how many miles before my sc starts breaking down
02-27-11, 03:31 PM
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how many miles before my sc starts breaking down
90000 and counting...still runs like new.. But when will it stop running so smooth. Who has the most miles on there sc here!
02-27-11, 06:17 PM
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Here's a post from a guy who had 288k a while back
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...-sc-430-a.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc-...-sc-430-a.html
02-27-11, 06:34 PM
#6
Mine @ 187K on the engine .... though it did give up...I replaced the engine with a built long block. The original engine, I took it apart to see/to look for wear and tear. This what I observed:
The heads had minor some bad valves, 7 out of 32, very minimal carbon deposit build up, no leakage of any kind on the seals, my mechanic was very impressed with the quality of these heads. Now, the bottom ends, there were heavy carbon deposit on the pistons, also some on the cylinder walls, that was some sign of oil passing through the rings, I was informed that this engine would last no more than 10K miles based on the condition shown. This lexus was dealer service with 14 pages of record. Since I own her a little more than 2 years ago, I also keep up with all the required services. This sc430 did not use synthetic oil until my ownership...
What else went wrong with this sc430 at this age? The headlight D2S bulbs, H3 fog lights finally gave up along with some other bulbs. I dropped the front bumper and replaced them all. Factory suspension 2 out of 4 were leaking. The entire unit was replaced with Tein CS coilovers. Front bushings shown sign of wear and tear...replaced with factory oem. The rear bushings/rear spindle arms $$ were replaced along with rear wheel bearings. It was a PITA replacing them though I had all the right tools. Driver side CAT tricked the O2 sensor. This was easy fix
. All of the control arms are still in very good shape. The VSC speed sensor on the passgenside was replaced. Other 3 are still ok. My sc430 was in the NE with all its time driving through winter months etc...no sign of rust at all under the car. Over all, our sc430 was well built from the factory. Other issues such as CD, speakers, etc...are known problems that is why I have not mentioned them in here. Since I have everything changed/replaced, I do not see myself buying another sc430 any time soon. Take care Ned
The heads had minor some bad valves, 7 out of 32, very minimal carbon deposit build up, no leakage of any kind on the seals, my mechanic was very impressed with the quality of these heads. Now, the bottom ends, there were heavy carbon deposit on the pistons, also some on the cylinder walls, that was some sign of oil passing through the rings, I was informed that this engine would last no more than 10K miles based on the condition shown. This lexus was dealer service with 14 pages of record. Since I own her a little more than 2 years ago, I also keep up with all the required services. This sc430 did not use synthetic oil until my ownership...
What else went wrong with this sc430 at this age? The headlight D2S bulbs, H3 fog lights finally gave up along with some other bulbs. I dropped the front bumper and replaced them all. Factory suspension 2 out of 4 were leaking. The entire unit was replaced with Tein CS coilovers. Front bushings shown sign of wear and tear...replaced with factory oem. The rear bushings/rear spindle arms $$ were replaced along with rear wheel bearings. It was a PITA replacing them though I had all the right tools. Driver side CAT tricked the O2 sensor. This was easy fix
. All of the control arms are still in very good shape. The VSC speed sensor on the passgenside was replaced. Other 3 are still ok. My sc430 was in the NE with all its time driving through winter months etc...no sign of rust at all under the car. Over all, our sc430 was well built from the factory. Other issues such as CD, speakers, etc...are known problems that is why I have not mentioned them in here. Since I have everything changed/replaced, I do not see myself buying another sc430 any time soon. Take care Ned
02-27-11, 06:53 PM
#7
Wow! What a story! Do you think that synthetic would have made it go well over 200k
I know driver habits and other over-the-top maintenance (like doing the timing belt early and replacing spark plugs early, etc) can prolong or shorten a cars life.
To Ralph95-the 4.3VVTI V-8 engine has many stories on Club Lexus of over 200k miles.
Check out the other forums---here's a LS430 thread from about a year ago with several people quoting 175-180k...they probably have 200k or close to it now.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...0-miles-2.html
I know driver habits and other over-the-top maintenance (like doing the timing belt early and replacing spark plugs early, etc) can prolong or shorten a cars life.
To Ralph95-the 4.3VVTI V-8 engine has many stories on Club Lexus of over 200k miles.
Check out the other forums---here's a LS430 thread from about a year ago with several people quoting 175-180k...they probably have 200k or close to it now.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls4...0-miles-2.html
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02-27-11, 08:50 PM
#8
Mine @ 187K on the engine .... though it did give up...I replaced the engine with a built long block. The original engine, I took it apart to see/to look for wear and tear. This what I observed:
The heads had minor some bad valves, 7 out of 32, very minimal carbon deposit build up, no leakage of any kind on the seals, my mechanic was very impressed with the quality of these heads. Now, the bottom ends, there were heavy carbon deposit on the pistons, also some on the cylinder walls, that was some sign of oil passing through the rings, I was informed that this engine would last no more than 10K miles based on the condition shown. This lexus was dealer service with 14 pages of record. Since I own her a little more than 2 years ago, I also keep up with all the required services. This sc430 did not use synthetic oil until my ownership...
