Hi!

I'm Saturn, and I have zero experience when it comes to repairing/modding a car. I have a 2002 ES300 and, to be frank, it's at death's door. But I don't want to get rid of it, it's a great car, just need a little love. (Plus car prices are ridiculous right now.)So I've set out on a mission - to make it nearly as powerful as a new car.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on what I can do to improve horsepower for this, and what I should and shouldn't do at home. I hear mixed advice from everyone on how to do things like replacing brakes, getting a new air filter, and just getting a smoother ride in general. I'd love to avoid seeing a mechanic if at all possible, minimum wage doesn't leave much spare money.

My goals are to get his car to be:
- Faster (300 or more HP)
- Smoother (No more shaky steering wheel, and maybe less road noise)
And last but not least
- More reliable (I need to get to school somehow!)

And my problems with my car are:
- Bad brakes
- Stiff-ish steering even after adding power steering fluid and new wheels
- Transmission is bad (I'm getting a mechanic for this one lol)
- Road noise is so loud it hurts my ears
- Shaky steering wheel (Not sure if this is normal or not??)
- Bass speaker is blown-out.
- Car makes weird clicking sound when turned on (Can only hear it from the outside)
And
- Turning it on fills the air with a very, VERY strong smell of gas

Does anyone have any tips? I appreciate anything. (Except comments telling me to get a new car, I can't afford that </3 )
Thanks in advance!

 

How much you will sell this car for? And can you post some pic and how much mileage is on it? My understanding you the engine runs

 

Hello,

First of all, it is not the car for any kind of performance, so it really doesn't have any support in that regard, most you can get is a set of coilovers. There was a TRD supercharger offered for those engines, but you are more likely to spot a unicorn than one, and their prices are not the prettiest. Unless you are willing to dive head deep into custom parts and engine tune-up, this is not a platform for power.

Start with what is bad currently, brakes for example. 4th-gen ES300/330 got upgraded set of calipers compared to the previous generation, in fact, I am thinking of getting a set of them for my 2000 ES300 once my pads wear out, so there is no real point of upgrading them. If you really want to, there is a chance to get a set of brakes off of RX300/Highlander, but it requires new rotors, pads and calipers, as well as a new set of rims, since 16" ones are too small to accommodate those brakes.

What's the problem with your current brakes? If the pedal is just spongy, it may be caused by the air trapped in the system. Check the fluid, its condition and its level, if it is low, do not top it off, it can result some not so funny misadventures, the system is sealed, so the fluid should not escape from it under any circumstances. Most common reason for low brake fluid is worn out pads, as those wear out, you need more fluid to fill the calipers, which drops the level.

Take each wheel off and inspect the brakes, check pads and rotors thickness, and inspect the system for any leaks. If that's good, bleed the brakes and see if they get any better, there are numerous ways to do so, the easiest is to just open each valve at a time and just let the fluid push all the air out on its own, it is effective, but very time consuming. If bleeding won't help, try pumping the brakes quite a few times, if the pedal won't get any firmer, it can be caused by a bad Master Cylinder, Toyota sells repair kits for them, and they are not that expensive, Part number for one depends on the trim of your car.

Fuel smell would be the next of my concerns. This car turns the Fuel Pump on only when the key is turned to Start Position, so you won't see much just by turning the Ignition on. Take the Starter Relay out and turn the key to Start Position, which should engage the pump, then go around the car and check for any leaks. Common places are rotten lines and hoses under the car, and the Pressure Dampener under the hood, you should be able to approximate the location of the leak by the smell of fuel. Driving like that is dangerous, avoid starting the car until you find the source of the leak.

As for shaky steering wheel, it can be caused by a number of different things, most common of them is warped or unbalanced rims or tires. Start by checking the wheel balance at a shop, some offer free courtesy checks as well that go around general condition of vital components in the car, like suspension and brakes. Make sure to ask the shop to check if wheels are warped, not all have equipment for that, some shop tried balancing one of my wheels 3 times to no avail, staying completely oblivious to the fact that one of the tires got warped, they did it as part of the warranty, but it still cost me time.

"Weird clicking noise" when the ignition is turned to the ON position is part of a normal startup procedure, the relays turn on and some systems follow the self-checking procedure, like transmission, which caused me a few grey hairs once, here you can find more details.

With all that said, go around all the systems described above, I mean ALL of them, create a cold, factual list with every single part and its price listed, which will give you a grand total of what you need to invest in that car. Transmission is not a beginners project, so it will be better if you trust it to the mechanic, and that should also go in the list. 2002 Lexus ES300 can be bought for about $5,000 on average, so if you start creeping close to about $3,000 in parts and labor, it may be wiser to sell this car as is and get something else, there will just be too much work involved to get that car back up and running. And if you are looking for experience, don't worry, it is a 20 year old car by now, so no matter what you buy next will still require plenty of maintenance.

That's about all for now, if you have any further questions, feel free to ask them!

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Oh! Well, I wasn't thinking of selling it unless I have to. Like I said, the car market has been crazy lately, I can't find a good deal anywhere! As for pics, I can't get any right now, my camera is broken. But my engine has about 146K miles on it, so it's definitely seen better days.

 

This helps a lot, thank you! I'm looking at it, and with transmission prices, new brakes, new air system, new wheels, and new spark plugs, I just don't think the price is worth it now... Maybe I'll be lucky and the car market prices will drop soon? Thank you so much for your help, if you have any advice on where to look for cars, it'd be much appreciated! Have a good rest of your day/night.

 

Autotempest collects results from all major platforms, which is convenient, though those prices will likely be higher than they should be. Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace are also good places, though it takes time to find a good deal, and there are no warranties, you gotta be sure of what you are doing, so that you won't end up getting something equally beat-up, if not worse..

Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

Where in Ohio are you?