2JayZ

The noise you hear is the ABS pump. Considering the work you just did this likely means you have either air in the system and/or the incorrect fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir. Recommend you bleed the brakes and when done be certain your fluid level is below the MAX line.

Not sure about the timing paint marks being factory applied but I'm sure someone here does and will chime in soon. In the meantime you may wish to take a look at the condition of the water pump. No good mechanic, shop, or Lexus Service Department does a timing belt service without replacing the water pump. So if it looks new, or newer, that could be a sign the belt was replaced.

I've had some good results with eBay Motors. Even if you don't have a sucessful auction (reserve not being met, etc.) you will still get excellent exposure and will get calls from potential buyers both during and after the auction. Plus, you will be afforded some seller protections thru eBay and buyers will feel a sense of security buying your car thru them. If you decide to go with eBay make sure to post a CarFax -- hopefully yours is clean.

The A/C system in this car is fairly bullet-proof, surprised you are having trouble. I'd say get it away from the mechanic at the Corner Exxon and bring it to Lexus. They will know where to look for leaks. Only other thing that comes to mind would be if the car was ever involved in a front end collision you may have a problem with the condenser or the associated hoses and o-rings.

I believe you have to remove the intake manifold to see/service the Camshaft Position Sensor. Several hour job - you should get a good manual. The object you see at the bottom of the engine is probably the Timing Belt tensioner.

I have Magnaflow 35158 Stainless Steel Rolled Oval Angle tips that I bought from Amazon.com. Had the local muffler shop tack weld them on for me. They look great and really fill the rear valance much better than the factory tips. They are a little expensive but they are top shelf items and they look great.

What do you think the odds of having a Lexus dealer honor a request to perform this service now on my '98 which has never had the rear actuators replaced? This car has always been in the family and the actuators on both rear doors still work -- it is just the courtesy lights that do not work. Normally I would't care too much about this -- but the switch that triggers the rear courtesy lights also controls the security system if the rear doors are opened while the security system is armed. No working rear door switches means no security for the rear doors.

Dude, I hate to break the news to you but have you looked around at Obamaville recently? Times are hard, budgets are razor thin and the premium fuel we need for these cars is north of $3.50 a gallon just about everywhere. Lots of people are running out of gas these days -- both literally and figuratively.

The owner's manual says it is OK to use 87 octane fuel if you can't find 93 octane. I wouldn't make a habit of it. Anyway, the difference in cost between 87 and 93 is rarely more than .30 cents a gallon. So for 20 gallons of fuel we're only talking a difference of $6. Skip Starbucks for a day and you're square.

And, you don't even need to build a water-to-hydrogen generator for your car to test the theory. The only bits of information you must know are (1) exactly where to introduce the gas into the intake, and (2) exactly how much gas to meter in based on RPMs. Find out how much hydrogen flow is required at 2,500 RPM and go ahead and try it on the highway for 20 - 30 miles and see what happens. If using a tank of compressed hydrogen yeilded the increase in fuel economy these people seem to indicate then it might pay to go ahead and build yourself a system. My advance guess, however, is that all of this is complete and total bulls**t.

With all due respect it is not really a secret that Lexus GS cars are not exactly "mileage machines." No matter if new or old, I6 or V8, good tune or bad tune - they all get pretty sucky fuel economy. You can go 900 on 60 in a Volkswagen Golf TDI -- maybe you bought yourself the wrong car?

I've been buying and selling cars for 35 years. In my experience it is usually the over-motivated seller that *brings* a car to you; this happens because they own a car they're having difficulty selling to people who *come* and look. Red flag! Good luck Rena, I hope this turns out OK for you.

This evening the alarm on my GS went off while the car was parked in the garage. I'm inside having a beer watching the Yankees & Rays game. Heart Attack! I ran into the garage expecting to find someone !Removed! with my car only to find the car, lights flashing away and horn beeping like crazy -- but nobody is in the garage. I used the key fob to silence the alarm then went about investigating the problem. Turns out my daughter didn't close the right rear door tightly and the sticky door mechanism eventually turned the courtesy light on - alarm activated. Seems that even the most sticky, troublesome and PITA rear doors will eventually turn the courtesy light on if the door is left open long enough.

