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Here is a good article on Tramling. These first generation SC's are known for Tramlining when the LCA bushings wear. If you do a google search for tramlining, you can find alot of good articles. Basically, if the car likes to follow grooves or ruts in the road, or even just the slope of a road it is considered tramlining. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tec...e.jsp?techid=47 Good Luck, Michael

I just bought a 98 SC300 last summer. About the biggest thing I would be worried about are the lower control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, etc... The sway bar bushings are cheap and easy, however the lower control arm bushing are a pain and can be costly. If it tramlines any I would be suspect. It ended up just bieng the tires on mine, but I was about to replace the control arms with new ones, as that seemed to be the best route after reading a lot of posts. Other minor things are the antenna and trunk supports. I might also make sure the timing belt/water pump etc. has been changed. Good Luck, Michael

I have a 98 SC300. I am trying to put together all of the parts for the timing belt service. I am getting most everything from Carson Toyota. However, I really don't want to pay the ~230 dollars for the lexus water pump. I have read that Aisin was one of the OEM manufactures and I see them on Ebay for less than 100 dollars. I also have read that there are different types of water pumps. Some have 10 holes while some have 11?? Do some of them come in 2 pieces and others come in one piece?? How do I know, without taking the pump out first, how many holes it has? Has anyone ever used the Aisin pump? Should I just bite the bullet and pay the money for the OEM Lexus water pump? Any advise would be greatly appreicated! Thanks, Michael

Here is a wiki link for tamlining http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tramlining Basically, if a car tramlines, it will follow any ruts in the road even pull if there is a noticable crown in the road. I bring it up only because I have had a problem with it and because in general, if a SC300 SC400 has bad LCA bushings it will tramlin; the amount increasing as the bushing wear out. Mine turned out to be the tires instead of the LCA's. I rotated the tires and it was like night and day. At highway speeds it would sometimes require two hands and your full attention to keep the car under control. If you have no tramlining, I would bet that you just have something loose in the front suspension that makes a noise when you go over bumps. I read a thread somewhere a few weeks back talking about that problem. I think the person had the LCA's replaced and had a bump/thumb in the front end. Ended up something wasn't torqued enough. Good Luck! Michael

Do you have any tramling, especially at interstate speeds?

So if anyone ever has this issue, here is how to fix it. Get a torch (I used propane) and heat the caliper mounting bracket (torque plate) and then take a chisel and hammer and beat the thing out. I tried invane for hours to get it to move. I could turn it with a rachet, but it wouldn't come out; whether I was turning it or hitting it with a chisel and a hammer. I went and bought a torch and heated it for several minutes and took my hammer and chisel back to it. After only 3 hits it popped out. Michael So much for easy peasy, lol. Any pics? Too bad you didn't get any help on this one. Though the weekend is the best time to work on the car for most of us, it's also the worst time for help from forums or getting parts that you forgot to buy or break in the process. Good that you worked it out! Hey! I do have pics. I am going to try to get them up sometime this week. I also, rotated the tires for the first time since we owned the car. The Lexus dealer put 2 new tires on the back and left the old Potenza's on the front. I noticed some tramlining when we bought it, but didn't really realize what it was. It was getting pretty bad as of late and I was about to order the lower control arms, but after rotating the tires, it's like day and night. I would say at least 90% of the tramlining is gone.

So if anyone ever has this issue, here is how to fix it. Get a torch (I used propane) and heat the caliper mounting bracket (torque plate) and then take a chisel and hammer and beat the thing out. I tried invane for hours to get it to move. I could turn it with a rachet, but it wouldn't come out; whether I was turning it or hitting it with a chisel and a hammer. I went and bought a torch and heated it for several minutes and took my hammer and chisel back to it. After only 3 hits it popped out. Michael

I was replacing brake pads on my sc300 today and was about to finish when I came across a stuck slide pin. I have the bracket off and have managed to get the boot and small metal piece it is attached to out. I can turn the bolt, but it doesn't come out. I have beat on it with a hammer and chisel as well as sprayed it numerous times with wd40, but to no avail. Anyone have any ideas how to get this out. I have read on other threads about this happening, but never a really good solution. I am thinking I might need to buy a propane torch and heat the bracket and see if I can beat it out with it heated up. Thanks, Michael

New Problem. The caliber on the passanger side was stuck a little when I tried to swing it up. The drivers side was just fine and moved up freely. I ended up loosening the top bolt on the caliber to help free it up and it finally swung up. The problem is that now the caliber won't go back down over the pads. I believe the problem is that the sliding pin in the top of the Torque Plate doesn't slide freely like the rest. So, it's not pushing in towards the outside of the car enough to allow the caliber to slide as far as it needs to towards the outside of the car to allow enough room to go back over the pads. Has anyone ever had this problem or have any ideas what to do? I can turn it both ways (tighten and untighten) but it will not pull out or push in like the bottom sliding pin (as shown in the pics below) Thanks, Michael

Just finished the drivers side. Was able to just crack the bleeder screw while pushing in the pistons with a piece of wood and a cheater bar. I let it drip into a pan just below and it all worked great. Pressed the brake pedal and after one push to get the pistons back out against the pads, it firmed up, so I guess I didn't get any air in the lines!!! Now on to the passanger side.

