HotRodRod

Hello everyone, title says it all. Here’s a link to the photos of the car. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...Oz3UTpa38/edit
Picked up this Lexus from online auction through Copart. Saw the bid at $1,300 so I bid $1,400. I won with no contest. Waited on approval from seller and we settled on $1,550. That’s excluding the buyer’s fee total of $550 and $250 tow. With registration and smog, total was around to $2,500.
Car came off the tow looking clean. Minor dents and scratched and in desperate need of a wash. Gave it a nice sponge bath and I immediately fell in love. Everyone at the shop (where I work with my father) was admiring the deep gloss and paint. Interior super clean, not my preferred color but can’t complain. Wheels in amazing shape, I assume this was driveway kept.
Only issues with the vehicle were front control arms’ bushings were out. The rear end creaks like a pornstar’s bed. The front passenger window motor is out. Front canister motor mount was shot. The driver side high beam bulb was out. Turns out it was just missing a fuse and there was a spare in the fuse box. And just recently I received Check Engine Code P0770.
I received the code driving on the freeway. I had experience engine jerks when shifting but I had assumed they were from the bad engine mount. The code indicates an open/closed or stuck Transmission Solenoid E. Which I still don’t know which it is. Let me tell you what I did.
My father had a similar problem on a Magnum and purchased the valve body through a transmission shop that also sells used parts. Called them up and asked for the solenoid price for a U140E transmission. Turns out they only sell the valve body with the 5 solenoids. Worried I asked how much, he said it was $50 total. These parts new would easily cost more than $1000. Without hesitation, I went to pick it up the next morning. Shop was only 20 minutes away from my tire shop.
With the help of YouTube, I tested each of the “new” solenoids and all worked perfectly. A huge thanks to YouTuber ghostses and his complete tear down video of this exact transmission on his wife’s RX300 (I also have this vehicle for my girlfriend). Here’s a link to the video which helped me with the reassembly. Moving forward with my transmission solenoids. I tested them all to find out all were working perfectly. Remember, P0770 quotes Solenoid E Malfunction and because it seems no one knows which this is, I just ended up replacing all of them with the “new” ones. Replaced the transmission filter and gasket and put new Toyota ATF-Type IV. Another $50 to the total.
It’s been less than a week now and the car is shifting like butter. So far no problems but my more experience mechanic friend said to sell the car before something worse comes up. So I’m pretty hesitant about keeping the car and my hopes are not that high about this car lasting. Which is pretty daunting.
I’m somewhat of a mechanic but never really put my hands inside the engine or transmission. I mainly have worked on suspension brakes and tires. Some motor mounts but that’s only on my vehicles. Like I said this is a tire shop.
I love this car and so does my girlfriend. She says it’s cuter and smoother than the 2001 RX300 we also have. I think the RX300 is a tad smoother though.
I’m only 21 years old and something about me pulls me towards these cars. Toyota or Honda specifically because of their reliability. But also because of how simple they are. No fancy dash. No crazy designs. Manejable. And very budget friendly.
Well, thank you for your time and hope you enjoyed reading this till the end. This is my first ever post on the forum so if there’s any questions feel free to ask. Also if there’s any mistakes please forgive me I did not proofread this.

LeX2K

Google tells me I don't have access.

How many miles on your car?

HotRodRod

Ha, forgot to mention that, it’s only got 139,000 miles.

And here are the photos, turns out the images’ storage size was to much for the website

LeX2K

Wow she is a beauty. That colour combo has to be fairly rare. If the transmission shifts and works properly you should be golden, change the ATF frequently and you'll never have any issues.

Oro

Wow that's nice. Interior is lovely; I like the color combo. I don't like black exterior (my suv is, though), but that paint and condition make it more than enjoyable. I wish the 4es had 1/2 as much exterior appeal as the 3es; just the best looking ES ever, 90s through today.

Just do the maintenance, run a quality synthetic at reasonable intervals and service the tranny. You'll not have a problem as Lexus2000 already said. You can fix the age-related bushing issues w/o a lot of hassle as I'm sure you know. They are common and plenty of DIY fodder out there.

Tip on fixing solenoids before pulling them out: Run a little Chemtool B-12 in the transmission for a few days. Then do a full flush. Drive for a while to let transmission adapt. Will usually take care of it. I've done this on a few cars and it has always worked, most recently late this summer with a Volvo XC I got, with an Aisin AW33 (aka AW55) transmission. Car came very cheap because it has similar transmission problem and code, also PS wonkiness (cured the same way) and a few cosmetic things easily correctible. Runs and looks close to new now.

Note how in pic #7 (driver's door view), he has carefully color-coordinated his mask and the car. The man has style.

LeX2K

Clean those seats with Leatherique (it must be done on a warm to hot day) they will come out like new, minus any coating that has worn off. Stuff works wonders and makes the leather smell great as well.

funcrusher

Thanks for the tip.

Clean ES op!

HotRodRod

How frequently do you think that should be done? Mileage wise I put down about 100 a week and I thought ATF wasn’t meant to be changed as much to prevent slips. I was pretty skeptical and kept asking for opinions through various mechanic friends whether or not to reuse the old fluid.

HotRodRod

I agree with you on the black exterior, not because it’s not a nice color, I love the deep non-metallic black onyx but it’s just so prone to dust. And overall condition of this ES makes me giggle with joy.

I think I figured out that it may be the rear trailing arm bushing. I plan to spray it down with WD-40 Silicone to pinpoint the culprit before I start needlessly changing out the entire suspension. I did this once on my civic, changed the entire rear passenger suspension only to find out that a trailing arm bolt was too long which didn’t close a gap that was no more than a few millimeters apart.

As for the Chemtool, what will that accomplish? Preventive maintenance?

thank you!

HotRodRod

I’ll make sure to pick that up next time I go to the store. The seats have definitely been treated as there are some discoloration but not a big deal for me. This is by far the best kept vehicle I’ve owned. Even tho I’ve only owned like 4 cars total.

1st owner of this car had it for 17 years. Then I saw it on auction after the second owner (owned it for about a year) had a collision on the front passenger side headlight. However, from the image I saw doesn’t seem that bad because the “lines” in the engine are untouched

Oro

Chemtool with dissolve any varnish or such impeding solenoids, also soften the hardened seals a bit. This is very good. It's harsh so you don't leave it in long - once you add it, drive it right away - the heat will flash off the most agressive components as it cleans.

Afterwards I add some Lubegard, either as fluid or supplement. The ester oil base will continue to condition seals and prevent leaks. It's good stuff and works. A general rule of thumb for maximum atf protection is to start with a baseline clean fill, then drain/fill the pan every 25k. This give you partially new fluid periodically and prevents having to do a total swap - more involved.

LeX2K

I would do it after 15,000 miles then do it again after another 15K. After that you could double the interval if you use a fully synthetic fluid. AFAIK Toyota T-IV aka Mobil 3309 is a full synthetic. I run Amsoil OE Multi Synthetic (red top) car loves it. A member here tried Amsoil Signature Series and had issues, only a sample of one but FYI.

wmj259

That is the cleanest interior I have ever seen. Was this Garage kept?

HotRodRod

Seems like it, as I said in another reply, first owner had it for 17 years! Then the 2nd owner had it for about a year and I believe I’m the third owner. A report that was available through the Copart app revealed that the vehicle had 5 owners, but must be because insurance had bought the car or something like that.

Mrv8q

Fantastic shape and good advice re: the auto trans. Just drive it and enjoy It. You have so little invested, almost nothing to lose.