mburnickas

I just got the following done on my 98 es300 (83K); got done monday for $747.XX 1-timing belt 1-water pump 2 drive belts 2- cam seals 1- crank seals installed new coolant and checked the normal stuff.

I get the same deal. I only get it at home though..I thought it was only me...

My pass side was like that for about 1.5 years now the driver side is doing it. It looks like a crap like that. I need to fix it before I flip a peanut.

I found it, sorry. Now the quesiton is how to install it. http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/ind...997&catalogid=2

There was a thread on LOC about the hard plastic (black) trim piece between the front and rear doors on the ES; mine is a 98. Can anyone tell me the name of this part or the link on here. I can't find it after my "bookmark cleaning"

You do oil testing for more then “to see how the oil is”. It is done mostly for preventive maintance. If you never do it, you will NEVER see any problem before they happen. You can see injector issues before your car is in the shop. You can spot piston, ring, cam etc (endless) issues way before they happen. Also I go a lot longer then 7500 miles here. Again it is more then a hobby. My tests are less then $29 too. I spend out $70 a year on 6 qts amsoil (1-year fill) 2-oil filters and 1 oil test.

No problem. I am still learning the stuff. When you get the OAI test that will show the things you need. Also CAT diesel dealer will test oils. I would say you should be fine since you viscosity is not going up based only on that. Again, I would have to see the other areas though.

Rick, You are fine in Si levels. Based on the ES’s, anywhere from 13 to 23 ppm is fine. You want to keep them as low as you can, but your levels are nothing high. I have seen some as low as approx 10 & as high as 44ppm. The oil glazed will be higher. Based on Toyota oil (mobil) the Mo (moly) is low and so is there Zn, P and Ca. The ZDDP levels are the usual for the oil and the Ca has depleted down about/around 600ppm. What I DISLIKE about Blackstone is that you have to pay like an extra $12 for the TBN. Also they do not test for Nox and OXD I believe. So a $20 tests comes into $32 Also they do not run both oxidation or nitration examinations as they indicate the cumulative degradation of the oil itself. Without knowing these 4-things (TBN, viscosity, Nox and OXD) you can not tell if you have a gelling/sludge issue or not. Sorry. Fuel % below 1.5 are fine with 1.5% being the warning mark. You again want to keep to as low as you can. Unless it is higher then 0.5% to .8%, I would not worry. At 1% I would start to see what is up. Blackstone does the viscosity at 210 (Saybolt) for some reason. Most labs use the Kinematic viscosities @ 100. But whatever, the 54 means you oil is into the 20-weight stage. So your oil was a 5w-30 when new and now down to a 5w-20. This could be from the fuel in the oil (doubt it) or maybe the oil thins with use. Some oils go down then go back up. They are made to do this to pass certain API spec’s. Since you only ran 5K miles I do not know if I would go do the full 7.5K miles since the degradation of oil in not linear. The numbers look okay for 5K miles but if I were you I would see if I can get a TBN NOX and OXD tested.

Well since there is some debate lately on synthetic oils and if they perform better or not then dino. I thought before this gets into a heated “non-going forward” debate why not do this. Use this thread for posting oil tests from your car; simple and easy and let all of the forum people view your results. Do NOT TAKE this thread to personally attack people. Post data on oil or keep moving. There can NOT be any saying I think, going by Toyota/Lexus, pictures of oil, cars etc. These are not providing oil evidence of it being better or not. Example: I can show you an old 286 pc that works online but will not do all the things I need. I can show you a pix on my wifes old Toyota with over 250K miles but you do not what the past was either. This is to let all the users see the tests and get an idea of how the oil performs. Again I am doing this since it seems that many people have opinions of why they think the oil is better. So instead of doing that, let the numbers talk for themselves, period. Here is my Amsoil (ASL) 5w-30 with 12,200 mile interval on my 98 ES300. Changed the filters twice and added about 8 to 10 oz of oil due to filter installation Fe- 11 Cr- 0 Ni- 10 Al- 3 Pb- 10 Cu- 11 Sn- 1 Ag- 0 Ti - 0 Si - 17 B - 27 Na- 12 Mo- 1 P- 1161 Zn- 1175 Ca- 2643 Barium- 0 Mg- 797 Visc @ 100: 13.56 cst OXD - 24 NIT – 21 TBN- 3.3 Vigin Amsoil ASL: VI, 174 Noack, 5.1% HT/HS, 3.5 Cp @ 150C CCS @ -30C, 4990 Cp PP, -60F Four Ball Wear Test: 0.40 mm Flash: 442 F TBN, 12.4 Zn approx: 1,300 ppm P approx:1,200 For testing info Click here!

