jragosta

Several times in the past few months, I've had threads shut down. In each case, the record is very clear. I've been discussing something that I have the education, credentials, and experience to discuss and someone jumps in with "I don't care if you have a PhD and spent half of your career studying this and I'm a high school drop out. I don't like what you say, so I'll disagree with it - even if I can support my position". I try to educate people with the facts. Apparently, the management of this board doesn't care about the facts. They would rather let people with no education or experience give incorrect information to the readers - which could lead to problems. Apparently, my efforts to educate people with facts that I can support don't count for anything. Since the management is more interested in playing the tyrant than in promoting an educated discussion, I'm out of here. I have better things to do with my time than to try to educate people who don't want to be educated.

I feel you are talkig about air filters but you can have high Si levels and it is meaningless. I know very well about your filtering past jobs since you have inlightendc me many times about it. For me, I could careless what people have done for jobs etc. Since oil testing in engines is a differet ball game. I even used air glazed filters for years (5) and the Si (some high) do not dictate anything. Even had the oil tests that showed this. Again, if you test your oil you will know SI in the great puzzle means nothing. You can have high Si and nothing is even wrong with oil or engine oil. Again, lets see your oil tests that show high Si hurts or means anything.I will ask this, what is SI integral too in oil testing? I only know from a few years of testing my oil. Only have done about 30 to 40 tests on various cars/trucks/motorcycles/diesel and gas engines. PS. I also use a K&N on my GSXR1100 for the past 10 years. Si levels are lower then my car.... That's nice. I've done literally thousands of filtration tests. And I'm measuring actual filtration, not simply oil contaminants (which are only indirectly affected). Since we're talking about filtration performance, I'd say that my many years of managing filtration R&D, many thousands of controlled tests, and PhD in chemistry which allows me to understand the fundamental principles involved carries quite a bit more weight than the fact that you've put a K&N filter in one vehicle and have done 30-40 oil tests.

based on the oil filter ratings, I would use it and be happy too. But then again I send $4.75 for my 2 oil filters that last one year (using the same oil).. Si is one piece of the pie and does not mean a bad filter. If you oil test, you would know this. Si isn't the whole puzzle, but it indicates that particles are passing through the K&N filter - which is exactly what I said would happen. K&N advertises filter ratings which are meaningless. They are simply reporting dirt holding capacity which is not what you want to look out. Hint: I spent many years in R&D developing new filtration media and I understand it quite well.

Well, I wound up going to advanced autoparts, purchased a K&N filer adn Mobile 1 oil 5W30 did the oil change. I also purchased the SeaFoam but wasn't sure where to put it in order to clean the cilinder head and valves so I postponed it for next oil change when I find out more of how to do it. Before installing it, you might want to read the reports on K&N. You'll get a lot of people saying 'I used it and it worked fine, added 50 hp and improved my fuel economy 90%' without any evidence. You'll also get people who actually tested things and found that the K&N filter was dumping particles into their oil (as measured by Si content in the oil). I spent a lot of years in filtration R&D and would strongly encourage you not to use a K&N filter.

Here we go with the age discrimation..AGAIN! monarch- Do you really think most users or memebrs buy what you post? It is so wrong it is funny (but sad). Just compare the ratings on the filters. Toyoto is nothing short of a normal filter. I would not pay over $2.50 for (1). I, for one, buy what he says. There is a lot of crap out there that sounds good if you read the marketing but turns out to be useless (or even causes damage). I can think of a couple of products that have been recommneded on thsi very board that have been shown to be bad for your car, but people still buy them because they're cheap - or 'cool'. Sticking with the products recommended by the manufacturer is a sound strategy - particularly if you don't have the time to spend the number of ours researching all the alternatives. It's even more true if the couple of dollars extra for an oil filter ($10 every 4 months rather than $3 every 4 months) is less important to you than protecting your $30,000 investment. I wouldn't presume to say that this is the only reasonable strategy, but it's certainly a very viable strategy.

It is fairly common for the temperature to go up when A/C is running, but it's usually not a problem. How high does the temperature go?

Hint: Get a grip. Your life will be much more enjoyable if you learn to put things in perspective and treat people like human beings. The person who did the work is a human being. They may or may not have made a mistake (it's unlikely that they got your instructions - you should probably be complaining about the service manager, not the technician). As a result, he put in green antifreeze which clashes with the pink inside your engine bay. Since both the red and green antifreeze meet Lexus standards, you're getting all bent out of shape, calling names, and losing your temper over the fact that your technician didn't get your instruction about your preferred antifreeze color. AND THEY OFFERED TO REPLACE IT.

