98Sc3

Hey guys i just bought a 98 Sc300 with 130,000... I was going to buy to sell, but i drove it for a week and im in love with the car. So now im in the long process to restore it because cosmetically its trashed. (in the near fuiture I will put up picks for opinions)

So anyways, The car has been sitting in the front of their home for a couple of years, and serviced a year ago but ran less than 3k miles that year...(I saw the Tire Kingdom receipts).

They told me they have used synthetic most of the cars life but once they purchased a new car they neglected it. The last couple of years [[3 or 4yrs...(2 or 3 oil changes)]] he just took it to the mechanic and didn't ask questions.

I live in Miami so its always hot and the car has 130000 miles....What oil should I use?

ps.. I have heard mechanics say 10-30 org/conv, some mechs have even told me 20-50 heavy duty, and a few said synthetic 10-30 or 15-40 should be best....

Thank You, Alex

OhHiChris

I bought a '99 SC300 with 150k miles, had to do timing belt, water pump, serpentine belt, tensioners, and power steering hose.

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

when its hot or warm weather you want to use 10w30, when its cold use 5w30, so you will be using 10w30 pretty much all year around in Miami. on a non turbo 2jz, you can pretty much run anything from conventional to fully synthetic, depends on how often you will change it and how hard you run the vehicle. I usually use a synthetic blend on my non turbo toyota's for peace of mind and they clean the inside of the motor up nicely, and on turbo motors or motors that see alot more action I always use full synthetic as it breaks down slower with the heat.

DreaMzZ

I have a 93 with 148k and a 2000 with 131k. They both are extremely reliable. If you find one around 150k that has been properly maintained I think you should be in the clear for awhile as far as major problems.

SC3coupe

iTrader: (4)

Maybe the engine doesn't blow up but oil does seem to exit every orifice with age

Shayy

iTrader: (1)

You don't have to read this, it's all a bunch of random details and info about my experience with this car.

I got my 1998 SC300 with 177k miles almost 3 years ago. I now have 204k miles. Since then I have replaced the lower control arms(with supra TT ones), the sway bars for fun(supra TT ones), the steering rack was leaking so I replaced that(do outer tie rods at same time), I got BC coilovers, which resulted in a clunking suspension in the front over certain bumps. Turned out the front and rear sway bar end links went bad(probably from taking them off to replace the sway bars). The motor leaks oil, i'm guessing from the valve cover gasket. I bought the gaskets for the valve cover and will replace them when I do timing belt/water pump. I started burning a very small amount of oil about a month ago, after I decided to bounce off the rev limiter for the first time ever(people say it's probably the valve seals.) This car isn't fast at all when stock, but a motor that's capable of handling 1000hp being daily driven and babied will treat you right almost 100%. 98+ spoiler clear coat will fade in time and in exposure to sunlight. My third brake light in the spoiler had some faulty LEDs. My grandfather replaced all of the LEDs when we repainted the spoiler, and it's been working 100% since then. Serpentine belt was squeaking/chirping insanely loud. I had no idea where the noise was coming from so I just risked it and spent $80 on the belt. I got lucky, the squeak was gone. Also got a lot of new cosmetic stuff for the interior like new OEM floor mats (best christmas gift ever), and an ebrake boot. My driver side window regulator went out at 185k miles. The cable inside the track was frayed. There are DIYs for everything though on this forum. Just note one of the worst problems you'll come across with the SC is the door panel. Try to limit the amount of times you remove it, and be insanely slow/careful, because the clips break with very little force, and the door panel starts to lose its sturdiness. This applies to all of the interior actually. Just be patient with it. My climate control/CD lights are pretty much all out. Cluster lights are all working amazing though. My largest and most embarrassing problem is the leak in the roof. Every time it rains a lot, water drips from my headliner onto my shifter area. It's not good at all, and i'm guessing it's a clogged sunroof drain tube. I'm afraid to break anything by taking off the headliner, and i'm not sure what i'd be looking for when looking for a leak/clog. I've learned to just throw towels over the shifter before the rain, and pray lol. Will fix it eventually, but gotta love the driveway life of a kid in college! The headlights will probably be fogged up and yellow when you buy one. I spent hours wet sanding them starting at a low of 400 grit and ending at 2000, then moving onto Plast-X etc. Gas mileage is alright too. I go to Costco every Saturday MORNING and pump on the lowest setting etc to get the most gas for my money. I did notice an improvement in gas mileage at around 21 mpg average per tank. I've gotten the average up to 27.1 mpg when driving on the highway nonstop on like half a tank. Car used to be a smoker, with dog hair all over the floor, but no scratches or tears in the leather. (Black interior) I cleaned it to my best ability when I got the car and the smell is all gone, even in the rain. By the way if anyone ever wants to clean their leather in their SC, leatherique is kinda useless. It smells amazing and does soften up the leather, but we have a clear coat over our leather so it doesn't really get into any pores unless you sand down the clear coat. Most of the work you should be doing on a VVT-i SC should be cosmetic. The small stuff adds up and makes it an all around amazing car to own. People will compare your SC to much newer cars, call it slow, etc. It stands out! Good luck to those who get in one/plan on it!

SC3coupe

iTrader: (4)

It Seems to me these cars have some common failures in certain parts that every sc will experience..
Perhaps failing a bit sooner by toyota standards..

But these problems aren't overly complex and you can get at them one at a time