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johnatg

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Everything posted by johnatg

  1. Shims are a whole lot cheaper - just think - 24 lash adjusters @ £70 each! Crazy!
  2. Come on chaps - almost all modern engines have hydraulic tappets (Japanese manufacturers call them Lash Adjusters). Including IS250 engines.
  3. Don't worry - it's just the 'wear-in' coating from the pads on the discs - it will go soon. The front discs clean up much quicker because they do a lot harder work. The pads and handbrake have nothing to do with each other - the handbrake works on completely different shoes inside the drum..
  4. Those 'originals' are nothing like the actual originals, which have a central 'pip' which you have to push down to release the clip, then to reinsert you spread the legs and push the pip thing up. Then after reinsertion you push the pip down flush. But they break easily. I keep a few originals for use in the recessed parts of the covers (because they are easier to remove from recesses), but I use ones similar to the ebay ones for all the other fixings. I reckon covers are there because engines these days are not very cosmetic - too many pipes and wires stuck all over the place. Fuel injection kit just doesn't look as nice as a carburettor or two (or three). And it makes the engine bay look too technical for an ordinary guy to poke around - go to the dealer! (And spend your money!). Maybe they also have a minimal quietening effect.
  5. Maybe the one on the other side with the wear indicator is on the inside face of the disc. That's where they should be really. (When the pads get worn, the indicator makes a rattling noise - sounds like your wheel is about to drop off). Or sometimes they screech. They should be on the inside because if the pads wear unevenly the inside one is likely to wear the most. It's not a big deal where they are though.
  6. Tyres depend on wheel size - 18" ones are more expensive than 17". I bought 4 tyres (Avon ZV7) for £300 for my 17" wheels. Spark plugs cost about £80 a set, but there's a fair bit of labour needed to fit them - probably a couple of hours for a competent mechanic. Only needed at 60 K mile intervals and even then if fuel consumption and starting are OK they should/may last to 100K miles no bother. (they do in California - why should it be any different here?) Anything non-service scheduled can be horrendously expensive but there are usually ways to avoid huge expense. Be aware that brakes can seize their caliper slide pins and dealers always want to (unnecessarily) fit new calipers. And exhausts are seriously steep money. Check these items and use as negotiating tools if any of these are needed soon.
  7. If the only shims available are the old ones, it's better to use them than not (if the pads don't have that rubbery backing which quite a few do these days). But no shims at all are not a big deal as long as there's a bit of copper grease on the backs (contacting the piston). The emailed version of the post asked about adjusting the handbrake/footbrake? - yes you do need to adjust after replacing rear discs until wheel just spins freely - hard to tell but if you have both wheels off the ground you can get it OK. The footbrake version should have 7-9 clicks at max travel - not sure about handbrake (manual cars)
  8. On second thoughts, it's plastic bumper material, not metal. But anyway, it's not just a blanked-off hole. I guess you could cut it out - but really, why bother?
  9. I doubt it - there's a metal plate behind the plastic. It has some holes in to hold the clips securing the plastic trim plate.
  10. Good advice - the only thing I'd add is that it's probably a good idea to replace the rubber boots (all round) . You can get them from here - might be cheaper than from a dealer (but check) - I think you'd need to buy caliper service kits, but if you call them they might be able to supply the boots (they're called bushes in Lexus-speak) alone: http://brakeparts.co.uk
  11. The hand or foot brake is not connected with the caliper. Leave the brake on. Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
  12. Blueprint are thoroughly reputable - you'll have no probs with them. I bought Apec discs with EBC pads - my rear discs are solid so quite a lot cheaper. Vented Apec discs and EBC pads are much the same price as the Blueprint ones. I can guarantee that you will not notice any difference with Apec/EBC or Blueprint compared with the genuine Lexus items.
