anywhere to the chassis. Doesn't really mater, just find an OE bolt at least M8 in size, scrape away the paint underneath for a clean connection, and ground it.
  11. You'd bet wrong. The dash and parking lights all share a common circuit, and therefore a common fuse. Power to the gauge cluster is a separate circuit, but that doesn't have any effect on the backlighting.
  12. Are you seriously asking where the torque converter is? Wow. The torque converter is in the same place it is on every automatic transmission, bolted to the flexplate, inside the bellhousing. It is not serviced, you either leave it alone or replace it if it's slipping.
  13. Is that for the door switches on the inside of the front doors. The ones with the window and lock switches? Do you know if the Climate control units are the same? Yes. You asked a question, I answered it. Why ask again?
  14. It depends. I bought and sold salvage cars and parts for several years, one car was '92 SC400. People are always looking for parts, but not everyone wants to pay what they're worth, especially on Ebay. Plus after you get raped by all their fees you haven't turned any profit. If you don't mind the hassle of shipping things just to make $10-15 on each part it's not bad. The main issue I found on the SC was the parts that were in demand, what people really needed, were equally worn out or damaged on mine. As is with any car, problem areas surface regardless of the car's age and wear, so the stuff that you feel will sell the best probably isn't any better than what the buyer already has. Engines are bulletproof and hard to move, as is the transmission. If you can get it really cheap ($500 at most), it may be worth it for you, otherwise I'd pass.
  15. Removing the resonator does not affect power output at all. The primary purpose is to reduce intake noise, 99% of cars have them and it's simply to slow down airflow and give it somewhere to reduce turbulence, on some cars it's not even part of the intake tract, it sits off to the side before the airflow sensor. As for the piping, you haven't gained any power either since you haven't changed the diameter or the length, which affects the tuning. Plus the stock airbox is still the restriction here, so while it looks different, there's no gain. I made the same type of thing out of high temp rubber piping like VW uses for intercooler pipe, but fitted a high flow filter to the MAF and cut out the area below the filter, as well as cutting a vent in the front bumper, to allow forced air in from the front of the car. Sounds the same, feels the same, I just didn't like the resonator in the way of the plugs and I had broken one of the plastic nipples off the OE plastic pipe, so it was easier to replace it this way than to hunt down a used pipe.
  16. Are you trying to buy an entire throttle body, or just the TPS? The sensor itself shouldn't be that much aftermarket, maybe $4-500, maybe even less. I'd also call salvage yards locally and Statewide, and check for crossover to the GS400/SC400, it's probably the same piece.
  17. Keep pulling, the rubber boot on the end is just a tight fit. You won't break anything. As for the code reader, that's weird. I thought all OBD-II vehicles were the same compliance, no matter where they were built/sold.
  18. Stupid question, but have you tried the dimmer knob? It may have been moved, if not it's likely the dimmer is bad. I assume all your parking lights work fine.
  19. I removed those mouldings when I painted my car and and painted them to match (black), but also sprayed the inside edges as you show where it's silver. The pieces themselves are stainless steel with a dipped type finish on them, A good sanding, primer, and base/clear coat will make them look new again and you can do the inner side too, it really does look better painted and you don't have the glare anymore.
  20. Any dealer will stock it, and it's likely the same part as Toyotas of the same year range too, so maybe a Camry or 4Runner mast will swap over, I know Nissan uses one mast for their entire range. To replace it, it's literally 60 seconds of work unless the cable has actually broken inside the motor, which is not typical. There's plenty of online info on doing it yourself.
  21. Anything 16" or larger, though the front drive cars may have higher offsets which would interfere with the calipers.
  22. The problem you are going to have is the parts in question, new, are incredibly expensive. So much so that your insurance company may opt to total the car. Lexus can't even get a new radio unit anymore, but the climate control is just under $1000 by itself. Add the other missing/damaged pieces in and you're well into half the car's current value. You'd be better off buying it all used from a salvage yard and save the hassle of dealing with the insurance company. As for the body shop questioning the airbag system, they probably just don't have the reset tool needed to turn the airbag light off. There is a way to reset it without the tool but it's not a procedure anyone will do for you, so the dealer is your only option unless you find another shop locally who has the tool.
  23. An aftermarket door lock motor can be fitted to most any car, it comes with it's own rod that clips to the existing door lock rod in the car. The issue here is I believe the LS430 uses a cable, not a rod, and therefore this route wouldn't work.
  24. PCV. Not PCP. The grommet always dries up and breaks apart, it just falls into a small valley in the valve cover, not down into the cylinder head. Break it as little as you can, then use a pick, needle nose pliers, or anything similar to get the pieces out of the area they fall into.
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