wwest

I don't know, have any real idea for sure, but at (extremely??) high volume levels and especially at low frequencies it is very easy to "over-travel" the woofer speaker cone and "rip" it right out of the mountings. A new larger "tougher" woofer might be the answer but along with a separate Bass amplifier/driver.

The traction control system in the '92 is not only totally USELESS it can easily and quickly get you into a hazardous situation. I adopted the practice of manually turning it off just as soon as I started the car. Just ignore the indicator or remove the bulb. Or if you insist, do a brake fluid flush and that will often solve the problem. But be sure that whoever does the flush is aware of how to flush the TC assembly.

If it's the AWD version you're considering the Rx400h should be your only choice. But have a serious look at the Acura RDX in that case.

I still think that if you are braking as you cross a pothole or crack in the roadbed that inadvertently results in activation of ABS the regenerative braking system will be INSTANTLY disabled. That might result in a very noticeable perdubation in braking "feel" as the system must now quickly transition from regenerative braking to "full" frictional braking ONLY. Remember that a fair volume of hydraulic/brake fluid must be "moved" (and "pumped"??) before a significant level of frictional braking will come "on line". It's even possible that in the above instance the ABS firmware knows not to actuate the brake fluid pressure release solenoids but first "kill" regenerative braking. Now that I think about "that" in more depth it would actually be unwise for the ABS to "dump" brake fluid pressure in this instance as now the important thing is to get that pressure to "rise" to the occassion. It also occurs to me that the hybrid battery may not necessarily need to be even close to being fully discharged for the regenerative braking system to be operating at a fair high level during actual braking. Hybrid systems MUST "take" whatever level of regenerative braking is available, when and where it becomes available. Even if the hybrid battery is almost fully charged a "wise" engineer would still use the highest level of regenerative braking available. Like the camel at the watering hole, you never know when the next opportunity of recharging the battery might come along. So the programming rule for regenerative braking might be... "Drink" as much as you can whenever, where ever the opportunity arises.

You are comparing apples and oranges here. Maybe the RX vs. MDX or Murano vs. Pilot vs. Highlander makes more sense. If you like to save money, you can get the Murano with almost all the bells and whistles from the RX for a lot cheaper...but the drive/handling/comfort are BIG different. I test drove the 2007 Murano, fully loaded for 36K, but I decided to bought the RX for $10,000 more. I thought the Murano was RWD or R/AWD, in which the FWD and/or the F/awd RX wouldn't be able to hold a candle in comparison to the much safer handling of R/AWD or even RWD alone.

A subscription to techinfo.toyota.com will give you access to all the information you need to tackle your problem. After reviewing the factory documentation for the '01 RX300 I see no unique aspects of the front fuel injectors vs the rear. All six appear to connect directly to the engine control module with no splices or intermediate connectors/connections. The same with the ground side, all six go to a common ground. But. For the ground side there is a wire splice location where all six are spliced together (3 + 3 to 1...??) and then go to a common ground. The wire splice location appears to be near the "front" the engine and nearest the firewall side. Northwest corner of the engine looking down and with the firewall being North.

Access the mounting bolts/nuts from behind the assembly via acess through the front of the fender well.

A subscription to techinfo.toyota.com will give you access to all the information you need to tackle your problem.

