monarch

The truth is quite the opposite. The Asians build stronger engines and transmissions that are better suited for towing duty. Examples: The fluid temperature of Asian automatics runs at only 150-155 degrees F when cruising on the highway on level ground in 75 degree weather. Domestic fluid temps under the same conditions run around 190 degrees F so there is inherently less of a margin against fluid overheating. Asian V8's have 180 degree cooling system thermostats. Domestics have 195 degree stats so so there is inherently less of a margin against cooling system overheating. Asian V8's have double overhead cam engines with smaller cylinder bores and shorter piston strokes that enable them to be comfortable spinning at 4,000 RPM all day long on flatlands or when climbing long steep hills (if load conditions require). Domestics often have antique pushrod actuated valvetrains that hate high RPM and can suffer severe durability problems when driving conditions require the engine to run for extended periods at high RPM. The list of differences goes on and on. Last year Consumer Reports tested the Asian and Domestic full size pickups and they found the best tow vehicle is the Nitan Titan pickup truck and Nissan Armada SUV and the Infiniti QX56 SUV. CR found the Titan pickup 5.6 liter V8 can still accelerate 0 - 60 MPH in 17 seconds while towing a 5000 lb trailer !! Toyota is expected to come out with a V8 that matches the size and output of the Titan's V8 in 2006.

Lexus V6 models such as the ES and RX - share many parts, filters, etc with Toyota V6 models such as the Camry and Highlander. And Lexus V8 models share some parts with Toyota V8 models. So if you can find equivalent genuine Toyota parts at a Toyota dealer, you'll save alot of money. Best of all are some mail order Toyota dealers like 1sttoyotaparts.com sell all genuine Parts for 28% retail Toyota dealer prices. Here's an example of potential savings: 1990 - 1997 Lexus LS400 V8 engine valve adjusting shim. Lexus dealer retail price: about $12.50 Discount online Lexus dealer price: about $10.00 Toyota dealer retail price: about $7.50 Online discount Toyota dealer price: about $5.40 Maximum potential savings: about 58% In order to learn which parts are shared by Toyota and Lexus models one has to become familiar with the respective part numbers. One inexpensive although somewhat tedious way of doing this is to purchase a Toyota Parts Catalog on microfiche slides for your RX300 and a Toyota Highlander on ebay and then either buying a microfiche slide reader on ebay or going to your local library to use their reader. OR you may have some luck matching part numbers using the electronic Toyota and Lexus parts catalogs that are found on some Toyota and Lexus dealer websites.

In a drag race, however, the RX330 would immediately pull ahead of the Jeep 4.0L and leave it far behind in the dust. Ditto when pulling out to pass another vehicle at speed. Small cylinder width, short piston stroke Toyota / Honda double overhead cam valvetrain engine like the RX330 engine love to spin fast and don't really come "alive" until you get up around 3,000 RPM and beyond. This has been a characteristic of most Asian car engines for the past 30+ years.

Toyota oil pumps don't fail out of the blue. They don't hardly wear at all even after several hundred thousand miles unless starved of oil for some reason. Take one of the valve covers off to see if sludge is present. If so, it could have clogged oil passages inside the engine. If the prior owners (s) skipped / extended some oil change intervals then sludge is a definate possibility. A sludge free Toyota engine looks like this http://www.saber.net/~monarch/valveshim.JPG Replacement ES300 engines, both used and rebuilt are commonly available on ebay.

