johnatg

Hi guys Just back from a superb 'Road Trip' - the North Coast 500 - 500 miles north of Inverness. Starting in Inverness, we went north to John O'Groats, west to Durness then south via Lochinver, Ullapool, Gairloch and Applecross to Loch Carron. The official route (there's a website) goes back from Loch Carron to Inverness, but we cut that leg out as it's mostly a fairly boring 2 hour drive through Glen Carron. Instead we headed for home via Lochaber, Fort William and Glen Coe. Even so we managed about 600 miles on the part designated as the NC500 with various excursions and diversions. Thing is, of course, there's also the 900 miles round trip even for us in Cheshire to the start and finish, but we were in Deeside in Aberdeenshire anyway. Car performed faultlessly (now due for a service!) and I really appreciated its overtaking ability on some of the winding roads along the route! Most of the route recommendations involve doing it clockwise, but we did it anticlockwise, partly because it leaves the best till last and also you approach the mountains of Assynt from the north - the best aspect! (IMHO) Many superlatives are hurled at scenery, but the views on this route really justify them all! Here are a few tid-bits. All pics taken between Monday 11th April and Thursday 14th April. Don't know if the pics will appear in order, but here are the titles: 1 Mermaid of the North 2 Rolling Boulder scupture at John O'Groats 3 Torrisdale Bay 4 Inverpolly Forest 5 Summer Isles 6 Sgurr a'Ghreadaidh from A896 7 Here we are at Inveralligin, looking south across Loch Torridon towards Ben-damph Forest 8 Shieldaig (the more southerly one off Loch Torridon - there are two Shieldaigs quite close together!) Other 'Road Trips' are available - from personal experience I can particularly recommend the Route des Grandes Alpes between Lake Geneva to the French Riviera (only passable in July and August), and the coastal route from Los Angeles to San Francisco - some of you might like to suggest others!

I can only go by the workshop manual at this point. It doesn't mention draining, but the filler plug does require a (new) 'gasket' (washer) and the torque setting is 36ft lbs. The correct oil level is 0 to 5mm below the filler hole. The capacity is given as 1.1 to 1.2 litres. I'm sure that if you remove the drain plug it will drain by itself and as the drain plug looks pretty much the same as the filler I'd use a new washer and torque to the same spec. Always undo the filler first (to make sure you can!) I'd guess generic washers as supplied by any accessory shop will suffice.

I've seen various change intervals recommended - 15K, 25K, 60K miles. I intend to do it at more or less 60K - not quite there yet. I'm not sure if Lexus actually include it in their schedules - but then, they seem to miss various things. When I've bought cars in the past which haven't had it done, the old oil comes out looking like treacle. But I think 60K or 10 years if it's lowish mileage (and I am almost there) is probably OK. Lexus specify genuine Toyota GL5 75W85 - I'd probably use Redline 75W85 'cos I like Redline transmission oils.

I get most oif my stuff from eBay. I use K&N oil filters, whatever is cheapest for air and pollen filters and Dexos2 oil, brake fluid - ATE from CarParts4Less. Diff oil - Redline from Demon Tweeks. I haven't bought plugs, but there's an eBay seller in USA does them at a good price. I got a job lot of drain plug washers from a company in Congleton - sorry, can't just remember the name. Brake discs - MTEC, pads Redstuff (but I'll be getting YellowStuff next time) for the front. Rear I just use ordinary EBC spec 90 or whatever they are called. Think that's most of it!

No point in sharing - there's no such thing as a printed manual these days - all car manufacturers use computer based manuals. You can buy one (downloadable) on eBay fairly cheaply. There's one for £4.99 just now.

Certainly very large diameter threads between Aluminium alloy components are a recipe for problems. All for the dubious sake of the environment really - saves a bit of 'tin' forming the canister etc of the throw away all in one type. Doesn't save anyone any money - maybe a few coppers in production, and throw away ones have worked fine for the last 30 -40 years or more. It is absolutely crucial to get the torque setting correct - but how many mechanics use a torque wrench on oil filters?

Try spraying the housing near the gasket area with a freezer spray - eg Halfords 'Shock and Unlock' - I expect there's a garage trade equivalent. And/or a bit of gentle heat on the fixed part. And use a longer bar - but I suppose in the last resort the tool or the housing will fail (break). The base is integral with the sump - if the housing breaks, you would need to remove the sump for surgery. Could be expensive for what should be a simple task. As Jack says - a 26" bar should suffice - or add a piece of tube for extra leverage. The correct tightening torque is 18ft.lbs. !

