Credit to MrBooby for coming up with the idea of making this thread. I need everyone knowledge on how to get this baby new clothes!

Brand: Lexus
Model: ES300
Mileage: ~200,XXX
CarFax: N/A, Last time it had a check-up at the dealership was 05/13/2004 for Oil Change.


There she is! Gave her a little wash, tried to scrub the headlight clean & stuff. As you can see there are paint that is chipped off.


Its a 1994 so I did expected something like this or rust on the body.


As you can see the trunk (also my driver door) is a different color which I never notice until this morning. I am going to need a new license plate holder, this one is getting rusty. Also, getting into the license plate bulb is a pain in the butt then getting in the 2000 Lexus.


I am not a exhaust expert, so asking everyone here should I replace it?


Engine looks alright nothing seem to be out of the ordinary, but maybe someone here would like me to check something.


Is it just me or does this fuse box looks like its missing a lot of stuff?


Both of my needles are burnt out! and the back lights are dimmed. Will these fit and make it brighter? http://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-T5-37-58-70-73-74-Car-Auto-Dashboard-Gauge-1-LED-Wedge-Side-Light-Bulb-Lamp-/170826228933?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27c60964c5&vxp=mtr

The A/C starting to glitches and appear randomly even though its not turned on. Also the radio speaker on the driver side is glitching as well!


Yeah... I am going to need new seat or a cover...


Vacuum partial of it and sorta wiped down the seats.

These are some few photos I took to see what my new(old) ES300 looks like. Also CEL engine is reading "P0135" I am assuming a bad O2 sensor?

I may head to the junkyard to find a old ES300 laying around tomorrow.

Throwback on my favorite car

 

The first thing you need is a set of tires, based on the wear of the rear right tire seen in the picture. Especially considering winter is coming up, and you live in Michigan! Safety first!

 

The exhaust is fine, doesn't look that bad, as lng as it isn't loud. For the seats, just clean the snot out of them, and remove the tape. Go with that until you can either recover or find new seats (please no seat covers haha) I wish i could help you with the other issues. To be honest, it doesn't look to bad, especially for the price, assuming its fairly solid mechanically. I've seen way more beat up es300s

 

+1, for the price you paid, it's not bad at all.

 

Yeah I was expecting much worse for that price point. Tires are a good suggestion. Have you test driven it yet? Any apparent drive train issues? I would start with fresh new fluids - engine, transmission, coolant, power steering, and brakes. P0135 is a good sign, should be easily fixed with a Denso OE sensor (don't get anything else).

 

One thing I notice is that sometime when i start the car or stopping at the red light the car kind of stutter sometime but then goes away.

 

MAF air flow sensor, might just need a simple cleaning

 

Also try cleaning the IACV, I had the same symptoms when I got my car.

 

P0135 is bank 1, sensor 1 (it's located between the engine and the firewall), that one is pretty easy to replace, I had mine done in about 20 minutes. Replacement is this one here: Denso 234-4622 Oxygen Sensor and you can find info on how to change it here: How to replace a bank 1 sensor 1 oxygen sensor on a 1995 ES300 (w/ pics)

On the stuttering, a dirty MAF can certainly cause this, but your air intake tube (the big round black tube coming out of the air box with the MAF attached to it) might have cracks in it and this will cause the stuttering as well. Check it carefully for cracks, some of them can be hard to see. My 94 had a completely severed tube though it was still being pushed together giving the appearance of being intact, but you could easily pull it apart and whenever I would accelerate or rev the engine, it would stutter and try to die. Put on a new tube and suddenly my Lex became a Ferrari. Also check your spark plugs, who knows when they were changed last.

I'll have to check my fuse box to compare to yours, as I'm not sure if that's missing stuff or not. That's the small box there, the main box is next to the battery. Definitely check all the fluids, as MrBooby said I would replace them as well since you don't know the previous service history past 2004. You can try and see if it was serviced past that date at a Lexus dealer by registering here: http://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexu...-lexus/home.do. They sometimes will have stuff that doesn't show up on the Carfax.

I hope this helps get you started, if you need any comparison photos or help I'll be glad to do what I can.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

Can anyone explain me how to tell which is + / - ?



I can get some to work but some doesn't light up and I hate putting most screw back and connecting to see if it work.

 

I may be wrong about the needles, but I don't think its a simple bulb switch. But to be honest I have no clue about the earlier generation es'. Anyways, heres a thread I remember coming across, you could possibly use this as a solution to your burnt out needles.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/es3...t-needles.html

 

So I decided to stroll down the junk yard today because I was free. Let me know what should I grab for future purposes! I grabbed a inner cluster instrument and on the task of completing it!

 

Wow, so many ES's at your local junkyard.

Its nice they put them up high on rims so you can grab parts from underneath.

 

Opinion on this car it was on my local craiglist. I know the mileage is high but I was wondering if I can ride it up to another 100,000k. Our BMW X5 is getting old and breaking my dad's wallet.

2002 Lexus ES300 - $4900





171,000 miles, V6, Leather, power moonroof, front-wheel drive, heated seats, 6 disc premium sound package, dual power seats, rain-sensing windshield wipers, black exterior, tan interior. Meticulously maintained. Very clean, reliable car.

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/4072325100.html

 

That particular ES300 doesn't have traction control, or VSC. So, if you think your dad will be comfortable without that then go test drive it. The 4th gen ES, is the best ES made to date aside from this current generation. T/L really did a fantastic job with it, it's like a mini-LS. Drive it to make sure your dad likes the way it drives with the DBW tech.