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SC300Drifter

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Everything posted by SC300Drifter

  1. I dont know if brave is the correct term... The car was actually my girls daily driver and I was aware that the oil level light had came on several times but didnt think it was staying on. We recently broke up and I drove the car and the light is on full time now, I'm terrified and have parked the car until I can get it in the shop. I am just praying that the sensor has malfunctioned... I will keep this post updated with the outcome once I get the car in the shop after a business trip next week. Thanks for the pic, it seems like the sensor isnt in a spot thats easy to access so Im going to leave this to the mechanic to figure out.
  2. I have a 2003 Lexus LS430 Ultra Luxury that is displaying a "low oil level!" warning on the information center, it is not the "low oil pressure!" warning as I have seen that display once before momentarily about 15k miles ago. This low oil level warning displays with a large red exclamation point. The "low oil level!" warning first came on around 7k miles ago and was only on momentarily, It scared me so I instantly pulled over and let the car sit for a minute and checked the oil, it was good on the dipstick so I started the car again and it was off. A few days later and it came on again for a short period of time and went back off before I had time to pull over, I thought since it was off I would be fine to continue to drive along as normal, I drove the car regularly and the warning came on several more times for a just short period of time and then would go off again. I was due to change my oil so I went ahead and changed it and the warning didn't come on for a few weeks, then it started coming on more frequently. I am due to change my oil again now and the warning light is coming on every time I drive the car but I have noticed the warning has come on several times while the car is NOT running with the key on but the engine off... this makes me wonder if maybe the sensor is just faulty? The car runs fine and the oil level is right where it should be, the car doesn't burn or leak any oil but this warning message is really bothering me. Does anyone know where is the sensor located, can I remove and inspect it to verify that it is working properly? Any information about the location and how to remove and check the sensor would be greatly appreciated, I would like to avoid the dealership if at all possible.
  3. Thanks for the help, I will be replacing the fuel filter to see if that helps tomorrow. How do I check the maf?
  4. My 1995 LS400 just started jumping under normal acceleration, it feels like its misfiring. This only happens when the car is at normal operating temperature and under light accel , the car runs fine when cold or 70%+ throttle. The check engine light has not come on so cant get a code. The plugs and wires were changed about 20k ago, the only thing i can think of is I ran the car out of gas (coasted into the gas station) about 2 months ago but it hasnt shown any problems until today so im not sure if thats even related. Any suggestions would be appreciated, the car is parked until I can figure out whats wrong because I dont want anything to get damaged any further.
  5. Hi everyone! After 215k miles my 1st & 2nd gears disappeared in my W58 5-speed transmission, I always read that 3rd gear was the weakest link in the W58. I am having a very difficult time locating a manual transmission from an SC300 or 93-98 Supra for a reasonable price. After searching I found that W58 transmissions from previous year (82-92) Supras are everywhere and fairly cheap so I picked one up locally for $150 out of a 1988 Toyota Supra NA. I did a side by side comparison of the original SC300 W58 and the W58 from the 88 Supra: 1. The bellhousings are different, one is for a 2JZ and the other is for a 7M-GE 2. The rear section of the transmissions are slightly different 3. The transmission mounts are located in different locations with a different hole spread 4. The shifters seem to be in slightly different locations I was aware the bellhousing would have to be swapped when I purchased the transmission but I didnt (still cant) find any information on the rear section of the transmission being different or interchangeable between the different years of W58's. I was going to install the transmission myself but decided to have a shop do the job since I couldnt find any info on this subject. I had my car towed to the shop, a couple of days later the mechanic called me and told me that the "new" transmission will not work in my SC300 because: 1. The