99blkgs

yea i found the control arms on ebay from macauto out of new york fot 139 dollars a piece which seems extremely low to me compared to the 414 dollar tag elsewhere. i still need to get the ball joints and tie rods. i also got the breaks drilled and slotted with new pads from brake motive out of chicago from ebay as well

Hey guys im desperately in need to replace my upper control arms they are really really loose at 130k miles. i want to do this along with tire rods and ball joints and a new set of drilled and slotted rotors with some new pads. Anyone have any place in mind to find the control arms for cheap? thanks in advance

Actually, no, not at the connector from the driveshaft to the differential, just something known as a "Flex Coupling", which is a 1 inch thick rubber connector between the driveshaft and the differential. The U joint is in the middle of the driveshaft, around the center bearing housing "A U shaped mount the drive shaft sits in".

I saw your other threads, and that you're being told the rear driveshaft needs to be replaced to address your vibration problems. I would not do this until you have tried a new flex coupling, a new transmission mount, and possibly a new U center bearing housing. The other possiblity is the rear differential mounts themselves could be torn. Do you have access to get under your car to look at these things? If so, here is what you're looking for:

The Differential mounts: from the rear of the differential, along the cross bar support of the car, you will see to circular rubber mounts, with bolts in the middle of them. They're actually set within circular cutouts of the cross member. Those can tear with too much hotrodding.

Flex coupling: At the front of the differential, look for a 5 (or 6 can't remember) bolt "star" like pattern. It's right where the driveshaft ends, and the differential begins. You'll see the black rubber coupling between the two.

The center bearing: Just follow the driveshaft to the middle part of the entire part. You'll see the U joint and the U clamp, that's your area to look for.

Most likely, it's one of these three items.

For the record, I had to replace my driveshaft on my 95LS400 too, after a very very long struggle to figure out what was wobbling. If you search for "wobble" on here, you'll probably find the thread. It's long....but I posted up the end result at the first thread. The dealership approach was to replace the whole driveshaft, as it "appeared" the rear section at the U joint connector was "sticking". It looked a bit notchy in operation, but honestly, I think the center bearing mount was what was bad. I had already replaced the flex couplings, the transmisison mount, and the rear differntial mounts. But, I will say, once that driveshaft had been replaced "and center bearing support", the car was freakin' glass smooth. Smoothest car I have ever driven. I do recall the senior tech who had built a history with the car saying "normally we don't have to replace the driveshafts, but every now and then one does go bad". It was a $1k repair though.

yea when i had the car up and i moved the back tire left to right the driveshaft felt like it was loose it just had alot of wobble in it.

hey guys i was wondering does the 99 gs300 have a u joint connecting the differential to the driveshaft?

i have had a problem with the differential seal on this thing before and i replaced it but when i replaced the bottom plug i did not buy the one that had the magneti in it to collect shavings so i dont know maybe that had soemthing to do with it and yes maybe it could be the differential as soon as i put it in d from park it clunks real loud

u should have bought that plug or reused your oem one...i recently (last sat) shattered my differential and when i removed my plug OMFG it was metal shavings EVERYWHERE on that magnetic plug. fluid inside was clumpy silver looking! seriously....? that's really sounding like a diff man...does it clunk from park to reverse also? you might wanna take this in soon before it completely destroys the diff/gears/ring/pinion/etc IF its the diff. which like i said it seems to sound like it is

don't worry though....supra TT pumpkin straight bolts and you get a LSD inside it...i wanted one, just couldn't find one cheaply. i got my replacement gs430 pumpkin for 200 shipped. you can use ANY gs series diff but depending on if you go back to the gs300 or the gs400/gs430 you'll have different gearing in the differential

hey man how are ya, i went to the mechanic today and he had it on the hoist and this guy only works on lexus so hes quite familiar with them. he said the bearing in the yoke which is at the end of the trans connecting to the drive shaft is bad. there was alot of play in it. i also will be changing my u joint and my differential seal. i will also get the plug for the bottom with the magnetic end to it. i should have done that along time ago and now i really wanna slap myself but the mechanic said that the differential is fine. i will keep this post updated to let everyone know what and how it was fixed. hopefully i can also take some pics as well of the work being done for peoples future refrence. thanx and wish me luck lol

check the differential while your at it....it shouldn't be a motor mount or a tranny mount but anything is possible. start with the basis first and work your way down the list

i have had a problem with the differential seal on this thing before and i replaced it but when i replaced the bottom plug i did not buy the one that had the magneti in it to collect shavings so i dont know maybe that had soemthing to do with it and yes maybe it could be the differential as soon as i put it in d from park it clunks real loud

Sorry this is so late but if you still need it here it is: http://www.spc-tv.com/?mod=videos&view...uSErsAvnkZcH7aa

I bought a new one w/ball joint on ebay for 152 shipped.

holy crap you got a great deal when i was looking a few months ago i couldnt find them less than 400 bucks

hey guys i have a 99 gs300 that i have been having some trans problems with. it is first and foremost spotting trans oil in my driveway. i changed the fluid with type 3 and the guys at the shop added an additive to make it compatible with the totyota type 4 fluid. this is what the trans does: if you are in park and you put it in drive it will make a clunking noise. it will NOT jerk or slip wen you drive it, through all the gears but when you are driving lets say at 40mph and you totally let go of the gas and you engage the gas pedal again it makes a clunking noise. so it does not do it if you keep your foot on the gas and accelerate either slowly or push the pedal to the floor but only when you let off totally then put your foot on the gas pedal again?

