Jack Pritchard

Thanks, so basically no difference between the 96 and 97 GS300 then? Put simply, if you had a 1997 GS300 MKI would you expect a door catch/lock from a 1996 GS300 MKI to fit?

Hi all I have a Lexus GS 1997 JZS147 Saloon 300 which needs a new rear, drivers side door catch. (I'm in the U.K.) I have found the following on ebay.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351570753168?clk_rvr_id=1026117030592&rmvSB=true#vi-ilComp But it states in the compatibility test that it will only fit the 96 model. Is this right? I thought that from 93 to 97 they were the same. Assurances or otherwise needed :) Thanks

Good idea. Thanks.

Thanks for that :)

I'm changing the front lower ball joint as the actual ball ripped away from the arm, luckily when on my driveway. I undid the nut at the bottom of this ball joint expecting to be able to just tap the bottom thread with a hammer and out it would pop, ready to fit the new one, but no. The bloody thing is seized solid. I've been bashing for about an hour and used up half a can of WD40. Any ideas? Piccy attached.

Just wondering what the average range that a key fob should work at is. With my old Supra I could unlock/lock the doors from a good 100ft but with this car I have to get so close sometimes I need to actually touch the key fob onto the car for it to work. Is there anyway of increasing this range. Also, key fob has a brand new battery.

It's a strut that goes from the air intake block down to the bottom of the engine. I'm hoping that it's just a stabiliser and that I can comfortably remove it to give me extra room to work in.

I reckon that I could have just enough wriggle room to get to the starter if I moved the strut in the middle of this picture. Question is, is this strut important? Will the engine suddenly shift or something if I temporarily move it out the way etc. It's so frustrating being able to see the bloody thing but not able to get to it!

I've just located the starter and I must admit that it looks very buried and tricky to get to. Any tips?

Min update: Disconnected the line that goes straight to the starter motor and as soon as I did that all the cars electrics started working again! So it's definitely that that's the problem. Of course now I've triggered the immobiliser so I have to wait before I can fiddle around again but, so far so good :)

I certainly intend to. Forgot to mention that there is now zero power to anything, i.e. electrical system is dead and whenever i connect the battery all I get is sparks and fizzing :S

It's funny you should say that. I've been having problems with the starter for a few months now with it either just clicking or failing to start the car when I know full well that the battery was fully charged. Also, the mechanic was surprised that none of the fuses blew and if you say that the smoke was coming from that area then this gives me hope that I might be getting closer in tracking the problem down. Perhaps I can't find any smoke damage to the wiring because it was the starter itself that was causing the short circuit and was smoking. I changed the alternator because it simply stopped working and I was, for a good few weeks, running the car on battery power only and having to charge it up myself every night. Thanks for this, I feel a bit more positive now

Ok, so I changed my alternator http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=80095 and all seemed ok for a couple of days but then, the Saturday before Christmas I was driving at night to pick my daughter up when suddenly the dashboard lights dimmed as did the headlights and I had a sudden loss of power. I managed to pull over to the side of the road and switch off where I was greeted by a huge plume of smoke coming from the bonnet, roughly where the battery is. Roadside recovery came to my rescue and as soon as he connected his jump starter to the battery smoke immediately started to rise from just below the battery. Although it was pretty dark so we couldn't tell exactly. He told me that I had a short circuit in the wiring loom somewhere and it would cost a fortune to put right. Not being the sort of person who likes to be defeated my questions is this. Is there anything I can do about this myself? I've had a really good look all over, both under and above and have even taken the fuse box apart but can't find any obviously melted wires or anything that looks like it has recently been pouring out smoke. So what can I do apart from get a mobile mechanic around? Thanks :)

Changed it over this morning. Just a couple of bolts and a couple of wires to disconnect but still took me over an hour and ripped my hands to shreds :-/ Slackening off the belt was easy thanks to TigerFish. Volt meter (which I installed myself as for some reason Lexus doesn't think we need one) now reads just under 15v instead of the 12v it used to read :D Thanks to all..