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TWINTURBO619

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Posts posted by TWINTURBO619

  1. I've replaced my head unit with a Panasonic dvd screen and factory amp with a SONY amp. I left the original nakamichi speakers and sub. Let me tell you, they sound awesome with an aftermarket unit. I have all the speakers hooked up to my head unit and a 400 watt amp to my factory sub... it bumps pretty hard for a stock sub. So yeah, I would definately change out your head unit and factory amp with aftermarket units.

  2. and i was wondering if there were any common problems i need to look for

    another thing that kind of worries me, is this car has 198K miles on it, but it runs like a top, drives and rides very well, and basically feels like a brand new car...it has been very well maintained, drive by an old lady since 30K miles...she bought the car in 95...it's had oil changed every 3K miles and everything else done as recommended by lexus...

    any advice would be helpful...also she wants $5100 for the car...this seems a bit steep to me, but kbb private party value is listed as $5600...

    thx in advance :)

    Hey what's going on buddy, I have a 1993 GS and over 200K on it... I maintain my car and it still drives like a dream. Of course this is a well built engine so take care of it and it will last a very very long time. The only thing I would worry about are the driver and passenger window pillars... they tend to seperate at the top and cost about 600 bucks at the dealership. That's about it. I've replaced my starter, waterpump and alternator... and she still runs like a champ. So yeah, I'm very satisfied with my car.

  3. Hello all,

    Other than the obvious styling change of the rear lights and the switch to 5 speed auto with the '96 GS300, are there any other differences?  I've been looking for a low mileage '95-'97 GS in Florida for the past couple months and actually like the looks of the earlier rear on the lighter colored cars.  Was there any performance increase with the 5 speed?  I don't see many mods available for the first gen anymore but was planning torque converter upgrade to help with off-the-line performance and possibly intake/exhaust if available. 

    Thanks in advance.:cheers:

    Russ

    The only changes are as follows:

    1995: no changes

    1996-97: 5-speed automatic transmission, new taillights and rear badging.

    and that's about it...

  4. Hey I have a 1994 GS300 with the 12-CD changer and have had all sorts of problems with it so I was trying to figure out if I could replace the changer without replacing the head unit (just because an after-market head unit would look bad in that car).

    I was hoping to be able to put in a more modern changer that (at least) plays burned cd's and possibly mp3's.

    If playing mp3's is impossible, I'll be alright, but I would at least like it to play cd-r's.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated

    I don't think there's anything compatible with your head unit. I totally changed out my head unit and original cd changer with new parts. Got a panasonic dvd head unit and a 6 cd changer. all original speaker and sub. They still sound great.

  5. I was reading one of the older post on this website and came across someone that said alot of the members have +200,000 miles on their cars and it's still running strong. I was just wondering what kinda mileage do you guys have on your cars right now???  B4 my honda was stolen i had 131,000 but it had awhile to go and it was a 97.

    yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah... i have 203,774 and still going strong.

  6. Hi All!

    I bought a '99 GS 300 a year ago and just broke 100k miles.  I'm worried about what I fear is a knocking under the hood.  I have put both premium and regular gas in there, and the knocking goes down with premium, but it IS still there.  I think the previous owner was putting regular in, too, that might have caused years of deposits to form.  I know the car did get some kind of serious valve job right before I got it.

    A mechanic recommend Amsoil P.I. to clean a stuck EGR valve might solve the problem.  I hope it will be that easy.  Do you think regular gas is an issue?  Don't most cars recommend premium only to command a "premium" price and image?

    The car also needs to go in for the 90k checkup. I feel like I'm on borrowed time without replacing the timing chain yet, and it bothers me every time I drive.  The trouble is finding the time.

    I'd appreciate your input.  Thanks!

    --c

    Have you ever thought it just might be your valve springs need to be re-adjusted? You do have high mileage with your 99 GS. Or maybe the previous owner kinda didn't take care of her and let the oil run low and now your bearings on your crankshaft or worn out. Try looking into those.