I would change now for #1. No benefit to waiting. The rings will seat no matter what oil you use. So the duration and oil consumpotion is longer who cares. I even change oil in my diesel like this. If choosing from the two oils listed, and only listed I would go with Mobil 1. Mobil will have a better base oil and high adds. Using a good synthetic will not void a warrenty. And that is a fact. Do a search since this topic will become the same old debate with most times only what people reccomand and you know what that is worth. Again do a seach and look at what data you find. If it interesting to view opinions, again opinions, is the key word.

Monach- Too bad that is not oil testing. That is posting pictures and I can do the same thing. I can make a car engine last that long with Walfart oil. Does not mean anything. Just change oil every 3K miles. Oh you WILL have to change that soon since the oil add pkg will be almost zero and the OXD and NOX will be very high. I have better things to do with my time/family and using a synthetic and going longer will provide the same protection and in most times better AS I HAVE POSTED..aka oil test (*numbers*) Even Mobil and Mobil EP is better then dino, much better. Again as I stated to you (saber) show me the numbers on any, again ANY oil test from you. So far I have posted some oil tests and you have not posted one, that is zero since I have been out here on this forum and others. The point here again is mobil EP so stay on topic. Post some oil tests to backup what you state? So far me 1, you 0 in this one thread. I am not going to go into detail since again please post something RELATED to the topic at hand (mobil EP). So to close, show me a test, oil test of Toyota oil, I bet 100 to 1 the add pkg is poor and Mobil EP is WAY better. Compare Mobil EP vs Amsoil, Amosil add pkg is better for my application. The Mobil could not even hold its own. Ps. your numbers 1 through 7 are comical at best. The average Lexus owner can't or will not even change there oil...worry about internal ohms of the wires...you crack me up...Or worrying about the catalytic converter. Hell, they worry about their coffee or there suit not a catalytic converter.. LOL You can check 4 of those items in about 30 seconds. Those items are not even an issue. Worry about you tire pressure before the "bugs" and the tapping noise (if you have it).... Again you trust Toyota info way to much. As in my engineering classes we were always tought to never assume things. Ask why, how come, supported by. So far, I trust manfactures like saleman. They are doing something to save their behinds not yours.

If using dino oil (lexus/toyota) for the short drains you will be fine but I would kick it up a level and get better protection from a better oil.

I will say this to ANYONE on this forum. Post some oil tests since I see nothing, test wise, that supports dino; but going by virgin (un-used) oil analysis, 99.999% of the time synthetic will outperform dino. It comes down to you get what you pay for. So far by my last test, synthetic WILL, again WILL outperform dino and some other synthetic's ("group 3 and group 4's) out there. And to top it off the wear numbers, in my comparsion are almost the same and my oil still had a better ZDDP. Unless anyone here is testing their oil, they are only GUESSING here at best. I go by my testing data (raw numbers on my ES300) not going by what Toyota says for "face value" or something someone says. I did the same thing will Amsoil but their test on their oil supports what they say. "Liars can figure, but figures can lie." There add pkg is pretty good and even better on the diesel oils. There diesel oils have over 4,000 ppm of Ca! Based on group 3, 2 & 1 gas engine oil understanding, there ZDDP will be very low and the TBN will again be low; hence low price. Most are around 8 to 9 at that group level.

This morning at 5:30 am it was 13 degrees and it took 2.2 miles to shift into OD on my es.

11 to 12 months intervals. Shotting for 15K miles if I can make it in one year. All done with my degree so my miles per day dropped.

