paxfish

Just so we get off on the right foot: You all stink of elderberries!



Anyway, allow me to show off the 2002 SC430 I just bought for the wife. 75000 miles.

I have the obligatory new trunk lifts on order from Ebay.
Body seems straight, though there are a couple of chips to tidy up.

If you all would be so kind, tell me about the much-ballyhooed 10 year waterpump/timing belt change. Can I wait until I get the usual water pump bearing failure/ water leaks before undertaking this? Or must it be tackled without delay? I understand the risk to the engine, but I wondered about the manner in which these fail in the SC430. Will I have some warning?

Anything else I should check straightaway?





Thanks, paxfish

mrblister

Welcome Nice car . Did you get the service history. The manual recommends years and mileage. If you have low mileage then you are supposed to base it on years. That said I would think you need to do this sooner then later. Others will chime in on your question. Need to see if you need your fluids changed That would be in a service record assuming the former owner serviced it at lexus.

Buddy

mandyfig

Paxfish welcome to CL. Very nice SC430. Classic Black. Awesome set of rims as well. As mentioned above, if you have not done it, register on Lexus.com (owner’s site), fairly simple input of VIN will tell you all you need to know what has been done to your car from a Lexus Dealer.

75,000 miles is quite young. The unknown is the quality of the 75,000 miles, driven hard or pampered highway miles. If you suspect it has had a hard life, a timing belt change plus water pump is in order. The peace of mind that comes with it is worth the investment. You have another 75K miles of serenity. And if it is going to be leisure car, it will take you forever to pile on miles.

Welcome again and post more pics when you can. BTW, are you a hands on DIYer?

bacardi11

iTrader: (1)

hi and welcome

MrMark

iTrader: (3)

Nice....nice to see another SC on the east-coast. Wheels look very small and sunken though.

barncat

Welcome! Very nice car and I like the wheels! I'd do the belt change for peace of mind unless you have documentation that it's been done already.

mandyfig

Spacers, need spacers.

StillLine

Welcome paxfish! Nice looking ride. Enjoy!

SlvBullet

iTrader: (8)

Welcome to the Club Lexus. Congratulations on your new purchase! The time belt manufacturer recommenrds 8'year age to change the timing belt. If it breaks you willmruin the engine. So like written above check the maintenance records with Lexus.

Good luck.

paxfish

Thanks for the welcome. To answer a couple of questions:

It was babied, though not serviced at dealer. I have a line on the service records.

Tires/rims are stock sizes, and yeah, when those Kuhmos wear out, I'll go a bit wider I think.

The color is black with a bit of purple in it under sunlight. The wife is delighted

Taking a look at:

Dr. Colorchip for the 10 years worth of chips.

Axle-back exhaust for a little burble, (but not too much). considering this one, if anyone has any feedback: http://www.topspeedauto.com/index.ph...product_id=774

And yeah - I'm a DIY. The waterpump/timing belt doesn't look too bad, but we'll see.

paxfish

Do you have a recommendation on brand and dimension for the spacers?

Also - do you have a link on the de-badging process?

Thanks,

OBP

Hmm, black with a hint of purple ? What color is that ? In Lexus speak I mean... Obsidian ? Congrats on the new to you SC and wishing you many more years.

chrisv78

Welcome. Nice car. I agree with the others. I did the belt change when I bought my '02 with 84K miles a couple of months ago. One thing you might check out as well is the belt tensioner. Apparently mine was hanging on just barely attached and is a common problem with a (relatively) cheap fix. New fluids are also a good idea if your records are not complete.

paxfish

Whaddya think, Guys? Would adding a 1 inch spacer on the wheels seem about right?

(edit: nevermind, I did some more in-depth searching. It sounds like 25mm front and 35mm rear is a good combo for stock-sized wheels and rims. - Thanks!)