  13. You need to fit whatever are currently fitted - look like unvented in your case. It was a spec change in about 2007. The calipers are different. Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
  14. At big lock angles you go past the point of self centering ability . It's a quirk of Ackerman steering geometry - no need to worry! Google to find out exactly how it works! Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk
  15. That is one main beam. I don't understand that - the first turn should bring on the parking light bulbs (in the inner housings) then the second turn should bring on the dip (outer) beams. Pushing the switch away from you now should light up the inner (main) beams, pulling it towards you ( one click) should extinguish the main beams.. Pulling the switch towads you with other lights on or off should light up the main beams (only whilst the switch is pulled)
  16. No aftermarket HID kit is road legal if only because they are not type approved and the bulbs are not e-marked. That doesn't mean they won't pass an MoT though - the MoT checks immediate road worthiness, not Construction and Use issues. Even if you have a valid MoT you can still be prosecuted for not complying with C and U regs. Highly unlikely though. I have an HID kit - first MoT with it fitted is due in a couple of weeks. Incidentally, MoT stations have recently been equipped with much stricter beam testing kits. i'll let you know how i get on. I am not surprised that a mechanic declines to fit them. They are not legal and professional mechanics should not fit things to cars which are not legal. What you do yourself is up to you - but understand the risks and don't just try and say 'I thought it/they was/were legal! But clearly Sathax doesn't want HID, so lets address his post. Oh dear - you really shouldn't let your car get to that state - any bulb which fails (and its opposite side partner) should be replaced immediately. Now - the dip beams are the outer bulbs, the main beams are the inner ones. The two bulbs are independent of each other. My advice from here would be to take it to your mechanic and get him to replace all four bulbs with whatever he recommends - but do it now - today. It would be a good idea to learn how to do simple tasks such as replacing bulbs etc yourself. You pay through the nose for a professional to do things like that which really are simple to do yourself (although - fair does - headlamp bulb replacement on an IS can test your patience and dexterity of your fingers.)
  17. The 'crease' is there so you can fold the mat in half and store it in the more sunken area in the tray. The support then stores in the cutouts at either side of the back of the tray. Not sure why you'd want to do that - makes for a rather awkward boot floor - as you illustrate!
  18. I have no idea what those strips are, but they are nothing to do with the luggage box cover support. Here are the instructions on the base of the luggage box: (pic 1) Then there's the support bar: (pic 2) And it fits like this: (pic 3) As I mentioned, you could fashion a support bar from a piece of wood.
  19. That's true, but there are occasions when the paddles are handy. For example, if you're following someone at say a steady 40mph looking for an opportunity to overtake, the car will be in 6th gear in normal mode. When the opportunity arises you put your foot down and there's a delay in kickdown even in PWR and hence a delay before you start accelerating. It can seem like an age, particularly if the window of opportunity is a bit tight. But if you drop down to third with the paddles in advance as you see the chance is going to arise, as soon as you put your foot down you're away
  20. I don't understand why you would ever want to upshift earlier than the autobox wants to. I suppose if the change was so slow that you hit the rev limiter, that would be the case, but i don't think it ever would be in an IS.(Unless you have limited the box to too low a gear with the paddles) The car uses the highest gear suitable in any given situation - sometimes I think I bit too high. But any higher would put the engine into labouring.. So - upshift by the paddles would be pointless and as it works on our cars it is fine - controlling downshifts by paddle but leaving the box to change up when it wants to (unless you want higher revs, and then you limit the highest gear with the paddles) Or just leave it alone to its own devices - I guess that's what most people do and it's fine nearly all the time!
  21. Not sure what you mean - I can't see it anywhere. Look at the pic of the tray, with the top cover open - the bar fits into the cutouts at the front and back middle of the tray edges. It supports the carpeted lid when heavy weights are in the boot.
  22. Here I am disagreeing! I guess it depends on where you live - if you use a lot of dark country roads you need good main beams. I use mine a lot. I have HID dips (aftermarket kit) but I use Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited Plus main beam bulbs. Doesn't matter where you get them from - they are available from loads of sellers on eBay - eg for £19.90 for a pair. from http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Osram-NightBreaker-Unlimited-HB3-Headlight-Bulbs-Duo-Case-110-Plus-Light-/252014362902?hash=item3aad3a0116:g:WuMAAOSwwbdWH59e I've had them in for a couple of years - no probs, although I don't do a huge mileage.
  23. Good call - jump in three, SilentBull! It looks to have a support bar missing - should have a bar across the tray under the carpet running front to back - it slots into the cutouts at front and back of the tray - but you could always make one from a piece of wood.
  24. There's a whole panel, incorporating a tray for stuff, missing. Maybe the AA guy left it out by the roadside, or maybe the garage where you got the puncture repair fixed left it out.
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