DShiekhi

One Sexy SC: This '93 Lexus SC400 Looks as Good as it Sounds



If there's one thing I've learned about Lexus SC builds, it's that putting Toyota Supra Turbo engines in them is a popular thing to do. Forum member tenac2215 has gone a different - yet similar - route with his 1993 SC400.

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CSTU93

What a fine example of the SC400! Such a beautiful car and the sound, AMAZING!

Shayy

iTrader: (1)

I'm glad the BC's went to a good owner! Love your car.

tenac2215

Holy crap that's awesome dude thank you

tenac2215

Thank you!

tenac2215

Haha thank you! I'm really liking yours too!

tenac2215

I am currently trying to find a supra tt auto LSD. Having trouble locating one though

tenac2215

got a hold of a auto supra twin turbo differential unit in march. i started the swap a few days ago. also installing new battle version solid differential bushings along with the swap. currently waiting for some replacement bolts from my local toyota dealer. more details once Im done!

Maximo018

The fact that you got it off of an old lady is the best. They're are the best to buy cars from. Always on top of maintenance and take care aesthetics with the car. Plus they aren't beating through all the gears. They're just going to the doctors office, church, supermarket and visiting the grandkids every now and then.

tenac2215

Exactly haha

tenac2215

So I got a hold of this MK4 Supra twin turbo automatic differential in March.


while the differential was out, i figured i should replace the differential bushings with the battle version solid bushings.



I finally got around to starting the job in mid-May. Getting the differential off of the car was fairly easy. the hardest part was breaking loose the 10mm allen key bolts that hold the axle shafts to the axle stubs. they were very tight and it was a pain to rotate the wheels after every bolt. The rear differential bushings require a 12mm allen key. Theres also a rod on the differential propellor shaft, so you have to remove the exhaust support bracket to create enough room to get the carrier off.

once i got the differential off the car, i started attacking the ear mount bushings. these were a bit of work, but relatively easy to get out using a punch and chisel set. the ear mount bushings have a metal sleeve that allows you to get a chisel under to bang it out.
The big round diff bushings that sit on the subframe were a whole different story. these were so hard to get out. these also have a metal sleeve that you have to bang the crap out of to get them out. the single bolt hole bushing came out with a load of banging with a hand sledge hammer. the two bolt hole bushing took much longer. after little progress with banging, i decided to cut out the rubber center of the bushing to give me some better leverage on the ring. i also cut the ring with a saw a little bit so i could bend up the sleeve with a punch. after a few hours of working on it, i finally got the bushing out.

the old rear bushings finally out

Next up was disassembling the differential. The axle stubs were a challenge to get out. what i did was basically use the mini sledge and a prybar to bang the stubs out. after that you remove the retainers which are held in by 8 bolts on each side. once the bolts are out you just need to tap the retainers out, pretty easy. once the retainers are out you can pull the old open diff unit out of the housing.
next step was removing the ring gear. there are 10 stretch bolts that hold the ring gear in, and you need to get new ones. the bolts were very tight and i had to take the differential to the jiffy lube I work at to get them out using an impact wrench. since i had no use for old open diff, i just slammed it against the ground while pushing down on the gear to slide it off.

Finally it was time to start reassembling. Putting the ring gear on the LSD is where it got interesting. i put the LSD in the freezer for a while and heated up the ring gear in my oven for about 10 mins. this allowed me to get the ring gear on pretty easily. once the ring gear was in place, I put the new stretch bolts in and secured them with thread locker.

Supra LSD with ring gear on and new bearings

Next was pretty much reassembling the whole differential. put the LSD in the housing, put the retainers back in after lubing the new O-rings and oil seals. then put the axle stubs back in after replacing the snap ring. the stubs need a bit of assistance with a hammer to get back in. then put the cover back on after applying new gear oil rtv.


Differential ready to go back in

next was reinstalling the diff and installing the new bushings. to start, i put the diff on a transmission jack, and got it hooked up to the driveshaft. next you put the ear mount bushings in the diff housing (they slide in easily), lift the jack up, and get the bushing bolts started. dont tighten the bolts down all the way. the rear differential bushings require some hammering to get back in. to make sure they would align witht the bolt holes on the diff, i drew a straight line down on each bushing. i also put 10mm allen keys through the bolt holes to make sure the bushings stayed straight as i hammered them in, long enough until i could start threading the alllen key bolts through the bushing and diff cover.
then i attached the axles to the axle stubs and it was ready to go!


All done!

so in conclusion, its a pretty tough job. however, its totally worth it. the sc400 handles better around corners, and now can do real burnouts and powerslides when you want it to! with the new battle version solid bushings there is no more "diff clunk", and it feels more responsive.


with the exhaust, coilovers, and the new LSD, the sc400 is finally more of a sports car than a luxury cruiser