My SC400 is currently at Lexus Escondido for a full car diagnostic so I can find out what needs to be fixed and what not. Originally just because of a vibration, a very scary vibration at 60mph, which now I know is caused by my rear wheels, I haven't heard from Lexus yet regarding the balancing. To people who buy tires from Bear Tires, be aware that the guys there doesn't really pay attention with how they balance the wheels, mine shouldn't have gone this worst if they did it properly. According to the Lexus technician, it may be because my rims are bent, needs hub rings, tires are worn or just waaaay out of balance. What the tech did was lift the car just enough to make the wheels free roll, then engaged to D and gave a little gas to show me the vibration, and that thing was ready to jump off of the lift! Anyways here are the findings, so far, that I need to replace/fix, and their prices, remember they're not yet done finding out what's causing the vibration, they'll check again after balancing my rims or whatever they need to do to fix its shaking.

OEM parts
motor/engine mounts $92.74
rack & pinion $363
steering rack bushing $26
valve cover gasket $?
battery terminal (+,-) $31.79
battery terminal cover $28.10
transmission & differential oil $?
brake fluid & power steering $?
all engine bay hoses & clamps $?

Aftermarket
radiator KOYO A1306 $185
145 amps alternator $299 (luxurymods.com)
4 gauge alternator wire $25 (luxurymods.com)
braided stainless power steering line $70 (driftmotion.com)
Goodridge brake line $125 (luxurymods.com)
Ichiba wheel studs $50 (ichibausa.com)
K&N air filter $62.39
DENSO Iridium long life $7.46

For Looks & Kicks
Project Kics lugnuts $250 (2wheel studs broke inside the lock nuts so might as well change to this)
TSX retrofit $80 (eBay.com)
JDM Innovation oval tip muffler $80 (eBay.com)
V-Kool tint $480
Cusco strut bar $195 (luxurymods.com)

The reason why I'm sharing this is because I'm open for any suggestions for any parts that I need, like aftermarket brands or where to buy them, if some of the items are better aftermarket or OEM, like I'm not sure about the difference of the rack & pinion from Autozone or Lexus refurbished(what I'm concerned about this is the rack bushings), and the 145 amp alternator, and also I don't know yet some of the prices, so help me out...Thanks in advance!

..........Orrrrrrr to sell or not to sell???

Don't really wanna sell it.. I don't wanna take a loss, and we got the car for cheap, but there's just too much stuff going on and I can't even get started with setting it up.. I was supposedly gonna use the money for buying a new headunit (Pioneer AVH-P4300DVD), coilovers (Tein Flex) and converting my interior black then painting my car black, but because of these, looks like it's gonna take a year more to get everything done.. Sigh..

 

dont even think about the HU or coils.. use it to fix the vibration first, rack & pinion and steering rack

 

You're paying way too much for an alternator that you aren't going to fully utilize. Just get the 100amp from Autozone with a lifetime warranty for well over 50% less

 

Looks like the list has some regular Maintenance things you need to install after wear and tear All if it looks like you can DIY. No need to take it to a dealer especially if they havent even figured out whats causing the "vibration". I suggest you do more research to find out indeed what the problem is before paying the dealer to replace those listed and charge you ridiculous amounts on labor and not find out what the problem was to begin with.
Save your receipts in case you don’t fix the problem and decide to sell just hope you mention the problem to the next buyer.

 

Well, like I said, the money was supposed to be for the accessory but because of the problems I'm not gonna be ablen to do that no more. But thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

Thanks for the tip. So you think the original replacement would work instead of the 145amp one? How about the rack & pinion, I need some input on that.

No, I'm not really planning to get it fixed by them, just the diagnostic. I'm gonna do everything myself. I have CL to teach me with the majority of the stuff. Thanks.

 

bump from the dead. i got my rack and pinion from rack doctor or something like that. def tons cheaper than $363. can dig up a receipt for ya if youd like

 

Haha, thanks, but I've done everything you see in this list last summer..

 

Did your vibration go away? Was it the tire balance or something else?

 

Yeah, the vibration was caused by one of the wheels up front. That's when I realized how unreliable Discount Tires and all them other well known tire centers are, it took me a total of 6 balance and rebalance of all the tires(and I pay them each time they'd do it). An independent shop was able to fix it, and never did come back since. I was so naive to think that these well known tire shops would be better.

One of the reasons why I don't believe that well known or most expensive things out there aren't always the best....

 

hmmm, I'll have to check out my tire balance. I was going to install my summer Work wheels recently but I
noticed that half of the "stick on" weights fell off

So I have to drop them off somewhere to get road forced balanced again.