Micah

No. I know what that would sound like (metal expanding and retracting). This varies with the rpm (faster tick, not loud and can't hear it with door closed, when reving engine. . .slower when just idling). Cant really hear it as loudly when listening under the engine bay hood either. What someone said is it could be main bearings. I wonder if that could produce a rattling sound when coasting too (doesn't rattle when I totally take foot off gas or if I make the transmission engage and give it a load, only rattles when I have barely any gas pressed like when coasting on a flat surface). I know its hard when you don't hear what I do. The dealership told me not to worry about it, but I'm a fanatic when it comes to my car. I don't like any extra vibrations, noises, or otherwise. I will be getting a second opinion next week from a non-dealership mechanic. I'll see what they say. BTW, it sounds like the rattle comes from directly below the shifter or so. This is close to where the ticking sounds like it comes from.

Well, for now I'll just live with it until I can take the dash apart. As for the timing belt. It should be good for another 90000 miles, so 1000 dollars isn't too bad. Thats only 1 cent per mile additional operating cost. I wonder how many miles I can get out of this engine and transmission before it starts to have major problems. Also, is it normal to hear a slight ticking sound from under the car at idle? increases in frequency when rpms increase.

ah, good to know. I'm just going to ignore it, though. May even just remove the bulb.

That sounds like the best thing to do to me. The dealer will most likely auction it off and one of those smaller lots will probably get it.

Thanks for the great replies! The whole job cost me $1027. That included replacing the water pump, timing belt, some pullies that the timing belt ride on, and a burned out bulb in the rear tail lights (parking light, my dash still says I have a burned out bulb even though none are, I just ignore it as none of my other cars, besides my camry, even have that feature). again, thanks for the replies! I think my radiator is OK then b/c the coolant looks clean and it looks new still (no paint chipping or corrosion on it). BTW, the last time I had to have a timing belt on my camry done it cost me 150 dollars at that same dealership (about 5 year ago). Talk about inflation! LOL

Thanks! Just wanted to know what that loose cable was doing.

About the radiator. How do I tell if it is corroded. It has no filler spout (first car I have ever had like that). My temperature needle in my car stays right around the middle tick mark (halfway). Does this sound normal? All my other vehicles normally stay around the lower 1/4 somewhere when operating correctly and this car doesn't have any degree markings. . .just tick marks and a C and H or something. I just changed the timing belt and the water pump (when I say me, I paid toyota to do it). 205000 sounds like it could be time for a new radiator as I believe the normal service life is around 130000 miles, am i right? Just want it to run right. Thanks for any help!

Why not leave the thermostat out since you will be jbwelding. If you leave it it I would think that it would put a lot of pressure on the thermostat housing when the thermostat is closed (the water pump never stops pumping). If the jb weld isn't strong enough it would probably give way. 300 degrees should be good enough since boiling point of antifreeze and water mixture is around 275 degrees. As long as the engine doesn't overheat it should be ok if the jbweld performs to specs. The engine I believe runs at about 195 degrees. Without the thermostat, it would probably run cooler than that (not really good for engine wear, but you are trading it in). You might leave a note somewhere consealed to the next to be owner about the problem. I would feel really bad knowing that someone else unknowingly got this car in this condition. If the extractors and the drilling didn't work, then this might be your only option, but I am far from an expert. I have also heard of people welding a nut to the end of the bolt and the heat from the welding actually broke the nut free. It might be one last resort, but you need a welder to use that approach. If no welder, I don't know. JB Weld would probably last long enough to trade it in (maybe). I don't really know. Sorry my methods didn't help you as much as they did me.

Hello I am planning on buying a keyless entry remote for my car, but I do not have a remote yet (hence I can't test the keyless entry system). It seems that next to the power antenna, there is a grey cable with a bnc type connector on it. It looks similar to what a cell phone might connect to. I can't find anything back there to hook the antenna to, though. Where is the keyless entry reciever. I thought that its antenna was in the rear window (and it looks like this cable connects to the window, but not for sure), but I can't find the reciever box in the right rear of the trunk. I found the power antenna motor and even the tail light outage sensor. Does anyone know what this cable is for and where it plugs in at?

