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monarch

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Everything posted by monarch

  1. Every pre-2004 Lexus came from the factory filled with a 50/50 mix of Toyota Red Long Life Coolant and distilled water. Using factory original parts, fluids, lubes and filters is the least risky, but most boring way to maintain your Lexus.
  2. I also have a '91 LS400 and it has 102,000 miles, but is not suffering from broken plastic parts disease. Evidently the former owner of your car had the car serviced by some sloppy and rough mechanics that were not careful handing rubber and plastic parts. The trick to avoid breaking plastic and rubber parts is to remove and install them only when the engine is hot.
  3. Oops, I meant to say the Michelins, Toyos and Continentals all compromise ride comfort and QUIETNESS to some extent in exchange for better wet traction and cornering capability.
  4. I believe the Goodyear Assurrance Comfortred would be your best choice for a tomb silent and bump smothering ride. However, practically everyone on this forum is into performance oriented tire brands like Michelin, Toyo and Continental. They want a smooth, quiet ride too, but not at the expense of handing and wet traction and the Michelins, Toyos and Continentals all compromise ride comfort and handing to some extent in exchange for better wet traction and cornering capability.
  5. Yes, you are responsible for the prior owner's neglect if you failed to examine the service records prior to purchasing the vehicle. Service records are your primary assurance the vehicle does not have serious mechanical wear and tear. Inspections can't uncover alot of wear and tear or abuse / neglect. Ditto in regards to human heath. Example: Bill Clinton was inspected by government doctors when he was in office and given a clean bill of health, but some of his arteries were already starting to become blocked due to his junk food diet.
  6. A puff of blue smoke at start up is normal on many of the early 1990's Toyota engines including the ES300 engine. The puff can be cured by installing new valve stem seals, but most owners find it cost prohibitive to have new seals installed, especially since it is not seriously harmful to keep driving with leaky seals. So I'd recommend not worrying about the puff and just keep on driving for another 100,000+ miles. Monitor your oil consumption. As long as your engine is burning only 1 quart every 1500 - 3000 miles or more, you're doing fine. With regard to the sludge issue, first consider that under 10% of the V6's get sludge and that sludge occurrence is limited to the group of owners who extend their oil changes beyond 6 months or 5000 miles. So check the service history of the car. If the oil has been changed at least every 6 months or 5000 miles then the engine will be clean and sludge free inside. A huge number of used car shoppers don't examine service records before they buy a used car. These shoppers are preoccupied with the cosmetic appearance and price of the car. They figure a Toyota is a good beater car that can be neglected and keep on ticking. They find out the hard way this is not true.
  7. A friend of mine in Reno, NV is in the market for a luxury SUV so we we drove to nearby Lexus of Reno in my '91 LS400 and took a test drive in a '04 RX330. Both of us felt my almost antique '91 LS400 was noticably smoother and quieter riding than the brand new '04 RX330. In addition, the interior of my old '91 LS400 looked and felt richer. The interior and driving experience of the '04 RX330 seemed cruder and cheaper - more like a typical Toyota than an exceptionally refined vehicle as we had come to expect from Lexus's based on our owner experiences with '90 and '91 LS400's. Since I frequently
  8. Everything in car care comes down to a matter of risk. If your goal is to minimize the risk of transmission failure then drain and refill the transmission oil pan every 15,000 miles. And use nothing but the factory original Toyota Type T-IV fluid which is available at Toyota dealers in 1 quart bottles for about $3.80 each. Get 3 bottles. The procedure you use also involves risk. The risk free way to change the fluid is to drive the car at least 15 miles or 15 minutes, preferably on city streets then check the fluid level to make sure it is at or near the HOT mark on the dipstick. This establishes whether or not the transmission was properly filled to begin with. Next, drain the fluid for at least an hour or overnight then measure the amount drained and pour back an identical amount. Start engine and slowly shift the transmission through all gears, ending in Park, while the car is stationary and the fluid level should be in the cold range or between the cold and hot range. Next, drive at least 15 miles or 15 minutes then check the fluid level again to make sure it is at or near (but not over) the HOT range marks on the dipstick.
