Stevie

I'm not an angry person, Scorps, but sometimes you have to take a stand against things that annoy you.

At last - a voice of reason. I'm aware they are breaking the law. However, I thought bringing the matter to the attention of this forum might be a way of getting the spam to stop without having to take a sledgehammer to the problem. After all, I first contacted Prolex via the Owner's Club.

Funny.... that's the spammer's typical response - particularly the bit where you infer that I'm too stupid to delete an email. I don't think anyone was trying to infer that you are stupid.....Scorps just put a simple solution to a simple problem ;) That is a sticking plaster solution because the spam will continue - and not just to me. The real solution is for the person causing the problem to stop causing it.

Funny.... that's the spammer's typical response - particularly the bit where you infer that I'm too stupid to delete an email.

I had occasion to deal with Prolex some 4 years ago, shortly before I sold my Lexus. The transaction went fine. The first time I received an email mailshot from them I asked them politely to remove me from their mailing list because I was no longer a Lexus owner. Each time I received a mailshop, I did the same thing. I am still receiving unwanted emails - aka SPAM - from Prolex several year later and I am completely sick of it. Today I got this: "Happy New Year to you all !! XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX REMOVED POTENTIAL ADVERTISING WHICH IS AGAINST CLUB T&C'S XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX My recommendation therefore is only to deal with Prolex if you are happy to keep receiving their useless mailshots in your mailbox for years. This is a company that does not listen to its customers. It is happy to fill our mailboxes with its junk, but will not take the time to maintain its database to avoid sending SPAM. PROLEX - STOP SPAMMING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>Car recently serviced at Toyota dealer, plugs air filter changed, I reset the ecu >as shown elsewhere on this forum. The mpg is not just with the LPG as the petrol >returms the same figure - checking from full to full. ;) I suffered from 15mpg around town for 3 years, during which time the car was serviced by Lexus and Toyota dealers. I also took the car to two different Lexus dealers complaining about the problem but they found nothing. I eventually discovered the cause when the engine started missing. You know what it was? The rotor arm was burned to a frazzle - the cap had never been off the distributor since the car was built (96,000 miles on the clock now). A new rotor arm cost me £7 and now I'm getting 20mpg around town. Might be worth a shot. And it's worth bearing in mind that your service dealer is very unlikely to ever check the rotor arm no matter how much he charges for a service. Stevie

About £340 with Saga. Ages has its privileges. :D I shopped around this year, as the premium was quite a bit higher than last year. Norwich Union was marginally cheaper but not enough to warrant the hassle of changing. Stephen

I hadn't thought of a Previa... thanks for the suggestion. It might be worth considering, although the only time I had a ride in one, it sounded like a bus. How do you find the noise levels, Rodders? Stephen

I have a feeling that I will not be happy with anything less. Still, the cheapest RX300s seem to fetch around £15,000 at the moment and this is way out of my price bracket in my present circumstances, I'm afraid, Rillo. Stephen

Last month we had a new addition to the family and I am gradually discovering that the Lexus I've enjoyed for the past 3 years is not an ideal family car when you have young kids. What with travel cots, pushchairs, changing stuff etc., I don't think we'll have nearly enough room in the boot this summer. So, I'm looking to get an MPV or estate car with some load-lugging space. My first question is: would anyone here like to exchange their estate for a Lexus GS300 Mk 1? A cash adjustment either way would be OK. Mine's done 93,000 miles, has been looked after, has a full service history and 11 months MOT. The colour is silver/grey. Everything works perfectly. Tyres are nearly new and new pads were fitted all round last year. The second question is: what alternative motors would you recommend, bearing in mind that I have been driving around in relative luxury for 3 years. I should mention also that I'm not looking so fork out a huge figure, as the cost of nappies is killing me already :D Stephen

When I asked my garage to check for play in the steering rack, they said you must check it with the power steering on. Play in the rack when the engine is not running does not mean anything. However, you might like to check the recent thread on the subject for an inexpensive source of steering rack reconditioning. Stephen

Even better (I called them again) they are only 2 hours away from here and would remove it, recondition it and refit it the same day for £250 plus VAT. I guess the steering rack is sorted. Stephen

Andy, that's brilliant! I just called them on the off chance and they were still working at 8:30 pm Unfortunately, they didn't have one in stock but they quoted £170 incl. VAT and delivery both ways for reconditioning my own unit. 48-hour turnround. That's pretty good. (Isn't the Lexus part around £700?) Any thoughts on lower ball joints? I'm currently looking at £70 each. Stephen

>I saw a rack on ebay the other day. I've just checked and it's no longer there. Shame. Stephen

My garage tells me I will need a pair of ball joints and a steering rack. Given the cost of the latter, does anyone know if the steering rack can be repaired? The garage hasn't seen the car yet - I'm currently trying to get it in before Christmas. Stephen

My 1995 GS300 has just failed the MOT on: Steering rack, excessive play, and Both front lower swivel joints, excessive lift. I appreciate that it is not always possible to diagnose these things from a distance but could anyone give me an idea of what parts could be involved here? (I am guessing lower ball joints for problem 2). Stephen

My last set of plugs was fitted by a Toyota dealer... you've got me wondering. How can I check whether they are the right ones? Stephen

Yes, check out Car Parts Direct at www.carparts-direct.co.uk. Phone 01332-290833. I bought one last week for under £100 including VAT and delivery. They are reconditioned and look just like new. I was actually quoted more than this for a used one from a breakers yard! I suspect this is a weakness on this car. This is the second one I've had fitted in 2 years. Stephen

I have just had the same problem but took the car to a local dealer. What he did was replace the core, which was completely shot at. Having seen the old one, I can't see soldering being the answer. There is a specialist company (in the yellow pages) that supplies new radiator cores. You might like to have a word with them. A new one from Lexus is £300. Stevie

Just to let you know - it was an AIR LOCK!!! The engine is running fine with a new radiator. -:) Stevie

Well, sj, I was a bit unsure, too. No, it wasn't a Lexus mechanic - it was a local workshop. Actually, they said Barr's Leaks but I could only find Radweld. I assume they will flush it all out when they replace the rad.

OK - I'll go with the air lock verdict. The car's only leaking very slightly at the moment because I poured some Radweld in to block up the hole (as suggested by the garage). Thanks for all your suggestions (except to those who put the fear of *** into me by mentioning a head gasket). I'm not going anywhere in the car until I drive it to the workshop on Monday. Better safe than sorry.

All this talk about head gaskets is making my wife feel poorly - we were about to book a summer holiday. I guess we'll put that on the back burner then. Any other votes for an air lock (pleez!)? There is no steam coming out of the exhaust, which I would expect with a blown gasket. Also, the temperature gauge has never risen above normal. But the rough running happens when the engine is cold, too. (Don't know if that is useful information or not.) Stephen

A few weeks ago I noticed that I was having to top the water up in my 1995 GS300 using about a pint at a time. Sometimes it was OK for days, other times it would lose a lot of water in a few hours, but never more than a pint and a half. It never overheated, however, and always ran fine. Having found a leak at the bottom of the radiator, I have now booked the car in to have a replacement fitted. Problem is, the engine has now started to run really roughly, as if one of the cylinders was missing. Acceleration is weak and throttle response is really lethargic. It sounds badly mis-tuned. I am assuming that the leaky radiator has caused the problem - an airlock, maybe. Any ideas? I'm just wondering if I should expect another large bill when the radiator has been replaced. How safe am I driving to the workshop (about 5 miles)? I'm a bit miffed because I only had the car serviced a month ago. Stevie