AppleJack

Hey bud, yah - I'd be willing to sell of stuff... Drop me a line at niceplay@yahoo.ca ... but remember I'm in Niagara falls Canada - bit of a drive for you for the parts - but they are good. ... later

I looked and looked but couldn't find any info how to remove the leather boot around the parking brake lever - ANY TIPS ?? thanks

Hi, I have and OEM spare tire for a 1992 Lexus SC400. The condition of it is perfect and it has never been used. Let me be clear, this tire is absolutely in its original condition. The rubber has never been on pavement, and you'll see the rim has never had bolts torqued up on it. (see attached pics) I got lucky, over the 12 years I had the car didn't get any flats! :D There is a round red sticker on one side and a green one on the other side. The blue and red lines around the perimeter of the tire are also present. There are various white lines in various places which I believe are quality checks done during the manufacture of the tire at the time Lexus was trying to enter the luxury auto market. The appearance of this tire still shows it today! I don't recommend purchasing this tire as a simple spare :chairshot: I recommend this for someone who has restored an SC400 and wants a spare tire worthly of the condition of the car. Email me at niceplay00@yahoo.ca if you are interested. I will be putting it on ebay but thought to check with friends here who have been great over the years I've had this car. Applejack

What colour - Don't tell me GREEN .... If black on tan - then ... shrug - maybe 7500 - 8500.

WELL, I DID - I BOUGHT THE 96 SC400 with 170,000 miles - and negotiated the dealer to replace WP + timing belt and total cost was $5995 ... Hope this is a decent deal .... Just worried about the starter motor (fun to dig way back under the firewall to get to it - probably due anytime) Thanks for the feedback and I hope this one lasts the same 300,000 miles like my '92 did !!

Yup - this would be a daily driving car. And actually, correction the 92 is really a 93 and it has only 60000 miles, plus only has 1 owner... AND my old SC is a 1992 so that would be handy ... is there that much of a preference for the 96 here ??

I have the opportunity to buy 1 of 2 SC400s which are for sale.... and I'd appreciate your recommendation. 1992 with 70,000 miles - asking $10,000 (in very good condition, no parts/timing belt changed, only A/C conversion done) OR 1996 with 170,000 miles - asking $5,500 (in very good condition, new alternator, battery, probably needs timing belt soon) Please give me your input on which you believe will have less problems for the next 3-4 years ??? The 92 or 96 ??? Thanks

My 92 has finally reach the end of its life. Some suspension problems, instrumentation cluster lighting, climate control display issues, antenna going, rust starting, leather ripping, and finally the timing belt went... I'm holding back the tears (kidding!) Now, I'm looking to buya 95 SC400 with 220,000km - Is this virtually the same car/engine? If so, I may keep my old one for the spare parts - you know... alternator, power steering pump, radiator, mass flow, headlight,setc etc .... Let me know if the cars are similar enough and if its worth keeping the old one for spare stuff.... Thanks

Hi all, typical debate to sell or keep. Here are my stats on my car and I thought I'd get your thoughts. 1. 1992 - SC400 - 420,000 km 2. Between 300,000 - 400,000 km: rebuilt alternator + power steering pump + starter motor, new radiator. 3. Lots of rubber on hand - have full set of fresh winter tires, and another pair of new michelins... 4. Slight lag on transmission when placing into drive or reverse before it engages 5. AC has leak - after a charge it only lasts a month or so 6. Rust starting on rear right fender - very little 7. Instrument cluster needles not illuminating along with climate control display zonked out ... Engine runs great, and I've always done highway miles. Babied it with synthetic every 5,000 km and seems to burn 1 quart every 5,000km. Oiled the underbody for the last 5 years for which it has only seen winters (marriage!) ... Sell ? or drive her into the ground ? Whats going to go next - tranny? timing belt?, injectors?, wheel bearings??? I can't imagine getting 500,000 km on a car - but I love it..... Thoughts? thanks

Ok, here is what has played out for me. I had the condenser seal replaced and the area cleaned up. I lucked out and acquired 1 full can of r12 with the dye and the lubricant in it. The only problem is that I did not shake the can before use and I probably only got a little bit of the oil and dye into the system. This may be a good thing since the can indicated it had enough oil to charge the full system and if filling an empty system that all subsequent cans should be only r12. It's been 3 or 4 days - and so far so good ....

Interesting. Well, I did add 1 full can (14 oz) of refrigerant and the hissing is gone and the cold air is back. Now I'm just waiting to see how long it lasts. 1 week and still holding. I was advised the dark dusty area around my condenser connection might be due to a slowly leaking oring. Is anyone familiar with changing the oring seal in the area. Its in bottom right area in front of the radiator. If it's not a big deal I may do it myself or pay $50 to have it done. thanks

I'm in need of a few 1lb cans of R12. Anyone have any recommendations on where to get. Note: I'm in Toronto and prefer not to bring it over from the US since I'm not sure if it would be ok to do that. thanks

Well, I've changed the serpentine belt and no change. * Compressor still comes on. * No error codes shown One big thing I notice and forgot to mention. When I activate the AC button, there is a soft hissing sound from the center ducts. It only lasts for about 5 seconds before fading away. I'm not sure what this could be? Any ideas? please help - summer is here and I am frying... thanks

