jimisbell

Replaced third Cat and resonators with straight pipes. Now, that's what I am talking about. Not too loud butt not silent either. Found the third Cat was almost completely plugged. That should help gas mileage!

mostrogt3

Well here is my first post with pictures of my 05 with 186K I picked up recently (1 week). First thing right off the bat was to get new shoes which are already on. Got the oem chromes off and picked up some Niche Gemello 20's. Besides doing aditional maintenance she is coming along pretty well. Did oil change, and radiator flush yesterday. All the other major items like Timing belt, Water Pump, Spark Plugs, Brake flush, Transmission flush, Fuel Injection flush, Throttle Body, ball joints, and Transmission mounts were mostly done by the previous owner at around the 173K mark so I am in a pretty good position with taking care of those for a while.

Wheel Specs:
Niche Gemello
Front: 20x9 ET35 - 245/35
Rear: 20x10 ET40 - 275/30

Currently working on the following:
Megan Racing coilovers - on their way
Updating all lighting to Led's - in progress
Daizen bushings (Front and Rear) - on their way
Stereo/speakers replacement/upgrade - planning phase
Nav screen swap - planning phase

Future Mods in waiting:
Catback replacement - deciding between Megan Racing or HKS
Front Strut Bar
Rear Strut Bar
Front/Rear Sway Bar upgrades
Lip, Side, Rear kit
Rear Headrest re-upholster

Pics attached

DJWLDW

Replaced front struts with new OEM struts. 136,889 miles and now all 4 struts have been replaced on son's 05 SC 430. Also did a 4 wheel alignment and replaced the front brake pads.

Dennis

Wilson2000

I imagine you researched aftermarket struts before deciding on OEM. What made you settle on OEM? Did you replace the whole strut assembly, or the inserts? If not the whole assembly, did you replace any other parts of the assembly, including the mounts? When you say you did a 4 wheel alignment, I assume you mean that you took it to a shop for this, correct? How about the strut work...did you tackle it yourself, or have it done?

I'm certain I'll have to replace my struts eventually, so I'm attempting to understand other's strategies to help me define my own. Too, could you please illuminate us on your costs? One last question...Was the ride improvement about what you expected?

DJWLDW

Wilson2000

Did not do any research. The son's SC is his daily driver so really was not interested in after market stuff. We just replaced the shock inserts. We also replaced the seal/gasket up at the top of the shock tower as well as 3 other parts that may have been prone to ware. I ordered from Megazip in Japan and selected those parts from the parts blowup. The son is the Executive Director of a 32 acre 912 Bed Assisted Living community and his Director of Maintenance son works at a Honda Dealership and he can work on cars after hours at the dealership. So the son delivered the car on Saturday and picked it up on Monday. I don't know about the ride as I live in another state from the son. His regular guy had told him the right front shock was leaking the last time he had the oil changed so he asked me to order some replacements last November I think. I don't remember the cost as I have one of his CC's on file and just handle the research and ordering of what he needs and have it sent directly to him. I think he had about $450 in parts and he said the guy charged him $325 to change out the struts and do the 4 wheel alignment.

Dennis

davem1951

That is really sharp!!--can you pass on the info on the tires and rims or a link to same--thanks much appreciated

Vendkai

Silver exterior with Black interior. Bought when the car had 32,000 miles on it. Been babied since then. All service records since DOFU available (car has been meticulously serviced at Lexus dealer)

Have to get a bigger car; expecting Grand kids soon. Asking $26,998. Will throw in most of the spare kit stuff that I have been collecting.

Replaced RFT with Goodyear tires recently. Car is in pristine condition. Pictures attached

oneround

Had the left front wheel bearing replaced at a local area shop. Considered doing both front wheels, but shop owner he would do it if I really wanted him to but convinced me there was no need.

Now when I cruise down a nice quiet road-surface street, all I hear is the wind noise from the split rubber by the outside rear-view mirror.

And yes, I have read the threads on the issue...someday.

