WindyCityGS300

That appears to be the How to Guides section that was offline for several days. It does not have all of the GX470 DYI tips that used to be at the beginning of the GX470 forum.

I have not been on the site for quite a while. There used to be "Sticky How To's" at the beginning of the GX470 Forum. Have they been removed? Or moved someplace else? I just noticed there is a tab that is labeled " How To Guides", however, it always says it is offline.

I found a turn signal light assembly replacement page just yesterday. It's one of the detailed DIYs that I found upon googling for 2 days. I just changed the bulb on the left side. For those that haven't done it yet, it was definitely easier from underneath. By the way the bulb # is 1156NA, it cost me $3.29 at the parts store for 2 of them.

Thank you for explaining G-Man! Now that I understand what might be the clunk problem is, now every thing is clear why whenever I come to a full stop (not too slow and not sudden or abrupt). I feel some weird movement coming from the lower back to the lower mid-section of the truck. I thought some thing is wrong with the transmission not down shifting smoothly.....somewhat like a vibration in the lower back. It's annoying and feels like a big defect by the car manufacturer. So, I'm going to my local dealer for them to replace driveshaft and control arm (if needed). I will post it here when the dealer has fix this issue. Any way, mine is a 2007 GX 470. I bought it two weeks ago as CPO with only 2,500 miles on it. Thanks for all your help and contribution to this wonderful and helpful forum. I bought an '05 in January and started having the symptoms you describe for the past couple of weeks. I too thought the transmission was not down shifting. Mine feels like a pulsing from behind. It does this up to 4 times and you can feel the rear of the truck lowering at each pulse. They have not diagnosed the problem yet. It is in Lexus right now being looked at. I called the dealer, Arlington Lexus, and told them that I thought the issue I was having was the infamous clunk. They agreed to implement the FSB. They even had the parts in stock. It was fixed the same day. I guess they don't have a back-log on parts any longer.

Thank you for explaining G-Man! Now that I understand what might be the clunk problem is, now every thing is clear why whenever I come to a full stop (not too slow and not sudden or abrupt). I feel some weird movement coming from the lower back to the lower mid-section of the truck. I thought some thing is wrong with the transmission not down shifting smoothly.....somewhat like a vibration in the lower back. It's annoying and feels like a big defect by the car manufacturer. So, I'm going to my local dealer for them to replace driveshaft and control arm (if needed). I will post it here when the dealer has fix this issue. Any way, mine is a 2007 GX 470. I bought it two weeks ago as CPO with only 2,500 miles on it. Thanks for all your help and contribution to this wonderful and helpful forum. I bought an '05 in January and started having the symptoms you describe for the past couple of weeks. I too thought the transmission was not down shifting. Mine feels like a pulsing from behind. It does this up to 4 times and you can feel the rear of the truck lowering at each pulse. They have not diagnosed the problem yet. It is in Lexus right now being looked at.

I just installed a Tekonsha in my '05 GX this weekend. You will need to take the panel off that covers the bottom of the dash. There is 1 screw at the from and a couple of pressed fit clips along the front edge. Just gently pry the panel down with a screw driver. The plug you are looking for is right behind the end of the black air vent. It is taped in the wiring loom. Cut the tape and you can plug in the harness easily. Finding the plug was the hardest part! I used velcro to attach it to the dash above the accelerator. Good luck!

One of the foglight bulbs on my '96 GS has burned out. The lights are really buried down in the corner of the bumper and it is not real obvious how to get to the bulb to change it. Can someone give me directions on how to change it? The Owners Manual is no help at all. Thanks.

