RoboRam12

I use 5W-30 Mobile Clean 5000 and I picked up 6 OEM filters a while back for a good price. That's pretty much what I stick with, and I change my oil every 3500-4000 miles even though it is supposed to be 5000 mile oil. It costs $2.99/qt which is why I don't mind changing it more often.

My dad wasn't too fond of the stock Goodyears, so now he has settled on the Falken Ziex ZE-912. It's a good tire, they can usually be found for under $100 a tire if you shop around. Our car has 16 inch Lexus rims, but not the stock ones that came with the car. The stock 17 inch wheels were bent and there were no wheels of the same kind available anymore when they were replaced. But these 16 inch rims use the tire size 225/55R16.

Have low beam head light and tail light that I have to replace. Low beam head light: how do I remove it? same question for tail light.

Tail light: I see the two plugs in the trunk liner. Do I remove those and then remove the nuts on the posts and that allows me to remove the tail light lens?

THANKS FOR THE RESPONSE...tail light sounds like a piece of cake. For the head light, the Caution in the owners manual sounds like I might get a shock if I try to do it myself. Do I wear a complete rubber suit?

Haha nah, just unplug the battery before you do it and you won't have any problems.

Have low beam head light and tail light that I have to replace. Low beam head light: how do I remove it? same question for tail light.

Tail light: I see the two plugs in the trunk liner. Do I remove those and then remove the nuts on the posts and that allows me to remove the tail light lens?

I've already replaced a few tail light bulbs, it's pretty easy. On the outside facing part of the light, if you look to the inside, around the seal for the trunk, you will notice two covers. Pop them both off on each tail light assembly and remove the bolts. Then you just need a 10mm wrench to get the nuts off, there is one included in the cars tool kit. Once you get them started, you can turn them by hand to get them off, using the wrench the whole way would be silly. Once you have those two nuts and the other two bolts removed, pull the whole light back and off, but be careful, the electrical wires don't have a lot of slack to them.

I would recommend just taking the tools with you and going to Napa or whatever and just changing them in the parking lot, shouldn't take more than 5 minutes or so. Now I can't remember exactly what the bulb numbers are, so you should take out the ones you need replaced and take them in with you so you can get the right ones. I can post pictures later when I get home if you need them, but it really is quite simple.

I do not know how to change the low beam headlight though, hopefully someone else can explain that.

Well that ain't extremely cold.....from a Canadian perspective....

Sounds to me like a door weatherstrip is folded a bit in the chill, and when the interior warms up it conforms better. Wind whistle perhaps.

Nah, it's not quite a whistle, it's weird to explain. It really only seems to happen after the car has sat overnight and the low has been under 25F.

Doesn't really worry me though, I've heard a lot worse come from a transmission, and it disappears once things start to warm up. The transmission in my moms Odyssey sounds like it has straight cut gears sometimes, like something out of a race car.

I get it as well, it's a weird noise, almost like something you hear in one of those hearing tests at the doctors office. I thought it was my speakers acting up at first, but I'm pretty sure it's coming from the transmission or something in the drivetrain. Plus that makes the most sense considering it goes away after driving a while and things get up to operating temps.

Sorry if this sounds trite and simple.

I just bought a 2001 GS 300.

Unfortunately, the car did not come with any of the factory documentation.

Things like Owner’s Manual, Service log, etc.

So do tell:

1 – How do I program the garage door opener buttons?

2 – What viscosity oil is the factory recommended?

3 – Where can I get a complete set of original documents?

I’d like a complete set with the zipper case.

Thanks much.

I don't have the 2001 manual, but I have the 2000 version. Oil viscosity is recommended as 5W-30, which is pretty much standard for every year during the second generation of the GS 300. And instead of typing out the instructions for the garage door opener, I took some pictures from the manual.

If they aren't easy to read, coming from the '98 Complete Owner's Manual, you can look at the instructions here (.PDF).

As for original documents, I would either look for members who have extras or contact your local Lexus dealership.

Check for loose vacuum hoses as well. I had a whistling noise that would show up when I got off the gas after accelerating which was due to a vacuum hose.

Adam,

I just bought a 2000 GS400 and here are some of things that I've had to replace. My car has 98000 miles on it so some of this is dependent on mileage.

1. Timing Belt and Water Pump: Cost me $600 at my local mechanic but would have been $900+ at the dealer

2. Spark Plugs: I just bought some NGK laser iridiums (4589) for $60. I'm gonna put them in myself

3. I had to replace my hood release cable. I've read on the 4m that a lot of 2nd generation GS's have issues with hood release cables seizing up and needing to be replaced. The cable was only $30 but the installation was $80.

Other than the air filter, oil change, transmission flush, and other small maintenance things, the car has been awesome!

Hope this helps, bro.

Andy

I'll second the hood release cable, had that problem last summer, very annoying to deal with. Everything else seems like regular maintenance, but what is this about the water pump? My car is about to tick off 140k miles, and when I get the inspection renewed this month I've got a long list of things I want looked at.

