LuckyApril7

DITTO THAT! From the products you say you used, rclark23, it sounds like the stuff is plastic. But I thought for certain our trim was REAL wood. What gives? I've taken the center wood trim off the car and trust me its 100 % wood.

If it requires wire cutting then you definitely want to take it to a stereo shop. Lexus dealers have no idea on how to install aftermarket systems. All of them are mechanics trained to fix cars, THEY ARE NOT ELECTRICIANS. Aftermarket 12 alarm/stereo shops are experts on this stuff so take it to them. Make sure they've done it in the past since your upgrade is not very popular with SC430's.

Where do you get the ground wires? Is it as straight forward as it sounds to replace them? You don't want just any amp wire. It must be good insulated amp wire ( monster cable, lightning audio ). Cheap downtown wires are insulated so cheaply that you'll get ignition and engine noises running thru your cables and into your speakers.

I would be driving with the air conditioner on all the time and it runs fine. But if i turn off the a/c while driving , the whole car shuts down and i would have to cruise to a stop just so i can start it again. This only happens when i'm driving and i turn off the air conditioner. Any clues anyone???

I would clean it first. Do a transmission system flush. Drop the pan. Clean the solenoid and magnets. Change the gasket and filter. Do one more transmission system flush. Fill with brand new synthetic tranny oil. Run the car and it should start cleaning itself. Replacing the part should be done when all free routes are taken.

Brakes : If you plan on changing your rotors you might as well get cross drilled/slottled rotors because they're practically the same price as oem if not cheaper. I got my Brembos from a shop called Pitstop Motorsports in San Gabriel VAlley , California for $60 a piece. I got redline racing semi metallic pads for the same price $60 per axle. Also cross drilled/slottted rotors look and perform soooooo much better than oem. Electrical : I have NGK iridium plugs for $8 each times 8 along with NGK blue sparkplug cables that are 8mm thick with individual ground straps. The cables cost me $150. Oem on ebay would cost me $100. I paid 50 more for waaaaay better cables. I got a drop in K&N air filter for $38. I changed out all my battery/starter/alternator cables to 4 gauge wires which are recommended especially if you have a sound system in your lexus. EXhaust : I kept my stock exhaust but changed out both my tips for 4 " openings. I kinda lliked the purrr of my oem exhaust and plus i wanted to keep it a luxury car not a low budget noise making rice rocket.

your airflow sensor is reading the wrong amount of air intake. This is ONLY if you changed your cap, rotors, plugs, and wires.

I removed my own because i had a crack near the center ac vents. I remembered taking out a few screws underneath the glovebox by lying on my back on the passenger side floormat. Then there were a couple of screws inside the glovebox itself. Once the glove box slides out, you'll see the bolts that hold the wood trim in. The rest is clips that holds the other side of the wood trim. I just had to feel around for the screws.

I changed the power steering pump and alternator for $300 at my local mechanic. That includes labor. He uses remanufactured parts but they last just as long and i'v had it working over 2 years without a leak.

I took my stock subs out and used it as a port hole for bass to travel thru. I currently have 2 JL W3 10" in an enclosure using Alpine V12 amps to push them and boy am I happy.

I own a 92 Lexus SC400 that has been completely rebuilt from the ground up. 97 SC400 engine/tranny 20 inch Brabus rims Eibach Lowering kit Borla dual exhaust Customized fiberglass body kit Complete white interior trim Alpine navigation Alpine TV 2 Alpine V12 amplifiers 2 JL W3 subwoofers Customized bass port for interior sound travel. All my light illumination including my gauges are Blue. Customized gun compartment inside the underneath the center armrest. H.I.D. headlights and H.I.D. foglights Red and Blue police lights installed inside my highbeams. Police siren with P.A. system. How much did i spend??? I lost track after $20K and thats not including the car.

