Hey y'all!

So I purchased, for basically nothing, an old 1998 Lexus ES300 thats been sitting on my girlfriend's driveway. It has about 130k miles on it. The problem is that the car is in Houston, TX and I live in Toronto, Canada so this December ill be driving it back to Toronto. What should I look out for?

Some of the maintenance thats been done in the past year:

New timing belt
New spark plugs
New tires
New break pads and rotors
New alternator + belt

What I will be changing before the start of the journey

Mobil 1 5w30 Synthetic oil (needed for the Canadian winters)
Mobil 1 extended performance oil filter
New engine oil drain plug and gasket
PVC Valve + Gromnet
Cabin air filter
Engine air filter

Will only be using OEM parts from Amazon or www.lexuspartsnow.com ... unless anyone else has a better option for OEM parts.

My concern is the water pump has never been changed. Should I change it before the trip or stick to that "don't fix it if its not broken" motto? Im currently still a medical student (with that med student debt) and I am on extremely limited funds. I'll be doing some of my medical rotations in the south side of Chicago next year and part of the reason I wanted this car is because of its low profile and impeccable reliability.

Also, I am planning on hardwiring a dash cam into this vehicle. Behind the drivers change compartment is a fuse box. What size fuses do they use? ATO/ATM mini?

Im planning on adding this in order to hardwire it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002BGELQ...I3V2T7BHL0R7UU


Any help would greatly be appreciated!

 

Are you sure the water pump was not changed when the timing belt was replaced? Many shops replace the pump with the timing belt especially if the engine has a many miles as yours.

 

No HomerJay, quite positive it was not changed.

 

OK. In my opinion I would not replace the WP since the belt was recently replaced. Most of the labor to replace the WP is the timing belt service. I would be mindful of your coolant level and get in the habit of noticing any drips under your car. Water pumps typically fail gradually and will leak slightly through a "weep hole". If and when this happens I would then replace the pump. Hopefully the previous owner regularly changed the coolant which helps prolong the life of a WP. Also inspect your wiper blades, have a safe trip

 

Already ordered new Bosch all season blades! And thats a good call with the coolant level. Thank you!

 

Do a coolant drain and refill if not done in the last few years. You probably already know, use only toyota Red coolant. Toyota sells the concentrated one, so you have to dilute it with distilled water. The WPs are very good and you can change with the next timing belt change (unless you start seeing coolant leak)
Also, check the transmission fluid and a simple drain/refill if needed.

The other problems I had on my 98 es300:
valve cover gasket leak (rear)
Starter contacts at 120k
Rear trailing arm bushings (Creaking noise on speed bumps) at 120k

You will enjoy the new ride

 

For most cars, people wouldn't dare suggest bringing a nearly 20 year old car on an 1600 trip, but here, there is zero doubt that the car will make it without a problem. Says a lot about Lexus reliability. That being said, it looks like your car could benefit from rear struts at some point, but nothing keeping you from driving it up to Toronto. Because its a Texas car and assumably rust free, I highly suggest getting it undercoated at Krown or something of the like before subjecting it to the salt and grime. For $100, there is no reason not too. Good luck on your rotations, they aren't fun.

 

Thats the plan! I was planning on overhauling the rear suspension anyway at some point when I have some time. This includes a new strut assembly + new mounts. Also I have a guy in Toronto who rust proofs for all the dealerships in an auto mall and ive already spoke to him about rust proofing the vehicle. Thank you! Very nervous for the rotations!

 

Before you go on a long trip, try shorter trips first to understand if there are any problem just as fluid leak / consumption, etc.....
Just like a relationship, try dating for a while first before committing to a marriage....

 

For your peace of mind, it will be well worth it to join the AAA auto club. Or in your case, since you live in Canada, you could consider the CAA instead.

Either one, will cover you in both countries.

 

AAA also covers the battery situation I was going to mention (battery check). In case battery goes bad, you can get one from AAA too. My battery died on a road trip. It was sunday and costco happened to be closed that day... got it from AAA 1.5 hrs later.

 

im actually going to be spending a week in Houston and another few days in Dallas which is about a four hour drive away so i can get a feel for the car and any quirks it might have! Thank you for the advice! LOL I would hope any girl I date hasn't been "ridden" 130k miles haha!!!!

 

Yes I already have a CAA membership which I'll definitely be taking with me! Thank you for your advice!

 

ah I totally forgot to mention that the vehicle had alternator issues last year and not only was the alternator replaced but the battery as well! The car has probably been driven less than 5000 miles since. Ive already ordered a pair of jumper cables from Amazon. Thank you for your advice!