transmission mounts are different 2. A shaft inside the transmission is different diameter (i think thats what he said...) 3. The different diameter shaft requires a larger bearing I dont know too much about transmissions and have never taken one apart but it seems to me that the transmission mounts would be resolved once the SC300 rear section is swapped to the new tranny and the shifter would also be relocated to the correct spot. I dont know what shaft or bearing my mechanic is talking about, could it be the mating section for the driveline or is there an internal shaft/bearing that is likely to be different? Im not even sure if the shop "tore-down" the transmissions to confirm non-interchangability. I would love to have this car back on the road quickly, is my mechanic incorrect or can the MKIII transmission bolt into the SC300 without custom modification (can a simple swap of the bellhousings and rear-sections be done)? Is my only option really to source down a W58 from an SC300 or MKIV Supra? Thank you so much for your help!
  6. PROBLEM RESOLVED! I replaced the Harmonic Damper and installed an Exedy Clutch and the SC300 has been running strong for 3,000 miles with no problem. So all in all I learned: DO NOT use ebay clutches or ebay underdrive crank pulleys.
  7. Try replacing the master and bleeding the system. Did the new clutch work at all after the install? Any vibrations at idle?
  8. yeah, we will be changing all fluids and installing a new exedy clutch, transmission, flywheel bolts, harmonic damper... anything else i should change out? i have a dial indicator and a mag base so im going to check the runout on the flywheel once its installed. thanks!
  9. thanks for the response, well seeing as how the flywheel came loose 2 times I think its possible the shaft is messed up. it looks visually fine but I'm unsure of how to actually check it, I do have a new tranny that I'm going to install. the old tranny shifted fine, didn't grind, but it had sloppy gates (bushing?) but that's too be expected after 200k+ miles isn't it? yeah I power braked the car maybe 3 times since I've owned it, I maybe did about 10 donuts a month, and drifted it daily... gear fluid, main seal shouldn't actually effect the clutch itself should it? I was under the impression that the only thing tranny related that could cause a problem was the shaft? I do drive the car pretty hard but I am being honest when I say that I baby the vehicle during the 500 mile break in. the only time it is ever driven that nice is during a break in, I don't understand how 200 miles of very very easy driving can kill the clutch? smooth slow shift, no rev matching, gentle starts. I'm driving by the book and it breaks. any ideas?
  10. Your best bet is to take the car to a good shop and have them give it a thorough check. its obviously modified. You can buy Daizan bushings for control arms, steering rack, and sway bars but the install requires burning the old bushing out, do a search, there is a write up on it, for me personally its too much work, i would rather just buy new control arms with the bushings installed. I believe you can use toyota supra control arms and save a few bucks but im not positive. Dash lights go out, my seats broke, window regulator broke on both windows, harmonic dampers like to fly off. other than that they seem very solid, but then again when you buy a car that has been modded you can run into problems. Do you have the 6 speed, the lsd, stock twins, depending on whats done it could be an awesome car.
  11. Well the engine is a low milage JDM 2JZ-GE, several of my friends and I have purchased engines from them with no problem before. the flywheel is BRAND NEW, all the bearings were replaced each time the clutch was (replaced 3 times). I will be trying a lower milage transmission this install, along with an oem harmonic damper. other than that the only other thing it could be is the crank. Any ideas?
  12. PROBLEM RESOLVED READ LAST POST... Ok I have owned this car for 4 years since 100k miles and now I am going crazy with clutches and my sc300! Heres whats going on with my SC300, at 160k miles I replaced the clutch with an OEM unit and had to tighten the bolts on my clutch master cyclinder because it was moving/flexing away from the firewall everytime I pressed the clutch pedal down. The car ran great for about 5k miles and then the harmonic damper seperated at the rubber and flew off, I replaced it with a Bomz crank pulley... At 208k miles I was on my way to work when my car started making a horrible rattle sound, I had never heard a sound like this before, it wasnt as low or hollow of a sound as a rod knock but I figured I had 208k miles I might as