Gs300 Sport Alloy Centre Caps

[preeder1963]

OK, so thanks to Fluff I've got my new centre cap locking bolt kit on order for Tuesday at Toyota/Lexus Croydon, but really needed the wheels off to get brakes done this morning (Sat) As I'm doing 1000 miles a week at moment the brakes are keeping most of South of England awake and I'm not getting time to have work done during the week.

Tried Halfords for Torx sockets etc etc and still not getting anywhere and in last resort popped into my Mum's place on way home. I explained how one piece of plastic was stopping progress of my big revamp and that the problems with Lexus approach to customer care were symptomatic of the problems in the UK that will probably in the end bring this country to its knees and so its probably time to emigrate while we've still got a chance.

My Mum walked off and disappeared into her garage. She came out with some long nosed pliers which she inserted into the centre cap bolt and instead of squeezing handles she pulled them apart so the prongs spread out into the star shaped socket in the bolt head. Whilst still pulling outward she unscrewed the bolts and gave me the caps in a polythene bag she got from Tesco.

Got the brakes done this morning.

I'm trying out Mintex discs from Prolex (arrived day after ordering), and EBC green stuff pads ordered off eBay (arived within 48 hours). They have a slightly better feel than standard, a bit more positive, but it might just be psychological. Anyway it will be interesting to see how this combination stands up to wear and tear on my daily trip. My mechanics said the pads have kevlar in them which will stand up to wear better, but will probably wear the discs quicker - I'll post back on progress as this has been a budget solution.

If anyone has any probs/queries of an engineering /maintenance type nature drop me a line and I'll see what I can do. I'm probably seeing my Mum some time during the week.