95 Sc300 Problems

[Sarkoth]

this is what I got...

A 1995 lexus sc300 with 178k miles.

A COUPLE things are wrong with it...

1) A couple of oil leaks...

A. Rear engine seal is leaking

B. Distributor O ring is leaking

C. Valve covers leaking (it's worse at the rear)

D. The rear engine seal leak is going into my transmission.

2) Spiral cord for the airbag/horn/cruise is broke/disconnected... Can't find one online. <-- Where can I find one? Junkyard?

3) Radiator is cracked and leaking engine coolant.

4) Circuit board may be bag... RPM/MPH gauges don't work sometimes and my check engine light turns on... got a system check and no codes came up.

5) Got suggestions for trunk latch? ebay? Trunk won't stay open

Please don't tell me to sell it, because I just spent $2k fixing it up already, and all of this came up after it. Can you tell me where to find the spiral cord/radiator/trunk latch for cheapest price.

Can the rear engine seal/ distributor O ring/ valve covers be replaced with junkyard parts? What about the circuit board? I know it's bad!!

[horent135]

If u spend 2k already, might as well do an engine swap. That the easiest and cheapest way to fix all those problems and less hassle too.

[UCF3]

you could try to fix it yourself. Find a good toyota Mechanic. A lot of them do side jobs, stop by on a Saturday after 2pm and some of the Mechanics might offer to do the jobs the following week.

Most of the leaks can be solved in your driveway. You've gotta search through this forum and Club Lexus. You should find easy ways to handle the Valve gasket, distributor O ring, radiator replacement, and the trunk latch. The trunk is held up by two shocks like the Front hood is. PepBoys, NAPA and the Toyota Dealer should have Truck stuts. Radiator replacement, valve gasket and distributor ORing same place sources. They are relatively cheap to buy there; it's the labour that racks up the bill.

Gauge Cluster you can send it out to Mikado Industries in San Francisco. Search the LS400 Forum, I've placed the address there. It's about $2-300 to replace all the bulbs and cleaning out the connectors.

Th Rear engine seal, you'll probably need access to a lift. save that for the dealer or AAMCO

The Spiral Cord for the Airbag, I'd buy that new from the dealer as well.

Now here's the bad news; anything related to the engine and transmission will end up costing you more money to fix because there's a reason why the leaks happened in the first place. The last owner or you didn't maintain the engine and transmission like it's supposed to be.

Here's an example; with your Radiator being busted; since i don't know what caused it I'm thinking your water pump, thermostat, rubber hoses and a number of seals need to be replaced.

This is why I was saying find a cheap Toyota Mechanic who is willing to fix all your major leaks for $5-600. Most if not all will be labour $$$. You maybe able to have him/her replace the Trunk Struts, and the Spiral cord for free. I've never replaced the spiral cord myself so I can't say about how he'll charge you, but if it's not easy to get to they'll try to charge you. If you can get them all done at the same time. Most of them work quickly if they don't have to search for new parts.

Good luck and keep asking questions

[Sarkoth]

you could try to fix it yourself. Find a good toyota Mechanic. A lot of them do side jobs, stop by on a Saturday after 2pm and some of the Mechanics might offer to do the jobs the following week.

Most of the leaks can be solved in your driveway. You've gotta search through this forum and Club Lexus. You should find easy ways to handle the Valve gasket, distributor O ring, radiator replacement, and the trunk latch. The trunk is held up by two shocks like the Front hood is. PepBoys, NAPA and the Toyota Dealer should have Truck stuts. Radiator replacement, valve gasket and distributor ORing same place sources. They are relatively cheap to buy there; it's the labour that racks up the bill.

Gauge Cluster you can send it out to Mikado Industries in San Francisco. Search the LS400 Forum, I've placed the address there. It's about $2-300 to replace all the bulbs and cleaning out the connectors.

