Hi,

As said in a previous post, I've received a SC400 last week.

I've cleaned it a little, open the hood, the boot... and discovered :
- 1 rust point close to the rear left window
- sunburn damage on the hood
- hood support are dead, need to hold it with one hand or with the head while working
- battery is good - tested with a battery charger - but nothing works in the car
- tires are still good
- brakes are really rusted

At this time only the facts that nothing works and that brakes are rusted worry me...

Here some photos of rear brakes.
Are they dead or can they be cleaned with break cleaners?

Is there any alarm or safety device that cut all electricity in the car? Or do I have to try to find which fuse or wire is dead?

Thanks

 

Well I can't help you regarding your brakes, but I will do my best to assist you in fixing up your electrical issue.

Electrical Issue Steps:

• Check Fuse box to insure all wires are not split, corroded, or damaged.
• If you find wires damaged or corroded replace them.

Hood Supports:
Are you in a warm climate? Because I know the hood supports don't work when it gets extremely cold.
It was 7 degrees over here, and ttey decided not to work. Then I try when it warms up, and they work fine.

Hood Damage:
Totally up to you on how you want to go about fixing this, but it has left me to wonder.
If your hood is damaged from the sun, the seats most likely are as well. I would recommend getting a leather conditioner or even what I just got, Leather Rejuvenator which replaces the lost nutrients in the leather.

Hope I could have helped ya!

Post some pics of the car also!

 

First, following what I've read on other forums, i'll try to clean battery connections. It's true the lead looks really dark, maybe that's why.

Here some photos of the engine, sunburns, rust and rear bumper.

This morning, the car was wet and I couldn't see sunburn anymore. It seems - based on what I've read on internet- that only the clear coat is damaged and it could be repair without doing a paint job ?

For Shrugy:
I'm in Australia, close to Brisbane. At this time, temp is around 30C, up to 40C, and in winter, only at night the temperature goes down to 7C. So it isn't a "cold" problem
And my seat are in velours, not in leather

 

looks like someone painted the rear bumper with out even sanding it down or the whole car lol

 

Considering the car is swapped, locating the interior problem may be very difficult.

What wiring harness is on the car? Wiring specialties? If not then was the wiring done by a professional;

 

First of all, welcome to Club Lexus.

Second of all, it's a Toyota Soarer 2.5 GT-T, not a Lexus SC400 you seem to have there. Many people in Australia change the badges because they feel that the Lexus emblem adds luxury and/or value to the car.

Clearcoat failure is common on these cars, especially the earlier ones at this point. The hood looks like it's just beyond the point of polishing but still may be worth a try. If not, respraying the hood & bumper should be fairly inexpensive. The rust spot doesn't look all that bad - see what a body shop says about fixing all 3 issues at once.

Without more information on the electrical issue, all I can recommend is check the fuses and clean the battery terminals and leads - as others have said already. Best of luck figuring it out so you can start enjoying your Soarer.

 

Not swapped, stock Soarer lol.

 

Thanks, I hope I'll be able to fix the car and to have good rides with it !!

On paper I've found from the previous owner, some say Lexus SC400, some other say Toyota Soarer.
As all "metal stamps" - I don't know how to say more precisely - in the engine are from Toyota, I assume the car is a Soarer rebadged Lexus.
It's a 1991 Soarer 2.5 GT-T with around 235 000 k, based on the last invoices I've found. I know the previous owner took care on the engine because he was quite proud of it, but he didn't care a lot about the inside...so dirt and so cracked !!

I think I can fix the rust point myself. I have some rust converter at home to stop it, few fiberglass to fill the hole, just need some grey paint...
Do you have any idea of the cost to respray the hood and the bumper, done by a mechanic- I don't have spray gun at home ?

The only special I found so far is a turbo timer.

Edit: cleaning the battery terminals didn't solve the pb. I'll check fuse later.

 

Here is a summary of what I've done this afternoon :
- check all fuses: a big thanks to engineers that have place the fuse box under the driving wheel...so easy to access and to check !!! Whatever, under the hood, several fuses were out. It seems the previous owner knew he will not use the car for a long time. When all fuses were back, still the same: nothing works. However, I've spent 2 hours between the car and the laptop to locate and check everything, and that force me to work on the car and to know it for later in case of...
- Check the battery again : the battery charger says 'full charged'
- try with my other battery: it works !!! So the battery is dead and the battery charger is a s***t !! Just lost 2 days because of that !!

I've tested several things - not yet try to start the engine - and here the main issues:
- passenger door: panel not working, no light, no sound, powered window working with the driver's panel but really slow. I think lost of things to fix on this door.
- passenger seat: as I don't have anymore ****, can't move it. however, when i push the reclining adjuster, the seat goes frontward and backyard. So maybe with **** it will work
- Driver seat: exactly the opposite of the passenger one. Everything works except when I push the reclining adjuster
- lightning :
* few bulbs not working
* when I turn on the right turn signal, on the tail I also have the left brake light flashing. I'll check wires tomorrow.
- wipers:
* no water comes from washer. Let's start by a good cleaning...
* I can't lift up the rear wiper if I want to change it

I'll make a deeper check within a few days, cause I didn't want to empty my good battery, I need it !!

 

It sounds to me like a grounding issue. in the rear lights. check for broken wires in your passenger door jam as well.

 

That is a clean looking 1JZ. Nice find. Get her up and running an you're laughing.

 

Do you know how to remove the boot lock from the trim ?
I've remove the 2 screws behind, but after I'm stuck...



The pb is that I can't open the boot from inside and my key doesn't go fully inside the lock. I've a tuto to make it works, but it starts with the boot lock out of the trim

 

OK I finally remove it, there is a small clip that I didn't see to release the lock. After following the tuto, it works !!

Below a photo of my timing belt. Do you think I can try to start the engine to see if everything else is good or not - just low rpm and make it hot ? Or change the timing belt first before trying something ?

Another point:
The passenger seat garnish was so broken that I've removed it without removing the seat. Is it possible to put it back like that (I mean with the seat still in the car) ?
I think the reason why the seat wasn't working is that a part is missing under the ****. Am I right ? Is it possible to find the spare part ?

Thanks for your reply

 

That's the serpentine belt. The timing belt is not visible without removing a cover on the top of the engine. You should be fine to start it. At least to hear it come to life.
HERE IS A PICTURE OF WHAT YOU NEED TO REMOVE TO SEE THE TIMING BELT:

 

Thanks for the info.
I've checked the timing belt: really looks like new !! Based on the invoice I've found in the car, it was change 4 years / 30 000 kms ago.
I've also checked check quickly on internet: it seems that changing the serpentine belt is quite cheap. Can anyone confirm this ?

Moreover, on the left side of the timing belt - when facing the engine - I see what looks like a leak, but while thinking of it, maybe it could be some kind of grease come from belts when the engine is on. Any idea ?

And finally I have a leak of steering fluid, coming form a cracked pipe (the one circled in red)...