You need to do a fill while drain on that bad boy, Then fill it with t-4 toyota tranny fluid. To find the leak, Place a large piece of cardboard under the tranny overnight, Then you can tell where the leak is by looking at the spot and look directly above that "spot". Have you checked the fluid level ?

yea the guys at the shop did a fill as they drained it and all the nasty dark oil came out till the nice pink oil was draining. i will do the cardboard trick tomorrow and the tranny fluid level seems to be normal its just the clunking noise that really bothers me, i hate taking this thing to the dealer they always find some bs to tel you that is wrong with it when it really isnt

First I'd say use the proper fluid... where was the fluid leaking from? Was it overfilled before? Possibly a bad tranny mount?

honestly i cannot tell where its leaking from but i know that it is because it spots all over my driveway and its the only car i keep outside, but it was leaking and doing the trans clunking noise before i even changed the trans fluid. you are right it could be a tranny mount.

Hi All,

This is my first foray into this club. What a great place!

We just bought a 1999 GS300 (61k miles). My local Firestone (who I have brought my cars to for 7 years) says there is play in the ball joints but that he won't replace the ball joints unless I also replace the control arms. He says he has had bad results in the past with doing so and will not do so in the future.

So, I am just checking to see if any of you have any opinion on replacing ball joints without replacing the control arms.

Thank you in advance for your responses.

Guy C.

from what i remember those control arms are over 400 dollars a piece, so he might be trying to get you

hey guys i have a 99 gs300 that i have been having some trans problems with. it is first and foremost spotting trans oil in my driveway. i changed the fluid with type 3 and the guys at the shop added an additive to make it compatible with the totyota type 4 fluid. this is what the trans does: if you are in park and you put it in drive it will make a clunking noise. it will NOT jerk or slip wen you drive it, through all the gears but when you are driving lets say at 40mph and you totally let go of the gas and you engage the gas pedal again it makes a clunking noise. so it does not do it if you keep your foot on the gas and accelerate either slowly or push the pedal to the floor but only when you let off totally then put your foot on the gas pedal again?

how can this be since the IS is lighter than the GS considering its the same motor. Im really looking to get a second lexus but if it gets worse mileage than a ls430 then this car is out of the question, its like driving a honda crv and spending gas like an excursion

here is the link to the white one for 6grand

http://detroit.craigslist.org/cto/1007563980.html

i have a manual and i get 22/23 mpg everytime! my friend has an auto and gets the same...

excellent, now my gs im keeping that stock besides a k&n filter but this one i would like to put a cold air intake and a full exhaust, would deleting the catalytic converters help out in performance and gas mileage as well, any suggestions guys on what full exhaust to go with from the header down. thank you

Hello,

I am a current lexus GS owner and am looking to purchase an IS300 as a secondary vehicle. What are some realistic numbers you guys are getting on your automatic IS's. Fueleconomy.gov rates the IS to get worse mileage than the LS430, how true is this

Please share some numbers

Thanks Guys.

WoW well ive owned lexus cars for years (GS) and am looking to get an IS300 as a secondary car and with all the stories im hearing about lextasy im going to stay far far away from this website. I mean why ripp off your customers and treat them like dirt, is it not these same people that made this company possible to even exist in the first place. Its a shame!!!

i am actually looking at this same car. can i ask why you passed on it because i am interested in it.

thanks!

is this the white one from craigslist hes only asking 6 thousand for it i bet u can lower it some more, but if u want to spend 7900 theres one in ohio with only 99k miles and only 7300 bucks a dark grey one

Yes around $5.50 a quart and it will cost you a fortune at a dealer. probably less than an hour if you have never done it. I can do mine in about 20 minutes and be done for around $80

i found a shop to do it with the type t-IV for 99 bucks not that bad i think i will go ahead and do it there

so youre saying i have to purchase a total of 14 quarts, i wonder if just going somewhere to get it done would be cheaper and less time consuming because one quart alone is 6 dollars

Hello everyone,

I want to change the trans fluid in my 99 GS and it currently has 124k miles on it and i dont know if its been done before but the oil was pretty dirty from checking the dipstick. I wanted to know if there is a drain plug down there and how much fluid it takes. The owners manual does not specify the quantity so i was wondering if someone on here could help.

Thank you in advance to everyone.

hi i have a 99 gs300 and i am looking at a pair of 18 inch wheels they are 5 x114.3 i have a pair on now that are 5x114 and they fit perfect will the .3 make a difference just wondering???

thanx

well i didnt know that toyo no longer makes the toyo proxi 2's and they are on the 4's now! the link u provided is no good though! i will look into them...think im set on the yokohoma advans for the moment but something in my mind tells me they wear VERY quickly!

i have good year eagle f1s on stock 16 inch wheels on my 99 gs 300 and i also thought my bearings were bad so i went ahead and replaced them just to find out that thre is still alot of road noise again,,,, any good tires for 16 inch and 18 inch wheels you all would recommend

thanx

kenny

i recently put new pads and resurfaced the rotors on my car. when i am driving around 5-10 mph and im hitting very tiny potholes and as im applyng brakes it makes a cracking squeacking soung but only when applying the brakes at a low speed. i am wondering if the pads and calipers are nice and tight why would it be doing this noise?? i resurfaced the rotors and i did not put new ones on just wondering if this had someting to do with it

So last week i put bf goodrich traction t/a's on my gs300. I upgraded my wheels to factory gs400 17''s so it called for 235/45/17 tires. The tires are great(if you keep your stereo on blast)! The road noise bugs so much in fact i'm trading them in and paying an additional $200.00 for michelin Pilot Exalto A/S. Thank god for the 30 day return satifaction policy! Anyone have these tires in 17's on their car? I'd love to hear from you if you do.

I gottem about a month ago, great tires that have a warrenty too.. so they might last more than a year or 2! B)

i replaced my wheel bearins and i got good year eagle f 1s and the road noise is so loud

anyone have any suggestions on good tires ??

ynhgjnfjmhjfnhhnhgjnghjmhgn