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Just bought 2001 lexus es300 coach edition black on black what to do?
Hi all,
i signed up so long ago when I bought my first love my 96 es300 due to carelessness I lost her too soon before we had a chance to grow. Fast forward 6 years I found a 2001 black es300 coach edition. She' has a few dings but you guys are the pros I'd love your advice on what to do first? What are the essentials for a used Lexus before I even start with the aesthetics.. gotta make sure the inside is good first! Here she is
Let me know!! Can't wait to make her last forever lol
Nice car! I especially like the wheels they put on the Coach edition. Assuming it may have some fading in the headlight lenses or some scratches in the clear plastic, try one of these...
Thank you! I will check some of those out! There are definitely a few cosmetic things that need to be done. They put terrible decals on that beautiful baby too ugh lol
Totally agree on the documented oil-changes (I was going to mention that until blacksc400 beat me to it). Ordinarily, I wouldn't recommend synthetic or semi-synthetic oil (which you will pay more for) for a non-turbo engine, but it might not be a bad idea for that engine. The 3.0L V6 had narrow oil-pasages, which made the engine run hot for emissions control. But it also made the oil run hot, which contributed to early sludging/gelling and breakdown of the oil. It was OK as long as you kept the oil religiously changed, but slackers could often face a damaged or ruined engine. Synthetic and semi-synthetic oil resists high-temperature breakdown better than the conventional stuff.
Yeah change the oil, I always recommend synthetic. Stuff is cheap now days, $25 for a 5 quart jug of Mobil 1 synthetic at Wal-Mart, regular stuff is $10-15. Maybe also look in through the oil fill, see if you can see any sludge, I don't know how much you could see though.
Do you have any service history on the car? When was the last time the coolant was changed? Make sure to use the Toyota pink stuff, if you mix pink and green it will eat away at the gaskets in the engine.
When was the last time the timing belt was changed? If you have to do the timing belt service, change the coolant at the same time, as you have to drain the coolant and replace the water pump with the t-belt service. I'd also recommend changing the spark plugs if you have the engine torn down for the t-belt service.
I'd also condition the leather seats. I've had great results with leathernique products(google it), it really does put some life back into old/dried out leather seats.
Also look for oil leaking around the valve covers, if it gets bad enough it can leak onto the exhaust manifold and give you a rather unpleasent smell(and a fire risk). I had a similar year Avalon(same engine) that had that problem, real PITA to change the rear valve cover.
Ohh yah, I would use Toyota transmission fluid and change it, I used to do it in every used Lexus I had, the type VI oil really make a difference of how the trans shifts. You never know what the previous owner put in, but toyota's own oil is different than the ones sold on the market.
These are all extremely helpful guys! Thanks so much! And yeah the guy who had it didn't keep the best records I kind of took a chance on her based on what I know and my research of what condition she is in she rides good super smooth quiet quick startup etc.. but I do not know how meticiulous he was in sure not even close to how I am. So I wanna get her all cleaned out and freshened up so I can do things properly to keep her going for a long time. Like a detox for us lol get her a green juice haha
Also, any ideas on good Lexus mechanics in north jersey/ny area? Maybe not at a dealer someone I can really trust who knows their stuff.
Whoa, nice find. I have an Oyster Pearl '01 Coach with a tan/grey (?) interior. Had a '99 black on black, but not Coach.
Everything will be reliable except the transmission. For the '99 model year, right before the '00-'01 facelift, Toyota dropped the bulletproof Aisin A541E transmission for their in-house designed U-series (U140E). It's superior on paper w.r.t. fuel economy, ratios, etc., but in the real world is an inferior transmission. Has problems with burning up clutch packs, and sudden death syndrome. My '01? I bought it for $1500...one owner, perfect inside and out except for the blown transmission at 151k miles. Needs a fluid pump and torque converter...was properly maintained by an official-but-freelance Toyota tech over its life.
If you want to keep the trans going as best as possible, I strongly suggest installing a nice auxiliary transmission cooler and an inline magnetic filter. Also, flush it out with a high-quality synthetic trans fluid (I, and many others, like Valvoline MaxLife. T-IV and WS are garbage, and don't buy that "lifetime" fluid crap); every 30k miles thereafter, drain, refill, and change the inline filter.
Past that, all the usual problems of the 1MZ apply and are easily dealt with...sludging problems pre-2002 as mentioned, oversensitive knock sensors (if/when you have to do these, do the bypass hose as well), and leaky valve cover gaskets due to the cover bolts bottoming out (when you do VC gaskets, use two 5/16" washers on each bolt to solve this).
Man you guys know so much of the technical stuff lol I'm just like ooo black on black pretty!! I did do my research on the years though so I am aware of some of these possible issues just not so good with all the technical terms. Which is why I need an Amazing mechanic to give it to me straight and to the point to get her going the right way.
please keep it coming I'm taking notes and googling like crazy! lol and we will talking for a while until she's up to snuff at least! Then the fun starts of cleaning her up and making her shine lol
05-28-17, 10:08 AM
Just bought 2001 lexus es300 coach edition black on black what to do?