It does begin to sound as if in your particular case you might have a small animal or bird that has died inside the fresh ducting somewhere. Remove the pollen filter and use an inspection mirror and flashlight to thoroughly examine the ductwork immediately above the filter. Do the same from the outside. It won't take an animal or bird, and they would create a full time decay smell. The fact that oder comes with rain/moisture definitely points to mold spores being reactivated--classic DSS. I disagree. Mold spore colonies need/REQUIRE a dark and moist, WET, environment with a consistent or often recurring ambient temperatrue (garage, parked, nightime) in the range of 65-75F in order to survive, breed, multiply. Historically with regards to automotive A/C systems that has been found to have been pretty much restricted to the evaporator surfaces and the surrounding plenum "tank" area. Additionally all system airflow, fresh or recirculate, flows through the pollen air filter so it is unlikely the problem is with the filter, of even downstream of it. Each spring I have the task of opening our furnace and removing the dead mice that our cat has brought in over the winter and allowed to escape down one of the air vents. I'm quite certain that were I to somehow "hydrate" one of those otherwise quite thoroughly dry mouse bodies the resulting odor would be nothing short of putrid. Constant moisture is not at all necessary. The spores simply go dormant and "revive" and thrive when appropriate conditions reoccur. Unfortunately, I've personally had to deal with mold spores in the following: 1) identical to this but not on an RX where the actuator for the fresh air flap was not working correctly; 2) in a home where a leaking valley resulted in water infiltrating a wall necessitating involvement of an environmental engineer and $$$ remediation; and 3) new variable speed high efficiency heat pump where "organics" that accumulate during cooling season from moisture which never fully dissipates from fins, as you mentioned above, dries and goes dormant between summer and winter. During heating season, when unit goes into defrost mode the moisture reactivates spores, resulting in offensive oder commonly known as "Dirty Sock Syndrome"--DSS. Once there, cleaning won't fix it beyond short term. The hvac industry has been trying for several years to escape any responsibility, but when homeowners push hard enough, will often receive a new epoxy coated indoor coil. I did. I have a copy of a Trane memo to dealers on the problem. As I said, Often recurring. conditions. But there is problem, downside, to coating the evaporator vanes. Almost any coating will result in undesireably reducing the heat transfer efficiency from the COLD refrigernat gas inside the evaporator to the airflow over the vanes of the evaporator. So maybe that is why the HVAC manufacturers are so reluctent to respond to these complaints. There is no good, simple, answer. Even worse yet... The early LS400s came with a thin porus nylon coating covering the entire evaporator vane surface area. An anti-microbial fungicide was embedded within these pores during manufacturing. As long as a sufficient level o fteh fungicide remained within those pores the mold and mildew spore problem was abated. But. Over time and hundreds of A/C use "cycles" the fungicide was "washed" from the pores. Guess what happened next..?? Those pores, collectively (10,000 square inches of evaporator cooling vane surface area) began acting as one HUGE sponge. Not only that but because those pores were of a reasonably consistent size the moisture held within them after a period of A/C operation would not evaporate as willingly as before (fluid viscosity, capillary function, and all that). So only once the the local atmosphere within the plenum area rose to a VERY specific, tight tolerance level, then all of those pores would begin to release their moisture to evaporation virtually simultaneously. BLAP.., BLAM.., BANG...!!! That was a MOISTURE EXPLOSION you just experienced. About 5 miles into your morning drive the cabin suddenly begins to be humidified, HUMIDIFIED(bold. caps) and now if its just a tad coolish outside your windshield is sudden fogging over to the point wherein you must pull quickly to the side of the road all while have virtuall not forward vision. Or maybe you're just driving along and by pure happenstance the OAT declines below the point wherein the continued function of the A/C is allowed and now within a few miles you REALLY have windshield fogging problems. Some LS models today have a UV light source inside the evaporator plenum area to !Removed! the growth of these microbes.

It does begin to sound as if in your particular case you might have a small animal or bird that has died inside the fresh ducting somewhere. Remove the pollen filter and use an inspection mirror and flashlight to thoroughly examine the ductwork immediately above the filter. Do the same from the outside. It won't take an animal or bird, and they would create a full time decay smell. The fact that oder comes with rain/moisture definitely points to mold spores being reactivated--classic DSS. I disagree. Mold spore colonies need/REQUIRE a dark and moist, WET, environment with a consistent or often recurring ambient temperatrue (garage, parked, nightime) in the range of 65-75F in order to survive, breed, multiply. Historically with regards to automotive A/C systems that has been found to have been pretty much restricted to the evaporator surfaces and the surrounding plenum "tank" area. Additionally all system airflow, fresh or recirculate, flows through the pollen air filter so it is unlikely the problem is with the filter, of even downstream of it. Each spring I have the task of opening our furnace and removing the dead mice that our cat has brought in over the winter and allowed to escape down one of the air vents. I'm quite certain that were I to somehow "hydrate" one of those otherwise quite thoroughly dry mouse bodies the resulting odor would be nothing short of putrid.

Never use captive nav systems as a comparitive measure of various vehicles. Go out and buy a Garmin 680 and you will understand why. I can't imagine that even a fully equipped Murano would be able to compete on price with the RX. Murano is too much less expensive.

It does begin to sound as if in your particular case you might have a small animal or bird that has died inside the fresh ducting somewhere. Remove the pollen filter and use an inspection mirror and flashlight to thoroughly examine the ductwork immediately above the filter. Do the same from the outside.

