cduluk

Hi- Yes, I just came back to the forum. what's your question?

Hi all! For us original LOC members-- I'm Back!! I recently bought another RX300 (for nostalgia, of course). The same as I had 15yrs ago, this time a 2002 RX300 AWD in the same indigo ink pearl. It has 78k miles and purrs like a kitten. I have a question about achieving max acceleration in particular situations. Since owning the RX300 15yrs ago, I've grown used to the quick acceleration of the '08 RX400h, '11 GS450h, '12 Bentley Flying Spur, and am finding it annoying trying to merge into traffic with the RX300. If i wanted to get the best 0-60 time in the '02 RX300, should i switch O/D to OFF? Should i start in Drive or should i shift it to LOW? And I understand the 99-00 RX300 had a PWR switch near the shifter, but it was replaced with only a SNOW button for the 01-03 years. Tell me your thoughts! -cduluk

Hi all: I need everyone’s input before making a vehicle decision. I have a totaled SC430 sitting in my garage (details below) and want to buy a 4-door replacement as a daily driver. I’m thinking an older GS430 or LS430, but I need your help with some SC-GS-LS compatibility. Further down is some background info detailing why I’m in this mess. But here are my questions before you read: (1) How many parts on the ’06-’10 SC430 are “swappable” with those of my ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) I understand they did something with the transmission in 06—did they change the transmission completely? Or just re-program the ECU? (2) How many parts on the ’01-’05 GS430 are “swappable” with those of the ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) (3) How many parts on the ’06-‘07 GS430 are “swappable” with those of the ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) The ’06 GS got the new body style, but I’ve “heard” that the engine is the same. What else is? Transmission? (4a) Regarding the ’01-’06 LS430, did they change the transmission or any other major components at any point in this generation? I know they changed the front/rear end with new headlights/tail lights, bumper, etc. But I’m not sure about engine/tranny parts. So for the LS430… (4b) How many parts on the ’01-’06 LS430 are “swappable” with those of the ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) And is this the same for ’01-’03 and ’04-’06? Here’s some background info: In 2014, I bought a pre-owned 2003 Lexus SC430 for $11,000. It was PERFECT, never had an accident, had AMAZING service history, etc. I converted the front end to look like the 06-10 version (with new headlights, grilles, bumper, etc.) as well as the rear-end (replaced tail lights with 06-10 version). I also converted the gauge cluster to the ‘06-‘10 type, and dyed/cleared the interior wood to a darker maroon. Once I was done, and after spending thousands in upgrades, it looked and ran like a 2010! Here’s a pic of the interior once I finished converting it: In Jan 2016, my girlfriend was driving my SC430 as she followed me home (I was driving my other car). As we approached a light, she rear-ended me. Yup, I went from having two cars, down to 0 cars in one second. Here’s a pic of the aftermath: I brought both cars to my body shop and called my insurance. I used insurance to repair my main vehicle, however they were going to total the SC430 and only offered me $7,000 for it. I decided to drop the claim and keep the SC430 as it was, and had it towed in my garage where it’s been since that day. Here are some pictures of it: The engine WAS running after the accident, however my body shop removed the serpentine belt (no idea why) before I had it towed home. It has been sitting in my garage this way for 2 years. At the time, the body shop estimated that they could repair the front end for ~$6,000, but I never had it repaired. I didn’t take the insurance payout because I saw more than $7,000 and a possible use for its’ parts in the future. Here’s why: The engine, transmission, some suspension parts, lots of sensors, etc. as well as the tires and upgraded rims are in AMAZING condition. Even though the car has 180,000miles, it had been maintained at Lexus at every interval and then some. I downloaded the Lexus service history. See here for PDF: http://freepdfhosting.com/600ce0e8a9.pdf And here’s a screenshot of the CarFax header. The 2016 accident was never included: And I can’t see putting $6,000 into it for repair, since it’s only worth $7,000…. So here’s my BIG IDEA that I need your help with. My goal is to replace the SC430 with a used 4-door, and I’d like to keep this replacement vehicle for another 10 years or so, without spending too much on future repairs. So… What if I purchased one of the used 4-door Lexus’ I mentioned at the beginning of this thread to replace it—either the ’01-’05 GS430, ’06-’07 GS430, or ’01-’06 LS460? My thought is… since they share so many parts with my ’03 SC430, if anything decided to break (engine, transmission, sensors, etc.) I wouldn’t have to buy costly replacement parts—they’re right in my garage to be swapped! Do you think this would save me money 10yrs down the line? And which of the models/years vehicles shares the most parts with my SC430? Here are the questions I posted above listed again. (1) How many parts on the ’06-’10 SC430 are “swappable” with those of my ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) I understand they did something with the transmission in 06—did they change the transmission completely? Or just re-program the ECU? (2) How many parts on the ’01-’05 GS430 are “swappable” with those of the ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) (3) How many parts on the ’06-‘07 GS430 are “swappable” with those of the ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) The ’06 GS got the new body style, but I’ve “heard” that the engine is the same. What else is? Transmission? (4a) Regarding the ’01-’06 LS430, did they change the transmission or any other major components at any point in this generation? I know they changed the front/rear end with new headlights/tail lights, bumper, etc. But I’m not sure about engine/tranny parts. So for the LS430… (4b) How many parts on the ’01-’06 LS430 are “swappable” with those of the ’03 SC430? (ie: engine, transmission, sensors, ECUs, suspension, brakes/pads, etc.) And is this the same for ’01-’03 and ’04-’06? Thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas!

