Graham

Hi I am new to this forum and have found all of your information helpful...I am now in need of help. As I was driving, every right turn i made started making a grinding noise, so I kept driving and on the way home from a friends my car at a red light started smoking alot, out beneath the hood. I took it home to cool off and I waited till today to check it and i found a busted hose and a cracked fan also my belt was off but not torn. PLEASE I need help. what could have caused this and what to do!!! Thank You

Post some pictures and we can help... otherwise it is very difficult to diagnose an issue in a post! :)

The tram lining effect and the floaty feel at speed have both been eliminated after replacement and the car feels more precise when driving.

For the sake of around $150.00 for the parts replace them, complete failure could result in the front suspension failing and the wheel folding under the car and the obvious outcome of this.

These are two excellent reasons to replace the ball joints now. Do not delay in replacing worn ball joints, I've seen a car spin out on the highway (3 cars in front of me) at 80mph after the wheel folded under the car. Not pretty.

Hi guys,

I have the dreaded rust-around-the-emblem on my trunk. Also down by the lip. The rust is local to the trunk; I've tried repairing this with body filler (that has fiber-glass, not just bondo).

I took it to the body shop, the guy said he wouldn't touch it because the repair would be unsuccessful. Sure enough despite my best efforts, the repair rotted through around the bondo during the winter. I have repaired cars with body filler before so I am familiar with the basics.

So, the trunk lid gets uglier and uglier, but the rest of the car is corrosion free.

Does anyone either have:

a) experience ordering / located a replacement trunk lid?

B) successfully patching this type of problem?

Thanks in advance,

-Graham

One more link... the complete DIY projector cleaning/refinishing (cheapest and quickest way to get back your visibility)...

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-400-300...efinishing.html

Remember, halogen light output will drop 50% long before the light actually "goes out." Winter's coming, it's a good time to replace things.

Over at club lexus they have an HID conversion from the Acura TSX:

http://clublexus.com/forums/lighting/18590...projectors.html

Here's a writeup of what to think about and what can go wrong...

http://faqlight.carpassion.info/retro-vs-oem.htm

And here's a table of other conversions, gives some insight to what can go wrong as well.

http://faqlight.carpassion.info/car-tested-retro.htm

I can't find the lexus forum link that talked about BMW retrofit lenses... but the Acura TSX retrofit seemed to work above.

Good luck and keep us posted if you retrofit!

I had great experience with the 3m headlight cleaning kit.

The lights question is tricky.

The projectors are set up for regular halogens and you should

not use them with xenon-ballast retrofit. There's a website

that describes changing the projector lenses from a BMW

to fix this.

I stuck with halogens and found the regular sylvannia oems

Are the best overall. Silverstars ultras and PIAAs die after 6 mos.

The yellow light offers better visibility than the carshow ice blues

this is covered on that BMW enthusiast site I mentioned

(on the iPod so can't paste in the bookmark)

Thanks this helped me too...

Hey All, I just failed N.J. inspection for an emergency brake failure, does anybody know how to adjust it? And if so, what would you say the difficulty level is. Thanks in advance!

1a) jack up rear of car + chock front wheels

1b) seriously, chock the front wheels

2a) remove rear wheel

2b) put car in neutral, e-brake off

3) in the rear disc-drum there are a few 8mm access holes

4) turn one to the 6-o'clock position

5) you can now see the e-brake adjustment gear with a flashlight

6) use a screwdriver to adjust the e-brake gear until the disc-drum doesn't want to spin easily

7) repeat for other wheel

Car has to be held stopped by the e-brake up to 1300 RPM

Good luck

-Graham

I have a 92 sc300 leaking somewhere around the steering.. had a few issues as well with the bushings.. but after hours of searching for a DYI steering rack replacement, cant find any... i just wanna replace the whole thing instead of going through all the issues on it one by one... i hope someone can help me. thank you in advance.

You're in for a job on this one.

Search the forums for the service manual for the SC400. The how-to is in the service manual... hope you have air tools.

Good luck,

-Graham

Hi tmh,

I had the idle problem as well, fixed that by adjusting the Throttle Position Sensor. The SC has two butterfly valves on the intake, one is throttle (to turn her on), the other is TRAC (to shut you down). You can search the forums for the PDF of the service manual, which has "how to adjust it" with a volt-meter, etc. However it can be done if you loosen the screws (3mm) and turn ever-so-slightly, test, adjust, rinse + repeat, etc.