Yeah, just go under the car and see if you can move anything by hand. We have had 3 or 4 other brackets on the exhaust system rust and break causing the same rattle, all have been replaced. This most recent one is a bit more tricky though.

Hmmm, ok. It's really taken a hit from the elements, the end where the rattle is coming from is rusted and is missing a few sizable chunks. I was hoping it would be easily fixed with a hose clamp or something, but there might not be much left to clamp on to.

Alright, so it was a combination of things. The oil filter was loose causing a slow leak, fixed that. However, the plastic cover under the engine was filled with dried up oil and other gunk, which made the leftover oil that spilled there spread over everything making it look worse than it really was. So the only leak was the oil filter, that was tightened up and the oil was topped off.

However, when I was under the car I found the piece that was causing a really bad exhaust rattle at idle. The best way I can describe it is that it is a heat shield that covers the exhaust as it goes from 2 pipes to 1, where one of the O2 sensors is. So that needs to get taken off/replaced, any idea where I can order that part from?

I did put oil around the gasket, but I can go and try to hand tighten the filter a little more. I was a little wary about it because I knew not to over tighten it. The car just hit 134k miles.

I just did an oil change yesterday. Normally we would just take it to Firestone and they put a Kendell synthetic blend in. But I wanted to do it myself and I switched to Pennzoil full synthetic. Before I changed it I noticed the oil level was about halfway between the low dot and the full dot, and yesterday I noticed some oil spots being left under the car. At the time I just assumed it was residual oil from when I replaced the oil filter, but when I checked the level this morning it was halfway between low and full again.

So my question is, where should I be looking for a leak, and can this be solved by going to a petroleum oil?

The autopsy reported that he had heart disease and died of a heart attack in his sleep. The blow to the head did not cause his death, it was just an extreme coincidence. You just can't replace his personality though, he showed his true colors on Pitchmen.

Well it still is my dad's car, I just get permission to use it, and I am on the registration. But anything I do to it goes through him. He was going to keep driving it and get a more practical car for myself and now my brother to use, but he got hooked on an A4 and hasn't looked back since.

I would love to learn how to do something like this, now just isn't the right time. I'm almost sophomore in college, so in a few years when I have my own place, I will be better able to learn the ins and outs of general maintenance and repair. I certainly have the desire to do it, just not the time right now.

I haven't done brake work before, or a lot of other things. I'm only 19 and this is just my dad's old car that I use to get to and from work/school. I'm sure if we had the space and right tools I would be capable of doing it myself, but we have neither. Thanks for the name though, we actually have a Bap Geon shop just down the road from us, so I'll see what they can get for us.

Got the shaking diagnosed today, the drivers side front brake caliper won't release, which in turn caused to rotor to heat up (explains why it would slowly appear over a drive). $900 to replace the front brake rotors, calipers, and brake lines... I think this may spell the end for this car for us.

I wasn't able to do mine, but I saw that you should torque them to13 ft-lbf somewhere.

The owners manual specifically states to use the twin electrode platinum ones though (unless it changed between 2000 and 2001), you sure that was wise?

I tried changing mine last weekend and failed when I realized someone had replaced my hex keys, making it very difficult removing the valve cover screws. One of them was particularly tough, so I had to stop before I stripped it. I need to find my hex keys so I can use the correct size and get mine changed.

Ok thanks. Does anyone have an idea then which could cause this? It almost acts like the steering wheel has come loose and is wobbling around because the car still rides straight, it doesn't wander at all.

I've had three instances in as many weeks where on the highway (speeds 60mph+) the wheel will begin to shake, a lot. It isn't like your normal wheel out of alignment shake, it's more of a shudder going through the whole front end. Now the only thing I can put together for all three mornings (it didn't repeat in the afternoon on the way home) was that we had lots of dew when I left.

So it got me thinking, if the power steering was vacuum assisted, could the vacuum line be getting water in it causing the issue? I know there is a vacuum leak somewhere, I can hear it when the car shifts under hard acceleration, but I'm wondering if this could be the issue. Help?

yea, I have heard that from many people. But I was wondering, is there any way to get that deep sound that the aftermarket intake makes using the stock intake?

Assuming you are willing to fabricate/modify, you could take off the snorkel dohicky, cut up the air box for a larger opening, then fab up a heat shield to direct cold air and and keep hot air out. I don't think it would be difficult to do, you just need the right materials and tools. Then again, none of that may actually work, so don't take my word for it.

which snorkel thing? The one that goes from the filter box to the front of the hood?

Yeah, that. But seeing the last comment, I might just end up putting it back on...

I just started using premium this month. But my dad who drove the car up until the last 4-5k miles put regular with the occasional mid-grade in... And I only use Shell now, they match the Sheetz price, which used to have the cheapest price around, but I've heard their gas is dodgy.

I'll look into cleaning them this weekend, the only problem I will have is clearing the code.

Oh, and where could I possibly get a new oil cap? The geniuses who used to change the oil somehow manged to take a small chunk out of the cap, and I think it is leading to oil loss. It's only been 2000 miles or so and the oil is near low.