A manual SC400 is born: DD build thread
05-24-13, 08:05 PM
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A manual SC400 is born: DD build thread
Long time lurker here.
I've long dreamed of swapped the autobox in my SC400 for a manual. Well guess what finally happened last weekend?
My dirty, dirty, engine. Someday I'll get this cleaned, the RIGHT way.
You probably already know what this is.
What she looks like on the outside:
I'll take more/better pictures when it finally stops raining again.
I've long dreamed of swapped the autobox in my SC400 for a manual. Well guess what finally happened last weekend?
My dirty, dirty, engine. Someday I'll get this cleaned, the RIGHT way.
You probably already know what this is.
What she looks like on the outside:
I'll take more/better pictures when it finally stops raining again.
Last edited by SoaringSC; 12-21-14 at 05:40 PM.
05-24-13, 08:22 PM
#2
Very nice and clean looking, SoaringSC! I love it when people do the bigger conversions like these and keep their cars looking like they came that way from the showroom floor, especially with that factory front lip! The wheels look very nice on the car, too.
What gear ratio are you running? Stock 3.92 or something higher? And is this with a W58?
Excellent!
What gear ratio are you running? Stock 3.92 or something higher? And is this with a W58?
Excellent!
05-24-13, 08:31 PM
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Very nice and clean looking, SoaringSC! I love it when people do the bigger conversions like these and keep their cars looking like they came that way from the showroom floor, especially with that factory front lip! The wheels look very nice on the car, too.
What gear ratio are you running? Stock 3.92 or something higher? And is this with a W58?
Excellent!
What gear ratio are you running? Stock 3.92 or something higher? And is this with a W58?
Excellent!
It is a W58, utilizing the Quantum Auto swap kit. Went with their steel flywheel kit to keep it DD friendly. I also swapped an entire 3.76 pumpkin from an auto Supra TT.
05-24-13, 08:53 PM
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Congrats on a manual 400! We need more of these conversions. 
Why is your MAF unplugged? Where did you get that plastic cover for the BFI? I see that your AC in converted how is that 134A holding up?
Why is your MAF unplugged? Where did you get that plastic cover for the BFI? I see that your AC in converted how is that 134A holding up?
05-24-13, 10:22 PM
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First, I had my CEL diagnosed, came up as code 31 for the MAF. I bought a refurbished unit by A1 Cardone which seemed to cure the problem. 6 months later, the bucking was back, but now it would come and go instead of always displaying symptoms. For example, after the symptoms popped back up, they would always go away for awhile after a long highway drive. Perplexed, I followed this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...on-issues.html
If the MAF is the culprit, unplugging it should provide a temporary fix. I'm still not 100% convinced if the main cause of my hesitating is the MAF, but at least the annoying bucking is gone. Fuel economy is slightly lower though, however.
The BFI cover was actually part of an entire kit sold on ebay. If you just type "Sc400 bfi" it should be fairly obvious in your search results. The R134a is great, and man do I get use out of it. It's practically on all the time for me, what with a black car and a dark interior that sits in the sun most of the day.
I still have some things to address with the swap, namely my drive shaft that I got from the classifieds here is utter garbage. It almost ruins the whole driving experience. The u-joint and center bearing for it are on their way out, and it's noisy as heck. When a suitable replacement is being installed, I'd also like to send my ECU out for a rebuild while the car is down. On top of that, I'm looking to ditch my ebay headlights asap. The next performance oriented mods will be new exhaust, and getting my IMF headers installed.
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05-25-13, 06:46 PM
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Nice to see another manual SC400. They are a blast to drive being a manual. With the help of the MKIV rear end, makes it even better. Post more pictures. Want to see the interior.
05-26-13, 12:10 AM
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MAF is unplugged because I was experiencing some very rough hesitating and bucking.
First, I had my CEL diagnosed, came up as code 31 for the MAF. I bought a refurbished unit by A1 Cardone which seemed to cure the problem. 6 months later, the bucking was back, but now it would come and go instead of always displaying symptoms. For example, after the symptoms popped back up, they would always go away for awhile after a long highway drive. Perplexed, I followed this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...on-issues.html
If the MAF is the culprit, unplugging it should provide a temporary fix. I'm still not 100% convinced if the main cause of my hesitating is the MAF, but at least the annoying bucking is gone. Fuel economy is slightly lower though, however.
