Johnhav430

I drove her to work and noticed my fuel level is below half. This is really good because tomorrow is the big day! Gonna fill her up at Costco with that top tier 93 octane premium I think at around $2.50.

Yesterday I filled my wife's car at $2.039 for unbranded supermarket regular! We had a 50 cents off deal expiring 1/31/20, and I managed to get 23 gal! (supermarkets crack me up, here's your choice--50 cents off per gallon, or $5 off groceries. hmmmmmm)

p.s. I'm going to do something I never did before at lunch. That is to take the bridge back to PA, and come back to NJ. I need 18 trips for $18. So I spend $5, get $18, net gain $13. A lot of times when I travel for work I will miss the 18 trips in a calendar month. But this worked out to 17, missing by 1 unless I cross 2X today.

Chucky1

Is that a chicken in a bag sliding across the tracks????

Johnhav430

btw I did this too and not sure if any effect, really haven't driven too many miles since I did it. I need to put my top and under covers back on. I think on my car, there is/was a leak on the pass side lower valve cover, the black part (think it's the gasket itself) has grime, and towards the front bolt as well. Been checking the oil and no change in level, never was. I think folks say don't tighten on a cold engine, again, when we're using common sense and not overtightening, I can see the argument where feel works since there are a lot of instances where a torque wrench doesn't fit....the top rear by the firewall was inaccessible due to a wiring harness that would not move out of the way...

pmesfun

Yeah I couldn't get to that bolt. Mine was leaking pretty good, oil burning on the exhaust, loosing half a quart over 3K miles. The under cover was oil soaked and grimy. Now everything is dry. I'm thinking about leaving the engine cover off, all the plastic and rubber underneath are hard and brittle.

Johnhav430

I think I do have a leak because I saw that manifold had dampness, and didn't seem to burn away after I tightened down a couple weeks ago. but my oil level never seems to change. That black tab though "seems" grimy--there is a lot that can be seen but not touched. I used a telescopic magnet and duct taped paper towels to clean up a little! Again mine seems to be passenger front corner, no further than two lower bolts starting at front.

But today I did look under car again with covers off, and don't see anything dripping.....

btw I got me an electric ratchet online thinking it will speed up taking the cover off an on due to the number of 10mm nuts/screws. I didn't want to spend on a Milwaukee so I got the popular amazon one for $79.99--not impressed, but we'll see! It got like 4.5 starts but feels like a cheap toy!

sha4000

iTrader: (1)

I got the Milwaukee electric one for $80 on Sears.com. from one of the 3rd party sellers.

Scootymad

Drove mine for the first time in probably a year tonight to get food, complete with sketchy wheel bearing, VSC and ENG fault codes, and a dodgy battery. I forget why I have that thing sometimes, but then I drove it and that's why I like my V8

Johnhav430

I've never owned a V8 before, and want more of them. They are effectively smooth (but not balanced like an inline 6 nor V12). I'm not dumb I don't want a V12 (likely a nightmare to maintain). If all goes right I would never have another V6 (have 2 right now) but maybe another inline 6 (have one now). And never a 4 cyl either.

CSA

LS430 newbie here. I've had a car a little over a week and took care of a few odds and ends: replaced trunk struts (OEM), center console latch (OEM), and cabin air filter (OEM). All parts were purchased from Longo Lexus on-line parts with a nice discount from list price, unlike my local dealer that charges OVER list price on parts. I couldn't be more pleased with this car.

Tostada

Impulse buy but I got a big fin grill. Now let’s hope it gets here 😂

Johnhav430

Nice I was looking at them at HD this AM--$169 with no battery. I wish dewalt made them although my batteries aren't for the electric ratchet anyway.

The one I got is amazon's best seller and I think it's utter junk I think I can tell tools that are decent and those that are not.

Can you grab the ratchet with your fingers and stop the electric motor? amazon comments say mine does that, but then I'm thinking it's max 40 ft. lbs. so that's why, not a defect

Vantage007

I think I'll need to own a V12 someday. I currently have 3 V8s (LS, Aston, '08 Jag XJR) and one 4-cylinder (S2000).

