The time has come!

This is a description of the 90k maintenance on a V8 Lexus. This is why I bought an ES instead of a slightly used LS:



Timing belt, water pump, cam seals, plugs (NGK), wires, caps, ABS system flush, Cooling system flush, throttle-body cleaning, Trans fluid/filter change (including draining of the torque converter) replacing w/ Toyota Type IV, oil change (perferably Amsoil 0w30 synthetic) / Amsoil high-capacity oil filter, two back-to-back doses of Chevron Techroline.



May not be what the book says, but this is what I'd do to start fresh. About $1,800 at a good independant shop. More than twice that at the Lexus stealership. Doing it yourself???... $600? maybe..Not sure. Cant remember what the waterpump runs now... aftermarket could run as low as $85... dealer $250.



I would also pickup a shop manual. Black market reproduction sets run about $120 on Ebay. That's what I have. Well worth it.
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Here's a simple MAF sensor tripping a CE-Light:



I looked at cleaning the mass air flow sensor on my 1993 SC 300. Doesn't look like I have an accessible wire to clean. Behind the air cleaner is the square, took off the five wire harness, three screws and lifted it out. There are no wires to clean, nothing that even looks like a sensor. Replacement cost $460. Am I looking at the right place.
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Turns out it can not be cleaned and must be replaced for $500 + labor.



Power steering problems are huge on 90s V8 Lexus cars, and they almost always foul the alternator:



long story short...i have ps leak since last month, figured its just holes so i replaced.. still leak... then alternator die, looked under and figured it was the pump that was leaking down into the alternator cuasing it to burn... so rebuild the alternator, and rebuilded the ps pump under all my labor for less then 100 for rebuild kits for both... Yet still leak... so checked agian, and find the power steering rack and pinion leaking too, fixed that at the shop for 600$... still leak!!!!!.. so i gave up!!!.. took it to dealer for 100$ check.. they say i have internal leak from the air control vavle... forcing the fuild inside the engine and gets burn there, therefore no external leak was found... he also said that is becuase p/s wasnt fix fast enoght cuasing the problem more serve..... he also said since the fuild is running into the engine, it damage the idle up control valve which stops rpm to act normally.. which is true.. my rpm would not go over 2000rpm under Neutral gear... they estimate 1,500 for idle up control valve and new power steering pump... i figured ..crap.. all that work for nothing?? so im not giving up.. im not gonna let dealer rob me.... so imma ask ppl dedicated to sc400 =) .. and i just wanna to let every1 with ps problem know... just fix the pump the minute it leaks before all this hassle happens...



So ... i checked online and did some research.. to this point i assume, that air control vavle is inside power steering pump.. the best thing to do is to buy a pump to insure no more work... Cus those that worked on it know.. its some curcial long time work.. isnt it??... but can some1 confirm this??? is this a bright thing to do ... other than "take it to the dealer "????.. if it is... imma just buy the pump at autozone for 198$ ..and put it in myself... other than gettin charged 400$



NExt...IDle up control valve, .. did research... find out it just needs cleaning... the the good old Dealer wants 1100$ for it??? i assume they not just gonna clean it.. they gonna replace the whole thing... thats why it cost so much... but... to experts... is it only cleaning and thats it? i dun wanna take it out do it all over agian and it still leak... im gettin pretty frustrated with my sc400 i hope after this week when my ps pump gets in, i replace it, and then clean the idle up valve ..... so is THIS a good idea other than replacing it.. and where is the idle up valve, im assuming that its under the traction control box where the intake is connected it the engine... correct?????
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Really, think about this. Lexus does not reduce the cost of their parts as vehicles age like some companies do, they price their parts and service towards people making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year that pay $60k for cars and don't care that kids like yourself buy them 7,8,9 years down the road for 10k. Parts cost the same.
 
Steve, thank you *very* much for this info. I had been looking over at CL for a little while. I'll look at LOC too.



The car has a total of 41,000 miles on it. 1995. It was owned by some yuppie who only drove it to go skiing on the weekends- all highway miles I believe.



We will be purchasing the extended warranty for this car. I'll bring it up to my dad to have it brought by the Lexus dealership.



We also have access to a full CarFax report.



Price was great. The guy dealer we're buying it from is a legacy in the Navy for being an honest man. (Dad is Navy). Has tons of excellent cars. The other option was a 2000 (I think) Volvo S80, but we passed it up becuase little things were broken all over it.



The engine is spotless, and the leather doesn't even show signs of regular use. The dealer insists on washing it before we take posession- he just won't sell anyone a dirty car.
 