Th Rear engine seal, you'll probably need access to a lift. save that for the dealer or AAMCO

The Spiral Cord for the Airbag, I'd buy that new from the dealer as well.

Now here's the bad news; anything related to the engine and transmission will end up costing you more money to fix because there's a reason why the leaks happened in the first place. The last owner or you didn't maintain the engine and transmission like it's supposed to be.

Here's an example; with your Radiator being busted; since i don't know what caused it I'm thinking your water pump, thermostat, rubber hoses and a number of seals need to be replaced.

This is why I was saying find a cheap Toyota Mechanic who is willing to fix all your major leaks for $5-600. Most if not all will be labour $$$. You maybe able to have him/her replace the Trunk Struts, and the Spiral cord for free. I've never replaced the spiral cord myself so I can't say about how he'll charge you, but if it's not easy to get to they'll try to charge you. If you can get them all done at the same time. Most of them work quickly if they don't have to search for new parts.

Good luck and keep asking questions

Thanks for all the good info! I plan on doing an engine swap later when I actually have money to do it... I'm trying to actually make the engine run correctly without it leaking oil all over the place. The radiator is cracked at the top so i'm not sure if it actually did leak into any of the hoses/seals you were talking about. Is it hard or easy to take out the lights in your dash to send to Mikado?

I'm NOT a auto guy at all so I couldn't fix this stuff even if I tried. I get my oil changed every 3-4k miles and make sure the engine coolant is up where it needs to be.. that's how i found out about the radiator being cracked.

It was sold to me with a busted sound system, check engine light ON, and the fog lights out (could this just be fixed with replaced fog lights? Autozone fog lights.. will these do?). I bought it for $3,700 and even though i had to put 2k into tires and wheels (I hit a curb) and 400 into a new low quality sound system (lol) i wouldn't trade it for anything.

Does anyone know where you can find some REALLY nice deals on audio stuff? Navigation screens, DVD flipups/downs, Amps, Subs?

[horent135]

Just save your money and do the swap. Don't do the repairs and then later on, you goin to swap your engine. That just wasting lots of money.

[eatingupblacktop]

Now here's the bad news; anything related to the engine and transmission will end up costing you more money to fix because there's a reason why the leaks happened in the first place. The last owner or you didn't maintain the engine and transmission like it's supposed to be.

Here's an example; with your Radiator being busted; since i don't know what caused it I'm thinking your water pump, thermostat, rubber hoses and a number of seals need to be replaced.

Good luck and keep asking questions

Thanks for all the good info! I plan on doing an engine swap later when I actually have money to do it... I'm trying to actually make the engine run correctly without it leaking oil all over the place. The radiator is cracked at the top so i'm not sure if it actually did leak into any of the hoses/seals you were talking about. Is it hard or easy to take out the lights in your dash to send to Mikado?

I'm NOT a auto guy at all so I couldn't fix this stuff even if I tried. I get my oil changed every 3-4k miles and make sure the engine coolant is up where it needs to be.. that's how i found out about the radiator being cracked.

It was sold to me with a busted sound system, check engine light ON, and the fog lights out. I bought it for $3,700.

First of all, I'm surprised that you would buy the car with the cel on without knowing why it's on? What if you had a busted head gasket or your water pump was on it's way out? You're living on a wing and a prayer if you think you can do all your repairs on the cheap. If you're going to swap the engine anyway, then as horent135 says "your wasting your money". Find a cheap beater in the meanwhile and save up what it's going to cost to do it right.

[UCF3]

the foglight is an easy fix. Autozone should have the light in stock, and no you don't want to swap it out for an aftermarkets from there. It's not a Ford!!! :)

Any luck finding a good mechanic? Word of mouth is usually the best way to find one.

Now I personally wouldn't spend $2k on wheels and tires, not before making sure the car runs. Lets get the mechanics fixed first.

[grnsc40095]

Sarkoth, For affordable used parts contact this vendor, for Sc's (aliga) in the link below

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=367212