Help Newbie

[FredD]

Hello. I am the proud new owner of a 92 SC 400 with 212k miles. I am enjoying the car but Im not an automotive expert and I have a few basic questions.

The overdrive. Should I leave it on or off? I have been leaving it off and only turning it on at highway speeds, is this correct?

The traction control button, should I leave it off generally and only turn it on in rain/snow?

Oil. 10-30 or 5-30 for colorado weather.

I also want a new seat and paint, can someone direct me to a reputable source for parts? Thank you in advance. As you can see I dont know much about cars so you wont offend me going real basic in answering. thanks.

[1990LS400]

Leave the overdrive on all the time. The only situations where you "might" want to turn it off would be while towing a trailer, while descending a steep hill to get a little "engine braking" or to avoid "hunting" between the gears when driving in hilly terrain. I think this may be explained in your owners manual. In 20+ years of driving Lexus V8 cars, I've never had to turn overdrive off or manually shift the gear selector to a lower gear.

Leave the traction control on all the time unless you are in an unusual (rare) situation (like stuck in the mud where you need a little wheel spin) where you need to turn it off. When you need traction control, you might not have time to turn it on.

Use the recommended oil vicosity - that would be 5W30.

You might first try eBay, Craigslist or a recycler for used parts. If you want new parts you can get a pretty good deal by registering with your forum member name on http://lexus.sewellparts.com/ .