Soarer Central: Hello from Melbourne

Soarer Central Say G'day Hello from Melbourne

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Callum Allen
Newbie
Victoria
TBA

Posts: 1
Reg: 05-2012

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 05:58 pm, by: Callum Allen (T93)

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G'day all,

I actually don't currently own a soarer, though I am possibly looking to upgrade my car to one of them.

I have been informed of a Lexus SC400 (with airbag suspension, probably a UZZ31) which is being unused, and can be mine if I like. I have been told that the car may need a new wheel bearing, it will need new struts for the boot (or a regassing if that is possible) and needs a timing belt change (a family member is a mechanic and can do this for a reasonable price)

I was also told that it needs to be driven very slowly over speedhumps, but from what I know, the UZZ31's have a switch just in front of the shifter that allows the car to be lowered or raised, or am I wrong about this?

I have found this post that tells me some soarer specific problems http://soarercentral.com/cgi-bin/sc-forum/show.cgi?tpc=51875&post=163264#POST163264
under what conditions would blinky dash present itself? Anytime the dash is 'on', or it would only blink in a specific situation?

Cheers.

Enzo Seidl
TryHard
NSW
TT

Posts: 151
Reg: 03-2012

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 06:41 pm, by: Enzo Seidl (Enzoisamazing)

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Hey buddy, welcome to SC.

With regards to the slowly over speed bumps, i think may have to do with the airbag suspension, if the car does have the height adjuster, it has airbag suspension, which from what ive read can be unstable, definatly not suitable to fly over speedbumps in.

Blinki dash only appears with cold ambient temperature if im not mistaken, although there are various dash error symptoms that arise as blinki is on its way.

I'm fairly new to the Soarer family, so if there are any discrepancies, feel free to step in.

Sean Routledge
DieHard
Victoria
V8 Limited

Posts: 892
Reg: 07-2008

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Thursday, May 31, 2012 - 06:20 pm, by: Sean Routledge (Stircrazy)

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Hey Callum, welcome bud.

Regarding the UZZ31, you'll have no issues with speed humps height wise, unless you get an aftermarket height controller and ride around on a super low setting which I wouldn't recommend anyway. When i've done it in the past, the slightest bump sends my car in to a bounce for a few seconds after the initial bump. Doesn't feel very good. I think that as long as you drive over speed humps at a normal pace you will have no issues, unless you like to fly over them at say 80 kmph, which I wouldn't recommend in any car. As for the standard "normal to high" switch near the shifter, you'll be waiting around 30-40 seconds for the car to raise, and then roughly the same to go back to normal height. But maybe you're more patient than I? Anyway, good luck and I hope some of this helped.

Callum Allen
Newbie
Victoria
TBA

Posts: 2
Reg: 05-2012

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Saturday, June 02, 2012 - 10:29 pm, by: Callum Allen (T93)

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I have inspected the SC400 I mentioned at the beginning of the thread.

Some issues I found were:
-Headlamps had fogged up (I hear these can be polished to clear up)
-I was told that the 12 Cd stacker sometimes skips, how do I fix this?
-Radiator top tank leaks around the sensor, can these top tanks still be bought new?
-Boot struts have failed
-RHS door trim has a split near the switches
-Aircon smells musty when operated (I inspected a 92' model, do these have an aircon filter?
-Centre dash vent cracked
-Rear right indicator globe blown
-may a bit of lifter noise, or could be belt noise
-Rocker Cover gaskets may have a slight leak.
when operating the airbag height switch from inside the car, I didn't notice the car lower itself

I am particularly keen on responses to the bolded issues.

Joshua Rao
Goo Roo
WA
TT (for sale $5.2k), 97 Blk UZZ31, 97 JZZ30 vvti turbo white manual, 96 vvti turbo manual, Legnum VR4, MR2 sw20, Alfa 156

Posts: 2855
Reg: 09-2006

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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 01:55 am, by: Joshua Rao (Soaren1)

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Hey Callum

Good luck with your soarer quest. To provide insight on what I know:

-Headlamps had fogged up (I hear these can be polished to clear up) - common as and will be on most soarers.
-I was told that the 12 Cd stacker sometimes skips, how do I fix this? - can get a second hand one
-Radiator top tank leaks around the sensor, can these top tanks still be bought new? yes may not be oem though
-Boot struts have failed - easy to get new or 2nd hand replacements.
-RHS door trim has a split near the switches - can get 2nd hand replacements.
-Aircon smells musty when operated (I inspected a 92' model, do these have an aircon filter?
-Centre dash vent cracked - can get 2nd hand replacements.
-Rear right indicator globe blown -easy
-may a bit of lifter noise, or could be belt noise
-Rocker Cover gaskets may have a slight leak.
when operating the airbag height switch from inside the car, I didn't notice the car lower itself

Mathew Beames
Tinkerer
South Australia
V8

Posts: 23
Reg: 11-2011

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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 08:26 am, by: Mathew Beames (Triggs)

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Hey and welcome. I hope you chose the sc400 because its such a well made car.

The height switch you have located near the shifter is standard, therefor will only raise the car or return to normal height.