The BFI cover was actually part of an entire kit sold on ebay. If you just type "Sc400 bfi" it should be fairly obvious in your search results. The R134a is great, and man do I get use out of it. It's practically on all the time for me, what with a black car and a dark interior that sits in the sun most of the day.
I still have some things to address with the swap, namely my drive shaft that I got from the classifieds here is utter garbage. It almost ruins the whole driving experience. The u-joint and center bearing for it are on their way out, and it's noisy as heck. When a suitable replacement is being installed, I'd also like to send my ECU out for a rebuild while the car is down. On top of that, I'm looking to ditch my ebay headlights asap. The next performance oriented mods will be new exhaust, and getting my IMF headers installed.
First, I had my CEL diagnosed, came up as code 31 for the MAF. I bought a refurbished unit by A1 Cardone which seemed to cure the problem. 6 months later, the bucking was back, but now it would come and go instead of always displaying symptoms. For example, after the symptoms popped back up, they would always go away for awhile after a long highway drive. Perplexed, I followed this thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/per...on-issues.html
If the MAF is the culprit, unplugging it should provide a temporary fix. I'm still not 100% convinced if the main cause of my hesitating is the MAF, but at least the annoying bucking is gone. Fuel economy is slightly lower though, however.
The BFI cover was actually part of an entire kit sold on ebay. If you just type "Sc400 bfi" it should be fairly obvious in your search results. The R134a is great, and man do I get use out of it. It's practically on all the time for me, what with a black car and a dark interior that sits in the sun most of the day.
I still have some things to address with the swap, namely my drive shaft that I got from the classifieds here is utter garbage. It almost ruins the whole driving experience. The u-joint and center bearing for it are on their way out, and it's noisy as heck. When a suitable replacement is being installed, I'd also like to send my ECU out for a rebuild while the car is down. On top of that, I'm looking to ditch my ebay headlights asap. The next performance oriented mods will be new exhaust, and getting my IMF headers installed.
05-26-13, 10:26 AM
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Thank you! They are actually Enkei RPO3 in the 17"x8" Supra offset so I could fit the TT brakes. I don't like big wheels which is why I didn't go to 18".
They definitely are. It doesn't seem like it's saying much when I say it's the best mod I've had on my car, given the relatively minor nature of most of the other mods, but it really does change the whole dynamics of the car in a positive manner. Throttle response is instant, and I have 100% control over when the gear changes occur. Unfortunately the weather is still crappy, and I still can't really take good pictures. 
Overall I like it, however 1st gear is pretty short; even more so than on the a340. If I try to get through an intersection (after stopping) without a gear change, I'm screaming through it at 3K+ rpm. I haven't been able to highway test it, but I have a feeling the engine speed would be close to 3k rpm at 70 mph in 5th gear. I was doing 50 in 5th and the engine was turning at just a hair under 2k rpm. I'm only on the highway a few times every month though, so this isn't as important for me as it may be for others. I actually already have the TT brakes on the front and rear. 
I was too lazy to piece it together myself, even with all the helpful write ups there are now. I can't wait for the headers either!
Awesome, Yeah i figured you got that from the bfi kit was hoping you found the material yourself so i can get the same thing done to mine. Good to hear about that AC conversion aswell! hopefully you get the rest of the things sorted out soon, looking for foward to the rest of the build and seeing/hearing those IMF headers!
05-26-13, 10:52 AM
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An older shot showing the VERY snug brake fitment up front. The wheel weights actually had to be moved because the caliper was hitting them.
The rears had plenty of clearance though.
The rears had plenty of clearance though.
05-26-13, 12:22 PM
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Nice sc400 hopefully I get mine looking like this soon! I won't be doing the w58 swap though :/ thinking I might go r154 for a beefier trans or a getrag (yes I know about doing the tunnel)...but maybe you can convince otherwise lol!
hopefully I get mine looking like this soon! I won't be doing the w58 swap though :/ thinking I might go r154 for a beefier trans or a getrag (yes I know about doing the tunnel)...but maybe you can convince otherwise lol!