Grif

I get this smell, but it's because my rear main seal is shot and in need of replacement (~$1,000). If you're slowly losing transmission fluid, that'd be your problem.

I can't advise on how to replace them (haven't done it myself yet), but I'll give you personal experience on what to replace them with -- OEM plugs only!

My car's PO used Bosch Platinum plugs and had them replaced at the same time as they had new wires, cap and rotor replaced (was my father so I know it was actually done). This was 20K miles ago. I just had to have *all* the same work done again because the Bosch plugs apparently have VERY little platinum on them, and as the platinum wore away into the material beneath it the gap increased significantly, to the point where the spark started looking for a path of lower resistence and found it. The new path was through the rubber boot on the wires and to the block. I had melted boots around a couple of the plugs and the whole deal (cap, rotor, plugs, wires) needed to be replaced after being installed for only 20K miles. The Bosch plugs were $2/ea the Denso plugs were $10/ea. Having the whole job redone was $600, which if the right plugs had been installed previously, could have been avoided.

My repair guy (been my guy for 12 years on a variety of foreign cars) told me that w/ Lexus', there's quite a few parts that it's just not wise to use other than OEM. This from a guy who has always been very above board w/ me and saved me tons of $$ over the years by suggesting non-OEM stuff in repairs where it didn't matter.

Sounds like CV joints to me.

Loss of power, or hesitation?

UPDATE - I had the car in to my repair guy and we found that the Cap, rotor, plugs and plug wires that were replaced 20K mi ago were all shot.

Apparently the Bosch platinum plugs installed are not that good (my repair guy reports NO manufacturer installs this particular plug as original equipment) and have a very thin layer of platinum. The platinum wore away, increasing the gap in the plugs, and causing the spark to seek a path of lower resistance. That path was between the plug wires and the block, which wiped out the plug wires. The distributor got involved next and you can see where this is going.

I had them all replaced w/ original equipment (Denso) and now it runs beautifully.

Cautionary note - Install original equipment.

That's the one. The estimate from my independant repair guy (11 years of servicing my 4Runner) was $1,500, that sounded pretty high to me.

My newly acquired '92 ES300 (145K mi) has been diagnosed w/ a rear main seal leak (tranny)). Any ideas what I should expect to pay to have this fixed?

The heated seats in my '92 work well on the backrest, but the part you sit on does not heat up. Is there a connection between the two sections that might be where something unpluged or something? Any experience/advice is appreciated.

Plugs and wires (not sure if they are Denso) werre replaced 25K mi ago. The cap and rotor (does it have these) were supposedly also replaced then.

The car was my father's and has been pretty well taken care of.

Is there a check I can make to the plug wires with my volt/ohm meter that would test the plug wires?

The fact that it only does it under load is interesting. Most things I suspect would seem to be a problem all the time, but once I get to any speed and stay there, there's no hesitation at all.

I just sold my 4Runner ('90) with 211K mi to buy a '92 ES300 w/ "only" 145K mi. Only reason I ditched the Toyota was rust, mechanically it was still solid.

I just bought a '92 ES300 from a family member and appear to have tire issues in my future. Apparently the chrome Lexus rims were ditched because they would not hold air (supposedly more porous than normal rims?) and when tubes were put in them they cut the tubes and cause major blowouts. So, now the car has OEM Lexus alloys as replacemenrts, and already I can see I'm losing air pressure.

I checked the FAQ and don't see anything on this, is this specific car cursed, or is this something "normal" for this vintage Lexus?

Solutions?

Just checked, the hose is in good condition.

Forgive my ignorance (newness to Lexii), but should I look before, or after the air filter?

I just bought a 92 ES300 from a family member who owned it most it's life. Under load (acceleration, or going up hills whileon cruise) I'm getting a hesitation that obviously isn't right. Any ideas of the non-obvious nature?

I suspected a fuel filter or something, but once a constant speed is reached, there's no hesitation, only under acceleration. If I put my right foot far enough into it to cause a downshift (automatic) then it appears to go away, though I suspect it is simply the increased RPM masking the sensation of the hesitation.