Definately take it by a Lexus dealer. *PERSONALLY* *I* think we've got a better board than CL. I think they have some issues with prima-donna members and moderators that we just don't allow to happen, I think we're more personal and member-focused where the ultimate goal of CL is to be profitable. I KNOW we're a lot more lax on style of posting and we have less rules. I can name you several instances where threads were removed from CL for no reason as were members just because they "didn't like them" we don't do stuff like that. And thats not *just* because I run the place ;)



Nice people there, and they'll be straight with you without playing any games.



Congratulations! What color is it?
 
MongooseGA, I'm sorry to spoil your party - you made it too easy :D



While I'm not arguing with what GoodnClean is saying, my friend has a mid-90s SC and he hasn't had any major problems with it. The car has currently 150k miles and the guy drives it like a mad-man.



You seem to have done your homework and know what you want. Good luck with your new-used car.
 
Mongoose,



Wise move passing on the S80. They have been problematic.



I have to agree with GoodnClean on Lexus' targeted audience versus their parts costs. I still think you're trying to get too much car for $15,000 which will lead to expenses down the road, but hey, this is your car, not mine.
 
Steve- CL is the only Lexus board I knew of, and after reading a few threads on LOC, I can definitley see a difference in the members.



As for the color, I'm not sure what the offical name is. I think I saw something on LOC that mentioned a "Teal Mist Metallic". The car is a light blueish greenish. Since it's been raining, the horizontal panels are dirty so I wasn't able to get a great idea for the color.



Greg, I agree. Trying to find a car for way less than it's worth can be problematic. We will be purchasing the extended warranty (3/36) and Dad's thinking about Steve's reccomendation on the Lexus dealer. I think I just got lucky and found a great deal. Or I could have found a lemon :lol:



*Edit: Steve, Lee, anyone reading this- do you happen to know whether or not this car has a clear coat?
 
I think I know the color you're talking about, its a sharp one. It does definately have a clearcoat. What color is the interior?



Glad you joined the LOC, I'm SW03ES over there, shoot me an email anytime if you have questions I'd be happy to help out. We've had some PM spammers lately so right now the PMs are blocked until you have 20 posts so you'll have to email or PM me on here. Is your name the same over there? I'll see if I can bump your post count to 20 so you can use PMs.



While I'm not arguing with what GoodnClean is saying, my friend has a mid-90s SC and he hasn't had any major problems with it. The car has currently 150k miles and the guy drives it like a mad-man.
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Oh yeah, they're very reliable cars all Lexus are. Its just a potential that little things CAN go wrong, and when they do its very expensive. Its not a car you can just take to PepBoys and have an 02 sensor replaced, gotta get them from Lexus and they cost $600 as an example.
 
MongooseGA said:
Greg, I agree. Trying to find a car for way less than it's worth can be problematic. We will be purchasing the extended warranty (3/36) and Dad's thinking about Steve's reccomendation on the Lexus dealer. I think I just got lucky and found a great deal. Or I could have found a lemon :lol:
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I'm not trying to be a pessimist but just remember that the saying "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is" definitely holds true with vehicles. As GoodnClean pointed out, a ten year old car with only 41,000 miles may not be a good thing.



Congratulations if it checks out okay.:)
 
you may be able to pick up a good used srt-4 for around 15k. there reliability has yet to be proven but for the money you're not going to find a much faster car.... sorry if it was already suggested, didn't read the entire thread :]
 
Ryan,



thanks for the suggestion. I look into the SRt-4's as well. I've just heard horror stories with Neons, though, regardless of the model year. If this Lexus doesn't pull through and I can find an SRT-4 with the right price, I'll consider it.



I see you're from Bowling Green, OH. Did you know that we have a Bowling Green not far north of Va Beach, except ours was the first Bowling Green. Haha, j/k. We almost bought a house there and the locals told us all of the historical facts. ;)
 
Steve- interior is the tan color. The carpet looks to have been covered it's whole life, and the Lexus floor mats are in pretty good condition. I assume they were covered/unused as well.



Like I mentioned before, the leather shows no signs of stretching, cracking, or even bolster wear. After the test drive, I attributed this to the fact that the side bolsters don't do much for keeping you in place ;)



Good acceleration, and it only 2 lanes for a U-turn. Not quite like my Jeep, but much better than Dad's Super Duty.



If something goes wrong with the car after we pick it up, let's hope it's in the next three years!



Bad picture of the car, but here's the AutoTrader link: (This isn't how I found the car, I just noticed it there last night).

Auto Trader Link
 
MongooseGA said:
Good acceleration, and it only 2 lanes for a U-turn. Not quite like my Jeep, but much better than Dad's Super Duty.