What size bit did you start with. I drilled into a ford econoline van bolt with 170000 miles and they drilled easy with the cobalt bits. I used a very small bit to start with, though. The smaller the bit, the easier it will be to drill (smaller area you are working on). One bit will not do the job (I tried that too) even with the cobalt bits. You use the large bit to center the hole (makes a dent in the middle) then start with the smallest bit you can find and work your way up each size (ex. start with 2mm bit then go to 4mm bit then to 6mm, etc). That way you are not working as hard. You will not have to replace the bits if you do it that way. The van I worked on had overheated and was very old (a 1990 model) so I don't believe that it would be too hard for a cobalt bit as my van had been heated and cooled many many times too. I don't know why your bit dulled so quickly other than maybe you used too large of a bit to start with. Hope all that helps! I was to the jb weld point too, lol! It will all work out! Be careful with that extractor. It is very hard and if you break it off into bolt its back to the drawing board. One more thing, make sure you are lubricating the hole as you are drilling with wd40 or liquid wrench. This cools the bit and I believe it helps keep it sharper (i believe it dulls faster when it gets hot).

Well, I had a whole set. One bit might not be that expensive (I didn't have to buy any or even shop for any) since my dad and uncle have loads of tools. The wd40 trick is a good Idea, I used liquid wrench as I believe it works the same. I have also heard pb blaster is the best to use, but I don't really know for sure as I've never used it. You will most likely need more than one bit to complete the job, though, and possible a thread tap. I used probably b/w 5 and 7 different size bits on each broken bolt (working my way up from small to large).

The dimmer clicking is for the brightness of the dashboard light at night time. You notice when you turn your lights on the dash lights dim. If you do not want them to dim, you turn that knob until it clicks and they remain at full brightness always (lights on or off).

I had the same problem. The cobalt bits a very expensive, though. If you could get you some left handed bits (ones that drill in the opposite direction), the bolt might even back on out when you get it almost drilled completely. My uncle said his bits cost him 100 dollars (left handed mechanics bits). I don't know what my dad paid for his, but they worked GREAT!!! You might try sears, but be very very careful b/c if you break a cobalt bit into the engine you are done. You will have to most likely disassemble the upper manifold and have it machined out at a machine shop if you break the bit into it. Good luck, I have been in your shoes and don't envy them! Should be easy though with the cobalt bits.

Thanks for the info. I'll check that out.

Hi, I am looking for the remote fob for a 96 sc400. I found one (cheap) from a 98 es300 that looks just like the one for the sc400 96 version (3 buttons on front and a panic on back). Will this key fob work with my car?

Hello, just an update. I replaced the wires and plugs. Brand new iridium plugs and napa premium wires. The car runs pretty much the same maybe a little less vibration (or it may just be me). I think that jzz30 is correct about the motor mounts even though the dealership didn't find anything wrong with them. I'm starting to get used to it, so I probably will not even notice it after a little longer. As for the rpm, I believe that it is normal for MY car, yours must be geared differently than mine (wish mine was geared like yours). The dealer even said it was normal, so I don't believe anything is wrong with it. I believe that I'll be very happy with it. I bought it for a very good price (little over 2000) and it runs and rides great. Next step is repaint it as it has a dent in the left rear quarter panel (I believe the previous owner ran it through a fence). Thanks for the help!

Thank you for your reply! I do enjoy working on my car (at least over the summer. . .I get bored as I am off over the summer, I am a teacher). You have been a great help, and I was able to locate a site for reference on the rpm v/s mph. Here is the site: http://www.wreg.com/global/story.asp?s=2590415 They noted that they were traveling 65 mph at 2400 rpm (I'm sure this was done when the car was new so it should be accurate). This sounds close to my rpm. My main concern was that the transmission might be slipping, but the more I read the more I believe this car is just geared high in the rearend for more performance or something. The engine sound a little better since the dealership did the work to it (it was making a scraping sound when idling. . .probably the idler pulley they replaced). I have denso in it right now, but I am not sure how to know if they need replacing. They look ok to good compared to most of the faq articles I've read. I'll ask napa tomorrow when I go to get the plugs. I'll be replacing them with new iridium plugs if needed and I believe they need it b/c I can see some carbon building up on them (they look pretty clean though). Back to rpm, though. I was just used to my 02 grand prix. It ran at significantly lower rpm and performed almost as good (although the sc400 may be a little faster). I just thought it would be like a camaro or something having a v8 in it. Not that I'm not satisfied. I love how the car handles, how it rides and the acceleration is very good. Its just not like a sports car I thought it was, but thats ok if that's how it is supposed to run. It is much more comfortable than my grand prix, but I just wish I could make it get the fuel economy that my grand prix gets. Thanks for everyones responses; I do appreciate the time all of you took to read my responses and type yours. I have learned much about this car from this forum and hope that it will continue to be as helpful for everyone else as it has been for me.

