K9crew

After a year with my SC I'm getting an overall average of 17.91mpg (doesn't include NY to SF road trip). When I drove from New York to San Francisco (about 4,500 miles in near perfect conditions - temps in the high 40's to low 50's and interstate driving at 75mph) my average was around 23mpg. My LS managed an average of 24mpg on the trip from Houston to San Francisco but the weather was in the high 60's to high 80's with mostly interstate driving at about 75mph. Now my LS is averaging 17.75mpg over the last seven tanks but I only have a 30 mile round-trip commute with quite a bit of traffic. :) P.S. I'm not disappointed with those numbers. Having owned a bunch of big trucks I'm quite happy to be in the high vs. the low teens!! The power difference between the LS and the SC makes the 0.16mpg difference in the SC's favor easy to live with!

I reported an Ebay scam to this board, to Ebay and to the Florida police department last year. Some crook was selling this really nice looking '98 SC400. The mileage was reported to be 62K (there was a photo of the odometer) but when I checked CarFax the actual mileage was 130K!! Ebay could care less. I spent about a week emailing everyone that was bidding on his auctions trying to warn them about this guy ... not one single Ebay member got back to me. This made me wonder if the seller had numerous fake Ebay accounts and bid on his own items to boost the price or to create a "virtual demand". :)

slidermike, Here's a link to a pdf file on my server. There are fourteen pages in the manual dedicated to the hydraulic cooling fan. The bleeding procedure is described in full ... I hope it helps. :) Hydraulic Cooling Fan information from factory repair manual

UCF3, SC400's have an hydraulic fan. There's a reservoir containing ATF along with a pump on the block, a hydraulic motor to drive the fan, hoses to connect everything etc. I've never been able to find out why Toyota chose that set up. slidermike, I flushed the old ATF out of the reservoir, lines etc and bled the system following the directions in the factory repair manual. I had to use a wire to short two pins under the hood then run the engine for about a minute until no bubbles appeared in the reservoir. I can give you more details when I get to work since I left the factory manual there. As for installing an electric fan .... I don't think that it'd be too hard. :)

Craig, I know this isn't quite what you want to hear but I installed Eibach springs and Tokico shocks on my '95 SC and I LOVE the handling. The SC (in stock form) is harder riding than the LS (in stock form) so when I change my LS springs to Eibachs I'm expecting a ride somewhat like the stock SC. My SC is great in the turns and WAY more controlled than the LS. If the LS seats had more side bolstering I think these cars would feel more contolled since there's a definate tendancy to slide on the seat when cornering. I haven't decided which shocks to install since Tokico doesn't have shocks for the '99 LS. I may use the stock shocks until they wear out ... which might be sooner rather than later! :)

1990LS400, I had to laugh when I read your post. I had EXACTLY the same probem when I tried to program the Homelink buttons in my '99 LS. I also have a Sears garage door opener (installed myself - works great!) and read the addendum about the rolling code feature but never got around to following the instructions that you provided. Thanks for the incentive to finish what I started. :)

I have to admit that I'm not a big fan of extended oil change intervals either (for my personal vehicles that is) since oil is cheap and my labor is free. But if I owned or operated a fleet of 50 trucks, each of which required 30 QT oil changes every month I would certainly be looking at ways to extend the life of the oil. Bypass filters that filter down to around 3 microns in combination with a good synthetic oil like Amsoil that is less susceptible to thermal breakdown go a long way to reducing downtime and reducing costs. If my fleet is producing 1500 QTS of waste oil each month that needs to be properly disposed of then that's going to cost some money in addition to the cost of paying someone to change the oil. Extended oil changes certainly have their place but I don't think that our cars are in need of them. A good oil, dyno or synthetic in combination with a good filter are all that's needed. :)

Well, technically the "washer" acts as a gasket since it performs the job of preventing the ATF from leaking out past the drain plug but I'm sure we all know what we're talking about ... it's the copper or aluminum "washer" or "gasket" that forms a seal between the pan and drain plug head. :)

The drain plug gasket should be replaced whenever the drain plug is removed i.e. when the pan is drained ... Lexus sells the gasket for a few dollars. There are two kinds available, a copper or an aluminum gasket. My dealer sells the aluminum type. The torque spec on the transmission drain pan plug is important since it's easy to over torque (strip) the plug. The gasket is a crush type so I'd recommend against reusing it. Park Place Lexus in Plano, TX stripped my trans pan drain plug and they're supposed to know what they're doing!! My '00 F-150 had a drain plug on the pan AND on the torque converter ... it sure made changing the trans fluid easy since almost all of the fluid (13 QTS) could be changed in the garage without special tools. :)

When I changed the trans filter on my '95 SC the pan gasket was the orange silcone type ... I spent about an hour cleaning it off the pan and valve body and replaced it with a rubber reusable gasket. Check your gasket ... I bet it's the original silicone type too. :)

How are members here cleaning the throttle body on their cars? I'm interested in doing this to my SC and LS and would appreciate some insights. I've cleaned throttle bodies before but I'm not sure if the "remove plastic intake tube, start engine, spray liberal amounts of cleaner into throttle body" is the appropriate procedure for these high dollar vehicles. Thanks :)

I don't think they changed your transmission filter since your bill of $54.55 is too cheap for parts and labor ... heck, the trans filter and new gasket will cost you close to $50!! It sounds like they drained the pan (2~3 QTS) and the rear differential (1.5 QTS) and that's about it. I'm not sure why they said "replaced ALL differential fluids" since you only have one!! The color of Type 4 ATF is bright red so It makes me wonder what kind of fluid you had in the transmission if it was the color of "fresh engine oil". Transmission fluid turns dark brown as it ages. :)

