ES250 Update-56K i wouldnt!..Lots of Pix!!!!

[ArmyofOne]

Sorry i have been gone guys, busy with work and school, and friends. trying to balance all 3 is just a hassle.

anyways, i wanted to update all fo you on my progress. the vehicle is by no menas done, but most fo the big stuff is out of the way.

Jason (JP Importz) has been doing a fabulous job with my car, and hes even letting me help. the list of total problems and what has been fixed:

**=fixed

Cam seals**
Crank seals**
Front main seal**
Oil Pump seal**
Valve cover gaskets**
Distributor seals**
Spark plug seals**
Timing belt**
Water pump**
Power steering pump (still working, but leaky)
High Pressure Power Steering Hoses
Shocks/Struts/Springs (lowering when i do it)
Rear Brakes
Front Brakes**
Rack and pinion**
Ball joints**
Tie Rod Ends**
CV joints and driveaxles**
Tranny filter and 4 fluid changes**
Spark plugs**
Spark plug wires**
Motorvac**
Fuel Filter
Motor and tranny mounts

I havent added oil to it since the last update. the leaks seem to have stopped dead. the power steering fluid is dripping out of the high pressure feeds, and the pump si weeping,s o those are next before i leave. the fluid is dripping on my rack and pinion (brand new and cost $1800 or so including install)...so time is of the essence.

I have even made time for a few mods:

Window tint, 5% rear, and 30% front:

Before (excuse the spare, it was only temporarily while waiting for my next mod )








.

[ArmyofOne]

In the process of tinting:

The rear windshileds angle and the age fo the rear deforsters made this particular panel extremely difficult we had to do it twice, and it may still have to be redone yet a 3rd time.



(the woman getting in the car is Butch's wife and his helper is the one doingt he cutting...he had to run an errand so he couldnt start, but he did help finish)


^ryan is fiddling with the tint, not likeing the way it turned out that time...sooo...



REDO!!! they had the computer cut it to shape autmatically, it came out of the cuter pre scored so the lines are perfect, all they did was pull the excess off and heatshrink it to the rear glass, to shape it. do...deee...doo...dee...doo


^ i went around front and snapped a pic while they on the other side finishing up a vinly for that white van. Thats Butch in the bacground in the red shirt


back glass, almost done! Butch is actually inside the car right now, sqeegeeing the rest of the bubbles out...but you cant tell he is in there...that tint is DARK.


^And the bubbles are out, but Butch isnt...hes taking a break...this car wore him out! :

After:

[ArmyofOne]

but the best mod by far, has got to be the brand new Falken Ziex ZE-512's all the way around...they are FANTASTIC:



H rated, 195-60-R15. I have logged well over half a million miles in my short driving life. These have to be the smoothest tires i have ever encountered in that distance. No ifs ands or buts, these things are INCREDIBLE. Silent as the dead. The old tires were contributing so much to the harsh ride, only i didnt realize how much until the car stood firmly in its new shoes.



These tires are simply amazing. I forgot they were there. from the inside, i am having trouble figuring out what to do with this newfound lexus silence!. i cant believe how much this cars ride and responsiveness has cleared up, all because of the tires.



The tread is Directional. this means a better dispersement of grip and better displacement of water. It also means decreased noise levels which is good.
The treadwear rating is 420 (60,000 mile gauruntee) and so far, i cant even begin to complain about the handling. its hard to find a fault. i think these tires and this car should have gone hand in hand from the factory.

I cant really complain about the installers, discount tire co. inc. they werent bad, they didnt schratch my wheels which is good, but at the same time, the manager that took my order was not very polite. he wasnt rude at all, but he wasnt smiling LOL. however, they didnt put the reccomended amount fo air in my tires. i liek to keep them at 40 PSI, the max onthe tire is 51PSI. they put 22PSI in.



and now, more pictures. i ill keep you updated as tme goes by. and let you knwo how hey are wearing, wet weather traction etc.






and after a hard afternoon's work, a Texas Sunset.





Sorry about all the pics, but thats where she stands now. coming right along

[mcv30]

heyyy....


i didn't know you post on here too

but really nice restoration project going on there

[Toysrme]

Looks great man! I hope you can get the PS pump and HP lines fixed, 'cause they've been you enemy from day one!
OEM tires were Goodyear Eagle RS's (back in the day) On all the ES 300's. Good looking tire ya got on there. I may check them out when these $35 delta's wear out.


Next project: headlight cleaning! =) Gotta make them sparkle like the chrome grill man!

[ArmyofOne]

Everyonce in a while

whats your CL/LOC name? MCV30? i know you, i just cant remember...if that makes any sense.

and thanks. so far im $4,000 into this project. going right down to the nitty gritty lately, starting to get to stuff (like motor mounts) that wont take more than a few hours to do so i can make time to do them myself.

hey brandon, how are ya? the headlights, sadly, will have to be replaced. the brown one is from moisture that got in through a rock chip and just started turning colors. there is nothing i can do about it at this point, the header panel will have to be replaced, along with both headlights and turnsignal lenses,when the time comes for bodywork.

right now the clock is tickig and the rack and pinion rubber biits aint gettin any newer...especially with the ATF (the worst, most rubber drgading fluid in a car except gasoline) dripping on them!

[TakeABao]

LOL, nice tint.

You should've just used black paper

Good to see some es250 drivers on here! Lookin' good buddy.

[JetspeedCamry]

Looks great man!!
Engine pics!!!

[coolchu001]

Nice tinting......oh those tires are nice arent they :-P (hint* i have the same ones)

[dna59]

Car looks very good. I would ditch the power antenna for the s2000 style one, those fishing rods that toyota gave us throw off the look of the whole car.

[SmokingTires]

OMG! I didn't even know Lexus' came with steelies as an option!


Tint looks pimp

[CamryWhat?]

you know what would look ill... if you blacked out your taillights that would look so awesome so smooth and no know would know what the hell it was! Looking good

[ArmyofOne]

Maybe someday, but these taillights are INCREDIBLY hard to find. i have searched junkyards high and low here. there is not a SINGLE ES250 that hasnt been hit in the rear in this area (within 100 mile sof here) and has taillights without major flaws. and there are only 5 ES250's in junkyards here. these cars are rediculously rare, most have been plucked clean and crushed LONG before now.

i dont want to ditch the power antenna, need to keep it original, but i may switch, not sure at the moment. now would be the perfect time, since th emotor si out on the antenna, so it doesnt move (and no, the motor doesnt make any noise).

i think the most beautiful part of these tires has to be the price. $255 mounted and balanced on all 4 with 60,000 mile treadwear garuntee and a road hazard warranty.

[ArmyofOne]

Engine Pix
In for timing belt, cam seals, water pump, front main seal, oil pump seal, spark plug seals, distributor seals and valve cover gaskets:





TA DA!!!

No more leaks!:



wanted to paint the valve covers, btu not an option while they were off:

[JetspeedCamry]

Mmmmm 2VZFE.....
Nice man, looks good.
Whats that big black box on the bottom left of the last pic? ABS?

Whats the weight of the ES250?? It looks bigger than the Camry...but im sure it based on the same platform..