monarch

Every 1989-2003 Lexus shipped from the factory with Toyota Long Life Coolant (red in color) The 2004 models shipped with Toyota SUper Long Life Coolant (pink in color)

I was once stranded for 3 days in rural southwest Texas when my rental car broke down. Not fun. If the head gasket blew then there should be coolant in the engine oil and vice versa. And the coolant level should be low. Usually the temperature gauge is reading higher than normal when the HG busts. Also, the "smoke" you saw should have looked steamy like a car exhaust normally does in the morning when the motor is warming up. If the smoke did not look steamy then the problem sounds more like a massive oil leak (engine oil, transmission oil or power steering fluid) Are any of these fluid levels really low now? Will the engine even spin when you try to start it?

Yes, from the Cameron Park area just east of Sacramento

Possible only with professional test drivers. It takes an average driver about 1 second longer to get to 60. Example: Lexus advertizes the 2004 LS 430 will do 0-60 in 5.9 seconds but Consumer Reports test drivers found it really took 7.1 seconds to go 0-60. Your '94 LS might not be tuned up right or have other mechanical problems because 0-60 should take only about 9 seconds.

The pre-mixed Toyota Long Life Coolant is a fairly new product and alot of dealers are not stocking it yet. But they should be in the months ahead. Walmart carries distilled water for 58 cents a gallon. Your radiator and cooling system will last 30 years / 500,000+ miles if you simply use the factory original fill 50/50 mixture of genuine Toyota Long Life antifreeze and distilled water and change it every 2-3 years or 30,000 miles. I'm up to 436,000 on a '92 Toyota which has had a steady diet of Toyota antifreeze and distilled water and no additives. Using additives increases the risk of serious side effects and the authors of the car care web sites that recommend additives are typically young, performance enthusiast people who have never owned and driven a Toyota for anywhere near 30 years or 500,000 miles. So they havn't been on the planet long enough to know why Lexus / Acura / Infiniti engineers have never and will never recommend cooling system additives.

You'll run into all sorts of car care websites on the internet which advise Toyota / lexus owners to stray away from the maintenance advice of the Lexus engineers. You'll even run into Lexus independent service shops and even a few Lexus dealerships which refuse to follow the maintenance advice of the Lexus engineers. All these special interest groups have an axe to grind of one kind or another so you'll have to decide for yourself whether or not the purported benefits of disregarding the advice of the Lexus engineers outweigh the inherent risks. For 30 years all Toyota and Lexus owners manuals have recommended a solution consisting of 50-52% antifreeze and 48-50% distilled water. Since 1987, all Toyotas and Lexus's come from the factory filled with a 50/50% solution of genuine Toyota Long Life antifreeze and distilled water. Use this mixture for a troublefree cooling system and peace of mind against possible catastropic future problems like erosion of the aluminum cylinder head cooling passages and cylinder head gasket failure. The factory recommended 50/50 mix will keep a Lexus engine running cool even in 120 degree F Arizona heat yet also provide freeze protection down to -31 degrees below zero. No cooling system addtives are needed or recommended by Lexus.

Yes Denso is usually the manufacturer of Toyota / Lexus oil filters. The best price for them is not on ebay, but at 1sttoyotadiscountparts.com 1-888-271-3948 In some cases, Toyota contracts with other filter manufacturers to make Toyota air, oil and fuel filters. But you can still be assured they will deliver top filtering performance. For example the Toyota 08922-02011 oil filter is made by Purolator, but Toyota required Purolator to make it to Toyota specs. I believe (but am not 100% sure) the Toyota 08922-02011 filter is correct one to use on your RX300 V6 engine. Recently, Toyota came out with 90915-YZZD1 oil filters and 90915-YZZD3 oil filters. These are Denso designs and assembled in Thailand. I know for sure the 90915-YZZD3 is the correct one to use on Toyota / Lexus V8's, but I'm not sure whether the 90915-YZZD1 is the right one for the RX300 V6 or the IS300 inline 6

The owners manual is the boss. It specifies the part number of the correct Denso or NGK plug to use. If you use something else you'll pay a big price someday in terms of premature failure of expensive ignition system components, degraded gas mileage and more.

Your Transmission Oil dipstick tells you what kind of fluid to use: Examples: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/T-II.JPG http://www.saber.net/~monarch/typetdipstick.jpg Type T-IV is an updated version of Type T-II and is available from Toyota or Lexus dealers. It is more reasonably priced at Toyota dealers : http://www.saber.net/~monarch/typet.jpg Dexron III fluid is NOT APPROVED for use in any Lexus transmission that requires Type T fluid and vice versa. It says so in Toyota / Lexus technical service bulletins (see below) and in late model Lexus owners manuals. So your mechanic is misinformed. TSB TC003-99 Title: A/T - Fluid Interchangeability Models: All Models May 21, 1999 Introduction Automatic Transmission Fluid Type T-IV now replaces Type T-II fluid. Use Type T-IV for all applications that specify ATF Type T-II. NOTICE: With the exception of mixing ATF Type T with Type T-IV fluids, different types of fluids must not be mixed.