The resistance felt in the gas pedal is a function of the tension on the throttle body return spring. It's possible that you could modify or change the spring to get a "softer" gas pedal. I doubt that a Camry return spring would fit an LS400 but you never know! I do agree with you that the gas pedal doesn't quite feel right but then again the same is true for the shifting stratedgy of the transmission (in my car at least)! :)

As UCF3 mentioned it would help to change the filter with an empty tank. I did mine on the SC a few months ago and it was HORRIBLE. I did it in the driveway without lifting the vehicle but if I do it again I'll use a lift. The filter is just in front of the rear wheel on the driver's side and it's held in place with two bolts. The hard lines going into each end of the filter are flared and it took me ages to disconnect them ... all the while gas was running down my arms!!

The transmission, torque converter, cooler and lines hold 8 QTS of ATF ... not 14!! You'll need to drain and fill the pan 5 or 6 times if you want to reduce the amount of old fluid to less than 10%! :)

jbatast, I recently installed Eibach springs and Tokico shocks on my SC and I'm VERY happy with the ride and performance. Personally, my LS has the worse handling of ANY car I've owned. The steering is vague and the suspension is way too soft. I rented a Lincoln LS V8 for three days last week to drive to the Daytona 500 ... now THAT'S how I want my LS to handle!!! My LS has about 63K miles on the original springs and shocks but IF I keep this car I will certainly install Eibach springs and most likely KYB shocks since Tokico doesn't offer shocks for my year. One possibility for the noises that you're hearing are worn out spring isolators. They sit between the top spring mounting plate and the underside of each shock tower ... they're about $35 at the dealer. Another possibility is that your mechanice didn't torque the sway bar links to the proper spec (assuming that he disconnected the sway bar during the installation). The rear springs may not be seated correctly such that they're moving when the suspension is unloaded. You could try jacking up the rear of the car supporting it with jack stands. Let the suspension hang down at maximum travel and try to discern the cause of the noise ... is the spring able to move on the perch? Let us know what you find. :)

Bill, Your coolant is either escaping through the engine (cracked block or leaking head gasket) or it's leaking into the engine compartment from a hose, the radiator, the reservoir, the cap etc. If it's the latter a dye test would find the problem immediately. You may be better off taking your car to a shop that uses the dye and black light method before you spend a lot of money on the block itself. I'm not a fan of radiators that have plastic tanks on the top and bottom. They are prone to leaking at the fin/tank interface. When I replaced the radiator in my Jeep I installed an all metal one from radiators.com and I've had no problems since. The plastic/metal one leaked all the time!! :)

VMF and 99, I'm about to remove the head unit and thanks to you guys I'm sure that I won't end up with an expensive paperweight!! I'm thinking about removing the door panels before I drop my car off at the body shop. I don't know how careful they'll be in removing/installing them. I always do that now before taking a car/truck to be tinted ... I had a bad experience about 8 years ago where the installers broke numerous mounting clips!! :)

UCF3, Thanks for the info. I'm enjoying reading all of this banter since I don't know a damn thing about the single turbo, twin turbo, 2jzgte, 2jzge etc ... I'm learning though thanks to you guys!! :)

VMF, Thanks for the quick reply. I don't want to remove the head unit only to find out that it's useless without the previous owner's security code. I had an Eclipse head unit in a car in the early '90's that used a CD to unlock the security feature. The owner could choose any CD they wanted but if they forgot which CD they used or if that CD was damaged the unit had to be sent back to the factory to be reset. :)

I'm going to remove the Pioneer head unit from my LS and send it to Mikado this weekend to be repaired. My car is finally going to the body shop (the new rear door came in) so this seems like a good time to be without a head unit. A member here called dogboy made the statement above but didn't reply to my post requesting confirmation. I've searched through the owner's manuals and found nothing about a security code. I called the local Lexus dealership and was informed that the letters SEC will appear in the display IF a code is active and IF the battery is disconnected for a few minutes. I've had the battery disconnected for hours but haven't seen any SEC letters in the display. Does this mean that I don't have the anti-theft feature or is it simply that I don't have a code entered. Does anyone know how I enter a code assuming that I have that feature? Thanks for any help. :)

The authors of this article aren't chemists or corrosion experts either ... dissimilar metals in an electrolyte can result in GALVANIC CORROSION not electrolysis!! :)

With less than 60k on the odometer I have no intention of "dumping" or "ditching" my SC400 ... :) . I am VERY interested in a turbo or supercharger system and will begin researching those options soon. Like many people I assumed that the 400 was the car to buy but after reading about the "upgradeability" of the 300 I began to wonder if I had made a mistake. The desire for more power in the SC has been exacerbated by the obvious difference in performance between it and my LS. However, there's a big difference in handling between the two with the SC WAY ahead in that contest. If any member has advice on a turbo or supercharger system I'd really appreciate the input. :)

99, Yes ... might as well make it as easy as possible for those air bubbles to get back home! :D VMF, I think I'll change the fluid more often than every 30k (maybe every 15k) and hope that I never have a PS pump leak. :)

99, Sorry for the confusion. :) I use Mobil1 Synthetic ATF in the power steering systems of my SC and LS. I ONLY use Valvoline SynPower brake fluid in the braking systems of my vehicles. I have it in my Jeep and I plan on flushing the SC and LS brakes systems soon. :) P.S. I'm almost at 63K on my LS now!!