I replaced a thermostat on my ford conversion van. I wound up drilling out the bolts using cobalt drill bits (don't use the cheap ones, I learned that they dull very quickly even if they say they can drill metal). My dad had the bits and the taps. I started with a large drill that was the size of the housing to center the hole. I then switched to next to smallest bit and drilled a hole. I went to the next size and drilled all the way through as well. I just kept doing that until the hole was almost as large as the original bolt hole. GO SLOW AND DON'T PUSH HARD. If you break a bit off in the bolt you're finished, so be careful. The bits like to bind up, so I found that reving the drill all the way up and applying minimum pressure to the drill (pushing the drill into the hole) worked great and kept the bit from binding or breaking. LAST I finished it by retapping the hole. You will need to match the tap to the bolt you are replacing it with. (take it with you). Took me about 1.5 hrs to do 3 holes, but it worked great. I even accidentally drilled one too large, so I just tapped it with the next size bolt. Worked great for me, but its best if you know someone who has the correct tools. If not, you will do nothing but frustrate yourself and the tools are not really that cheap if they are quality tools. I tried the cheap ones from the auto parts store and the bolt extractor (i broke it off into the bolt. . .thankfully I was able to cut the end of the bolt off so I wouldn't have to drill through it). If it is in there so tight that the head broke, chances are that an extractor will not work unless you heat the head of the bolt until it is red hot then spray pb blaster onto the bolt. Not my preferred method as I thought it was easier (for me) to just drill them out. Hope this helps!

Hello, Just updating all of you on what the dealership had to say; just got my car back. They said first that the vibration is not abnormal with a car with so many miles and that there is nothing wrong with mine. They just replaced the water pump, timing belt, idler pulley, and a tie rod (1200 dollar bill that I was happy to pay as I hopefully will not have to invest any more for quite some time). They also said that the drive shaft has some wear on it and the bushing have some slack in them and was causing the clunk into and b/w gears but was no cause for alarm. They said that it was mechanically sound and I shouldn't have any problems from it for a while. I am most likely still going to replace the spark plugs in the near future to see if that helps the engine shudder. I don't think that the car has quite as much pep as it should (a small car with a v8 engine). Today, I went to pass a mazda millenia and I guess they got agitated that I was passing them so they sped up (a bit of smoke was coming from their exhaust). My car was able to pass them, but I wasn't able to get past them very quickly (I barely accelerated faster than they did). I don't know anything able mazdas millenia, but I think that my car should have whooped its tail! I believe that all of these symptoms are related, so I am going to take the next step and replace the spark plugs.

Well, its at the dealership now... I'll let you know what they say about the car when I get it back. Probably won't be done today, though. Thanks for all your help! You've been great!

Thanks for the reply. I believe you are right b/c I can feel a clunk when I put it into gear. I noticed it after you mentioned the mounts.

Thank you for your reply. That sounds like you must get very good gas milage. Do you know what milage you get? I wonder how I can make my car cruise at those rpms. I am not really concerned with speed so much as highway milage.

Thank all of you for your replys. They are appreciated!

Found one other posting about the same issue I am having. . .2500 rpm at 70 and 2700 at 75mph. Is this just normal for the 96 sc400 or is there something wrong? I am confused. Here's the link to the posting: RPM Posting. . .any thoughts?

I thought that it seemed high. I just wanted verification. Is yours the 4 speed transmission or the 5 speed (98 to 2000)