krippled

to get by, get the cover off your instrument panel and cut 2 pcs of black electrical tape and cut them same same as your check engine light or anything black that will not allow the light to penetrate. they can't even tell that light is on.
Like the guy said, if OBDII i on for something unrelated to emission they still fail it which is stupid. That mean for as long as it's off they are good with it. For now to get by for 2 year do what i did.

There's got to be a bypass for your swap

Anyways, anyone in cali will do the complete tranny swap? I'll take a quote. Sometime its better to pay someone who went thru the trouble allready.

TURBO819

iTrader: (5)

As far as I know. You can go as far as removing the Check Engine Bulb and you still won't pass with a OBDII vechicle. Reason being emission check are done through the OBDII Port. Codes are stored in the ECU. Also if you were to unplug the battery to reset or clear the code you would also not Pass because there would be no information stored about the condition of the emission related equipment on that vechicle. That's the reason they would tell you to put some miles on and come back for a retest.

99SC42

iTrader: (44)

^+1 that's right

scfou

iTrader: (3)

I don't think it's even a matter of the cel light being on or off. The guy with the 5spd swap didn't have a cel, but the smog station's computer detected a tranny code, and that's why he didn't pass. I don't even think this is something a smog tech can bypass either. It looks like my plans for a 5spd swap for the vvti sc400 may be headed south.

masagsxr

Thats what I was trying to explain earlier to yUMMYgogo. He must have not understood me or maybe I left out saying it was my brother's 98 GS which is OBDII. You can't just reset it. Tech's smog machine needs to see information on the ECU for them to pass the vehicle.

scfou: i forget if that guy's car is obdII or obdI. Maybe the previous owner just disabled the sensor that triggers the CEL from coming on but still throws and store the code in the ECU. It must be OBDII car if what TURBO819 is saying is true (test machine is connected to OBDII port) then do the test.

mptjimmy

iTrader: (2)

hey scfou where are you located, if you need help i have a snapon modus scantool so celaring codes is not a problem,

masagsxr

mptjimmy: I don't think the whole point of this thread is to just clear the code and go on your merry way to get the car smog. This is not going to work and the smog tech might or will still fail the car.

I'm interested to do the 5spd swap myself and the problem here is to figure out how to bypass and prevent the CEL from coming on with the auto tranny code. Just like what TURBO819 said, you can't clear the code because the smog machine for the OBDII cars need to see information on the ECU. This is the exact same thing that happen when I took my brother's 98 GS300 to get it smog. I have a scantool myself so I cleared the code, took it for a smog check, result passed with flying colors but the tech said he cannot pass it because there are no information on the ECU. He said to drive around, come back the next day or so and he'll smog it again.... I know that if I drive around to put mileage on, the CEL will come up again. Like I said on page 1 of this thread, the problem was the timing gear on my brother's GS jumped 1 tooth. We just ended up coming back a week later after we corrected the timing and it passed.

mikeydelro

you guys are crazy... even if it was a obd one and you take the bulb out or cover it the smog tech has to verify the light works. you know how you turn your key once and all your dash lights come on? thats how you check the bulbs and to make sure your indicator lamps are working. as for the swap just do it. when time come to smog and the tranny code keeps coming up and you fail, you can tell em you swapped the tranny and then take your car to a state Ref (you are in Cali right?). those are the guys who smog the new (1979+) modified cars, engine swaps or kit cars. im sure he'll pass you since all your emissions are the same. Just so the rest of you know too, dont try to reset your light before a smog. the computer dosent read "no codes" it reads "not ready". you'll be asked to drive approx 30 miles and come back. this is so the computer can have a chance to check everything and give an actual and accurate reading. lemme know if that helps you

scfou

iTrader: (3)

I agree. That's why I never thought about replacing the bulb. Doing that is more for the driver because he does not want to see the check light continuously on when he drives. I'm interested in the part that you were talking about the ref though. That's makes sense to me. I just might consider that. Thanks!

LEX_MAN

iTrader: (2)

Unless you have the check engine light on a push button lol, but you must be in the car to switch it on or off....lol

Yeah.... but it wont work...

mikeydelro

I have a guy who does my smog. I'll ask him and get back to you. I never had him cheat it for me just because iI've never had any real problems. But the way he does it (from what I've heard) is by bringing the same model car (same size engine) that can pass smog and they just smog that with your vin. You can't cheat the system like the good old days anymore... Directly after the test the results are sent through the phone (or some type of internet connection) to a dmv/smog data base. If he thinks your gonna fail about half way through then he can cancel the test otherwise there's a point of no return where info gets sent. After enough fails you gotta go to a test only center which charges $80+ for the test.

Anyways, lets get back to the subject. So I'll ask about the state ref to see how that works or you can probably look it up... brb. well that only took a half of a second. I love the internet.

http://www.bar.ca.gov/80_BARResource...e_centers.html

That's pretty much all the info I just told you in the previous post. Good luck with the swap. I hope you end up doing it. I'm lookin for a tranny for my 92 sc400 as we speak. Automatics are cool... when you're in traffic, but manuals are more efficient, less expensive to repair, require less maintenance, lighter, give you more control gettin sideways and also give you more of a reason not to let your girl drive (assuming she cant drive stick).

