ricco750

You will have members screaming at you to NOT have the tranny "flushed", as it is believed that is harmful to the tranny. A simple drain and refill is recommended, and it is probably a good idea to change the filter as well if you can get the pan off. As far as fluid, Toyota T-IV is the favorite and recommended by most folks on the forum. As you can see I have a "99RX...I too am the third owner. It has 133,000 miles, I got it at 106,000. I have as yet had no problems with the tranny. It's a great vehicle. Enjoy!

Clock spring? Is that right next to the muffler bearing?

This is for my '99RX with AWD. Rear bumper height is 26 and 5/8ths inches at top of bumper, center.

Silicone spray was the first lube medium I tried. It worked for about a month or so, then the squeak returned. The white lithium grease in Liquid Wrench is a much longer-lasting lube...it lasts for the better part of a year, then I just repeat the process whenever necessary.

Does anyone have any recommendations/experience with aftermarket vent shades? I have a '99 RX.

I agree, do not add slick 50, and put in a new PCV valve. That being said, if the car continues to use oil, I can tell you how I stopped the oil consumption on my wife's '02 Highlander, which has the same engine. The HL has over 125,000 miles, and using Mobil 1 5-30 syn was using about an eigth of and inch (on the dipstick) every 1,000 miles. At the last oil change 3,000 miles ago, I switched to Mobil 1 10-30 High Mileage Syn. The oil level has not budged from the full mark.

At what point are you "stuck". There are generally two "sticking places"...the first being the bolts between the firewall and manifold that screw into the manifold. It's a very tight place to get your hand into, and as I remember on mine, there were four bolts which ranged in size from 14mm to 12mm to 10mm. They were simply a PITA, and took me well over an hour just to remove. Maybe I could do it faster the second time. The next "sticking place" is lifting the manifold over the manifold studs. It is MUCH easier to get yourself a female torx socket and remove the studs, then the manifold comes out easily. Hope this helps.

I have a '99 RX and a '02 Highlander. Both had this problem. I got this solution from the Highlander forum. You don't have to cut, or squeeze your pivot arm, or mount a velcro attack to solve this problem. Here's the fix. You do have to remove the visor from the vehicle...easy to do...just pop off the plastic cover where the pivot arm goes into the headliner, and you will see two philips head screws. Unscrew, and then gently pull the arm out, and disconnect the electrical connector. Making sure the visor clamp is in the "closed" position, mount the visor gently, but firmly in a padded vise. Then, using a one and half, to one and three quarters inch case nail (I used a grinder to make the point like a chisel), and holding the nail parallel but at a 10 to 15 degree angle to the pivot arm, drive the nail under the end of the pivot arn until you feel it bump against the clamping barrel. Then continue to drive the nail when you are certain it has gone between the arm and clamping barrel. Drive the nail until it is flush with the edge of the fabric. This will provide the necessary friction to hold the visor up when you reinstall the visor. If your clamping barrel is very loose, you may have to use two nails, as I did on my Highlander. The RX was fixed with one nail. It works like new now.

I don't think the "creaking" is coming from your tire, because there is nothing in a tire that should make a sound like an "old mattress". That being said, there are a number of things very close to the tire that could "creak", such as springs, struts, and stabilizer bushings, to mention a few. It certainly would not hurt to have it checked out...but as long as your lug nuts were torqued correctly, the creaking was not coming from the tire...IMHO.

to be honest, i dont like the carpet dashcover. it looks cheap or like hiding something underneath the dash. I will try the carbon fiber which will give glamour to your dash It definitely does not look cheap...I would not put one on my vehicle if it did...this is not a product that you pull off the shelf at a parts store.

I highly recommended taking a look at this product...a dash cover. I got a black one to put over the tan dash on my '99 RX to get rid of the glare the sunlight would make in my windshield. It totally fixed that problem, and it is an attractive addition to the interior of the car. I did not have any cracks, but if I did it would have solved this problem as well. I got the "Sedona Suede" fabric. Check it out at: http://www.dashdesigns.com/dash-covers

Both my '99 RX and my wife's '02 Highlander had this same issue. I fixed it by spraying Liquid Wrench inside the rubber "boot" while my wife turned the wheel back and forth about 5-10 degrees in each direction. Easy fix with a helper.