Nathan Sheehan
TryHard
Victoria
Soarer TT Manual

Posts: 238
Reg: 12-2005

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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 08:36 am, by: Nathan Sheehan (Soarermad1)

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aircon musty - I do remember someone saying these had some kind of pollen filter, probably needs a clean out? Or you could just spray some frebreeze or something equivalent in the system? I think you can buy a product for the aircon to remove the smell.

Dave Rose
Goo Roo
wa
UZZ31 / ML320 CDI

Posts: 1947
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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 10:29 am, by: Dave Rose (Sand_groper)

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http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/messages/10/31.html?1150259642 Its all in topics

Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

Posts: 12347
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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 01:55 pm, by: Peter Nitschke (Pen)

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Callum.

The headlights may need to be removed, split open and then cleaned if the moisture and fogginess is inside.

Top tank, around $300, get a 97 one as it doesn't nave the hole for the sensor, so won't ever leak there again. The sensor isn't really necessary.

Boot struts can be regassed, means you get to keep the quality stainless steel OEM ones.

Callum Allen
Newbie
Victoria
TBA

Posts: 3
Reg: 05-2012

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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 02:20 pm, by: Callum Allen (T93)

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When I inspected that SC400, the height switch was in the 'high' position, so i didn't notice the car lower itself when i switched it to 'normal'. Perhaps I should have exited the car and watched from outside.

I am not fussed if the radiator top tank is OEM or not, as long as it functions the same as OEM, including having the provision for the sensor that goes there.

I recall the owner saying, that they were not sure how to access the globes in the tail lights. Is there a panel that must be removed first to access these.

The reason I asked about the air conditioner filter, was that I read somewhere, that the 92' models do not have a cabin filter. I am not sure if the cabin, and air conditioner filters are completely different items that serve different purposes, or they are one and the same, just referred to with two different names.

Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31

Posts: 6696
Reg: 10-2005

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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 02:33 pm, by: Matthew Sharpe (Madmatt)

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There is a filter in the passenger footwell - actually there are two panels - they are around $90 to replace from memory, or you can clean the old ones. This may not fix the musty smell, you may have to put some mould killer through the system.

Tail lights are like most modern cars - just need to undo a couple of nuts and drop them forward out of the car to access the globes.

Callum Allen
Newbie
Victoria
TBA

Posts: 5
Reg: 05-2012

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Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 05:17 pm, by: Callum Allen (T93)

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I missed your post earlier Peter, so you say that sensor is not necessary, what exactly is it used for? And would deleting it cause any error codes?

As the car I inspected does not have EMV, is it possible to convert a non EMV soarer to EMV? Also, would it be a worthwhile upgrade, if it is actually possible?

Alistair Moorby
TryHard
VIC
soarer TT

Posts: 294
Reg: 12-2006

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Monday, June 04, 2012 - 02:52 pm, by: Alistair Moorby (Aldmo87)

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It's not worth the trouble converting to EMV, my opinion is that the EMV makes the interior look very dated, the user interface on them looks pretty bad.

Plus the GPS won't work in AUS, so the only use for a big screen is the reversing camera which is normally built into the spoiler.

You will be better off getting an aftermarket 7" touchscreen.

It will give you useable GPS, iPod/aux port for music, a reversing camera

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HOT-7-Android-Tablet-3G-WiFi-Double-Din-Car-GPS-DVD-Player-Google-Map-NEW -/140765514929?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20c6474cb1

And it would probably be cheaper, the EMV's are usually pretty expensive.

Also keep in mind these cars can be expensive to maintain, the real expensive stuff is suspension (airbags) budget $1000 to replace them with coils if one fails.

Also lower control arms etc. I would recommend you get a roadworthy BEFORE you buy it, I bought mine without and regretted it, not because I couldn't afford it but because I could have got another $1000 off the purchase price if I knew what was wrong with it.

Dave Rose
Goo Roo
wa
UZZ31 / ML320 CDI

Posts: 1953
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Monday, June 04, 2012 - 04:36 pm, by: Dave Rose (Sand_groper)

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Callum , it would be very very hard to convert to a stock EMV.
Alister, thats not really good advice about the EMV, once you put a digital picture in i think you would agree how perfect it looks.
i like other guys on here have HDTV, digital radio, DVD,rev cam, AUX interface ,etc all going through the Soarers system .also the touch screen controls the CD stacker,air con,you can even run your diagnostics on it.

Callum Allen
Tinkerer
Victoria
TBA

Posts: 7
Reg: 05-2012

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Monday, June 04, 2012 - 07:30 pm, by: Callum Allen (T93)

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I'll be getting a mechanic mate of mine to put the car on a hoist, and give it a good looking over, to see what may pose an issue for roadworthy, and what may fail in the next year or two.

My reason for wanting the EMV, was so I would have diagnostics, and for the fact that I could get tv on it (after having it converted to PAL)

Though, I had a thought this morning, I could eventually get a car PC installed, though I am not sure if the EMV and non EMV soarers have roughly the same protocols for diagnostics, and if there is an aftermarket program to show Soarer/SC400 diagnostics on a car pc

Alistair Moorby
TryHard
VIC
soarer TT

Posts: 295
Reg: 12-2006

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Monday, June 04, 2012 - 08:03 pm, by: Alistair Moorby (Aldmo87)

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There's basically no chance of getting an after market head unit to display diagnostics. Maybe a PC if you had the Toyota programming lead/program.

