DeanWeen

Ok guys, I have owned my 1995 GS300 for less than a year. In this past nine months or so I have treated my new ride like the Princess I believe she is, or at least as well as I can. First thing I did was change the timing belt and water pump being that I wasn't sure when it was done last and the car already had 150K on it. Well since then, or actually not long after that I replaced the O2 sensors, upstream anyway. I have an exhaust leak at the cat's and can't find anywhere that will do what I would like and don't want to take it on for a repair like this apparently)… Then I replaced the horrible front seats with some '02 GS seats that I found at LKQ for $62 out the door. I was able to fix the issues with the driver's seat power not working at eh same time. So as I went about replacing the factory CD changer and head unit I tapped into the T&T steering and put power behind the harness to see what I got (since my T & T didn't work either) Boom! I had power tilt and telescopic wheel I got back the power that had stopped flowing to my map and dome lights I had vanity mirror lights, my door lights came on, it was like a new car! I don't know what the last guy did when shining this thing up to sell but he did something incorrectly back before the steering power because that one wire apparently powers everything in the car (which by that time I was aware of thus why I applied power there) Anyway I talked to a dude on here and rolled down to San Antonio to get some nice 2nd gen GS chrome wheels and tires. IllMarttin if you see this T?HANKS AGAIN man those wheels are still looking fabulous and I've done nothing but keep them clean and off of curbs! Most recently though in pursuit of something I would love to listen to and respect personally I've dropped some money into stereo components and I've ended up with a 2Kw amplifier on a Sundown Audio 12" in a sealed box in the tunk and two Zapco ST-2X SD amps on a set of component Infinity's and a pair of Evil6.5 midbass speakers from SSA... To have a thousand watts (4ohm on a 2Kw @ 2ohm amp) on even a single 12" 500 watt RMS subwoofer I think I'm coming up short of what I am putting out just because the car is put together so soundly and the gas tank in the trunk isn't helping me ANY I'm afraid. If anyone else has run into this please tell me I'm not crazy!

I'm here though because I want to do some similar upgrades and certainly anything that is needed to the car I just recently put a down payment on which is a 1996 SC400. I will have it paid off and in my name before the new year, actually before Christmas so I'm excited as F about this because I got the car because I spoke to another Lexus enthusiast who was selling it and he actually is letting me pay it off in order to pass it on to another person that will enjoy it rather than just beat it up and throw it away!

I'm totally stoked! This has got to be the coolest thing to EVER happen to me. I have been wanting one of these since I got my GS. Once I realized the joy of driving a Lex I had to have a little two door and this generation SC is the bee's knees to me!
Anyway. I didn't mention that I recently found a guy on Craigslist selling LED's and I got headlights and dome lights from him all for like $45! and he says he now has dash lights too for me! In blue even! That's gonna look cool in the GS.

I'm here though to hopefully learn from my mistakes with the GS like with the stereo I want to get the best sound I can in there but if I'm going to be dealing with the gas tank issue I'm going to do it differently. I've heard people on here (in GS land) talk about mounting a sub enclosure under the rear deck. I'd be interested to see if anybody here tried and accomplished that or if it's too much hassle and requires putting unforgiving holes and strain on the back deck of the car. I'm trying to redesign my system in the GS now to make use of a port hole and the factory sub location.
Other than that I'd love to see what I can get out of my new little vehicle power wise and get her at least in the top condition I can. Including rebuild the motor if I have to. I now have a garage and if I have to put her in there for a little while I will if it prolongs her life AND I can get some horsie's out from under the hood.

So I'm open to anything... I'd like to keep her looking kinda stock except for maybe some newer Lexus rims or even aftermarket if they look natural enough. Come on guys give me some suggestions. I only have one picture of her and it's of the side where the one odd ball wheel is but I'm proud of her no matter what so I'll post her anyway! Maybe I can still get the pics from CL! If so then you're in business. Wish me luck.

Thanks for any and all replies and/or suggestions.


Only picture I have of her currently. I will have more before Jan 1 though. Many more!

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Welcome! I don't know so much about building audio systems but if you can work with the speaker sizes in the stock locations you should be able to keep a very stock look while putting together the system you want. If you have any intentions of keeping the factory amplifier then check out Raine's thread which details how to keep the wiring for it intact and still install an aftermarket head unit.

As for the car itself, get a new SC gas door (ebay or ask here in Marketplace) and get all your basic maintenance verified or done (like the 1UZ's timing belt). Also check the health of your power steering pump and alternator and make sure there are no leaks in the PS rack or lines.

Get your suspension checked out. Common to go out on these cars after many years are the front lower control arms. If the bushings are bad you can replace them with new OEM left and right units from an 93-96 MKIV Supra. Similarly make sure your PS rack bushings are not worn out-- if so then replace them with a new set of poly bushings from Figs Engineering.

I personally love the style of SC400 wheel on the front in your picture (7 blades) but a common go-to upgrade I always suggest is to upgrade to 1995-2000 LS400 front brake calipers (there are a couple of DIY threads here) and a set of 17" wheels that have enough offset to clear them. That and good quality summer performance tires with an excellent rain traction rating. The LS400 brake calipers are a night and day difference from the stock brakes and really should have been standard equipment on SC's given what kind of cars they are.

