Parker

I'm looking at purchasing a 94 LS400 with 150K miles. The car seems in good shape, but I believe it probably is needing the timing belt replaced. I'm wondering what replacement of that runs, and what other items I should be looking into as far as repair/replacement.

Thanks

GRAND_LS 4

iTrader: (2)

Check the records, if it was replaced at 90K, then you can put it off for another 30K or so. Take a look at threads started by member "Phillip" he has been posting about his maintenance work on his newly acquired first gen LS in the past few days. Good informative stuff.

Also, check out www.lexls.com it offers a lot of help on the LS’s, specifically first gens. The site is ran and operated by a generous member.

joshthorsc

T-belt, spark plugs, spark plug wires, water pump, cam seals, front crank seal, drive belt, and tensioners. That's what I had done to my sc400 a while back.

~Josh

damon

Very important to confirm if the TB has ever been changed or not.

A 95 would be a 2nd generation LS and is an interference engine so you need to at all cost avoid a situation where your TB actually breaks (exceedingly rare!!)

If you are at 150,000 and on the original, I would indeed replace all pulleys,idler bearings & tensioners as well as belts & water pump.

koolaidman

y replace when they are not broken. the only thing i would replace is the water pump and tb. otherwise u dont need to replace the pulleys or tenioners. ive seen an ls400 with 220 with the orginal pulleys and tensioner

damon

I for the most part concur with your "if it ain't broke***" philosophy and let my 94 LS run out to 170,000 before the first timing belt change. I replaced all of what I mentioned above & found the vast majority of pulleys / tensioners etc. to have noticeable rough spots.

In fact what eventually brought about the need for this service was the complete failure of the bearing in the fan bracket support. Still did not break the belt, btw!!

I thought of it as cheap preventative insurance & wont mind paying to do it again at 340,000 miles. On the other hand if your labor is available cheap enough & you don't mind paying for the same real estate twice so to speak , there is nothing wrong with that approach.

damon

Hit Man X

Timing Belt breaks are a myth... I made it to just shy of 200K on mine and it was the OE belt from 1996. It's urban legend, don't be scared at 100K. Spend the money on something better such as a nice wine and a cigar or taking the ol' lady out for the evening. Results will be far more satisfying

For what it's worth, my tensioner is going south currently... it's the next item to replace. Still has no oil loss at 206K...

Lexozz

OK! I have 226K on mine. The last time I changed my TB was @ 102K. Last time I did an inspection it looked fine to me. If it is truely a myth that the TB doesn't break when do you really change it.

LexLS

Are u kidding? YES, timing belts DO break!!! Mine broke around 130K. Yeah, I have heard of timing belts going well into the 200K range but that's rare. Most will break in the 100-180K range, based on comments I've read on forums over the last few years.

Hit Man X

Do I sound like I'm kidding?

The belt itself doesn't break, items associated with it cause the slop inorder to do so. You do know the belt has a tensioner right? Guides like to wear also causing accelerated wear to the belt.

LexLS

Obviously the items associated with the belt cause it to break. It still means the belt breaks. And yes, I know the belt has a tensioner. Maybe you forgot to look at my timing belt & water pump tutorial on my LS website.

We're on the same page OK . I'm done here.

hyperopt

The timing belt is subjected to wear 'n tear, oxidation and heat attacks even though everything else work according to specs. It's just a matter of when?

Hit Man X

I have no need to look at your site, I know what's going on under my hood... as do you.

Being scared at 100K is silly, it is almost on the same page as R12 costing $80/lb and a conversion is the only thing to do.

damon

It is a tale of engine types situation to my mind

If you have a non-interference engine LS (90-94) you can run it until the belt breaks if you care to & you will not to any damage whatsoever to the motor as long as it is not allowed to overheat. It will not run without the TB so even this should not be a factor.

I am going to presume that you survive being stranded.

In my 94 LS a carried a "kit" with all parts necessary for the TB change. This did not include the expensive fan bracket support part # 16307-50011 ( which I have never read about a bearing failing ) that caused me to instigate the maintenance. Most of these parts I collected at discount prices over time which helped me to cushion the cost somewhat.