Diagnostics is available on non EMV Soarers but its a pain to do, and requires shorting a jumper in the engine bay.

Also analog TV will be shutdown next year.

Dave Rose
Goo Roo
wa
UZZ31 / ML320 CDI

Posts: 1954
Reg: 03-2007

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Monday, June 04, 2012 - 10:25 pm, by: Dave Rose (Sand_groper)

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Callum, This is not much use to you ,but if you did have a EMV you would not have to convert it to pal most of the HDTV DIG tuners are auto and change output to NTSC.

Alistair Moorby
TryHard
VIC
soarer TT

Posts: 296
Reg: 12-2006

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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 08:23 am, by: Alistair Moorby (Aldmo87)

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Hey Dave, yeah I agree with you that a digital picture would look fine, I was more commenting on the user interface for the air con/stereo etc. I find that it looks a bit outdated, but that's just my opinion, plenty of fans out there.

On another note I am trying to find a way to integrate Android 4.0 ICS into my system.

There are small Android systems that can be had for around $80 that plug into a monitor, the only issue is how to control it...

Check them out, very interesting future for CarPC's

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/05/new-74-android-mini-computer-is-slightly-larger-than-a-thumb- drive/

By the way you mentioned the boot struts need regassing.... I wrote up a quick guide the other day when I changed mine, only half an hour job and it costs about $50.

http://soarercentral.com/sc-forum/messages/284/361291.html?1338256696

Dave Rose
Goo Roo
wa
UZZ31 / ML320 CDI

Posts: 1955
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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 01:12 pm, by: Dave Rose (Sand_groper)

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They did update the screens, also to include AUX AV input.

Upload

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Allan Langford
DieHard
Vic
UZZ31

Posts: 708
Reg: 05-2010

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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 04:11 pm, by: Allan Langford (Allan)

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...and as useful as tit's on a bull, no english translation and no australian maps

Walter Gillmore
Goo Roo
QLD
TT JZZ30

Posts: 1412
Reg: 07-2009

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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 04:53 pm, by: Walter Gillmore (Cl33pa)

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welcome Callum

the aircon musty issue. yes these have a dual panel filter above the ECU on the passenger side footwell. stick you head under the glovebox after removing the lower trim and you will see a little rectangle panel with that opens, pull out the old filters and replace. don't even bother trying to clean them and reuse them.

I have never sen diagnostics on an EMV equipped soarer. i have spent a small fortune trying to get carpc to run some form of diagnostics but toyota signals are hard to work with. EMV must have some form of diagnostics reader and signal convertor...? the russians are having a bit of luck running diagnostics on PC with their own custom coding and programs, they use the pc serial port for this. i have been following their progress closely. If your EMV works well and has no issues. i would advise sticking with it. only bonus of a carpc is the fact you can add USB anything, have wifi, bluetooth, voice activation, aftermarket ECU data logging and tuning etc.

Alistair. why don't you try MIMICS? you will need an iphone 4, but it's damn good ;) i see the andriod thumb pc runs an A10 processor. same as iphone 4g, and the cotton candy has the same processor as the iphone 4s, these are great units. but very limited in its use in a modified car... tuning programs etc, as a media only device it would be perfect!

Dave Rose
Goo Roo
wa
UZZ31 / ML320 CDI

Posts: 1958
Reg: 03-2007

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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 05:01 pm, by: Dave Rose (Sand_groper)

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So dont you use your AUX AV INPUT (VTR) Allan?
, you could run your nav on the Soarer screen.

One day i will borrow Toyota nav DVD ,you never know....

Upload

Allan Langford
DieHard
Vic
UZZ31

Posts: 709
Reg: 05-2010

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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 06:24 pm, by: Allan Langford (Allan)

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nope mine has been gone some time now and replaced with a 7inch touch screen

Callum Allen
Tinkerer
Victoria
TBA

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Reg: 05-2012

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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 08:14 pm, by: Callum Allen (T93)

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I guess the diagnostics displayed on the dashboard will suffice, as most other cars have it, I'll just have to learn a bit of japanese!

Is it normal for Soarers to have a yellowish substance/discoloration on the paint around where the rear spoiler meets the body, at the top of the doors, etc? The one I viewed has these problems. It's rough cosmetically, but it may come up good with some rejuvenation work, mechanically it drives smooth.

Peter Nitschke
Junk Filterer
South Australia
UZZ30 UZZ31

Posts: 12350
Reg: 11-2004

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Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 08:15 pm, by: Peter Nitschke (Pen)

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Callum Allen wrote on Sunday, June 03, 2012 - 05:17 pm:
I missed your post earlier Peter, so you say that sensor is not necessary, what exactly is it used for? And would deleting it cause any error codes?

The sensor is for coolant level, and it was removed from the later models. Removing it has no adverse effect. Occasionally the sensor itself can get waterlogged and trigger even when the level is fine.

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