jaseinatl

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have; I am really stumped. My 1992 SC300 engine is accellerating by itself on a regular cycle about every two seconds. It's a lot like when you first turn on the car and it idles high for a second then drops back down. Only then it idles high again and drops back down again. It does this whenever the car is running, so I obviously don't drive it. The day that it started to get really bad I noticed that the battery light came on and the ABS Break light. It hesitated on startup like it was having a battery problem, but then kicked in and all was well (the lights went out and the car drove fine for a while). I parked, ran an errand, came out, started it up again and everything seemed fine. About five minutes later, the engine accellerated on its own to the point that I had to keep the parking break on at a stoplight to keep from rear-ending someone until I could pull over. Any suggestions? I recently got the car back from the guy who owned it before me: he is a Lexus master technician and an absolute saint. I had taken it to him as a last resort after getting the car back from a local tech shop. It was running choppy and he was able to tune it up and make it run fine. I would prefer not to bother him again as I am sure that his kindness is often taken advantage of. The thing about it is that I have felt like this revving thing is just the logical extension of the problem we have been having since we got it back. Granted it was nothing like it is now, but it seemed to be revving before this started. It kinda sounded like the engine belonged in a big muscle car the way it idled. Any ideas, suggestions, or questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for your help, jase

Sorry. I had a server crash on me and I have been swamped (pulling 18 hour days) all week (and Wednesday was birthday even). I appreciate your dilligence and here is the link to my post: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showpost.p...amp;postcount=1 It's extensive and I wouldn't blame folks for not reading it all, I just thought it would be good to put it all out there to start and then lure folks in to reading it by posting a more concise explanation. LOL Thanks again for your help. We'll see how things go. jase

Will do. Thanks for the advice. I will check them out right away and I'll tell them you sent me! I really do appreciate your help. Best wishes, jase

Gosh, that's a great idea. And perhaps they could look at my yacht or personal jet at the same time. I mean, heck, if I could take it to a dealer and have it repaired for less than I paid for the car, I would have done it months ago. When shopping around for prices to have the rack and pinion replaced, the dealership was going to charge me more than I originally paid for the car. The Power Steering Hose cost almost $500 dollars to replace...Though my 1992 SC300 is a great car, the repairs are entirely cost prohibitive if you have to take it to a dealer. Geesh! is right. Thanks for taking the time to reply (sorry if I sound ungrateful, it's just not as simple as it seems) jase

Not yet. I tried to reach him just a while back but had an old number. I will try to reach him at the Lexus dealership and maybe he can give me some advice. Thanks for your reply. Best wishes, jase

Well, since it would appear that I am the only one interested in this topic, I thought I might keep myself company by posting the latest update. I have returned the car to the service techs back in August and haven't heard a thing from them. I have made another post along these lines hoping that someone would be willing to at least give me some advice. After walking for about 10 miles in the heat the other day, I called the techs and was irate that they still didn't know what was wrong with it. They read the information in the computer back to me as though they had done something with it but didn't realize that I was the one who had given them the information. They lied to me about having the wrong phone number (they have called us before) and said that they were still working on it. I have been without it for 7 months now and I am really at wits end. I realize it is foolish to continue to post here since no one has replied (although this thread has been view 530 times), but I keep crossing my fingers and hoping that someone can give me some reasonable advice. Thanks in advance for your time, jase

I am posting this message in the hopes of getting some advice. I have a 92 SC300 that was previously owned by only two people: a little old lady who hardly ever drove the car and then a Lexus Master Technician who bought it from her and built it up as his toy project with only the best parts available from Lexus. It has perfect service records and has been the greatest car until about a year ago (we've owned it for 4 years, I believe). We had a leak in the power steering that destroyed the Rack and Pinion over time so we had both replaced (the rack and the power steering hose). When we got the car back it bogged down and blew white smoke after driving it about 10 miles. They assumed it was a blown head gasket so they did a compression test. By their own admission, they forgot about the car and let it run for 48 hours under pressure (though they indicated that it normally only runs for 24 hours). Still there was no leak and no drop in pressure, so the head gasket is not the problem. We called them after about two months and they said to come pick it up. We drove the car across town and it started again. Only this time it was worse, much worse. So we had the car towed back to the shop. After about a month, we called them and they said it was the distributor. We had them replace it and when we got the car back, it drove fine for about half a day. Then it started bogging down again and blowing white smoke. Before we took it back in this last time, I noticed that some liquid (one or two drops) was coming from the part where the exhaust connects into the block. It was dripping onto the Y part of the exhaust pipe under the hood. Not near the head gasket, really. But this would only make it smoke under the hood, right? Anyways, It has been seven months and I still do not have my car back. They promised it to me today, but never called. It has never had a problem like this before and I'm afraid that the car is ruined. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I should do about the tech shop and/or what I can do about my car? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Jase

Okay, with the new distributor in I get the car home and in less than one day the smoke starts up again. I let the car sit for almost two weeks and notice that the engine compartment is completely dry....no leaks. I start the car up and she runs like a champ. But then I notice the strong exhaust smell. I've noticed it for some time and wondered if there was a leak in the exhaust system somewhere around the passenger-seat side of the undercarriage. While checking out the exhaust manifold from above, I notice about three or four streaks of liquid (oil?) dripping from the connection where the exhaust header connects. Smoke comes from where the leak hits the V in the header. I can't see the exact location because there is some panel in the way, but I can definitely see a leak of some sort. Although the smoke from the hood is from the leaking oil burning off when it hits the header, it doesn't account for the huge amount of smoke that comes out the tailpipe. It's thick white smoke and it stinks. Is it possible that I have something blocking my exhaust system and it's backing up/leaking at the header? I have taken it back to the specialist again, but could really use some advice. Thanks in advance if anyone knows anything. jase

Just the other day, my car started sputtering and dragging and spitting out white smoke. Then it went away. Then it came back. I took it to a local Toyota Specialist company in Atlanta and they replaced the rack and pinion steering (separate issue). They said that the power steering had been leaking for a long time and the bushings were destroyed. While they did this, they found oil in the distributor cap, but indicated that it was probably just a bad seal on the cap--so they replaced it, but not the distributor. They pressure tested the engine for 24 hours longer than they usually do (because someone forgot that it was running and left it pressurized) and found no drop in pressure and no leaks. When we took the car home, it was fine until the next day and it started again. So, the only other weird thing that we have had is this: For a while, when you would turn right or even turn on the right turn signal, the car would almost die. On occasion it would die. I figure there's some sort of electrical short (probably having to do with the slipshod stereo/amp installation bouncing around in the trunk). The car was previously owned by a Lexus Master Tech and is in pristine condition. Any ideas what could be causing the problem? I know it's a long shot, but I figured I would ask. Thanks in advance for any information you may have. Jase