well replace the engine... I ordered a JDM 2JZ-GE the next day and had it delivered. I started to pull the transmission so I could start the engine removal and once the transmission was off I found the problem, every single bolt on my flywheel had backed out allowing my flywheel to come loose and rattle (pretty scarry). I figured I might as well throw the new engine in anyway so I continued. I got the engine installed and used new bolts for the flywheel and loctite. Everything worked great for about 3 months....Then the Factory Harmonic damper seperated at the rubber and flew off my engine while I was driving it (again!), luckily the belt tightened up on the remaining peice of pulley. I replaced the pulley with a NEW BOMZ lightwieght pulley and everything once again worked great.... for about a month. The flywheel came loose again, so this time I bought ARP flywheel bolts for the Toyota 4A-GE (I read about alot of guys running these on supras...) and a new clutch kit, I installed everything and drove the car gently during the 500 mile break in, at 600 miles I "launched" the car from a stop light and dropped the clutch at 3k rpms, I took 1st to redline and grabbed 2nd gear, I took 2nd gear to redline and went to grab 3rd gear but the clutch wouldnt disengage & I was stuck in 2nd gear.... I wasnt too far from my house so I just drove the car home in 2nd, later realizing that I COULD SHIFT the car as long as the RPM's weren't over 3k, if I was at 3500rpms the clutch simply wouldnt dissengage. I got home and took the car apart again, I decided I would start by replacing the clutch slave & master because they were pretty old, I replaced them and it didnt resolve my problem, so I dropped the transmission again. After close inspection I noticed my pressure plate was missing 1 out of 3 clips (see the pictures). I bought another clutch from a different company and installed it, 800 miles later the clip breaks on this new clutch just as it did on the last one (different manufacturers). By now I am so frustrated and tired of replacing clutches I am ready to sell the car. I decided that the flywheel had been throught alot (210k miles and it had came loose twice) and I didnt resurface it during the last 2 clutches (those 2 clutches only lasted a total of 1400 miles so I didnt think it was needed) so I purchased a New Fidanza flywheel and another clutch once again, I installed the complete clutch kit and flywheel and everything seemed fine just as before. I drove the car 200 miles and the clip broke again!!!!!!! AAAAH! I didnt even get to break it in!!! What the hell is going on? This is not right! So the car is broken right now and I just bought a new w58 transmission (thinking maybe the output shaft is damaged), a new Harmonic Damper (I decided the Bomz pulley could be to blame for this) and once again I ordered another clutch.... I am not going to install it until I actually find the problem, I am going to check the flywheel for runout with a dial indicator and I will also be switching from the ARP flywheel bolts back to new OEM bolts, I really dont know what else to do..... I cant keep buying clutches and having the car break so any help is appreciated. Has anyone even heard of pressure plates failing so soon? Just to clear things up, after the flywheel came loose the first time @ 208k miles I have installed: JDM 2JZ-GE New Toyota Supra engine mounts New transmission mounts Fidanza flywheel w/ ARP flywheel bolts 3 clutch kits from different manufacturers, all 3 pressure plates failed New seals/gaskets New timing belt & tensioner/idler pulley New Bomz Crank pulley New serpintine belt Full tune up OBX header & mid-pipe w/ new O2 sensors K&N air filter New differential New wheel studs New wheels/tires New struts & springs Electric Fan/removed factory unit So the car still only has 5k since I replaced EVERYTHING and the only peices that are still original/could be causing problems are the W58 transmission or the crank pulley. I have purchased a new w58 and an OEM harmonic damper hoping this will be the last time I will have to repair anything.... Sorry for the long post but I am trying to be as thorough as possible, Im running out of options. I need help!