  9. Depends on your personal philosophy. Do you like to minimize risks in your life or do you find that boring? If boring, then use Dexcool or any of the many other aftermarket antifreezes. Some of the exciting adventures that may await you due to the use of aftermarket antifreeze include a leaking heater core which costs about $4,000 to replace because just to get to the heater core requires many hours labor tearing apart the dashboard.
  10. This website does not seem to sell mechanical parts, just accessories. For example, I entered the part number for the LS400 oil filter 90915-YZZD3 and the website couldn't even find this most basic part.
  11. Service records & driving style of the prior owner mean everything because extensive preventive maintenance service records + gentle one owner driver = little mechanical wear = car that could still be reliable for 100,000+ more miles. Usually such prime cars are sold by private parties, not dealers. Such cars don't need any warranty because nothing serious is likely to go wrong with them. Unfortunately the typical used car buyer thinks a warranty is more important than service records so they fall into the "Certified Pre-Owned Lexus" trap and don't bother reviewing service records in great detail. Instead, they pay a premium price for a CPO Lexus that could actually have alot of mechanical wear and tear and be extremely costly to keep running in the long run.
  12. 1. 2005 LS430 for comfort 2. Porsche Carerra for fun
  13. 200,000 miles is just the break in period for a properly driven and serviced Toyota. I wonder what caused your valves and rings to wear so much after only 200,000 miles (if in fact they were worn)?
  14. Only the 2 sensors in front of the cat converter wear out. The rear 2 sensors last twice as long as the fronts. So you could just replace the front 2. I always get perfect fit,factory original replacement sensors so I don't have to screw around with cutting wires, rustproofing the cut wires and other headaches, plus I know the replacements sensors will last as long as the originals.
  15. The transmission shift control solenoids normally start wearing out at around 125,000 - 250,000 miles causing all sorts of shifting wierdness. But that doesn't mean the transmission is bad. The solenoids can all be replaced for about $500 - $750 (or even less if you replace them yourself.) Removing the transmission oil pan will give you access to the solenoids. If the transmission isn't slipping and if the fluid has never gotten burnt then chances are the transmission is still in good condition. Don't let someone fool you into thinking you need a new transmission just because some sensor or solenoid is bad!
  16. AjayD, if you are the original owner and you are 100% sure the coolant has never been changed then I have good news! Your cooling system is still immaculately clean thanks to the unique chemistry of the original factory fill coolant mixture which was 50% Toyota Long Life Coolant and 50% distilled water. Since your system is still so clean, there is no need to flush anything because there is no rust or corrosion in the system. Just drain and refill the radiator with a 50/50 mix of Toyota Long Life Coolant and distilled water. This will replace about 60% of the coolant which is sufficient. A week or two later you could drain and refill again if you want to get more of the old coolant out, but it's really nothing to worry yourself over because like I said, the old coolant will still be clean. You can buy the Toyota Red at Toyota dealers and the distilled water at a grocery store. Mix the two 50/50 in a separate container before pouring the mix into the radiator. Flushing Tees and all that other flushing jazz just adds layers of complication and potential for trouble and won't accomplish anything because again, the old drained coolant will still be clean despite being 9 years old.
  17. My experience on other Toyota engines has been that if timing belt was install a tooth off or if the ignition timing was set wrong then the engine would not start instantly. It would be noticably reluctant to start. So I'm as stumped as you are at this point.
  18. You need to find out what mechanical problem cause the salvage title. Most of the time its something pretty serious that cannot be completely repaired. But sometimes you get lucky. Like I once bought a salvage title Toyota pickup for only $400 because it couldn't pass Calif. emmissions tests. But cosmetically the truck was in immaculate condition because it was a one owner, senior aged owner truck that was always garaged. Turned out the senior drove it only short distances so some exhaust system components and gaskets were rotted out from condensation and was causing the lumpy engine idling and associated high emmissions. After I replaced the exhaust system the truck ran like new and the rest of the mechanicals were in great shape because the senior was a gentle, easy going driver.
