Domenico Nelli

Totally unrelated car....but i just helped my buddy put in some motor mount and torque strut in his kids 98 Cavalier....he had a hard time sourcing the parts locally and finally found them at a NAPA. so he brought them... I couldn't believe how cheesey they were compare to the original stamped steel motor mount brackets. In stead of being stamped, these "new" aftermarket mounts had the steel sheet metal folded and tack welded. In fact, it almost looked like I could pop the welds if i were to jam a screwdriver in it and pry a lil. needless to say, he opted to leave the original one in place as the rubber wasn't cracked or anything anyway. The torque strut seemed of cheaper quality too....I too had an experience with replacing my C1500 motor mounts where four months after replacement, one failed... these were from PepBoys. I got newer beefier ones and had to re do the job. I guess the moral of the story for me here is that I haven't had real good luck with aftermarket motor mounts which is why i posed the question. How did the rock auto torque strut compare to the Toyota/Lexus part u took out? did it seem, more cheaply made? the lexus strut is about twice as much as the aftermarket ones I saw online....so I was wondering..... thx, Domenico

Totally unrelated car....but i just helped my buddy put in some motor mount and torque strut in his kids 98 Cavalier....he had a hard time sourcing the parts locally and finally found them at a NAPA. so he brought them... I couldn't believe how cheesey they were compare to the original stamped steel motor mount brackets. In stead of being stamped, these "new" aftermarket mounts had the steel sheet metal folded and tack welded. In fact, it almost looked like I could pop the welds if i were to jam a screwdriver in it and pry a lil. needless to say, he opted to leave the original one in place as the rubber wasn't cracked or anything anyway. The torque strut seemed of cheaper quality too....I too had an experience with replacing my C1500 motor mounts where four months after replacement, one failed... these were from PepBoys. I got newer beefier ones and had to re do the job. I guess the moral of the story for me here is that I haven't had real good luck with aftermarket motor mounts which is why i posed the question. How did the rock auto torque strut compare to the Toyota/Lexus part u took out? did it seem, more cheaply made? the lexus strut is about twice as much as the aftermarket ones I saw online....so I was wondering..... thx, Domenico

I was wondering how many people actually have replaced this torque strut rod? The rubber on mine is starting to degrad showing signs of dry rotting. If you have replaced this item, did you get a Lexus part or aftermarket...I am wondering which is better. My car has about 120,000 miles. Thanks

How do I determine whether or not mine is limited slip? I purchased Valvoline 75W/90 for limited slip for both the transfer case and rear diff. Also, I noticed that my driver's side rear axle shaft seal at the diff seems to be leaking. Have you ever done one of those? Thx again

Kewl thanks! I did another google search and found some pictures of it. passenger side of the pumpkin, i believe that maybe the axle was impeding me from seeing it last night.

Hey Lenore...one more question please. I was able to change the front transfer case gear oil though, since I had the RX's front tires on ramps, I could only get so much gear oil in before it started running back out the fill hole. So I capped the fill, back it off of the ramps and then backed the RX's rear tires up onto the ramps to finish added that last bit of the quart. My question is, where the heck is the fill for the rear pumpkin? I found the drain of course, and saw three hex headed bolts aft of the pumpkin that are accessed through the frame. I presume that one or all of those three are the fill? Any more help you could lend would be tremendously appreciated. Thank you, Domenico

Cool, thanks for the heads up on the pump, I don't have one. I did read to first loosen the fill plug prior to dumping the gear oil. :)

Thx Lenore....so riddle me this....the front diff is part of the tranny circuit and uses Type 4 fluid? The transfer case uses gear oil as does the rear diff...correct? thx again.

I just preformed a flush of my tranny fluid. I used 8.5 quarts. I measured every bit that came out and added the same amount back in. I now would like to change the transfer case fluid/oil which i suppose it the front differential? I believe that it isn't part of the tranny fluid circuit as the book mentions gear lube for there and the rear differential. Is this true? Can I get a picture of where the fill for the transfer case is on my AWD vehicle? I know to open it before I drain it in the event that I can't get it opened. Also, any procedural steps for tis service would be greatly appreciated....and if you could include pictures that would be great too! Thanks for your help. Dom

Hi all, The lights to my 2000 RX300 don't flash when I unlock my doors via the key FOB. The drivers side door actuator seems sluggish with all the heat lately and I realize that I probably need a new actuator. Anyone know why the headlights/tail lights aren't flashing? Thanks, Dom

Dude, I did my own plugs at 120,000 miles and I am not a mechanic. I am a little mechanically inclined so I attempted it myself. The front three plugs were as easy as 1-2-3, the rear three were a bit more of a pain in the !Removed!. You need two 2" long socket 3/8" extensions and a spark plug socket that will hold the plug as you lower it. I also used a stubby 3/8" flex ratchet. The job took me 3 hours w/o removing the plenum and I am not a mechanic. The plugs cost me $49.00 shipped to my door. $2 grand kind of seems steep to me too.

I purchased a 2000 RX300 w/ 29,000 miles. My buddy did the inspection for me as he is a Lexus Tech. These vehicles have an oil sludge problem if not changed every 5K miles. So he pulled off the valve cover to inspect and look for sludge. He also told me, when I was in the market, not to even think about getting an RX300 with a towing package as the earlier model 1999 had tranny problems. I have not had a problem with my transmission, but did develop a main oil seal leak at about 60K, which he fixed as a good will warranty. Now at 120K I think the leak has redeveloped. It has been a good car for us however. I have had to replace both pre-cat A/F sensors and for the first time, replaced the iridium plugs three weeks ago. $5700 sounds like a pretty good deal to me, I'd go for it.

