kev dood

I think its more likely to be sliding pins. I spoke to a mechanic friend of mine who used to work at Renault and Mercedes and he says they always stick. What I suspect happened on mine is that the pins seized which in turn my have contributed to a sticking piston? If you push the piston out and grease it up then would help keep in in good nick. If any rust on there just wet n dry it off.

Personally (and I have not stripped the calipers so it might not be the case), I would say, leave the pistons etc well alone if they are fine. You could try clamping them all the way in and pushing them out a few times, just so they get a good travel. But you risk damaging the seals and rings etc if you took them out just to clean them. In which case you could then end up spending £70 odd on the rebuild kit for no real reason!

umm, agreed. I would guess its far more common to see a torn dust boot for the pins that tears in the dust seal rubbers for the pistons - but maybe not. the first is easy to do, the second requires more skill and effort (and time/money)!

Errr, where? I know it says all over that they are brand new, but they aren't exactly brand new items - these are only available from Lexus/Toyota. ALL others - certainly from the ringing aroun I have done over the last few days - from anyone else, are all reconn'd units. This is not a bad thing however. People like Brakes International, Brake Engineering, Bugweg etc etc etc - all they do is take the old original parts and recon them by putting new seals in, sand blasting them, re-coating them, new internals etc and pistons etc etc and then re sell them. So if you were to sell them, as this ebayer is, then they are brand new from them - they are not used parts in the usual sense. But they ARE refurbished/reconn'd parts.

when will we know then??

I would say that its certainly worth taking the caliper off, taking sliding pins out and cleaning it all up, re-greasing it all and re-assembling. At the same time I would try the pedal and see if both pistons move freely, if not then clamp them in and push them out a few times to free them up. Shame there isn't a group buy on a set of sliding pins, boots and bushes. :) All of the above is very simple and anyone should be capable of doing it. You don't have to take the pads out or anything usually. The guide that someone did is basically it really.

Just got a reply back from him. "SORRY NO CARRIERS AT THE MOMENT , CALIPERS ARE NEW UNITS" I think the "new" part is misleading. Regarding the issue or renew or replace - thats the exact issue I have. If you are buying a new lexus caliper then its far cheaper to renew existing parts on the caliper. But if not then its not really that costs effective to do this - based on the fact that you might have to renew both pistons in each caliper if they are pitted etc. Thats why I have decided on replaceing with OEM spec parts. I don't have the time to take it all apart, find out I did need 4 pistons, then go and get them 2 days later, and refit!

Umm, description is OK its just the image which is misleading. Definition of new is open though as all remanufacturers would call their parts "new"!

Umm, I think you are right, usually there would be a few OE manufacturers throughout the lifespan. I think its from a mid model year car - say 2003? ;-)

A lot of companies re core rads which is far cheaper than a new one. Clutches are also exchange parts usually. With this ebay listing you dont have to send them your old ones. Though a lot of online sellers are exchange ones and carry a surcharge.

When I spoke to them thats what they said! Obviously not quite how they describe it. Only way to get brand new ones is from Lexus really! Does seem a bit of a con in a way though. They sounded nice enough, but just not listing what they are actually selling - maybe they should be reported to EBAY?

Welcome to the club - as you may already have seen, it holds a wealth of info on the IS.

If already covered by RAC then best to wait until it finishes! Otherwise you gain nothing really and have to pay out more. The cover details are here

Been looking around. Seems ALL of the ones available are reconditioned original parts. Just depends on which company is better at doing them I guess. Either way, I cannot get both sides by this weekend, so looks like I will put that on hold! Also, the pairs listed on ebay by A to Z or clickamotorpart (same company) do NOT come with the carriers as shown in the images! Seems thats an old picture! Nice.

Take a look on the Lexus website, there will be a section on the roadside assist. Anyone can get it with a Lexus of any age. Or call 0845 278 8888 and quote LEX01 to get 15 months for the price of 12 (£89 or £79 if direct debit). Seems for the level of cover is a good deal then.

Am finally getting closer to replacing my calipers (front). Am interested in people experiences and views on the different OEM spec parts available. Am sloping towards Brake Engineering parts mainly as local motor factors can get them in for a good price. Also, they seem to match the slightly angled inlet for the brake pipe rather than squarely into the rear - such as Brakes International. (though have to double check my existing ones!) What are peoples thoughts on this - does it matter much etc - has anyone come across any problems with any of them?

cool, cheers guys for all the help. If and when I get round to it, will let ya know how I got on!

Man, I really should read things a bit closer!! Of course, it says IS300!! Must be going mad. Yeah they look fine, should be as they made the originals! I guess then that the ancillary parts such as bump stops etc are all interchangeable then and I would just need the shock?

which actually matches the info on the KYB website as they show parts 341262/3 (Excel-G) shocks for the IS200.

Ah, could be same section. Was looking through the New Car Features bit for the first models and the 2001.7. But think I skipped over the bit where it says about the Shock type (sect.7 of front suspension). I sort of assumed that the front shocks might have been this, but the rears were different, as the 2001.7 new features section showed a different shock. But looking at it closer, it seems they have just added a linear control valve to the shocks to improve performance. So I guess that either can be used on any car maybe? In which case, the Exel-G shocks are possibly a like for like replacement?

Do you know what model year his car is? I have been digging through the IS manual and it seems that pre 2001.7 the shocks were oil filled and post this, they were oil and gas. This would explain why there are a few different part numbers around for the shocks. I wonder if you can fit later ones to the earlier cars and what affect it would have? I am sure they would fit, but what else in the suspension system/geometry was changed because of the different characteristics?

Sorry, not sure I understand....so the orig pads also have this clip?

So which are the KYB replacements then? Seeing as they made the orig.

thought the correct gap was 1.1mm (0.043inch)? According to manual? Not 0.4mm? Ah, just re-read, I think the 0.4mm is the tip size or something - doh!

Hi, I need to change my rear shocks at some point. After speaking to a very nice man at Lexus Poole, he informed me that for my car (Jan 2001 X-reg) the correct part was 48530-59375 but this has now been superceeded by 48530-80156. My question is, I know there are various other versions of the shock (eg 48530-80163) etc which I think are for 2001? onwards cars, therefore whats the difference and what have other people done? Plus, if I buy KYB shocks from online, are there any subtle differences in whats available to match the above differences or doesn't it matter? BuyPartsBy show code 341262/262 for the IS200 only - these are gas shocks - is this what the standard ones are? Plus, after changing (rears), will it knock the wheel alignment out at all?