ironduke

cheers mate.

Don't forget to invest in a new drier, expansion valve and to have your pipes flushed too otherwise you will be back at square one very quickly indeed. Although the system could have a leak almost anywhere, a common place that I have found on the GS is the alloy refrigerant pipe that runs on the right of the car(As you look at it) low down in the engine bay. It is secured by a couple of steel clips and salt water causes corrosion of the pipe. Have a gander at this pipe and see if you can spot any oily deposits in this area, especially by a clip. The pipe can have the corroded section cut out and have a new section brazed in if it is dear from Lexus. It's been a long time since I have worked on any Lexus so I am a bit hazy on the precise run of this pipe. thanks for the info.

anyone?.....

I don't know right now what the brake problem could be - and therefore, if the rear tyre wear is linked but, on a rear wheel drive car the rear tyres should and will wear quicker than the fronts. I am assuming that toyota stuck the car on rollers and checked that all the brakes where working properly individually - if not, check the effectiveness of the front brakes or, as previuosly stated, check if back are binding. Also, maybe a long shot, but check that the pad fixings - metal clips (top and bottom for each pad) and metal 'V' springs (one per caliper) are fitted correctly.

ok....noticed a small tear (approx 2cm) in my tie rod end gaiter/rubber seal where it meets the wheel hub/knuckle. it needs replacing but, no one seems to sell them and it must be a lot easier and definately a lot cheaper option than replacing both + wheel alignment. any ideas......? i am thinking of just sealing it with a dollop of glue.

Problem solved - it was just seized calipers on the back. sorted them - approx. £65 each from www.brakeparts.co.uk

The GS compressor is the dear one. Because everything is driven off one belt, Lexus (Or rather Denso) fitted the ac compressor with a speed sensor to compair the speed of the compressor to the speed of the engine, if the compressor falls out of tolerance, then the HVAC system decides that the ac compressor is starting to sieze and so suts off the ac compressor. This prevents the compressor locking up and burning out the drive belt and stranding the driver. The noise suggests that the bearings are on their way out but the compressor will run untill the noise becomes intolerable or it starts to lock up and gets shut down. Excessive head pressure can also make the compressor make funny noises. New compressor should be around £500 +VAT for the part if you shop round. Why did you need to charge the system? Yes, bearing wear worn due to low lube/refrigerant pressure in sytem. needed recharging because it wasn't blowing cold anymore (car done 123K), prefer to work on my own car so opted for cheapest option as 1) compressor is on its way out and therefore why waste money on a professional job AND 2) just wanted to try the halfords stuff out (experience) having run the car now for a while - i dont think it was worth the money - air is warmer again and compressor whine is back - it might just be a leak in my ac system, but this stuff is suposed to fix them. next time i would go to a pro - unless i inherit all the equipment from a long lost fridge mad uncle - the extra few quid probably would have been worth it. any way, i'm saving for a new compressor......

when the car is jacked up - tighten the wheel nuts by hand in the order given until they are hand tight - make sure the wheel is squarely on the hub. give them all a little "pinch" in order. then drop thecar and tighten in order to correct torque. bottom line is, if you want it perfect, tighten each nut, in order, 1/4 turn, until all nuts are at correct torque. But u dont have to be this strict... if discs are warped - juddering when braking - it is best to just replace them + pads. try www.brakeparts.co.uk - cheapest in the UK and good quality from my experience.

ok. here's where i am at now - by the way, thanks for the replies - both rear brakes were knackered - seized calipers. don't think it is normal, car revs within spec for hot/cold and idles smoothly and have never experienced such a harsh jerk on any auto before - even with cars as powerful as the gs300. could be worn diff/prop - to be honest, i dont know, they havent given me any other reason to suspect that they may be worn. any further ideas welcome and thanks again for the replies so far...

i have the same prob - i had the ashtray out the other day to replace the bulb in there. there are 3 bolts that hold on the bottom of the stereo, i unscrewed these and pulled the stereo forward from the bottom and it seemed to be connected to the temp unit and both seemed quite substantial in size. and if the lights are like the stereo display lights i'm thiniking there will be no cheap/simple cure....? but i have the same prob and it is annoying at night, all help appreciated.

when my car is cold and i shift into drive (parking brake on or off) with my foot firmly on the brake pedal my car lunges/jerks forward. the brakes stop the car rolling but the jerk is uncomfortable. my car does the same thing when putting into reverse but not as violently. it is a lot less noticeable when the car is warm. any ideas?

From the symptoms u describe i think it will be one of the following "common" probs: 1) tighten wheel nuts in following order 1,3,5,2,4 to 103Nm torque to hold disc squarley on wheel hub or the dics will warp - i had a brand new disc ruined (= new front discs and pads) by a back street tyre place where i had my wheels balanced and they didn't tighten nuts properly. 2) seized caliper piston - either remove clean and recon (with kit) and replace or fork out for a reconned one. 3) worn wheel bearing - causing disc to wobble on hub - replace wheel hub/bearing. the solution to all this is to replace both front discs and all front pads aswell as resolving root of problem. hope this helps.

Thanks for the welcome guys. :)

Just topped up my 1997 GS300 mk1 (123,000 miles) with an 18 oz can from halfords - cost £40. Easy to do - took me about 5 minutes. I know it isn't ideal but it seems to have done the job - so far so good. My compresssor made a loud whining noise above 2,000 rpm - this noise has almost disappeared after just 10 miles of driving.

I have just puchased a 1997 GS 300 mk1 and this site has proved invaluable to me. Being a reasonably experienced diy mechanic, i have just carried out a major service and had a good look at the mechanics and electrics. If anyone out there needs any advice, just ask....