Newly Purchased 1993 Sc 300, Couple Of Minor Problems...

[gs_1993]

So I found a $5000 1993 SC 300 with about 140k on craigslist, and decided to go for it and trade out my 1993 GS 300. The previous (and first) owner maintained this thing very well, writing down every service he had ever had done. Lucky for me, it was a 5-speed. So a few issues with the car: After a mechanic check:

water pump leaking

t-belt needs replacement

tach/speedo needles burnt out

climate control screen bleeding out

side mirror motors dont work

vcg leaking oil

radiator old and cracking (little skeptical on this)

last but DEFINITELY not least, hard to put the car in gear (1st and 2nd) when warming up, and it grinds at times when I shift into 2nd gear, no matter how warm or cold the car is (feels like I'm jamming it into gear, even around 2000-3000 rpm.

Anyways, best mechanic I've ever had, taken cars in for years and they've always pinched pennies for me, said the grinding wasn't anything to worry about immediately. Quoted at $1400 for radiator replacement, t-belt, spark plugs, and vcg. So my questions are: did anyone have a good experience sending the instrument panel to lextech.org? Also, what exactly would the grinding be (I was too busy getting quotes to ask for details about the grinding)? Lastly, anyone ever fixed the mirror problem?

[rekit]

I had good results with Lextech. Been over a year and they still work. My mirrors needed the mirror computer. Got one on ebay for 50 or 100, i forget. I do remember it was a !Removed! to put in cuz it's up above the steering wheel and there was one bolt i couldn't get to, had to cut out the metal with tin snips. But they work now. Can't help with the grinding, mine is a sc400 auto. ('93). BUT, it sounds like the clutch is not disengaging enough, though a good mechanic would look for that.......or maybe someone put the wrong oil in it? 1400 for the work sounds fair. How are the front bushings? They go out. Buy Supra control arms instead of $Lexus. They are the same part for hundreds less. I have them on mine. Exactly the same. Good luck, you'll enjoy driving it.

[neanderthal]

Since the gear grinding is only in first and second gear, it sounds like the problem is in the synchros of the transmission. If it were the clutch not fully disengaging it would happen in all gears, and the clutch pedal would be squishy and the friction point would be very near the floor.

That means the transmission needs too be rebuilt or replaced. But the mechanic was right, usually trannys can go a long time with this problem.

[tmh95sc]

I have the same problem with the mirrors on my 95 SC400. The side mirror control doesn't work, nor does the trunk release. It's an electrical problem that's realistically not worth fixing. It's been my experience that electrical problems like that cost way more than they are worth. You can manually adjust the mirrors by lightly pushing on them until they click into the right place for you.