monarch

Find a curvy road (or big empty parking lot). Drive at about 30 MPH through the curves. If you have a bad wheel hub bearing then there will be noticably more noise when making right hand turns than left hand turns or vice versa. I

Downshifting to assist braking is hard on the clutch and transmission of manual transmission cars (except to control vehicle speed on downgrades) and that's probably why you wore out two clutches in 250,000 miles. When approaching a stop, it's better to put the transmission in nuetral at about 25-30 MPH and coast / gently brake to a stop. I did that with my Toyota pickup and my factory original clutch is still going strong after 465,200 miles. Also, I've been getting 200,000 - 225,000 miles of life per set of OEM brake pads. The brake pads will wear about 40% faster on any automatic transmission Toyota / Lexus , but 130,000 - 160,000 miles of life per set of OEM pads is still possible of you brake slowly and gently when coming to a stop and drive in mostly flat terrain. However, alot of owners on this forum wear their pads out in only 30,000-50,000 miles, but they have a hard charging driving style.

Over the past 20 years Toyota corporate policy on 4 wheel tire rotation on front wheel drive vehicles has been inconsistent. Sometimes Toyota recommended simply swapping tires front to back and back to front while other times they recommended putting the RR on the LF and the LR on the RF. I have a half million miles of Toyota front wheel drive tire rotating experience and have tried both strategies several times. The clear winner from a maximum tire life, low tire noise, and consistent smooth ride standpoint is the RR to the LF and the LR to the RF rotation strategy and doing it every 5,000 miles without fail. However, I also pay attention what the tire maker recommends. Usually they are OK with RR to the LF and the LR to the RF rotations, but sometimes a tire maker does not want a particular model tires to moved to different sides of the car in this manner (because it reverses the direction the tire turns0

I agree with the dealer it's better for the transmission and brakes to keep OD OFF in strictly city driving when speeds are consistently below 40 MPH. Also better for the engine and exhaust system because newuserlexus says he drives "only drive about 5 minutes a day" so locking out the overdrive would help the engine warm up quicker and thereby reduce the amount of water that would be in the exhaust pipe and engine oil pan when he parks the car.

I'd tend to agree with the Lexus dealer about replacing the oxygen sensors and the catalytic converters since they would have been cooked by the exhaust overheating. However, if it was my car, I'd be somewhat worried that the rough running might be caused, in part, by low compression on one or more cylinders. If that were the case then even new oxygen sensors and cat converters would not completely solve the rough running. So before spending the money on the sensors and converters, I'd check the compression using a $29 gauge from Walmart like this one http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/comp.jpg Although checking the compression is almost as easy as installing a spark plug, the ignition system must first be disabled following the procedure outlined in the factory manual. If you don't understand or follow this procedure, some expensive ignition system components might be damaged and then you'd really be in trouble. Your engine needs to have high and even compression (around 170-190 lbs on each cylinder to run silky smooth and quiet with good power and gas mileage.

If you want to know what the actual oil pressure is JPI told you the right thing to do: "hook up a mechanical pressure gauge to see what kind of pressure you are getting." Only a Toyota or Lexus dealer or Toyota specialty shop should perform this check. If the mechanical pressure gauge indicates normal pressure, then you can breathe a sign of relief since that means only the inexpensive oil pressure gauge or associated wiring is faulty. If the mechanical pressure gauge indicates abnormally low oil pressure then the engine was damaged at some point due to running low on oil, wildly extending oil change intervals, etc. and engine replacement will likely be necessary sooner than later. However, if your engine still runs very smoothly and quietly without ticking or knocking noises, chances are very high your oil pressure is normal and just the oil pressure gauge / wiring is faulty. Low oil pressure problems cannot be prevented or cured with engine oil additives or by using synthetic oil.

You inspect the metal mesh filter screen and should clean it only if it is visibly partially blocked. Many times it will still be clean like this one was after 122,000 miles http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mast...transscreen.jpg For 35 years there have never been any filters / strainers that ever need to be replaced inside a Toyota automatic transmission.

The internally lubricated parts of all Lexus engines and transmissions are covered for 6 years or 70,000 miles so you are covered if the transmission needs replacing.

Well now I'm really confused about your mileage because in May you wrote: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...topic=20742&hl= "Hello everybody i have a 2001 rx300 and the blue information screen sometimes has water underneath it when it's really cold not like a pool but like drops like on glass when you take a shower etc.. it started happening the month i bought it and it didnt go away. Im not under warrany becuase i didnt get a extended one and i have 118,000 miles on it because i have to travel alot."

If you need reliable transportation and don't want to be faced with major repairs then buying a 15 year old ES250 or any other Toyota that is being sold for a low price is extremely risky. One guy here did that and it cost him $5,000 to make the car roadworthy again. The good 15 year old Toyotas are those that have owned and driven gently by middle aged to old people who spent a considerable amount of money on regular preventive maintenance and have the service records to prove it. They will typically want an ABOVE average price for the car because they know the car is worth it. The ES250 V6 is a non-interference design so if the timing belt breaks the engine usually will not be damaged.

