ShirleySerious

From their site: http://speedbleeder.zoovy.com/c=Xl2suJCLYH.../category/news/

Repair Service with a Smile

Occasionally a customer will break a Speed Bleeder off in the caliper or wheel cylinder of the vehicle that they are working on. I guess they don't know their own strength. Well, we understand that these things do happen. Since we don't want the experience of installing Speed Bleeders to be totally devastating we are doing something about it. If you do break one off in your wheel cylinder or caliper, it is a tricky operation to remove . Unless you have access to a few specialized tools it is very hard to remove. This is what we propose.... Remove the caliper or wheel cylinder and ship it to us. We will remove the broken Speed Bleeder at no charge and return it to you repaired with a new Speed Bleeder installed. Generally it will be repaired the same day we receive it and will be returned the following day. We will return it to you via United States Postal Service. It will be sent "Parcel Post" and we will pay the postage. If you want it returned quicker you pay the postage. Send the caliper or wheel cylinder to:

Speed Bleeder Products, Inc.

13140 Apakesha Grove Rd.

Newark, IL 60541

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Procedure for removing a broken Speed Bleeder

For those who would like to remove a broken Speed Bleeder themselves, I will explain the best way to remove the broken Speed Bleeder. Read these instructions over and over until you understand the procedure and feel comfortable tackling this job. If you still have questions or don't understand the steps you can call me or e-mail me for clarification.

Do not use an EZ-Out! I can't emphasize this enough! This tool is too brittle and hardened and nine times out of ten you will snap it off and loose any hope of removing the broken part. Before you can remove the broken part you will have to remove the spring and stainless steel ball. You cannot and will not drill through the hardened stainless steel ball. The spring can be removed by using a piece of wire or pick. The ball can be removed with a blast of air from an air compressor. If you still cannot remove the ball because of a burr at the area where the break occurred you can use a drill bit to clean up the burr. Then the blast of air should remove the ball. Next, drill a 1/4" deep hole in the Speed Bleeder with a 5/32" drill bit. A good quality cordless battery powered drill such as "Dewalt" works best for this step. It is easily maneuvered and has a built-in clutch to minimize drill breakage. Try not to go all the way through the bottom of the Speed Bleeder. Then take a 5/32" hex wrench (allen wrench) and tap it into the hole that you just drilled with a hammer. Use a quality hex wrench. A quality hex wrench will be hardened and tempered which makes it strong and ideal for the job. The corners of the 5/32" hex wrench will bite into the sides of the hole forming a hex socket. Then carefully turn out the broken part of the Speed Bleeder. If the wrench spins in the hole and will not remove the broken Speed Bleeder use the next larger size drill bit and corresponding hex wrench. This procedure is one way to remove a broken Speed Bleeder and works very well. Be patient and be careful when doing this procedure. I don't want to see anyone get hurt. Wear eye protection!

The latest way to remove a broken Speed Bleeder if the above procedure fails:

Usually the Speed Bleeder is broken off flush with the caliper. Take a common 3/8 x 16 nut and lay it centered over the broken Speed Bleeder. Then take a GMAW (gas metal arc welder) or wire feed welder and apply weld through the center of the 3/8 nut to weld the nut to the broken Speed Bleeder. Fill the nut flush with the top of the nut with weld and then let it cool. This essentially welds the nut to the broken Speed Bleeder. Take a 9/16" box wrench and turn the nut counter clockwise and remove the broken Speed Bleeder with a few turns. Before performing the weld process take some common clear packaging tape and cover the caliper with a few wraps of tape to protect the caliper from weld splatter. It works very well. After the Speed Bleeder is removed chase the threads with a clean tap of the correct thread size. Then use a razor blade and carefully remove the tape. The caliper is as good as new.

Wow I didn't know SpeedBleeder would do that! Talk about customer service. That seems like the most viable option, thanks for posting that.

The brakes on my 2000 RX300 were feeling a little soft and the brake pedal was going all the way to the floor, so I decided to bleed my brakes. I bought Speedbleeders because I don't have any reliable friend to help me bleed them in the traditional fashion. I got the old bleeder screw off with no problems. When I screwed in the Speedbleeder, I must have used too much force and broke off the head and nozzle. The threads are sticking out about 1-2mm and the ball bearing that the Speedbleeder uses is exposed but won't come out. I tried using a vise grips and two kinds of pliers but it's stuck in there.

Luckily, brake fluid doesn't come out when I step on the brake, but I put some silicone on the ball bearing to seal it up. Any idea how to get it out?

Remove the caliper and take it to a machine shop. Ask at just about any auto parts store where a good machine shop is located.

Any idea how much that would be? Not really sure if I can even take the caliper off.

The brakes on my 2000 RX300 were feeling a little soft and the brake pedal was going all the way to the floor, so I decided to bleed my brakes. I bought Speedbleeders because I don't have any reliable friend to help me bleed them in the traditional fashion. I got the old bleeder screw off with no problems. When I screwed in the Speedbleeder, I must have used too much force and broke off the head and nozzle. The threads are sticking out about 1-2mm and the ball bearing that the Speedbleeder uses is exposed but won't come out. I tried using a vise grips and two kinds of pliers but it's stuck in there.