  19. Consumer Reports has tested the 5-speed automatic ES330 and RX330 and scored their transmissions as Very Good, but not Excellent due to the slight lag/hesitation. So CR is aware of the lag, but did not find it seriously bothersome and did not consider it a safety issue.
  20. That may be true in regard to slow turning American push rod car engines, but history teaches us it's not true in regards to Toyota engines and most other Asian car engines. They are designed to be "comfortable" at relatively high rpm (by American car standards). Example: Since 1975 Toyota overhead cam engines have been designed to last 600,000 miles even if they are spinning wildly at 3500 RPM 24 hours a day for months and months on end. Consider that in the late 1970's, for example, Toyota pickups came standard with a 4.11 axle ratio and Celicas and Coronas with a 3.73 axle ratio. And no overdrive. So their engines were spinning at 3500-4000 rpm at highway speeds of 65-70 MPH. But they still lasted 600,000 miles as owners like Leo Warfield can tell you: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/leowarfield.JPG Indeed, Toyotas legendary reputation for durability was established in the 1970's before overdrive automatics were even available and before overdrive manual transmissions were common. 3000-4000 rpm is just a moderate RPM for a Toyota engine and you can see this from Toyotas engine break in instructions which are: "maintain engine speed between 2000-4000 RPM" There is no question an ES300 or ES330 V6 engine would still be running fine after 500,000 miles of never using the overdrive 5th gear at all - even if the driver drove at a steady highway speed of 70 MPH. What kills Toyota engines is traurma caused by neglected cooling systems and neglected tune ups. Owners carve tens of thousands of miles off the life of their engines when they let them run hotter than normal, let them misfire, let them run low on oil, or let them run on poorly filtered air and oil.
  21. tckcumming, your AC shop is feeding you the same misinformation that they have fed millions of others in the name of shop profits. The truth is: 1. It's perfectly normal for an R12 system to lose about 25% of its refrigerant charge over an 11 year period due to normal seepage through hoses and fittings. So to restore the factory original cooling performance, all that is needed is to hook up a can of R12 and dispense 1/2 to 3/4 of a can of R12 into the system to "top it off". How much does a can cost? A piddly $20 on ebay. The charging hose is also available on ebay for a piddly $7. 2. Your system does not need any special "checks"and "inspections". The only maintenance it needs is for you, the owner, to try and run the system at least once every week or two THROUGHOUT the year to keep internal parts and seals lubricated. This prevents excessive component wear and prevents refrigerant leaks from developing over time. Also check the AC condenser in front of the radiator to see if it's plugged with bugs, dust and leaves. If so, wash away the debris with a garden hose. If real dirty, remove the radiator to provide much better access to the AC condenser. 3. For 11 years the AC industry has been feeding the public 100% bull about R12 being outrageously expensive and increasingly hard to get. The truth is tons of R12 has been and always will be available on ebay for a cheap price and the prices have been slowly but surely been coming DOWN in recent years. This is because fewer and fewer cars on the road need R12 so the supply is getting AHEAD of demand, especially in winter. R12 sells for as little as $10 a can in winter on ebay. And the capacity of even a totally empty ES300 system is only 2 1/2 cans. 4. R12 systems are the most reliable and durable in the world. Converted systems are much less reliable and durable. Example: The 30 year old R12 system in my antique 1974 Toyota Corona is still running great: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/4m.jpg. Converted systems typically break down in one way or another after only 6 months to 3 years. 5. R12 systems cool better than R12 systems that have been converted to R134a. Example: my LS400 R12 system puts out frigid 32 degree air on its coldest setting: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/accold.jpg Converted systems typically put out only 45-50 degree air. 6. No special license is needed to buy R12 on ebay. Ebay sellers can legally sell it to you if you simply provide them with a letter than says the following: Certification of Resale I hereby certify that the containers of Freon12 that I am purchasing from __________ are being purchased solely for the purchase of reselling them. I certify that I will comply with all applicable local, state, and federal regulations and laws and that I am legally permitted to purchase accept delivery of, possess and resell these containers of Freon 12. My name is_________________________ Adress: _______________________________ _______________________________ _______________________________ Signed:_________________________ Date:_________________________________ So a conversion to R134a doesn't represent "an upgrade" as the AC industry would have you believe. It's an upgrade only for their pocketbooks. Consumer Digest magazine originally alerted me to this AC industry propaganda back in 1998 and further explained how easy it is for owners to top off their own systems for hardly any cost.
