53063

Hello! New Lexus owner (though old car) and new to the forum, seeking advice please.

Just purchased a 2003 Lexus es300. 32,400 miles. Garage kept in Florida for 9 years, garage kept in Maryland for the last 6 months. Maintained as per recommended based on mileage at Lexus dealer in FL. Timing belt, drive belts, and water pump are original.

Everything is in excellent condition. However, a friend who works at a Lexus dealer in CO recommended I change the timing belt, drive belts, seals (?) and water pump based on age even though it is low mileage.

Anyone kept their timing belt over 10 years? Water pump? Are those parts known to be reliable or not? I can't get a straight answer on if an interference engine or not. If it will not do damage if it breaks at some point, I would just run it till it breaks and then repair. However, I want to keep this car a long time so if damage is likely if it breaks am I still safe to drive it for another year or so or does this really need to be done ASAP?

Lastly, boyfriend is willing to tackle the job if forum advises it has to be done. He has the skills and has done my past cars timing belts, replaced engines, etc. However, I don't want to put him through misery - some of those cars were pure h--- to work on. Is the 2003 es300 known for being particularly easy or hard to change those parts? If anyone knows a trusted mechanic in the greater Washington DC/Baltimore/Annapolis area other than a lexus dealer I'd love the info.

Thanks!

vintagelex

Wow, great find on such a low milege car. I just had the timing belt and all that goes with it done on my car a few months ago, and the timing belt had almost 90k on it and was 10 years old, and the waterpump was original (the car is a 1992). So yours probably shouldn't just break, but if you can get the job done without paying the crazy costs of labor for a shop to do it, I'd say just change it out. It would be a shame to ruin such a low milege engine because of a snapped timing belt. But that's just my opinion, others on here who own these newer ES's can probably give you some more info.

hypervish

Welcome to Club Lexus!

Post some pictures of the odo, or it isn't true :P

The timing belt + water pump should be changed, it is now 3 years overdue and being as the 1MZ-FE with VVT-I is interference it's in your best interest to have it replaced before it breaks.

Groober

Does that also mean my 2001 ES300 is an interference design? I swear, I took it to get an estimate on a belt and water pump and the guy said 'drive it until it breaks and I'll replace it. It's not an interference motor so nothing will be damaged."

canucklehe

i know they say every 10 years. I wouldn't touch it myself. I think you're good until you hit the mileage. the belt isn't exposed to direct UV or anything else to cause it to wear. use causes wear. I'm sure Lexus would disagree with me. I just think it's a waste of $$.

I just posted a recent topic on ES300 timing belt. someone posted a youtube link. my post should appear in the past few pages of topics, or do a search.

there is another link (not in that topic) from Gates that will tell you if a timing belt is non interference or not.

canucklehe

here is the link for the timing belt interference vs. non-interference.

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?for...13618428492812

my thread was "DIY timing belt" in the ES300 forums. you should find it easy and then there is a great link in there to show you how-to.

I was going to do mine myself, but i was worried about cam seals. my mileage is 140K miles and I have a car 10 years older than you. I would NOT do cam seals, etc.. .on your car, nor would I touch water pump. If you really, really want to spend money, maybe just the belt only. don't bother with tensioner or idler bearings either.

hypervish

Yes, your ES is interference as well.

There is a common misconception that the 1MZ-FE with VVT-I is not interference, and well that is not true. The 99' and up ES is interference.

hypervish

I believe Lexus says every 7 years, not 10.

Also, did you ever think about how much heat the timing belt has to withstand. It isn't all about UV wear...

canucklehe

oops, that link doesn't work, hopefully this one does.

http://www.gates.com/part_locator/in...o=Interference

according to Gates, it is non-interference. I also checked my old 86 Honda Prelude and it showed as interference (which i know it was, just wanted to make sure Gates site was showing the difference). Someone also told me Toyota hadn't used interference design since 199?? (can't recall exact date, but it was years ago).

i am not certain. hypervish seems confident about it. hopefully dealer would know for sure, but service writer at our local Lexus dealer gave me wrong answer on this exact question, so i don't know how reliable that is.

canucklehe

yes, the amount of heat it will be exposed to in 100K miles = time to replace. how much heat does it get exposed to while not running?

UV was just an example of what wears out rubber. In case of timing belt, it'd never be exposed to UV. A rubber belt sitting on shelf doesn't get tossed due to age. Landfill can't break these things down in 1,000s of years, so I am skeptical of mfrers claim that we should just do it after 7 years. IMHO use = time change.

my '01 Camry V6 has 30K miles. I do not plan to touch belt until I reach 100K, however many years that will take.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

canucklehe, I believe hypervish has mentioned before that the Gates website is not correct about this engine configuration.

My honest opinion, get a good OEM kit from eBay or RockAuto ($200-250) and have your BF change it out. It will give you a piece of a mind and you won't have to think about it for years to come. Difficulty = intermediate, but definitely not bad.

canucklehe

you are correct, he did say before that Gates was incorrect. I'm confused for the reasons I outlined. Gates was correct about the couple of vehicles I have direct knowledge of, plus the info I've heard from Toyota owners, and inaccurate info I got from Lexus service dept (one guy) has me wondering. I'm just saying wouldn't hurt to ask a little more at Lexus.

It is intermediate until you get to the cam seals and then it is more intimidating. I still don't think I'd touch those cam seals or water pump.

Aisin water pump is what I've read from others; don't cheap out on that piece. I also posted a topic asking which belt to buy, within the past month.

mr. booby is close on price and that is a complete kit with water pump. Might even come with tensioner & idler bearings.

Mattrob

If that is the correct mileage then i wouldn't touch it. For piece of mind for yourself however if you are so inclined then just replace with the OEM Asin timing belt from Rock auto. Leave the rest alone! You will get many many more miles out of the other timing related components.

canucklehe

+2... ^^^^^ what he said!!

BDSL

If you boyfriend has skills and done many jobs before, you should get him to do it. It is not hard....
And thats what boyfriend is good for.

Get them (i.e. all seals, water pump, idlers, tensioner, etc) all done. You don't want to pay x2 for labor or spend x2 time.