john denninger

Do you care what color the panels are?

my 92 sc400 is giving me nightmares.

tonight for the second time in the 14 months i have owned the car i had an electrical problem. the car starts fine, but if i turn on the turn signal the radio bings off, the clock resets and the headlights blink. and if i press the breaks when the breaklights come one the headlights dim the radio cuts out and comes back.

the battery is only about 2 months old since when this first happened (in december) that was my first though so i replaced it and didnt have the problem again till tonight.

both times the problem fixed itself after driving for a short period of time.

both in december and tonight the alternator tested normal, so my fear is that it is a short somewhere.

has anyone else had this problem, or know anything about this problem?

what can be done to fix it without A) spending alot of money, and B) buying a new car?

Your problem seems clearly to be a bad ground. I had the same problem and there are prior posts about this. To fix, I added additional ground cables to the engine and to the body. and cleaned both ends of the existing ground cable. I can almost guarantee that this will fix your problems.

my 92 sc400 is giving me nightmares.

tonight for the second time in the 14 months i have owned the car i had an electrical problem. the car starts fine, but if i turn on the turn signal the radio bings off, the clock resets and the headlights blink. and if i press the breaks when the breaklights come one the headlights dim the radio cuts out and comes back.

the battery is only about 2 months old since when this first happened (in december) that was my first though so i replaced it and didnt have the problem again till tonight.

both times the problem fixed itself after driving for a short period of time.

both in december and tonight the alternator tested normal, so my fear is that it is a short somewhere.

has anyone else had this problem, or know anything about this problem?

what can be done to fix it without A) spending alot of money, and B) buying a new car?

Hey all,

I have a 93' sc300 5 speed with about 145K on it. I just switched it to mobile 1 10w-30 from regular valvoline, and i somehow went through about 1 quart (I put 4 quarts in it initially) in about 3 miles. I couldn't understand this, so i checked the drain plug, no leaks, and tightened the oil filter by hand even more (it budged a little bit tighter). I've had to add about a quart every 1000 or so miles before, so i was wondering if anyone made the switch to synthetic and had a crazy amount of oil consumption initially (ive driven it about 10 more miles and it doesnt seem to have used up any more oil).

Also, the tachometer and speedometer gauges are burnt out of course, but every once in a while, if i push in the brake or clutch, the tachometer gauge will light up for a second, then die. Any ideas? doesnt really sound burnt out to me, just a short somewhere thats not allowing it to get any electricity. Let me know if you've experienced similar problems. Thanks.

And how much did you put in after the change? 4 Qrts. What Eng do you have. What's with the 10W? And by the way; what's the total capacity of oil for your eng?

The engine holds 5 quarts, so you were not low because you used it, but because you never had it.

A few months ago my SC developed a problem starting. Basically, I turn the key and nothing happens. Lights all go on though. I turn it a few more times and it starts up and runs just fine. This seems to happen mostly on a cold engine although I've experienced it several times throughout the day. At first, the problem only required me turning the key 2 - 3 times. Now I have to turn it 3 - 4 times. I've tried making sure the steering wheel was not locked and the gear shift (automatic) was not locked and usually on the fourth time I push the shift lock override button once or twice and then it starts up which may or may not be related. Now, I've developed a new symptom where I turn the key, it sounds like it's going to kick over (brm brm) and then nothing. Turn the key again or a third time and it starts. The car hasn't been getting a whole lot of excersize because the weather has been freezing so today was the first time in about 5 days that I started it. In the morning it had the first problem I described and in the afternoon, it had the second problem. During the day when I made several stops, it worked fine. BTW, cars got 117k on it and the ECM was refurbished and updated in August 2009.

Thanks for any ideas...I'm not mechanical and just getting a diagnosis on an intermittent problem is going to be $$$$$.

Sure sounds like you need a starter to me. Those are the symptoms I remember when I put a new starter in.

I am sure your problem has to do with insufficient ground and that you can fix it by adding an additional ground cable(s). When my SC started doing this I ran an additional ground cable from the negative battery terminal to some bolt on the rear of the engine and to the firewall. Also clean both ends of the existing ground cable and I expect that you will be fine.

So I am assuming all of you who read this have never had air conditioning problems on their SC's?

Thanks for the input.

