BenLEXus

Just recently purchased my dream car and now i'm selling it. I had to buy and experience this car BEFORE my child comes into the world. Its pearl green with tan interior. Seats in front are in need of replacement leather. Comes with new authentic sheepskin seat covers for both front seats. car has 198*** miles and i'm still driving it daily. Just had timing belt, water pump, tensioner, accessory belt, brake fluid flush, transmission filter replaced and flushed. I have records for all that $1300+ repairs. I had the local toyota dealership do the work. Also was told by previous owner the front kyb shocks were recently replaced and new strut mounts. Rears look old though. Front brake rotors are newer and pads are good. Rears are good but not newer like the fronts. Also has newer radiator and coolant reservoir. I also replaced the trunk struts. Has a k&n filter. HID 5000k low-beam lighting upgrade(best money spent). Decent kuhmo H rated tires, not stock size but i did this for better ride and fuel mileage. Car has seen as well as 23mpg and as low as 18mpg between fills. Car has traction control and the nakamitchi with sub and non-fuctional 12disc changer. Has an XM receiver with fm transmitter. Waiting on my rebuilt gauges from Lextech lighting. Went with super white 16 back lighting and green needles. Also opted to have the climate done in all green. LCD on climate is like everyone elses and only visable at the right angle. Car just got a new windshield due to my clumsy demeanor. The bad: Motor mounts could use replacing, vibrates slightly with OD off @ 30mph and gear selects from park are harder than i think they could be. Antenna is functional but does not collapse and the power to the motor for it has been disconnected. Paint could use a buffing due to water spots. The hood has a lot of chips and the clearcoat is probably on the way out, but you can't tell till you take a good long look. Clearcoat on lip of rear bumper is faded. 1-2 dings smaller than a pea. Drivers seat has the typical rip on the door side bolster. Real lame thing is ever since i put full synthetic in it the rear crank seal leaks. Leaks a half dollar sized spot with fresh oil and after 2000 miles on the oil it doesn't leak? I doubt its that serious but you wouldn't know if i didn't tell you so now you are aware. Passenger side tail light has moisture inside but functions 100%. Drivers side headlight could use polishing but is only slightly faded. Trick lcd rear view mirror has a slight bleed but only in the hot weather. If i discover anything else i'll post it up. I've got a couple months before my child is born, so i'm in no hurry. I love to drive this car and would be happy to deliver to a serious buyer with a deposit anywhere within 8 hours of Medford, Oregon(southern Oregon). Well, 8hrs in this car can get you good and far, so lets say 650 miles. She is made for touring, freeway or back roads its an absolute joy. Glad i had the pleasure to own such a brilliant machine, but its not at all practical for a baby taxi. I just bought a 1963 Nova Wagon project and it would be nice to sell my Lexus soon enough to fund my restoration on the family ride. Please feel free to PM me with any ?'s. I will not neglect to tell the next owner any and all quarks with the car as you can see from the description. The guy i bought it from neglected to tell me about the leaking water pump and worn timing belt and i think that sucks, so i won't let that happen to you. I can take lots more pics. $4500 OBO. Got some some cash, throw a # out there, i can only say yes or no. email me @ BenLEXus@live.com

Did you try to just disconnect battery for a while and let everything sit. My wheel would not go back in after i wrestled my gauges out. After i changed the battery it worked!

Grand touring car indeed, one of the best! Thats what im gonna do. Sell the 1992(breaks my heart after only 2 months of ownership) and get an old $1000 accord until i can afford a 1998(vvti) or better sc400, or any sc300 for a twin turbo swap. Rather have the near 300hp v8 but i'll wait it out and see what comes my way. On a lighter note, i got my true HID kit with ballasts and all. Got the 5000k bulbs with the kit. Really is plug and play. Cost me $55 with shipping on ebay and i parked my sc400 next to my fiends with silverstars (which cost more) and the hids win hands down. I love parking head-in at business' with big windows out front so i can see how sweet it looks. I can drive faster at night too because i have more distance. Only did the low-beams but low and high are on when you flip the highs, so i can see for miles. HIGHLY recommended for looks and safety. Anyone find OEM front motor mounts anywhere at a reasonable price? I've ordered from Partsgeek.com, partswarehouse.com, and they took my money and then refunded a few days later stated the products are out of stock. WTF? Anybody order and actually get them? Don't want to splurge for polyurethane since i'm gonna sell the car in the next few months. Anybody want a recently serviced 1992 w/190k? As far as cost of exhaust systems, headers are gonna run $700ish from s&s headers, and axle-back kits are in the $400-700 range but i would imagine you could get something custom on the cat-back section for around the same price and get some better performance. Keeping stock system and changing headers would probably see better gains than just doing cat-back considering the stock manifolds are horrible for even flow and the stock cat-back section is good to 400+hp(same as sc300 TT). If you just want noise then new mufflers is probably all you need, maybe a custom test pipe in place of center cat(cutting and welding required). And be careful with higher mileage engines and full synthetic. I didn't have a slightly leaking rear crank seal before i did a full synthetic oil change. Fresh oil dripped a lot, now 2 months old and drips a little(yes i have topped off). Its a bummer, may be unrelated to synthetic, but just a heads up.

