lexus4mk25

Hi, I'm looking for the hydraulic hose that goes from the Power Steering to the cooling fan. My mechanic gave me a part number from his computer database which hasn't helped me locate it online. The part number is 16927-20010. Let me know ASAP if you have the part and how much you'd need for it. I'd need it to be shipped to Austin, TX. Thanks a lot for your time. Please reply here and copy to methusaleh@yahoo.com

After letting the car sit in the parking lot for almost a month, I got it towed to a local shop. The mechanic says that the engine needs to be rebuilt or replaced. To replace it with one that has 60K miles on it would cost $3600. The problem as I understand it is that the bearings wore out resulting in falling oil pressure (this explains the flickering oil lamp on the console, which lasted for around 3 months prior to the break down). Sorry I can't provide better info, but he used a lot of terms I've heard before, but am unfamiliar with (lifters, crankshaft, rods). This guy was highly recommended and he did appear to be a straight forward and decent fella. Now the decision is whether to get this job done for the $3600 or dispose of the car. I have two cars and need two cars, loosing this would mean getting another one that would definitely cost more than the $3600, but could be reliable for a much longer time. If any one has gone through a similar situation please explain your decision making process? Thanks. -M p.s.: I just got the transmission rebuilt for $2500 and now this....:(

Reassuring comments indeed. Will get it checked out. The noise appears to come from the top of the engine. Thanks for the info.

Hi, My 94 ES300 with 148K miles on it is exhibiting the following symptoms: Rattling in engine compartment oil light goes on an off. From my reading here and elsewhere I gather that this is probably due to falling oil pressure. So why is the oil pressure falling when the oil dip stick idicates oil is sufficient. What is rattling inside the engine? (It is definitely coming from inside the engine) AS long as I've had the car, I've changed the oil on time. The oil doesn't look bad after its been in the engine for a while. ANYWAY anybody know of a good mahanic in AUSTIN, TEXAS. I know JPI is available some 300 miles away, but.... anyone closer. Thanks a bunch p.s. how much can I unload this clunker for now?:(

I got this car second hand and since then I've been using regular. 87 octane gas.

Update.... Due to the lurching and hard shifting, I took the car back to the mechanic. First he said that he'd have to replace the engine mount to rule it out as a culrpit. The engine mount was already diagnosed by another mechanic to be in need of replacement, so I went with the change. The mechanic then agrees with me that the shifting is hard and eventually decides that some aluminium sleeve needs to be replaced. Took 5 days to get a hold of it and finally installed it this morning. I picked up the car this afternoon and as I was driving out I feel the lurching again, I'm very unhappy. I drive back to the mechanic and have him sit with me as I drive. He says that I drive the car harder than he'd expected, so he gives it a shot and can easily recreate the symptoms by accelerating hard. Now he says that the control system is probably faulty and that once he gets a hold on another one he'll call me so that I can bring the car back and he can swap out the control system, to verify if this is indeed the problem. I've been without a car for a week, so I take the car with and I decide to not accelerate as I usually do. The car shifts much smoother this way. What is going on?... For now I've decided to make the adjustment to my driving style, but at the back of mind I know something is not right here..... And oh the Check Engine Light is on, mechanic says I gotta have it replaced. He said that he swapped it with another one on the car and error codes detected it again from the second location, so it is definitely bad. I though there were 3 02 sensors on this car, not 2. -M

I'm a bit distressed about all of this, but that's neither here nor there.... The car does seem to drive smoother once it has figured out the gear it wants to be in. Once I hit hight speeds > 50mph and there are no more gear changes the care feels much better now than it did before. But at the lower speeds its like it can't figure out which gear to be in, it could be my imagination but it appears to be shifting up and down before it settles in. This is more prominent at < 25pmh. another thing, when I accelerate very gradually the severity of the jerk is much less than when I accelerate as I would normally do. Anyway thanks for the information, will give the mechanic a call next week. Will keep you guys posted of the results. Probably a bit late in the game, but it could be useful in future, any good Lexus mechanics in Austin, TX that you may know of? -M