Johnhav430

I'd really like to own more V8s (likely a 5.5 twin turbo), but I wonder if I'll cave in due to funds/interest. Like say if I could get a new car and had $70k, what would it be? In this day and age oddly $70k is not a lot. Barely a top of the line 4 cyl. BMW, those are about 60 hahahahahahahaha

With compromise, it'd probably be that Lincoln Aviator with the add'l electric. I was told plugging in at work is free. Imagine driving to and from work free? someone told me it's the slow charge which is why free--but it's sitting in the garage 10 hours who cares if it's slow and free?

Yet the Lincoln is V6, there is no V8. For those who insist V6's are smooth (I bet they don't own a V8 or just can't compare for some reason, and never had an inline 6), look at when Mercedes Benz went V6. There is a $150 part that goes bad and is a $5-$7k repair with the entire engine coming out. We could also insist well Toyota doesn't have the problem with the counter balance shafts, but at the same time Toyota puts out 1995 torque in 2020 in the V6. The 2020 ES puts out 267 ft. lbs, completely inadequate in this day and age. Ford's at 415 ft. lbs. lol

edit that's shocking the 2020 ES has solid rear discs, talk about an overpriced Camry

BMW7_LS430

Added a connection for trickle charger so that I don't have to open the hood when charging. (Yes, it will be covered with the plug when not charging)
Last two batteries lasted less than 2 years and hopefully this will extend the life one I just got few days ago.

designdude

iTrader: (1)

Well it wasn’t today, but I recently finished detailing my 2005, UL package, Flint Mica (Lexus paint code 1E0), ivory interior, 69K miles.

I had noticed a few scratches here and there, mostly parking lot idiot marks. Decided to do my own detailing. Bought a 7” variable speed polisher at Harbor Freight, along with some foam pads, and some Meguiar’s polishing glaze. Wasn’t intending to make it showroom perfect, just a fall makeover. As I started tinkering, I decided to go all in. I bought another bottle of glaze, some Turtle Wax rubbing compound and polishing compound, two cans of ERA spray paint and a can of clear coat (ebay), some plastic polishing products, and some other supplies. Of course I already had some liquid touch-up paint, and a bin full of detailing supplies. Everything but dental floss.

First, I polished the paint – nose to tail. I did it in sections, over a span of about two weeks. I found some scratches and chips that went to the primer. On these, I would take a dab of liquid touch-up paint, mix it with lacquer thinner until it was water thin, and then fill the spots with a fine tip paint brush. Often several layers, spread over days. Once thoroughly dry, I’d hit these with rubbing compound on the polisher, making sure the pad was soaking wet. 10-15 seconds, just enough to smooth out the fill. Then polish. These aren’t perfect, but from a few feet away you can barely tell. After polishing each section, I would put on a quick coat of Meguiar’s Tech Wax – and leave it in place without buffing it out as I did the next section. Car looked like hell in the interim, but WTF.

I paid special attention to the runners under the doors, between the wheels. These get lots of chips and scratches, even though I have mudflaps on all four wheels. I cleaned them thoroughly, did a quick pass with the polisher, then did the touch-up paint thing described above. This usually meant lying flat on my back, with a paint brush between my lips, and rags and paint supplies spread everywhere. Neighbors already knew I was a bit different. I also pulled the rear mud flaps, sanded out the chips and wear spots, gave them a couple coats of spray paint, a coat of clear coat, then re-installed. These seem to get more wear then the front flaps.

Next, I attacked the head lights. Gave them a quick pass with the polisher, then hand rubbing – first with Novus #2, then Novus #1. Afterwards, I used the same touch-up paint routine to address any chips in the paint on the metal around the headlights. These get hit with a lot of road debris. Next, I pulled the grille assembly, and disassembled it. I buffed the chrome frame on the buffing wheel, and the grille insert. I then spray painted the grill louvers in satin nickel. I had repainted them in silver a couple years ago, and I thought satin nickel would give a nice constrast between the chrome details and the flint mica paint. I think it came out nice.

I timed most of the work to coincide with the weather. Specifically, I polished the roof, the hood, and the front fenders last - the day before a big storm. It’s always a pain to clean the polishing compound out of all the nooks and crannies, and I figured the rain would help. I was right. After the storm had passed, I put on a final coat of Tech Wax, and buffed everything. Then the usual toothpick and old toothbrush routine to clean out all the left over schmutz in the nooks and crannies. Last, but not least, Q-tips and rags to put a coat of Mother’s Black Magic on every piece of black plastic I could find.

I think the old car looks pretty good.