I just picked up a 03 LS430 UL from my friend who no longer drove it. This is my first car. She has seen better days as my friend had the car sitting for about 8-10 months before I bought it. It has 234000 KMs. I have some plans for the car, but I want to start with maintenance. I wanna keep this car for a long time so I am not in a rush to start with customizing it. As of now i was planning to do brake fluid, tran fluid, engine oil and all filters changed. and sparkplugs as well the mechanic recommended that. For the love of life I could not find which oem fluids and filters i need. The websites mostly didnt even have fluids just parts. Should I use oem everything or aftermarket ones? I heard denso is good but they dont have everything I need either. Im mainly looking for advice on which fluids are the best for this car as I am new to having cars.

Also, is there other maintenance i should do? common things that break or what not. things to get inspected. I appreciate the help and looking forward to immersifying myself in the LS community,

 

shud i do the power steering fluid? engine and cabin filter? any other ones? looking for all maintenance the car would need and where to get some quality parts.

 

TIRES TIRES TIRES
this car will go 150 miles an hour
get a good set of tires first

 

Start by obtaining an owners manual - including the booklet with the maintenance schedule for your car and basically follow that. Do you have any history of previous maintenance performed on the car,. such as replacement of the timing belt?
Use OEM parts as a general rule. Aisin timing belt kit is the same as OEM. Obtain parts from Lexus Parts Now, Bell Lexus, Lexus of South Atlanta, or other known and verified source. A Toyota dealer will have things like the OEM coolant, oil filters, and things like that. The engine takes 5W-30 oil, and I use a full synthetic. such as Pennzoil or Mobil 1. If the power steering fluid is dark or black, flush it and replace with new fluid (the type to use is written right on the top of the reservoir).

If your car does not have the owners manual and maintenance schedule I believe you can download it from the Lexus drivers site. Create an account, add in the VIN number of your vehicle. and check out what service history exists for your car, if any. If the previous owner(s) had repair or maintenance done at a Lexus or Toyota dealer it should show up. The most critical thing for you right now is to verify whether or not the timing belt was ever changed. It was due for replacement over 10 years ago.and is a time bomb if it should snap, destroying your engine. Look everywhere in the engine bay for a sticker showing a date and mileage of when it was changed. The sticker might be on the underside of the hood- look there too.

 

As for fluids, you don't necessarily need to use "OEM" fluids, just use a good aftermarket brand, preferably synthetic if you are looking for the best.

Everyone has their preferred brands. For example, I use Mobil-1 motor and gear oil for the rear differential, use Valvoline Maxlife for the power steering fluid (yes, it's just ATF fluid) and then Valvoline for the brake fluid and coolant. A good brand of transmission fluid is the Aisin brand T-IV that is sold online. Others have used The Valvoline Maxlife with reported good results too, although I prefer one that is more of a specific fluid type.

Denso makes quality filters, but another good brand is WIX, which always does very well in filtration tests.

Another maintenance item that gets overlooked in my book is little housekeeping items, like silicone lube on the door latches and such.

The exterior door and trunk keyholes commonly are forgotten about, and then when the battery dies, people find themselves completely locked out of the car due to them being seized. Use the actual key in them every so often, and give them the occasional shot of dry lock lube.

 

Timing belt,water pump, serpentine belt. Plugs,hoses, coolant change and all that goes with those. That's the very least, especially if you don't have service records. Definitely OEM fluids

 

To the above list I would add - PCV valve and radiator cap; check the condition of the hose that leads to bottom of overflow tank and any signs of pink residue in that area.

 

Thank you everyone that was blessed information. I was able to get my hands on the OEM books ( it had it in the glovebox) and also got whatever service records existed printed out at work (sadly not a lot of records). I have yet to actually read them though so I will update when I get home. Ordered a lot of parts at work as well since it's a dealership I got a good price.

 

serpentine belt was changed in 2014 april but it says nothing about the timing belt ever being changed

 

Did you look at the maintenance history log book (one of the books that comes with the owners manual)? Look for a stamp or signature at the 90,000 mile mark indicating that service was performed. That was when the timing belt was due. Or, look for the timing belt sticker somewhere in the engine bay like I mentioned previously.. Or ask your friend who you obtained the car from if they ever took it in for the timing belt. Its the sort of thing an owner would definitely remember or might have saved a receipt for it.

 

I got all the fluids and filters and sparkplugs from Lexus today.

​​​​​​THe timing belt hasnt been done in a while according to the friend I got it from, so I'm going to do it. I asked them for the pricing and it was wild.

What do u guys think about this?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/39395525612...mis&media=COPY

 

That Aisin timing belt kit is what you want. I would however purchase it from Rock Auto, so that I know it is genuine and not a counterfeit. Also, if you are not planning to do that work yourself (fairly high degree of skill and experience required) then a local Toyota dealer would probably do it for you using the kit you supply. I did that about a year ago for an LS400 I have and it was $ 1,100 out the door from a nearby Toyota dealer. Saved a ton as compared to a Lexus dealer. Toyota mechanics do this job on related engines in a variety of Toyota truck products regularly so they know how to do it and do it right.

 

Ok I have purchased from rock auto before. They are certi.

The Lexus I went to didn't have power steering fluid or transmission fluid. Could you recommend some quality aftermarket ones?

My friend said redline is good but I want more opinion

 

Aisin brand T-iv is good stuff, but needs to be ordered online. Been using it for years in all my Toyotas/Lexus's that require it with good results.... and by good results, I mean they shift great and they don't blow up on me.

The power Steering Fluid doesn't need to be anything special, it just requires a Dexron type of automatic transmission fluid, which the gold standard on that seems to be Valvoline Maxlife, which is cheap, synthetic, and available at every local parts store and Walmart.

 

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...t=16088&jsn=12

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...1387&jsn=11847

is this kit the one recommended? as well as with the ATF? do i just need 2 quarts?

https://valvolinechemicals.com/produ...ing-fluid-32oz

did u mean this one for the power steering you said above or do you mean using the actual atf as power steering fluid?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...1395&jsn=12949

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...1395&jsn=12950

which one. thank you so much

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/valvoli.../6000202464939

does this work. rock auto only sells in packs of 6.