Hi, just thought I would throw this out there... I'm having the ongoing need to keep adding brake fluid once a month or so... I don't think this is normal for brake pad wear - and I don't see signs of leaking .... Any thoughts where leaks typically happen ?? thanks

Advanced apologies if I missed an existing post - but I search for hours and could not find anything. My 92SC400 usually blows ice cold air. I've kept it in good use activating the AC every week for a short while even in the winter. Now, when at IDLE and A/C compressor off - the engine sounds normal. When I engage the compressor, there is a sqeak or low tone whine from the area. I've loosened the tensioner and spun the compressor pulley/bearing and it's ok as expected. I've also turned the compressor and am not sure how hard it should be. I can turn it with one hand but only about 90 degrees max since there is some stiffness to it. If feels a little spongy like it's compressing something and I hope this is a sign all is ok with the compressor. I've replaced the idler and tensioner pulleys a few years ago and the sound is not coming from them. Is it possible the added resistance is enough to make the belt noisy somewhere else. The belt looks ok - but probably has 100, 000 km (60,000miles) on it. Any thoughts or ideas how to trouble shoot this further? The concerning thing is that it used blow very cold air - but now takes some time to get to just a comfortable temperature.... thank you,

Hey hey, was having the same problems with the parking brake light and then trac light coming on ocassionally but then became more and more frequent. Just added a few ouces to the brake reservoir and it's immediately resolved. thank you all....

Seafoam - sounds like a nickname - what is the product make up and application? tranny or fuel tank??? I've been dropping 2 litres from the tranny and topping back up - and I do this about 1 x per year ... Doesn't show any error codes...

After months of trying to find an engine hesitation I have brought the car to a Lexus dealer where their master tech indicated it's not the engine at all. He said it's the lock-up mechnism on the torque converter when I accelerate lightly at highway speeds. You see, when I accelerate at a slight amount without going so far to cause the transmission to kick out of O/D - I get an intermittent jumpiness which is actually the lock-up become disengaged and then engaged randomly. I suspect the lock-up mechanism may be ok and that it may be something controlling this activity ... So my question - Does anyone think some of the sensors involved with the transmission could be the cause of this problem? The manual shows a NO. 1 speed sensor, a NO. 2 speed sensor, and NO. 3 solenoid (for lock-up control and pressure modulation) - any thoughts on which could be related to my problem? There is also a NO. 4 solenoid (for accumulator back pressure modulation)... I'd rather try some "on vehicle repairs" such as spending a few hundred changing sensors or solenoids than let the dealer charge a few thousand changing the torque converter .... thanks for your help..

Any other takers on this one - before I get robbed at the dealer ??

Just re-checked the other coil and got similar numbers 0.6ohm and 12.20 kohm... Anyone have any other thoughts on this hesitating ... ?

Well I've check the driver side coil resistances, connector pin spec is 0.4 to 0.5 ohm, and I checked numerous times only to get 0.7 ohm - OUT OF SPEC +ve connector to plug wire spec is 10Kohm to 14Kohm, and I got 13.3Kohm - HIGH END OF SPEC Could this be the cause of my slight hesitation ? Car starts very good and only has intermittent hesitation at highway speeds ...

Hi, my 92 SC400 has a light amount of hesitation - and here are the conditions when it occurs: 1. Around 50 - 100 mph and medium acceleration. 2. More noticeable in overdrive gear and not noticed when revving harder in 3rd gear. 3. Moreso when the car is warm and less when cold. 4. Fuel economy is not affected... not yet at least. Here is what I've done: 1. Plugs are less than 2 yrs old - so I pulled each and checked for carbon build up etc.. 2. Wires are less than 2 yrs old - so I've checked them to be ok. 3. Changed both rotors and caps, thought this was going to solve it but - nope. 4. I've been putting premium fuel (and an injector cleaner bottle). ** Here's an interesting thing I did notice. When removing the driver side cap, I looked closely inside the middle contact on the side where the wire is plugged in. This is the wire from the coil...- well it look dis-integrated from tiny arcing or something. This is what led me to replace the caps but the hesitation still persisted. Now the cap on the other side wasn't like this one and I was wondering if I need to work backward on the driver side electrical system - ie. the coil. Is it possible for the coil to have hiccups randomly and cause arcing at the wire or when coils die - do they just die completely. With the new cap in I've been checking every so often to see if the same phenomenon takes place but it's been a month now and now signs - so I'm just living with this annoying hesitation. thanks for any ideas!

Whoops, reservoir was half full - and I think this tank is more than just a typical reservoir. There is a level indication on the side of the reservoir and it shows the coolant to be right near the top. Well I added another liter or so and this condition at low rpm has stopped.

I replaced mine, and more of a slow and steady job on this one - and have some free space in your garage to layout the parts - you don't want to have a left over piece after putting it all together. Recommendation - clean Throttle body and both manifolds (I removed the carbon gunk build up and the car ran much smoother afterwards) Good luck, and take your time.

Hey, I just realized something about the leak. Seems to me I've always put Castrol Syntec 5w-50 in my car for many years, but then there was a good sale on oil and they only had Castrol Syntec 10w-30 and I figured its no problem and still a good product. Could this be thinner oil and why the cars started showing leaks? Any comments on this?