GS Sport

Just found one manual that suggests using a 19mm socket and hammer. Would still be interested if anyone's had any experience.

Can anyone advise on the method for replacing the rubber compressible gaiters on the brake caliper sliding pins om a GS300 MkI ? One of mine was ceased so i removed the pin and because i had new gaiters supplied with my new caliper removed the old gaiter by tapping around the join with a screwdriver. The gaiter is attached to a metal disc which fits into the end of the carrier and i thought it would just tap back in but it doesn't seem to go in very easily. For now i've got it in as far as i can get it but it's not really flush with the carrier and i'm worried water may get in. Is there anyone who's replaced these before who can advise if I'm doing something wrong or if there is a technique to getting these in fully? Hope someone can help :D

Probably one of the heat shields, mine does the same especially when cold. Apparently very easy to replace but I haven't bothered as tends to disappear when at normal temp.

Sorry about your accident. If you're breaking it is the driver side headlight in good nick, i.e. no chips or leaky (misting up) lens? If in good nick how much would you want for it including carriage? Thanks, Another Ian.

I have the same around the driver and passenger side air vents and also around the rear centre vents. The car was a gold badged model with gold aerial cap and gold windscreen washers - could it be the gold badged models had these surrounds? I have to say the the colour is a perfect match with the centre console so if it was a add on I thinkit was a factory add on. Thanks for your responses :D

I've notcied while trawling e-bay and looking at MkI's that they don't seem to have the wood trim around the air vents that mine has. Is this rare? Picture attached.

I agree, and if you didn't have to strip half the dash out to get at 'em I might give it a go. I guess price of parts is a down side of owning a Lexus although I have to say on occassion I'm shocked with how cheap certain parts are from the main dealer. There doesn't seem to be any hard and fast rule with their pricing. Still, pick the bulbs up middle of next week and then next Saturday I'll give it a go, fingers crossed for a smooth operation :duh:

Hi, the bulbs are soldered into the holders and have green rubber "dobbers" over the top to give the green light. The bulbs may well be available seperately else where but not from Lexus/Toyota. Having done soldered bulb swaps on my BMW, they do not solder well and success is a bit hit and miss. I just took the easy route Incidentally, I did see the "dobbers" for sale seperately elsewhere, cant find the link at the moment, so if you fancied blue instead of green, that would be an easy job. Not sure how easy it would be to change the colours in the stereo, but if I ever find a fascia panel to replace the stereo with my own, I will be dabbling into that and taking the factory unit appart to have a look. Thanks for the info. I've just bitten the bullet and ordered a full set from Lexus (not worth changing just the one as another is sure to go a week after doing it) £3.81 ea so the total is £35.81 inc. VAT, :tsktsk: hope they bleedin' last ! Thanks again.

Thanks a lot for a brillant step-by-step. I note you list the bulb holder part numbers but not the bulb parts numbers. Are the bulbs available for the holders or do you have to buy the holder to get the bulb? If you can get the bulbs as a standalone would you happen to have those part numbers? Thanks again for the well documented procedure :D

Hi, The Standard 18's on my MkI (which have the 10" rears) have different profiles, 40 on the front and 35 on the rear. I also believed the profile measurement was the distance from the rim to the outer edge of the tyre but this isn't correct. Profile is calculated as a percentage of the tyre width, so when you see 275/35 the tyre profile is 35% of 275mm which equals 96mm this is then divided by 2 for the circumference equaling 48mm, so therefore a 275/35 has a measurable profile of 48mm. You should match measurable profiles as close as possible. For example my fronts are 245/40 (40 % of 245 is 98 divided by 2 equals a measurable profile of 49mm, almost identical to the rear 48mm) Hope I haven't confused you, I know what I mean :duh: Should have just said get 275/35 for the back and 245/40 for the front ;)