New mufflers would be the cheapest way to go. A lot of people cut out the center cat and use a bigger center pipe as well. I like this setup with full length headers, new cats, x-pipe, and new mufflers. True dual exhaust. I personally think the aftermarket projectors look horrible on the car. Try to find some pics on the car before you buy, in the daytime they look bad but just my opinion. I bought some 5000k cheapy ebay lights and they look and work good for the $8 they cost. I'm waiting on a HID kit and i'll keep you posted as to whether it was worth it or not. Aftermarket only $55 another ebay special.

I think i may have come off so negative because i was dissapointed when i started doing the math on modifying my on sc400. I did not mean to start throwing negatives out there, and i apologize for coming off like that. Plenty of people make there sc400's REAL fast and have the time and resources to do so. Mod on and please share any +'s and -'s you have experienced in the meantime. One thing you find is that if cash is the issue you can always figure a cheaper way to get your project going if you search around enough and spend some time on r&d. I have been trying to find some after market motor mounts for some time now that don't cost $300+(Megans) so just today i found a post froma guy with an sc300 who made his motor mounts from raw polyurethane rods purchased from home depot for around $20. Sounds like my next budget mod B)

I really don't want to pay $300 for megan mounts. Anybody know a GOOD place to get oem front motor mounts? I tried Autopartswarehouse.com and was charged and then refunded a few days later with no notice or explanation. I then contacted Partsgeek.com and was called by a real person who assured me at least 2 were in stock. I made my order and within 15 minutes received an email explaining the part is not in stock and i would be refunded. WTF! I don't want to pay dealership $100+ each but is that my only other choice? Any comments or local dealerships that are not scam artists would be greatly appreciated.

My car was acting up due to overfill. On the other hand my car was EXTREMELY overfilled all the way up filler tube. I've been told it won't hurt it but if you go to a quick lube they will stick a tube in your filler and suck some out and typically won't charge. At least i never get charged. Maybe that helps?

. Someone "car knowledgable" would not keep grinding a vehicle down the road with smoke coming from under the hood. Thats cold dude. We've all been there when we are too embarrassed to stop and think we just might make it. Poor decision, but i think he know that already. It's just cold.

well i can try to give some insight. When i had my water pump/timing done i had to take it back several times for them to "burp" the system. You may have air in the lines thats not allowing coolant to flow through heater core as my car had similar symptoms. Another downside to my car overheating before i had the pump done was that the main seal(rear crank seal) developed a leak from expanding and contracting along with high heat. Do you have a fluid leak? It will start small and depending how you drive it can get worse over a short period of time. I hope thats not it, because its a lot of time to replace a $20 seal. http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/transmission/removal.html follow the link for ls400(very similar) main seal replacement.

Thats fine, don't listen to me. Throw a couple turbos on that bad boy and blow the tranny out. WTF, its only money right. I wasn't saying don't mod your SC, i was just warning a new owner of what he's getting into. Go fast is not cheap with these cars. If you want cheap go honda like spddemon3652 said. I've got an old beat !Removed! civic that looks like crap, sounds like crap, rides like crap and pulls 13 second 1/4 runs all day long and the whole project cost under $3000 with me doing all the swap work and fabrication. Also have a 900hp (had 1200hp on dyno, then changed cams and lowered supercharger boost to 7lbs)71' chevelle thats got over $25k in the engine that will light em' up going 100 on the freeway at half throttle(never been able to go full, need 4-link). The SC auto transmission leeches about 30% or more of your power. So theoretically the best mod to start with would be 6-speed supra manual and supra lsd differential with 4.27 gears, as you would see increases in Whp right away, and have better control over powerband. Do what you want, but with 200k miles if you start modding somethings gonna break and it ain't cool when its the only reasonable vehicle you have to drive. Maybe i'll sell the Chevelle this year and get going on the SC <_< Good luck.

