edeath

Morning guys. Got a legendary hongover this morning. Anyway enough of that, I changed my spark plugs yesterday to Denso IK20s. I used the spark plug tool from halfords to remove AND fit the spark plugs and that worked fine for me. No engine management light and the engine is much smoother. I took off all the bits above the engine, air box (3 screws, maf lead and oil hose), intake hose (3 screws) and the cover on the left (4 screws) Then I changed each spark plug one at a time. Remove screw for the charge pack, remove lead and just pull it out. Unscrew the old plug, clear out the crap in the bottom of the hole with air gun and then screw on new one. Replace charge pack, screw it in and replace lead. Repeat x 5. I hope that helps anyone else needing pointers.

nope hardly use 5th though. Must say 4-6th feels more natural then 5-6th though

Well I'm of the opinion that what im24601 is doing is a good thing. Whether he went about it the right way i'll let others argue about as I would not have the time (read - stones) to do that myself let alone think about taking them to court in the 1st place. I have been to Tony myself to get the "correct" geo done and i'll turn up in person if we're going to make a physical prescence at Lexus (GB) HQ, but then i'm only down the road

stav am i being really stupid? but where would i get these bulbs from? I can't find anything on the net.

Hi Guys, Does anyone know the bulb types for the bottom switches on the console. My trc/snow buttons are no longer lit and i was thinking of making all 4 buttons lit blue as that is the colour of my stereo. Will probs do dials too. So does anyone know the bulb type and where i can buy blue ones? cheers, Ed

Would i not notice a difference in the way it drives if the ball joint was going? My problem is there seems to be no feedback of where the problem is where driving. The car doesnt pull, the brakes dont shudder, in fact nothing shudders (well except something when i pull away when cold badly.)

looks like rikos is havng the same problem - and peeps are pointing towards the caliper

Well i have spun the front wheel and it spins freely. but the back one stops turning very quickly. are the backs harder to turn than the fronts, due to the diff and shaft? I've sprayed silicone on the relevant bits. I am also erring towards stuck caliper as this hasnt helped. However the fact it sounds worse of bumps keeps making me think its something else. Hmmm...... I also changed all my pads recently and am also dubios of garages on these things as im not sure they even try to diagnose these as they are so hard to work out due to the infinite number of things that can squeak. I suppose however if you complain of a stuck caliper they will specifically look at it.

I have a problem with the my IS200 sport in that when i am driving along it is squeaking. Now it is only loud enough normally to be heard as a reflection off park or passing cars. It seems to be worse on bumpy roads (visibly bumpy) but i have problems diagnosing as it only seems to happen when the car has hit about 20. The sound is almost rotational, but definitely happens on speed bumps. I also noticed it alot when driving on the A40 next to the barriers where it was contsant and loud (either due to the 50mph rotation or going over little bumps so quick. I'm having a problem working it out. I went in to get my geo done by the dr and had a look while it was up on the lift but neither Tony nor myself saw anything. I have a couple of theories: 1. It is the brake disc and the cover rubbing which i have seen on the forum. Though i think not likely. However if anybody could tell me the best way to sort this that would be great. Rear brakes only? 2. One of my calipers is sticking - I'm going to see if any of my wheels get hotter than others after my next drive. 3. My suspension needs lubricating. (Again will try sorting this) 4. Suspension damage. I'm having real problems working it out so any advice would be much appreciated as its meaning i hate having my windows open, which i normally love. cheers, Ed

On the cost front it was just under £100 all inc. when i went to see Tony. Really nice bloke.

Driving ups not an option untill after new year as it is. It's going to probably cost the same to drive there and back as to get it shipped, however your right maybe i should make a day of it, drive up and save some hassle. I've got the spare on now. The original wheel had 2 screws punching through the tyre wall. However i remember Dr Bones saying that i had a weld breaking apart on one of my tyres and showed me where. I remembered it as my back left, however i couldn't see this once id taken the wheel off so maybe i need to change the back right one aswell. If thats the case i'm just going to get 2 Falken 452's. Ugh this is a nightmare so close to xmas. Ed

Would love to take you up on the offer, well if free really means free. But i live in london, so unless you come down my way often then it would be a postage job which i think will have to wait till the new year. Untill then its spare wheel and SP2000, and i'll drop you a PM next year. Thanks Ed

I didnt ask Tony as its a bit far away for just a tyre (a good hour and a bits drive up the M1.) But yeah i have been looking at the online vendors (who seem to be cheaper even though they come to you) and they are out of stock. Event Tyres said to me that they had just rung Dunlop for me and that the Lexus SP9000 Tyre was at least a 2 week wait and they would be stopping production soon. And i have one on order from them. Also From what i heard the non L SP9000 is not recommened for the IS. I tried event tyres and e-tyres so i will hit the ones you suggested thanks! Gonna put my SP2000 shod wheel on later anyway so that will buy some time.

