chocker

Hi, sorry I haven't responded for a while but I've been so busy. I went to a mechanic who said to change the wheels. I was able to put the summer wheels on which had no problem with vibration when I took them off last fall. The vibration persisted. The mechanic then took another look and said that the wheels needed balancing and the suspension link bushings were finished so he replaced them as well. I looked at the links and agreed with the mechanic. Once that was done, he said that the driveshaft needed balancing. I consider myself a good DIYer but I don't have much experience with the driveshaft. I know how to replace one but I see in the RX300 diagram that it is a more complex setup than I am used to. It seems that it comes in three distinct parts in terms of actual shafts. Would anyone be able to shed some light on this for me. It's an AWD model. Thanks, Mark

Hi, I have an 03 RX300 and I noticed lately that when I hit just below 40mph the front end starts having pretty heavy vibrations, almost like a shaking. I can feel it through the steering wheel and the pedal. The worst is between 40mph to 45 mph. It tapers off at around 50mph. It's still there but lighter at higher speeds. It only seems to be present on acceleration. For some reason, and maybe it's me but it seems to be coming from the front passenger side. If I let go of the accelerator and stay at that speed or I am going down a hill at that speed, no vibration. The rotors and pads are only a few months old and they are OEM. The tires have a lot of tread left and are in good condition. Just before winter I had the tires installed and balanced and they were fine before this. I had it in a snow bank and there was ice stuck to the wheels. I thought it was that so I used a blow dryer to melt it off. It still had the same issue afterwards. If anyone has any ideas that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mark

I took a look and saw that it's the metal transmission coolant line that hangs just below the radiator. It's very rusted and leaking. I will get a replacement, drain the ATF, install the new line then refill the ATF. Mark

I am going to check the transmission oil cooler lines because it seems to be doing from that area.

We'll it's either transmission fluid or power steering fluid because my coolant is pink.

I checked the dipstick just to the right of engine which I assume is the transmission fluid. It had a reddish color and was full. I then checked the dripping on the ground and it seemed to match in color. The three lines that were near the cross member were wet but I thought it was because they were very close to the plastic cover that accumulated the drippings. Mark

The leak is not coming anywhere near that area first of all. When I removed the plug, I removed the old washer and replaced it with a new one. Either way that area is completely dry but thanks for the suggestion.

Hi, I did the oil change which I have done a few times before. After I replaced the cover under the radiator. A little later I noticed some dripping around the cover. There seemed to be a lot of dripping. I opened the cover and there were little pools of kind of diluted oil on the cover. I checked the oil filter and it seemed to be on tight and there were no signs of it leaking. I rechecked the oil pan plug and it was dry. The oil level was still normal. I cleaned the cover and replaced it thinking that it must have been from the oil filter still dripping. I saw later on that it starting dripping again. It doesn't seem like thick oil but it is definately not coolant. Anybody have any ideas. Also can anyone tell me what the three lines that are connected to the cross member behind the cover below the radiator are? Thanks, Mark

What bushings specifically would cause this? I will be jacking it up and check for wheel play. What do bearings and bushing kits run approximately. I am a DIYer so I can install them and save some money on labor. I assume I would need a realignment after as well. Mark

I'm not near the vehicle right now but wouldn't it do the same thing with the summer wheels and tires as well? There seems to be no noise what so ever. As I said before, the winter tire/wheels are the same size as the summers. Maybe since they are heavier, they may move around a little more if there was a bearing issue. Mark

Hi, I had my rear shocks replaced last year (Both sides) by a lexus dealership so oem parts. I had my summer wheels on and there were no problems. I put on my winter rims and tires which were stock size (225-70-16) and I heard rubbing sounds. I chalked that up to winter tires being a bit noisey. Then when I changed the wheels for the summers recently, I noticed that the right rear tire was grinding on the shock and went through the paint of the shock and grinded off the lettering of the tire. The left side there was only slight rubbing. I had changed the rear rotors and pads but used only OEM parts from Lexus ( a little anal about that). Would anyone have any reason for this to happen. Would spacers work just on the rear and if so what size of spacer would be acceptable. Would this create a problem with the offset of the front vs. the rear wheels? Thanks, Mark

I had that light come on and I found that there is a hose just behind the battery that was disconnected. I reconnected it and reset the light by disconnecting the battery and it never came on again.