From the early 90s all the way into the new millennium the Lexus SC300 (Z30) has been a popular pick for those wanting luxury sport coupe performance. It’s enjoyed different levels of success but recently the SC has become a very popular pick for engine swappers.
In Japan the SC is known as the Toyota Soarer, and features the 1JZGTE the 2.5 liter version of the renowned 2JZGTE found in the Toyota Supra here in the US. Because the US SC300 has a 2JZGE non turbo engine in it, many of the mounts, connectors and transmission choices are the same or very similar.
This means that swapping a 2JZ into a SC300 is easier than many other chassis options, especially when it comes to the motor mounts and transmission mounts, as they do not require changing.
The Z30 is a terrific choice for budget minded 2JZ swappers, but that’s not to say it’s all downhill once you’ve found a SC300. Because of the vehicle’s age, many components may fail or give you problems, especially with so many creature comforts built into the car.
One of the more common issues with SC300’s is the power tilt or tilt steering mechanism that fails or does not operate correctly. There is a small delrin like gasket that becomes worn and can shatter inside the gear box and teeth, causing a buzzing noise or your tilt steering to not work at all.
This is what our How To Fix SC300 Tilt Steering article is here to help you do, repair your tilt steering mechanism.
To access the gearbox in your SC300 tilt steering mechanism, undo the three screws on the bottom side of your steering column.
Now remove the front screw that holds the upper and lower covers together.
Next pull up on the top of your steering column cover, take care to gently pry as to not bend the metal tabs that clamp down around the column.
Once you have the top removed, you can gently pry the lower section off the steering column. Make sure to use a spatula or panel popper to pull the lower cover off the tilt steering controls.
Now with the column removed, you can see the gearbox assembly and the three 8mm bolts that hold the cover on. Remove these covers to access the inside of your tilt steering gearbox.
Many times you’ll see the black remnants of the bushing behind the tilt gear. The problem then becomes your tilt gear not making contact with the top gear drive. Undo the center screw and pop off the green gear, and clean the grease away from the drive and gear. Remove all remains of the black bushing and then you’ll be ready to install a new bushing and the gear.
You will need to do some legwork on the replacement bushing behind the green gear. You can use a metal bushing but a plastic unit is preferred to keep noise and gear whine to a minimum.
Reinstall the new bushing and the green gear, and then pack the gearbox with white lithium grease or another long lasting thick grease to keep the gear and drive quiet.
Make sure that the green gear is making contact with the tilt steering drive. Insert your key and put it to the “ON” position and you should be able to move the tilt with this cover off. Make sure there’s no extra noise or any gear slipping issues.
Once you have the new bushing and packed the gearbox with grease, you can reinstall the cover and the three bolts.
That does it for our How To Fix SC300 Tilt Steering guide, please let us know if you have any questions or comments below!
i have a 97 sc400 did you have to take steering wheel off to get access to that gear?
Hi Leo, thanks for commenting.
You dont need to remove the steering wheel to get access to the tilt gear. With the right tools you can adjust it without having to do so if you have a aftermarket steering wheel easier. Let us know how the SC tilt steering repair goes!