A good way to check your struts is to lean your whole body onto the car itself and push it up and down. Listen for squeeks and see how your car responds to the bounce you're giving it. Changing the strut on that car is not that hard if you're mechanically inclined. You just got to take out your carpet panels in the trunk and remove 3 bolts on top next to the gas tank. And there's a couple of bolts under the car that needs to be taken out. The rear struts are so much easier to do than the front. But you need a spring compressor to take out the springs to change the struts. There is a product called Engine Restorer 8 cylinder that i often use. It works very very well. It slows down the consumption of oil. I'll let you read the labels on the can for the wonders it can do for an old engine. Look for it at any auto store. If you open your hood, you'll see tubes attached to your water sprayers. Over the years, they get clogged or sometimes ripped and unplugged. Check them while someone sits in the car to spray the windshield. You should be able to see water flowing thru them. If u don't, something is clogged along the way. If you need to adjust them, go directly to the sprayer and there is a tiny tiny flat head screwdriver that can be fit in there and turned to adjust the power of the sprayer. Check your ac hoses for leaks again from a second mechanic shop for a second opinion. Make sure you're using the right type freon and also have the mechanic check for pressure in your hoses. The bad smell is coming from your ac filter canister behind the glove compartment. It needs to be changed.

There are no narrow trim pieces on top of the door. The entire door contains a one piece window trim that wraps around the whole window. The piece cannot be removed unless the whole bottom door panel is removed.

Its almost absolutely necessary to change out or add additional ground wires onto all your battery/starter/alternator if you plan to go with an aftermarket sound system in your car. And i recommend any 4 gauge wire will do but make sure its insulated so acceleration noise doesn't travel thru your wires and into your speakers. But if you plan to keep your car oem, then replacing the wires isn't crucial unless they're deteriorating.

before you remove the wet sparkplugs, use an air blower and blow the water and dust out. Then change the plugs. NEVER wash your engine.

I'm an installer and i've done quite a few sc's including my own. So here goes, the 2 bolts are underneath the armrest above the magazine pockets. They are your main support so your armrest doesn't rip off the door whenever you slam shut the door going into your car. The magazine pocket is that wide opening that is right below the armrest. You have to look upward at a 45 degree angle to see them. They are big screws that can be taken off with a 10 mm socket too. There is another screw right behind the door opener lever. There are a few screws that surround the whole door. There are 2 big screws on the door panel closest to the door hinges. Its best that you pop out your window switches off with a flat head screwdriver and unplug the unit. Carefully slide the door panel downward and outward.

I need to know details. LIke...does the key turn at all when you try to open the door from the outside? Does the doorlock open and close on the inside or is it stuck? When you try to open the door does the door opener feel really loose or does it feel like its connected to a stuck rod?

I've had my lower control arm bushing changed with an aftermarket urethane bushing and my car runs great . The bushing sold by lexus is practically the same thing only its molded into and is part of the arm itself. Taking out the original bushing is VERY VERY labor intensive because years and years of weather has caused it to rust onto the arm. I paid $100 for parts and labor to replace my lower control arm bushing for the passenger side. It took 2 hours to do.

put your car up on jacks or a lift and manually rotate the problem wheel to pinpoint the noise. After i did that inspection the noise went away. It only came back when i drove the car. Found out it the car needed an alignment and wheel balance.

I'VE HAD the same problem and trust me the first thing that goes bad when those check engine lights come on is the oxygen sensors. There are 2 of them. Right and left. DO NOT just replace only one. Because if one goes bad most likely the other one will follow suit. Change both of them while the mechanic is already under your car and has all his o2 sensor tools out ( he'll most likely charge you cheaper if you get both now rather than one at a time ). I had mine replaced with an aftermarket O2 sensor ( not a original lexus ) and it only costed $50 each ( japanese made too ) I found out the sensors were very easy to reach, take out, and install. Thats why the labor price wasn't so bad. My check engine light went out and my car runs great !

hi, i'm an auto electronics installer and i've done everything to my own lexus. I've checked out the website link you have and it quotes that there is no wiring that needs to be cut. The luxlink is a module that goes in between a harness that is already in the car. All you have to do is unplug it and connect each side to the luxlink. I'm pretty sure the company will send you instructions along with diagrams for you to follow. A lot of my work were trial and error and thats how i learned a lot of car stuff.