  7. i got a REALLY loud wind noise coming from the driver side window. the noise is from the top right corner near the B-pillar. i've noticed that the window frames on both the driver side door and the back door have gaps between the frame and the door and that might be where the noise come from. anybody ever had the same problem?

    yeah i have the same problem too. it cost 600 bucks to fix that here in san diego at the lexus dealer. you can probably fix it with gorrila glue adhesive and c-clamps if its not too bad.

  8. I want to eventually have a pretty good sound system, not so much as to give people foot massages as they walk by on the side walk, but decent.  Lound and Clear.  I listen to a lot of Trance and House music so it has to be able to hi and low with clairity.  Eventually swapping out speakers and sub.  I dont want to buy something new now only to replace it with something better in 6 months.  I found this HiFonics amp:

    http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_368.html

    How good is HiFonics?  Would I be able to use this on a low setting with factory speakers and sub for a couple of months until I upgrade my speakers and sub?I was also thinking of going with HiFonics speakers and sub too....

    It's all about preference like i said before... In my opinion I would go with quality instead of quantity. If you want crisp highs, I recommend boston accoustics all around in the cabin of the car and for a nice low boost sub, I would go with atleast a 10W3 JL AUDIO or an eclipse sub.

    Before you read what I have to say below, did you put in an aftermarket deck or are you still using the stock deck. I've installed both, but let me tell you, it's much easier if you have an aftermarket deck. Below I will give my two cents about the amp.

    Now about that amp. Well the good thing about it is that you have channels for all your speakers including your sub plus built in crossovers. So you say you want to use it for a couple of months... Well If you really want, go ahead and start operating on your wire harness. I recommend you leave about 2-2 1/2 inches of slack from the harness itself just incase you want to use your original amp again. Make your proper connections and vualla, you're new amp is in.

  9. someone recommended a 5 channel amp, do I have to get the 5 ch amp or can I use a 4 ch?

    I'm currently using a 4 channel Sony amp and it's bridged. The quality of the sound is great. Just remember when tuning the amp, make sure the setting are all on low. turn up the volume to the highest you'll think you'll have it from your deck and tune the amp accordingly. you don't want to have a good base line when your volume is low and then turn it up and accidently blowing out your sub. So yeah, the amp is totally preference. for you, I think a two channel would make it easier since it seems you really don't know the ropes on stereo equipment. that way, there won't be a hassle on bridging anything. A two channel amp then set the output setting to mono for your single sub... then set all your setting to like low boost and stuff if you have the built in crossovers. if you have any more questions. just let us know.

  10. I finally had my CD player installed in my 94 gs300, using the factory amp. The problem is that only the sub and the rear speakers work. The tech said that he would probably have to rewire and replace my front speakers. Oh, and they were working before the install. Any one have any similar problems or possible solutions?

    Anyone able to use the factory sub with aftermarket cd player? Also how many amps are there? I thought there was only one, but was told there may be 2-3 or maybe the speakers have built in amps...?

    hey what's up. i'm currently using the factory sub with an aftermarket screen. My setup is a little different. After installing my deck at TWEETER, my sub will still connected with my factory amp and sounded kinda crappy, so i told them to just forget about the sub. So I just went home and installed my old sony 400 watt amp and it works perfectly fine. You should forget about the factory amp because it's not going to push your sub anymore than what you're hearing now... you'll just get a negative feedback from the alternator or a popping sound because the signal from the deck is too much. I suggest this... you have your deck already, so that means he ran wires from the deck to the rear correct? I mean, this is how you have to do it if you don't want to kill yourself at the front. anyways, the harness from the amp has all the wires you need. Have your tech connect the appropriate wires for the speakers, get yourself a 400 watt amp (that's should be a cap for your factory sub) hook up the amp to your sub and you're done. you'll have a way better sound garanteed. the wattage you'll be putting out from you new deck will produce clarity to your speakers and the amp will give you more watts for your sub which in turn give you a nice full sound that you haven't heard yet. i was surprised myself when i heard my sub do that. didn't want to over do it with the wattage, that's why i said 400 watts is good enough since it's factory. also, i have a nakamichi sub, i know like a 95 gs has a different sub. i don't know what year their subs changed, but it's a big difference in magnet size. so I suggest you go that route.