Toyota dealers charge about $230 for 4 cylinder engines and about $375 for V6 engines so I would imagine Lexus dealers charge around $500 or more for the 1990-1997 V8. Yes, V8 valve clearance adjusting is a do-it-yourself job for any owner who has the skill level to change the timing belt (which you obviously do). Most of the work is just the usual routine and rather tedious work of removing various engine covers and cable brackets in order to get the valve covers off http://www.saber.net/~monarch/valveshim.JPG On the passenger side of the engine the throttle body needs to come off (good opportunity to clean it at the same time). There is considerable information about 1990-1997 V8 valve clearance adjusting on these websites: http://planetsoarer.com/camshafts/camshaft2.html http://www.lextreme.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-1.html The best valve adjusting toolkit is Toyota Part # 09248-55020, but it's currently on backorder at OTC tools and sells for a hefty $99. A near equivalent toolkit is the standard Toyota valve adjusting toolkit Part Number 09248-55010 which is always available on ebay for $27. The valve lifter depressing tool of the cheaper kit doesn't work very well on the Lexus V8, however. An effective work around is to depress the valve lifter using a large screwdriver that has been covered with 5 layers of tape to prevent any chance of nicking or gouging of the metal of the valve lifter. A strong plastic rod might also work well. The factory manual says to remove the valve adjusting shim by blowing compressed air into a hole built into the shim. I found a cheap ordinary aerosol can of compressed air from an office supply store works well for this purpose. Once the shim has been loosened in this manner from the valve lifter it can be pulled up and away from the valve lifter using a magnet. If the measured valve clearance was larger than factory specs. a thicker valve adjusting shim needs to be installed. Conversely, if the measured valve clearance was smaller than factory specs. a thinner valve adjusting shim needs to be installed.

Camshaft removal is not required to adjust the valve clearance on any pre-1998 (non variable valve timing) Lexus engine. Just a valve shim removal toolkit is needed ($28 on ebay). Valve clearance check is listed in the factory repair manual as part of the tune up procedure of pre-1998 Lexus engines. Driving with a valve clearance out of spec is like driving with spark plug gaps and ignition timing out of spec - it degrades engine power and fuel economy and increases emissions which in turn has a domino degrading effect on the reliability / durability of other engine componets as well as the engine itself. Have you ever had the opportunity to view / measure the amount of wear on various reciprocating componets of a perfectly maintained high mileage Toyota / Lexus engine? If not, then you may not be aware of the durability potential of these engines. When the valve clearance of a Toyota engine is always kept within specs, valvetrain wear is so low that even after 450,000 miles the engine still has very low emissions, like new compression and near new levels of power and fuel economy: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/454.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/smog92.jpg

RedRocket, can you tell me the URL for this "V8 forum" ?? With regard to your timing belt tensioner question, you might find an answer by studying the timing belt replacement tutorial here http://www.lexls.com/tutorials.html

Here's a good "how to" water pump replacement tutorial: http://www.lexls.com/timingbelt.html

I have over a million miles worth of Toyota driving experience (various models and engines) and have consistently found "One or two thousandths of an inch " out of spec valve clearance has a noticable adverse impact on engine power, fuel economy, smoothness, quietness and durability. Owners who wish to maintain ideal valve clearances have a big problem, however: finding a dealer or mechanic who is caring and meticulous enough to do an accurate job of valve clearance adjusting. Why? Because the majority have a "one or two thousandths of an inch out of spec makes no difference at all" attitude. One solution is to provide tutorials so interested owners can learn how to do their own precise valve clearance adjusting.

'90-'97 owners with more than 60,000 miles should consider heeding the advice of your owners manual to check the engine's valve clearances every 60,000 miles to maintain optimum engine power, fuel economy, durability smoothness and quietness. Today I checked a '94 LS400 engine (not my own) with 146,000 miles that had never had the valve clearances checked. Here's what I found: INTAKE VALVES: Factory specs call for a clearance of .006-.010". On 14 of the 16 intake valves I found the clearances ranged between .007 and .009" (good), but 2 of the intake valves had a clearance of .010" which was only marginally within specs. EXHAUST VALVES: Factory specs call for a clearance of .010-.014". One of the 16 exhaust valves had a clearance of .012" which was perfect. One valve had a clearance of .013" which was still within specs. Four of the valves had a clearance of .014" which was only marginally within specs. Six of the valves had a clearance of .015" which was slightly too loose. Four of the valves had a clearance of .016" which was substantially too loose. My next project is to check and adjust the valve clearances on my own '91 LS400 engine. I hope to create a tutorial for this task and give it to Lexls for him to post on his outstanding website (if Lexls wants it).

