Hiya,
I just bought my first Lexus today...a black '97 ES300 with 180K miles...and I love it, but I have a few questions...
First, oil... I've read about the oil gelling issue, and the oil on mine is pretty dirty looking...but it runs great, doesn't smoke or overheat, and doesn't have any lights on the dash illuminated. I was planning on just using Castrol 5W30 and changing it every 3,000 miles. Would you recommend starting to use synthetic on an engine with that many miles? What about engine flushing? It runs great as-is and I'm afraid to start causing problems with it.
My other questions are coolant and tranny fluid. Is it OK to just use high-quality fluids from NAPA, or would you recommend getting it done at the dealership?
Thanks in advance!