  11. The reason I am asking is because I have something in my engine that has me concerned.  I have like a "dirty oily" type of spot at the top, front, passenger side of my engine.  I don't have any problems, just noticed it and thought maybe I should ask about it.  Have you changed your own head gaskets before?

    Do you have any pics (in and out) of your car?  That color is TIGHT!

    is the oily residue seaping from the valve cover? if it is, then you need to tighten down the bolts holding down your valve covers. they tend to get loose over the years and may be a problem if left unattended because oil will seap into your number 5 and 6 spark plug port. trying checking that out.

  12. Hey Kino, yeah, just like turbo said, check the drain plug. Another place you want to check is your water pump. Make sure that it's dry. I had to replace my water pump as well. That's probably the most expensive part i've replaced underneath the hood so far. Usually, when you let your car overheat, the bearing in the waterpump will heatup as well and give way. This in turn will let out a slow leak through the bleeder which will also deplete your coolant. This might not be the case for you, but it wouldn't hurt to check. You are correct about not removing the fan assembly. As for the transmission hoses, I just put some cardboard at the bottom of my car and let it bleed out. It wasn't that much. Just a little bit came out. LOL... yeah, the whole process doesn't take that long... just a couple of hours and you'll be done.

  13. On top of the labor costs, they're going to have to reniforce the whole undercarage of your car which will add much more weight. Since your car wasn't designed for a drop top, the undercarage is weak and worse case scenario, if you flip, the frame of the car might not be stable enough to keep it's form for too long with all the twists and bends its doing and might end up like a bow tie on a tree. Think about that factor... 7k for the drop top and additional $$$ for the undercarage... lots of money right there.

  14. Make sure the IS radiator is exactly like the GS one. So everything will bolt up and on. The GS is only $100 + shipping. I'd stick with what's designed for the car. B)

    hey what's up kino. I paid a little bit over 100 bucks on my radiator. It's exactly the same as the IS300 except that it has a mounting bracket somewhere in the center because the IS300 air scoop is small. All I did was cut it off and that was that. I did everything myself. If you plan on removing your radiator, you need to be aware of a couple of things... Your fan cowl has two retaining clips that hold it together. Be careful when removing the fan cowel. Once you've removed all the bolts, don't yank the radiator just yet. At the bottom of the radiator is your trasmission cooler that have hoses attached to the bottom of your radiator (3 I think) which you need to un-do before removing your radiator. After that, it's all cake from there.

  15. am jus wondering where can i go to make my sc400 into a convertible because i saw one and it look really nice

    Hey, I'm new here, I also have an sc400, and I really want to turn it into a convertible....

    I can't find that site.....do you know which site it is?

    Thanks.

    Hey you two, i've too seen the convertable sc300. pretty sharp if i do say so myself. Here's the picture of it... I hope it's the one you've seen.

    img_1.jpg

  16. Hey what's going on, try removing your air scoop and inspect the top portion of your radiator. My car ran hot for a while and couldn't figure out why. I would do the same thing you do and still, my fluids were depleting after a while. Well I was curious into seeing what would happen if I just parked it in my driveway and let it run hot with the hood open. Well as soon as it started getting hot, I saw a very light portion of steam rising from underneath my air scoop. So I removed it and sure enough, there was a hair line crack on top of my radiator. Apparently you can't fix that so I had to purchase another one. I actually installed an IS300 radiator on my car. So try checking under the air scoop and inspect the top part of your radiator.

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