Ali SC3

iTrader: (10)

I wouldn't worry about it so much, you need to find out the exact code, find the exact sensor thats throwing the code, and bypass it. its not rocket science. you think every turbo owner on here still has egr connected properly? i seriously doubt it. it takes about 5 minutes to bypass the sensor if you know how it works and your ecu will think its functioning 100% properly.

** after some reading on turbo819's thread where he pulled the actual codes, it appears its looking for the shift solenoids. I am not sure what dr tweaks simulator is but If I had to attempt to get rid of that code I would try a resistor that is safely inbetween those 2 values when energized. I would probably get a potentiometer which spans a good portion of that range and test different resistance values until the ecu stops throwing codes. then measure the resistance that works, and buy that specific value resistor (in high wattage) and give that a shot. just a guess though.
or you can always hit up the Dr.

the thread: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/performance-and

scfou

iTrader: (3)

Thread does not work and I think it no longer exists.

scfou

iTrader: (3)

Originally Posted by scfou
The 98 should only have auto. I know for a fact I don't have egr due to vvti. Now is it in fact true that as long as I'm trying to smog my 98 vvti sc400 that undergone a 5spd swap, there's no way will I pass?

(This is what someone wrote to me on another forum. What do you guys think of this?)


"Please dont tell me you are going to ruin the gated shifter with a manual swap? And whats the point, both trannys are 5 speeds. If anything its a downgrade since the gearing will be off (worse mpg)

On the supras and the soarers the auto ecus are the manual ecus plus extra data to shift the auto tranny. So you can use a auto ecu with a manual tranny but not the otherway around. Altho i hear reports of the auto ecu pulling timing at the auto shift points.

I think that is correct. I know when you do a gte swap on the sc/soarer you need to pull a resistor out of the gauge cluster. Obvious you never touched the speed sensors so the only logical conclusion is the ecu does affect the readout.

The problem is with the CEL. With the auto ecu (obd-ii i believe) and manual tranny the ecu throws out shift soloniod codes.

Basically here is what it comes down too. There is no manual vvt-i 1uz ecu. So with a manual swap the ecu will throw out a code for the tranny shift soloniod. You will obvious fail the visual test but lets say you bribed someone to not care about that well here is the real problem. "The State of California now requires all vehicles 1996 and up, to communicate directly with the smog machine during the smog test. This is achieved via your vehicle's OBDII Data Link Connecter. As part of the smog inspection process, the smog technician will connect a Data Cable from the smog machine to your vehicle's OBDII Data Link Plug. This cable will deliver important "Check Engine" codes and "Readiness Flags" from the engine's computer system to the state's smog machine. Emissions related failure codes will cause your vehicle to fail the smog inspection. The failure codes will be printed on the Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) which will be given to you by the smog station. " Now do you see how it says emissions related failure codes will cause blah blah blah to fail. Basically the million dollar question is will ONLY emission codes fail you or will ANY code fail you. Personally i dont know but odds are they will fail you anyways.

IMO you are just making your life harder by doing a 5spd swap. MOST IMPORTANTLY you arent even gaining anything out of the swap, infact its actually a DOWNGRADE!!!! The A650E has higher 1st,2nd and 3rd gears while a lower 5th compared to the w58. This means in 1-3 it will put more power down will cruising in 5th will give you better mpg. To put it bluntly, if you want the feel of a clutch pedal you are in the wrong car. Sell the sc400 and get a sc300 or supra (obd-i preferably).

Very discouraging so far. These obd2's are nothng but a PITA!

mikeydelro

Ruin with a manual swap??? Worse gas mileage??? That sounds like more opinion than fact. Its a proven fact that a manual transmission will save you gas due to the direct connection through the tranny. an automatic looses approx 10% of the engines power/efficiency until it gets at a cruising speed and the torque converter locks up. The automatics are heavier, take more fluids, have more moving parts and require more sensors. This decreases mpg and increases maintenance. Now the ecu must communicate with the auto tranny and all the sensors. if you remove the auto and install a manual the ecu no longer gets readings from the sensors and throws codes. so like AliSC3 said, you gotta trick the ecu to think the sensors are reading fine. its not rocket science right? probably a little close to computer science and you tell me how many regular scientists you know. I'm sure it can be done but i wouldn't know where to start. as for having the code and having a state ref allowing this code to be present to pass smog and giving you paper work for it would be a lot easier/cheaper and less time consuming.

Now this is my opinion: Why did Lexus never make a 5 speed manual tranny in the V8 SC400? Because it would cost a hell of a lot more to make a strong enough tranny to put up with the abuse that that engine could dish out. so they keep the auto tranny to lose some of that power through the tourque converter (that 10% through the fluid).

now if you plan on racing this thing at a track and increasing your hp with add ons then maybe you should keep the auto. but if you want be able to manipulate the car through corners, use the engine to slow you, drift it every once in a while, get sideways with out having to floor the throttle, save gas and have some fun then throw the 5 speed in. Down grade? possibly to the guy above... upgrade? Yes, at least to me and hundreds of people who only wish of installing a 5speed in their own sc400. Please forward this to the guy above... id like to know how he was educated in the transmission field. Or is hes just reading numbers in a magazine with out taking the slip (10% loss) of the torque converter into consideration.