Putting life back into a 'modded' IS250

[Linas.P]

You know... for best experience I suggest you tidy it up a little bit... to the point where it is not embarrassing to show to the buyer and then flip it. Even if it works out as £500 loss in the end of the day, it will be a lot of gain in long run, not only in money but also in your sanity.

By the sounds of it this will be the car with forever problems and it is really not IS250 experience, the whole point of IS250 is that it isn't flashy, kind of underrated, people don't know all the features it has and it is just luxurious, reliable and cheap motoring. It isn't fast or flashy, but reliability and minimal maintenance is what it is for... or car kind of fails in that regard and really defeats the point of owning IS250. 

[DnG]

On 10/12/2024 at 10:39 AM, Linas.P said:

You know... for best experience I suggest you tidy it up a little bit... to the point where it is not embarrassing to show to the buyer and then flip it. Even if it works out as £500 loss in the end of the day, it will be a lot of gain in long run, not only in money but also in your sanity.

By the sounds of it this will be the car with forever problems and it is really not IS250 experience, the whole point of IS250 is that it isn't flashy, kind of underrated, people don't know all the features it has and it is just luxurious, reliable and cheap motoring. It isn't fast or flashy, but reliability and minimal maintenance is what it is for... or car kind of fails in that regard and really defeats the point of owning IS250. 

Can't afford a new or a better car at the moment so I'll just have to slowly fix this and keep it for the next few years. It's a Lexus at the end of the day, if the engine and gearbox are mint, then you can't go wrong.

Also, I had a look at the leaking coilover as while turning the wheel is scrapping the arch, and I've noticed that the sprins are green. I lifted the car up a bit (don't have enough space to take the tyre off) and had a quick look, and it might be that my eyes deceive me, but ARE THOSE TEINS?!

Can't see it due to all the gunk and I don't have enough space to take the tyre off (neighbours already complain that I have 2 cars and every time they see me out they come out to moan) but they're entirely green and also have some stickers/plaque at the bottom and I feel like they're Teins, and if they are, I'll sell those coilovers the previous owner gave me and just try and buy a replacement Tein...

What do you guys think? Could they be Tein? Could this car finally have some good news?

 

[Linas.P]

14 minutes ago, DnG said:

Can't afford a new or a better car at the moment so I'll just have to slowly fix this and keep it for the next few years. It's a Lexus at the end of the day, if the engine and gearbox are mint, then you can't go wrong.

Also, I had a look at the leaking coilover as while turning the wheel is scrapping the arch, and I've noticed that the sprins are green. I lifted the car up a bit (don't have enough space to take the tyre off) and had a quick look, and it might be that my eyes deceive me, but ARE THOSE TEINS?!

Can't see it due to all the gunk and I don't have enough space to take the tyre off (neighbours already complain that I have 2 cars and every time they see me out they come out to moan) but they're entirely green and also have some stickers/plaque at the bottom and I feel like they're Teins, and if they are, I'll sell those coilovers the previous owner gave me and just try and buy a replacement Tein...

What do you guys think? Could they be Tein? Could this car finally have some good news?

 

 

The engine and gearbox is not what kills these cars, that is why you get Lexus - these main components will run even when the rest of the car is barely there. It is not like "good Lexus is the one that has working engine", it is not like BMW, they all have good engines, it is not part you need to worry about.

So what kills them... lack of maintenance, modifications, electrical problems that are caused by somebody modifying the cars or fixing them poorly.

Also it isn't even clear you don't have engine problems as you still haven't got down to the bottom of your cam issue, maybe somebody been in that engine, messed something-up etc. And by the way - this isn't in conflict with my first statement - Lexus engines don't go wrong by themselves, but people can make them wrong, it is not car's fault that somebody worked on it and ruined it. 

Can't say if they are Teins or not Teins, also don't forget there are such thing as Fake Teins, finally broken Tein is still broken Tein. So is it good news?! I don't know...

[H3XME]

32 minutes ago, DnG said:

What do you guys think? Could they be Tein? Could this car finally have some good news?

