WMGS300

A couple weekends ago I replaced the spark plugs, ignition wires, and valve cover gaskets in my 99 GS300 for pretty cheap. Last summer I went to get my car looked over by my nearest Lexus dealership and the amount of things they found that needed to be replaced were surprising. And, as you could probably guess, the price was astronomical. For parts and tax (not even including the $110/hr for labor) the total came out to $8,427.46. That's more than the car is worth so I figured I'd do what I usually do when I get quoted a part's weight in gold; I did things on my own. This $8k wasn't for what I replaced but a decent portion of it was (if you want to know what other parts I needed and what they quoted me just pm me). Now for the parts and quotes. Remember, these are all just the prices of the parts, not including the labor charges.

Valve cover gasket (found engine oil leak): $497.08
Ignition wires (mine were original): $80.51
Serpentine belt (I did this over the summer): $60.65
Spark plugs (mine were original): $407.52
Oxygen sensor (bank 2, sensor 2, under car): $465.07
Total: $1510.83

And now, the parts I actually got.
Beck Arnley 036-1689 Engine Valve Cover Gasket: $13.18
Beck Arnley 036-1688 Engine Valve Cover Gasket: $13.40
6x Denso 5303 Spark Plug: 6x$8.00 = $48
Denso 234-4603 Oxygen Sensor: $68.06
Bando 6PK1930 OEM Quality Serpentine Belt: $17.90
KARLYN 725 Spark Plug Wire Set- STI: $26.45
Total: $186.99

All of these, with the exception of the spark plug wire set, were purchased on Amazon.com. Many of the prices fluctuate on there so I'd keep an eye out (the spark plugs are already a dollar more each and the O2 sensor is $10 less). The serpentine belt and O2 sensor installs were pretty straight forward. As for the rest, I followed this guy's videos on YouTube. He has a slight accent and an IS300 that's a few years older. It's the same engine though with only a couple differences as far as I could tell from the parts I worked on. Just search through his videos to find the IS300 ones or I can post the links to each in this post. Here's his channel:
Alexey Gavrilov - YouTube

Not too bad of a job, only one hiccup. The plug to the MAF sensor wasn't snapped in all the way so I was getting a CEL. Just had to plug it in the rest of the way. I probably just nudged it with my knee by accident.

Sevenevez

iTrader: (2)

nice job man. i love to see people doing this stuff on their own. granted if money grew on trees the dealership would be the right way to go. but not in my life. if there is ANY way i can do it, i do. if not, i call my buddy and between the two of us we get it done. congrats. sounds like you got all maintenance under your own control now

Lukas99GS

Exactly what I'm planning on doing to my 99 GS once it warms up here, ridiculous how much the dealer charges, glad to hear it went smooth for you, I hope it does for me as this will be my first time doing any of this with this car, what did you use to seal the gaskets?

WMGS300

Yeah I usually leave the bigger and riskier jobs to the dealership or my mechanic. The other couple of things that shot the price way up to where it is will have to be done by one of them. But it does feel pretty good fixing things up and paying so little to do so.

I didn't have to use anything to seal them. As far as I know, you don't need to seal rubber gaskets at first. The sealant is for when the gaskets get older and harder and start to leak oil but I'd just replace them at that point anyway. I could be wrong but things have been good so far. The rubber is very very strong and flexible when it's new so I'd think it would be fine without it. The old ones snapped anytime I bent them past a 90 degree angle.

wbmx1981

When I did my valve cover gasket I used a fel pro rubber gasket and I didn't use any sealant at all. This is the second time I changed my vcv without any sealant and I haven't had a leak.

I need to do my spark plug wires, I bought the denso ones off rockauto but they came without the clips that have the letters on them, did you experience this? Can I use the clips off the old wires? What are you guys doing in this situation?

Lukas99GS

That's good to hear, I've never done VCGs and I heard you had to put sealent in a certain spot, I don't think I will now of it worked for you guys, I've heard they have those clips at the dealer for really cheap, like under 10$ for all of them, I've heard they break really easily

ttaylor993

Just finished doing my VCGs yesterday. The way the gasket is made, there is no need for a sealer. As you know, it is not a flat gasket but has a raised flange-like middle that fits into a recess in the valve cover. That makes the sealer unnecessary. The biggest mistake some people make with VCGs is torquing them down too tight or not in the correct sequence (from the middle outwards). On a GS300 they only need 6.25 ft/lb. Putting them on too tight cases the VC to warp ever-so-slightly, and therefore, leak. Then they feel the need for a sealer.

As for the clips, two of mine broke when I was changing the plugs. Fortunately, I ordered a set off eBay. Set came with 6 clips although I only needed 3; $28 for the set. Used Denso plugs - twin ground platinum; same as the ones I took out.

VIP161

iTrader: (3)

Yeah those quotes are outrageous. That's why I read up on the forums and do it all myself. It's good that you had all this work done. Now your GS is ready for another lifetime.

natman

$500 for valve cover gaskets!?!
$400 for 6 spark plugs!?! ($68 EACH!!!)
O2 sensor $465

Find a new dealer$hip. My local dealer "only" wanted $265 for an O2 sensor. Like you, I bought a genuine Denso, same as OEM for $60 online.

Whenever I have to buy parts I always call the dealership for a quote. It makes me feel so much better about the real price.

WMGS300

All three of my clips broke when I took them off so there was no reusing them. As for whether they need letters on them or not? They shouldn't as long as you make sure to plug the correct length wires to the correct spark plugs and direct ignition coils. I just took a picture of the previous wires and made sure I plugged in the correct ones. If you get the plugs wrong it won't have the correct firing order (1-5-3-6-2-4).
The other closest dealership is over an hour away. I called about the spark plugs to see what company they were because I had heard some people had NGK and some people had Denso (the guy had no idea which company it was he just kept saying that they OEM plugs). But when I told him the original quote he said that was high and it ended up being closer to $100. Maybe they also quoted me for the direct ignition coils but just had it all under spark plugs and that's what mysteriously shot the price up.

GsLex02

Very nice...its crazy how much the dealership gets out of people lol

Scuba420

there a really good viedo on youtube about this

Lukas99GS

If that's true I'd find a different dealership, 500$ for valve cover gaskets has to be wrong, I mean on sewell it's like 30$ for both of them oem, and I bought spark plugs at my dealer all 6 for like 60$..

burny

he's talking labor too I believe.

NVRLFT

I used oe stuff and only cost me 81.00 for all the plugs v/c gaskets and pcv and grommet, granted I work at toyota and got discount on all the parts