Well, you have many possibilities. All the a/c parts are pretty expensive if you have the dealer put them in. You might take it to either an indie mechanic or a dealer for diagnosis and go from there. As an example on my 92, a new evaporator is $640 from Lexus and $80 from an aftermarket source.

Good luck,

This summer I had the ac compressor with drier replaced on both my '92 and '93 SC300s and each ran about $900 at a reputable shop. The compressors each were over $400. One was leaking and the second was making a grinding, bearing sort of whining noise.

does anyone know how to remove the serpentine belt on a 95 sc300?

To replace the belt, first take a good look at the path of the belt. There should be a diagram on the under side of the hood or thereabouts to help you as well. When you are ready to proceed, take a wrench that fits on the bolt head on the tensioner on the upper driver's side just past the power steering and pull so that the belt becomes loose enough to take off the nearest pulley. Remove the old, install the new and, pulling on the tensioner again to allow putting the belt on the last pulley. Make sure the belt is all the way on all the pulleys before starting the engine.

Daniel, The aftermarket arms are upper arms. I am not aware of any aftermarket LCAs for SCs. Lexus and Toyota LCA arms are available at vastly different prices for the same arm. I happen to think the Supra bushings are harder than the Lexus but they are a direct replacement. The symptoms you are describing sound just like worn lower control arm bushings. If the bushings are the problem you should be able to see the wear. If you were to take the car for a front end alignment you wold learn if that is the problem as the car will not hold an alignment.

My thought is a bad ground. I would clean both ends of the ground cable and consider adding another.

I have been talking about a SC300 located in Tuscon and would like someone to take a look at it for me as I am in Houston. If there is someone who conveniently could do this, please call me at 713.468.0090. If you miss me, please leave a message so I can call back. Thanks, John Denninger

The quick fix is to replace the struts. Not hard to do and lasts for a long time. This is the sort of repair that is normal maintenance when you own an older car. If you do not fix these little problems as they come up, over time you will be driving junk. Just my opinion.

Anyone have any quick fixes for my hood struts that just stopped holding up? Besides the broomstick method.

Thanks for any repair ideas.....

What's wrong with the broomstick method? :D Until you replace them you can use locking pliars. Just open the hood and place them on the rod right at the strut. Test to make sure they won't slip. Those hoods are heavy and would leave a nasty dent in your head or wherever!

Funny!

EUBT has a smidge of backyard engineering in his background!

Hey billy, isn't the backyard where we all invent whatever we need to get that thing fixed before the steak starts to burn on bbq because I thought I could get it finished in time but ran out of materials or couldn't figure exactly how to finish it but the answer is almost at my fingertips if I only stay with it and ..... what was it ... mmmm .... oh yeah .... completely forgot about the steak? :whistles: !Removed! happens, but like Carlin said, "there's many different kinds of !Removed!"

Rather than using one flare wrench and one vice grips, I would use two flare wrenches. You are correct in assuming how this comes apart, but it has been together for about sixteen years and is stubborn. In the end, if the wrenches slip, you may end up with two vice grips, but that would be the second resort. Good luck.

We are having problems disconnecting the fuel hose from the fuel tube on my 92' SC400. Here is a picture:

We thought you just unscrew the left screw using one wrench to hold the right side while using another on the left but it will not budge. It's to the point where the edges of the bolt are starting to give. A next step would be to get a fuel line wrench, but not sure if that will help. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

What brake fluid does a 92 SC4 take??

You should use a name brand DOT 4 brake fluid. Synthetic is fine; If you are flushing the fluid, you can save some time by sucking some out of the resevoir and filling it with the new fluid before you begin with the wheels.

Hello my first time posting.

I just bought myself a sc400 93' with 35k miles. Its a V8 pretty big engine, so i am a tad worried about gasoline. What should I do to increase MPG?

Make sure your air filter is like new, keep proper air pressure in your tires, drive moderately and enjoy the car.

Would the bleeding pattern on the sc400 the same with the LS400? Left rear, right rear, right front then left front. HELP.

The conventional thinking was to start with the wheel furthest from the master cylinder and work towards the master cylinder. Subsequent discussion seems to conclude that it really does not make much difference as long as you bleed long enough to replace the fluid in what ever line you are bleeding.

When you rinsed with water, some of that water collected down with at least one spark plug, causing that plug (s) to miss. I did the same thing. You need to manually remove that water from the plug depressions in the top of the motor.

