Mike_Mac

The best thing to do is either to put something where the brake disc would sit to stop the pistons travelling too far out, or put the caliper back over the disc each time you want to extend it. Just remember to secure both ends of the Caliper, otherwise it could pop off the disc. I use a rolled up rear car mat to stop the pistons travelling too far, which works well. HTH. :)

I'd open the gaitor around the pistons and get some WD-40 in there. Work the pistons back and forth with a G-Clamp and pressing the brake pedal until they move freely and then lubricate the pistons with some lithium based grease. Job done! Just be careful not to pop the pistons out of their bores or damage the gaitors while doing this.

Be aware that the DIY kits aren't designed for a full re-gas, just a top-up. Plus if there's a leak then you've wasted your money. A professional re-gas will spot the leak before they put any expensive R-134a in there and don't cost much more than the DIY option anyway.

Excellent write-up! I guarantee most garages now would just suck their teeth and say 'needs a new starter mate' and proceed to charge you 2 hours labour on top of the cost of a complete unit! Probably quite true. Although to be fair, the starter (on the mk1 anyway) is a c*nt to get to. Even once you've managed to get to the two bolts and undo them, you still have to get the thing out round all the pipes and wiring, Lots of cursing ensues :tsktsk: Yup!! Sounds just like my Supra and all the Celicas before that too. Right angled joints and seven fingers seem to be a mandatory requirement for any toyota engine bay. Plus they like putting in the sneaky little sharp edge just right to catch your fingers too!! :D

Search e-bay for 'Lexus GS300 Mats' and bingo! :)

Sourcing dash bulbs is the one time i'll go straight to the dealer; you can always tell them exactly what the bulb lights up and then show them on the EPC, which means you get the right bulb. It costs a few quid a bulb (main dealer after all!! ), but it's simple.

Yes it is likely to just need a re-gas, which should be around £40-£50 depending on area. As you look into the engine bay you will see to your right a cylinder with two aluminium pipes coming out of the top - one with a plastic cap on it. This is the filler point for the A/C. The only issues you might have is if the system's been de-gassed for a while some of the o-rings could have perished. This might not be apparent on initial gassing (although it usually is), so keep an eye on it once re-gassed in case a leak appears.

Excellent write-up! I guarantee most garages now would just suck their teeth and say 'needs a new starter mate' and proceed to charge you 2 hours labour on top of the cost of a complete unit!

Possibly a loose connection/worn bush in the starter motor, or the solenoid that engages it from the ignition switch.

Sounds like a lack of pressure, which would suggest a leak, or a sticky valve. Is there any sign of a leak on the pipes in the engine bay? If not then can you see fluid in the inspection port next to the filling nozzle by the rad? The main other thing it could be is a stuck expansion valve - these can seize up if the system's been de-gassed for a while, but if yours was working fine before then that's probably not it. Best off going back to KF, as if it's sprung a leak they should be able to find it. Thanks for the tips. Not sure how long it was not gassed up for. I only got the car a short while ago. It was completely empty. It did pass the test done and held good vacume. Where would the valves be located? I have a air hissing sort of noise behind the dash, only when it is switched on though. To me that suggests low pressure as the system tries to draw in the remaining gas through the matrix - creating the 'whooshing' sound. You'll probably find the it's been de-gassed for a while and one of the O-Rings in the system has dried, cracked and is now letting the AC oil escape after re-gassing. This would explain the symptoms you're getting. PS - If Kwik Fit start talking big money, or waffle then i'd get a second opinion, as their standard of knowledge is pretty poor TBH.

Sounds like a lack of pressure, which would suggest a leak, or a sticky valve. Is there any sign of a leak on the pipes in the engine bay? If not then can you see fluid in the inspection port next to the filling nozzle by the rad? The main other thing it could be is a stuck expansion valve - these can seize up if the system's been de-gassed for a while, but if yours was working fine before then that's probably not it. Best off going back to KF, as if it's sprung a leak they should be able to find it.

That shouldn't matter - there should be loads of places that can fit generic towbars in your local yellow pages. It's not a difficult job and shouldn't be too expensive either.

Well the cleaning is finished!! Only took a week to do that plus all the other small jobs that needed doing. Some Pics: In reference to the posts above about LPG - has anyone successfully converted a Mk1 GS to it and how did they find it to run? Bit concerned about this now!

Any chance you could provide details on the problems you had (via PM if necessary?). All the reading i'd done suggested it was fine so long as you fitted a 'valve-saver' system and started and finished your trip on petrol.

