degilmer

I live in Mesa and just bought a 2002 ES300 with 70K miles and I'm the 4th owner. First three sales were at Lexus dealerships & I have 66 service records from Carfax report so I know the history well. 1 1/2 years ago and at 51K new timing belt, front brakes and 4 new Michelins. Just before I purchased, new front left strut, oil change, cabin filter change & 4 wheel alignment. ANYWAY, I'm going to replace radiator hoses & flush radiator. Should I change thermostat and radiator cap too? Transmission has never been serviced - should I do drain and refill or have a professional flush at a shop (a quality independent shop - not the dealer or 1 hour oil change place)? Any other rubber or hoses I can/should replace (it is an AZ car afterall) besides the radiator hoses. Spark plugs - change or leave alone until 100K miles. WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU ALL SUGGEST? I'm going to pump out power steering & break fluid resevoirs and change them to synthetic. I know it's not a full purge but I'll keep doing it twice a year. What are your guys thoughts on Mobil 1 synthetic ATF or Amsoil ATF? For motor oil, I was going to use manufacturer recommened weight in Mobil 1 sythetic unless I get any other suggestions to convince me otherwise - like an 0 weight motor oil. THANKS GUYS - any and all help, suggestions, experiences would be greatly appreciated. Planning on at least another 10 years and turning 200K miles on this cars original transmission and motor!

brucelee1

iTrader: (2)

I have an 02. I did a drain and fill with Type 4 Toyota fluid. I also did engine and filter with Pennzoil Platinum and Toyota filter. Changed the air filter and replaced the PVC valve that was plugged. That is it so far.

I would not flush the tranny and I would stick to Toyota fluid. I will be getting the coolant done soon.

LeX2K

Replace upper and lower rad hose, rad cap and thermostat. Use only Lexus parts! Use OEM coolant as well. For the transmission, I would suggest doing a flush (either yourself or at a good tranny shop) and filling with cheap fluid and drive like that for a week or two. Drain and drop the transmission pan and clean it and replace the strainer. Then do a flush again, this time use a good synthetic ATF. Mobil 1 is a good fluid, but you could also consider using Royal Purple ATF. It's expensive, but a very high quality lubricant. Amsoil ATF is also excellent.

You've covered pretty much everything else, but I do wonder why they only replaced one strut? On the spark plugs, I'd go ahead and just replace them as part of all your maintenance, that way you don't have to worry about it. I would visually inspect all the coolant hoses, look for cracks and degradation, hot climates tend to dry them out more quickly. How is the engine doing as far as leaks, especially the valve cover gaskets?

LeX2K

If you don't do a flush, then you will remove only about 1/3 of the fluid when doing a drain and fill. So to renew most of the fluid, you will have to do a drain/fill at least 3 times. Some people like this method because it is the safest, but it also wastes fluid, a big deal if you're going with something like Amsoil or Royal Purple ATF.

Toyota supplied fluid is Mobil 1 3309, they are identical.