Hi, Carguy...please notice I did not recommend that this person should take their car to the nearest "Jiffy Lube" type place and have it hooked up to one of those aftermarket flushing machines. I would assume any viable Toyota or Lexus place to use the proper procedure for ATF flushing. Also please notice in your Honda bulletin that the new procedure is still called "flushing", and involves putting the vehicle on a lift...a resource that I assumed the original poster does not have in his garage. :D What I am saying is that Toyota & Lexus dealers are using machines that Toyota & Lexus do not approve or recommend. Many of them are the same machines that you would find in a Jiffy Lube. This is one case where the dealer likely does not know best. If they do it's hit or miss since they are not consistent with regards to the manufacturer, usage of the machine or chemicals that they are adding. Honda says no machines at all, a "flush" is a drain and fill. They are recommending that the dealers run the cars on the rack to circulate the fluid rather than drive them around. What I am saying is that Toyota & Lexus dealers are using machines that Toyota & Lexus do not approve or recommend. Many of them are the same machines that you would find in a Jiffy Lube. This is one case where the dealer likely does not know best. If they do it's hit or miss since they are not consistent with regards to the manufacturer, usage of the machine or chemicals that they are adding. That's simply not believable. I will check with my Lex dealer tomorrow to see how they flush transmissions.

Hi, Carguy...please notice I did not recommend that this person should take their car to the nearest "Jiffy Lube" type place and have it hooked up to one of those aftermarket flushing machines. I would assume any viable Toyota or Lexus place to use the proper procedure for ATF flushing. Also please notice in your Honda bulletin that the new procedure is still called "flushing", and involves putting the vehicle on a lift...a resource that I assumed the original poster does not have in his garage. :D

Are you the original owner, i.e. do you know the maintenance trail the vehicle has had ? If so, and the fluid has never been changed, I would start with a full system flush from a dealer...then start doing 4 quart drains yourself at regular intervals, very meticulous would be every 15K miles, up to 30K would probably be OK. It just depends on your driving habits and heat. After the full flush, you can then drop the pan later on to do a 4qt drain, and you will be able to inspect the screen/filter...unless you instruct the people who do the flush to drop the pan as well, but it would add to the cost. I just did a 4qt drain on my "99 RX300 (I'm not the original owner, but know the maintenance trail because it used to belong to my mother-in-law, well-maintained with T-IV fluid) and dropped the pan and changed the filter. I added 4qts of Mobil 1 Synthetic. I believe I have noticed slightly smoother shifting, and less tendency for the tranny to hesitate between the 1-2 shift point under very light acceleration, like slowly driving in a neiborhood looking at houses. I have no empirical proof of this, strictly "seat of the pants" feel. I also admit to being biased toward synthetics, and have been using them in all my vehicles since 1995. BTW, the tranny filter was not easy to find. There are two types made for these trannys, fillters with a round pickup tube, and those that are square. Mine was the round one, and I finally found a Purolator one at Pep Boys. Hope this helps.

I don't know about you, Steve, but that previous post would have ticked me off. Anyway, I will quote you directly from my Haynes manual for the 1999 through 2003 V6 models: "NOTE: On 1999 through 2003 V6 engines, the Warm-Up Three-Way (WU-TWC) catalytic converters are located below the exhaust manifolds, to which they are bolted. 1) Raise the front of the vehicle and place it on jackstands. 2) To remove the front WU-TWC, remove the two nuts that secure the upper end of the WU-TWC to the exhaust manifold and the two nuts that secure the lower end of the WU-TWC to the connecting pipe. 3) Installation is the reverse of the removal." That's all it says...there's no mention of removing the exhaust manifold, engine shock mount, or anything else. I have not done this repair myself, and I know that occasionally the manuals leave out steps that have to be taken to facilitate the repair. Good luck.

I don't know about getting it in Canada, but you can get it from MyLexParts for $153 US. Here's the link. http://www.mylexparts.com/partlocator/inde...playCatalogid=0

Does anybody know how to spell passive-aggressive?

I had a similar problem when I got my '99 several months ago. If your key is like mine, it's easy to take apart...one tiny screw...and you'll probably see some debris inside, as I did. Clean out the gunk, and while you're at it, pop a new battery in, and it should be good as new. :)

You pony up about $7 grand for a new short block and rebuild, which is what I did three months ago when my mother-in-law gifted her 99 RX300 to me after the engine siezed up and threw a rod while at highway speed. Yes, I had it investigated for the "gel" problem, but they found none...supposedly. Anyway, Lexus cut 25% off the price of the parts, as a "nice" gesture. You would'nt think a luxury car would have engines that would fail like this, would you? And BTW, she was meticulous at having the car serviced, even though she used dino oil. So far, the new mill runs great, and at 500 miles I changed the oil and filter to Mobil 1 synthetic. I got a year warranty on the rebuild, and I'm watching it closely. Good luck! :)