I think the most obvious problem would be bad battery connections. Clean both connections by removing them from the battery. If they do not look substantial, replace them. Brush and clean the connections and the terminals and install tightly. The heat you are noticing is from resistance which seems to be a telltale of a bad connection. John Denninger

Welcome to the LOC. If you use the search tool, you'll find many threads on your problem.

Here are a few things you can try in the meantime.

If you hear no click at all, check the tranny shifter position. Try pushing the lever up in the park position while trying to start the car. If it starts, then the shifter linkage is worn and not making good enough contact to the starting system.

Another possibilty if you hear no click at all, is the security igntion kill. With the car locked, try inserting the key into the driver's door and turning it clockwise and counterclockwise several times to see if you can reset the ecu.

Check the starter relay. Have someone try to start the car while you listen to the relay.

If you hear a click at the relay then it is good. If you don't hear anything then test the relay or replace the relay with one known to be good. If the engine is still not cranking with the good relay, then your problem is not a not a faulty relay.

If your cables are good and you're getting multiple clicks, likely the battery is discharged or bad. If it's a single click with a good battery, I would suspect the starter or starter ground. Good luck.

I need a new antenna motor for my aunts 93 300. I tried putting a new antenna in but it didn't feed so I unplugged it and now it sits all the way up and looks goofy. I saw a power kit on eBay for ~$20 but it looked like something you would have to splice in versus a swapable antenna assembly.

What do you all think? Here is a link to it.

eBay

This isn't the one I saw but is basically the same thing. This seller is out of the country it looks like.

You have to be careful on ebay. Some of the units advertised for a SC are cheap universal power antennas that do not match up. The wiring is completely different. Be sure you are getting the same unit that you are replacing or you will be disappointed. John Denninger

I am interested in buying the trim piece from the driver's door that surrounds the window on the inside of the door. Please let me know how we can do this. Thanks, John Denninger jrd@lconn.com

How much do you wanna pay for it? Shipping on something like that is probably around $15, it's not too big and not too heavy. If we agree on the price and get it paid for tomorrow I can most likely ship it out tomorrow or next day. Do you have paypal account? What's your zip code?

My zipcode is 77055 and I do have a paypal account. If the shipping is about $15, I would like to pay about $35 for the trim piece. Let me know and you have my email address if you wish to communicate off forum. Thanks, John Denninger

I am still interested in buying the piece of driver's door trim that surrounds the window. Please let me know if we have a deal. Thanks, John Denninger

I am interested in buying the trim piece from the driver's door that surrounds the window on the inside of the door. Please let me know how we can do this. Thanks, John Denninger jrd@lconn.com

How much do you wanna pay for it? Shipping on something like that is probably around $15, it's not too big and not too heavy. If we agree on the price and get it paid for tomorrow I can most likely ship it out tomorrow or next day. Do you have paypal account? What's your zip code?

My zipcode is 77055 and I do have a paypal account. If the shipping is about $15, I would like to pay about $35 for the trim piece. Let me know and you have my email address if you wish to communicate off forum. Thanks, John Denninger

I am interested in buying the trim piece from the driver's door that surrounds the window on the inside of the door. Please let me know how we can do this. Thanks, John Denninger jrd@lconn.com

Ok guys I no this has been asked before but before I spend big bucks I want to be sure. I am about to change my front upper & lower control arms.( 93 SC300) I no the part# for the upper arms are the same for the SC & 86-96 Supra (Dorman part#`s 520443 & 520444) from Advanced Auto Parts, but they don't list a part # on the lower arms for Lexus, but they do for the Supra.( Beck/Arnley part#`s 1014929 & 1014930) I need to no for sure if these arms will fit from the Supra on my SC.Has anyone installed them yet? I tried several other web sites to try and compare part#`s but they didn`t have the same brand for the Supra and SC. Advanced Auto wants $268ea for the lower & $207ea for the upper. while a few other sites wanted $304ea for the upper & $667ea for the lower (OEM). They also had different brands for the Supra & SC. If someone can help me with this I would really appreciate it....THANKS.

I just replaced the lower control arms with the Toyota parts which I bought from Carson Toyota in Carson California. Each lower arm was $218 and shipping was $40. I understand that they sell a boatload of them for Lexuses. Phone is 888.747.4777. Installation is basic, just mark the alignment settings on the cam adjustments,. or get the car aligned when you are done.