What a little maintenance did for me.
10-29-13, 11:01 AM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
What a little maintenance did for me.
The car wasn't running bad, but I had neglected some routine maintenance that I finally got caught up on over the weekend.
It was struggling to shift smoothly...especially when cold, or first started. RPMs would have to get pretty high to trigger a shift to the next gear... most noticeable in the lower gears. Gas mileage had deteriorated and it just felt a bit sluggish and not as responsive as it could have been.
If I'd known that the improvements would be so drastic, I would have done all of this earlier. I loved driving the car before...but now it's even nicer. Hard to believe. It's so much smoother and so very, very quiet. Drove up to the guard shack at work and they never heard me.
History:
Purchased the 99 model almost 2 years ago with 130k on it, one owner, Dr's wife was the driver and all maintenance at Sewell in Dallas. Most major things done by the book, but noticed the plugs were never changed. Now at 143K i figure it's time to put some money into the car.
Work done:
So tackling the plugs, decided I might as well do the following also, since I already had the plastic off...
1. PCV replacement
2. Throttle body cleaning
3. ECT replacement.. was probably already done as the clip was broken.
4. MAF sensor cleaning
5. Oil change to Mobil 1 5W30 with new toyota oil filter
6. Plugs... were very, very crusty. A nice light toast burn color, but a lot of build up on them. Iridiums don't wear so much as the older plugs because of the harder medal.
All parts purchased from O'Reilly's here locally except for the ECT sensor, which came from Sewell. NGK plugs, microguard PCV,
About 4 hours later... I took my time... car ran so smooth I thought I put a new engine and transmission in it.
As a bonus, when I went to drop of my oil for recycling at Autozone, I was able to help a lady and her daughter put a new battery in her SUV in a pouring rain. They were grateful, I was happy to help and the trusty tool set in the Lexus was used for the very first time. (Note to self: throw away those batteries in the tool box and put some new ones in there. Might want to put them in the flash light).
Great time doing the work on my own car, and the added bonus of helping someone else.
I never go to Autozone so someone was watching out over them.
Enjoy your ride ... take care of it... little maintenance can go a long way.
Thanks for letting me share.
It was struggling to shift smoothly...especially when cold, or first started. RPMs would have to get pretty high to trigger a shift to the next gear... most noticeable in the lower gears. Gas mileage had deteriorated and it just felt a bit sluggish and not as responsive as it could have been.
If I'd known that the improvements would be so drastic, I would have done all of this earlier. I loved driving the car before...but now it's even nicer. Hard to believe. It's so much smoother and so very, very quiet. Drove up to the guard shack at work and they never heard me.
History:
Purchased the 99 model almost 2 years ago with 130k on it, one owner, Dr's wife was the driver and all maintenance at Sewell in Dallas. Most major things done by the book, but noticed the plugs were never changed. Now at 143K i figure it's time to put some money into the car.
Work done:
So tackling the plugs, decided I might as well do the following also, since I already had the plastic off...
1. PCV replacement
2. Throttle body cleaning
3. ECT replacement.. was probably already done as the clip was broken.
4. MAF sensor cleaning
5. Oil change to Mobil 1 5W30 with new toyota oil filter
6. Plugs... were very, very crusty. A nice light toast burn color, but a lot of build up on them. Iridiums don't wear so much as the older plugs because of the harder medal.
All parts purchased from O'Reilly's here locally except for the ECT sensor, which came from Sewell. NGK plugs, microguard PCV,
About 4 hours later... I took my time... car ran so smooth I thought I put a new engine and transmission in it.
As a bonus, when I went to drop of my oil for recycling at Autozone, I was able to help a lady and her daughter put a new battery in her SUV in a pouring rain. They were grateful, I was happy to help and the trusty tool set in the Lexus was used for the very first time. (Note to self: throw away those batteries in the tool box and put some new ones in there. Might want to put them in the flash light).
Great time doing the work on my own car, and the added bonus of helping someone else.
I never go to Autozone so someone was watching out over them.
Enjoy your ride ... take care of it... little maintenance can go a long way.
Thanks for letting me share.
10-29-13, 11:11 AM
#2
great to hear stories like this, and how rewarding a little wrenching can do not only to your car but to yourself (plus the lady and daughter). kudos!
and this is the first time i heard of anyone using the factory tool box. i always forget i have it haha!
and this is the first time i heard of anyone using the factory tool box. i always forget i have it haha!
10-29-13, 01:56 PM
#5
Preventive maintenance goes a long way to make Lexus LS 400 go many hundreds of thousands of miles, I am now at 306,000 91 LS 400 everything is original AC motor trans power steering rear end etc. I also use mobil 1 products in all my applications motor trans ps and nothing has worn out as yet I change my engine oil at 15,000 I change the ps trans at 25,000 rear end at 50,000. I met a guy who did the same thing and now has around 600,000 + miles on his car and everything is still going strong.
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10-29-13, 06:31 PM
#9
Preventive maintenance goes a long way to make Lexus LS 400 go many hundreds of thousands of miles, I am now at 306,000 91 LS 400 everything is original AC motor trans power steering rear end etc. I also use mobil 1 products in all my applications motor trans ps and nothing has worn out as yet I change my engine oil at 15,000 I change the ps trans at 25,000 rear end at 50,000. I met a guy who did the same thing and now has around 600,000 + miles on his car and everything is still going strong.
10-29-13, 09:32 PM
#12
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I believe he was referring to the Power Steering trans fluid-- not the AT trans fluid.
10-30-13, 07:24 AM
#13
Racer
Thread Starter
Not sure which did the trick... I would think the ECT sensor... but it's also smoother with the plugs and the cleaning... But that was indeed my symptom prior to this maintenance task. Now I have to pay attention to feel/hear when it shifts... it is that smooth.
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