  13. Ok guys I need help! Recently my flywheel came loose and started vibrating so I called my mechanic and ordered a new clutch to install while the transmission was off. I ordered an XTD stage 3 clutch off of ebay and my mechanic installed it along with new flywheel bolts. I broke the clutch in for 500 miles and then started driving progressivly harder, I was on my way to work and I launched from a red light and went to shift into 2nd gear and the clutch wouldnt disengage and I could feel a vibration. I attempted to drive the car home and found out that it would shift below 2k rpms but not above... I thought this was very odd so I took it to my mechanic and he suggested it was probobly the slave or master and I should replace both of them so we ordered the parts up and installed them with no change in the clutch behavior. Then he pulled the tranmission and we found that the pressure plate looked like hell and a clip had broken off and caused it to fail, you can see there are 2 clips and 1 missing in the pictures. I figured thats what I get for ordering an Ebay clutch & didnt even bother with the 1 year man. warranty and I had my mechanic order a new OEM clutch. He inspected the shaft on the transmission and said it looked fine along with the flywheel and he installed the new clutch. Once again I broke it in the first 500 miles and then started driving normal... after 1100 miles I was driving and everything seemed fine, I revved my engine with the clutch pedal pressed in and released it once the rpms fell back down and the car acted the same way as when the first clutch broke. So my mechanic pulled my transmission once again and the same piece on the pressure plate has broken! what is causing this and what can I do to prevent this? So far I have gotten about 1800 miles out of 2 clutches and I have a hard time beleiving both had manufactur defects. I cannot afford to have my car in the shop any more and I definatly cant afford buying clutches every 800 miles... what is the problem?
  14. Yeah I'm really not into drag racing, gotta have corners, lol. the drift events are usually $50-$100 but if you have enough friends your can rent out the tenino racetrack for fairly cheap ( I think it was like $500 or somethin) if u divide it up between 5 or 6 buddies. I am checking out solo racing and it seems to be ideal for me, its $25 an event and looks/sounds like a great LEGAL time!
  15. The body shop does offer a LIFETIME gaurantee on all repairs done but I assume they will claim no responsibilty for the transmission making noise because of the milage on the car (they did a full tune-up on the car because it had a misfire after they repaired it and were very hesitant to because they claimed it was highly likely that the car ran rough before the accident) and the other stuff is so minor I haven't even wasted my time trying to get them fix any of it.
  16. WOW! I cant believe the mods you have done to your Celica! AMAZING! My SC has had some issues lately, I fix something and it runs fine for about a week or 2 and then something else breaks, so I am slowly replacing everything that breaks with aftermarket parts. Where do you race at? I have only been to a couple drift events @ Tenino and Monroe with my SC and a couple of track days @ Pacific Raceway on my bike, I would love to get my car out on Pacific Raceway but I dont even know where to begin... do they have have track days that I would be eligable for without being a member of a club? I have gone to PIR's website and still have not gotten the info im looking for so if you could point me in the right direction for trackdays or even autox I would appreciate it. Thanks.
  17. Well I figured I would update this post. The repair shop took 1 and a half months and $10,xxx to fix my LS400. I really cant believe they did it. The car rides just as before and looks just as good as when I purchased it, they even replated the emblems. I have had the car back for four months and the engine runs smoother than before there are no leaks but there are some problems: The transmission makes a weird sound when @ full throttle beyond 4.5k RPM's, my window washer sprayers only have 2 nozzles instead of 3 and my turn signal switch doesnt cancel when turning left. All I can really say is I wish they would have just totaled it out and cut me a check so I could have purchased a newer LS400 but I am glad the car is back and in decent shape. What do you guys think?
  18. Well I figured I would update this post since I have had the car back for a while now. The repair shop took 1 and a half months and $10,xxx to fix my LS400. I really cant believe they did it. The car rides just as before and looks just as good as when I purchased it, they even replated the emblems. I have had the car back for four months and the engine runs smoother than before there are no leaks but there are some problems: The transmission makes a weird sound when @ full throttle beyond 4.5k RPM's, my window washer sprayers only have 2 nozzles instead of 3 and my turn signal switch doesnt cancel when turning left. All I can really say is I wish they would have just totaled it out and cut me a check so I could have purchased a newer