Going all the way back to my '68 Ford Country Squire station wagon, discarded at not less than 270,000 miles, I have always disconnected my A/C compressor clutch circuit during the winter months and never incurred a failure as a result. The only refrigerant leak I remember having was due to a pinhole in a hose of a '71 Mustang. Oh, our '88 911's A/C needs to be recharged about every two years but that is SOP for that model.

In the summer, outside humidity in many places far, far higher than lung output. Still, it's best to run in fresh setting, except for initial cooldown (or in tunnels). Yes, during the summer months the largest body organ takes over from the lungs as the primary supplier of additional cabin humidity. Remember, with regard to FE, it is advantagous to keep "conditioned" air within the cabin as long as is feasible. So manufacturer's are going to what some of us consider extreme measures to reduce the cycling of the A/C via this "double gain" (noise reduction too) method. Lowering the rear windows just ever so slightly as you drive will definitely be of an aid, and lowering then all the way otherwise will DEFINITELY be of an aid..

Go to your dealer and have the available C-best options set such that you can disable the A/C cooling system indefinitely, throughout the winter months, by simply switching it off one time via the pushbutton. The second C-best option unlinks the A/C from operating automatically, without any indication, in both full and partial windshield defrost/defog/demist mode. Then go to Home Depot and purchase a manual water shutoff valve to install in line with the coolant flow to the heater core. Use the valve to turn off the flow throughout the summer months. Not a substantial improvement in FE but also not inconsequential. And you will have no more instances during the wintertime of sudden unexpected episodes of windshield fogging. No windshield fogging about 5 miles down the road in the early morning nor on a mountain pass when the A/C shuts down due to decloning OAT unbeknowist to you and shortly thereafter the windshield suddenly fogs over.

Thanks for that information. So you're thinking that during days when it's raining the moisture is being taken into the car's AC piping etc growing and feeding mold!? I read about that EED device on the website and still don't know where it goes or what it does specifically. Also the price seems to be hidden. In any modern day car with A/C anytime you use that A/C, and then subsequently shut it off, a few ounces (or more, perhaps a LOT more) of condensate, condensed water, will always remain as a thin film on the approximately 10,000 square inches of A/C evaporator vane cooling surface area. If left in that condition for an extended period, night after night, the evaporator surfaces and surrounding HVAC plenum soon will become an EXCELLENT breeding gound for a myriad of microbes that constitute the family that contribute via their "leavings" to the buildup of mold and mildew on these surfaces. An easy way to combat this problem, inexpensively, is to simply leave your windows down each and every night in the garage. The EED is an alternative and is actually used by many of the Ford dealers around the country if customers make enough "noise". All the EED does is activate the HVAC blower for a few seconds every few minutes for up to an hour after the ignition is switched off. While actually operating, the temperature of the A/C cooling vanes will approach 35-33F. The blower activation, bringing in outside fresh airflow, will result in those cooling vanes rising to the ambiant temperature fairly quickly and shortly thereafter the thin film of moisture will begin to evaporate and the blower will then whisk it away to be distributed throughout the cabin. The result? No dark, dank, and DAMP breeding ground for those microbes and no more early morning incidences of sudden windshield fogging over about five miles into the coolish morning drive. For my '01 AWD RX300 there was several C-best options available that allowed me to address this problem in a more direct way. One C-best option allows me to disable the A/C compressor indefinitely by simply switching it off one time via the pushbutton. The second C-best option unlinks the A/C from operatingautomatically in full or partial defrost/defog/demist mode. So I leave my RX's A/C completely disabled throughout the winter months. That little car to you left has a switch in the glove box so I can open the A/C compressor clutch circuit throughout the winter months. In days of yore I always disconnected the A/C compressor clutch circuit under the hood during the winter months. In the olden days the A/C system could be used as an aid, a valued and valuable aid in defogging/demisting the windshield but not today, no more.

Google for: wwest denso demist And then: wwest dirty gym socks odor And read the material plus read about the EED, Electronic Evaporator Dryer, at airsept.com

Drill out the center of the firing end of a spark plug and install, swedge, a steel rod long enough to hold the piston at BDC with the modified spark plug installed. A rubber furniture leg cup on the end of the rod will prevent scratching the piston top.

Ebay, agree.

