johnatg

I think I'd be inclined to go for it (the Online Automotive one). I suspect the crack you've got (others too) is basically a fatigue crack due to slight flex stresses on that bit of pipe as it emerges from the resonator, due to there not being any separate supports for the front exhaust pipe assembly. It might be worth getting a support strut welded on from the bottom of the resonator to the flange (if there's room and as long as it doesn't disrupt the smooth fitting of the flange to the rear section). (That would make a very stiff triangulated set up - I've had it done before when getting stainless steel silencers made - the pipes at either end are inclined to crack as described but the actual silencer boxes will last forever) The front section of exhaust pipes tend not to corrode too much because they run really hot. It's the rear sections and silencers which rot as they run much cooler. Quite a lot of exhaust failures are due to fatigue cracking caused by flexing rather than actual corrosion, especially these days when exhausts seem to be made of better stuff on the whole than in previous times. The £400 eBay one seems to have been removed from sale.

No four basic pieces. One piece from each manifold (left and right) - (just plain pipes attached to the manifolds, ending in flanges to which the rather complex 'front exhaust assembly' (refer to the workshop manual drawing I referenced earlier) attaches), the 'front assembly' and the 'rear exhaust assembly'. The cats and the resonator are included in the 'front exhaust assembly'

And this - the whole 'centre pipe' ('front exhaust assembly') for £350! http://tinyurl.com/ycbh8sr8 Can't imagine it's anything like Lexus oem quality, but it's a hell of a saving!

Here's an exploded pic of the whole exhaust system, connections and fittings: http://tinyurl.com/yag975wx

You should be able to re-form the clips/support plates with pliers to restore the grip and springiness. That should be done anyway when you change pads (but of course dealers don't do it - they wait until you complain and then want their £120 or whatever). But it might be worth getting that kit from eBay anyway if your slider boots are looking a bit shabby - new ones provide better protection for the slider pins/bolts against corrosion and seizing. Fitting them is a bit tricky - they need driving in with a socket but it can be hard to get them to go in straight. You need to take the calipers and their mounting brackets off the car to do it. (At least, that's the easiest way). And you'd get the new pad support plates as well, which I must admit would be better than re-forming old ones.

Alcantara isn't leather (it's wholly synthetic, but having said that it's quite nice!)

The cam cover gaskets may be leaking, which leads to oil in the plug recesses and it gets on the threads as you extract the plugs. Lexus spec for plug tightening is 25 nm or 18 ftlbs.

The workshop manual does say to start at the wheel furthest from the master cylinder - which is of course the rear passenger side, then rear drivers side, front passenger side, finally front drivers side. Not sure why you think the passenger side wheels are closer to the master cylinder than the drivers!

You need to take the wheel off and use a micrometer across the thickness of the disc or you can use a couple of nuts either side of the disc and measure across the whole lot with a caliper then subtract the total of the nuts thickness. You can't just use a caliper by itself because you'd be measuring the thickness at the rim and there'll be a lip there if the discs aren't new. Note that most micrometers are 25mm max opening but you can get bigger ones. Dial caliper gauges are cheaper and have much bigger capacity. Most of the time you can tell that discs need replacing just by looking at them - general corrugated iron effect is usually more significant than straightforward wear. You can expect a disc to last for two sets of pads - ie need changing every other set of pads.

if you can't smell fuel in the engine compartment, the seal is probably not leaking and the car will be safe to drive. If you can smell fuel, get it done right away - parts should be available. I wouldn't hold your breath on the airbag recall. Who knows if it's safe to drive? The only way to find out is to have a big crash. So we have to trust to fate on that one. There are umpteen million cars in the queue to get airbags replaced.

Unfortunately SC430 parts prices are not relevant to IS250 part price discussions - all parts are completely different. Rockauto don't even list plugs for IS250 - you have no choice - they need Denso FK20HBR11 and you won't find them anywhere for less than £79.99 a set (of 6). I reckon they are so expensive because there are no equivalents (whereas there are lots of equivalents for SC430) and as far as I can tell they are only used on IS250/350, some GS and LS and some big Toyota saloons. I don't know SC430 prices for filters etc, but they will be different from IS250 prices because they are different parts. The other thing about Rockauto is that unless you are buying a lot of stuff the postage cost means a real hit. But they are sometimes useful for things you can't get elsewhere.

I get air and cabin filters on eBay - usually from 'autoperformanceonline'. I reckon it's a complete waste of money buying from Lexus - after all, they don't make filters - it's just that they sell ones they have sourced from a variety of suppliers. So their is/are plenty of middlemen's cuts in the price by the time they get to UK. Regarding air filters, most do the job (I think the ones I get are Crosland - in the green box). You are better off changing them twice as often as recommended by Lexus and it would still save you money compared with Lexus prices. The rec change interval is 40K miles - seems a long way to me. They are just a tenner on eBay.