Flanker, a very small amount of R12 leaks out of the system over the years because of the gas permeable hoses, gaskets and fittings in the system This is normal. After about 10 years the system needs to be "topped off" with a small amount of R12 to replace what has been lost. Now if your particular system lost ALL of it's charge over a short amount of time then it has a substantial leak and will leak out again. Perhaps the shop was exaggerating when they said it lost ALL the charge? It sure would be wierd for the system to somehow seal itself after it had a substantial leak. You did the right thing having the system recharged with R12 because systems converted to other refrigerants typically end up being quite unreliable and expensive to fix - far more expensive than the R12. Lexus R12 systems require only 2-3 pounds of R12. On ebay, 1 pound cans (14 oz) cost only $20 a can. To top off a system typically takes only 1 can or 1/2 of a can. Charging hoses with can tap valves are also 10 bucks or less on ebay. Ebay managers require sellers to state in their ads that a license is required to buy R12, but at the end of the auction very, very few sellers actually will want to see your license. They just want to see your payment! Anyone can also get licensed to buy R12 by merely passing a 25 question OPEN BOOK test at www.macssw.org. The test costs only $15

The ES shares alot of parts with the Camry, but the LS has alot of unique parts like the brake pads & rotors and the hood strut you mentioned. However, routine service items on the LS like filters and spark plugs are the same as those on the Tundra / Sequoia V8. To find out more, buy a set of parts microfiche slides for your LS on ebay and then get a set for the Tundra or Sequioa. Your local library probably has a microfiche reader you can use.

Well that explains why your system conked out to begin with. R12 systems converted to R134a last only 6 months to 3 years before there are major component failures and/or refrigerant leaks. Plus the converted systems don't cool as well. However, your R134a system should at least be putting out 45-55 degree air from the dash vents when you are driving 25 miles per hour or more. If your system is not cooling at least this well then I agree with the other guy that you should stop payment on your check for $450+ dollars!

If air gets into your cooling system past a worn radiator cap or low fluid level in the radiator or low fluid level in the coolant jar, Havoline Extended Life Coolant can turn into Deathcool http://www.saber.net/~monarch/deathcool.jpg For peace of mind, use the factory original coolant: genuine Toyota Long Life Antifreeze mixed 50/50 with distilled water. Buy it at your local Toyota dealer.

The temperature of the air coming out of the center vent of the dashboard should be 35-42 degrees F after just 2-4 minutes of running the system. The factory original refrigerant was R12. If the AC shop did not use R12 or did not charge your system with the proper amount of R12 then cooling will not be this good.

Maintaining your RX 300 for the first 6 years or 90,000 miles is actually amazingly simple and inexpensive if you are armed with the two factory manuals and some basic tools like two floor jacks and some jackstands. The factory manual, for example, would tell you the proper jacking points and where to place the jackstands so that you can do your own tire rotations. Since YOU are doing the work, you won't overtighten the lug nuts like so many shops do and therefore you won't ever be bothered with the problem of warped brake rotors and all the vibrations that causes. The manual will also tell you have to drain and refill the transmission oil pan. You can buy the required 3 quarts of Toyota Type T-IV fluid at a Toyota dealer in 1 quart bottles for pocket change. The manual will also tell you how to change the brake fluid. Again You can buy the required 3 pints of genuine Toyota Brake fluid at a Toyota dealer in 1 pint bottles for pocket change. The manual will also tell you how to change the radiator coolant. Again You can buy the required 1-2 gallos genuine Toyota red antifreeze at a Toyota dealer in 1 gallon jugs for $12-15 each plus 1-2 gallons of distilled water from a super market. Just drain the radiator and refill with a 50/50 mixture of the two. The factory manuals cost about $120 if you get them on ebay and quite a bit more if you order them from the source listed in your owners manual. Dealers have all kinds of gimmicks up their sleeve like "coolant flushing machines" "brake fluid flushing machines" "transmission flushing machines" etc. just so they can charge megabucks for simple fluid change services. None of this flushing business is really needed (except in the case of a badly neglected an abused car). Just partial fluid changes every 30,000 miles or so is all the factory manual recommends and is all that's needed to keep all the fluids and lubes fresh enough to protect the components for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles. Indeed, your Lexus will be better off because it will receive nothing but factory original fluids whereas dealer service depts typically install non-genuine Toyota fluids and lubes in order to save money.

It may take only a year or two for you to answer that question. That's all it took me. Example: The factory fill in my mom's '91 Buick LeSabre was the green high silicate coolant. I partially changed it using the Toyota Red. Several months later my mom noticed the temperature gauge was creeping higher than it used to. I shined a flashlight inside the radiator and noticed the radiator core tubes had become blocked or partly blocked with a white crud of some kind. Since I only used distilled water in the system, the crud could not have been calcium carbonate deposits from hard tap water. Instead the crud was silicate fallout from the green coolant. Somehow mixing the high silicate green and the zero silicate Toyota red causes the silicates in the former to drop out of suspension and clog the radiator core tubes. What a hard way to learn the consequences of mixing high silicate and hybrid organic acid coolants like Toyota Red. I have since learned that simply using the factory original coolant in whatever kind of car you drive is the answer to a troublefree cooling system. In the case of the Buick, I should have used genuine GM coolant.