It looks like TEINs.. I've never heard of fake TEINs as Linas is saying. Certainly not when it comes to a set for this car.. Get in touch with TEIN UK, they can rebuild them. Saves you money if it's just the one that's shot.

 https://uk.tein.com/service/oh_revalving_additional_labor_cost.html

[DnG]

1 hour ago, H3XME said:

It looks like TEINs.. I've never heard of fake TEINs as Linas is saying. Certainly not when it comes to a set for this car.. Get in touch with TEIN UK, they can rebuild them. Saves you money if it's just the one that's shot.

 https://uk.tein.com/service/oh_revalving_additional_labor_cost.html

Wow, didn't know they can actually rebuild them. I'll try and go to the mechanic sometime this week depending on their availability since now I'm loosing coolant and it's not clean where from. I was going to replace the waterpump anyway but I kind of need the car this week but I guess it is what it is.

I'll put one of the coilovers that the previous owner gave me, temporarely until I can sort that out, but I'm really hopeing they're TEINs.

[scudney]

George it would be great when you finally get your car sorted if you could put together an expenditure list of what you spent fixing on it

[Linas.P]

1 hour ago, H3XME said:

It looks like TEINs.. I've never heard of fake TEINs as Linas is saying. Certainly not when it comes to a set for this car.. Get in touch with TEIN UK, they can rebuild them. Saves you money if it's just the one that's shot.

 https://uk.tein.com/service/oh_revalving_additional_labor_cost.html

You can find counterfeit parts for any major brand - Bosch, Denso, brembo, Tein... you name it. 

I don't think counterfeit Teins are big problem (like let's say fake Denso sensors) and I have never encountered them in the wild, but I have certainly seen "Teins" sold on aliexpress and similar... and you can be sure they are not genuine for £150 a set.

That said - if they are original, then rebuilding them is really good shout. 

[DnG]

55 minutes ago, scudney said:

George it would be great when you finally get your car sorted if you could put together an expenditure list of what you spent fixing on it

I am already building up 2 lists. Already at around £150 just in clips, brackets, bolts, connectors, vents and lights and I'm not even done with those.

Still have the camshaft sensor problem to sort out, refurb all 4 alloys and pretty much weld the side of 1, change the waterpump and potentially cure the coolant disappearing, full service with flush, stainless exhaust split pipe with 2 valved mufflers, and potentially a 3IS (but I'm hoping for a 4IS) conversion front bumper since my current one is in a sorry state). Also, I think the windscreen needs to be resealed, since it always steams up, and I'm hoping it's just not sealed properly and it's not leaking coolant inside the cabin since I keep hearing water slushing about when I start the car and it's mainly steaming up on the driver's side... Then I'll move onto missing engine bay covers, clips, bolts, screws, gaskets front and back, try and align the trunk lid, new trunk floor and trays and who knows what else I'm going to find. But there's also small things which pretty much just require my labour. Finding out where the front left passenger door puddle light wiring went and potentially fix it if it's missing or broken, driver side window motor and panel flexing when rolling the window up, key not getting detected half the time, etc etc...

Will definetely post an entire list when the car is finally complete to my standards (which might be never...)

52 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

You can find counterfeit parts for any major brand - Bosch, Denso, Brembo, Tein... you name it. 

I don't think counterfeit Teins are big problem (like let's say fake Denso sensors) and I have never encountered them in the wild, but I have certainly seen "Teins" sold on aliexpress and similar... and you can be sure they are not genuine for £150 a set.

That said - if they are original, then rebuilding them is really good shout. 

I tried googling around for all green coilovers and the only chinese coilovers I can find have totally different springs. The ones on the car seem to be longer, a bit thicker, green and they seem to be progressive springs if I'm seeing it right, the spring is closer coiled at the bottom than at the top, and I doubt any chinese manufacturer would make such a good quality spring, sometimes they don't even bother with the paint and stickers. Once I'll get it off we'll know for sure and I will update.

 

In the meantime, does anyone have the 2 hooks for the Battery holder? Can't find them for the life of me, any short and long hooks for the screws that hold the top bar on the Battery. PM me if you have them and how much you're asking for them.

[Linas.P]

13 minutes ago, DnG said:

In the meantime, does anyone have the 2 hooks for the battery holder? Can't find for the life of me, any short and long hooks for the screws that hold the top bar on the battery.

Never said their are not Teins, but neither I am going to try to guess it from grainy video of something that is covered in dirt all over. 

