90k service 2002 GS300

Just dropped my car off for 90k service. They will replace the timing belt, water pump and spark plugs. Local specialty Lexus shop is doing the work for $1,000. Is this a good price? I am located in the Los Angeles area. Will they have to replace the coolant and the oil during this service as I have had this service done recently, not by this shop.

Thanks

Reply to
billyzoom
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On Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:48:39 GMT, "billyzoom" graced this newsgroup with:

coolant yes..because they have to remove the radiator. Oil, I don't think so.

Check around. Lexus dealerships usually charge premium. Find a good independent and you might be able to shave two or three hundred off that.

Reply to
amstaffs

Just received a call from the shop. They have noticed the serpentine belt is showing cracks, they added $27.00 to the $1,000 dollar estimate no labor. Also I was told that there was alot of carbon around the 'Throttle body' that needed to be serviced @$87.00? I trust this shop but can someone explain what this service entails?

Reply to
billyzoom

The local stealership schedules $1250 for the 90K check on the LS430 currently. The service is supposed to replace oil, air filter, plugs, engine coolant, ac filter, tranny fluid, diferential fluid, PCV valve, timing belt, thermostat and gasket, brake fluid, drive belts, gas cap gasket, and check a bunch of things and rotate tires, wash and vacuum vehicle, and clean fuel injector system and install Wynn's service kit. It seems incredibly stupid to have to remove the radiator to change the fluid, but I can believe that seeing how cheaply the car is built otherwise. You might check with one of the stealerships and see how much they charge out there. I think the throttle bottle is related to the PCV valve, but am not really sure. Remember that Lexus does pretend this is a luxury car and thus it should be taken care of by an official stealership. Of course it is not a true luxury car, but there are in general no wrenches who know enough about the car to take care of it outside the stealerships.

Reply to
mcbrue

What is?

Bullshit.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

On 13 Oct 2006 15:30:27 -0700, "mcbrue" graced this newsgroup with:

..you moron..the radiator has to be removed to get to the timing belt. Just like ANY other car.

..throttle BODY...THROTTLE BODY...it's not part of the emissions control system. It's where this stuff called AIR goes in. You know, mix air with fuel. It gets dirty and it affects performance.

..you know, if I didn't know how much bullshit you constantly spew in this newsgroup, I'd swear you still love Benzes..but then doing a search in THAT newsgroup and I see you spewing the same garbage about those cars as well.

..oh hogwash. 4 tires, an engine and windshield. ...and tech can work on it.

Reply to
amstaffs

Ok - so the throttle body is where the air goes in. I guess that is under some air filter. Thus if you drive through a lot of forest fires or big city fires where much of the city is burning, then there should be a lot of carbon build up around the throttle body. BUT WAIT ! Maybe there is some recycling of partialy burned gas through this thingy???? Some brands of cars stick that dirty air back into the manifolds some other places as I understand it. Sometimes through special valves, even. And those valves have to be repaired or replaced from time to time.

I guess the PCV valve keeps those deadly cancer causing PCV things out of the car. Or maybe it prevents Intel Based computers from invading the car??? Oh well ... back to moron school to study what a PCV could be fore - golf anyone?

Why can't you switch a belt without taking the radiator out? That seems strange to me. Maybe while the engine runs the belt has to rotate around the radiator to stay cool and extend its life? Glad to hear the radiators are that rugged. At least the dratted things shouldn't fracture into millions of pieces the way some Kars Radiators' do! Or perhaps the car is too small to have room in the engine compartment for a belt to be removed by big hands. Now why would the 430 be made so small? Are they our of space in Japan and are afraid if they put too much space in the cars and then export it the nation will get smaller? Hey! I got an idea! Only let small handed mechanics work on it!!!! Yeah

- thats it!!!!! Thats why you have to take it back to the stealership - cause only they have the small handed mechanics to work on it!!!!! So you are rite, Amsta! You can take the car to any wrench to work on it. They just have to have small hands or you will have to pay more to get the belts changed.

So I am guessing that either the LA stealerships charge more than 1250 for the 90K checkup or else the regular wrenches out there have bigger hands cause they only charge 250 less. Strange, I would expect them to have smaller hands, kind of like Californians are all into that metro-sexual thing with nice small discrete body parts.

Reply to
mcbrue

Not any Honda I've ever seen.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

On Sat, 14 Oct 2006 00:51:25 -0400, "Elmo P. Shagnasty" graced this newsgroup with:

that's because Hondas have transverse engines.

Reply to
amstaffs

I have never seen a "carbon" buildup around the throttle body, however, they can get a buildup of a sticky varnish-like residue. Cleaning out the throttle body involves a can of aerosol carb cleaner, loosening the screw that holds the snorkel on to the tyhrottle body, removing the snorkel from the throttle body, and spraying the inside of the throttle body and cleaning out the residue, including the throttle plate, and then putting everything back together, about a 15 minute to half-hour operation. This is a pretty simple DIY project, just be aware that you will see clouds of smoke out the tailpipe after the operation for a few minutes.

