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On Toyota's website (toyota.com) there is an Owner Service and Maintenance FAQ and here is what it says about engine sludge: Question: How do I prevent engine oil gel? Answer from Toyota: "Performing regular engine oil changes at the recommended intervals as outlined in the Toyota Scheduled Maintenance Guide or Owner's Manual Supplement will prevent engine oil gel. The recommended engine oil change intervals for 1997 and newer vehicles can be found on our Service and Maintenance page. For 1996 model year vehicles and earlier, please refer to your Owner's Manual. If you need further clarification on engine oil change intervals please contact the Customer Relations Manager at your local Toyota dealership. The dealership may also recommend additional or more frequent service,"

This is the "Maintenance Required" service reminder light that the 2004 on up models have http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/es.jpg It comes on every 6 months or 5,000 miles to alert the driver to change the engine oil or face possible consequences like oil gelling.

No RX300 AWD owner here has determined that the clutches wear out early if ALWAYS (since the day the vehicle was brand new) kept lubed by fluid in good condition. No RX300 AWD owner here has experienced transmission failure if they regularly inspected the condition of the fluid and changed it BEFORE it became brown or black. But then no RX300 AWD owner here has been WILLING to regularly inspect the condition of the fluid (since the day the vehicle was brand new) and change it BEFORE it became brown or black. Surprizingly, the same bunch of RX300 AWD owners who have experienced the financial pain of out-of-warranty transmission replacment are STILL UNWILLING to regularly inspect the condition of the fluid and change it BEFORE it becomes brown or black or use factory original transmission fluid or use factory manual recommended servicing procedures. Instead they are spending their time and money experimenting with Amsoil synthetic universal fluid, aftermarket filters & coolers, modifying the line pressure, etc.

Sludge is not a problem in any model year ES if the owner changed the oil at least every 6 months or 5,000 miles. The 2004 on up models have a "maintenance required" warning light that comes on every 5,000 miles.

For the most accurate reading, check fluid after 20-40 minutes of driving either around town or on a mostly level highway. Park car on level ground and with engine idling shift slowly through all gear ranges ending in Park. With engine still idling, pull dipstick, wipe it clean and reinsert and level should be WITHIN (never above) the Hot Range. If you are a beginner at checking transmission fluid you may need to pull dipstick, wipe it clean and reinsert it multiple times to be able to read the level clearly. Service shops commonly fill the transmission when the fluid temp is cool, resulting in an overfilled condition when the fluid is Hot. Therefore you may find your fluid level is over the Hot range. If so, loosen the tranny drain plug slightly - enough to let about a half pint dribble out and then retighten drain plug and recheck fluid level. Repeat if necessary to get the fluid level down to within the Hot range.

Downside of the Goodyear Tripletreds is higher rolling resistance. That means you lose 1-2 MPG on the highway compared to Michelin X's or Michelin MXV4-Plus tires. And when your are coasting down hills you always have the slight sensation that the parking brake is stuck on due to the high rolling resistance. The oddball tread design of the Tripletred also probably will result in the tires getting noisy as the miles pile up. A low priced, sleeper Goodyear tire that offers the smooth, comfy, quiet ride and low rolling resistance of the Michelin X is the Goodyear Viva 2, available only at Walmart stores. The Viva 2 also stays quiet for the life of the tire. However, like the Michelin X and MXV4-Plus, the high speed cornering capability and wet traction of the Viva 2 is mediocre. There really is no such thing as a tire that combines a smooth, comfy, quiet ride and low rolling resistance with good high speed cornering capability and wet traction and a quiet ride for the life of the tire. The Goodyear Comfortred had aspirations along those lines, but it turns out it suffers from a jittery low speed ride, vibrations at high speed and relatively high rolling resistance.

Any Lexus owner can go to http://www.lexus.com/ click on OWNERS, register their vehicle on that site and request Lexus to send you an owners manual at no charge. Even if you are the third owner of a 1990 model. Late model Lexus owners who register their vehicles at Lexus.com can also view a .pdf version on their owners manual and Scheduled Maintenance Guide.

No special tools if you bought genuine Toyota (Denso) sensors because they are designed to look and fit exactly like the factory originals, although it can sometimes be a bit difficult to figure out how to loosen the electrical connector on the sensor. Spray the sensor mounting bolt with a penetrating lube as it is likely to be corroded and use a six point socket when removing it. In extreme cases of corrosion the mounting bolt may need to be sawed off.

rahlo1 says the solenoid nut does not come off. Gumart1 and some others says it does come off. Some say there are gaskets / o-rings that need to be replaced and other say not. This whole matter of removing the solenoid just gets more and more confusing.

For 30 years every Toyota / Lexus owners manual has told the owner exactly what part# Denso or NGK spark plug to use and to use only those two brands and two part#'s.

