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bernieeccles

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Everything posted by bernieeccles

  1. Kunifer is better, copper/nickel. https://www.copper.org/applications/automotive/brake-tube/brake.html
  2. All because of 2 lots of 2 to 3 inch of supposedly corroded brake pipe. It's your money but I think your wasting it if you go to a Lexus dealer.
  3. Interesting video as I had the same problem a couple of years ago. Now, I tend to do all my own maintenance so got my wheels off and had a good look at these bits of pipe. I figured that if they were really bad I would just cut out a small section and make a new piece with Kunifer brake pipe and new joining fittings because it was only the uncoated bits that were "corroded" After a good clean with some emery cloth, I reckoned they were not that bad afterall so painted these exposed bits with thick black Hammerite type paint. It went in for the MOT the year after and there was no mention at all of corroded brake pipes. There is no way that I would let Lexus charge £1000 because 2 bits of 2 inch long pipe had some surface rust. As has been said, any competent mechanic could replace those bits of pipe for comparatively "bugger all"
  4. Previously, I had a VW Bora TDI 130 which came with 2 sets of keys. I thought I had lost one set so being a cheapskate ordered one from Aliexpress which contained all the electronics but a blank key blade. Had the blade cut but in the meantime found the "lost" key. One day tried to start the car as usual. Key in all the dash lit up, engine turned over and started but then within a second or so, just died. It kept doing this and I could not figure out why as it had run fine before. It then dawned on me that I had been using the new key fob to start the car but it actually did not contain the transponder to transmit a code to the car. Substitute one on the original keys and voila! no problems. Which in a long winded way, I ask if your key fob is working correctly or maybe you have 2 and one is good and one is bad which would explain the car running fine at first with the good key and trying and dying with the other. Just a suggestion, but sometimes there is a very simple explanation while we look for other more complicated reasons.
  5. My wheels, 17 inch, are in very good condition because the previous owner, who had it from new, had them professionally restored and powder coated a few years ago. BTW, my front tyres are Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 3's and the rears Asymmetric 5's.
  6. Yes, it can only happen as I do a maneuver on my tarmac drive i.e. a reverse on full or part full lock then a forward turn. It just can't be good for the tyres and I wonder where the threshold of width, profile etc of tyre means that this is inevitable. We also have a Honda Civic but that doesn't suffer from this. For anyone with an ounce of mechanical sympathy, this is alarming.
  7. Now I know this topic has been covered before and others have said this is normal but mine has always made this horrendous noise when applying quite a bit of steering wheel lock and more so in the cold weather. The noise, which you probably know is a sort of loud cracking noise, is quite alarming and I find it hard to believe that manufacturers claim this is normal and harmless. Has anybody had their wheels aligned on a Hunter or equivalent machine and got this painful noise eliminated or reduced. Had some passengers in yesterday and their reaction was, what the hell is that!
  8. When I changed my water pump last year, I used this coolant. In the Lexus handbook, I believe it does say an alternative to the Lexus stuff can be used as long as it meets their spec. https://www.commaoil.com/passenger-vehicles/products/view/350/XSM5L
  9. So, I ask again. Where is the generating capacity going to come from to charge the nations electric cars in future when at present the generators sometimes struggle to supply enough when everybody plugs in the electric kettle for a cup of something when there is something like half time at the recent Euro football matches on the TV. How many new power stations will be required and when is the construction due to start. I have my own theory that the powers that be know there wont be enough capacity and that electric car ownership will be rationed by cost and ability to charge. Most people will be forced to use public transport which will certainly curtail the freedom to travel which we currently enjoy. This process has already started, witness the high VED on new cars, the banning from city areas unless you cough up extortionate daily fees, the proposed reduction of speed limits disguised as cleaning up the air quality and of course this applies to EVs even though they emit nothing. Our freedom to use a car is being eroded under our noses but so gradually that many don't notice. In short, TCMITS is going to be priced off the road.
  10. Lamp post charging? Another red herring, just go and have a look at how many lamp posts exist on your street and see how far apart they are. Now think of all those electric cars parked on the street waiting for a vacant lamp post and the ensuing problems that will occur when said motorists all try to connect their cars to a lamp post when and if it becomes vacant. Who was it that said "I predict a riot" This whole electric car thing may be doable at the moment when there are so few cars needing to be charged but when there are literally millions needing to be charged? Also how much generating capacity will be needed for all these cars and what is the lead in time for the construction and completion on multi billion power stations? 10 years, 20 years? Will they be nuclear, if so, get ready to deal with the backlash from the usual group of protesters.
  11. Just make sure that before you go to bed (if the car is outside), make sure that somehow with the fob in your pocket, the windows haven't inadvertently rolled down. Because if it rains in the night and gets a bit windy, the inside of your car will get a bit wet and leather perforated seats can get a bit soggy. I post from hard earned experience !
  12. I was always lead to believe that the whole reason for insurance( besides the obvious legal requirement) was to put you back into the position you were before the accident without betterment. Would you accept having a three bedroom house built when your insured 6 bedroom house got destroyed for whatever reason? Of course not so why should you accept not being able to replace your written off car for another of the same quality and condition? Insurance companies are indeed a law unto themselves.