Ok, I gotta ask .... if you've changed wife recently, then did you remember to replace the mother-in-law? Sometimes placing one of these on either rear seat can produce a droning or whining sound ocassionally leading to a headache in severe circumstances. Mind you, the droning in mine increases with cornering and especially at speed. I've also found that the droning continues with the engine off and even when in the house. Good luck with your diagnostics!! Paul Did a full replacement a few years ago, even got the service history license stamped by the local registra - they say that aides re-sale but I'm not sure about that. But anyway, current upgrade is running well and no breakdown services required to date. Thanks for the help - ever thought of working for a main dealer? GS Just as an update I thought this may help if anyone else has suffered this problem. The answer lay in the geometry and worn rear tyres. I got a full geometry check with tony (wheels In-motion) and he found a number of areas which were quite a bit out. Most of the noise disappeared once the geometry was right and the remaining noise disappeared once the rear tyres were replaced, There was severe wear on the inner edges of both rear tyres. Hope this helps anyone else who may be getting the droning from the rear. GS Sport. Maybe I was right then... :winky: Looks that way, thanks. Another note I'd forgot to mention for anyone looking for cheapy 275 x 35 x 18's, try Nankang from mytyres.co.uk - £86.00 ea inc delivery :D Good peice of info that. £86 per tyre delivered is cheap, im after a set soon my self wll check em out I had mine put on, valved and balanced at a local Formula 1st yesterday for £15.00 a side, you can get cheaper but the average age of employee at our Formula 1st is 40 not 15 ;) Glad to be of help.

Ok, I gotta ask .... if you've changed wife recently, then did you remember to replace the mother-in-law? Sometimes placing one of these on either rear seat can produce a droning or whining sound ocassionally leading to a headache in severe circumstances. Mind you, the droning in mine increases with cornering and especially at speed. I've also found that the droning continues with the engine off and even when in the house. Good luck with your diagnostics!! Paul Did a full replacement a few years ago, even got the service history license stamped by the local registra - they say that aides re-sale but I'm not sure about that. But anyway, current upgrade is running well and no breakdown services required to date. Thanks for the help - ever thought of working for a main dealer? GS Just as an update I thought this may help if anyone else has suffered this problem. The answer lay in the geometry and worn rear tyres. I got a full geometry check with tony (wheels In-motion) and he found a number of areas which were quite a bit out. Most of the noise disappeared once the geometry was right and the remaining noise disappeared once the rear tyres were replaced, There was severe wear on the inner edges of both rear tyres. Hope this helps anyone else who may be getting the droning from the rear. GS Sport. Maybe I was right then... :winky: Looks that way, thanks. Another note I'd forgot to mention for anyone looking for cheapy 275 x 35 x 18's, try Nankang from mytyres.co.uk - £86.00 ea inc delivery :D

Yep, Got mine, front nearside. Also one in each of the rear quarter light windows.

Ok, I gotta ask .... if you've changed wife recently, then did you remember to replace the mother-in-law? Sometimes placing one of these on either rear seat can produce a droning or whining sound ocassionally leading to a headache in severe circumstances. Mind you, the droning in mine increases with cornering and especially at speed. I've also found that the droning continues with the engine off and even when in the house. Good luck with your diagnostics!! Paul Did a full replacement a few years ago, even got the service history license stamped by the local registra - they say that aides re-sale but I'm not sure about that. But anyway, current upgrade is running well and no breakdown services required to date. Thanks for the help - ever thought of working for a main dealer? GS Just as an update I thought this may help if anyone else has suffered this problem. The answer lay in the geometry and worn rear tyres. I got a full geometry check with tony (wheels In-motion) and he found a number of areas which were quite a bit out. Most of the noise disappeared once the geometry was right and the remaining noise disappeared once the rear tyres were replaced, There was severe wear on the inner edges of both rear tyres. Hope this helps anyone else who may be getting the droning from the rear. GS Sport.

Ok, I gotta ask .... if you've changed wife recently, then did you remember to replace the mother-in-law? Sometimes placing one of these on either rear seat can produce a droning or whining sound ocassionally leading to a headache in severe circumstances. Mind you, the droning in mine increases with cornering and especially at speed. I've also found that the droning continues with the engine off and even when in the house. Good luck with your diagnostics!! Paul Did a full replacement a few years ago, even got the service history license stamped by the local registra - they say that aides re-sale but I'm not sure about that. But anyway, current upgrade is running well and no breakdown services required to date. Thanks for the help - ever thought of working for a main dealer? GS

Checked the diff oil and it's full, can't say it smelt of cat pee though, just like oil. Whether it's the right stuff I don't know, had the car since March and it's not been changed since. Did have the rear tracking adjusted (or so they told me, I watched them do it and all I saw was them struggling to loosen a nut and then seem to give up and tell me they'd done it) and I've only really noticed the noise since then. Everything underneath seems tight. I thought about a geometry check at Lexus but at £111.00 not sure whether it would solve anything. Thanks for your responses.

