I hope a sort of "journal/documentation" thread is allowed, apologies if not!

I have a lovely little 2003 RX 300. I worked hard to save up and buy her as my first car, and she's thoroughly captured my heart. 3-1/2 years so far. Among other things, I call her Rose.

Miraculously, she's been remarkably reliable. I didn't even get a pre-purchase inspection, but in those years, she's only required basic maintenance (a couple oil changes, new front tires). But at 19 years old, she's started to show her age, and through a frustrating situation with my other car, I've been more or less forced to learn to work on cars. So I've decided she deserves all I can give her, and I plan to put in lots of time and work and get her running beautifully again!

It's been since about Feb since she's been driven. She needed a new alternator, so I did that yesterday. She'll also need a new timing belt (and related bits) soon (145k miles, was replaced at 64k), oil chance, new rear tires, could probably use general tune up stuff.

Regardless of anything, she's my darling and I'm excited to start really restoring her to all she can be, and I thought it'd be neat to document the progress/process!

 

As long as you are not selling anything (making money), related to RX first gen, clean, civil , elite , non threatening, you are good to post.

Salim

 

Nice! We have a 1999 (bought new in June 1999) still going strong. Of course after 22 years, the old girl has her share of aches and pains (rattles and creaks) but we'll keep her until she gives up the ghost. Then it will likely be a 3 year old 4th gen RX.

 

Wow! That's special to have had her for so long, since brand-new. It's definitely a model that gets you hooked on the whole Lexus/RX thing.

 

Between my auto photography hobby/side-gig and accidental instagram growth, I've come to really enjoy taking pics along the way, so here are some photos -

Alternator replacement - old vs new, the new one installed, and a diagram I found helpful:


To replace the alternator, I got a re-manufactured Ultima from O'Reilly. It was about $145 + the core charge, which was refunded when I brought in the old one.
It wasn't an excessively difficult task, even for a total newbie such as yours truly. Just disconnected the battery (had to charge it anyway), removed the nut under the rubbery cover on top of the alternator, removed the wiring hookup (simple press-down-on-tab situation), then removed the pivot bolt, then the adjusting lock bolt, then the adjusting bolt. Removed the belt somewhere in there, as soon as it was loose, just made it easier to get in there. The old one came loose with some wiggling, yanking, prying, and possibly a smattering of unladylike language.
Getting the new one in involved a lot more unladylike language. Protip - knock that godforsaken inside edge of the engine-side bolt in until it's flush with the bracket part of the new alternator. Just stick the pivot bolt through and tap away. YMMV, but we wound up threading it a bit and just hammering at it for a minute. The risk of messing up the threads was definitely present and I probably wouldn't have gone for it had I realized the friend who was helping me had done it that way, but it worked out.
Anyway, once it finally set in there properly and the pivot bolt finally went all the way through, I put the belt on and got the adjusting bolt and adjusting lock bolts in place. Good lord, what a frustrating process. Lining it up was agonizing. It helped immensely to look at diagrams and photos online to see how the little block-y bit and the slit and the hole on the "leg" on the alternator all line up. That part took the majority of the install time, honestly.
But finally, it was done!
I drove it maybe three miles round-trip to work and back and noticed a high-pitched whining/squealing noise that worsened with increased RPMs/throttle input, so I checked the tension on the belt and it seemed too tight. Loosened it a bit (actually over-loosened and then tightened to correct tension, was told to tune a guitar that way so the strings aren't so ready to loosen, figured the same concept makes sense here) and the noise was gone! No battery drain issues either anymore; she starts up instantly every time now.

Our first real trip out:


I had really wanted to drain the fuel tank since she'd been sitting for about six months, but the drain plug just wouldn't come loose (seemed stripped, which strikes me as odd) and I couldn't siphon it with the tool I had, so I settled for diluting the 1/4 tank with 3/4 tank of 93. So far so good.

And getting the initial gunk off - I felt terrible realizing how grimy she'd gotten after sitting for awhile!


I hit the really gunky spots with Simple Green and let it sit for a few minutes before washing, and used windex on the windshield and mirrors; they had a respectable layer of whatever on them and needed a little extra TLC.
About 10 min of pre-soak/soap/foam brush/rinse did the trick! I'll be taking her for a second wash sometime probably later this week/weekend, likely after getting the interior a little cleaner, as well as inside the doors. So much crap along the top/inside of the back hatch.

That's that for now. She still whines on acceleration, as she did before her sabbatical, and feels very sluggish, and I detect a slight burning smell. Gotta hunt those down soon. Advice always welcome and appreciated!

 

I love that color and thanks for the tips on the alternator replacement.

I’d drive it easy for a while and use Top Tier premium fuel. Google ‘Top Tier fuel’ and you’ll find stations that provide it. Try to take it out and drive it for a good long while, maybe a hundred miles at a time, if possible.

Mine has a slight whine to it when accelerating from a stop, but it has done that since I’ve owned it (2 years and over 40K miles so far). I believe it is the nature of the transmission.

I have taken mine on several 2,500-mile round trips to San Antonio and back since I’ve had it, and it has done phenomenally well!

I’d say the oil smell is valve cover related (just guessing). I picked up a set of gaskets (including the spark plug tube seals) from Rockauto and did the front one myself (so I could inspect for oil sludge). I then took it to Toyota and had them do the rear valve cover. Saves a little on labor, but no warranty on parts!

Again, just be easy on it and let it ‘wake back up’!

 

New update!