If something goes wrong with the car after we pick it up, let's hope it's in the next three years!
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Good job, Glenn!:cool:



#1, the extended service plan was a great idea. The aforementioned Friend #1 picked one up for his used 1994 Mercedes E500 (the one built by Porsche in the Zuffenhausen factory), and believe me, he has made GOOD use of that plan!



#2, that is a really nice color combo!



#3, you aren't kidding about the tight turning circle. Seems to be a common feature to most late model RWD Toyotas. My Cressida will turn 5 feet tighter than my 1986.5 Celica did!



I think Car and Driver got 15.2 seconds in the quarter mile for the SC400 back in 1992. Correct me if I'm wrong, Steve, but I think the 95's got 10 more hp. Also, the 1UZ V8 is extremely durable, internally. IIRC, BMW tore this engine apart and was so impressed they used it as the basis for their first 4.0L V8 in the mid-90s.



$15K does seem a little low, so I second Steve's admonition to have the Lexus dealer thoroughly go over the car. And it looks like you'll be getting in with a good crowd of Lexus owners too. Funny thing is, I actually found this site via ClubLexus.com, and I only went there to browse detailing tips for my car!



And even on the off-chance the SC doesn't work out, you are gaining valuable insights into the used-car buying process, putting you way ahead of most other people your age. :xyxthumbs
 
I think the mechanic must be closed on Sundays, as noone has answered the phone. I'll call back tomorrow if they don't get to me first.
 
The 95 may have gotten a few more HP, I know that engine did in the LS in 95 (the LS was all new in 95) so theres no reason to assume that they would use the older engine in the SC.
 
The '95 had the same HP at 250. I think it was in '96 that they got 260, then in '97 it was 290. Apparently the 99's had 300.
 
MongooseGA- That's a really good find! I'd take a 10 year old SC over a newer Neon (SRT-4 or not) any day. And with the SRT-4, you gotta consider what kind of life it lead before it went up for sale ;)



IMO the 4K/year isn't especially low. We put fewer miles than that on some of our vehicles with no problems at all. It's when they sit for months at a time that you run into trouble.
 
Accumulator,



I agree. My uncle's Camaro has been sitting forever (13 years) and I can;t imagine what kind of rot the rubber has aquired over the years.



This car won't be a daily driver for a while. Until I get it (Few more months) it'll be driven regularly to keep things in check. After that, it's not going to school. My school, even though it's one of the best academies in the city, is located right next to a 'rough' neighborhood. I'm Jeepin' to school ;)
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Mongoose...you aren't driving yet and you have TWO cars already??
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The biggest drama in my family to date has been "What is G.A. gonna drive?"



I admit that I read too many Tuner mags a few years ago, and was set on having a $40,000 Supra TT. Obviously, that's not gonna happen and I'm glad I've matured.



So, if you check the Hot-Tub, you'll see my thread for our '59 Dodge. This was bought for me, but, being the little sh*t head that I was, decided I didn't want it anymore because it wasn't fast. It's now my Mom's, and I have been doing alot of work to get the engine bay prepped for paint and engine/tranny install.



Then I was offered my Mom's 200 300M. A nice car, 250 HP, fully loaded, etc. Once again, being a little sh*t head, I said "No."



By now my parents hate ever bringing this subject up. I'm surprised, and very grateful that they still had intentions of buying me a car. Dad suggested the idea of a Wrangler, and when I turned 16, they would buy me a Jet Ski to tow behind it. That's great, I took the offer.



I did the leg work and found the car, 2001, with 27,000 miles on it. Picked it up for 15k and Dad used it as his commuter car, intending to give it to me when I turned 16 and it was fully paid off.



Recently we began to look for lift kits, wheels, and tires. We found what we wanted, and now I don't get the Jeep. This time, it wasn't my decision. Dad loves the Jeep so much, that he's going to keep it and just buy something else.



Then this thread came about, roughly 4 years after the 1st '59 Dodge was purchased. After typing all of this I realize how horrible I was and how fortunate I am. Yesterday was supposed to be "family day" but we ended up hitting every used car dealer within 30 miles. After seeing a few cars my feet wouldn't fit in (size 14), we drove past Tim Maguiar's and Son's. We knew the co-owner of this place years ago, and he always has the best cars on the street for sale. I spy this SC400 peeking out at me from the front row of the lot. We drove down the street to hit one more dealership, and found nothing great. Back to Tim's. Opened the Lexus, mint condition, and test drove it. Price is right, and the only thing I'm compromising on from my *preferred* list is a manual tranny. No biggie, I'm lucky enough to get this the way it is.



So, tomorrow the mechanic should call me/Dad and tell us how she checked out. If he thinks it's got a problem we'll drop it. If he thinks it's good, we'll take it to a Lexus dealer to check for the usual SC400 problems.



[/novel]
 
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