  13. I bought my IS 250 from Lexus Newcastle as an approved used car. A couple of days went by and it was obvious the battery was passed its best and from this board, I identified it as being the original battery. Lexus Newcastle eventually agreed to pay for a new battery and asked me to go to a local Lexus dealer (Leeds) and the cost from memory was something like £125 with ONE year warranty. For less money, I could have sourced one rom a good reputable manufacture myself with at least a 3 or 4 year warranty. The Lexus cost was a standard cost but did include fitting but it's not exactly rocket science to fit a new battery. Not good value as I stated. Just checked the Halfords site and a Yuasa Silver with 5 years warranty is £98.
  14. Lexus will charge you more money for a battery than other retail outlets but only give you 12 months warranty. Where is the value in that ?
  15. I was on holiday down South and I started to hear a really annoying tinny vibration noise which reverberated through the transmission tunnel at various scenarios and loads. Took it into a fast fit place in Plymouth to have a look underneath and it turned out to be the clamps holding the exhaust heat shield had rusted away causing the shield to vibrate and cause the noise. 4 new 2 inch worm drive clips sorted the problem.
  16. Check out some of the Paintless Dent removal videos on Youtube. Some of their work is amazing.
  17. It's not so much a problem with leaking I think but more to do with the bearings within the pump. On my car when the mileage was in the mid 60,s, I thought I could discern a sort of mild whirring/rattling sound from that area. Bought a "Blue Print" water pump complete with the metal gasket and it turned out to be a genuine item but with the Toyota or Lexus name ground off the casting. Took the old one off and the bearing had obviously worn out as a fair bit of wiggle on the impeller and the bearing when spun had the rough/ rattly feeling. Not a difficult job to do, just find one of the many Youtube videos which show step by step instructions. My pump cost between £80 to £90, I can't remember the exact cost.
  18. I always keep an eye out at Tesco because from time to time they have oil on offer at half price. The last lot I bought for the next oil change was £8 for a 2 liter bottle. As we have 2 cars in the family I bought 6 bottles. The oil was branded Redex, is fully synthetic and has a specification which far exceeds that which is specified in the handbook for my IS250.
  19. Well, I stand by what I said in a previous post. If all else fails and it's a toss up between an undoubted large Lexus bill or a second hand engine with an equally large bill, what have you got to lose by spending £30 on a bottle of Steel seal which might cure it. For me it's a complete no brainer given my admittedly one and only but very successful experience. Just make sure you follow the instructions to the letter and If it doesn't work you can invoke their money back guarantee.
  20. Try a bottle of Steelseal in the cooling system. I know how skeptical people can be about this sort of stuff but a few years ago my daughters Peugeot 207 started pumping out white exhaust smoke and along with water loss from the system, these symptoms pointed to head gasket failure. Just smelling the exhaust added weight to the theory. The car was worth very little and she did not have much money, so as the "fixer" in my family, I searched and came across Steelseal. It seemed expensive to me but as a last chance effort I gave it a go and also changed the thermostat as I reckoned that was the root cause. Well, it worked. The car stopped emitting the white smoke, stopped losing coolant and ran fine until we sold it this year. It seems expensive for a bottle of "snakeoil" but it worked for us. Got to be worth a try!
  21. I didn't. I have looked at the last exposed bit of brake pipe, cleaned it up and painted it with heavy duty black metal paint. They did not look too bad to me so will see what happens at the next MOT.
  22. When I first bought my 2009 IS250 from a Lexus dealer, my first big holiday trip was down to Austria. When down there, I noticed a rumbling noise from the front right wheel which intensified when weight was put on it due to cornering loads, which is a classic sign of a worn wheel bearing. On my return to the UK, I took it into my local dealer as it was under a Lexus used car warranty and a technician came with me and drove the car and heard it straight away, but his diagnosis was worn front tyres. He did put it on a ramp and checked the wheels but came to the same conclusion. I subsequently changed the half worn tyres and needless to say the noise remained. A different technician at the same dealer then pronounced, yes it was a faulty wheel bearing which got changed and of course the noise went away. My wife made a pithy remark, that I should send the invoice for the 2 new tyres to the dealer as they were not the problem at all. All this goes to show that Lexus technicians are not infallible.
  23. With regards to the waterpump. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Water-Pump-fits-LEXUS-IS250-Mk3-2-5-2013-on-4GR-FSE-Coolant-ADL-1610039435-New/233478433395?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 This is a genuine Toyota pump with the logo ground off. It took me about 3 hours to fit after looking at online videos and doing it for the first time. The belt comes off and on in about 2 minutes or so. No way is this a £600 pound job. Edit for some reason, that pump is now showing for a Mk3 IS250 but I got one from the same supplier for a Mk2 a bit cheaper as they had a discount at the time.
  24. My water pump wasn't leaking, but I thought I heard a rattle from it at idle so bought a BluePrint branded one which turned out to be the genuine article with the Toyota logo ground off. I took the old one off and sure enough the bearings were on their way out as you could move the drive spindle about quite a bit. Put the replacement on and all is quiet again. It's not a difficult job to do and there are enough detailed Youtube videos to show you how. My mileage at the time was about 62K. I think I paid about £78 for it as the seller offered some sort of discount. Came with new O ring seals and the metalised gasket.
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