I just went through this with my '03. Some of the integers didn't illuminate so i bought a used one. The part numbers are different, but the units are the same.

Did you get it fixed/replaced? If not, you can send it to me and i will fix it for you (free of charge, of course). I have spare parts from past experiments and know exactly what's wrong in your case... I've had that climate control unit from the '04-'09 RX330/350/400h apart a million times and know it like the back of my hand. You can PM me or email me for a quick response! :) cduluk@cox.net

If you know the fuse is already blown, just check all of them (under the drivers dash i believe). If it's not currently blown, but you simply want to know which fuse it is, then intentionally blow the fuse and have someone watch for which fuse it is.

I've seen the aftermarket kits for the leather. They're awful. They use this rubbery "pleather". I would personally look for a used OEM original seat on eBay.

Got it! OK, so that's indeed on the part of the door that's just plastic (vs vinyl). I would suggest rubbing the scratched area with steel wool; You can go to home depot and get some steel wool, they usually come in clear bags with different "fine/coarse ratings" ranging from 0, to 00 to 000 or something like that. Get some that's really fine, and another that's a grade less than that. Experiment with each on the scratch and see what works best. End with the finer grit. Break off a piece of wool about the size of a quarter, rub it into a ball, and rub in circles over the scratch, while applying significant pressure. You'll see it smooth the surface out. Keep going until you are happy with the remaining size of the scratch, but not too much so it removes the "leather" pattern of the plastic. When you think the wool has done as much as it can, the surface will still appear "lighter" than the rest of the surrounding plastic. To get the surface to match, you can rub the affected area with a cotton T-shirt (wrapped around your finger) aggressively. The abrasion will make the surface match the surrounding area. And if you're as picky as i am, i would get a small "etcher" (they make ones using a can with pressurized air, attached to a cup of ground up walnut shells) and blast the affected area, along with a feathering of the adjacent plastic, to make it all match. Just make sure to mask-off the rest of the door (such as the wood, etc.) as the etcher will etch (dull) anything.

No no nooooooo, for your purpose, you should NEVER use a rubbing compound or polish like Scratch-X, etc. Assuming you're truly referring to the textured hard plastic trim (vs vinyl or painted surface), use of a rubbing compound or polish will NOT remove even the smallest scratches. More importantly, it will only make the plastic SHINY as heck! This shine will be nearly impossible to remove, unless you use a pressurized air etcher (walnut shell) to dull the plastic. I've dealt with this stuff a lot... I can give you the best info, but first i'll need you to post pictures of the damaged area. If you can't figure out how to upload on here, you can go to tiny-pic.com, upload the image, and copy/paste the link into the text body here. I'll do my best to help! :)

You can check on ebay for a used set, or get them brand new from parts.com (they only sell new, OEM lexus parts, and their prices are 99.9% of the time the cheapest anywhere). Used on ebay, they can fetch about $100 each. But make sure they're not damaged/bent!!

OEM. try parts.com for the best price for OEM lexus parts. I've done a lot of business with them.

You'll have to remove (pull away) the wheel well liner, then reach up to gain access to the rear of the bulb.

parts.com They're all OEM Lexus parts, rest assured. I've done a lot of business with them. Best prices hands down.

You need to remove the headlight from the car via the bumper. Then unscrew the ballast cover on the bottom and replace the ballast. Here is a picture to show where the ballast is. It's the big silver rectangular prism.

Welcome guys!! :)