I very interested in hooking up an ipod to my 1992 SC300. What was involved in your installation? Thanks! BUMP. I use xm with built in fm modulator and quality is lack-luster. Would like to know if anyone has figured out the wiring for direct line in or what options there may be. Would also like to know if anyone has gotten any newer equipment cd changers to plug and play, or splice and at least work with head unit controls or even a remote just for the changer. Thanks for any info. P.S. i would just change out the head unit but thats opening up a whole new can of worms and i don't feel confident in any local stereo shops doing so as the high-end stereo shops just don't exsist in my sleepy town.

Are you sure its the heater control valve? Same thing my car was doing when the water pump i had installed a few days earlier failed. Its usually the seal between the engine and the output for the pump fails, requiring a new pump and timing belt while your in there. Cost me almost $900 at local toyota dealership(idiots Lithia toyota, medford oregon). I know for sure thats what it is especially if its coming from the rear engine area. Don't drive it! I did because toyota wouldn't tow it and now i have to change the main seal because it leaks due to heat expansion. Good luck, i recommend bitting the weenie and doing it yourself as the shops overcharge and put sub-par parts on the cars at incredible mark-ups.

Like i said in my post. "UNICHIP", google it dawg. Seams to work wonders for 5.7l big boy toyota blocks, like 40hp+ wonders!

Are you sure its not the valve train tick? I also thought i had a problem when i first bought my car but have laid it to rest as a few of these sc's i've seen have noisy valves. I'm not sure how you could check for an exhaust leak. I guess start the car and stick your head in the engine compartment and rev the dogs**t out of it a couple times. If it gets louder with more throttle its the exhaust, if it gets drowned out by the engine itself its probably the valves. Hope this helps. Dang these forums are dead.

I would like to thank the both of you for your advice. I wished i had seen this post when i had the transmission in my 92' 400 w/190k flushed at my local toyota dealership. If it wasn't bad enough that they overfilled it by over a quart(coming out filler when warmed up)they also did a S**t job by what i could tell when i dropped the pan and cleaned it and replaced the filter. My car had only been driven 1k miles since flush and my fluid was not reddish at all. Very gritty and my magnets were very gritty as well. I went with the flush because i was told the filter was not replaceable(per lithia toyota in Medford, OR) and i was getting a little slip and a vibration at around 30mph in town. Also knocked you a bit when selecting gears from park. They said "oh yeah, we will flush it and you'll be back in business." Yea F'ing right! The overfill was making driving nearly disgusting. I was slipping and hard shifting and taking a long time to go between gears. Had to go back 3 more times and shove the dipstick in the service managers face to get him to admit they hadn't checked it like i was told twice and they put it on the rack and still left too much fluid in. Long story short, i agree with the dropping of the pan and cleaning it and changing the filter and using new fluid and repeating the drain every month or so until the fluid is newer than it was. I used dexron/mercon III and i think it works better than toyota type IV(toyota dealership refilled with this) but like i said i also changed the filter so that might be my bias. Also a side note to those who aren't mechanics are even mechanically inclined, my hard shifting when in park and selecting drive or reverse was not corrected by this. Albeit, my shifts are smoother and driving is more enjoyable. I later pulled my transmission mount(lexus calls this rear motor mount?) and checked it and it was still intact. My vibration must be due to motor mounts which i will pull this weekend and check before i order as they will cost nearly $200 to replace myself. Hope this helps someone and please read this post if you have a shudder or vibration, could save lots of time/money. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=30681

Wow. These forums are like a barren wasteland. I prefer how the forum is setup, but dang no one is ever on here. Anyways, just wondering how your SC is coming about. The more you drive it the more you will find yourself wanting to fix little things. The Lexus demands the passionate persuit of perfection. The sc400 is capable of BIG HP #'s, but you also have to have deep pockets and a lot of time. If this is your daily driver believe me, you don't want to start getting into headers($700+ plus 4+ hours install time), cams(from $750-1500 + 4+hrs install time), cat back(from $800-1500 depending which setup you choose) turbos(minimun $2000 + all fab and install and tune time) or supercharger($3000+ fab work, install, and tune). If you wanna go fast look into a sc300 and sell the sc400. Sc300 is a better platform for supra TT 2jz w/6speed as it shares the same wiring harness. The sc400 would be about 10hrs more time just for wiring, and thats if you've got a magician doing it. I was like you, i bought my SC and thought, wow, now i finally have a car that is fast and i can make it ridiculous fast with just minor mods. This is not the case. About $3000 into it and you can probably expect an extra 50 ponies, and thats if everything else is tip-top. Hope i'm not bursting your bubble, but the 400 is for cruising, and if your well-off and have nothing else to do, by all means. But if your well off, you probably wouldn't have purchased a 17yr old SC, lol Just trying to save the headache and the heartache of when it breaks(when not if with mods). Take it easy, seriously.