I would recommend taking off all that stuff and cleaning up the intake body as well.

As for the AC- eh that's not a good sign. Can't help you there.

good luck,

-Graham

94SC400 / 280k miles

Hey im new to Lexus and SC400's i used to have a civic but wanted something faster so i bought my SC

I am wondering what kind of exhaust and intake i should get for the best performance gain????

Hey nick.

Welcome. Please search the forums for your questions, they've been answered before.

Want to go fast out of the box? Well the VVTI SC's are the fastest, which are the >97's. These are as fast as a 911 on the track (google it, don't take my word for it).

Other mods:

-Summer tires like pole-position S3's to hug the road

-New Coil-overs to keep them there

-Dragon torque converter (search the forums) and a payment plan with your mechanic, because the swap is $$$$

-Bolt-on superchargers are available for "only" about $10k (google this, search for lextreme and lextech)

-If your SC is over 150k miles, you'll need new engine mounts, transmission mount, and driveshaft couplings for this power

Enjoy the ride...

-Graham

PS

Be safe... racing is for track day, not the street.

Welcome

Please remember to tell folks the model/mileage and anything "special" about your SC.

The bad news: you can probably pass with new catalytic converters, I bet yours are worn out, especially if you have a 92. But these cost $$$ so don't take my word for it. Consult your regular mechanic or a NJ licensed emissions service mechanic.

Good news: Check with your state, there is probably a provision for "over certain amount for emissions and you can get a waiver" like MA and CT (which also copy CA emissions). In MA, it's something like $600. Which I believe is enough for one cat, LOL.

My mother in law failed from this as well with her Ford exploder... new cats and it passed.

Hello everybody, I'm new but I promise I'm not a "hi-bye"!

I just bought a 92 sc300 and 5 miles down the road the dash lit up.

Check engine, oil temp and oil pressure lights.

There's tons of white smoke (it's not the head gasket, no coolant loss and good compression) and it smells like raw gas. Tons of gas in my oil. I trailed it home.

It's not the valve stem seals, there is no oil loss either.

200k on the clock, but it feels like it would run great if it wasn't DUMPING fuel.

I'm almost positive it's the ECM. It has water damage, and the FPR has no fuel in the vacuum line, so the diaphram is ok.

I'm really just asking to confirm my thoughts, to see if anyone else has had a similar problem or if somebody has an ECM they could sell me.

My part number is 89661-24310. Auto with traction control. 1992.

I've been told the're NOT interchangable, but I've read 92-94 are if they have identical options. (california, auto, traction control)

Thanks for any advice, I do appreciate taking the time to respond.

I'd like to drive the old girl, my 5-spd 944 kinda sucks in morning traffic!

-cale

Minneapolis

Welcome Cale,

Sounds like you have quite a problem there... must be a 'Katrina car if you have water in the ECM.

A couple things come to mind that might help get you started:

1) If you do a search of the forums here, you can download the SC400 factory manual as a PDF.

2) You can set up the SC in "report error mode," search the forums for that. A single jumper wire saves needing the OBD-I scanner (not the OBD-II).

3) Maybe the injectors are being told to turn on at the wrong time by the ECM: ebay yourself a new ECM and swap it in. Might be the miracle you're looking for.

4) Or maybe there is a hardware problem, like valves/seals, etc. If gasoline is in the oil? It means gasoline is ending up on top of the heads. So how did it get here? Leaking injectors or injectors being told to fire at the wrong time, or valve/seals leaking. Then the gasoline leaks down into the oilpan from the top of the heads via the oil return ducting. What is strange is you report gasoline is in the oil, but you have 100% good compression across all 8 cylinders? If so, you need a professional shop to inspect the motor, especially the heads. It is possible that the intake valves are not seating or the seals are leaking out the gasoline mixture during the compression stroke. One of your cylinders would probably show low compression with this though.

The Good News: there's no way you bent the valves / ruined the heads yet. The 92-94 have the 1st revision V8, which is not a interference engine, but this changes around 95-97 (e.g. the VVti's are interference after this). You can search the forums for this too.

Good luck!

-Graham

94 SC400 / 290k miles

BTW I had a 1997 Chrysler Sebring and that was a disaster at 105k miles: new front end, engine work, and it blew its transmission (the cooler was fine and the correct Chrysler fluid was in).