Luckily, brake fluid doesn't come out when I step on the brake, but I put some silicone on the ball bearing to seal it up. Any idea how to get it out?

You probably need a parking brake cable adjustment. Not uncommon for a 9-year-old vehicle. As jgr7 pointed out, get it resolved now before that cable snaps and a $50 adjustment turns into a $500 repair. Don't go to the dealer - any brake specialist shop can do this cheaper, faster, and better than your dealer will....

As far as doing it myself, how would I manage that?

The parking brake on my '00 RX300 has become rather loose. Pushing it down requires almost no effort and puts up no resistance. Needless to say, it doesn't hold the car. When I release the parking brake and drive around, it makes a squealing noise, like the brake is still dragging. It goes away after a while. Anyone else have this problem?

It worked in my work truck (Toyota Tacoma), so I don't know if it's the adapter. Today it went 20 minutes without switching sides, then the rest of the ride home it was fine. It's very erratic.

The tape deck on my 2000 RX300 seems to not like cassettes. I haven't put a cassette in it for who knows how long, but just got a cassette adapter for my iPod. I have a good FM transmitter, but in a crowded market like Chicago, a good station is hard to come by, and when it does, the quality is not so hot.

I put the adapter in, and it keeps on changing sides automatically. This gets annoying since it happens 10 times a minute. I just want to have it stay on one side so I can just play my music. Before you ask, I've tried both sides of the adapter and get the same results. My last car (Chevy Impala) had a feature that was basically "tape adapter mode". I would guess that Lexus would have something similar.

2000 RX300 with AWD, fully loaded. It's a hand-me-down from my mother after she decided it was time for a new car. She traded in her dreaded Olds Aurora (the one with the engine fires) for the car.

AFAIK, it's bone stock. Nothing aftermarket at all.

Problems are what I believe are standard for an 8 year old car:

Antenna mast is stuck

Sway bar bushings are worn

The rear hatch opener stays in one position as if a spring were broken.

The rear hatch hydraulic stays are on their last legs

The sun visors are sagging down

The passenger window is having trouble going up or down

The driver's window is slow.

Other than that, the car is mechanically sound, except for the whole engine sludge business. The turning radius is too big, the radio pulls in stations poorly (that might be due to the antenna), and the throttle feels kind of heavy.

The dealer took a look at my car at my last oil change. They said the rear sway bar bushings are worn, which is why my car makes strange thumping noises over bumps. As a DIY project, how difficult is it to replace the bushings?

The front passenger window on my '00 RX300 has been acting a little haywire as of late. When it's closed, sometimes it goes straight down, some times it will stop halfway. Once it is all the way down, getting it back up is a chore. It takes careful button manipulation to get it to raise again. Pulling the switch up all the way will not make the window go up. It acts like this with both window switches, and only on this particular window. Anyone know what's going on, or is it inhabited by spirits?

So, I'm guessing your fluid reservoir is topped off and full of wiper fluid, right? Have you checked your spray nozzles to ensure the openings are clear and clean? Lastly, when you go to squirt the fluid (with the engine off, but the key turned on, and in a nice quiet location), can you hear the fluid pump motor hum? If you hear nothing at all, then something is up with the pump (presuming it's getting power). If you do hear the pump motor engage, then you may have a kink or clog in your fluid line.

I have yet to look at mine, but it should be a very simple system... the reservoir is up by the front passenger side of the vehicle in the engine compartment. It seems you can access the reservoir through the plastic wheel well liner. Here's a full repair overview for the washer pump on a '99 model year: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159628

I made sure it had fluid in it and I followed the instructions on the link. Unfortunately I couldn't tell if the motor was whirring or not due to the wiper motor, crickets, and other noise. I flushed it out with water, but I'm not sure where all the water went, since I put about 3 gallons in and it wasn't leaking out the bottom. I noticed when the motor is attached to the tank, water slowly pours out the nozzles.

UPDATE: I just went to the dealership and got the Highlander pump. Different part number but looks exactly the same. Too dark to install it now, so I'll try it tomorrow.

With the winter season coming up, I'm concerned that the washer pump on my car is not functioning. When I go to squirt fluid, the wipers wipe, but no fluid comes out. The rear washer doesn't work either. I checked the washer fuse and it's fine, so I'm concerned that the pump itself is broken. I want to be able to replace it myself, but I don't know how to get to it. Anyone have any tips?

On my 2000 RX300, the fuel door seems to have trouble opening. It doesn't open with the familiar "pop" and last time I filled up, I had to wedge my key in the filler door and release the cable. Is there a way to tighten? How do I access that?

Also, my parking brake doesn't seem to hold as well as it used to. Is there a way to tighten that cable?

Thanks in advance.

I have an '00 RX300 and after getting an oil change today, the sheet said that my valve cover is leaky. I want to take a look at it but the damn engine cover is holding me back. I ran into this problem when I wanted to take a look at the spark plugs. I have an allen wrench set, but that sucker is really on there good. Is the cover just held on there with these screws or is there more?