LS400 but I am glad the car is back and in decent shape. What do you guys think? I crashed my 1995 LS400 a week ago and had my insurance company pick the car up to go over the damage. They informed me that if I go through one of their approved shops all of the repairs made to the vehicle would be gauranteed as long as I owned the vehicle. I agreed and they picked the car up and took it to their suggested shop. I talked to the owner of the shop 3 days after they had recieved it and he told me that their was $6500 worth of damage if they got the ok from the insurance company to repair the vehicle with "used parts". He told me they had faxed my insurance company this quote and were waiting for a reply. While I had the shop on the phone I asked them about several things I noticed damaged on the car (such as the transmission not selecting gears after the accident) they said they hadn't spent much time on the car and would inspect it. I dont understand how they sent any quote to the insurance company without fully inspecting the car? I figured they need more time and will throughly inspect the car. The autobody shop called me today and said they would be repairing the car for $7000 and it would be done in 2 weeks. I am very nervous about how well my car is being repaired... it was accident/problem free. These are several things I noticed when I inspected the car: The exhaust manifold is resting on the steering coloumn The engine appeared to be pushed back several inches The left strut tower is pushed into the power brake booster The transmission goes into reverse when put into drive and the gear selection is off no matter what gear you choose The turn signal lever broke off steering coloumn upon impact Possible left control arm damage The autobody shop told me that the left strut tower would have to be straightened, no motor mounts were broken (hard to believe on a 12 year old car that had the engine pushed back) , the transmission was sent to a transmission shop for inspection, and the exterior parts will be replaced with used ones... I am very worried they might have overlooked something or possibly misqouted something... and the grand total for repair is $7,000 which is only $500 more than initially quoted before they knew about the transmission... seems fishy to me. I purchased this car 9 months ago and am still paying on it, the car was in mint condition when I purchased it and had no mechanical issues at all, and a clean CarFax. I have never been in a situation like this before so I have several questions: Can I have the car inspected by another shop after the repairs have been done? What if the original shop making the repairs overlooks something? Does the damage seem extensive to be repaired? What are some precautions I can take to be safe and confident that my car is being repaired properly? They said the car should be done in 2 weeks what should I do? I searched for crashed LS400 pictures on this forum and found several cars that appear to have less damage and a higher repair cost... why does my car appear more damaged and cheaper to fix? Please any info will be greatly appreciated as I will be paying on this car for another year.... here are some pictures:
  19. Thanks VicSC300 I hope one day I can reach "track only" status and maybe even a sponsor. gabep, I didnt know we wasted our tax dollars on that kind of sensless research but hey this is America, right? Even if "the man" didn't monitor youtube there are plenty of aka "good samaritans" that think they have to nark, snitch, or squeel that will turn stuff like that in. Its amazing these people get no reward, they dont even benefit from doing such things, but still they get some sort of satisfaction !Removed! somebody they have never met. I simply dont understand it, some people should just worry about themselves..... just my 2 cents on people that interfere with other peoples lives. Simply my opinion nothing more.
  20. From the album: My cars

    COROLLA I BUILT AND GAVE TO HIM FOR HIS FIRST CAR: 89 COROLLA GT-S, GT-S SEATS, SUNROOF, COILOVERS, HEADER, INTAKE, GROUND KIT, STRIPPED INTERIOR, CD PLAYER, 10" SUBWOOFER, SHORT SHIFTER, NEW TRANSMISSION, NEW CLUTCH, NEW AXLES, NEW AXLE SEALS, NEW 15" RIMS AND TIRES, DIAMOND CUT LIGHTS, 4 POINT HARNESS'S. NOT BAD FOR A FIRST CAR AND CERTAINLY NOT TOO SHABBY TO RECIEVE AS A GIFT.... I MISS THIS DAMN CAR, LOL
  21. SC300Drifter

    My cars

  22. SC300Drifter

    ME AGAIN

    From the album: My cars

    SPORTIN THE DOUBLE MO
  23. SC300Drifter

    ME

    From the album: My cars

    HELMET HAIR
  24. SC300Drifter

    NEW TOY

    From the album: My cars

    MY KTM DUKE
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