Wow.... Googled: Lug nut torque And saw recomendations varying from 60-105 ft/lbs Then: Lug nut torque "105 ft-lbs" And found lots of recommendations, many for "respectable" sources, of 80 to 105 ft/lbs Some had tables based on lug stud size but I didn't find one based on number of studs or threads/inch.

I've enjoyed several informative reads left by wwest, so maybe this is an april fools? :D Suggesting that because one of our local tire joints (using a rattle gun) jacked our Prius (a mid sized passenger vehicle) lugs to 100. It cost them a bit to replace the 2 damaged lugs ... one w/ streached threads, and the other simply metal fatigued/broke. Here's an older toque chart off the web as one of many examples: http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoWheelTorque.dos#lexus Not to say studs will always be damaged . . . 5 or 10lbs +/- won't break the bank . . . but higher? More likely, and it's only weakening the threads, not making the tire any more secure. . . . and yep . . . bolt/lug hardness/tensile strength is ONE determining factor of proper torque. But the others listed above are just as important factors. So come on now . . . I know you know that . . . April fools, right? :P No, sorry. It seems like forever that I have used a torque wrench to do the final tightening of the lug nuts on my cars and 105 ft/lbs has always been the majic number. I don't, today, have any idea what the origin of that number might be except to say that "knowing myself" it had to have come from a valid source at the time. I'll go looking. But in the meantime you, someone else, have said something that somewhat puzzles me. You seemingly computed the required torque level from hardness (surface hardness??), thread/inch, and the number of lugs. Pardon me, but surface hardness is no indication of tensile strength, and a greater number of threads/inch insofar as "torque" is concerned is not any different than simply using a longer torque wrench handle, and the number of lugs is of no consequence whatsoever as the object of torqueing the lug nuts is not only to fasten the wheel to the hub securely but also to secure each lug nut individually, prevent the lug nuts from backing off the thread. More than willing to be proved wrong on any or all of the above points.

My guess would be that this problem lies at the feet of the engineers designing the operational aspects of the regenerative braking system. The RX400h is a fairly heavy vehicle as for as highly fuel efficient HSD systems go, say like the Prius and Camry. So the engineers undoubtedly needed to squeeze every possible "erg" from the regenerative braking system's ability to recharge the battery. But the "rub" is that there is a "top end" limit to just how fast you can "pour" electrical current into the hybrid battery. And I'm not talking HEAT from the recharge cycle, that certainly is a concern, but one of a longer term. There is a chemical process, a fairly slow chemical process, that occurs within the battery during recharge, this process cannot be "hurried" absent damaging the battery in the short term. So, let's say the hybrid battery is getting to the point wherein it needs, seriously, to be recharged. And at about this same time you apply braking to a fairly high level in order to stop quickly. The hybrid battery cannot accept the rapid charging rate cognizant with the level of regenerative braking that is suddenly available, so the engineers have decided to "chop off" these peak charging rates in order to spread them over a longer period that will recharge, but not damage, the hybrid battery. The result...?? The overall braking system does not as quickly transition from mostly regenerative braking to actual friction braking in order to stop as quickly as you desire. At least not as it might otherwise do with a battery charge already at a more "acceptable" level. And the inconsistency of this "effect" results in the driver not being able to learn when to use harder pressure on the brake pedal. None of the above is anything close to a "for sure" answer, just a best guess. But for those of you experiencing this problem might want to pay closer attention, as a trial, to the hybrid battery charge level and adjust your brake pedal foot pressure accordingly. Oh, one other point. If just one wheel should lose traction with the roadbed (pothole or crack??) as you are trying to come to a quick stop, even a moderately quick one, the regenerative braking functionality might be suddenly DISABLED due to the resulting BRIEF (so brief you may not even take note) activation of ABS, INSTANTLY and COMPLETELY disabled. Otherwise, like actual engine compression braking on a FWD vehicle, regenerative braking can, and will, interfere with the functionality of the anti-lock braking system. This QUICK transition from a reasonably heavy regenerative braking level into ONLY friction braking might not be as smooth as one would desire. It is entirely possible that the brake pedal pressure level resulting in fairly heavy regenerative braking forces might not result in braking forces quite as heavy once the system (suddenly) transitions into friction braking ONLY. Suppose, for instance, the brake rotors happen to be slightly wet, or maybe even a bit of surface rust from not being driven for 8-12 hours.