These are $1000, they are quite optimistic with pricing, but I have seen similar as low as $200... and I am quite sure they are NOT genuine.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807270724860.html

I have Battery clamp... yes. 

[H3XME]

2 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Never said their are not Teins, but neither I am going to try to guess it from grainy video of something that is covered in dirt all over. 

These are $1000, they are quite optimistic with pricing, but I have seen similar as low as $200... and I am quite sure they are NOT genuine.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807270724860.html

I have battery clamp... yes. 

Tbh TEIN are made in China 😂 so despite being a japanese brand, they aren't made in Japan anymore. Wouldn't surprise me if they sold their own version of the same thing for cheaper, in which case it will be a good deal regardless

[Linas.P]

5 hours ago, H3XME said:

Tbh TEIN are made in China 😂 so despite being a japanese brand, they aren't made in Japan anymore. Wouldn't surprise me if they sold their own version of the same thing for cheaper, in which case it will be a good deal regardless

Yeah... still kind of doubt they would be advertising on aliexpress. 

[DnG]

1 hour ago, Linas.P said:

Yeah... still kind of doubt they would be advertising on aliexpress. 

AliExpress is really big in China, it's like an eBay-ish amazon, so it does make sense that a Chinese company/manufacturer would advertise on it, considering it's cheaper for them to do so, less restrictions and paperwork needed, also less taxes as far as I know since either AliExpress or the customer deals with those and the import duties. Autel is pretty big and they're Chinese and they do sell on AliExpress as well.

 

Update:

So I just noticed the coolant in the expansion tank is under the low mark... When I got it home it was just bellow the halfway mark and I topped it up with Toyota Super Longlife pink up to the full mark. Today after driving for about 5 minutes and coming back home, I wanted to take it out after about 1 hour and when I started it the engine sounded a bit off, barely noticeable, I got this thing where I can distinguish sounds, probably because I play a few instruments and by ear, and when I went to check the coolant it was under the low mark. I checked all around the engine bay, the front, it's all dry as a bone. I oppened the radiator cap and pressed on the radiator hose and some bubbles do seem to come out, but it might just be from the pumping action of the hose, not sure. The previous owner did say he had a similar problem once but he did a full flush and hasn't had a problem since, and that was supposed to be around 6 months ago. There are small bits of pink residue all over, but they're small and could be from spilling coolant when previously filling up, anything I could check or do? He did mention that there was supposed to be another coolant overflow tank behind the left headlight but I can't see or find it online so yeah... I also know that this system is supposed to be self-bleeding so it shouldn't require bleeding, right?

[H3XME]

9 hours ago, DnG said:

anything I could check or do?

Are you checking the coolant when the car is cold? Like you should check in the morning when it's been stood out for a while. When it's cold, it needs to be on the Low mark. After driving the car, it should go up.. Pink spots everywhere could be your spillage, could be a leak too. Clean everything off and see if it does it again. You must have a leak somewhere. Maybe you don't see it under the car, but when you're driving, water gets hot and when it's pressurised it will then come out of some hairline cracks in the hose etc.
Water pump can be leaking, check around the thermostat, those are normally the first areas where coolant stains would appear.

[Linas.P]

As above - should never go above high when warm, or below low when cold. That said - if the right amount of coolant was in the system and there were no other issues it should last 100,000 miles, so to be fair with you I have never seen these cars losing coolant or needing any top-ups... unless they overheated, pump leaked, radiator damaged and such. Otherwise it should be maintenance free. 

Recently when swapping the engines I needed to do coolant and it was straight forward - fill as much has it takes (there is no correct amount for engine that was used, because some coolant inevitably stays inside), some of the coolant initially stays in the funnel, start the engine, when engine reaches the temperature the thermostat opens allowing system to cycle fully, some bubbles comes out and the rest of the coolant starts to go inside of the engine, keep an eye on it and top-up until it doesn't take anymore. Let it cool down, the amount should be somewhere in the meddle between low and high marks. If there are any air in the system, it should self-bleed via overflow tank.

There is no second overflow tank... and if there is then I don't really want to know why. Actually there was one guy here with IS220d which had 2 overflow tanks, long story, but also some messed-up car with unclear mods. 

[DnG]

Ok so update.

