LuckyApril7

I had the same problem in my 93 SC400. Tried 4 different products, with very little result, same as you!

I ended up taking out the glove box then the Airbag module, to unscrew the wood trim.

Easier to buff without hurting the leather around the trim!!!

The polish I used was Turtlewax Polishing Compound, Scratch Remover paste. The white paste type,

with a variable speed Elec. Drill and a sheep wool bonnet.

Total time about (2) hours of tedious stuff.

Now I don't have that eye sore I use to see every day I got in my car,,

I will try to figure out how to upload pic's to show you how mine turned out!!

Wait a minute. Is this stuff REAL wood trim or is it plastic?????

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.

I am rechecking now, I think the combo remote start/remote top drop unit may require wire cutting.

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.

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.

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.

DAWG - you can pick my brain I don't mind...That is what the forums are for...INFO...

BRAKES - The brakes you are about to purchase should be fine and you will definetely notice an improvement...Go for that...... Front and rear D/S rotors and high quility pads should be the objective.... I think OEM pads and Brembro rotors are the very best, but your listings to buy items should be just fine....I used China made no name D/S rotors and OEM pads..Bought them both off Ebay... I noticed a .30% increase approx. in braking power after the install.....After your new brakes are installed I also suggest doing a brake fluid change out or flush, that can help too if that has never been done on your car or if you have air in the lines......

INTAKE - The intake you should look into is the BFI intake for cost savings and efficency...... The BFI intake costs nothing and is an easy way to open up the airflow to the engine to help it breathe better...Better efficiency usually means better gas mileage too....The BFI intake is a custom modification of your stock filter box which is really proven to work better then all the expensive aftermarket intakes like mine.....Go to planetsoarer.com and look into the BFI intake....If you want to keep it simple just get a K&N filter to replace your stock filter and be done with it.....You will never see big power gains with these SC's when upgrading the intake or air filters...The stock intake is really not all that restrictrive... The BFI intake or a true cold air box intake are the best two intake designs for the Lexus's...Mine is a mix of everything and is probably equal to either but not better...

Electrical - Replace the Negative big ground cable going from your battery to the engine block...It is about 3 feet long...The original ground cables can get crispy and deteriorate over the years and lose there potentcy.. Most people don't realise that you can lose power off those ground cables, and that is a proven fact.....That would be my first change out......Secondly for cost savings, I would get new Bosche spark plug wire sets and new Bosche spark plugs and install...I got mine off EBay for cheap...They are a good choice and not to costly...Thirdly, I would replace the two distributor caps and rotors as when recommended per the dealer scheduled maintenance.. I did all those things at once and noticed a difference... I also did a few other things too...That should cover your needs without breaking the bank...

Seafoaming I have never tried and can't really comment on it.. I have not heard bad things about it...

Exhaust- Ebay is where I got my Megan N1 straight thru mufflers. Really any straight thru mufflers will do, I picked Megan because they were on sale..They all pretty much perform the same... High flowing resonators are a must to reduce the exhaust noise....The final result of those changes will be slightly louder then stock...The Magnaflow 2 into 1 center cat is probably the best choice available when sticking with the stock exhaust piping..You cannot go wrong with Magnaflow cats.....The Blits Nur rear exhaust systems are a good expensive exhaust upgrade for around $700-$900...That is if you want to retain the stock exhaust look.... However, the Blitz will not out flow the straight thru mufflers and resonators that cost in total maybe $200..

The Cat and mufflers changes will bring a smile to your face...You will notice improved power and better better fuel efficency...The stock exhaust is so very restrictive... Exhaust mods are a must in my opinion on the older Lexus cars...

Feel free to ask questions I don't mind answering...That is how I started out years ago....

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.

Hello, I bought a 92 lexus sc300,

I have several problems with the car

1. one mechanic who I think was trying to sell me tires told me that my rear struts are gone and I need them to be replaced. I used this guy before for a break repalacement on another car and they still squeek. so is there any way to check and see if they are gone? and if they are how hard is it to replace for a novice who wants to start working on his car?

2. My engine burns oil like crazy, is there an oil or oil additive that will slow this down? I had it checked out at the dealer and they told me the car is just old but didn't have any suggestions, doe anyone know what type or v i should put in it?

3. My window washer fluid (shooters) the one on the right stopped working and the one on the left just spits but doesn't hit the window, does this need to be replaced?

4. and finally I just wanted to say my a/c was retrofitted and smelled really bad, so I took this forums advise and sprayed the air intake(no the one in the engine like i read someone on another site said to do which would kill your engine) inside the car and it seems to have done the trick... however when I try to put my own a/c r14 in the car it doesn't last long, but I had it checked for leeks and they said there was none, any way to get a longer charge out of my a/c?

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.