Thanks for the reply. Is there going to be a major difference if i just fitted 1 falken to my back left (dunno why i put right before lol) wheel? Deff cant afford 2 at this time of year.

Hi Guys, I've got a slow puncture in my Back right tyre. Also when i went to see Dr Bones he said the weld was breaking apart on the inside. So as the Kwick Cowboys wont be able to repair it - its new tyre time. I have pretty new SP9000L's on the other 3 corners but i'm finding it hard to find a new Lexus SP9000, and it will take 2 - 6 weeks for a new tyre. So here is the question. Should i put my spare with an SP2000 on and wait for a SP9000L or as i have heard from one of the tyre fitters that Dunlop said they are going to stop making SP9000L soon: should i just buy another tyre and match that when the others need doing? (Probably the Falken 452 from what some of you guys have said of it.) My only concern is what performance / handling difference does running different tyres have? Cheers guys, Ed

I've found that flooring it doesnt help. I'm assuming that this is the electronic throttle again. The problem i have is only 1 in 100 starts and generally when its bloody cold/wet. Ed

I am having the same problem once in a while. My battery was supposedly swapped last year (only bought it in july.) Can a battery get rubbish after that long? or do you guys think it wasnt swapped?

any chance of sending me the docs aswell stav when your able? im really interested in doing this as my blue stereo is actually really distracting at night compared to the orange, wouldnt be so much if i go it all blue. cheers, Ed

damn i could do with some of those aswell :(

lol wasn't a personal dig, was just to show how bad the car was in that you couldnt believe that there was no luggage in the boot!

Went to see the Dr Yesterday to get the WIM settings on the front wheels. Also my car was sqeuaking slightly and hadnt worked out whether it was suspension, brakes, bearings etc........ Tony had the car up in no time and diagnosed that my back wheels were heavily outside their set perameters and (while Tony explained this much more technically) they were 1.5 degrees when they should have been 0.55. He suggested that it would have been due to heavy load in the boot from the previous owner. He kept asking me if i had stuff in the boot as he couldnt belive the reading. This could well have explained why my car was scraping over speedbumps when loaded as the inward lean of the wheels had lowered the back of the car. Tony of course fixed this quick as you like and the difference was actually visible. He then set the front wheels to his settings and i was away. It all took just under an hour and im very pleased. The car handles much better now. Turns in much harder and sharper and the grip lasts longer and i can also feel the difference in braking. I'm going to have to be careful from now on however as it feels much more confident at speed and, even after Tony told me to take it easy on the way home due to the handling being very different, i got the back out quite heavily on a roundabout exit as i didnt normally exit roundabouts at that speed so am not normally on cam. I was almost offended, lol, when Tony said that it would have felt boatish before, but he was right its a lot more taught now. All thats left to say is thank you Dr and to reccomend that anyone who hasnt got it done yet should really consider making the trip to WIM as for me at least it was well worth the £100. Ed

i use 33psi. however went to see the Dr @ WIM today (tony did an exceptional job, will do a write up tomorrow) and he recommends 35psi so thats what im on now. re the k&n ive only ever heard of them reducing mpg, however with the elec throttle it may be different.

i have a warrenty with warrenty direct at the moment. The quote is £225 for the year on my 2001 is200 sport. However i am paying monthly: I bought the warrenty as i was slightly dubious about the car when i bought it in july. It had the last three service stamps from the guy who sold it to me's garage and the air filter was filthy when i bought it even though it was serviced in january and it had only covered 500-1000miles by the time i bought it. I would have got an RAC check done but it drove well and the check costs the same as a years warranty. I'm only paying monthly however as i am going to cancel the policy once its cleared its first service and mot in january. I also need the cambelt changing, but knew the warranty wouldnt cover. ed

Just had a quick test on the way home where the engine is only warm for a couple of minutes before home. It did seem a tiny bit quicker to drop off the revs when it was first turned on but thats peobably because i was looking for it. It's nowhere near any different to affect performance if it is different. Deff no change in engine note either.

damn i forgot to check. My engine note doesnt really change with temperature. Just i whine untill 4-4.5 then a kind of scream untill the limiter. i'm gonna leave work soon i'll check the rev drop off on the way home. However as a side note my old focus used to make an awesome sound when cold with a k&n but when warm was quite timid sounding. Ed