Just had her timing belt + components replaced, 9/17/21, at 145,9XX miles! Beyond thrilled with the shop I took her to; they're right across the street from where I work, a three-person family operation, with a great reputation among the different locations of the parts store where I work. Apparently very picky about high quality parts. Cut me a deal on the work since I've helped him over at the store a couple times.

Unfortunately, though, he confirmed my fears about the whining. Seems my transmission is on its way out. The recommendation was to leave it alone and just prepare. I've started my little trans swap fund already and have been doing my research on options. Seems a rebuild or a reman with upgraded planetarys (titanium or something, and welded caps) might be the route.

But feeling good about her timing belt etc being solid now!

 

Congrats on the timing belt and the great attitude about the transmission!

 

Thanks! It was definitely no fun to hear, but she's my special girl so the only option is to fix it, which simplifies things a little - no debating about selling/trading in, etc etc, only one way forward!

 

When mine gives up the ghost I may upsize to the GX470, may do it before then who knows...

GHbabe, you car looks nice, creampuff.
Fit1too's looks nice and clean too.
Enjoyed the pics!

 

I do love the looks of those. Big and commanding, but still a bit of prettiness and class.

Thanks! A true creampuff - I believe I"m the 3rd owner; the first was quite old and very wealthy and passed a few years after buying her, so she was sold to someone in MA, then went to DC, not sure if that was another owner or not, and returned to GA at auction before I got her for a whopping $3500. I've driven past the house where the first owner used to live; it was just a few minutes from where I lived when I realized that address I'd been seeing in the owner's manual pouch for a couple years was right up the street, and passed the dealership where she was sold brand new countless times. Kinda wild to think about the odds.

 

Still saving for the transmission, but in the meantime, she was approaching the mileage for the next oil change, per the sticker from the NTB that serviced her last. I poked around for the paperwork, since I've learned a lot since then, and found some surprising stuff.
The interval they'd set was 7,000 miles. The oil was Valvoline MaxLife HiMi synth blend 10w30, and a Pennzoil filter.
Longer interval than I'd like, but the oil was a pleasant surprise aside from the 10w30 bit, though it's been summertime, so I guess it could be worse.

I've got her all fixed up now, though!
K&N filter, HP2009 instead of the HP2001 that the parts systems automatically indicate, as suggested by some adventurous soul on here on some probably years-old thread. Fits the same, but much larger, so presumably higher filtering capabilities/capacity.
Royal Purple 5w30 - honestly, I bought this for the Spyder before it became a temporarily nonrunning project, and since he won't be needing it anytime soon, I felt like giving the Girl something fancy.
New drain plug + gasket, Dorman 090-049CD. A little uncertain about this one, as I did see some leaking oil after she'd sat about 9 hours while I was at work. I tightened it down a bit more before leaving, not excessively but somewhere between snug and firm, and put a towel under it at home after wiping everything clean, so we'll see how it looks in the morning.


All ready for our first DIY oil change on Rose

Point of no return..


Mid-project, had to let manifold cool down


Sludge? Normal? Opinions seem to differ.


The Good Stuff

Overall, I found it extremely easy and honestly quite pleasant. No shimmying halfway under the car to get to the filter and try to leverage it off while lying down, drain plug is right there, no plastic shields and those godawful pop-rivets. Just slipped under a little to seat the socket on the drain plug, loosen (think I used a breaker bar just for the sake of ease, lol), and out comes the oil.
I was apprehensive about the filter, since every online resource/discussion/etc seems to really make a fuss about the location of the filter, under the exhaust manifold. Apparently it's a mega pain in the butt to access and twist, and remove without major mess.
My experience on that was wildly different. Maybe it was the combo of tools I used and how I put it all on the filter piece by piece to make it fit easily, maybe it's a simple matter of being a slim woman with smaller hands, maybe I just got lucky, but I could change the oil on RX300s all day long, it was so easy and pleasant. I literally chatted on the phone with my mom the entire time I was removing and replacing the filter. So I was thrilled with how that turned out.

The HP2009 fit perfectly, and the RP oil.. my gosh, I've never heard the motor so quiet, not in the 25k miles she's been mine. I could've gone with a more "cleaning" type of oil, I suppose, but I don't want to be too hard on her, especially since I'm assuming "synth blend" indicates there was conventional present, and I've heard switching from conventional to synth can cause some problems sometimes, too. I think I'm happy with how it's working out so far.
I'm a touch concerned about the leakage from the drain plug, but I'll monitor it closely and respond accordingly.
Knew I should've gotten a crush washer from Toyota.. lol..

Oh, and I'm really reconsidering the motor mounts theory. I had someone else rev her, go through all the PRND2L one at a time and tell me which it was, and even rev in drive with foot on brake, and man, the engine really looks solid to me. No heaving and ho-ing about like videos show; just smooth little adjustments, basically. So I think I'm just more lost. Lol.

But at least I had a nice success! Really brought back my confidence in my ability to work on these cars; the Spyder has been really discouraging, but this reignited a spark, really. Neat how it comes around.

 

Nice work. No that's 100% not sludge. It's a baffle in the valve cover. They pretty much all look like that. No differing options on this, just people who know what they are looking at and people who speculate wrong.

 

Thank you!
I'd heard that, that it's the baffle and completely normal/how they all look, so that's definitely reassuring. Makes sense, too. Maybe one day I'll pull the front valve cover and see.. but not today, lol.

 

Bought ours new in 2001. Just put a hitch on it. It is just our second car now but it runs great and ready for another 100k. Presently 187K plus another 45K pulling behind the Motor Home. Best new car purchase we ever made.