FredParoutaud

Excellent, that's all I need. Thanks folks! Fred

Hi Folks, Just bought new rotors and pads for the front of our 1996 ES300. A buddy of mine said "make sure you don't let the brake fluid back-up into the master cylinder, ABS doesn't like that" So -- when I press the pistons (piston?) back in, do I just crack the bleed screw open a bit and let the fluid flow out a bleed tube to a jar? ie: is it kind of like bleeding the brakes? (Anything else I need to know? sounds like a pretty easy job to me) Thanks! Fred

here are the photos... so, shorter vain up like this: http://www.400gt.com/misc/DSCN0005.JPG or long vain up like this: http://www.400gt.com/misc/DSCN0006.JPG or......? thanks! Fred

Hi Folks, I've had problems before with the Idle Control Valve....so I just tried cleaning again and this time that didn't fix it. So I took it apart and the valve (rotary) was kind of stuck...so I cleaned it until it turned freely. I think that was the problem. However...I'm a bit at a loss as to how the rotary valve should be positioned when I reattach it (I should have marked it). I'll take some photos and post to show what I mean, but I'm not sure if the short vein (is that the right term?) is up or down -- or even sideways for that matter. there's a short one and a long one -- I'm guessing the long one is down and short is up, but not sure. I did a search and found several posts talking about existing articles here on how to clean it, but I can't find those articles. I'll post some photos in a bit Thanks! Fred

Hi Folks, 96 es300, love it! 140k miles So turned on the radio today and the antenna and lights worked, but no sound out of anything. Totally dead. CD player had an error message. I took out the various radio fuses (I think #8 on the dash and #23 in the engine compartment, but that's from my memory which isn't very good! :) and checked them, they were fine, but looked a tad discolored around the blades. Checked them with a multimeter, they were fine, replaced and *presto* radio worked again. Anybody else have this problem? I'm guessing one of the fuses wasn't quite making contact....?? We live next to the ocean, maybe some salt air or something? It was such an easy fix that I'm 1/2 way expecting to go out to the car tomorrow and have "no radio" again. But, so far so good. Comments? Thanks, Fred

Hi Folks, Sometimes our ES300 just simply dies when it's cold. My mechanic friend said "clean the Aux. Air Valve which is located on the Throttle Body" Does that sound right? Can anybody tell me what it looks like? (I have a CD manual around somewhere -- is that the right name for the part?) Thanks! Fred

Thanks guys, that's just what I needed to know! I told my buddy what you said and he said "sounds like they know what they're talking about." :) Cheers, Fred

Hi All, Dealer says we need new brake pads for our 96 es300. They're not bad, but getting down there. A mechanic friend of mine just asked if the rotors need to be changed too. I don't think so, but I thought I'd ask first -- does this tend to be a problem with these cars? He says that nowdays many MB and BWM routinely replace brake pads and the rotors. Now, he's not doing the work :) so he's just trying to be helpful. Comments?? Thanks! Fred

http://www.playerviolin.com/misc/DSCN0009(40).JPG thought it looked pretty nice. And those wheels are Lexus, right? How much for a set? Thanks, Fred

Excellent! Will do, thanks. Fred

Hi Folks, 96 es300 and we love it to death. :) Check engine light came on today. I checked the gas cap, oil level, coolant level, windshield washer level, power steering fluid level, brake fluid level -- everything's right where it should be. What should I do next? Thanks! Fred

Interesting -- they definitely had the Lexus "L" in the middle of them. Fred

Good catch, just looked at that ebay link and that's the kit. Doesn't seem that expensive (until you add in the $200 postage!) -- wonder how good it really is. I think the lower photo (black car) had Lexus mags on it...they had the Lexus emblem. Does anybody know how much those cost? Thanks, Fred

Hi Folks, I'm thinking of buying an SC300/400 and I'd like to modify it to look somewhat like one of these two cars: http://www.400gt.com/photos/misc/DSCN0026.jpg Can somebody tell me exactly what these mods are? They both look lowered, and obviously the white car has a body kit on it. And what about tires/wheels? I'm trying to put a pricetag together of what it will cost to end up with this sort of look. Thanks! Fred

Hi Folks, I've just been reading through the pinned sc300/tt supra posts and wonder if there is a special area to post on this subject. Are there more folks doing this mod? I'm specifically interested in simply taking the stock sc300 motor and doing the mods from there, instead of actually using a supra tt motor. Thanks! Fred