Cavedog

I installed my handicapped plate today. The placard was a pain to keep from blowing out of the car. Bad knee and oxygen concentrator are obvious signs of my health problems, so don't think I am one of those that are taking advantage of the system. 75 and going strong. Thanks all

TNSC430

Nice where did you find the carbon fiber around your window switches?

TNSC430

This week I had the oil changed, installed a new head unit with Sirrius XM and CarPlay, replaced the rotor’s on the front and premium pads.

HardTimes

Spent most of the day looking up mods to do to my 2003 SC430 once I get it out of storage. I have a few things on my agenda:
1) Injen intake - actually came in yesterday, ready to install
2) Re-cover armrest (typical elbow wear) - ordered off fleabay, should be here anyday
3) Looking at going LED for lights - this is what a good part of the day has been researching - thanks to those that have posted
4) Contemplating biting the bullet and buying new headlight lenses. Have been looking at restorations, but I think my passenger's side has a crack near bottom
5) Have a "pre-owned" charcoal canister in the garage waiting for a nice day to replace - infamous P0440 (or maybe P0442) and P0446 codes - "very small EVAP leak" that despite all my research and efforts I have not otherwise been able to solve.
6) Charging the battery currently as I did not disconnect it when I put it in storage for the winter and it's now dead (and it was a brand new battery when I put it away!)

Mostly pondering throughout the day how much I want to put into this car. I may start a thread to get advice from the community about my previously wrecked (clean, not salvage title) 2003 SC.
But for now, thank you all enthusiastic and motivated SC owners that keep this forum going and providing great ideas and help for the rest of us!!

oneround

I went down this same path and mine is now fixed. However, I now have a used and unneeded canister in the closet for "future insurance". In my case it was a leaking fuel overfill valve.

If you have Techstream and a smoke machine all you need to do is block off the vent line at the canister (don't need to remove anything to do that) and run through the test cycle and narrow down where the leak is at. The Techstream test sequence should also identify the canister if that is the problem. Techstream will certainly narrow down if the problem is on one side or the other of the VSV for pressure switching valve. Then the smoke machine can pinpoint where the leak is occurring. I have Techstream and a smoke machine -- if you are anywhere near east central FL (vacation?) and want to stop by just send me a message.

If I could just get my hindsight to kick just a wee bit sooner, I wouldn't have bought the used canister - oh well, maybe next time. Hoping this helps so that you don't do the work to swap a canister and find that wasn't the problem.

HardTimes

Thanks for the input oneround. I’ve scoured this site and replaced all hoses I can see. Started the process with reattaching the common disconnected hoses, replacing motor mounts, and put on a new oem gas cap - no help.
I had a local mechanic hook it up to his computer and a smoke machine. He found no leaks and said he was able to activate all the switches via the computer …. grrr.
I do have Techstream and will try your suggestion. I also have the 3 volume set of repair manuals and will try my best to follow instructions (my wife says I don’t do that well ) to try to pinpoint the issue. Does anyone know … does Techstream do basically everything the Toyota “hand held device” can do as referenced in the manual?
Thanks all.

oneround

I haven't found anything that Techstream does not do when the book calls for hand held device.

Techstream will allow you to trigger each of the three VSVs individually so you can test them to see if they are functioning - the FSM explains those tests. You can also what vacuum/pressure build in the system as it runs through the system tests.

My memory sucks. I can't remember which function to select to exercise the VSVs, or run the system test, but I can verify they are both in there. If you can't make sense of the FSM (wasn't all that easy for me) let me know and I'll see if I can recreate the tests and document them - something I should have done when I finally got my evap system working.

EDIT: I do remember the smoke test and how checking a leak at the fuel overfill valve almost failed for me. Not because of the smoke machine but because of the testing conditions. If it is the fuel valve, I think you will need a flashlight and no breeze in the testing area in addition to a smoke machine. The valve sits in the middle of the fuel tank (front to back) and the smoke dissipates in all directions so it's hard to see - I too thought there was no leak to be found. It just happened that I was under there long enough trying to think through what I had potentially screwed up that I saw some wisps of smoke. You have to fill up the whole gas tank with smoke before it will even start to show up. Running the test with about 1/4 tank like I did makes it take a while with a typical smoke machine output.