rich1068

I was extremely surprised to get a cheap quote from them when I got my IS. Then I added business use and it went through the roof.

If you do push the button on the Lexus I'd be genuinely interested in a comparison with the German marques you previously owned. 

Totally agree but I think in many cases it's even more simple than that. The journalists have about an hour with a car and have to come up with pros and cons. If it's anything more complicated than putting on the seatbelt it becomes their headline groan. Look at Subaru, every review moans about their CVT boxes and I think they've used them longer than Lexus. Generally nonsense. I use reviews for facts like seats or safety or whatever. I learned to ignore their opinions a long time ago.

This cropped up last time I was at the dealers, I asked if the newer cars were as well screwed together as the old ones. The reply was (obviously) yes but the guy I spoke to mentioned a few IS300H that came in for service and were used as mini cabs. One guy bought his at 65k and it had now done 200k+. I think the reference to the Prius is probably spot on.

I've run older (2000 on) German and Swedish stuff for the last few years and my '02 IS300 is a revelation in build quality.

I can remember going to a VAG show years ago ('03/'04?) and first seeing clay bars being demonstrated. Amazing what they do for neglected paintwork. At the time the trick was to feel the paintwork with your fingers inside the cellophane wrapper from a packet of fags then clay the panel and then feel it again through the cellophane. Any plastic wrapper will do but you really feel all the imperfections before and the smooth paintwork after.

Picked up this period JDM Alpine MD/CD head unit. I'm a bit of a sucker for Minidisc and I think it's rather splendid.

Being JDM the only instructions available are in Japanese but with a combination of Google Translate and MS Word I'm sure I'll be able to turn the demo mode off some time soon...

(Hope the video shows)

VID_20171120_120606.mp4

Different motor I know but I've still yet to have a proper tank emptying trip in my 2JZ IS. Consequently I'm doing just short of 250 miles on a full tank, mainly town driving. Not bad for an old 3ltr I think and not that far behind the F11 330d I had a couple of years ago. Obviously on a run the 330d would destroy it but I'd still take petrol over derv every day of the week.

2 hours ago, rayaans said:

I believe its called Sods Law... 

Quite. And I just can't have tyres with different tread depth on the same axle. It's like nails down a black board, within 24 hours I will have bought another new tyre. And different brands or tread patterns on the same axle? I wouldn't sleep.

Don't you all just hit "Latest Posts" anyway and see everything regardless of which section it's in?

We're still on the demonising and scapegoating drivers thing I see.

Oh no, the days of me crawling underneath cars and covering myself in Waxoyl are well and truly over. 40 quid and done by my friendly local mechanic. He could get it up on a lift and do a much more thorough job.

I was aware that my '02 IS had lived a pampered garage life but now lives out on the street. I didn't want it starting to deteriorate in my care. I'll probably still check the arches again myself shortly but at least I know everywhere else is done and done well.

Had all mine cleaned up this week and the entire underside treated to a coat of Waxoyl.

He topped up the indicator fluid for me (400 quid!!) but I'm afraid to say nothing else out of the ordinary was found. So I'm afraid we're still none the wiser gentlemen. He said it could still be a shock absorber on the way out but I don't think he was too convinced.

And it appears the unusual marks on mine (pictured on page 4) are just where the shock absorber boots rub. Doubtful that a rubber sleeve could cause the noise. So it looks as if I'll have to turn the stereo up like everyone else...

So long as it's not that Land Cruiser with the grille like the baddy in Predator.

We'll be replacing the XC90 with another 7 seater shortly though I suspect the RX350L may be a little out of our price range. Much like the new XC.

Engine mounts you say? Is this like checking the spark plugs on a diesel or fetching a bucket of steam? You've got to get up earlier than that to catch me out...

Hate to say it but you might have more luck on the US based forums. The first generation IS section on here is a little quiet and the IS300 was the standard IS over there. Not sure if I'm supposed to say but there's Club Lexus and My.IS

Good luck!

12 hours ago, rincewind said:

I'd go for the upper ball joint too, plus the upper control arm.  I've had the lower control arm off on mine, the bush looked fine.

16 minutes ago, catnap said:

Don't forget there's two - the bendy LCA is the no.2 which is a common failure point, but no.1 attaches to the lower ball joint under the knuckle. That's got a large bush at the back of it and if that's torn or disintegrated it could cause no.1 LCA to hit the chassis. Getting no.1 off isn't difficult from what I can see but I haven't had the time.

No. 2 upper control ball bendy mount LCA bush. Right. Got you. My man is going to be so impressed when I walk in there this afternoon.

Any neighbours with a foot pump? But then I suppose the RAC will look after you but remember, use the goo as a last resort.

Not being familiar with the kit in your car I'd suggest inflating it as much as you can and going somewhere very close by if it holds the pressure. Can you see if there's an object in the tread? If it's away from the sidewall then it's a repair and avoid using the gunk at all costs as most places won't touch tyres once you've used it. If the damage is on or near the sidewall then do whatever because it'll be replaced anyway.

26 minutes ago, catnap said:

or witness marks from things hitting other things

Did you see those pics I posted earlier in this thread? They looked odd to me but equally made no sense.

Any help? 

As previously mentioned, I've got someone casting their eye over it tomorrow. He won't charge me to investigate so where would you two like him to look in particular? I can tell him and sound like I know what I'm talking about 

Fair enough. Good luck with it 

That at 0.17-0.18 does sound familiar. 

Mine's going in to be Waxoyl'd on Wednesday (I know! Proper retro motoring!) and my non-Lexus mechanic is going to have another good look.

I may have a 13906 like this available soon.

CD changer works just fine but the cassette needs new belts. Any good?