This is new for me, never heard of it. I don't have my manual from that euro car, but pretty sure it mentioned to mount only chains on the front or on all 4 wheels, never just on the back. From all the mountain people I know and who have 4x4's, (most don't) they all mount chains or spikes only on the front wheels, the wheels that steer the car ned the most traction, especially going down hill. There is NO tire shop that will install tire studs on only the front of a FWD car, the liability due to the additional potential for an accident due to loss of directional control is far to great. Just think of a tractor/trailer rig going downhill on a slippery roadbed with only tractor/"front" brakes. And no reasonably experienced 4Wd/4X4 owner would EVER install tire chains on the front first. The rule is to put them on the rear first and then add the fronts if conditions warrant. I suppose if you only want to PULL/drive uphill then desparately heavier traction on the front might work okay. But yes, for FWD or F/AWD you often have no choice but to mount tire chains first, and often only, on the front. But keep in mind, CONSTANTLY, that the resulting potential for loss of directional control is so severe as to often be EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS, especially on a slippery downhill drive, and even moreso on a curving slippery downhill drive. And be prepared to QUICKLY shift your automatic transmission into neutral should engine compression braking on the front wheels begin threatening loss of directional control. And remember that ABS cannot be as effective, and may even become completely non-functional, if the roadbed is slippery enough and/or a significant level of engine compression braking is also "in play". I think you might be mistaking permanent 4x4 and AWD, RWD and FWD, Winter tires and Studs. There is absolutely no point installing tire studs on the rear wheels of a FWD. And you also mix up down hill and uphill; it is uphill you would need more grip on the back, and downhill more on the front. The most grip has to be where the most weight is and that changes going up/down hill. Since you don't wants to change your chains all the time from the front or the back.. nor taking off/ putting chains on all 4 wheels... and since going downhill has the highest risk of something going wrong, again because of the weight, it makes the most sense using chains/spikes only on the front. Just like everybody does in the Swiss Alps, where I've lived for 15 years. What...WHAT...???!!! I'd like to think you're pulling our legs just a tiny bit but I afraid, sorely afraid, not. "There is absolutely no point installing tire studs on the rear wheels of a FWD..." You not only need roadbed traction, traction on a "slippery" roadbed, for acceleration/driving uphill but also for slowing and stopping, and the "dynamics" of the vehicle under acceleration vs slowing or stopping must be seriously considered. Going downhill on a slippery roadbed with studs only on the front and having to stop quickly.....?? Either your ABS will activate at a VERY inordinate, HIGH, rate at the front preventing you from stopping in the short distance otherwise possible, or the low-traction at the rear end will result in the rear leading the front down the hill. Personally I would rather have chains or studs ONLY on the rear of a FWD car than ONLY on the front. Yes, that combination would likely never get me moving forward on an uphill slippery roadbed but then moving would eventually mean stopping or slowing and that's where the danger of desparate F/R traction would arise. Back in my days in MT in the wintertime I remember often using the E-brake lightly going downhill on a VERY slippery roadbed. The E-brake not only helped to keep the vehicle speed lower but also helped to keep the vehicle in line with the direction of travel. If what you say really does apply to the public in general remind me to stay clear of the Alps during the winter months. And by our definition in the US there is no such thing as a permenant 4X4 vehicle for road-going use. On the other hand here in the US "permanent" AWD versions abound, a virtual myriad of those. But the ones with sideways mounted engines are to be ignored, mostly. The only possible, reasonable, exception IMMHO would be an SH-AWD equipped vehicle.

whoops, sorry gdixon, overlooked your jack points question. Yes, the manual calls out where the jacking points are. The scissors jack is kind of chincy, so use caution. Some have complained that it's easily put in danger of caving in, especially on unlevel ground. This topic too, has been beat to death :P So here's a link with pictures (the search tool is a wonderful thing), in case you find it hard to locate the little indents where the jack goes: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ost&id=8290 I almost always use a floor jack and so those little jacking point "indents" become sort of PITA. So I place a small pice of 2X4 on my jack face before raising the RX. And here I always thought that tensile strenght was what designated, determined, what level of torque to apply, the ability to stretch the bolt just enough..... I ALWAYS torque standard passenger vehicle lug nuts to 105 ft/lbs in two stages.

Absent knowing, having a LONG service history with the non-marque shop involved, I would NEVER take a modern high technology vehicle to a third party shop. In short, you've just been screwed. Now take it to Bellevue Lexus and get screwed yet again. But at least you'll get the car fixed properly.