i suggest you check all the bushings. especially the sway bar bushings. also you should check your alignment to make sure nothing is off. Thanks for the suggestions. I had the dealer check the sway bar bushings last week. the car has been aligned and still has the problem. I think I will take it back in for alignment again this Friday, since I have a lifetime alignment contract on it. Any other ideas??? I finally got a solution to this problem. so if anyone else has it, this is what I found: I took it to Lexus. They had no less than 5 technicians, including their chief diagnostic guy pour over it for about a week. What they finally came up with was this: 1) Bad wheels bearings on the passenger side, rear. 2) Bad bushings on the driver's side #1 control arm (vertical one) 3) Bushing on the rear cradle that isolates the cradle from the body were deteriorating. It took them another week to get the parts, then they had to remove practically the entire rear suspension to replace the bushings. The total for parts and labor was over $2K. They knocked 10% off the bill for me since it took them so long to figure it out. I just got the car back at the end of last week. The problem was fixed. My car is in great shape other than this issue, so it was worth it to fix it. I plan to keep the car for a couple more years. If the rest of your car is not so great, then you have a judgement call to make. I hope this helps someone. Maybe this can also serve as a reminder that when you find a solution to a problem, that you should post your results back here so that the next guy can use it too.

Well, I have good news and bad news for you. You were probably reading about my car. I was just logging on to write an update on this problem. And yes, this can be a really spooky condition. I had this same thing happen to my '96 GS with 85K on it. The Toyota dealer was stumped. I took it to Lexus. They had no less than 5 technicians, including their chief diagnostic guy pour over it for about a week. What they finally came up with was this: 1) Bad wheels bearings on the passenger side, rear. 2) Bad bushings on the driver's side #1 control arm (vertical one) 3) Bushing on the rear cradle that isolate the the cradle from the body were deteriorating. It took them another week to get the parts, then they had to remove practically the entire rear suspension to replace the bushings. The total for parts and labor was over $2K. They knocked 10% off the bill for me since it took them so long to figure it out. I just got the car back at the end of last week. The problem was fixed. My car is in great shape other than this issue, so it was worth it to fix it. I plan to keep the car for a couple more years. If the rest of your car is not so great, then you have a judgement call to make. I would recommend that you do fix it right away, as this tends to get worse and can ruin other parts. I would probably have them check the #1 control arm first to see if that corrects the poblem and then go from there. Maybe you'll get lucky and not have to replace as much as I did. Good luck!

i suggest you check all the bushings. especially the sway bar bushings. also you should check your alignment to make sure nothing is off. Thanks for the suggestions. I had the dealer check the sway bar bushings last week. the car has been aligned and still has the problem. I think I will take it back in for alignment again this Friday, since I have a lifetime alignment contract on it. Any other ideas???

I have a '96 GS 300 with 85K on it. This issue is mostly noticeable on the highway. When you hit a bump, the rear end will sway side to side. Also when you accelerate when driving over 50 MPH the rear end will start swaying from side to side. If you let off the gas, it immediately stops the swaying motion. I can find no signs of anything wrong with the rear suspension. I recently had it in for service at a Toyota dealer and they were completely stumped too. Has anyone out there had this problem? Anyone have ideas of what is causing it and how to fix it? I have been living with it for a while now, but my sons are just starting to drive and I feel this could be a dangerous condition in the hands of an inexperienced driver. Thanks, WCGS

Did you ever resolve this problem? I have the same issue with my '96 GS300 with 85K miles. Under heavy exceleration, the rear end wags back and forth. If you lift off the gas, it stops. It has been getting worse lately. Thanks! Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any other suggestions on what to look for? I was wondering if worn shocks would cause this. I don't see any leakage from the shocks though. Thanks.

Did you ever resolve this problem? I have the same issue with my '96 GS300 with 85K miles. Under heavy exceleration, the rear end wags back and forth. If you lift off the gas, it stops. It has been getting worse lately. Thanks!

Thanks Tbone! Sounds like that would do it. Did you also use the C clamp to push out the side that holds the outer pad? Marty

I am putting new pads and rotors on the front and back. I am not getting enough travel of the piston for the new rotors to fit between the pads. Anyone got some tips/tricks they could share?? There are 2 large bolts that appear to be some sort of slider. Dou you need to loosen those up to get the extra travel? Thanks, Marty

I need to replace the serpentine belt. The dealer quoted me $150, Yea, right! I bought the part for $20. I have done alot of mine own work, but mostly on classic cars. The 96 GS does not seem to have adjustments for the belts, as is typical with older cars (moving alternator or a/c unit, etc.). There is the large idler pulley in the middle that seems to provide the tension. Can someone tell me exactly how to release the tension on the idler? How would you put tension back on it after installing the new belt? Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated. Thanks!