Yes, 85 or 86 octane is OK for altitudes around 5,000 feet or above. And 87 is OK for altitudes below 5,000 feet But your owners manual says 87 octane is the MINIMUM allowable octane. High octane premium gas will deliver noticable better power and slightly better gas mileage, plus it will virtually eliminate the hesistation upon acceleration problem some late model ES owners complain about.

Doesn't take many miles of abuse and neglect to ruin any car. No telling what kind of abuse your car went through that really is the source of all those problems. Used car buyers tend to be obsessed with price and could care less about the service history of the car or the driving style of the former owner. They figure if they can save $5,000 on the price that even if the car needs some extra work, it'll cost only a few thousand dollars and therefore they will me money ahead. What they really find out is that almost no amount of money can fix the damage and deterioration that a neglectful and abusive driver can do to a car. So paying an average or above average price for a carefully maintained and driven car is well worth the money. Even if the car is older.

No, because independent shops don't even carry the Toyota Red. Shops use aftermarket lubes, filters and fluids and always have. So do some Toyota and Lexus dealers. They're less costly and therefore more profitable. If you want the factory original stuff used in your car you have to buy it separately from a Toyota dealer and take it to a shop for installation. You're also going to find it difficult to find a shop that follows the proper procedure to get all the green coolant out of your system. So you might as well stick with it for now and plan on buying a new radiator sometime in the distant future when your temperature gauge starts creeping up in demanding situations like climbing hills on hot days. The green stuff and mixtures of the green and red cause deposites to form inside the radiator, decreasing heat transfer efficiency and decreasing the life of the engine and its seals and gaskets

Slight leakage at the compressor shaft seal is normal according to the factory manual and the Toyota AC technician training manual. I agree with tansupplyman that if the leak was bad, you'd be losing your refrigerant charge along with the oil and therefore cooling would be deminished. Run your AC compressor once a week for several minutes thoughout the year to help keep the compressor shaft seal in good shape which in turn help guard againt loss of compressor oil and refrigerant. Also, monitor your AC outlet temperature. Should be around 40 degrees F plus or minus 2 degrees F. If it creeps up to 50 degrees F your system could be getting low on refrigerant and need to be topped off with about 5-10 ounces of refrigerant.

500,000 miles on dino oil without an engine rebuild is almost routine for Toyota owners who take good care of their cars and has been for around 25 years. Just ask old Leo Warfield http://www.saber.net/~monarch/leowarfield.JPG and many others like him. Or check out my friend Glen's Corolla engine after 329,000 miles on Pennzoil 10W30: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/329.cor.jpg. The Toyota owners I know that have gone over 400,000 miles on dino oil without a rebuild have used a wide variety of brands and weights of dino oil such as Havoline 10W-40, Chevron Delo 400 15W-40 and Castrol 10W-30. they changed the oil between 3000 - 5000 miles. All but one used genuine Toyota oil and air filters. And for the past 10 years, Quaker State has offered a 250,000 mile engine wear out guarantee to ANY new car owner who changes their Quaker State dino oil and the oil filter every 4 months or 4000 miles. This includes American cars. About 10 years ago Consumer Reports found no significant differences in engine wear rates in taxi cab fleets running dino vs. synthetic oils when both oils were changed per manufacturers recommendations. The Toyota / Lexus engineers seem to know all this because they recommend dino oil even for all the 2004 models: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/ls430.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil2.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil2.jpg While they don't prohibit the use of synthetic oil, the engineers emphatically warn owners not to extend oil change intervals when using synthetic. http://www.saber.net/~monarch/synno10K.jpg

The fine Toyota received was not because the goverment found Toyotas/Lexuses were emitting excessive emissions. The fine was imposed merely because the check engine light failed to come on if the evaporative emission system developed a leak. However Toyota/Lexus Evaporative Emission System componets are made of such high quality components that leaks don't develop anyway.

Every 3,000 miles since the car was brand new? Or did the current owner buy the car used with an uncertain prior service history? Did this '92 ES300 have the 3VZ-FE engine or the 1MZ-FE engine? Did you also once say you saw a V6 come into your shop that needed a new engine because it was sludged despite using Mobil 1 synthetic oil changed every 10,000 miles?

You could pick up 5 quarts of genuine Toyota 5W-30 or 10W-30 motor oil at your local Toyota dealer for about $2 a quart, plus a genuine Toyota oil filter for about $5 and then have Jiffy Lube install them. That way you'd be assurred Jiffy Lube was using high quality products that have been specifically tested and approved by Toyota and Lexus.

Your new engine could be ruined by sludge too if the oil change intervals are stretched out beyond 6 moths or 5000-7500 miles.