What else went wrong with this sc430 at this age? The headlight D2S bulbs, H3 fog lights finally gave up along with some other bulbs. I dropped the front bumper and replaced them all. Factory suspension 2 out of 4 were leaking. The entire unit was replaced with Tein CS coilovers. Front bushings shown sign of wear and tear...replaced with factory oem. The rear bushings/rear spindle arms $$ were replaced along with rear wheel bearings. It was a PITA replacing them though I had all the right tools. Driver side CAT tricked the O2 sensor. This was easy fix. All of the control arms are still in very good shape. The VSC speed sensor on the passgenside was replaced. Other 3 are still ok. My sc430 was in the NE with all its time driving through winter months etc...no sign of rust at all under the car. Over all, our sc430 was well built from the factory. Other issues such as CD, speakers, etc...are known problems that is why I have not mentioned them in here. Since I have everything changed/replaced, I do not see myself buying another sc430 any time soon. Take care Ned
The heads had minor some bad valves, 7 out of 32, very minimal carbon deposit build up, no leakage of any kind on the seals, my mechanic was very impressed with the quality of these heads. Now, the bottom ends, there were heavy carbon deposit on the pistons, also some on the cylinder walls, that was some sign of oil passing through the rings, I was informed that this engine would last no more than 10K miles based on the condition shown. This lexus was dealer service with 14 pages of record. Since I own her a little more than 2 years ago, I also keep up with all the required services. This sc430 did not use synthetic oil until my ownership...
What else went wrong with this sc430 at this age? The headlight D2S bulbs, H3 fog lights finally gave up along with some other bulbs. I dropped the front bumper and replaced them all. Factory suspension 2 out of 4 were leaking. The entire unit was replaced with Tein CS coilovers. Front bushings shown sign of wear and tear...replaced with factory oem. The rear bushings/rear spindle arms $$ were replaced along with rear wheel bearings. It was a PITA replacing them though I had all the right tools. Driver side CAT tricked the O2 sensor. This was easy fix
. All of the control arms are still in very good shape. The VSC speed sensor on the passgenside was replaced. Other 3 are still ok. My sc430 was in the NE with all its time driving through winter months etc...no sign of rust at all under the car. Over all, our sc430 was well built from the factory. Other issues such as CD, speakers, etc...are known problems that is why I have not mentioned them in here. Since I have everything changed/replaced, I do not see myself buying another sc430 any time soon. Take care Ned
I'm not surprise that the engine aren't really clean as Lexus recommend to change oil every 5,000 miles vs 3,000 miles by most oil manufacturer. My SC have 82K miles and have a total of 16 Lexus/Toyota service record (2 was for tires issue). Service was done every 5~7 months.
Now, I will changing oil every 2.5~3K and switch to Synthetic for a cleaner engine that hopefully keeping its normal MPG. Consider this: $80/tank of gas and my SC can run about 250~300 miles in NYC. That's $800~$1,000 for gas in between a oil change ($30 for regular & $70 for synthetic, $40 difference). If my SC lost 10% MPG, it would have cost $80 extra on gas.
My friend used to own a Integra with a broken cylinder, he still drive it around with 3 of the 4 cylinders but the MPG went -20% or more.
BTW, I probably not gonna ave 150k on this engine but I want a clean engine with no broken valves. In this case, the next owner would have a healthy car.
took a snapshot of the SC today before I wash it:
02-28-11, 05:07 AM
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My 99 Land cruiser (probably similar quality) has 155K and runs smoother now than when new. Uses no oil, same mileage as when new, and no mechanical failures. I expect the same performance from the SC.
03-01-11, 09:22 AM
#11
My real estate partner has 278K on his 2004 LS430 (same engine) and the car still sounds and drives like new. These cars will hit 300k easy with routine maintenance and care.
03-01-11, 01:17 PM
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Miles on SC
I have 183,000 on my SC now... not having problem yet. I feel that It's just around the corner, starting to get those little nagging problems now. I keep the maint on it very well and it still looks like new.
03-01-11, 02:47 PM
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When i was pulling carfax reports on LS400's before i bought mine i saw many of them with over 400k+ miles on them. I have never seen so many cars with over 400k+ miles like that before and that was one of the major factors in me wanting a SC430 all the other cars i liked cost way too much sitting in the repair shop!!
03-08-11, 10:35 AM
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I know I'm in the SC430 forum, but I have a SC400, its a 94... and I'm at 314k... original engine/trans and I'm the second owner. Got the car in our family at just 29k. My car is a living dinosaur!
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