It's hard to see how this has anything to do with the thermostat - if it was stuck open the heater would still be a bit warm and the temp gauge would show low. It is either an airlock, preventing coolant from getting to the heater matrix - check the pipes to the heater (at the back of the engine) - they should be hot to touch at all times the engine is hot - if not you have an airlock. Or it could be the heater controls - there's an ecu which controls motors to arrange airflow to mix hot and cold air as required. Something could be wrong there. But as this followed a low coolant situation, I'd go for the airlock. Try cautiously disconnecting hoses in the coolant system and see where coolant or air escapes.

This won't do anything for engine noise (if you want more than standard) but it will work just as well as oem and you could replace it twice as often as recommended and still save money. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-Is-250-Air-Filter-Car-Tf19066-VAR1-/290870829478?hash=item43b940a1a6:g:thAAAOSwYHxWH5Lz

The rear suspension is quite complex with two control arms, a toe control link and two suspension arms (and an anti-roll bar). There are specified settings and the workshop manual tells you how to adjust toe with the toe adjust plate nut, then there is a long sequence of inspections of precise measurements of the various components of the suspension geometry to check that damage has not caused camber to be out of spec, (if there is damage, it says to replace stuff - but then, the Lexus workshop manual is rather too keen to recommend replacement of almost anything), followed (if there is no damage) by the rather vague (quote) "If the values are not within the specified ranges, adjust the installation bolt holding the rear suspension member to the vehicle body, or the bolt holding the upper control arm and rear suspension arm so that the values fall within the specified ranges". Any tyre pace with 4-wheel alignment jig can measure rear suspension geometry - adjusting it will require them to know how - a National Tyres place I went to said they weren't prepared to try and adjust it as it was too complicated (even though they had a laser alignment rig). So if it is just the toe that's out, most places should be able to do it. If camber is out, you will need somewhere properly knowledgeable.

Guys - if it's been snowing and you want to get something out of your boot, clear all the snow off the back of the roof and off the rear window and boot lid before opening the boot. Otherwise, the snow might slide down and through the gap between the boot lid edge and the window and fill your boot with snow. Just saying....

Possibly early stages of head gasket going - not enough compression to burn fuel when tootling about - at higher revs/more load, pumping action in the cylinders gets compression high enough to burn? - just a theory - but certainly attention required. Sorry - I'm nowhere near London - I'm sure someone will be along to help in a short while.

White smoke is fuel (diesel). The engine is not burning fuel in one or more cylinders. Get immediate attention - possible head gasket failure?

EBC pads need careful running in - it's part of the curing process. That means not getting them too hot for about 500 miles. A friend of mine put new ones on his MX-5 in the paddock at Donington then went out for a couple of laps - the pads parted company with their backing and he came to the same conclusion as Keith. But if they are run in gently (as all pads should be) they are fine. MX-5 race cars use Yellowstuff and I've used Redstuff in my cars for 15 years or more. They are much better from cold than they used to be - they changed the formulation about ten years ago. The only problem now is that you can fade them, at least on the IS250, with extreme use - I've had it happen a few times (don't think I've had them fade on the MX-5 (even on race tracks) but that's a much lighter car).

On early cars you need to be in 'S'. After 2010 ish I think the paddles work in D as well.

I leave mine on all the time. During normal driving on flat roads it doesn't make much difference, but it does if you need to accelerate smartly. The key to smooth driving with a bit of spirit as opposed to just going with the flow is to use ECT PWR and S mode - think about what you are doing and control the gearbox. This is particularly valuable in hilly areas where you get fast straight sections followed by a slow corner with a steep uphill climb immediately after. The gearbox computer doesn't cope well in these circumstances but if you change down manually as you approach the corner - ie click down with the paddles as you approach the corner, first of all you can get smooth downshifts and you end up either in the gear you want for the section round the corner or maybe only one shift away from it. Keep the gear display showing with the disp button so you know exactly where you are and you have the uppermost gear displayed alongside the auto display. Take control with the paddles and think - IS250s can be really rewarding to drive like this. I put this into good practice yesterday evening during a drive from Alston towards Penrith in Cumbria on the A686 - the uphill section from Alston to Hartside cafe responds particularly well to this style of driving - then the downhill part between Hartside cafe and Melmerby is well entertaining. This is one of the best driving roads in the country - (check it out on streetmap.co.uk) - the road was almost empty and I was pressing on a bit. Sadly, it also shows up the utter inadequacy of the Lexus brakes for driving like this, even with my MTEC drilled and grooved discs and Redstuff pads, which are a huge improvement over the standard items. I am well aware of the limitations and was paying due regard, but it was still pretty heart-stopping on the final descent into Melmerby with the brakes faded away to nothing! Although to be fair, few road cars' brakes can cope with spirited driving on this and some similar roads. There have been enormous advances in tyres, engine efficiency and electronics during the last several years - it's about time the brake designers caught up! I'll definitely be switching to Yellowstuff pads next time!