You can never be too sure. Have you had any work done by him yet? I had the local toyota dealership work on mine and supposedly had the Lexus tech work on it and its got carquest parts and had to go back 5 times and i'm still fixing stuff. Motor mounts, transmission mounts are easy. Havn't replaced shocks but look straightforward. Have you thought about getting a case of beer and calling your friends to help you? note: fix car and then drink beer, i have an exhaust on my pickup that screams don't drink and weld. Also have the kyb's on mine and while i'm not sure what it rides like stright from factory, but i like my kyb's for the price. doing 20mph in town or cruising 120 on freeway car is stable. I'm gonna get coilovers one of these days(or years).

I keep coming across your posts hb4yfe711. You don't want a swap. Just baby what you got and save up for a 4.7l block to bolt to your 4.0l heads and rebuild the 4.0l heads while your at it, maybe some cams. Its all money with these bad boys, cheaper to just maintain a keep an eye out for a good deal on 98+ sc400 with vvti and 5 speed auto. Then go nuts. Or just sell 400 and get 300 and do TT motor for around $5k with ecu/6 speed all wiring an such. Good luck, do tune-ups and you should recover about 10-40hp(yes 40) just due to neglect. I've seen other forums that backup #'s on dyno. Neglected electrical, dirty injectors, old fluids can leech 20% power out of the engine. You'll be amazed.

I also just bought a 1992 sc400, and if you yours is anything like mine here are my suggestions: Do motor mounts and torque converter first since doing mods= aggressive driving. Dragon TC is expensive, go with Lextreme if possible. Send guage cluster off to Lextech to get rebuilt. You can go OEM colors or complete custom needles and backlight. My car is green, so im doing green needles, white background, and nice green climate control unit. Shipped today can't wait to get back. Also, get some nice leather covers from leatherseats.com or a local upholstery shop, you are in most constant contact with seats so new leather will really make you love it. Trunk struts as stated make a HUGE difference in just the normal use of the car and its easy and cheap. Stock headlights are good, but HID conversion kits are cheap and work amazing compared to stock bulbs. Not just new bulbs, whole ballast and wiring kit. Taking it to Portland in a few weeks for a UNICHIP. Google it and read planetsoarer.com reviews on the products, 10% power and much better drivability. Drain and refill all fluids!!!! This is a must BEFORE you mess with anything else. Also, don't know if this helps anybody but i hear a lot of forum users complain about steering tracking off and jolting you around sometimes, seams random and bad on poor roads. I had this problem with stock height tires, and switched to used 205/60r16s and 100% better. No tracking, NONE! Polish lights with wet/dry and polish to get rid of pits and yellowing/oxidization. Probably wont be perfect, but after markets look like poo and don't last and OEM are spendy. It will hold you over. Tune-up : plugs, wires, caps, rotors, coils, water pump, bearings, tensioners, belts(accessory and timing) and a good tune and timing. These are essential. Basically our cars are soooo old that just doing all the maintenance items that you don't have records of being done recently need to be addressed. This will surprise you throughout powerband and just daily driving. Gives you a better starting point and base for comparison of mods and whether they are worth it or not. When i first got it was shopping for performance parts, now i'm just trying to make it factory fresh so i have a NICE car to build off of and not a 17 year old beater, which is how i bought it for $2000. That $2000 has risen to over $4600 with just maintenance and i'm not even half done. Dang these cars are spendy, but amazing. If i got too off topic i'm sorry, work is sloooowwww.

Just took the mount off my 1992 yesterday due to hard parked gear selects and little bumb when switching to overdrive, and some vibration in overdrive at low speeds. It wasn't broken put stock has A LOT of play, i can move it just by twisting, but was still all together. Got the idea from Club Lexus forums to reinforce with high PSI epoxy, two part mix together nasty stuff. I will post pics of the whole procedure if desired. It was super easy even for a garage dummy like me. Didn't fix my prob, must be motor mounts, eh. Did notice a nice difference in shifting and direct throttle from epoxy. I'll take it back off to do the motor mounts and see if it holds up and possibly put another layer of epoxy in the gaps. About service times, it took me on ramps lying on my back lifting up trans pan with scissor jack from trunk and not able find my tools after i lay them down 30 minutes of actual labor. And thats with me being really unorganized and not a good mechanic period AND cleaning to dog s**t out of everything. Hope that helps.