If you have an interference 1UZFE (95 & newer) I would not go past 120,000. True, that I believe it will go further, but the risk- reward scenario to me is no longer worth it. You would feel silly buying new cylinder heads & any savings from delaying maintence would have a bitter taste indeed.

BTW: In a GS, I would be even more diligent about TB changes. They tend to get driven significantly harder than our "GrandPa Gran Prix" cars.

97 LS400

Here is my Father's letter to his friend, VP of Lithia Motors, the 8th largest car dealer in the country. This company has been sued many times for fraud and RICO.

Dear Don-

I want you to put yourself in my son’s shoes and see his point of view it is sounding to me like everyone else is signing off this issue, and our conversations now move to your office.

Again, the situation in a nutshell:

My son, Benjamin, brought his 97 Lexus LS400 to Lithia Toyota for a routine 90,000 timing belt replacement. The vehicle was in perfect running operation, and was only brought in for this work in anticipation of an imminent trip to the southwest.

Mike Meyer, one of the key people in the Lithia Toyota shop, was the person who took the car in, and he had a friendly chat with my son about what a nice car it was and how quiet it was. The job was completed by day’s end, and offered for return that evening, with a service note of a valve-train sounding ticking noise. If the car had a pre-existing noise it would have been being serviced for that in the first place not the timing belt. If a car gets checked in to a dealer for a major service shouldn’t someone have observed that and brought up a valvetrain noise before we mess with the timing belt which is what controls the valvetrain! The condition originated at Lithia Toyota after the vehicle was dropped off therefore it is there responsibility and that of Lithia Motors.

Upon their arrival for the car, my son’s fiancé noticed and commented on the noise immediately, as being unusual. After a test drive around the block, Ben refused to take possession of the vehicle, given this new and unexplained noise.

There proceeded then some 3 weeks of Lithia Toyota trying to ascertain the cause of the noise, including the performance of an apparently unwarranted valve R & R on half of the engine. The noise remained though the tone of the ticking noise has changed since the valve adjustment, no one has speculated as to why the tone has changed.

After another week of unknown diagnostic work, and discussions with several Lexus and independent mechanics, we requested the vehicle be transported to Kendall Lexus in Eugene, which it was. After a week there, they could provide no further information, the vehicle remains in Eugene. Lexus’ Skip says the sound seems to be coming from the # 3 cylinder, but doesn’t want to pull the head? Just one thing Ben wanted to add was that Lexus said the job could have a problem if the engine wasn’t cold enough, and every time I have ever brought my vehicle in to my local mechanic in Ashland for engine repairs I am told to drop it off the night before to insure engine components are cool.

Lithia Toyota is now saying they do not know what further to do, and our requesting we take the car back, in an obviously impaired condition, and “see what happens.” We find this an unacceptable resolution to this matter especially with an upcoming 2500 mile trip pending in Benjamin’s future, we will not accept responsibility for the vehicle in its present condition and we do not except and will not be held liable for costs incurred for the diagnostics, rental cars, transports, etc. The procedures that have been conducted unproductively in finding the apparently inflicted problem. Numerous technicians at several Lexus dealers have one thing in common to say and that is “that is not normal for a 100,000 mile LS400”. This kind of thing doesn’t just happen for no reason at 100k, especially on Toyotas flagship model car known for its durability.

Potential remedies include:

-Given the lack of any other forthcoming resolution from Lithia, we are contemplating the option of your replacement of the engine at the Lexus dealer.
-A replacement vehicle of similar class and value might be considered (subject to approval).
-Fair market value of the car if the noise didn’t exist.

If Lithia Toyota was not competent to do Lexus repairs they should not have job. We are considering every other possible recourse for an amicable resolution to this matter. The effects of simply driving the car and seeing if it gets worse are the car has 105k miles and will be impossible to sell to anyone if they can’t fix it, it is about as bad as trying to sell a vehicle with a SALVAGE TITLE. This has been a major, stress, inconvience, and expense not having the car, for many reasons.