this thread is great man, keep up the awesome work.

It really makes me happy to see you restore this sc and document it so well, it really helps people like me who are new to the game and trying to get their sc's to proper condition again.

 

Definitely lots of good useful information in here! Notes taken!

 

Great work car looks extremely good

 

wow your interior is like mine.. AMAZING clean

 

the car overall looks really good now bro... and the coilovers is deff the way to go!!

 

Thanks you guys! Y'all the reason why I do it!

I remember when I was fixing up my SC, I'd have my Mac or iPhone with me in the parking lot of my condo so I can access my PDF or CL as a guide! Lol

 

The digital TSRM is a godsend

 

You bet'cha!

I wouldn't know what I could've done to my SC if it wasn't for it...

 

Hey man, can you pull apart the gauge cluster easily and replace the bulbs with leds yourself? If so, what LED bulbs do you order as replacements? I love the way that white looks instead of the orange.

 

Yes you can. I have pics of it taken apart at the first page. The bulbs are a simple twist and turn. But I must admit, I was young, dumb and full of....it actually cost me more to DIY it with the direct replacement LED bulbs rather than getting it done through LexTech.

And they didn't even last that long... Some LED's no longer work. I've learned my lesson, that not everything can be DIY'd, so I'm getting it redone by the pro's at LexTech after I swap out my interior to black. Everything's just moving slow at the moment because of some personal stuff and maintenance that's already due. But like I said, I'll update real time with lotsa pics, so stay tuned!

 

fantastic post. that spreadsheet is a great reference...and also makes me feel better about the repairs i've already had to make (have had my sc3 for a month and a half or so and have literally been knee deep in grease since then)...

 

No doubt, Lextech is the way to go. I'm getting mine done soon but I have to buy a donor cluster temporarily as my SC is a daily driver.

 

I gotcha, that makes sense. Thanks for the info man, and killer thread!

 

Thanks! Glad it helps! These cars can really get you knee deep fast...

Hey thanks! Good luck with your SC!

I'm in the process of buying a donor SC, I'll be taking a look at it this Saturday. It's a black on black '95 300, well taken care of by a lady owner for the past 8 years. If only it didn't have 243K miles and a huge dent at the rear quarter panel, it'd be my keeper instead. But yeah, I'm getting the interior, the owner said, she pretty much took well care of it with all kinds of "expensive leather conditioners" ever since she had the car, and there's only 1 tiny rip in the passenger side, which I can live with. Might as well use the gauge cluster of it so I can get mine done by LexTech, until I can resell after the interior swap. Also, the lady said her mechanic who have been working on her SC ever since said she needs to change her transmission because it wouldn't shift into 1st gear when put in Drive, she has to go through L then switch to Drive once the car gains momentum, which prompted her to sell it as she's not willing to spend more than the cars worth. Which also I'm pretty sure is gonna be an easy fix, wether its just gonna need a tranny fluid flush or new solenoids. Good luck to me I guess, either way, for the price she's selling it, its a price of a complete black interior anyways!

 

Found another great DIY in my pic files... Whenever I do DIY's to my SC, I make sure I research it 3-4 times, 'cause based in my experience, no matter how prepared you are there's still that 1 bolt(in my experience) that can make your 1 hour job become a 2 day job. And I found out upon doing this that SC's, actually didn't came with a cabin air filter when they first come out the dealership. I was very surprised that it was 'optional' back then. Lexus, somehow were able to design the SC to purify A/C air without needing a cabin air filter. And in my experience it has never been this easy to install cabin air filters in other cars, especially on a car that didn't even require it.

Only downfall of this is a moisture build up inside the A/C pipes and what not that leads to a mossy smell in the long time running it without one. I bet a lot of you guys remember how funky your SC smell like the first time you drove it! I know I do! If you don't smell it anymore, its either your nose got used to the smell already or you stink more than it? Lol

I'm not sure why, but for some odd reason a lot of people tend to order different cabin air filters for the SC before getting it right. I know I did too, lol. So, for reference this is how it should look like, and there should be 2 pieces of this butterfly looking filter.



First step would be to move the passenger seat all the way to the back, and remove the bottom cover of the dash, right below your glove box compartment. Then you'd find this;

Obviously, twist and turn the 2 wingnut screws to remove them and the cover for the cabin air filter location.

Once the cover is off, insert 1 of the 2 air filters inside the hole, look carefully at the filter to find out the proper way of inserting it and which filter goes in first.


Push the first filter to the side, to make room for the second filter, then you're done! Reassemble everything in order and enjoy your A/C without the funky mossy smell!



3 thumbs up for awesomeness!