Steviewevie

With bigger wheels you usually use lower profile tyres, so I *think* that the circumference of the wheel ends up being the same, meaning the speedo is still correct. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong ! I think it's just an optical illusion that with bigger wheels your car tends to look lower - i.e. the tyre is still the same distance from the arch as with smaller wheels, but because the wheel rim is now nearer the arch it looks lower.

It's the front brakes ? There's a guy selling some GS300 discs and pads for next to nothing over in the Buy & Sell forum. I don't know if the discs are the same on the GS300 but I know it's been said that the calipers are, so I was guessing the discs might be identical as well.

Thanks. Looking at the new brake lines I can see that they're the "S" type connector. Does anyone know which is the "early" type and which is "late" ? Otherwise I guess I'll just have to pull the existing line off and have a look.

Here's a service schedule from Lexus : Bear in mind it's kms not miles shown on it. They seem to change the diff oil at every other service.

I haven't done mine yet, but have got some Foliatec paint (which is a two-part epoxy paint specifically for brake calipers, though more expensive than something like Hammerite) ready for the job. I got some curved Lexus decals off eBay, because I thought they'd look better than the straight ones from the LOC store.

Yeah, you're supposed to get a warning light indicator on the dash before you actually get completely to the metal-on-metal stage, aren't you ? Think the piston repair kit from Lexus/Toyota will list at around £60 or so, though I could be wrong.

Wow, great info there lexuslexus, sounds like that could save some owners some serious ££££s ! :D

Just phoned two big Halfords superstores near me, and they don't have it.

Nothing wrong with buying it on the net, I would do but I was hoping to have cause to use it over the weekend (i.e. I was after it quickly). Thanks Chris, sounds like a trip to Halfords will be worthwhile then.

Looks brilliant, looking forward to seeing a pic of it installed in your car. Well done ! :D

I'm now a bit concerned about the connectors, because looking at the parts diagram here, it looks like there are two types of connectors from these brake lines to the main brake tubing, called "S-type" and "D-type", as shown in more detail in this diagram. Presumably I need the right type or it's not going to work. With something so important as my brakes, I don't want to risk the wrong part ! Does anyone know how I work out if mine are right or not ? It would be nice to be able to tell without having to try and fit it - e.g. I don't know if the wrong type will still fit together but just not work properly !

Does anyone know where I can buy some Plus Gas, other than over the Internet ? I can't find it on the Halfords website so I'm assuming they don't stock it there. Would a motor factors sell it ?

I don't think it matters if the battery is working or not for the transponder to work (re the immobiliser), though I could be wrong.

Nice to bump into you at WIM the other day alam. I told you you'd notice the WIM difference, didn't it ? :winky: I wonder how much it would cost to get a leather specialist to re-trim your steering wheel ? Perhaps someone who has done that might be able to comment. Or do you think it just needs a good clean ? Otherwise I guess it's a matter of trying to find one at a breaker's.

WIM are down near London, in Chesham in Buckinghamshire.

Heh, you're right Keith, I'd love some 18" wheels. Trouble is I really like the Chicanes and they're almost impossible to come by at a reasonable price. Perhaps I'll just bide my time and hope I strike lucky on those. My discs are OEM I think, I'd like to get some nice grooved ones some time but may well wait till they need replacing. I really must get my calipers painted though, I've had all the stuff for ages. I will try and get round to it soon. Thanks though ! :D

Thanks mate ! :D

Agreed. This is something that I've PM'd Steve about in the past myself, it's happened to me as well on more than one occasion. Bazza commented in the other thread that he's never seen a complaint about anyone other than Wozza - well, just because he hasn't seen a complaint doesn't mean there haven't been any (e.g. it may have been sent to someone else - and no, I'm not referring to a complaint about Bazza in this instance).

I would also try phoning around a few Lexus/Toyota dealers and seeing if they can get hold of one, just in case someone else has one in stock.

The IS200 is VVTi as well. My IS200 used to have the very occasional startup problem, but since I changed the plugs I don't have it as far as I can tell.

The IS200 doesn't take any time to start up though. I don't see why the IS300 should either.

Overall I paid £247 for fitting the springs (two hours labour) and recovering the geometry.

You'll need to remove the head unit from the dash, and I've got a walkthough written by DJ Wozza for that. If you PM me your email address I will send it to you. Or I think there is also one in the Workshop section. No, it's not a dash-out job. It's not too hard. Basically you have to remove the top tray with the air vents in, you remove the bottom unit with the seat heater buttons and TRC/Snow etc (if you have them there), then you remove as one unit the A/C controls and the head unit (being *very* careful as you do so and masking the dash off with tape as it is very easy to scratch up your dash at this point). Then you separate the A/C and head unit. This isn't meant to be a set of instructions, as I said there are walkthroughs, but it's to show you there's not that much to it. There are a few bolts but they're hidden underneath other things. I really don't know what sort of whack might make the head unit work, to be honest I'm just clutching at straws. I think what's happened is that the CD has got physically stuck so maybe a gentle shake of the head unit or hitting it without too much violent force might help (I accept no responsibility if something goes wrong though !) ? I really don't know though. I'm not clear which cost you're asking for. If you're asking for the cost of a new head unit, then that's really up to you. Just don't buy one of the seemingly-amazingly-good-value non-branded units on eBay, they're supposed to be rubbish. I got a Pioneer unit with Bluetooth for a little over £200 and it's great. You can also get units to play DVDs, with satnav, etc, etc, it's up to you how much you want to spend.

Mine doesn't have a tilting screen, so there's not a lot I can say, since I didn't have that problem. I did help out another member who had a tilting screen, and that certainly had problems with it fouling the bottom of the fascia. There must be other members who have come up against this themselves though, and perhaps comment further ? The trouble is that it's all a combined job really. You'll need to power the head unit to see how it goes with the fascia (fouling etc), and to power it you'll have to have it wired in (though not necessarily physically installed in there). It's really not that hard, I know it might sound hard, but honestly, I'm kinda rubbish at this sort of thing but I did it fine. You can use a walkthrough to get things removed, connect up the new wiring (easy) and try the screen mechanism with the fascia test-fitted on. Then you can see what might need filing/cutting, if anything. Then you can sort out the fascia, fit it properly, and get everything put back in. Another alternative that I can think of is to get someone to install it for you, but leave off the fascia completely. Then you won't have any issues with the screen, but you will be left with an ugly gap around the head unit. Although you can always plan to get that sorted later ? You really don't need to pay an auto electrician, he'll be earning that money for doing pretty much nothing really. I would offer to help you myself but Yorkshire is a little bit far from me. I wonder if anyone who is in your neck of the woods might be able to help you out.