mtnrat

Can non-premium fuel mess with your idle and effect detonation? also what else does premium fuel do for your car that the low grade fuels cant?

In the SC400 you need to use premium to prevent detonation. Premium fuel does little else. It is designed to be able to be compressed more than regular fuel without exploding, (detonating).

You will need these parts. quantum-auto has a kit for the swap. I got my clutch pedal/master cylinder/brake pedal from drift motion. Also got the trim bezel from drift motion. Easy as they gather all the bits needed. The throwout bearing from summit racing. Key pieces are the tranny from MKIV Supra or an SC300 and the driveshaft from a SC300. It is pretty straight forward to do the swap and has been done by quite a few. Cost really depends on how much you pay for the tranny and driveshaft. I think i did mine for about $2200.

I have no affiliation with any of the vendors, just a satisfied customer.

Parts list from another forum:

Main Parts

1uzfe W58 Swap Kit (Quantum-Auto.com) includes the following

-Adapter Plate

-Flywheel (Steel or Aluminum depending how deep your pockets are)

-Pressure Plate

-Full Face DF Clutch

-Clutch Lines

-Howe Bearing Spacer

-Alignment Tool

-Pilot Bearing

-Bolt Kit

-OEM Flywheel bolts

Parts you need to source

W58 Transmission from a MK4 Supra OR SC300 - Any year - DO NOT USE AN MK3 Supra W58 unless you know what you are getting yourself into!

Howe 82870 Throwout Bearing

SC300 Clutch Pedal

SC300 Master Cylinder

SC300 Manual Driveshaft

Shifter Bezel Trim Piece

Shift Knob

151mph gps verified in my stock 1992 SC400. Thats about all she had.

Go here for reviews.

http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/sc400/1992/co...ndex...1.Lexus*

I have been trying to determine where my SC400 was made. I had read on the forum that the SC400s made in Japan have a governor to limit their speed to 119 mph and that those made in the USA do not have that governor. So other than running my SC400 over the 119 limit, is there a way to determine where the auto was manufactured? Does the VIN provide for that info?

Thanks for your help.

I can attest the North American SC400 is not speed limited. I have had my 1992 SC400 topped out at 151mph GPS confirmed. :D

It has 139 k on the odo but that's the typical mileage that I see vw's trannys die with.

I never did a complete flush but I do 2 drains and fills every oil change (3k miles) to try to make the tranny last longer.

Some people told me that a tranny cooler might help.

I wonder if anyone of you are using that and if it helps.

One guy at work also told me to buy snake oil at autozone for the transmission and the engine.

I wonder if these really make your car last longer.

They said it will double the life of the tranny and engine but I mean if it's really true everybody would be using them and never haver to rebuild.

And I don't think any trans will last for 300k exept maybe in big pickup trucks liek Ford F 150 and Chevy's.

In the real world most trannys go till 150 k miles both domestic and foriegn cars.

I speak of experience because I know a lot of people with foreign cars

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Don't over analyze. I will say it again, you have one of the most reliable well built cars ever made. If everything is working and you are doing regular maintenance and don't drive the !Removed! out of it it will double that milage easy. Do not listen to anyone no matter what type of mechanic, except maybe a toyota master mechanic. Comparing the SC400 to VW is like comparing a 80 series landcruiser to a jeep grand cherokee. Totally different animals on the build quality spectrum. Snake oil is snake oil, just change when you are supposed to. Oh and there are many SC400s with well over 150k on their original trannys. Some milage from a thread on another forum:

-Finally in the 200,000+ Mile Club. Anyone else?

-I'm at 270k at the moment...

-249,8xx miles here

-220,3xx right now

-218k still STRONG.

-201k now, lol do ppl get all crazy when you guys tell them the mileage on your SC? lol

-I'm at 208K now with no worries.

-I'm at 293,XXX. oh yeah.

-and i'm around 250's

-256k here haha and still going.

-290,828 here and no problems

-im almost there.. im at 195k now

-212K now.... with zero issues. maintenance is key....

-I need about 6K more to hit the 200K mark. I just picked up a Tacoma and havent drove the SC lately. We did major service to it not too long ago and still runs like a top..

Just a few testimonials for ya.