Lenore, Thanks a million for the hyperlink. I printed it out, and started early on Friday morning. I was able to do the front three real quickly. The rear three took more time, obviously. It took me about three hours in total, including some water breaks every time I wanted to "snap"...lol The plugs that came out (120K miles) looked fine. They were all burnt in the same way, no oily residue on any of them. :) One thing the hyperlink instructions doesn't mention is that in order to do the rear three plugs, you need the plug socket, and two, 2" extensions. You need to start lowering that in the plug well, and attach a second 2" extension as you lower it into the plug well. Also, I used a piece of foam 2" thick X 12" wide X 48" long. I place that on top of the motor and hood catch and laid on it. I could see how laying on that hood catch would tear open your belly. Anyway, I wanted to chirp in and give you a huge THANK YOU! Dom

Is it because the auto off headlight switch is part of the logic in turning the lights to off?

i called Lexus and they told me that I could buy the seat pan cover for only one thousand dollars. i thought that was ridiculous so i went to a local shop upholstery shop and they did it for $235.

Dude honestly, if you even need to ask, you shouldn't buy them parts. CODE58 has it right on the money about the quality of the parts. I did mine at 96K and found them to look virtually brand new. in fact, I had a smidgen of buyers remorse then read some guys are getting almost 200K w/o changing that...anyway, better to play it safe.

I agree that they should be held liable. I started my 2000 RX300 on one 12 degree morning w/o warming it up. I approached the stop sign at the end of my street. A town cop passed and I turned on road behind him. I crested the hill in the road and let my foot off the pedal as I was approaching a curve then red light where cop was waiting for green light. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP AND I WAS GOING TO HIT THE COP WAITING AT THE LIGHT!!!!! THE VEHICLE ENGINE WANTED TO OVERCOME THE BRAKES! I THREW IT IN NEUTRAL AND IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BLOW UP! I PULLED OVER WHILE IN NEUTRAL AND SHUT IT DOWN. I GASPED FOR AIR, AND FIGURED WITH IT IN PARK I'D START IT BACK UP. UPON STARTING IT BACK UP, IT WAS REVVING ITS BALLS OFF AGAIN! I DEPRESSED THE PEDAL AND IT WASN'T STUCK. SHUT IT DOWN AGAIN. PUT THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AGAIN AND PUSHED IT (BY MYSELF) INTO A PARKING LOT TO GET IT OFF THE ROAD. BOY THAT IS EMBARRASSING, PUSHING A LUXURY CAR! ANYWAY, AFTER RESTARTING THE FOURTH TIME IT IDLED NORMALLY. I WAS NERVOUS DRIVING THE CAR FOR A WHILE. I REPORTED IT TO LEXUS BUT NOTHING CAME OF IT. I REALLY WANTED TO GIVE THEM A HEAD UP. I THINK THAT IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM TO BE HONEST. IT DIDN'T SEEM MECHANICAL IN NATURE AT ALL. THAT WAS ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO AND IT HASN'T HAPPENED SINCE. I told my wife to let the thing warm up especially on cold mornings and to be cognizant of the potential WFO throttle condition.

You can't clean the MAF using 99% Alcohol like the link suggests - it doesn't work. Use CRC throttle body cleaner in a spray can. Two or three blasts inside will clean the MAF. Actually, you WOULDN'T use throttle body spray, but a product more specific, made by CRC called MAF Cleaner. Here is the link: http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=crc+mass+air+flow+cleaner&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=16599276143063779391&sa=X&ei=gKe6Tb6sGM65tgf39vzMBQ&ved=0CBYQ8wIwAA#

Also, on RockAuto's web site they offer two type of iridium NGK plugs: NGK P/N 3764 which are iridium IX or NGK P/N 4589 which is Premium Iridium. Do you recommend one over the other? I wonder what the difference is and if it is beneficial to spend a little more for the premium ones??? The NGK are good, dont know the difference but there is also Denso iridium plugs as well. Thanks again. I ordered the Denso plugs from Rock Auto for $49 shipped. I purchased the iridium long life(SK20R11) plugs cause that is the P/N on the part detail on the Lexus Parts Now website. Dom

Also, on RockAuto's web site they offer two type of iridium NGK plugs: NGK P/N 3764 which are iridium IX or NGK P/N 4589 which is Premium Iridium. Do you recommend one over the other? I wonder what the difference is and if it is beneficial to spend a little more for the premium ones???

Cool, thanks man!

"Personally, I've always filled a large zip lock back with pure alcohol and submerged the elements. I don't like touching them with anything." I don't know if you knew or not, but they sell MAF sensor cleaner. It is a spray bottle that cost about $8.

"If I had not already bought the plugs (for about $8. ea., they list for about $20.), I would not have replaced them even then. They looked like they had 15-20k mi on them." So where does one get these $8 iridium NGK plugs? Can you please provide a hyperlink? Thanks.

my rear seal went on my RX at like 66K. They did the work as a good will warranty for me and so I had to pay for the part $20. Now at 120K it seems to be leaking again. A luxury car with main seal leaks.....wth?!? I'd like to know if the seal they installed was a new design or an old design, sealing on a different place.

Original Equipment Manufacturer is what OEM stands for. In other words, but Lexus parts especially for the important stuff. The interval was 90K for that service. I had a Lex Tech do it for me on the side for $505, including parts. The old parts looked incredible new. In fact, after seeing the old parts I was bummed that I did the job so soon. Oh well.