My '97 MkI GS has been developing a droning noise from what I think is the back end. The noise doesn't get worse on cornering but does seem to increase when the camber of the road is steep. I've jacked it up and checked for movement in the wheel bearings but there doesn't seem to be any. I've read that the diff, prop and drive shafts are practically indistructable. Sometimes the noise resenates in the car with a low pitched drone. Sometimes I can hear it while accelerating and other times while throttling off - there really seems to be no hard and fast rule. It's more than just road noise and was not present when I first bought the car. Has anyone had a simular experience or can offer any suggestions? Thanks.

Hi, Can anyone confirm that the MkI GS300 Sport does have headlamp washers as standard? Mine has the headlamp washers, motor for the pump (which works when run directly from the battery) and switchgear but doesn't seem to have a relay and what I assume to be the location for the relay in the fuse box is shown with a X on the fuse box map. Also there doesn't seem to be any wires leading to the location where I think the relay should be put. I could of course just be looking in the wrong location for the relay, I think it unlikely that the car would be fitted with washers, motor and switchgear if the the washers weren't fitted as an option. Can anyone with a MkI with working headlamps washers let me know the position of the relay within the fuse box? Many thanks, Ian.

Hi Keith, I have converted my MkI to HID and complimented the Xenon's with LED side lights. They have 180 degree beam which works very well on the curved MkI side light reflector. The price of these LED's from e-bay is pretty cool too. Please find below detail of the pair I purchased. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-White-LED-Si...oQQcmdZViewItem If you still require details of the headlight HID conversion let me know and I'll pass on the details. Ian. Hi Ian I would be interested to know when you have a mo. I was going to get a set off Ebay but would rather buy on recommendation from a reputable supplier who can offer back-up if there are any problems. Hi Keith, The kit I got came from Canada and was through e-bay £150 with bulbs inc. A mate of mine also had the same kit. One of his bulbs did blow quickly but the company replaced no question. I have had my kit now for a while and have had no problem. It's not cheap but they really do stand out from the crowd. You get a colour choice from the standard xenon through blue to purple, i went for a slight blue which I think was 9600k,can't remember now. I'll dig out the full info and get it to you next week. Ian.

Just as an update to anyone viewing this I found a electronic manual on e-bay that contains all wiring diagrams for the MkI and also just about every repair technique, fault code and specs that you could wish for. If anyone wants detailed info on the MkI I can fully recommend this CD-ROM.

Hi Keith, I have converted my MkI to HID and complimented the Xenon's with LED side lights. They have 180 degree beam which works very well on the curved MkI side light reflector. The price of these LED's from e-bay is pretty cool too. Please find below detail of the pair I purchased. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/501-W5W-White-LED-Si...oQQcmdZViewItem If you still require details of the headlight HID conversion let me know and I'll pass on the details. Ian.

Hi, Just to let you know I've found the location of the alarm siren. I have a MkI 1997 GS300 Sport and the alarm is a siren not a third horn (the better option by far). The siren is located within the inner front offside wheel arch. It is between the wheel and front fog light area of the wheel arch. I cracked the siren on mine open today and found the circuit board to be corroded hence everything working apart from the siren. Contacted Lexus in Bristol and was pleasantly suprised to find a replacement at £48.00 + VAT. I've ordered one up and hope this will cure the problem. Also the siren has 4 AA backup batteries, looks as though these could be replaced with standard rechargables - if your circuit board is ok could be just a case of replacing them. Hope this helps, Ian.

Hi, I have a fault with the headlamp washers on my 1997 MkI Sport. I've checked the motor on the battery and it works fine. I tried to trace the wiring as it may be something simple like a relay. Can't find any relay in the main fuse box or the one by the accelerator pedal. Has any one got a wiring diagram for the MkI either for the whole electrical system which would great or just an extract for the headlamp washer system? Thanks alot.