CantSeeMe

OK heres my current situation. Can someone please giv me a litle advice?

First off , I was driving my 93 sc300 from San Jose to Oakland and back to pick up my girlfriend . Wich is 45 miles ea way.
The first 30 miles or so ,was smooth and car was doing very well cruising at about 85 the whole way. Then i hit traffic and was going about 5-10 mph for about 15 min til traffic cleared . Then it was running very sluggish the rest of the way to Oaktown. I was there maybe 20 min. car starts ok, but is doing an odd surging and then drop in power, wich it has done before when the neg lead was loose.
About 1/2 way home it was getting worse, and the Overdrive off light was flickering (I think its done that before, but i thought i was seeing things, but it was going nuts with it. ) And it was really getting crazy surges of power then dips.
As soon as i get off the freeway. I hear a knock type sound , And there was a definate loss in power unless i almost floored it. But we did get home. I wanted to check it out, But I couldnt do anything on it because my girlfriend needed some attention ....
Anyhow i start the car this Am and it was idling VERY rough . So i turned it off. and checked my coolant , it was fine. No leaks, except my PS fluid cap has been seeping slightly. Oil was fine ATF was fine. I tightened the neg terminal on my battery. But that was it.
I start it up again and idle was a little high . but ok otherwise. it was doing the surge and dip in power . and definately was misfiring . and timing seemed off. I got 1 block from work. And suddenly it sounds like a fricken moped or tractor. And power is almost totally gone but it was still running. I coasted it trying to not give it any gas, because it felt like a belt broke , But it was still running . but if gas peddle pressed it was like a moped.
So i turned it off and noticed the temp was normal. No smoke, that i know of. But my tint is 2 1/2 % in the back , so i cant be totally sure but i dont think there was any.
I checked the coolant level after about 20 min and it was fine . looked nder ar and in the engine bay no obvious probs, or leaks and all levels seem to be at norm levels. And the coolant is not brown or nasty either. But i havnt checked the timing belt yet., And i even felt around the engine block for anything obvious. And all looked ok. I didnt look at the oil though to see if it was murky.
** One other note * I had paid a friend of mine to change my plugs and wires several weeks ago. Hes great on old Fords, but hes a retard (I say that with love) when it comes to this car, he did the 2 easy plugs, but then was going to come finish the rest , well he never did finish it . And the car has had times when it stumbles every since. Im not sure if its the plugs he did or the old ones? But i didnt specify plug type and he got crappy ones. And i already have new plugs and wires waiting to install but was going to do with the TB and water pump, wich i just bought Tues. as a matter of fact.
Anyhow what do you guys think.? Since its not overheating ,it never has actually since ive had it, and theres no smoking, it doesnt really seem like a HG , although thats probably it. And ive been excellent with doing the maintanance for the past 2 yrs, but i do admit the first 2 i did"t take care of it very well. And im overdue for the Tbelt . A broken Tbelt it would have shutdown i thought? Maybe something im not seeing? And can the spark plugs be so bad to do that? Or some type of electrical or sensor issue? And dont forget the OD off light flickering?

legendary

Did you get Lexus OEM wires?
Couple that with the cheap plugs - could be part of your problem.
I would not suggest driving in that condition unless you want further damage to the car.

Any more info?

CantSeeMe

I havnt driven it or tried to start it since . And i dont think it would be able to be driven actually Ive just been weighing my options as far as where to tow it , odds are no one will do anything til Mon. And i would like to try and swap out the plugs and see what happens before im at the mercy of a mechanic.
The first i spoke w/ wants a 165.00 diagnostic fee, So im already starting to stress over it.
As far as the plugs that are there now. It was only the first two that were changed , w/ cheap wires and plugs. And the others have probably 100 K miles on them.
What is your opinion on the OD off light blinking on the freeway? And could the torque converter do anything like this?

CantSeeMe

OK ***Heres an update on my SC300***
Finally i was able to go look at it on Sunday afternoon. (Ihadnt moved the car since Friday AM.)
But even though i had assumed the worst case . Like a Blown HG , or cracked head etc. It just didnt fit. So i really thought about all the possibilities and read just about every article remotely related in this forum. And in my manuals.
And coupled w/ the fact that my friend never finished the tuneup i paid him to do. Thats where i focused , and guess what? 1 of the 2 spark plugs he did was totally dislodged from its chamber and sitting free.
So i put in a new plug, and also changed my negative batterey terminal this AM. And it started right up.
Its idling a bit low, And a little bit rougher than i would like , but its back running , and i plan to get it checked out this week.
Oh BTW they are OEM wires , the plugs are Bosch P4s. But i will probably just have the plugs replaced when i get the TB done.

mkorsu

Go with the OEM platinum plugs. Also, be sure they are gapped correctly. Sounds like your pal messed up big time on the plugs and I'm sure that the other one he did was never gapped.

got_trd

Wrong plugs/gap can screw up the way your engine drives... NGK all the way

CantSeeMe

Its funny , My friend is always working on his cars. But come to think of it this may be why they never run right? And he always has to fix them?? I think this is my last project I will ask him for help with....... But anyhow.......The plugs were pregapped , at least thats what i was told?
But thanks for the recommendations , you guys. I thought at the time i was getting decent plugs, but now im reading nothing good about them? I think I'll be spending the extra $$$ and going with the NGK plugs.
And I can tell you i sure know now, how much it can F -up the way youre engine runs when your plugs arent right......I didnt know it was possible for someone to mess it up though either? It seemed straightforward to me?

got_trd

I think the gap for NA's is like .044

mkorsu

Yeah, most of the plugs come pre-gapped but I never trust that! A quick check with a gap tool eases the worries