  22. GM typically uses plugs that don't come with metal ring gaskets like the plugs Toyota uses. Instead, GM typically uses tapered thread spark plugs which seal themselves without use of a metal ring gasket. So that may be the reason GM disapproves of the use of anti-seize. I've been using anti-seize for 18 years in a wide variety of Toyotas. Never any problems.
  23. Depends on the maintenance history of the car and driving habits of the driver. Example: there would have been no problems with the radiator if the antifreeze had been changed as often as specified in the owners manual using the factory original coolant mixture. But alot of owners get caught up in a revolving circle of automotive poverty because they neglect or extend preventive maintenance service intervals and this has a cascading effect of reducing the reliability and life of expensive components like the oxygen sensors, catalytic converter, radiator and many others and also causes premature gasket and seal deterioration which in turn promotes lubricant leaks. But a well maintained Lexus tends to be as reliable and durable as any other Toyota; i.e. reliable and durable and relatively inexpensive to maintain for hundreds of thousands of miles.
  24. I used Meguiars Wax - the kind available in auto parts stores - on a white Toyota pickup for a few years and it yellowed the paint, apparently permanently. YUCK! I'll never try another Meguiars product again even though Meguiars probably has better and pricier products, because there's no excuse for a paint care product to damage the paint. I later tried Zymol liquid wax - the kind available at Walmart -on another identical white Toyota pickup. No yellowing even after 9 years of use. Zymol is all natural so the wax doesn't last long in the summer heat, but it definately keeps the paint shiny for years and years. I've heard speculation that genuine Lexus branded wax is rebottled Zymol so that's a good sign too that it's pretty good stuff. I'm sure some of the synthetic waxes are more durable than Zymol, but will they keep the paint looking factory new for decades? Or do they have disturbing unwanted side effects after several years of use?
  25. What is your wear protection standard? 500,000? 600,000? 700,000? Conventional oil has taken many hundreds of Toyota's and Lexus's up to these mileages without an engine overhaul. Neither Amsoil nor Mobil 1 has ever demonstrated to the public that use of synthetic oil could make a Toyota/Lexus engine last longer than 600,000 - 700,000 miles. And after 30 years of being on the market, neither Amsoil nor Mobil have come up with a single owner testimonial of from someone who exceeded 600,000 - 700,000 miles using their synthetic oils. I have 449,000 miles of experience with Mobil 1 synthetic in '92 Toyota pickup, but an acquiantance of mine has 477,000 miles on an '87 Toyota pickup with the same engine and he's always used conventional oil. Both of us changed the oil every 5,000 miles and used Toyota oil and air filters. Our oil consumption rates are nearly the same and both of our engines are still performing very well so both the Mobil 1 synthetic and conventional oil appear to be protecting our engines pretty much equally well. I believe both of our engines could last between 600,000 - 700,000 miles, but that is the limit because typically something catastrophic goes wrong with a Toyota engine at that mileage (e.g. a rod bearing fails) About the only clear cut benefit of synthetic oil is slightly easier starting at temperatures between 0 degrees F and - 20 below zero. Below approx. -20 degrees F even an engine running 0W-30 synthetic is going to have great difficulty.
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