Dang people. Read the first post and keep all this other crap off!!!!! Damn newbs, lol ;) 1992 sc400 purchased 02/15/2009 for $2300 found it on CL (seller sent me $300 check one month later after bitching about all the repairs i had to do which initially totaled $1300 for water pump, timing belt, plugs wires etc..., so total purchase price $2000 not too shabby.) Car had 188500 when purchased and by 188700 i had blown the water pump. Since i purchased the car i spent $1250 on water pump, timing belt, plugs, rotors, caps, transmission flush, full syn. oil change. I had the work done at Lithia Toyota in Medford, Oregon. Worst repair experience i have ever had. Had to go back 3 days later when the aftermarket piece o' crap water pump failed and made a mess in my garage. After that i had to take it back because they did not burp the cooling system properly and i was not getting heat and my light was coming on occasionally. Also asked that they check the ATF level due to slippage and poor shifting. They burped the system and said all fluid levels were correct. I went back a few days later and asked why an oil leak had started to develop and to ask that they check the ATF again to make sure it was topped off. I was told the oil leak was residual from the hydrolic cooling fan assembly from when they did the 2nd pump and said ATF was good. So i finally took it upon myself to crawl under the car and see whats going on. Come to find out they overfilled my transmission with 1 1/2 quarts too much fluid(coming out check tube basically) and i stuck the dipstick in the service managers face when i went back down and also bitched about my main seal leaking as i discovered that to be the actual leak(never leaked anything before the water pump ordeal). I tried complaining but was told they are not a lexus dealer, i then pointed the carquest accessory belt they charged me $75 for and told them they weren't much of a dealer at all! Long story short, if you live in the Rogue Valley in Oregon save yourself the time i have wasted and go to Kendall in Eugene or even better, do it yourself! Tried to clean up the steering wheel with a crappy "one size fits all" cover and broke my windshield, that was fun. $300 Novus. I have since detailed the interior meticulously and everything cleaned well except leather which is on the list for replacement. K&N air filter, no bfi yet, but i leave my flap open and get much better response(growls). Changed out worn tires and made 100% improvment on handling. Previous owner recently did passenger side window regulator, kyb's all around, coolant resevoir and new radiator(shibby!). I took it upon myself to change the quote"non-serviceable" atf filter and replaced the fluids with dexron/mercon III as recommended by Shucks and i havn't had any problems with the tranny since. Although i have to do the transmission mounts and motor mounts while i am at it with the main seal. Changed the trunk struts, trunk still doesnt open on its own when lever is pulled, but my risk of concussion is greatly reduced and now i use the trunk all the time! Optima redtop 35(?) series sitting on a few layers of cardboard, I also had to bend the 90degree battery terminals straight but it stretched just right! I also plan on getting the TC rebuilt with higher stall when i do the main seal. I'm going to get Lextech to do the guages: green needles to match the car and super 16 white background. Climate control blackout does not bother me unless i am wearing polorized sunglasses. Getting an S&S header sometime 2010 and probably full custom dual w/xpipe UNICHIP scheduled a few months away. $600 installed and road and dyno tuned and if you read posts on planetsoarer forums i can expect 10% increase in power regardless of mods. For extra $250 you bring your own windows mobile PDA and they load software that lets you monitor a/f ratios, 0-60, 0-100 and a bunch of other cool stuff. Sounds worth it and i'm very excited, especially excited for economy mode on unichip for highway cruising, can you say 30mpg v8 sports car? I am also considering a custom two-tone that plays along with body lines, but the more i look at the pearl green, the more i love it. Think thats pretty much it. Window and tail light tint is in the plans and i'm also really wanting to take off all chrome when i get a repaint(even if stock color) and get black chrome for badge, window trim, stock 10 spokes. I think with the black chrome all around, tinted tail lights and windows and the almost black green color this thing will look mean. BTW: I am 25/m and my liability insurance is $35/mo from Am Fam but they wont let me full coverage a 17yr old car! Think i'll switch.

Hey, i don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but i recently had all my major tune-up stuff done at a local toyota dealership. Had to go back 5 times and its still not right, service manager was comforting when i was complaining and stated they are not a Lexus dealership! wow. Long story short, had them fush my tranny and it was the biggest mistake i made. They put toyota type 4 fluid in and claimed the filter was not serviceable as its just a screen. So since the car was shifting like crap and was slipping i purchased a fram filter for the transmission and replaced the fluid with dexron/mercon type3, the recommended replacement fluid for type II stock systems. Also dumped a couple ounces of lucas transmission fluid treatment. Problems gone! Hope this helps one person not waste $ on flushes/as i can't imagine a "backflush" can ever be good. Also, like it has been stated on this thread, check motor/trans mounts as now they are responsible for any lack of smooth operation. Don't get rapped at the dealers like me!