Yes I realize the hose needed for brake bleeding need not be anything special. Heck, even a soda straw would work. What I'm talking about it is the availability of bulk hose in metric inside and outside diameter sizes that exactly matches factory original hoses. All kinds of hoses; e.g. vacuum line, fuel line, brake line, power steering, transmission cooling, heater, etc. Do you know of any online sources for bulk hose in metric sizes? Thanks for any suggestions.

The parts at http://www.alleurasianautoparts.com/ appear to be aftermarket including the fitler you purchased.

Sounds good. Can you tell us some specifics? Like the name and price of each hose you purchased at Lexus of Roseville? Thanks.

Do you know of any chain type auto parts store that carries rubber brake hose / fuel hose / heater hose in METRIC inside and outside diameters? I don't. Toyota owners interested in a a precise, lasting, quality fit need to use metric hoses. I'd love to know of a retail outlet that carrys metric brake hose / fuel hose / heater hose

On Lexus's website, lexus.com, Lexus has an "Owner FAQ" with hundreds of answers to hundreds of questions. Here's one question / answer pertaining to transmission fluid: Transmission fluid Question How long can transmission fluid last? Lexus's Answer "If a vehicle is driven under light usage, the transmission fluid may last 60,000 miles or longer. The 2004 LS, GS, and LX models introduced "WS" transmission fluid, which may last the life of the vehicle." So as you can see Lexus is not claiming "Type IV fluid is good for the life of the transmission" but only that it MAY last 60,000 if the vehicle is driven under light usage. Every RX300 Scheduled Maintenance Guide booklet says the fluid level should be checked every 30,000 miles. The factory service manual goes one step further and says the fluid condition should be inspected at that interval as well and changed if it should signs of deterioration. I agree the RX300 Scheduled Maintenance Guide booklet is not real clear about when fluid changes are needed, but when Lexus dealers and the Lexus website try to clarify matters for owners and try to pursuade them to do a pan drain and refill every 15K or total fluid replacement every 30K instead of being appreciative, the owners think the dealer is trying to rip them off and make money on a service that isn't needed. So the Lexus dealer is caught between a rock and a hard place.

From experience buying, restoring and reselling a dozen vintage Toyotas over the past 10 years, plus years of inspecting vintage Toyotas in auto wrecking yards. If you want photographic proof of examples of 30-32 year old brake hoses still in service I can provide them. However, my experience is based on California vehicles. Brake hoses may crack and leak earlier on the Toyotas operated in cold winter climates.

I'm curious to know what happened that made you realize the brake hose was broken? Normally a factory orginal Toyota brake hose will start to develop slight hair line cracks when they are 10-15 years old, but not enough to leak until they are 25-40 years old.

I agree with wwest. Walmart now carry's pre-oiled, drop in K&N filters. Next time you visit a Walmart take one out of the package and hold it high in the air against a store light. You'll see thousands of specs of light through the filter media - those are all thouands of holes where dirt can get through the filter media directly into your engine.

Of the dozen+ members of the Toyota 400,000 mile club that I've become acquainted with, none used a magnetic engine oil drain plug. The people who invent and sell magnetic drain plugs and other "engine wear saving" gadgets, treatments, etc. don't want you to know every Toyota engine rolls off the assembly line ready to deliver 500,000 miles of service if owners would simply maintain it using the same oils, filters, fluids and parts the car originally came with from the factory.

I would expect the "top aircraft mechanics" responsible for maintaining Air Force One (the President's 747) follow factory recommended preventive maintenance service procedures using factory recommended parts, fluids and filters. Ditto in regard to the "top aircraft mechanics" responsible for maintaining fleets of passenger jets

I agree with SRK and would also do an engine compression test because if compression is low on some cylinders it would mean the engine has mechanical damage (such as poor valve sealing, broken piston rings, etc.) and therefore you wouldn't be able to get it to run smoothly unless the damage was repaired or the engine was replaced.

Toysrme has a 1993 ES300 which is mechanically the same car as a 1993 Camry. Here's an owner testimonial of the engine and transmission durability capability of an unmodified 1993 Camry: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/cam.jpg So that's the sort of durability standard I think Toysrme should go by when he claims this or that mod (like adding hardware store Acetone and Seafoam to the gas tank, removing the EGR valve, modifying the transmission shifting, etc.) will not adversely affect long term component reliability and durability.

I agree and have wondered if Toysrme ever purchased a Toyota brand new and drove it hundreds of thousands of miles without doing any Mods in order to find out the reliability and durability capabilities of the various components of an unModified Toyota? Then I clicked on his name and found out he was born May 18, 1983. This means Toysrme is 22 years old and has 6 years worth of driving experience.

You bought the RX when it had 73,000 miles. Did you review the preventive maintenance service records in detail before buying? Did you personally meet the original owners(s) and interview them about their driving habits (easy going vs. leadfoot). Did you ever personally inspect the level and condition of the transmission anytime between 73,000 - 99,000 miles?

Read the info. on this can http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/tbclean.jpg