iamroddy

I picked up a clean, low mileage IS a few months back, and have been lurking about for a while now. Lots of useful info here.

This will be more of a maintenance thread, but with an eye on upgrades as things need to be replaced. The car is a bone-stock 2014 AWD IS 250 F-Sport, with ~60,000 miles. It followed me home at the end of December.
We get our share of winter storms on the North shore of Lake Ontario, so a good set of winter tires was in order. Function over form here, with a cheap set of 17 X 7 steel wheels, and four 215/50/17 Blizzak WS-90s. Good decision. This combo is great in the snow, and there was no shortage of that this year.
I'm going to keep a log, and add to it as I progress...I've got a bit of catching up to do, so here goes:

Dec. 29. Brought it home.
Dec. 30. Check/top-up fluids, filters, and tires. Remove cheap aftermarket failing/flickering LEDs from interior, and replace with real light bulbs. Order parts.
Dec. 31. Pick up parts. Replace engine air filter (K&N), remove charcoal filter, and clean MAF. Replace cabin filter.

Jan. 6. Strip window tint. A hair dryer on high, and slowly pulling the tint straight back on itself will reduce the amount of glue that remains on the glass.
Jan. 7. Remove remaining glue from glass, and give the windows a proper cleaning. Looks like a different car...
Jan. 21. Change oil and filter (Redline 0W20 and Toyota A3). New wiper blades.

Feb. 11. First transmission drain and fill. The fluid that came out looked like black coffee, and was every bit as viscous. Even putting a drop of it on a white paper towel showed no red. The front of the car was on stands...I was able to get about a gallon of fluid out of the transmission this way, and put the same amount back in. Replacement fluid is Idemitsu Type TLS-LV.

Mar. 9. Second trans drain and fill. Fluid is still very dark.
Mar.18 Third trans drain and fill. Fluid is starting to look a little better...may do the filter and proper fill/check procedure on the next one, then call it good.
Mar.19. Coolant drain and fill. One gallon of Toyota Super Long Life, and a bottle of Water Wetter.
Mar.20. Ordered 'summer' tires. I wanted a decent tire at a reasonable price for the warmer months, and (once again) chose the Firehawks. I've used these before, and like them...hard to beat at their price point.

Apr. 1. OE wheels and new tires are on. Time to start thinking about RC-F bushings and alignment...

iamroddy

Some more parts arrived today...intake and throttle body gaskets, a set of sparkplugs (NGK 94122), a can of intake valve 'cleaner', as well as gear oil and new vents for the front and rear differentials. I probably won't need the gaskets or vents, but they're cheap insurance...hope to get at it this weekend.

iamroddy

Another oil and filter change last night (Redline 5W30 and Toyota A3 filter).
I haven't had time to get to the sparkplugs yet. It looks like I could get the plugs out without pulling the intake, but I want to have a look at the back of the intake valves, so I'll wait 'till I have time to do it properly.

iamroddy

I was working on Wifey's Civic last weekend, and sent her to the parts store in the Lexus...came back with a check engine light. The code was P0420...sounds like sensor 1 on bank 1 got lazy. I did a re-set, and it hasn't come back on for a week.

iamroddy

Added a full can of 'cat cleaner' with 1/2 a tank of corn-free 91, and drove the wee out of it for a couple of hours on some twisties...the CEL has not returned.

Spark plugs, PCV valve, and upper intake gaskets replaced. Throttle body and upper intake cleaned...was on holidays this week, so made time to do it. OE plugs still looked good, though the gap varied between .040", and .047". I gapped all the new ones at .045.
Intake valves are starting to look a little grungy already (@113,000 Kms/70,000 miles). The blades/shafts in the lower intake looked ok. Will try a couple of cans of 'intake valve cleaner' before my next oil change, and check again in the fall. This car could use a catch can.

iamroddy

Just ran a can of Seafoam 'top engine cleaner & lube' through the intake as an intake valve cleaner. Letting it soak in for a bit, then off for a high load 2nd/3rd gear run down a local twisty road to bake/blow it out. I've got about 500 miles before my next oil change...will repeat before then.

Nexus713

Great descriptions but we would like to see some pictures of the car ! Keep up the work thought!

iamroddy

Well, that was smoky...intake holds quite a bit. Kept it under 3K rpms, and light load 'til the worst of it cleared. Got a check engine light, then multiple miss-fires, and a flashing check engine light along the way. Stopped at the end of the road, shut the engine down, restarted, and took the same route back. Within a minute, the check engine light was out, there was no visible smoke 'til after 5K rpms, and the car seemed to pull just a wee bit better in the upper range. May just be placebo effect...will get out for a long drive tonight, and see.

iamroddy

Re: the above post...car definitely revs and pulls better when getting on the freeway. It's not a night-and-day difference, but it is noticeable. Enough so, that I will add this routine to my regular maintenance, about 500 miles before each oil change.

Oil and filter change (Castrol 0W30 Euro and Toyota A3 Filter). Transmission drain and fill (~1 gal).

iamroddy

CEL with the 420 code came back...
A closer look, and a listen with a foot of fuel line hose says there is a (very) small leak at the joint between the manifold/cat, and the front pipe. This joint is between the cat. converter and the second sensor on bank 1. A leak there would likely skew sensor #2's reading, and could lead to cat efficiency codes (ie P0420). I've picked up the gaskets and bolts for both sides, and will see if this is the cheap/easy fix. FYI, the parts are not Lexus specific, and my local Toyota dealer had them right on the shelf.

SlowlaneAZ

Quite the write up. I can't even keep track of my fuel fill ups.

iamroddy

I keep a pen on the calendar in the garage, and write down anything I do on that date. I update here when I get around to it.

iamroddy

Taking the car in for a rust spray before the salt/snow start flying...removed all the underbody plastic this weekend, for better coverage. Winter wheels are on...a little early this year, but no sense getting those nice F-Sport wheels covered with oil.

iamroddy

Exhaust gaskets are done...time will tell if it takes care of the occasional P0420 code. Car goes in for Rust Check spray tomorrow.

iamroddy

It has been a month with no P0420 code. I shouldn't say this out loud, but I think that was the issue.
Car's up in the garage for an oil change...going back to a 0W20 for the winter. This time, it's Toyota GR (Supra) 0W20 C5 oil, with a Toyota A3 filter.