It's unheard of for the PS pump to go bad on a 5 year old Toyota. Steering column squeeks can happen, however, and the cure sometimes involves removing the steering wheel and greasing some parts. Which specific parts? I don't know because I've never done the job.

Out here in California middle aged and older people drive the ES330's including alot of women. I don't think I've seen one person under 35 driving an ES330. Now in regards to the 1990's ES300's, many more young people drive them. Hardly any young people out here drive LS400's, even the early 90's LS400's. I've noticed alot of older rich people who could easily afford a new LS430 are hanging on to their early 1990's Ls400's. I guess they are really attached to them. One owner said he likes the "understated elegant appearance" of the early 1990's LS400's that's missing on the newest LS430's. He said none of the new Lexus's appeal to him because they are all so sporty now (huge wheels & extra wide tires, etc) so he's forced to shop other brands of luxury cars.

The RX300 is built on the Toyota Camry chassis which is a passenger car chassis that's far too fragile for off road use and too fragile to withstand the punishment of a lift + oversize wheel and tires.

Here are two websites that cover the procedure for changing the timing belt on two different Toyota truck V6's. They may help you in some ways with your ES300 V6 http://128.83.80.200/taco/timingbelt.html http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/v6tbelt/

Study the archives at Club Lexus. There you will find owners and mechanics who say it is extremely difficult to get the crank pulley bolt loose on the inline 6 engine in your car and if you use the starter trick there is a chance you could break the starter.

You can wait until 120,000 - 130,000 miles or so since you (or the former owner) was obviously mostly a highway driver. Since there are no detailed tutorials on replacing the ES300 V6 timing belt, you might consider practicing the job first on a wrecked V6 that may be available in a local self service auto wrecking yard. Or you could buy a used V6 from the ebay ads and haul it to your garage and use it as a practice engine. Then when you're done with it you could resell it on ebay.

On Club Lexus we already told nyc11370 that his owners manual says Genuine Toyota Motor Oil is the factory fill oil and he can buy this Toyota oil at Toyota dealers in 1 quart bottles for $1.50 - $2.50 a quart if he wants to and can change it at any time since it's not a special break-in oil.

Only the throttle plate and surrounding bore needs to be kept clean. The intake manifold does not need to be cleaned. Lots of owners have ruined their throttle position sensors and oxygen sensors by flooding the throttle plate and intake manifold with cleaners. The right way to clean the throttle plate on the car is to use minimal amounts of cleaner and scrub BOTH sides of the plate and bore clean with a toothbrush and some old rags soaked incleaner. After scrubbing with the toothbrush I wrap the toothbrush in an old rag and use it to wipe off the liguified goo.

On other Toyotas I have been able to thoughly clean the throttle plate using this cleaner http://www.saber.net/~monarch/tpc.jpg a firm bristle toothbrush and some old rags soaked in the cleaner. I have not tried this method on my V8 Lexus yet however. The scary part of taking the throttle body off is that none of the tutorials covers removal and installation of the throttle cable very well.

The transmission and differential probably have separate drain plugs, but both are re-filled by pouring new fluid through the transmission dipstick tube. If you want your transmission and differential to last many hundreds of thousands of miles, drain the transmission oil pan and differential every 10,000-15,000 miles. The fluid can be found cheap in 1 quart bottles at the Parts Dept at Toyota dealers. About every 150,000 miles remove the transmission oil pan and clean the magnets and metal mesh filter screen. Both can be reused after cleaning. The transmission fluid cooler is built into the radiator. Therefore it is important to keep the radiator clean internally and externally. For the internal part, simply drain and refill the radiator with the factory original coolant mixture (50% Toyota Long Life Antifreeze and 50% distilled water every 2 years / 30,000 miles, to keep the insides of the cooling system immaculately clean. For the exterior part, remove the radiator about every 100,000 -150,000 miles and clean off the accumulation of bugs and dust http://www.saber.net/~monarch/radjunk.jpg No "flushing" of the cooling system or tranmssion is needed - it just makes big money for the service shops, plus the shops will refill with aftermarket brands of coolant and tranny fluid which could be harmful. The factory Maintenance Schedule lists the MINIMUM amount and frequency of maintenance required to keep the drivetrain warranty in effect. It is not the OPTIMUM schedule for long component life, although it is adequate for owners who plan to sell / trade their cars every 100,000 - 150,000 miles.