For what it's worth, I'm generally opposed to any third party additives. It takes many person-years to engineer a modern car because it's critical for all the pieces to work well together. The car is shipped when the design is complete and everything (including the fluids) works well together (usually). Any third party additive is necessarily a compromise. It's not going to be ideal for everything. In fact, it can make things worse. Let's say that the additive makes the fluid more viscous. In some cases, that would have a negative effect on performance. And that's not to mention the risk of catastrophic failure. What if the additive causes the system to fail while you're driving down the road at 70 mph? Is that really the time you want to lose your power steering pump? Yes, my approach is conservative, but if you're talking about a $30+ K machine which could kill you if it fails, I prefer to be conservative.

All they're obligated to do is to use coolant which meets Lexus specs. They presumably did that. If you wanted something different, you should have written it on the service write up. If you did that, take it back and have them do what you requested. If you didn't write it up, you're SOL. Like I mentioned previously, I did discuss using "red" with the guy and I figured a verbal was good as gold. In any case, I did call them this morning and mentioned what I stumbled upon and they agreed to flush it and use the red. I have been going to them for years but the manager and master tech that used to work there went to Autonation. So after these idiots flush my radiator (for free), they will never see me again. I am still frustrated though. Do you all think I should have them flush, and then take it for another reflush, or will one do? Let's see: 1. You didn't specify anything in writing. The guy who wrote up your order isn't the one who does the work. If it's not on the paper, it doesn't get in the hands of the person doing the work. 2. Both colors of coolant meet Lexus specs. There's no reason to think that one is any better than the other. 3. The shop agreed to flush your system and replace the fluid, anyway. Sounds like they're going above and beyond the call of duty to try to make them happy. 4. You continue to call them idiots and say you'll never do business with them again. Seems to me that you're the one being awfully unreasonable here. Well, I have been getting outstanding service there for years. The previous manager and master tech know exactly how particular I am to detail and they have always exceeding my expectations. Both of them have EXTENSIVE knowledge about Toys and Lex's and have serviced them for 15+ years each. The gentlemen who runs the place now claims to have trained the previous manager but appears to posess about 1/10th of the knowledge of him. This place always repairs/maintains my vehicle to manufacturer spec and only Toyota brand parts. My vehical specifically calls for "red". For me even to verify with him initially shouldn't be necessary but like I said, I am particular to detail. So I do not think I am being unreasonable. They are not going above and beyond, they are simply correcting their mistake. Business is business. Good day sir, Kenny Let's say you're right. They made an honest mistake and are now correcting it. You're bad-mouthing them all over the place and calling them idiots - and taking your business somewhere else. Again, you're the one being unreasonable.

All they're obligated to do is to use coolant which meets Lexus specs. They presumably did that. If you wanted something different, you should have written it on the service write up. If you did that, take it back and have them do what you requested. If you didn't write it up, you're SOL. Like I mentioned previously, I did discuss using "red" with the guy and I figured a verbal was good as gold. In any case, I did call them this morning and mentioned what I stumbled upon and they agreed to flush it and use the red. I have been going to them for years but the manager and master tech that used to work there went to Autonation. So after these idiots flush my radiator (for free), they will never see me again. I am still frustrated though. Do you all think I should have them flush, and then take it for another reflush, or will one do? Let's see: 1. You didn't specify anything in writing. The guy who wrote up your order isn't the one who does the work. If it's not on the paper, it doesn't get in the hands of the person doing the work. 2. Both colors of coolant meet Lexus specs. There's no reason to think that one is any better than the other. 3. The shop agreed to flush your system and replace the fluid, anyway. Sounds like they're going above and beyond the call of duty to try to make them happy. 4. You continue to call them idiots and say you'll never do business with them again. Seems to me that you're the one being awfully unreasonable here.

All they're obligated to do is to use coolant which meets Lexus specs. They presumably did that. If you wanted something different, you should have written it on the service write up. If you did that, take it back and have them do what you requested. If you didn't write it up, you're SOL.

I'm not very mechanical, but I can do it. It's fairly easy. Just make sure you get the right battery. Always disconnect the negative (black) terminal and make sure the black lead is well away from the terminal before touching the red lead. When reinstalling, connect the red lead first. Good luck.

I wouldn't suggest running out and buying a starter based on my wild guess. Go to Pep Boys or whoever offers cheap testing of the electrical system. That way you'll know what is broken rather than guessing.

I can't imagine how a low battery would make the car shake. Bad starter (or bad solenoid, perhaps) would be my guess.

Get rid of it. Even if by some miracle you can obtain the parts (I doubt if GS parts will work) and get them shipped to Poland, that car will never be right again. You're looking at major structural damage.