Been there done that with the filter issue. Is the filter the weak link, you but so far in doing extended drains the filters are just fine (as the wear test show). As noted on the other page, is Mobil good sure but if you want better protection (clear to see) I would not use Mobil. Unless you test the oil, you, the owner, will not see anything unless you are superman.

Based on tests I have seen, over the longer drains, the oil will perform better. but if the results are good now why change? If your TBN is lets say 5.0 at 15K what does it do if it is 6.0 at 15K miles with there Series 2000. You do not gain anything. If you wear numbers are really low, why change? Next, unless you have high NOX & OXD, which you can't if you have a high TBN, there is no reason to change, I feel. Extra $$$ not needed. Without see past reports, maybe your motor puts a lot of stress on oil, and maybe not. I know my "sludge engine" on my ES is fine with Amsoil.

The Series 2000 is a great oil. I thought about using there Series 3000 5w-30 HDD oil but then I said why to myself, tests are fine now with there ASL series..and cheaper. If you look at there website, both the Series 200 0w30 and there ASL 5w-30 are very close. The ASL has a lower Noack # and cheaper. Even the pour point is only 5 degrees delta. But that is not the true pumping temp for the oil. Just trying to help and I think you are going backwards. I even thought about using Redline since it is 100% Easter based; but, there do not like the longer drains as they state and there price is too high.

Here is your Mobil EP...Nothing really sticks out for about $25 to $28 for a 5 qt pack.

The numbers should be close. The delta is too huge. The point here is that the ZDDP in Mobil 1 is poor. Even the un-used (virgin) is not that high. It (un-used) is not even up to my used Amsoil! That is a fact! Again, Mobil's nunbers are not the high in the areas that matter. If you test oil and will know what areas to look for. Also that is weird you say that. I had a Powersroke diesel and compared the same oils in the different engines. Results where very close. Also did the same thing in my Kubota tractor. Again results very close with different engines. Next if the engines vary that much, SPC is not that good with Toyota then. Amsoil has a up to 25K and Mobil EP is up to 15K. Again the add pkg leaves more to be desired in my mind (see below for a virgin oil tests). See how low the ZDDP is??????Not good. hmm that is weird. I get Amsoil ASL (5-w30) for $19 per gallon. Mobil EP is more then that. If you test your oils, there is a diffference. Been testing my oils for about 10-years, Mobil is not back to where it was 20+ years ago! If you know Mobil, you know what I am talking about.

I trust Saber's "data" like a salesman Correct for a group3, NOT true for a group 4 or 5 I will say this, based on oil numbers, synthetic WILL protect better.

What Amsoil and what Mobil. For the most part Mobil is low in TBN and ZDDP. Mobil is not worth the $$$ in my eyes. My last oil TEST using Amsoil after 12K miles blew the doors of Mobil 1 with only 4K miles. This is NOT a knock on Mobil oils; but a guy went 4,000 miles on his ES and I want over 12,000 miles (3X longer then him) on my ES. We then compared results. First one is him (Mobil 1, 10w-30 with 4K miles), next is mine with Amsoil 5w-30 with 12,200 miles) Fe- 5, 11 Cr- 0, 0 Ni-0. 10 Al- 2 ,3 Pb- 6, 10 Cu- 2, 11 Sn- 1, 1 Ag- 0, 0 Ti -0, 0 Si -16, 17 B -125, 27 Na- 6,12 Mo- 44, 1 P- 668, 1161 Zn- 757, 1175 Ca- 2991, 2643 Barium- 0, 0 Mg- 13, 797 TBN- 4.5, 3.3 Our manuals state 7,500 for normal changes. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153763

I am not tranny guru, by what kind of ATF is in there? Or something is not letting fluid through. My 98 goes in auto about .75 to 1 mile from startup. It better, I get on a freeway.

Removed it and never replaced it.

Well I have Toyo Proxes on my es right now. Not saying they are bad, but I will NOT be buying them when I need another set. For me the road noise is slow to stop and the traction in snow is not what I had.