Is 6,351 miles a typo? How many times has the transmission fluid been changed since your RX was new and what kind of fluid was used? Sounds like you have a slipping transmission and total failure may be iminent.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...=21879&hl=freon Read this thread from start to finish

All Toyotas have a fluid cooler built into the lower tank of the radiator. This cooler helps keep transmission fluid tempertures down when "moving slow under load, traffic, up-hill" because the coolant temperature stays around 165-195 degrees F under virtually all driving conditions. The external transmission oil cooler your RX330 has helps too. Generally, Toyota automatic transmssion fluid temperatures run around 150-170 degrees under most traffic conditions (significantly cooler than American car automatics). If you think fluid cooling is poor, I suggest you get out of your car after "moving slow under load, traffic, up-hill" and pull the transmission oil dipstick and let a drop or two of the fluid fall on your fingers. You might be surprized the fluid is not as scalding hot as you might have thought. With regard to the transmission hoses and spring hose clamps, if you look underneath any 1970's Toyota that's still on the road you'll likely see is that the factory original hoses and hose clamps are still doing their job after 30 years of service. I know this first hand because I still own two early 70's Toyotas and have looked at dozens of others in auto wrecking yards. I love Toyotas spring hose clamps because they never wear out, never leak and never deform the rubber hose or metal hose clamp fitting they are attached to (although in the rust belt / road salt states they may eventually need replacing because of corrosion)

For 35 years the Japanese (except Honda) have designed their Power Steering systems to use Dexron automatic transmission fluid whereas the American car makers have designed their systems to use a dedicated special Power Steering fluid. Using these American car oriented Power Steering Fluids in your Lexus is obviously risky because Toyota does not recommend them. If this is hard to understand then pretend you are a 40 year Japanese citizen living in Japan who just purchased a Chevrolet Trailblazer to drive around in Japan. For 25 years you have only driven Japanese cars that used Dexron Auto Trans fluid in the power steering system. Now you own this Chevy and the owners manual says to use a special General Motors brand Power Steering Fluid. You wonder why the Chevy needs this special fluid and start asking your buddies "Why can't I use Dexron Auto Trans fluid in my Chevy? The only reasonable answer your Japanese buddies could give you is "Using Dexron Auto Trans fluid in the power steering system of your Chevy is obviously risky because General Motors does not recommend using ATF in GM power steering systems. So you need to keep telling yourself "I'm driving an Asian car now and the products at my local auto parts stores are still geared towards

Like jbarhorst2, I got a Motive Power Bleeder on ebay for $50 and I consider it the ultimate tool to change the brake fluid and get all the air out. Works great for changing & bleeding the manual transmission clutch fluid too.

I personally don't consider the oil squirt method to be a reliable indicator of bad piston rings. The cylinder leak down test is much more foolproof. However, another simple method is to simply remove the spark plugs on cyl #1 & #2 after driving 300 miles or so. If the spark plug electrodes on #1 are black and oily and those on #2 are free of deposits and discoloration, then you could more confidently conclude #1 has damaged piston rings and / or cylinder bore damage. But if #1 has a similar look to #2 then the rings on #1 are still probably OK. If this test reveals cyl #1 to be OK then I'd also recheck the compression on #1 after driving the 300 miles, because it might have improved considerably on it's own. On the other hand, if compression is still 130 psi then I'd keep driving until the engine becomes rougher running and / or compression drops below 130. As far as what to do about the damage well it migh be a toss up choice between paying to have the cylinder rebored and refitted with new pistons (including possibly the other 3 cylinders on that side of the engine to make the engine properly balanced) or installing a good used engine out of a Lexus that was totalled in a traffic accident or installing a used 50,000 mile engine imported from Japan

I agree, Canada Craig that cell phones or any other distractions are dangerous. About 4 months ago while driving my beater pickup truck I crashed into the rear bumper of a brand new Toyota Tundra at 2-3 MPH, all because I was distracted by my cell phone and didn't brake as quickly as I should have. I was very, very lucky the Tundra bumper withstood the impact without visible damage and the owner decided not to file an accident report that would have raised my insurance rates. Also, there have been cases where other drivers almost crashed into me because they were preoccupied with their cell phone conversations.

3000 miles per quart of 5W-30 is normal consumption for a V8 Toyota engine that has around 125,000 - 175,000 miles and is a good sign the engine is still in real good mechanical condition. When your engine has reached 250,000 - 350,000 miles your consumption should be nearer to 2000 miles per quart which is still along way from needing an engine rebuild. This assumes scheduled preventive maintenance is performed on time and the engine is not subjected to any kind of trauma like running low on oil, overheating, misfiring or prolonged operation with the engine's valve clearances way out of adjustment.