You're welcome. With the catch bottle you won't get any oil the engine at all. Have fun....

have the pan for the dirty oil sit under the filter. youre gonna have to deal with the fact of it getting on some of the engine. use brake parts cleaner right after to clean it off I respectfully disagree -- you don't have to get a single drop of oil on the side of the engine. Get a round plastic container that is about 3.5" in diameter and cut it like shown in the picture below. Begin the process with a few clean cotton rags within easy reach; top of the engine works for me. Loosen the oil filter with a removal tool/wrench but do not spin it off. Position the plastic catch bottle under the oil filter assembly with the top of the bottle up against the engine and then gently spin the filter off, letting it fall right into the bottle. The oil coming from the filter housing will also be collected in the bottle. When the oil is done dripping carefully maneuver the catch bottle to the side and immediately get a rag under the filter housing. Wipe up any stray oil and quickly install the new filter (BTW, I always use the Lexus 90915-YZZD1 oil filter) to stop any additional dripping. I also put a few ounces of clean new oil into the new filter before attaching it to the engine so it does not start up dry. Have this ready to go before you begin. Easy and effective, plus it stops dirty oil from getting on the side of the engine, the motor mount, & the engine splash guard.

Replace with the exact plug that came in your car from the factory. OEM manufacturer and type is the best choice.

I disconnected the battery to clear the code. Put 12 oz of drygas and 12 oz of injector cleaner in the tank, filled 1/2 way with 93 octane fuel. Drove the car for about 20 miles and the Check Engine light came on again, still code PO155. Does anyone know which oxygen sensor this refers to?

No it is not a dealership it is a local transmission shop. The dealership said they wouldn't do any work on any internal parts that they would just replace the thing and the cost is much higher than having it done elsewhere. I see. Best of luck using the local tranny shop. No offense, but I would never do this -- in 30 years of dealing with cars of all types I've never met an honest transmission shop proprietor. I'm sure there must be some out there but I have no idea where. Last time I was in one of those places (Cottman, I think) they tried to sell me a $2,300 rebuilt transmission for a '96 Windstar when all I needed was an electronic switch worth $30 that takes a mere 10 minutes to change. Just one man's experience.

The clunk you describe would certainly have me worried. Is your "shop" Lexus? If not maybe you should take your car in to the experts & put an end to the guesswork.

A taurus....ouch! Actually from a depreciation standpoint that will be one of the few cars that WON'T bite u in the !Removed! when it gets 200k on it....It would blow your mind to see how much a clean high mile lexus will still bring at an wholesale auction. p.s. a camry/avalon may be the direction, but a taurus is not the answer;) good luck! With all due respect I beg to differ. The exact reason for the original post is because this guy is dubious about buying a high mileage Lexus, and he worries it could destroy his repair budget. Auction buyers carefully consider resale of a 200K+ mile car, no matter how nice. I see well driven gems go way below wholesale at the high-line Manheim auction here in PA every month. A $5000 Taurus won't kill you at the beginning, middle or end. Just giving common sense advice to a guy who can't afford to take a hit. And for this money you can get a reliable car with about 50-75K miles that you can still get $3,000 for in a few years with 100K+ on the clock. Problem is you're driving a Ford. But hey, people waste money every day on status.

After you have the top of the engine disassembled with the engine dress cover removed simply disconnect the three coil power wire connectors. Then loosen the 5 retaining bolts for the coil packs and lift them straight up and out. Be careful with the high-tension wires as they may be a little dried out and possibly brittle. Take note of how they're routed before disconnecting everything so you can get it right on reassembly.

Check Engine light on, OBDII reports PO155 which means O2 Sensor trouble. My code reader indicates right (passenger) bank ahead of cat converter. I see two O2 sensors in the header, one close to the firewall and one beneath the intake runner. Anyone know which one needs to be replaced?

Assuming you make it through the next two years without incident the next question will be how much is the car worth with 200K miles on it when you go to sell it. You might be dealing with a 50% depreciation situation here, especially if the car needs repairs when you're done with it. I would suggest sticking with what you have and save a bit more money, or biting the bullet and buying something reliable that will give you better a depreciation scenario. Maybe it is a Ford Taurus that will do the trick for you until 2013.

You could always get one of those 9V memory saver things that plugs into the cigarette lighter. They work great.

See below for clarification. You can find this at dozens of places on the Internet. ThePartsBin.com has it for $128.11.