You are being ripped off there, my friend. The plugs have been listed for ages on eBay by Lexus Birmingham at £79.99 - presumably any other Lexus dealer could sell them for that. (I've had them in my eBay watch list for a long time - they keep coming round. Now says 'last one' but I bet they'll be relisted). I would have thought that it would be half an hour's extra labour tops beyond the fuel seal recall.

There are two things which clog up DPFs - soot and ash. The regen only clears the soot - the ash just keeps on building. Eventually the thing gets too clogged up and you need a new one. That seems to be where you are - 155K makes it not too surprising. So a new DPF should (might?) solve the problem Good luck!

Don't hold your breath.......

Have you taken (and passed) a driving test in UK? Was it in an automatic car (in which case you only have a full license to drive automatics) or manual?

Just jack it up and take the wheels off! (One at a time!) Support it properly before you get anywhere underneath to take a close look at the suspension. Put the wheel under a fixed part or use big wooden blocks (or proper axle stands). Don't use bricks. Most suspension part rust is superficial, but things can get nasty if the car has been driven on a beach (even just on the sand) or through seawater (including seaside floods or promenades where the sea has splashed over the seawall) The salt wreaks havoc on cars - suspension, body, wheels - all will rot in no time - sometimes just seaspray will cause a lot of damage (look around a car park close to the sea in stormy conditions - a lot of the cars will have really rusty brake discs) Never, ever, drive your car (any car you value) on a beach or through potentially salty floodwater!.

Any company offering mobile or one- (or same-) day turnaround must be using sand/grit blasting for paint and corrosion removal followed by painting with conventional paint. The result is going to be far less satisfactory than acid bath cleaning followed by powder coating. You may also need damage repair (eg to wheel rims if they have been curbed or deep corrosion) - all takes time and you can reckon 3 days for a proper job. The costs won't be much different. Don't know anyone near London but in the North West the one to go to is Prestige Wheels in Stockport.

And this might help! (Or confuse.......!) BodyR-P4.pdf

Actually I think you're correct - it's all called 'Parking assist' and we're talking about the 'Clearance Sonar system'. Here's a wiring diagram LPA-CS.pdf

Do you mean the TV camera system or ultrasonic obstruction detectors? I didn't think the SE has the TV camera - mine doesn't - maybe it was an option - but that's what 'parking assist' is.

I think it will just get caught up in the filter if you spray into the outside. Aircon smells emanate from deposits on the evaporator - the radiator-type component where the air gets cooled. It gets condensation on it when you switch off the engine (or actually the heater fan and air flow) and that wetness encourages the growth of mould. Cleaner sprays work by getting deposited on the evaporator and killing the mould spores. They need to take the shortest route from intake to evaporator - the airflow doesn't go through the filter on recirculate. - on some cars you can spray into the trunking between blower and evaporator but that's a bit complicated on the IS. The spray may take some time to work. I would give it a week or so then if you can still smell an unpleasant odour give it another go with a fresh can - maybe a different brand.

The job is rather easier on the IS250 than on that pickup because we have a drain plug. You can only drain a litre or so through it though - the whole tranny takes 7.2 litres. If you want to drain more you need to go further and remove the oil pan and valve body, but even then you only get 2.2 litres out. Next stage is remove the torque converter - then you get 3.7 litres out - still not much more then half, and do you really want to go there? The final adjustment of the oil level needs to be done with the oil between 30 and 49 deg C. The main problem is access - you need to be able to get the car high enough to do the job and it needs to be level. So a whole lot of jacking and 4 axle stands required. Or a lot easier with a lift.

I agree with John - exhaust changes downstream of the cats will have no effect on emissions. But for the record, the emissions reported are relatively high. My most recent MoT for the Lexus reads 0.01% CO and 12ppm HC on fast idle and 0.01% CO on Natural idle. Incidentally, my wife's Mii reads 0.00% CO and 2ppm HC on fast idle and 0.00% CO on Natural idle. Even my 25 year old MX-5 is cleaner - 0.02% CO and 55ppm HC on fast idle - Natural idle figures not reported. I wouldn't read too much into any of that though - a lot depends on the exact state of the engine tune on the day, how long the engine has been running for and so on - probably most importantly the state of the cats and the forward Oxygen sensors. And look at the trend over a number of MoT reports - if the emissions are rising over time, it may indicates deterioration of the cats and or Oxygen sensors..

I don't see why brake wear should depend on which wheels are driven - you don't brake and apply power at the same time (unless you're doing a bit of fancy rally driving!). Front brakes wear quicker than rear brakes because they do more work due to weight transfer (unless you make a habit of driving fast and braking hard backwards!), regardless of which wheels are driven. Linas - are you sure the caliper pistons are moving freely and retracting properly? (Caliper pistons should move back a smidgen when the brakes are released) I'd expect rear brake pads to last twice as long as front pads on an IS250 (and the discs should last longer too, although corrosion can be a problem particularly if the car is not used every day.)