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I'm actually trying to find a fella that I ran across on a Youtube Video.
He seems pretty knowledgeable about the SC 430 and given me a very long message about how to take good care of the SC 430. He even emailed me that message.
He said he is a member in this forum. But unfortunately the message he sent me on youtube is no longer there and I can not remember what his email address is.
I'll attached some pictures of the youtube video where I ran across him.
The title of the videos is " Lexus reliability sc 430 review and what to look for when buying in 2020 ".
My email address is anelkaluong@yahoo.com
My youtube name is Simple Habit.
Buddy if you're still here I definitely can use your help with your knowledge.
Welcome to the forum Simplehabi. What's your question(s)? There's a lot of really smart and knowledgeable folks on this forum who can help you. The one you mention above doesn't ring a bell but that doesn't mean that he's not a member.
Welcome to the CL. All you need to know about the SC are in the top part of this forum call the stickies. Read thru what ever you need to know. If you have a specific question, post here. There are many knowledgeable folks can help.
I did lots of research prior to buy my car and my number 1 concern is the top working mechanism and how to maintenance it.
My question is :
1. How do you properly maintenance it so that it doesn't break ?
2. In case it stops working, how to diagnose it ?
As for the knowledgeable person that I mentioned, I remember he gave me a long list of advices to maintain the car. I don't remember everything that he said but it was something like this :
1. He did mention the radiator is the weakness of this car and recommend me to keep an eye on it and also gave me a reliable brand name to purchase and replace. As far as I know, Denso seems to be the common brand for Radiator that everyone would go for. I can assure that he's correct about the radiator because I just replaced mine with Denso. I'm just not sure if there is a brand that is better than Denso.
2. He also mentioned to keep an eye on the power steering pump because that thing could leak and kill the alternator ( checked )
3. He mentioned if I could buy an 06 model or above that would be better because they improved many things with the 06 model and above. That's exactly what I have- 06 Pebble beach Tigerete Mica.
4. He also mention something about the struts, which I completely forgot.
5. Timing belt, water pump and drive belt a
alre been replaced right when I bought it.
6. My car isn't very smooth right now when driving it. It vibrates quite a bit at traffic lights and more obvious when above 60 mph.I suspect it has something to do with the wheel size ( 20 inch from previous owner ).
7. The weather strippings seem to be peeling of quite a bit and make some noise on freeway. Which shop should I take it to to replace the weather stripping and how much would that cost ?
8. I'm very clueless when it comes to wheel size but what I gather from most people is that 19" size is very comfy driving experience.
9. I don't understand when people talking about wheel size and saying things like offset, staggered, width and have 1 size for the front and a different size in the back. Why do people do that ? Shouldn't same size for front and back would be the common thing to do ?
I hope I don't annoy anyone for asking too many questions. I really love this car and want to keep it forever.
1. As with any older car, the radiator can go out. Correct, to keep an eye out and check for the fluid level getting low or leaks. But it is not something that fails all that often in the scheme of things. Mine lasted 18 years and 140k miles. Yes, Denso is a good brand.
2. Power steering pump, yes keep an eye on it for leaks. It is not a weak component but once again, these are older cars and components that involve movement, seals and pressure will eventually fail.
3. An 06 will have several changes in it from the 02-05. Many prefer the changes, some do not. Congrats on your purchase, that is a fairly rare model. Post some pictures please.
4. The struts are movement items with seals. With age and wear, they can leak and become ineffective.
5. Glad your TB, WP and belt were replaced. That should hold you for another 9 years or 90k miles.
6. When you state that the car vibrates at lights, do you mean when it is not moving? If so, have the motor and transmission mounts checked out. It may also be time for the spark plugs to be replaced (there's lots of other stuff that could make your engine run rough though). With regards to 60 mph, there does seem to be a resonant vibration that can occur between about 50 mph & 65 mph if there are front end issues or wheels out of balance. Can you be more specific?
7. Which weather stripping and what do you mean by peeling? Post some pictures.
8. 18" wheels are the OEM size. The larger the wheel, the smaller the rubber tire sidewalls needs to be to keep the odometer and speedometer accurate. With less sidewalls will come a rougher ride.
9. People add spacers, larger wheels and staggered sizes for looks only.
This is what I would check first. The sc430 has a tendency to wear out one of the motor mounts and the transmission mount
You really should fist analyze what RPM the vehicle is idling in gear. Yes mounts go bad but if the rpm is too low it will produce vibrations even when the mounts are fine. 650’ish in gear and about 900 or so in park or neutral when the car is warm. There is a specific port on the throttle body that handles idle air flow when the flap is closed. It’s very easy to inspect.
Clean the VSV valve. I noticed an improvement immediately when I did mine. Link
You really should fist analyze what RPM the vehicle is idling in gear. Yes mounts go bad but if the rpm is too low it will produce vibrations even when the mounts are fine. 650’ish in gear and about 900 or so in park or neutral when the car is warm. There is a specific port on the throttle body that handles idle air flow when the flap is closed. It’s very easy to inspect.
Clean the VSV valve. I noticed an improvement immediately when I did mine. Link
Vibrations at speed are mostly likely bent rims.
Thanks for the tip. This is such important thing to know. I've never heard about the VSV valve until now and yes tomorrow I'll be paying attention with the rpm at park and in gears.
1. As with any older car, the radiator can go out. Correct, to keep an eye out and check for the fluid level getting low or leaks. But it is not something that fails all that often in the scheme of things. Mine lasted 18 years and 140k miles. Yes, Denso is a good brand.
2. Power steering pump, yes keep an eye on it for leaks. It is not a weak component but once again, these are older cars and components that involve movement, seals and pressure will eventually fail.
3. An 06 will have several changes in it from the 02-05. Many prefer the changes, some do not. Congrats on your purchase, that is a fairly rare model. Post some pictures please.
4. The struts are movement items with seals. With age and wear, they can leak and become ineffective.
5. Glad your TB, WP and belt were replaced. That should hold you for another 9 years or 90k miles.
6. When you state that the car vibrates at lights, do you mean when it is not moving? If so, have the motor and transmission mounts checked out. It may also be time for the spark plugs to be replaced (there's lots of other stuff that could make your engine run rough though). With regards to 60 mph, there does seem to be a resonant vibration that can occur between about 50 mph & 65 mph if there are front end issues or wheels out of balance. Can you be more specific?
7. Which weather stripping and what do you mean by peeling? Post some pictures.
8. 18" wheels are the OEM size. The larger the wheel, the smaller the rubber tire sidewalls needs to be to keep the odometer and speedometer accurate. With less sidewalls will come a rougher ride.
9. People add spacers, larger wheels and staggered sizes for looks only.
Thank you for taking the time to answer all my questions. Really appreciate it.
05-28-21, 08:15 PM
A Long Shot!!!