Just got the car back from the shop. Total price for rebuild + replacement of Engine Rear seal ~ $2100. Additionally it was sugeested that I get the following taken care of ( they dont handle such work apparently): ->Leak in power steering mechanism ->CV boots, all four (estimated cost: $70) ->engine mount (estimated cost: $200) ->air intake mechanism needs to be cleaned out When I got the car back and started the engine, I realised that the Engine check light remained on. When I asked them about it, they said that it was an o2 sensor code and I'd need to get the air intake checked out. The engine check light never came on before. Could powering off and powering on the computer have caused it to pick this error code up now? Coming to the transmission: shifting at lower speeds is VERY jerky, shifting to higher gears at higher speeds is fine, but you can still feel a small jerk. I was told that the computer will 'learn' my driving style and the jerks will eventtually disappear. hmmmmm Now this car really isn't worth that much (probably $3-5K) I have just spent $2k on it and looks like another $500-$1000 could be needed before long. The current mileage is 147K. What do you all think I should do? a. Sell the car off for 4K, if I can get that much b. keep investing (get the above mentioned stuff fixed) and keep the car running Thanks!

My B-I-L got the tranny fluid changed in his town (not Austin) so the two shops are different. Thanks for the suggestions, I think I will request that warranty in writing. It sure is disappointing to have the tranny go out one year after I bought the car, but I guess with old cars like these, it is within the realm of reasonable possibilities.

Hi, Just got a quote from a local garage for a rebuild of my 94 es300 transmission. Apparently the clutch is disintegrating and the transmission fliter is getting clogged. The final charge could range from $1800 to $2100. I will have a final quote tomorrow. If I decide to back out, the guy will still charge me ~$450 since he would have pulled apart the tranny to figure the exact nature of the problem, and the parts that would need replacement. The symptoms that led me to the garage: Car just stopped in the middle of the road, as I came to a stop to take a turn. (car was running smooth till the breakdown, ofcouse there was always a slight rattle when starting from a stop). Stepping on the gas pedal caused the rpms to go up, but the car just didn't move. Reverse didn't work either. I turned the engine off, waited for 5 mins then retried, the car moved and I just made it back to my apt. (200ft. away) Now I'm just wondering what you guys think of the quote. Is it fair? BTW, I bought the car at 128K miles in Jan 2004. My guess is this is the original tranny. Just got the tranny fluids changed 3 weeks ago. I'm in Austin, TX Thanks!

Thanks for the tips. Car ran just fine this morning. Accelerated as normal in the parking lot

This car has an automatic transmission. No strange smells, there is a 'harmless oil leak' so I do get some odor, not too strong, which I'm sure is due to the oil leak. It has been looong while since the last transmission fluid change, dont really have a specific time, though I floored the gas pedal just last week and after a very very very slight hesitation took off. So it was acceleration quite well. Will try this tomorrow and let you know if it is still happening. Thanks

Hello folks, My 94 ES300 (141K) runs just great, but recently when I gave it gas from a stand still it hardly moved for a few seconds. I turned the AC and fan down and tried again and once again is failed to move as it should. It just crawled forward. On the third try it moved better, but not as it should, but once it got going it was just fine. I hear a lot of noise when I start (maybe only because the road noise hasn't kicked in yet). I think my car is becoming a clunker:( Is the automatic transmission the most likely culprit? (engine seems to run fine and quiet). Worn out clutch? What would it cost to get the transmission looked at? What would it cost to get the transmission ovehauled, assuming no major issues other than part replacements? I know I'm asking a lot of questions the answers to which can merely be guesstimates, but please dont hold back. I'm in HOT HOT Austin, Texas, and my car sits in the HOT sun for 9 hours till its time to head back home from work. Can heat lead to this symptom? But.... I've noticed this symptom even in the mornings. Thanks!

I just got the rotors on the rear weels resurfaced and brake pads changed. This morning I happened to look at the rotors and I was surprised to see sratches on the rotors consistent with a circular motion. I've never seen circular sracthes on a rotor (the same look you get when buffing a car) Is this one kind of resurfacing? I always assumed that resurfacing is done by removing the surface material with a lathe as the roto is turned on its axis. hmmmmm any thoughts?

Yeah, I'm in TX 4hrs from Dallas. I called JPI, left a message. I may be in Dallas in the first week of March, not sure. Do you take walk-ins? How much for a thorough inspection of the engine.