Thanks, I was going nuts trying to figure it out. Me too ! :D

Yes, I checked the oil level and the oil is very clean. I'm going to run it, with a wait and see. Can any one suggest a good lifter additive? Thanks I can tell you I got very good results, as far as eliminating lifter noise, from a product called Engine Restore. That being said, I did not use the product on my Lexus, but on my former vehicle, a '93 Ford Explorer with the 4.0 OHV. Our Lexus engines are Overhead Cams, so lifter noise should not be as much of an issue, IMO. I would also tell you that I am a firm believer in synthetic oil. I'm running Mobil 1 5-30 plus their filter in my Lex. In my Explorer I used Castrol Syntec. I sold it to my brother-in-law two weeks ago, and with over 240,000 miles on it, the engine still did not use any appreciable amount of oil, and ran perfectly. Hey ricco I`m just curious,why are you a firm believer in synthetic oil?? Good question, and there are many reasons why I use only synthetic. Synthetic oils were developed from jet turbine technology...engines were mandated by federal regulations to continue to rotate even if shut down, and the temps at 35,000 feet are often less than -50F. Regular petroleum oil solidifies at this temp, and ceases to be a lubricant, whereas synthetics continue to flow and lubricate. On the other side of the temp scale, synthetics break down at much higher temps than petroleum oils, thus offering extended protection in an overheat situation. Also, synthetics don't "gel", a common problem with the 3.0 liter engine run with petroleum oils. Assuming you drive normally, you can change your oil at extended intervals. I remember the first time I put synthetic oil in my car...it was in 1994, in the wintertime. The low that night was about 10 degrees F, and when I went out to start my car the next morning, I was amazed at how easily it turned over...like it was 80 degrees. I was sold from that alone. I am sure there are many benefits in addition to the ones I have listed. One thing for sure, the only benefit from using petroleum oil is the cheaper price...but in my opinion it would be "penny-wise and pound-foolish" to do so. My two cents.

The only reason I would know for the pedal going down farther and being spongy is there is still air in the system. I would bleed them a second time and see if that doesn't take care of the problem. There is no other reason for it to do that just from changing the rear calipers. If you do bleed them again, do just as you did the 1st time, farthest to the closest. After being frustrated by the same issue from time to time over the last thirty-odd years of doing brake jobs, I bought one of these bleeders: http://www.kd-tools.com/bleeder.htm It's the best thing since sliced bread...the only catch is that you need an air compressor to run it. I just did a complete flush on my Lex this weekend, used Valvoline synthetic DOT 3-4...there's something so satisfying looking at the brake fluid resovoir and seeing clean fluid ! And watching the nasty old brown fluid being sucked out !

Yes, I checked the oil level and the oil is very clean. I'm going to run it, with a wait and see. Can any one suggest a good lifter additive? Thanks I can tell you I got very good results, as far as eliminating lifter noise, from a product called Engine Restore. That being said, I did not use the product on my Lexus, but on my former vehicle, a '93 Ford Explorer with the 4.0 OHV. Our Lexus engines are Overhead Cams, so lifter noise should not be as much of an issue, IMO. I would also tell you that I am a firm believer in synthetic oil. I'm running Mobil 1 5-30 plus their filter in my Lex. In my Explorer I used Castrol Syntec. I sold it to my brother-in-law two weeks ago, and with over 240,000 miles on it, the engine still did not use any appreciable amount of oil, and ran perfectly.

Look carefully, and if I am not mistaken, from a post some time ago about the same thing, there should be 2 small round plugs on the footrest. take those out and you should find 2 screws that will make it a little easier to get off when you pull on it. Don't pull too hard once the screws are out... if ya know what I mean! Thanks 58, I found the round plugs...briefly tried to get them out before going to work...man, those things are in tight. I tried a pair of alligator pliers, they would not budge. I'll work on it more this evening. If anybody has a trick for getting these plugs out, please tell me! They don't unscrew do they Ricco? Sure doesn't seem like they should be that hard to get out. Last night I mixed some liquid dish detergent 50-50 with water, took a q-tip and swabbed both plugs generously. This morning I tried again to get them out, no luck. They do rotate, but they don't unscrew. At every 180 degrees of rotation, they make an audible "click". I tried pulling them out at varying degrees of rotation, same results. I'm ready for a stick of C4 ! I bet the plugs themselves don't come out. Try turning them till they click then pull the footrest off. Mikey- I think you may be on to something there! :) I came to the same conclusion when I was at work yesterday...that the plugs don't come out, and that the rotation and the "click" must be the answers. So this morning I go into the car, turn the lower one 180 degrees CCW to the "click", pull hard but nothing happens...then rotated it another 90 degrees CCW, pulled hard, and there was a loud "pop" under the footrest, but it still was not free...so I turned another 180 CCW (90 past the click), pulled hard, AND IT CAME FREE ! Repeated the process for the top one, and the footrest was out. Now I can clean it properly. Thanks everyone for your input, I know I would not have figured it out without your help. BTW, the preferred tool for this job would be a simple stubby blade type screwdriver to turn the plugs.