1Ponkte

I see where you are listed as having a 93 SC300. I have a 92 and had the same thing happen. I had it replaced by my mechanic for about $185.00 (if memory serves me correctly). He said that the original part tended to wear unevenly (it created a crowned aspect which allowed the belt to misalign itself), fray, and eventually shred. The replacement part is made of a different material. I haven't had any problems since. I usually recommend that a person replace that pulley when they change the timing belt at 90,000 miles if they have an older SC300.

I also live in Washington and deal with the wet conditions. For as heavy of a car as the SC300's are, they do break loose quite easily. However, I haven't noticed much wheel hop; simply a lot of spinning on launch. Mine is a 5 speed. Someone told me that the rear ends can get out of alighnment. Could be the road surface as well. Or, perhaps shocks? Good topic.

Do yourself a favor and replace the belt, tensioner, cam and oil seals, and water pump at 90,000. The peace of mind is worth the service. You might also check the serpentine belt tensioner at the same time. My mechanic forgot to do so and his assistant noticed the belt was beginning to fray when he replaced the power steering pump a few thousand miles later. Unfortunately, he thought a rock or something had somehow spun up into the belt thus causing it to begin to seperate. He replaced the belt and about 1500 miles later I shredded it bigtime. We replaced the tensioner (or idler-whatever they call it) and belt and all has been fine since.

I bought my 92 SC300 5 speed with 103,000 miles on it for $10,500 tax and license included. If possible ask for service records. The actual worksheets not just the stamps in the owners maintainence manual. The reason I suggest this is, along with the power steering pump leaking (mine had to be replaced at 113,000) another problem that can occur in the older SC models has to do with the tensioner for the serpentine belt. This came to light after I replaced the pump and began to shred belts. The original can deteriorate and go out of round. The replacement is an upgrade. Also it's nice to know if the timing belt was replaced at 90,000 and if the cam seals were also done at that time. The engines are basically good ones and should go to 200 or 250,000 with no major problems if you don't abuse the devil out of them and maintain them according to specs. Hope you buy it. they are nice cars.

Since I'm 62 years old, I've owned a bundle of them so I'm sure I've forgotten some. Anyway here goes: 38 Chev coupe 40 Ford Tudoor 49 Dodge Convertible 49 Plymouth Convert. Main set of wheels in High School. Was extensively customised. Lowered, leaded, etc. Great car. 56 Mercury tudoor hardtop. College wheels. Great car for attracting girls. Nice car. 57 Pontiac Safari station wagon 57 Plymouth Belvedere tudoor hardtop. Good car. 58 Triumph TR2 roadster 59 Ford tudor sedan 60 Maserati 3500 GT. One of the best cars I ever owned. I sold it to finance a trip to Europe otherwise I'd probably still have it. 62 Plymouth Valiant tudoor sedan 65 Pontiac GTO 65 Corvair Corsa Convert 66 Chevrolet Malibu Convert 66 Diamler 2.5 Liter sport touring saloon. Owned two of them. They looked like Jaguar Sedans but had a small block hemi head V8. Fun cars but typical British electrical problems. 67 Oldsmobile 442 (two of them. 1 auto, one 4 speed) 61-67 Volkswagens. I owned 4 or 5 of them. 47 Ford pickup. Had a 52 Mercury engine. 46Willys Jeep 58 Ford pickup. Had a punched out 406 Ford engine. Fast truck. 68 Ford pickup 70 Ford Mustang 75 Bradley Gt. Kit car body on a 72 VW super Beetle pan. It was a ridiculous excuse for a car. 75 Fibrefab Jamaican. Another kit car. Body was mounted on an Austin Healey frame. Had a Buick V6 with an auto trans. 81 Toyota 4 whell drive pickup. I still have it. Has 37,100 miles on the clock. 82 Dodge Shelby Charger 87 Honda Accord sedan 89 Honda Accord sedan 91 Honda Prelude 92 Lexus SC300 5 speed. Have owned it for about 2 years. It currently has about 113,000 miles on the clock. 93 Ford Taurus SHO. Was a 5 speed. I just sold it a couple weeks ago. Great car! The guy that bought it was tickled to death. He couldn't get over how fast it was. 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid sedan. It's a bean can but gets good milage. I use it primarily as a work commuter car and drive the Lexus on the weekends. As near as I can remember, that's it. Happy motoring.

I had a similar problem with my 92 SC300. I put new end connections on the battery cables and tightened the ground. Haven't had that problem since.

The Red 94 SC300 came with a black interior. A guy in my area has one with a 5 speed. I don't think it's for sale though.

Somewhere in the mass of pages on this forum was a similar question. I believe it was last spring. It seemed to me that a set of Supra seats would work in an Sc300. If I remember correctly, one of the answers had pictures. Try checking from page 60 on. If that's the case, you may be able to use the Maxima seats. Good luck.

I had the same type of problem. I replaced the battery cable connectors. I also found a loose ground connection. No problems since.

Hey, that's not a bad price. I paid $9500.00 a year ago for a 92 5 speed with 103000+ on it. Mine had been dealer serviced according to specs and is just fine. The wallowing around when turning could be struts or possibly low air pressure in tires. Mine had some repaint work done on some panels as well. The guy showed me the car unwashed and I missed it. Mine is the white pearl and that is an expensive repaint. However, it looks good at 15 feet so I'm not going to worry for a time. Struts and mtr. mounts aren't that expensive and, like someone mentioned, 5 speeds are rare. Remember, it says "asking price" in the ad. Lowball them an offer. You never can tell. Good luck. The SC's are nice cars.

