Make sure you dont have coolant leaks, or other leaks. If the car sat for so long, I bet it has some bad seals.

 

Will keep an eye on it Och!This was the first weekend that I really drove it.It got warm here in Florida and it just went about its business as it should.I also have a 91 Caddy and that is my primary vehicle for now.It has only 60K on it and still runs strong.The cost of parts for the Lexus kind of scares me.Everything seems much higher.I will probably keep it for a few months and than just resell it and get my money back out of it.

 

If you stick around this board, you'll find a way to save quite a bit of money on certain parts, and labor by doing some repairs yourself.

 

Hopefully the car will be reliable!I hate getting grease under my nails.LOL!

 

Problem solved. It was the temperature sensor/sender, the one that send the signal to the gauge. Replaced it, and all is normal now.

 

haha I can't believe it was that. At least you finally solved it.

 

glad you fixed your problem..I am trying to figure out why my car takes forever to warm up.and lately with the cooler weather here in Florida. The temp gauge reads low.
I have no leaks. my reservoir bottle never lowers.just gets a little fuller when warm..
the cap is not hot to the touch.and the intake never gets real hot only warm.
My heater puts off nice hot heat....my driver's side coolant hose is easy to squeeze...any ideas guys????? happy Halloween

 

Kinda obvious. Your thermostat is sticking, leaving it open all the time. I would replace that, the thermostat gasket, and the radiator cap.

 

make sure to buy OEM. I know it sounds trivial but oem thermostats are made in japan, and are higher quality. Best thing is that they are the about the same price if you buy online. Same goes for almost all oem parts.

 

ok thanks.yes it is kinda obvious..but I thought if your thermostat is stuck open.then you wont get good heat.that is why I wanted more opinions .

 

well i bought one from Oreilys for now.it is a murrays brand seems to be working ok..my car warms up quickly now...i will change it soon.as i want to flush my system also.
Question.........my temp gauge rises 1/8th above the 3 mark...is this normal temp setting?

 

Yes I believe thats where the temp should be, above the third mark but still a bit lower than half way.

Also with aftermarket thermostats, they are usually ok, but the gasket that they use might leak. Keep an eye on it.

 

If the temp gauge bugs you, use a laser temp gauge on your lower and upper hoses to find out if it's doing the job. Also, if you've never cleared the debris from the front of your radiator, do it NOW. The front of my radiator looked like it was dredged up from the river bottom.

 

thanks for the help guys....I will check the radiator....the seal was more than just a ring..it had about 1/4 of meat to rap around the cap.then the round seal part..barely fit inside the mounting hole...but the force of the hose neck pushed it in.....I guess if my temp is ok.....I will leave it in there for awhile..I still need a flush next.to put the proper fluid in.