Lenore, you just told us you drove 20,000 miles with your transmission filled with black/burnt fluid. That means your transmission was operated for 20,000 miles on fluid that had lost much of it's lubricating qualities. Therefore, it's no surprize to me your poorly lubricated transmission eventually failed. Like I said before, no one on this or other forums has identified any parts inside the RX AWD transmission that wear out / fail prematurely when always kept lubricated with clean, unoxidized Type T-IV transmission fluid. Therefore I believe that someday we will hear from an RX AWD owner(s) who drove over 250,000 miles without any transmission problems because they regularly inspected the fluid condition and changed it at the first sign of deterioration. I would agree with you that the RX AWD transmission is "a weak point" if and only if someday someone identifies specific parts inside the RX AWD transmission that wear out / fail prematurely in spite of always being kept lubricated with clean, unoxidized Type T-IV transmission fluid. However, it's been 6 years since the 1999 AWD model was introduced and no one yet has identified any specific failure prone parts inside the RX AWD transmission. I would also agree with you that RX300 AWD transmission fluid cooling in congested big city traffic during hot weather is a weak point, but as far as we know the transmission wear consequences of this fluid cooling weakness can be mitigated by regularly inspecting the fluid condition and changing it at the first sign of deterioration. An analogous situation concerns Toyota 4 cylinder automatic transmission Motorhome owners. 6500 lbs of motorhome is an enormous load for a 4 cylinder motor and automatic transmission and some owners have experienced transmission failure at only 50-60,000 miles. Other owners, however, have gone 200,000 miles without failure. The 200K owners either frequently replaced the transmission fluid or they installed a fluid temperature gauge to help them identify and avoid driving situations that caused fluid temps rise up to 220 degrees F or more. Or they installed an auxillary transmission oil cooler in conjunction with the fluid temperature gauge.

What if my .jpg is located in my LOC Invision Gallery Album? Clicking the Browse button will not take me to My LOC Album.

To determine if the compression leak is due to leakage past burned exhaust valves & valve seats or worn / broken piston rings a cylinder leak down test should be performed Valve trouble is more common than piston trouble on Toyota engines. It's possible the old, misfiring spark plug on cylinder #1 caused combustion chamber temperatures on #1 to soar to the point of burning the two exhaust valves and valve seats causing the compression leak. The solution in that case would be to remove the cylinder head and have a machine shop replace the burned valves and repair any valve seat damage and then compression should return to normal. 130 psi is suggestive of substantial, but not immediately fatal engine damage to cyl. #1 If I owned your car I would first check the exhaust valve clearances, especially on cyl. #1. If the clearances on #1 are moderaely tighter than the factory spec of .010"-.014" then adjusting them back to spec. would make the engine run smoother and might restore some of the lost compression which in turn might allow you to delay the head work for along time. However, the spark plug on cyl. #1 might tend to wear & foul faster than the others until the cylinder head work was performed.

How did you learn the procedure required to post these pictures? I tried to find this information using the Help system and predictably the Help system said: "no documents found."

It's somewhat common for 7+ year old LX450 cylinder head gaskets to blow. Prevention involved keep the cooling system in perfect shape. That means you should change the thermostat and thermostat gasket now using genuine Toyota parts and use nothing but a 50/50 mix of distilled water and Toyota Long Life antifreeze in the system. Also means you should remove the radiator roughly every 5-7 years so you can clean the bugs and dust out of the fins and also clean the AC condenser in front of the radiator at the same time. Also means you should get the cooling or other engine systems fixed immediately if the engine temperatures gauge ever starts to read even slightly higher than normal for any reason.

The transmission can slip like that on any car if the transmission fluid level is low or if the wrong fluid was used or if the owner never changed the fluid. Most used car buyers are only interested in two things: cosmetic appearance and price. Only a small percentage care about service records, go to the trouble of finding and studying the records and base their purchase and price decisions based on those records.

If the sight glass has a continuous stream of foam that lasts for a couple of minutes or more then the system needs more R12. However, if the foam appears intermittently - comes and goes - with the on / off cycling of the compressor - then you likely have enough R12 already - especially if the center vent temperature is around 35-42 degrees F. It is important to avoid overcharging. An overcharged condition is indicated when the sight glass remains clear even when the compressor cycles on an off. A totally empty system takes three 12 ounce cans to charge. A partially charged system like yours typically takes between 1 and 2 cans (often closer to 1 can rather than 2) If you find the system loses some of it's charge after several days, the leak might be coming from one of the 0-ring connection points that Kennyr mentioned. If the leak is big enough, sometimes you can detect it yourself by applying soapy water to the suspected leaky connection point. If the leak is small a shop equipped with an electronic leak detector should be able to find it quickly. However, it may be more economical to simply recharge a can of R12 every 3-6 months if the leak is minor - especially considering that fixing the leak requires the system to be totally discharged, the receiver-drier replaced, a few ounces of R12 compatible refrigeration oil added (to replace the oil that was trapped in the old receiover-drier) and then the system vacuumed for 30 minutes and then 3 new cans of R12 charged into the vacuum - quite an involved process.