High detergent Top Tier gasolines are best for engine deposit control and for keeping fuel injectors clean and keeping these components clean contributes to low emmissions and long engine life. High octane gasoline also contributes to long engine life, by burning more smoothly and less violently and eliminating all traces of both audible and inaudible engine knock. Therefore, using a high octane, high detergent, Top Tier brand of gasoline is the best (albiet most expensive choice of all for long, troublefree engine life. This is not just theory. Here some real world proof of what Shell Premium gaoline has done for a popular 4 cylinder Toyota motor for the past 451.000+ miles: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/smog92.jpg

If you use 87 octane, beware many cheap brands have substandard detergent additive packages http://www.toptiergas.com/deposit_control.html that can lead to reduced performance / drivability / fuel economy / high emissions problems which in turn cause premature failure / wear out of expensive emission control components which in turn can cause reduced engine life if the car owner keeps on driving with the failed / worn emission control components. So the worst of all possibilities is to use a cheap brand of 87 octane and the best of all possibilities is to use a top tier brand of 91 or 93 octane.

The Lexus FAQ at Lexus.com explains why the V8's need premium: Fuel Recommendations Question Is premium fuel required? Corporate Lexus Answer: "The engine and engine management system of Lexus vehicles with V8s were specifically designed to deliver high performance. One aspect of high performance design that affects fuel requirements is a high compression ratio. Use of premium fuel will take full advantage of the high compression ratio of the engine of your vehicle. Use of lower grade fuel will typically cause some degree of improper combustion, which results in engine knock. When the engine management system detects knock, such as with the use of lower grade fuel, the ignition timing will be retarded. While retarding ignition timing helps to minimize knock, it also reduces available performance and fuel economy." The early 90's V6's may have lower compression ratios in which case they'd be more tolerant of regular fuel. I agree with SK Performance, however, that if you use premium, the life of some components like the oxygen sensors / cat converters / fuel injectors etc. will be extended which helps offset the cost of premium.

Pretty much so, although like RX in NC said, you should budget some money for maintenance or repairs the car might need right away. Mechanically, the ES is virtually identical to the Toyota Camry V6 so you can save money on maintenance parts by getting them from a Toyota dealer or taking your ES to a Toyota dealer for service. The "bulletproof" aspect of a Toyota / Lexus pertains to high level of reliability and durability you can get from many components if they are treated and maintained correctly: e.g. water pumps can last 150-250K miles, alternators 150K miles, AC compressors 400K+ miles, hydraulic brake components 400K+ etc. fuel pumps 400K+ miles, ignition coils and igniters, 400K+ miles, etc. whereas with an American car, no amount of preventive maintenance will stop alot of expensive things constantly going wrong (like my mother's '91 Buick LeSabre with only 38,000 miles has needed $2,600 worth of unexpected ignition, fuel system and suspension repairs over the years )

Well it's true. As you know, Americans who have owned only Anerican cars know it's a matter of random luck as to whether or not a particular American car engine will turn out to be durable or not. Example: Your 1995 Ford Coutour's 4 cyl engine turned out to be durable whereas the Contour's V6 did not. Toyota owners, on the other hand, do not have to be concerned and worried about this matter because Toyota painstakingly designs ALL of it's engines to be extremely durable. Toyota engines do vary in how well they can cope with maintenance neglect, however. For example, a Lexus LS400 V8 can withstand the abuse of an owner who goes 10,000 -15,000 miles without an oil change from time to time whereas the ES300 V6 will start developing oil sludging problems if an owner does that. But if the LS400 and ES300 owners change their oil on time (5000 miles), both engines will last for 500,000+ miles.