I checked the coolant this morning when cold. The coolant was just bellow the low mark. The radiator cap close to the engine, had some coolant in it but wasn't to the top. I kept topping it up from there and pressing on the coolant hose and I could see bubbles coming out. I pretty much filled with 600ml of coolant until it was just flowing to the overflow tank. I also topped up the overflow about half way to the max. I went on a drive with AC blasting and checked the OBD. So funny enough, OBD was reading about 700rpm when up to them but the dash was showing more like 950rpm, as well as showing 1500rpm when the OBD was reading 1300rpm, so there's something going on with either the sensors or the dashboard. The same with the water temp, it was showing 1 line above the center but the OBD was reading 80-83C. I revved it a bit and got it up to 95C and the fans kicked in! Went down to 88-90C and they stopped. No spilling coolant, no leaks (also cleaned the front of the engine bay with water with just a bit of preassure and checked to see if the engine temp dried it beforehand. All good, overflow still a bit higher than mid and no overheating. Weird how the dashboard is always reading higher values when in reality it's all up to spec, so I guess this is some good news. Also added the new connector to the cut cable for the left fog light, crimped, insulated and harnessed with harness tape properly, keeping a record of this just in case I sell it in the future, I want everyone to know it's been taken care of properly, finally.

Also went to my mechanic and he's going to check it over on Thursday, I told him about the Check VSC and he was mentioning some pump, forgot which one as he was in a hurry but I told him about the bank 2 camshaft and he said to bring it over Thursday morning.

A bit low on oil tho, just on the min mark. Any ideas what oil these take and where I can find them? Tesco, Shell?

[Linas.P]

Standard 5W30, if you topping-up then it does not matter what brand you using. For oil change I tend to go for a better brand, but realistically it is more important to do oil more often (twice a year/every 5,000-6,000 miles) than really get the most premium oil there is. Even the cheap oils nowadays are superior quality to the best oils available when the engine was made, so not really a worry, basically it does not require any magical oil. 

I also do oil flush every other time I do oil, seems to help with VVTI rattle and oil stay cleaner for longer... whenever you want to do it or not is up to you.  

[H3XME]

18 minutes ago, Linas.P said:

Standard 5W30, if you topping-up then it does not matter what brand you using. For oil change I tend to go for a better brand, but realistically it is more important to do oil more often (twice a year/every 5,000-6,000 miles) than really get the most premium oil there is. Even the cheap oils nowadays are superior quality to the best oils available when the engine was made, so not really a worry, basically it does not require any magical oil. 

I also do oil flush every other time I do oil, seems to help with VVTI rattle and oil stay cleaner for longer... whenever you want to do it or not is up to you.  

I’d advise against 5W30 C3 as they tend to drink it. Not had oil issues with 5W30 A5B5 grade 

[Linas.P]

7 minutes ago, H3XME said:

I’d advise against 5W30 C3 as they tend to drink it. Not had oil issues with 5W30 A5B5 grade 

C3 suppose to be for diesel, A5 for petrol, but I reckon if 4GR drinks oil, then grade doesn't really matter. Although great results with 0W40 (perhaps a little bit more advanced topic for later). 

[DnG]

Back with another update:

Just went to my mechanic and indeed the coilovers are TEINs, will get it off on Tuesday and will try and get it rebuilt.

Also did a pressure test and the radiator is leaking so that's where my coolant's been going, so will also get that sorted on Tuesday.

I also mentioned to him that there is a Bank 2 sensor problem, he quickly dismissed it as the sensor and after telling him that I swapped the sensors and it's still showing problems on the same bank, he again, quickly dismissed it as an electrical problem which he doesn't do. He seems to try and stay away from it but I will bother him a bit more on Tuesday, and I will ask if he knows an electrician.

Also checked the boot on the sides, and under the spare, and water is again pooling up quite a bit, I should receive the new vents soon so I will change both of them, if it's still pooling up then I'll try and strip everything away and check where it could be coming from, if you guys have any ideas or pointers, they're all welcome since I have no idea why this happens and it's starting to worry me, especially that there is a bit of water pooling up near the amp, which is still working.

[H3XME]

1 hour ago, DnG said:

Back with another update:

Just went to my mechanic and indeed the coilovers are TEINs, will get it off on Tuesday and will try and get it rebuilt.

Also did a pressure test and the radiator is leaking so that's where my coolant's been going, so will also get that sorted on Tuesday.