Reply to
Ray O

On Sat, 14 Oct 2006 12:13:11 -0500, "Ray O" graced this newsgroup with:

NO NO NO! Do NOT use carb cleaner in a throttle body! It's caustic and will DESTROY the coated lining. The lining helps keep the surface slick so particles won't stick as easily to the sides of the throttle body. If you use carb cleaner, it'll make the surface area rough and MORE crap will stick to it. You can actually make the surface so bad that the only option left is to completely replace the throttle body, an expensive and labor intensive task that can be avoided.

ONLY use cleaners that are specific to cleaning throttle body's. (e.g. throttle body cleaner). Never, ever use carb cleaner.

Reply to
amstaffs

I've seen warnings against using carb cleaner in a throttle body for the reasons described above in usenet groups, however, in my 15 years working for Toyota, I've never seen such a warning in print from Toyota/Lexus, and a search of TSB's didn't turn anything up on the subject. I just checked 2 different Toyota factory service manuals, and the instructions call for carburetor cleaner and a soft brush for cleaning the throttle body, no mention of using only stuff made for throttle bodies. Since there is all manner of additives and detergents in motor oil, any coating on the interior of the throttle body would have to be able to resist the fumes which are vented by the PCV system and the resultant buildup on the throttle body. I suspect that the warning may be something of an urban legend, but it certainly would not hurt to use only cleaners that are supposed to be "safe" for throttle bodies.

OTOH, there are warnings in the factory repair manual to avoid getting carb cleaner (and probably TB cleaner) on the idle air control motor.

Reply to
Ray O

On Sat, 14 Oct 2006 21:49:38 -0500, "Ray O" graced this newsgroup with:

I doubt it's urban legend. The Teflon coating that's in throttle bodies can most definitely have the coating. You can go in one direction (throttle body to carb), but since the chemical makeup of each manufacturer many be different, it's never a good idea to use (as you well know), a tool/chemical that's not intended for it's designed purpose.

Reply to
amstaffs

There is no Teflon coating inside the throttle body.

Reply to
Ray O

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 11:23:31 -0500, "Ray O" graced this newsgroup with:

actually there is:, but it's more common on Ford products. On other throttle bodies, it's a plastic coating and carb cleaner is too caustic and can damage that coating:

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Reply to
amstaffs

Since this is a Lexus group, and the OP had mentioned that he had a Lexus, I provided information for a Lexus. Perhaps I should have been more thorough and mentioned that my advice was applicable to a Lexus and Toyota and not necessarily a Ford? ;-)

Reply to
Ray O

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 13:19:19 -0500, "Ray O" graced this newsgroup with:

maybe, however, I took your comments as a generalized statement. In that sense, your recommendation/comments were incorrect. For the sake of making an irreversible mistake, it just makes sense to use the right chemical for the job and then it becomes a non issue eh?

Reply to
amstaffs

I was responding to the OP's specific question in a Lexus ng and not posting in a Ford or general automotive forum, and at the time, I didn't feel the need to include warnings that apply to other brands and not to Lexus. I'll modify my advice to say that if the OP was going to try this in a brand other than a Toyota/Lexus/Scion, then be sure to use TB-safe cleaner, and that the instructions in a Toyota/Lexus/Scion factory repair manual do not necessarily apply to other brands.

If someone asks for advice on how to remove the interior door panel on a Lexus in this group, then should I say that you pull straight out for a Lexus but not necessarily for another brand? If someone asks about the bolt size on the caliper for an ES, should the answer be that you need a 14 mm socket on the ES but you need an allen wrench on a GM?

Reply to
Ray O

Got car from service dept. yesterday. All was well, drove car home, drove to local auto parts store for some leather cleaner. Decided to take family on a little trip up the mountain, I live in upland CA, so I can go from city to ski lift in about 20min. Going up the hill the car started to act strange. Loss of power, gauges acting weird, then audio system malfunction. I was able to drive the car back to shop, where it died upon arrival. The service tech seemed to know what was wrong very soon. As he was removing the alternator he was surpised that as he was loosening the bracket and moving the unit out of the way the altenator connector got stretched out. It pulled the wires out of the connector causing my problems later. He installed new wire connectors, he let me watch the procedure I did not ask to watch. Went on same mountain trip later in the day and car runs great. I was very calm as I drove the limping Lexus back to the shop, but my wife was not so calm when she learned that I had spent $1200.00 and the car died after I had picked it up.

Reply to
billyzoom

On Sun, 15 Oct 2006 15:57:29 -0500, "Ray O" graced this newsgroup with:

You're backpeddling. You KNOW we're not talking about how to remove a door panel or about the bolt size of a caliper. We're talking about serious and permanent damage to the throttle body. YOU made the statement that it's safe to use carb cleaner. *I* said it wasn't. Since Toyota doesn't make ALL of the cars on the planet, and an assumption is made by any logical person that if a comment is made that a harsh chemical like carb cleaner is ok to use in a throttle body, the assumption will be that it's ok to use in ALL throttle bodies.

Using your logic, it's ok to say that anyone can eat peanuts because the person that asked just happens to not be allergic to them.

Reply to
amstaffs

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