Ok, first off you have one of the most reliable cars ever made. Makes those VWs look british in comparison. All you need to do is make sure all the fluids are new. DO NOT flush the tranny or you will be asking for trouble. Just replace the filter and top up with enough new fluid. DO NOT flush no matter what anyone tells you. It will loosen stuff and may pooch your tranny.

Now my question is why are you worried about the transmission? Is it not working right? If it is working properly, leave it alone. These cars can easily go 300,000+ miles with proper maintenance.

Again if it is running well. leave well enough alone. and just do routine maintenance.

Oh and how many miles does yours have?

My 2 cents

Yeah was looking at that too, the trd duracon one?... It seems like its so limited when it comes to shift knobs besides the universal ones. Hows the feel and weight on that one? looks pretty plane on the picture... hmmm... as fpor the the trd is my top option... anyone else? keep it coming! thanks for the thoughts...l B)

It is solid and the shape feels pretty good, but I have not driven it yet as I am doing a W58 swap into a SC400 and am waiting on a couple more parts before I dig in.

Currently looking for a nice manual shift knob that will blend in nicely on my black exterior and tan interior sc300? Any thoughts?

And also i hope you all can share some pics or let us know what aftermarket shift knobs you guys are using.. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you

I bought a TRD 5spd shift knob off ebay. It has the 5spd shift pattern embossed on the top of the knob. Search "Genuine TRD universal Toyota leather 5 spd shift knob" I got it for my 5spd swap into my SC400.

I may get great milage on the hwy at "reasonable" speeds, but that all goes out the window driving how I normally drive and around town.

I will confirm that milage. yesterday I got 28mpg going between 60-70, and 70 on cruise for 1/2 the 210 mile trip. If I really try at 60 mph I can get 30. I don't know if there are a few that just do better or not.

Why do I keep hearing the motor pulls 300HP? It's 260, not 300... Right, of course?

"This car gets around 24-26 mpg"

From a V8? That's not what I heard. I heard is was more in the 18-20 range?

Also... how fast are these cars really? When you're driving them?

I have a 1992 and it is not fast off the line, but pulls strong from 40mph to 100mph and slowly pulls less so up to a GPS verified 151mph. Unless you make some modifications, I would call it smooth luxury performance. As for fuel consumption I can get as high as 30 mpg(US) at average 60 mph for 350 miles over hilly roads. I have also seen the mid teens when driving hard. Mine is rated at 250hp.

WTF? You have to be kidding me... What are the factory fuel ratings for this car?

It is way over factory ratings, but I can get that by driving very conservatively, easy on and off the gas and doing things needed to have the car use little gas. It is a bit of a feel thing. It freaked me out when I first got the car driving from Vernon BC to Fernie BC over the Rogers Pass. Not exactly the best road for fuel economy, but that is what I got and I have repeated that many times. I just did the BFI-3, and will see if there as an improvement if any. BTW my car now has 65000km and I bought it with 49000km last summer.

Why do I keep hearing the motor pulls 300HP? It's 260, not 300... Right, of course?

"This car gets around 24-26 mpg"

From a V8? That's not what I heard. I heard is was more in the 18-20 range?

Also... how fast are these cars really? When you're driving them?

I have a 1992 and it is not fast off the line, but pulls strong from 40mph to 100mph and slowly pulls less so up to a GPS verified 151mph. Unless you make some modifications, I would call it smooth luxury performance. As for fuel consumption I can get as high as 30 mpg(US) at average 60 mph for 350 miles over hilly roads. I have also seen the mid teens when driving hard. Mine is rated at 250hp.

I checked the date and they were made the 18th week of 2007. So ok there. As for noise they are much quieter than the all seasons that they replaced. Taking them on a bit of a road trip tomorrow and will get a feel for them then.

Just had a set of Goodyear F1 GS-D3 put on the SC400 :).

Vancouver eh. I just bought a SC400 out of Vernon last Monday with only 49400 km. Good luck with your search. Seems the SC300 is a little harder to find.

Yep, and that is in kilometers, which works out to about 30,000 miles :)

Not new to Lexus as I have this:

Supercharged, 6" sleeoffroad lift, armoured, 4.88 gears, factory lockers etc.

However just bought this as a new DD. 1992 SC400

bought it at 49,400 original km(30,000 miles)

Absolutely mint

I drove a SC400 years ago and forgot how good a car these actually are. I am having more fun with each mile :)

Looks like a good forum. If it is half as good as ih8mud I am sure it is a treasure trove of info.