The Japanese design all their machines for 6000 machine hours (3 shifts per calendar year btw overhauls) which is 300k miles @ 55mph. By contrast, American makes are designed for 100k miles (1 shift per calendar year / 2000 machine hours). Toyota was trying to build the Lexus brand with these cars, you'll do fine driving this until you're sick of it. As for emissions/inspection, the exhaust is stainless from the factory, and the engine was rated as a PLEV in 1999 without modification (A PLEV? It's a 300HP V8!).

One more thing:

- Buy new windshield wiper arms for this car. I replaced these for my wife, and she can see now in the rain.

- 10 year old windshield... I replaced mine, and there is much less glare from oncoming traffic at night in this low-profile car.

$3000 is a very fair price for any car dude. Especially for 300HP/300ft-lbs... you're keeping up with new Audi A4's in traffic. Reliability? You can't buy a road-warrior car with this reliability until about $6k to $8k.

This is the Toyota V8 with VVTI that goes into the trucks. It has the same automatic transmission for the LS400 sedan, which is bulletproof. The trick is the SC400 has a "ECT" button for sport-shift-points and turning off overdrive puts the Tach in the 3k range for performance passing. I drive a 1994, it has 280k miles, and the undercoating from the factory means there is no rust (really, seriously, there is no rust!). I get 17/23MPG driving in Mass.

We had to redo the heads at 180k and a new radiator (this was about 2003 when my wife bought the car). The coil-overs were done as well. It's a very sporty car, but with Trac on, and Michellin winter tires it is always able to move along and stop fine.

Depending on the climate, it would be a good idea to consider:

- timing belt must be done at intervals due to interference engine

- radiator may need to be replaced, they last about 10 years before getting plugged up

- you can do brakes, etc yourself if you've done DIY on other cars (search the forums for the PDF service manual)

- if the leather is beat up, you can get a new set from ebay for $400 (this is a very good deal if you can do it yourself)

- if you want to give a Corvette Z06 a run for her money, get a dragon torque converter

This is really a great car. If you wax the paint and run one of the headlight cleaner kits, people will ask you, "what kind of car is that?"

Especially the guy in the Audi when he catches up.

Have fun!

(1) Have noticed that the auto trans. selector/shifter lever seems to be getting looser; is there a way to tighten it up?

(2) Noticed that my drivers seat is a little loose and also rocking a little; and it seems to be lower to the left side and rear. Found a little roller (looks like a little dumb bell with flat roller ends, laying on the floor in the back seat...

(1) There's a screw/fastener on the shift lever:

- set ignition to accessory (engine off / radio on)

- set e-brake

- select first gear

- pull up on the spring-loaded sheath

- the fastener is in the front (it is allen key or philips)

(2) If you search for the Lexus manual in the forums you can download the PDF, and the seat is actually called out part-by-part for factory service. This is a LOT easier than trying to take the seat apart for the first time. Plus, there is a chance that you only need a snap-clip from the local hardware-store to retain that dolly-wheel on its axle. But if the axle is broken you need a new seat. There's always the option to get used seats from the salvage yard!

BTW when I re-upholstered my seats, I found the front buckets are all welded together- while the butt-seat is removable, the back-rest and lower frame are all integrated and welded, probably to retain integrity in the event of a crash.

Good luck!

I'm also looking for working trunk struts. Seems like they go bad also on a lot of the SC 400s, with the heavy trunk lid. I've gotten brained, oh, about 1,000 times.

Thanks for your help!

I replaced the trunk struts w/ struts from the local autoparts store and haven't had a headache for years! Dealer wanted $400 w/ labor (each!) for replacing them- meanwhile off-brand replacements are more like $40 each w/ DIY labor. I recommend bringing an old one into the store, the SC400 is not very well cross-referenced in some parts databases.

thanks a lot. maybe i'll reset them back to stocks and see if that fixes anything

From reading the link, if the hazard button is "on" and the thermal flasher relay is not sufficiently loaded by the LEDs, they will all flash quickly on all four corners.

I have a 95 SC 400 limited edition and the insurance company is trying to total her out. To add insult to injury they only wanna give me $6000 to replace her. I think she is worth more, can't find one in Bowling Green, KY at any price. Can anyone tell me ads they may have seen so I can show them the value is higher?

