mwwfla

Hey im Chris, i bought a 93 sc400 about 2 years ago from a dealership in naples fla. I was hessitant to buy from a dealership,especially without a working car stereo, but my mom was helping me out..and I signed. I have since put around 20k miles on the car, it started breaking down aound 4k miles ago. My starter went bad, so I sent it to a friend of my dads, an EX toyota maint. supervisor. I picked the car up 2 weeks later and the timing on the car felt off and he insisted that i drive it home anyway, with red catyletic conv', that it just needed to burn some gasoline out of them. THe timing WAS off and the conv' now sound like i drag cans behind. I just drove the car to Naples from VA about a week ago and when i got back to Va the car started to seem a bit warm for its usual engine temp, but I drove anyway until one day it ALMOST overheated. Today I just Spent a couple hours putting in my new radiator, im a novice mechanic. I started to drive it home from my dads hobby shop and the car started to heat up again, i quickly pulled off the road and shut it off. Later i drove the car back to the "shop" and my dad noticed the car leaking a little coolant and said.." Oh boy, I think your water pump is shot and thats one simple thing that you cant fix your self cause of the timing and its gonna cost alot in labor!" Is this true? Can I not do it myself and the the help of a repair manual? What other maintanence and strange quirks can I expect from this car? I feel like I should restore it in some way because i love it so much, but I would probably never get anything out of it.


oh yeah I have since got the stereo on, with the excpetion of the SUB and 1 back speaker on the side of the AMP, and the CD changer seems jammed. Any suggestions? Maybe a short? ive looked alot 41 and found a leak in the back seat from a disconnected "Drain hose" in the trunk! Also is there anyway to rebuild your AC compressor yourself?

sc250tt

by neglecting those issues you had i think you destroyed your engine

nofish

iTrader: (1)

chris who was the dealership?

SC400TT

iTrader: (4)

Sounds like the car had a lot of wear and tear. It is a 92, and I do not recall you stating the total miles on the car, nor the overall condition of the car when you bought it...Although your troubles seem to point this out. The SC is a wonderful car and timeless, but an older one, or any year that has been neglected or needs lots of maintenance will cost you a significant amoiunt of money to bring it back to stock condition. In many cases, you will want either factory rebuilt or new parts, and neither is cheap. The car, especially an older model, may be getting cheap to get into, but more than likely will cost you lots to get to excellent running condition. I do not want to dishearten you, nor make you feel like the car is a lemon...Think about it, a 92 is now 15 years old. It is amazing the car still looks modern and due to its build quality, can still ride very nicely, even when it needs lots of maintenance. All I can say is repair it right, and get it to stock condition, and it will serve you well.

As far as some of the challenges you are facing right now, I woul not buy new cats...outrageously expensive, and not necessary. If your cats need replacing, get used or junk yard ones. Or high quality, free flowing replacement units.

Good luck...

Ryan

fwynn

iTrader: (1)

TO ME..
usually if its broken.. i upgrade it :] if possible that is..
its usually a cheaper than buying from the dealer and what not.. but if u REALLY want/need stock OEM parts. ask Aliga he has .. basically ALL of it? or shuold have most of what your lookin for


AC compressor.. just buy one from Aliga/ebay

CD changer.. im sure that normal.. since mine doesnt work anymore :[



i Too replaced my radiator..and i TOo had the same problem.. but i figured out that i didnt put enough coolant.. even though it "overfilled"
with new radiator try a .. full flush.

my noobish input :]

2JZ_SC

When you do ANY work on the cooling system, Make sure that there are no air pockets in the system. Fill the system and the over flow to spec, Start the car with the cap off. (the motor should be cold) Turn your heater on (this will flush-out any air in the heater core) and let it run until the thermostat opens (you will see the coolant level drop and or air bubbles). You will add more coolant during this operation as it is sucked into the system. Drive it around the block a few times and recheck your overflow tank. Air pockets in a motor can cause hotspots and poped headgaskets.