I think it should be the same as the 60,000. Check the service maintainence section of your owners manual. I think it gives you the increments.

Had a similar thing happen to me. However mine had been preceeded by a couple of other incidents. I hadn't owned and driven the car for long when I heard a disquieting noise one morning when I started it. It sounded like noisy lifters in a pushrod type engine. After starting and stopping the engine a couple of times, letting it idle for a bit, and when warmed up somewhat, a blip on the throttle and the noise stopped. Still, it bothered me so I ran to my friendly foreign auto mechanic and got another oil change. The fellow I bought the car from said that the timing belt and major service had been performed at just over 91,000 miles by a Lexus mechanic. At the time I purchased the car it had just over 103,000 miles on it. The mileage at the time of oil change was 104,000+. Right about the time I got to 106,000, I was perusing this forum and read a topic involving a fellow who had been driving for some time with a "check engine" light showing. Someone wrote telling him that the light did not signify a service reminder and to get that car to a mechanic immediately. The next day, I fired my rig up intending to take a trip over the mountains and heard a funny noise from the front of the engine. I figured I was hearing things and started down the road. About a half mile from my house I noticed the check engine light was on. I promptly turned around, went home, and called my friendly mechanic. I told him that I thought maybe the previous owner had misrepresented the timing belt and was having the car towed to his shop to have it replaced. I also had him do a full service at the time. Well, by the time the tow truck came to pick up the car a couple days later, the noise was no longer present and the light was out but I went ahead and had the work done anyway. Turned out I really didn't need a timing belt (Still had it replaced), the code for the light was the evaporative cannister, and he thought the grinding noise was probably caused by the power steering pump which had some rather dirty fluid in it which he sucked out and replaced. I felt like a paranoiac idiot but now have a car that I'm hoping is good til 200,000 without any major problems.

Agree with those who say not to worry and enjoy the car. Rotate and balance the tires frequently. Check the alignment frequently. You should be OK.

Radio Shack? Really? I thought the key or alarm or whatever had to be reprogrammed when a battery was changed. Or did I get the wrong impression from an earlier posting and discussion? If Radio Shack can do, it sure eliminates a problem for me. Thanks.

Good advice from Mikee 72. If no rust problems, ask for service records. Especially major ones such a Timing belt and water pump replacements. You didn't mention whether it's a stick shift or auto. At that many miles, I'd have a mechanic do a diagnostic check and make sure he checked the compression. Should have him take a look at the transmission, rear end, and brakes as well. In other words have it pretty well gone through. If the rig has been relatively well maintained, the milage shouldn't be too scarry. I know or a couple with one that has 230,000 and still going strong. Good luck.

Sorry, I've been sick with flu. I probably should have mentioned that the manuals I purchased were for a 1992 SC300. They probably vary with regard to year. For example, I also purchased a manual for a 1993 Ford Taurus SHO. It was $94.00 for a used one.

There is a possibility that the shock of the crash may have jammed a U joint or possibly damaged either a motor mount or tranny mount. Have the shop check. Also have them check the alignment of the rear end and suspension.

With reference to an earlier posting under topic "Repair Manual," dated Sept 14, here's the info on a good source for factory shop repair manuals: books4cars.com (That's their business logo as well as web site) 4850 37th Ave. So. Seattle, WA. 98118 Phone: (toll free) 1-888-380-9277, (Seattle area) (206)721-3077 Prices are: Volume 1 (Mechanical): $89.95 Volume 2 (Chassis): $89.95 Electrical Repair Supplement: $39.95 Supplement for Manual Transmission: $37.95 Shipping is extra. Washington State residents get gigged for sales tax. They do not have a publication for Lexus that lists parts numbers at this time. These guys are top drawer. They ship fast and will let you know at the time you order if they have all books. They deal strickly in automotive publications and have an inventory of about four thousand books. I spoke with one of them before I left for work today (Dec. 3) and he said that they had a pretty good supply of Lexus material. Give them a call and good luck.

Due to the aforementioned computer glitch, I don't know if an earlier posting of mine remains. There is a business in Seattle, Wa. called Books 4Cars. Their web address is books4cars.com . I got a set of factory shop manuals for my 92 SC300 5 speed with no problem. For those who have a 5 speed, make sure you mention it when ordering as it is a supplament item. I can't remember the cost right off the top of my head, but will check and post again in a day or two. It seems to me that I got all 4 books for about $230.00 plus shipping. Very little waiting time. They seem to have a fairly good supply. I also bought a shop manual for a 93 Taurus SHO a couple weeks later.

I didn't know they still offered a 5 speed in 97. If so 15 grand sounds about right. I paid 10,500 with all taxes and license fees for my 92 with 104,000 on the clock. It was a bit more than I wanted to pay, but the maintainence stamps showed all services had been done as suggested so I took a chance. I've had it for a little over 2 months and no problems. I do have the weak trunk strut, bad lighting on temperature control LED, and cracked center vent on A/C that so many seem to experience. I can live with it. Good Luck.

I have the same problem on my 92. Thanks for the info. How much trouble are they to install and where do I locate a shop manual for instructions?