I also mentioned to him that there is a Bank 2 sensor problem, he quickly dismissed it as the sensor and after telling him that I swapped the sensors and it's still showing problems on the same bank, he again, quickly dismissed it as an electrical problem which he doesn't do. He seems to try and stay away from it but I will bother him a bit more on Tuesday, and I will ask if he knows an electrician.

Also checked the boot on the sides, and under the spare, and water is again pooling up quite a bit, I should receive the new vents soon so I will change both of them, if it's still pooling up then I'll try and strip everything away and check where it could be coming from, if you guys have any ideas or pointers, they're all welcome since I have no idea why this happens and it's starting to worry me, especially that there is a bit of water pooling up near the amp, which is still working.

Lol, sounds like your mechanic is a replacer, not a fixer.

Change your water pump while the rad is out..

[DnG]

1 hour ago, H3XME said:

Lol, sounds like your mechanic is a replacer, not a fixer.

Change your water pump while the rad is out..

As most mechanics, they’re all looking for easy to do jobs, no diagnostics and big payout… He already hates my electrical problems from previous cars so I kind of get it.

I’ll get the water pump and belt changed once I solve the error, otherwise I need to reconsider if it’s worth putting any more money into it…

[H3XME]

2 hours ago, DnG said:

As most mechanics, they’re all looking for easy to do jobs, no diagnostics and big payout… He already hates my electrical problems from previous cars so I kind of get it.

I’ll get the water pump and belt changed once I solve the error, otherwise I need to reconsider if it’s worth putting any more money into it…

Yeah, but your error isn't stopping you from driving. When the pump sh!ts itself, you won't drive at all

[DnG]

A possible revelation!

So, after doing some late night googling thinking about that pesky camshaft error, I found a topic talking about verifying the connectors on the actuator solanoid on bank 2 because those wires tend to get loose.

I popped the bonnet and started slowly pulling on the wires, and just the slight pull on the actuator wires, left me with the wires in my hand while the connector was still on the solanoid, so could that be it?? Could it have been that simple? I'm still thinking that the wires could have still had contact with the pins and that shouldn't really throw an error, right? I cleared the codes and read them again with the wires disconnected and no new errors showed up, just the same ones. I'll order a new connector and I'm hoping for the best.

[TadasC]

Hi.

 

I can assure your water in boot problem is in blocked trunk drains. I had similar issue when its was blocked and caused water to leak into boot above amp. Basically when you open boot on bot sides you have plastic cover that cover drainage area for boot. Ideally you want to take both plastic pieces off and clean all dirt and leafes from there. Mine was ok after up close jet wash through there bellow rear screen. In relation to your engine and steaming up issues. Check if your passenger side floor under mat is not wet as it could be blocked ac drain. Also check under dash  if the screen is leaking inside. Engine issue could be also related if engine oil level is too low, had some cars before have cam fault when oil level was too low. Hope that helps.

[DnG]

12 minutes ago, TadasC said:

Hi.

 

I can assure your water in boot problem is in blocked trunk drains. I had similar issue when its was blocked and caused water to leak into boot above amp. Basically when you open boot on bot sides you have plastic cover that cover drainage area for boot. Ideally you want to take both plastic pieces off and clean all dirt and leafes from there. Mine was ok after up close jet wash through there bellow rear screen. In relation to your engine and steaming up issues. Check if your passenger side floor under mat is not wet as it could be blocked ac drain. Also check under dash  if the screen is leaking inside. Engine issue could be also related if engine oil level is too low, had some cars before have cam fault when oil level was too low. Hope that helps.

Wow, that's a lot of helpful information, thanks a lot.

I didn't exactly know where the drain holes are, I also bought one of those long wires with a brush at the end to clean them, so thanks for the pointers.

I haven't actually checked the passenger side floor, I only checked the driver's and it was fine, will definetely check the passenger floor now. Could also be the windscreen as the sealant does look like it deteriorated quite a bit, hope it's that and not the AC heater unit... that'll be a pain (for my wallet) to replace I guess.

Indeed the oil was very low, just at the low mark, topped it up with about 1L and it's now right about the middle. This could have caused the error but I also just found out that the intake solanoid wasn't even connected, the wires were loose, so I ordered a new connector and we'll see if that solves it.