Looks-wise the exterior on these cars IMO are near perfect from the factory. The SC400 factory front lower lip is a good addition if you don't already have the option installed. That or a 97-00 front end conversion... but the factory 92-94 or 95-96 bumpers with just that SC400 lower lip also look exceedingly good. The rest of the curves on the 92-94 and 95-96 SC's... timeless as is (IMO).

For the headlights I highly recommend a plug and play 9006 single beam HID conversion kit. XenonDepot's Phillips 4200K option is a drop-in upgrade and very reliable. Getting more serious your can have the headlights restored and fitted with a more modern and clearer projector lens inside. Just a basic HID conversion will give you better visibility and be much safer.

For that engine it really depends on how well it has been kept up before you got it but the 1UZ-FE V8's are VERY durable and long lasting if maintained and given regular oil changes. Those engines can last many hundreds of thousands of miles if treated well. How many miles does your SC400 have?

SC400slide

iTrader: (11)

That steel wheel looks FLY! Joking... Welcome the the world of SC owners! A few exterior upgrades that make mountains of difference (IMAO) Coilovers, drop the stance down, tires and wheels would be an obvious upgrade, rear window HIC spoiler looks great on the SC body style.

As far as mechanical, +2 on Kahns post, transmission mounts are a cheap item that usually are defective, and they do make for a stiffer ride.

DeanWeen

Thanks Kahn. I'm definitely starting this lexus life in my hands correctly like I did the GS. Timing Belt, water pump, oil, spark plugs, wires, possibly distributor whatever looks like it needs.
i know the CEL is on so therest likely a sensitive out. Yes defudefinia gas door! Lol ice been cringing trying to think how they possibly go on. Never replaced one of thide.
Hey do you think I could do the timing belt myself? I paid somebody to do it on the gs300 but I do everything else on my car I was just scared I'd need to set the time and I don't have a timing light and I've never done it so I can't easily time it by feel but the guy who did it last time just put it back together and started her up fine so it made me think it might be that hard.
I'm really excited. And it has the spoiler stock I guess you noticed and I'm glad!
Hey guys on the tranny mounts will I be able to easily tell if one us bad on the car? I know there at least two sc's are in a junktard and I'm gonna rape those things if abythany that is still in decent shape!
Thanks for the input guys. I'll keep you posted!

lol I'm loving it! Looking foy three more lol. Definitely gonna be hifher on the list of priorities! Thanks btw. 👍

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Until recently I always paid shops to do my timing belt jobs. I wasn't comfortable with any possibility that I might screw something up. The procedure I knew from the manual but I wasn't confident about it.

However I was forced to do it when I assembled my engine and I can definitely tell you... it's something almost anyone can do so long as they have the right tools and follow the factory technical service repair manual instructions.

For me this was with both a 2JZ-GE and a 2JZ-GTE. I've never done any service on a 1UZ-FE let alone its timing belt.

But the general methodology of setting timing will be the same even if there are more steps and more components in the way on this quad cam V8 engine.

You need a couple of good properly calibrated torque wrenches. I have a CDI that goes from 1-70 ft-lbs, another CDI for 15-100 ft-lbs and for the 2JZ crankshaft pulley I have a Tekton that goes to 250 ft-lbs. You use a "cheater bar" extension with the Tekton along with a Schlley #SCH64300 crank pulley stabilizer/remover tool that you put a breaker bar onto with its own cheater bear extension.

It may help to have a buddy break loose the crank bolt unless you can brace the breaker bar connected to the Schlley crank removal tool onto concrete floor. Personally I did need to ask for someone to help me with that step due to the muscle require to brace the crank from moving and to break free and/or torque down that crank bolt.

You also need a hex or specific size T-series star bit to remove the timing belt pulley from the block.

The rest of it comes down to turning the engine and cams only in the clockwise direction and getting your cams and crank aligned at Top Dead Center.

You replace a lot of stuff while you're in there such as your water pump if it's very old, your cam seals, your t-belt tensioner(s), the accessory belt tensioner(s) IF they need replacing and it's probably a good idea to replace your crank dampener with a new Toyota OEM one if it's never been replaced since they can eventually fail due to rubber separation above 200k after 20+ years. Best to replace it sooner rather than later if it's old.

That's not the full list of individual timing belt service parts for the 1UZ engine, just some key notes to consider.

But can you do it? Yes, you can. But... it's up to you and how confident you feel about it.

The 1UZ-FE has some more steps compared to the 2JZ engines and the engine bay is more filled up.

There's nothing wrong with paying to get the work done and it's also a very fine thing to do work like this yourself if you want to get into it. You just need to follow the extensive Toyota instructions step by step and have the right tools at hand. You WILL need the factory TSRM to follow as a guide. Having a secluded workspace where you can take your time without pressure is the best thing if you have never done it before.

In the video below the procedure is walked through thoroughly (please use the TSRM *first* and use any guide videos merely as a reference to help you as visual references!). The 1UZ-FE engine in the LS400 of this generation is the same as the 1UZ-FE engine in your 1996 SC400.








In the video below, skip to 2:49 to get to the nitty gritty. This one is not so much a step by step guide as it is an overview highlighting some specific points and things to look out for: