im looking to tune up my lex .....im thinking i want to go dealership ....im closing in on 59,000 so im looking for a complete tune up i dont know what to change or replace could you guys give me a hand......or should i only let the dealer change my plugs and wires and do the rest myslef ...........im looking for the better deal but at the same time i dont want to short change myself .....

 

What year is your ES? Do you have a regular reliable mechanic as opposed to the dealer?

 

If you have some reasonable mechanical ability and a decent set of tools, there's nothing in the 60K service you can't do yourself and save a bundle. Before you begin, buy the factory service manual. It covers everything you'll need to do in a very understandable, step-by-step presentation.

Get your parts list together and place an order from one of the recemmended (do a search and you'll find about 4 that are repeatedly praised) OEM parts suppliers. Some won't ship fluids so you may have to split your order. I got my fluids and a few other things from Champion Gulf-Freeway Toyota in Houston and most of the rest from Carson Toyota. I say most because I was watching the local sales and picked up some plugs and pads when one of my local dealers was having a parts sale.

George

 

i have a 97 es300 ...................59,000 miles im closing in on that 60k tune up people are telling me i should only use dealer parts ......but i checked it out and the dealer wants like 1000 for a tune up .............i dont know about you but i think thats crazy.....but at the same time i want to do the right thing by my car ..........i really dont know what a full tune up consist of ....at least in lexus terms ....what are some of the things im going to have to change at 60,000 miles?...................cause to me a tune up has always been plugs and wires ..............thanks for any info you can give

 

Do you have your owners manual to check what specific parts need to be replaced? $1000 is way to much to pay for a tune up. Phone some other Lexus dealers &/or even a good Toyota dealer as the ES has the same mechanicals as the Camry for the most part. These are the parts I replaced on my 01:

- Spark plugs (factory iridium tipped), no spark plug wires are on my car.

- Air filter (K & N)

- Fuel filter (underhood unit as there are 2 - the other one is in the fuel tank but rarely needs replacement & it was a Lexus part).

- PCV valve (Lexus part)

Total of about 2 hours labour for the Lexus dealer, plus parts.

I did other service such as engine cooling flush, complete transmission flush & power steering flush but thats not part of a regular tune up. Hope this helps

 

If you're going to get a major service at 59,000 miles, you might as well do the timing belt, too. Though Toyota/Lexus does not always give specific recommendations for this, it is accepted industry practice to replace it at 6 years / 60,000 miles. Some belts, like on Hondas and Saturn L-series, are designed for 90,000-100,000 miles.
Flushes for both the transmission and cooling system would be a good idea at this mileage, too...if you haven't already done them.

 

Agreed!

 

I wouldn't worry about changing the timing belt at 60K.
The timing belt on the '97 (year listed on his profile) should be good until well past the scheduled 90K replacement service. I'd recommend having the belt changed at 90K...I believe that is the recommendation given in the service manuals for all ES's with the aluminum (94-present) engine. I've never heard of a Lexus timing belt snapping (well, maybe on some 1990 LS that still had its original belt after 278K miles ), let alone before the recommended replacement interval. The 60K service is expensive enough without changing the belt/water pump.

 

Does anyone know the fuel filter & PCV valve can be bought at Toyota dealer instead? in other words both Camry and Lexus use same parts. Thanks.

About the coolant flush, a Toyota dealer I talked to doesn't do it. The service guy there said they do other flushes, like transmision, power steering, fuel... but only drain and fill for coolant. For that I think I can do it myselft. I really want to do the complete flush though. Any place you guys think I should check?

About fuel flushing, do you guys think it's recommended for 60k service? or worth it? Like Lexusfreak, I want to do extra for the 60k service.

thanks for comments/suggestions.

 

Thats quite suprising that the dealer dosen't do complete cooling system flushes.....thats basic maintenance! I would suggest getting the part numbers from the Lexus dealer & cross reference with a Toyota dealer.......they are the same 3.0L V6 engine so I'm almost totally positive it's the exact same. Get the Toyota Long Life coolant (2 jugs of it) and get some distilled water. Ask your Toyota dealer if they do "complete" engine cooling flushes....it's pretty much the same car so they should be able to do the work properly. Don't forget, you will get a bill for all work done, so if something goes wrong they would have to make it right & fix it!

 

Thanks, lexusfreak

 

Yes, some of the newer belts may be good for 90-100K. Accepted industry practice in the past has been 60K. I've seen them actually break at 55K....but not on Lexus products.
One thing that will help any timing belt to last longer is keeping the engine speed as constant as possible, or avoiding very rapid RPM changes up and down. Going back and forth from low to high RPM very quickly puts stress on the belt.....more so than with a chain or gears.
Fortunately, if a belt DOES break, unlike Nissan and Honda, I think most of the Toyota / Lexus engines are not interference engines....you won't smack the valves and pistons together and ruin the engine.


One of you engine experts out there correct me if I'm wrong, though....but that's what I've been told...Toyota engines have valve / piston clearance.

 

Is it correct that complete transmission flush does not include dropping the pan and clean the filter? that's a separate job? thanks

 

It would depend on what you instruct the tech to perform MM. I specifically requested that they drop the pan to replace the gasket & clean the filter mesh screen, might as well do everything at once since it's a complete fluid change in my opinion. If you don't mention it I don't think they would do it.