Well it's getting there. I finished cleaning the interior - it's now beige as opposed to yellow :D. The spoiler is also back on properly and it looks like it was responsible for the amp going. Because there was no grommet or sealing around the mounting holes water was dripping in and landing right on the amp. The whole thing was rusty and several of the resistors had rusted off completely! No chance of salvage. Plus i'll need to check through the boot and clean/de-rust/paint any manky spots from the water. Should get new amp next week and that'll sort that problem out. I've also hopefully sorted the AC. It had been re-gassed, but the 8mm pipe on the lower RHS of the engine bay had been corroded by a rusty bracket and let go big time. Initially an AC bloke tried to joint the two good ends, but then said that the join he tried to use hadn't worked, that I needed a new pipe and he then disappeared. The general consensus was that he'd decided it was too much effort to keep trying to join the pipe. Lexus over the phone told me the pipe was discontinued - until I turned up in a nice shiny Lexus showroom in my oily overalls brandishing said pipe. Funnily enough they quickly managed to find it on the EPC then :winky: and that it could be ordered... for £180!! After that I popped next door to a pipe specialist and got a pipe join before hacksawing throught the previous repair attempt and doing it myself. Moment of truth's today, as that when it's being pressure tested, but the join should be good for 350 Bar and it seemed to take well to the two ends. That'll be £3.50 vs £180 if it works!! The fianl mechanical problem i've noticed, and it seems to be a common one, is vibration at speed and juddering while braking. After some testing last night it seems like the NSF caliper is sticky (other three cool while it was roasting after a run) plus I think there's some warping to the brake discs. I'll be looking at freeing the caliper and getting the discs skimmed today. After that it's tidying up the paintwork and correcting the panels before polishing and getting some pics up. I'll probably not get that done to day, but as it's the last job on the list to sort it's looking good so far.:)

Hi all – just bought a black Mk1 GS300 on Saturday and it’s turned into a bit of a project already! It had good history and had obviously been looked after until its last owner where things had dried up a little. It had also had a knock at the rear, but this had been sprayed well, although the spoiler wasn't too well mounted. There were quite a few cosmetic things needing done and some mechanical things too – the first one being to put some air in the tyres as the NS tyres were at 21 and 17 Psi and the OS weren’t much better! Funnily enough after that it drove like it should and hasn’t missed a beat since then. Luckily I’m on holiday just now as the whole of last week has turned into a dawn to dusk GS’a’thon. So far I’ve: Flushed and serviced it (oil and air filter were both black). Balanced the tyres and sorted the tracking. Replaced damaged NS wing mirror. Replaced damaged centre boot light. Removed spoiler to re-fit it properly (no protection applied to the fixing holes so there were the beginnings of rust). Begun deep-cleaning the interior (sodding beige leather and smokers). There’re lots of other little jobs that have cropped up, but generally it’s been exactly as I expected – bomb-proof. The main things left now are to repair a corroded AC pipe and finish cleaning up the interior - hopefully tomorrow so I can post up some pictures. The exterior is currently filthy thanks to the lovely British Summer weather, so i'll wait until i've corrected that before posting up some snaps. Overall it’s proven to be a thirsty but incredibly comfortable cruiser that’s a real pleasure to drive. My plan is to convert it to LPG and then use it as my commuting car (already have a Supra). With LPG it’s more economical than my 406 diesel run-around!! :D

Hi - I've just bought a Mk1 GS300 and am very impressed with its quality. I'm doing things a bit about-face because i've already posted in the Wanted section, but that was because i've been spending this week on the jobs that needed doing and am sourcing all the bits and bobs that I need! Although i'm new to a Lexus i'm very familiar with the GS mechanicals, because I already have a Supra, so the 2JZ is a very familar engine. Most of the other mechanicals are very simliar too, so it should be nice and simple to work on and a lot more comfortable. The plan is to convert it to LPG, which makes it more economical than my current runaround and with far more toys too! :D Thanks already to Monster-Mat, who's selling me his amp, removing one of my major headaches :)

Hi, I've just bought a Mk1 GS with a non-functioning radio, among other things which I'm sorting this week one-by-one. The previous owner told me it was due to the amp being faulty and that there was a spare in the boot. The radio powers up and seems to work ok, but there's no sound, so i'm happy that it's the amp. The problem is the replacement amp is for a Supra, not a GS ( ). There doesn't seem to be any in breakers yards and nice as the engine note is i'm missing the radio on my daily commute. Does anyone have one they'd be willing to sell, as I don't want to have to buy a new A-M head-unit? PS - as this is such a common fault (or so it seems) is there any way of re-furbing the old amp?