Shiftone

Hello. I have a 92 SC300 automatic with a build date of 11/91. It was given to me without an ECU. I ran the vin by the dealer and they quoted 2 part #'s. One is the cali spec and the other federal. I wouod like to see if any other sc300 owners with the same build date and tranny can verify that you have the same federal/canadian part number for the ecu.
ECU# 89661-24312

ArkLaTexSC

Don't buy from dealer. Oh lord the expense. I can only dream (or rather nightmare, if that could be a verb)

Shiftone

I'm not. I'm getting an ebay one. I have called every junk yard and scanned the web. The dealer just ran the vin for the part number for me.

Dream36

I got mine from the classified section here. Build date not as important. Look under car at the middle pipe. If it clearly looks like a catalytic conveyer then you have a Cali car. If it looks weird but almost like a little muffler then it is not a Cali car.

You just don't know what u r getting on ebay. I made sure mine was repaired before I got it because my factory one had leaking resisters.

Hope I helped

Shiftone

Thanks Dream.

I was planning on taking it apart and upgrading the caps like this thread describes https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...capacitor.html

My issue was not being able to find a ECU matching the part number the dealer gave me. from what I read having the exact ECU for the car is Important.

Paid too much for an Ebay ecu lol.. But will be happy to replace the caps. hopefully its a best case scenario where the ECU is the right one and its in perfect working order so there is no damage to the ECU and all I have to change is the Capacitors.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

^^ Under the hood, if the car is all original, there should be stickers indicating the emission spec of the car. Also, you can tell if it's Cali spec or Federal by checking to see if the 2nd catalytic convertor has an O2 sensor on it. Federal 92-95 SC300's should only have two O2 sensors up front.

The ECU's are definitely different but the engine maps are basically the same between them. If you do need a Cali ECU it is much better to post in the classifieds for one here on the forums. Lexus wants over two thousand for one now. Also, in case it's needed, there has been more posted recently about ECU capacitor replacement.

Shiftone

Lets say the car is a cali spec car.. any chance I can modify the car to use the fed spec ecu?

xxtoobsxx

iTrader: (4)

You only need cali if your state is a california emissions standards state. Converting is pointless as it will never smog in a california enhanced emissions state.

xxtoobsxx

iTrader: (4)

I wanna say it's like 16 states now. I know New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Maryland, Florida have all adopted it. What year I'm not sure. If they are before 92 in your state then you have a cali car. If not your good to go. Unless you're in ca or nv you should be fine with federal though

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

OP, it's far easier to just find the correct Cali spec ECU and be done with it. Unless you'll be modifying the engine with a turbo to the tune of a few thousand dollars there is no advantage to messing with the wiring to such a degree. Cali ECU's are around and you do have the factory part number-- right? Just be glad you aren't looking for a Cali-spec 5-speed manual ECU. Much harder to find.

Shiftone

+1

Yeah. I'm basing the part number by the dealer running the vin for info. I'm still waiting to see if anyone with the same build date sc can cerify that the number is correct.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Carson Toyota lists that ECU for about $1,200 fyi on their trade motion internet sales system. List is higher in the $1,500 range.

I would honestly call them up by phone tomorrow (Carson Toyota), ask for the parts counter and speak to either Jose or Luis. Give them your VIN number and they'll tell you precisely whether your car is Federal or Cali spec. They are very thorough. The OBD1 ECU's never changed from MY1992-MY1995. MY96-MY97 were different and MY98-MY00 were different as well. And of course, 5-speed ECU's add another variation but that won't apply to you.