Yes - for toe and camber - but the average tyre place won't do it - may need a Lexus dealer. Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

The mk3 NC (2005-2015) has a Ford Zetec engine. Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

Me - and I think there are others here too. They are excellent cars - be aware that 2005 - 2015 (ie Mk 3 'NC' cars) are very heavily Ford influenced. For a lot of good advice head over to the MX-5 club's website (mx5oc.co.uk and the forum you'll find linked there) As ever with sports cars - the first generation (like mine!) are the best (IMHO!) but good ones are getting rare now. The NC model has an excellent reputation. I was tech adviser on the club committee for several years and chairman back in 2010-2011 - been an avid MX-5 er for - jings - 17 years! BTW - note the hyphen - very important - it's MX-5 !

I think that in general you guys are being too hard on the original mentioned car. Little use is not necessarily bad - I bought my current MX-5 at 14 years old and it had done 40K miles - it is now 24 years old and has done 65K. It has been on SORN every winter since new and doesn't really get enough use even during summer. But it has no problems. Back to the IS250 - yes it will need brake discs, but many IS250s do at 40K miles - and most in the £5K - £6K price range. The front calipers will be OK - you can free the slides as they have hexagons if they are a bit stuck. The rears could possibly need replacement if they are far gone, but not necessarily. Parts costs could be £200-£300 - I doubt that much more would need to be spent, although you can spend much more if you go for upgraded discs and pads. The shock absorber is a bit strange - I'd be inclined to clean it off carefully and see how it goes. If it needs replacing you'll need to do both sides and they are going to be £100 or more a piece. The labour costs for brakes and suspension shouldn't be exorbitant - both are easy routine jobs and any competent diy-er or independent garage could handle them. I wouldn't worry about plugs - it really is a nonsense changing plugs at time intervals - it's miles, not time which wears them and they don't deteriorate when not used, unlike rubber and oil items. Mine are almost 10 years old and haven't been changed - I haven't got to 60K yet. Exhaust - probably surface corrosion - it might be a problem, but it's that section where it divides into two which suffers. I'm sure that a good stainless fabricator could make up the section for £300 or so and anyway it might last for years yet. Tyres - may be needed sooner rather than later - you can spend loadsamoney but you can get a full set of decent tyres for not much more than £300 (eg check out Avon ZV5s from tyre-shopper.co.uk). I'm not necessarily recommending them as the best you can get but they would be fine for most people. So don't dismiss the car - get an inspection if you're not confident in assessing it yourself and don't go on generalities. Is it worth the money? I'll not comment on price but the work required might justify some off - and a lot depends on how much you can do yourself. Any ten year old car needs competent diy to be an economic proposition (and don't expect zero expenses) - that's why they are so cheap! Buy a newer car if you'll be mostly using garages.

The airflow through the filter is from top to bottom - ie the airflow arrow should be pointing downwards. The frame into which the filter fits has an 'up' arrow - that obviously should point upwards - ie opposite to the airflow arrows on the actual filter. Actually I don't understand why the bottom side of the filter gets to look dirtiest (or at least blacker) - surely you would think that dirt would get trapped at the first surface it comes to and that (top) side would get to look dirtiest. But it doesn't! This a subject of much debate on Toyota/Lexus forums worldwide, and just about everyone is confused! (And I'm not sure about me!) And at the end of the day, I'm not sure what difference it makes - both sides of non-original filters look the same to me!

XL means extra load capacity. You get worse ride because the sidewalls are stiffer. As long as the tyres selected meet the size (eg 245/45R17), speed (eg W, Y - Y covers W as well) and weight ratings (eg 91, 95 - higher numbers cover lower as well) as specified in the handbook you don't need XL.

Hope this helps: http://tinyurl.com/gsqduoc When the engine is fast idling and everything connected up normally you should see a voltage measured at the battery terminals of about 14 to 14.2 volts Be careful - note that normal home-type ammeters can't handle anything like the current specified - even 10amps. Also do not disconnect the battery with the engine running - even for an instant

Nothing needs resetting. If you press 'Disp' again and again on the steering wheel, don't you cycle through various things - gear selected, outside temperature, average fuel consumption, fuel consump this tank, average speed - think that's it? (I keep mine showing gear I'm in most of the time - like to know what's going on!)

Well done! Always a pain when things are over tightened. But the correct way to undo them is steady pressure with a long bar and the correct tool/socket and sometimes a bit of heat (with great care, especially near fuelly/oily bits) or cold (shock and unlock) - cold likely to be safer and less damaging. (A guy near me blew himself up when heating or welding his Porsche - that was about 20 years ago) Sometimes a bolt or whatever will just shear - it's as well to have a plan to deal with that! But this time you've followed instructions and succeeded! Phew!