I would have stayed with oem, but that's a personal choice. Yeah, use the shims that come with the pads since they're made to fit. I would apply the grease to both sides of the shim opposite the pistons. On the piston side, I would apply to the one side of the shim that faces the backside of the pad only. Also while you're there, check the caliper hose for any cracks or bulges and make sure you support the caliper properly so as not to stress that hose. Having fun yet? blacktop is correct. I wasn't clear in my advice eariler. I have had very good luck using high temp Red RTV silicone instead of the anti sqeaul(its slightly thicker when it dries and seems to quiet the pad moving around in the caliper a bit better) Thanks guys! After reading what ya'll wrote, talking with my cousin that is a diesel mechanic and his friend that is a ASE mechanic at a Ford dealer and talking making a run to the parts store to talk with a guy there that is knowledgeable I finally came up with something I hope at least works ok. I have attached a pic to show. I basially let the shim that is already glued to the Hawk pad act as the inner shim that was on the original pad. I then took some CRC Brake Disc Quiet that is more of the RTV Silicone than just grease and applied that between the shim thats already on the pad and the outer shim from the original. Now I am going to apply some of the brake lube to the back of the old shim that comes into contact with the piston on th back side pad and the caliper on the outside pad. We just bought this car in July at the local Lexus dealer and not long after the brakes started squealing. Or maybe they were doing it the whole time and we just didn't notice it or they were cleaned and were not squealing. I figured the pads were just worn out. However, when I took them off, they have 50 -75% left on them. They dust something awful so I am going to replace them as these Hawks are not suppose to be "low dust". I guess we will see. I did think about just going with the OEM but have always heard good things about Hawk and I found these on sale a couple months ago and got them for 10 dollars and free shipping. So I figured I would try them. They are suppose to stop it shorter, less noise and dust. If my wife doesn't like them (this is her car) I guess I will know how to change them out much easier now....lol Thanks for all your help guys! I appreciate it! I'll let you know how things are going. Michael

Hey All! I am installing some new Hawk pads today and have a question. There is a shim already on the pad that is not on the pads that I am taking off. Is this shim on the pad meant to replace at least one of the factory shims? If I leave all of them on there should I add anti squeal brake grease between all three? I have attached a pic of the pad so that everyone can see what I am talking about. Thanks! Michael

I have never had a problem, but it is possible to mess the caliper up using a clamp without first bleeding the caliper. If you loosen up the bleeder screw you will need to bleed the system. its easy tho :P just get a friend to pump the brakes 3 times then on the 3rd time have them hold pressure on it while you bleed the air....tighten the screw back up and repeat this process on each caliper until you have all the air removed and you just see fluid coming out. be sure to keep the brake master cylinder topped off so it doesn't run out while your bleeding the system (it'll suck air into the system otherwise) GOOD LUCK! To bleed the caliper without having to bleed the system just make sure the bleeder is open only under pressure and only slightly to keep the pressure up. In other words, only open the screw when pressure is being applied to the pistons. Close the screw before releasing the piston. Easy peasy! Personally, I bleed the caliper and the rubber hose when replacing pads. Takes no time and you get fresh fluid into that section. Again no probs, just switch pressure from the caliper to the brake pedal. Having extra long legs and arms helps, but the best solution is to have a second body. Thanks for advice!! I may give that a try tommorrow. I just don't want to end up having to bleed the entire system as I need the car to be up and going by Monday and I haven't bleed brakes in years and thus am a little rusty in my knowledge. I can see where it would be much better to get some fresh fluid down there. Thanks Again! I'll let you know how it turns out. Michael

I have never had a problem, but it is possible to mess the caliper up using a clamp without first bleeding the caliper. If you loosen up the bleeder screw you will need to bleed the system. its easy tho :P just get a friend to pump the brakes 3 times then on the 3rd time have them hold pressure on it while you bleed the air....tighten the screw back up and repeat this process on each caliper until you have all the air removed and you just see fluid coming out. be sure to keep the brake master cylinder topped off so it doesn't run out while your bleeding the system (it'll suck air into the system otherwise) GOOD LUCK! Thanks for the input! I think I am going to just try to do it without opening the bleeder screw. I have changed prob. a dozen sets of pads and shoes and never had any trouble. Last year I replaced the front pads and rotors on my ES300 and didn't bleed them and everything was just fine. I have a pdf manual for a GS300 (can't find one for the SC300 anywhere) and it doesn't mention anything about opening the bleeder screw, just pushing the piston back in. I noticed you are in Tupelo. I went to MS State for grad school. We would come to Tupelo to concerts and for shopping. I also have family over in Hamilton, Al. just across the line. I always liked Tupelo and after living in Jackson for 2 years and Starkvegas for 2, I think Tupelo is probably my favorite city in Mississippi. Thanks Again! Michael

Hello All! I am about to change the brake pads on my 98 SC300. I have changed brake pads before and always just siphoned off a little of the fluid out of the reservoir and then used a c-clamp to push the piston back into the caliper. However, I keep reading that it is better to open the bleeder screw up and push the piston in, thus letting the brake fluid come out of the bleeder screw. Has anyone ever had a problem just pushing the fluid back up into the system? Is is better to let the fluid out of the bleeder screw? Would letting it out the bleeder screw then require me to have to bleed the system? Thanks! Michael