If you have the dynamic suspension you should part it out.

But yeah, you are lucky to get $6000 for a 12-year old car. Sorry, but that's the truth.

No way i would get any car with that many miles unless I was planning on replacing the engine immed. SC300 is a far better "responsible" choice, mechanically and affordability. You wanted advice, I gave it to you, if you are one of the fortunate ones that has disposable income & money to burn, then fine..lucky you..

but you don't have to mimic the mentality of a Prick that would say "You own a Lexus - act like one". Sounds like a pretentious !Removed! to me..

Thank you for your advice. You understood me wrong I'm not one of those, who splash money to left and right. If I where one of those, I wouldn't ask for an advice, now would I? :) That joke (if you could call that a joke), read somewhere, and found it funny that's all :)

1999 SC300 has a better engine and alot of other upgrades. There are some go-fast mods for the engine and the stick-shift can take boost mods, etc.

I have a 1992 SC400 with 250k miles, wife bought it at 180k and has since re-done the heads. The bushings on the chassis and drive line are good... the exhaust doesn't leak, and overall it's in fine condition, so I would believe a 300k SC400 would work for a while... but yeah the fixes cost $$$.

just stick with oem. they have decent stopping power and no brake noise.

That's my thoughts thus far as well.

The threads at this and some other clubs show some DIY'ers like EBC Greenstuff for the SC00/SC400. I just installed this on my SC400, should have an update after the 500 mile wear-in.

From what you said above guess it not even worth it? what would it cost 5k or more?

For $5k you can get a bolt-on supercharger and forget all about the laggy turbo w/ wastegate setup...

Bolt-on intake-manifold-style supercharger:

http://www.planetsoarer.com/part3/index.htm

Other updates including various turbo setups (more common)

http://www.planetsoarer.com/oldupdates.htm

Sorry I was thinking of this supercharger. If you surf around it is available for about $5k and doesn't require the welding of the big pig shown in the previous link.

http://www.planetsoarer.com/superchargeJmRoal/JimRoal.htm

From what you said above guess it not even worth it? what would it cost 5k or more?

For $5k you can get a bolt-on supercharger and forget all about the laggy turbo w/ wastegate setup...

Bolt-on intake-manifold-style supercharger:

http://www.planetsoarer.com/part3/index.htm

Other updates including various turbo setups (more common)

http://www.planetsoarer.com/oldupdates.htm

does this have anything to do with my drivers seat not going back to the drive position after i move it up after retrieving something from the back, the passenger seat works , but the drivers seat does not.

Mine does this too.

As for my memory seat, my module is plugged in (I took apart my door as well). The memory seat uses FLASH memory in the ECU. FLASH eventually wears out (so store your SD card photos somewhere safe and carry more than one with the camera!) and my 1994 SC400 is probably plum worn out.

I just bought a 97 sc300 at 140k miles and love it. It's the Diamond White Pearl kinda color. I believe that's the name.

The problems with the car when I bought it.

1. Cigarette Lighter wasn't working

2. Tire vibration

3. Paint Chipping on inside of the passenger door.

4. Exactly 5 itty bitty rock chips.

5. 12 disc CD player says Error

6. Middle Sub doesn't seem to work.

7. Memory Seats not working

Other than that the car seemed fine.

1. Cigarette Lighter replacement cost me around $30

2. Power Steering Fluid was extremely low

3 & 4. I bought touch up paint from Lexus. $16

5. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S WRONG

6. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S WRONG.

7. I found out the car needs to be on and in park. You press the button Set and 1 at the same time until you hear beep.

So do I need to get a new sub, new amp, or headunit? I don't want to replace the speakers because the Front and Rear regular ones seem to play very nice. I want to know why the CD player has an error.

Toyota was wanting to charge me $100 JUST TO LOOK AT THE CAR... oh sigh

Best Buy told me the only way to replace something was to replace everything and I really don't want to do that. I'm just looking for an easy fix since the speakers in it already sound so good.

Nakamichi is a "full up" audio system- the head unit talks to the amp, the amp is set up to drive a 1 ohm subwoofer using class D. So your best bet is to find a replacement CD player and keep it stock. Or tear it apart and replace the spindle motor, those wear out after a few thousand hours. Or get everything replaced....

Good luck!