dude74

How important is it to get the timing belt changed? I have a 90 ls w 145k miles on it. I though the Timing Belt had been changed 70k ago, but as it turns out it wasn't.

If the belt breaks is my engine going to be trashed?

I remember reading somewhere that if the belt breaks it doesn't damage the engine.

Is this true?

VQT

Wow! 145K with the original belt. Belt change was for preventive maintenance in case the belt break while driving.
What about water pump? did they ever change it?
When doing the timing belt change the pump also. Same labor cost if you do it individually. Two idlers, two cam seals, spark plugs, wires, caps, rotors.

mlevk

I had mine done at 120K , Don't know if the 1st owner had it done. Everyone tells me it's a non-interference engine, meaning
no damage if the belt snaps. The problem is that compression of the cylinders forcing when the valves don't open can't be a good thing, even if there is no contact. Fuel trying to come in when the storke is exhaust etc, etc...

I had mine done at a regular mechanic, he's very very competent.
$750 included T-belt, water pump,thermostat,rotors, caps,serpetine belt, labor, and a LOANER car for 2 days. He took his time. All LEXUS OEM parts. I think it was well worth it.

LEXUS wanted $1200 or so..


How much is a new engine ?

retrodrive

I had everything done what VQT stated for $800. I have my own mechanic though.

Lvangundy

where did yo uget yours done? The shop I take my car to doesnt seem to be up on Lexus as much as I had thought.

retrodrive

Pravite mechanic. He does it only for me in his own garage

Pilot

I found a certified Lexus mechanic who will work away from the dealer. I quietly asked around to guys in the Lexus dealer shop area. The mechanic will even come to my house to work on my car. I pay him double what he would make in hourly wages and it is still a good deal for me. I had him change my timing belt, and when he came over to my house to work on it, he brought the seals for the cam shafts and the front crank shaft. They were low cost items and he said it was well worth it to replace these, as the front of the engine was all exposed anyway.
My timing belt still looked good at 110,000 miles, but still glad I changed it. He said I need lower front ball joints, but not to worry right now, just replace them in the next 6 months or so. I also had him later change out a A/C evap coil in the dash, and install a A/C dryer.
I get all my parts over the internet, from Lexus dealers who sell lower than retail. My mechanic will not install any rebuilt parts and only OEM factory Lexus parts. He said he has seen so many come backs, problems etc over the years that he has learned his lesson. He said that if I can't afford the factory parts, then I should just get rid of the car! I know some of you will disagree on this issue, but I still have a sweet deal for my labor cost, so will stick with this plan!

Pilot
91 LS400
120K miles
All factory orig

Rover

Hey,dude74 you are going too long without a replacement, man. Change it as soon as you can. Ideally, it was supposed to be changed at 60K but you can go without changing it up to like 90-95K. But if your Lex has 145K and it has not been changed, it's not good, bro. Also I second what VQT said about the water pump. Change it together with the timing belt, it will be cheaper this way, since they have to open everything up anyway to change the belt. I've had mine changed at 63K and at 130K. Both times I went to the dealer and paid around $2,000 for it. But I live in Connecticut, and they like to charge high prices here, I believe it's cheaper to do in other states.
Regards.

VQT

Pilot,

Where did you order your parts? Can you give us the web site or phone no.
Did you negotiate a lump sum price for the job? Can't he buy the parts for you; he can get the cheapest price on OEM parts.

Pilot way of getting work done is the best way to get work done on our cars. I had the Toyota dealer mechanic work side job on my car at his work bay. But the dealer only let them stay only few hrs after business hrs. Its better to have the mechanic have more time to work.

Pilot

The cheapest OEM parts for Lexus are from Bell Lexus in Phoenix
602-866-3300
Ask for Parts, then tell parts guy that you want to talk to INTERNET PARTS SALES. There is a special guy who handles all internet parts. Just tell him what you need, and he will quote you a price over the phone. I used to have his Email address but had a hard drive crash, and lost it.
They also have the ability to Fed EX overnight when you need parts ASAP. I have checked prices from at least 10 dealers who sell over the internet, and none come close to Bell Lexus prices.

Pilot

ToyLexmods

Dude74 and others,

It takes about 5 minutes to pull the cam cover off the timing belt. I just take a look at mine from time to time when servicing my cars. We have 3 400s here...92LS w/128k, 92SC4 w/70k, 94LS w/75k. All 3 have the factory timing belt and never have been changed. Really, its just a belt....depending on weather conditions and driving habits...you can visually inspect this belt and determine if its good or not. Thats about it...there will be no damage to the engine if it breaks...but really, if your checking it on a routine basis...that will never happen.

I like my money in my wallet have never cut any corners on car service, have owned/built several high hp Toyota's and will never change a Toyota timing belt at 60k miles if nothing else needs done. ie seal leaking,wp leaking ect. ect.

The timing belt in my 10 year old SC still looks perfect. Why should I tear into the engine and change it? Ditto for my 94LS....the timing belt in my 92LS w/128k even looks good with only some minor cracks starting to show in the ribbed portion of the belt....the reinforced backing with the cords is still fine. This is just like the old folks at Jiffy Lube or any other service station trying to sell serp fan belts to poor saps when all that shows up is some fine cracks in the ribbed portion. Even service manuals tell you this is fine. However, when cracks develop into the solid portion of the belt...its time to change.

I have seen several 400 engines with 150k and stock belt. ...Dude74 is just further evidence. My buddy is a service manager at Lexus...ditto several high mileage 400s with factory belts....and he has only seen 2 break in 10 years with absolutely no damage to the engine.

Dude74, I would pull those covers and inspect the belt. Thats about it.

dude74

ToyLexmods and others,
Thanks for the responses to my post.

I have taken off the covers and checked out the belts.
There is some minor cracking on the back of the belts, but they look like they are in pretty good shape.
Is minor cracking something I should worry about? When you say "Solid portion" of the belt are you referring to this?

I don't know where people are getting these great deals on mechanics, I can't find a shop that will do it for under $1,200, and this doesn't include the water pump etc...

Dude74

PERRYinLA

ToyLexmods, you are RIGHT ON in your thoughts. I've seen a zillion postings telling us to change the non-interference Lex V8 timing belt at 70K intervals, but I have searched this entire web page and can not find even one post from anyone that has actually had a timing belt break. And that is not because we are all obeying the dealer's "change it every 70K" mantra.

While I under$tand their motivation, Toyota/Lexus is way conservative in their timing belt change intervals. If you don't mind checking it once in a while, you can go indefinitely on the original belt. I would love to hear from someone that actually had the original belt fail. IF we did, any one want to guess at what mileage it failed? I'll bet it had 6 digits! And I would not be suprised if the first digit was a 2.

Now, if you are lucky enough to have enough cashola to comfortably pay the dealer for every preventative maintenance procedure they recommend, then go for it if that level of security is worth it to you. But folks like that are not likely to be in this forum asking for advice.

Let's do the math- how many $100 tow jobs can you get for the cost of replacing a timing belt that might have gone for another 70K miles or more, if you had not replaced it?

This reminds me of the "always resurface the rotors when you change the brake pads" myth. Another urban legend, gleefully perpetuated by those looking to double the cost of your brake jobs, and shave your rotors to the point where you have replace them ("Why, you're in luck, sir- we have those rotors in stock!").

But I digress...

roguenode

Mine broke, right after the water pump locked up.

The water pump, serpentine belt, thermostat, and idle pulleys were changed with the new timing belt.

Cams were indexed, compression check is still strong. Driving performance also as good as before.

Local (Illinois) import specialist did the work. Under $1000.

At least I caught my idle-up valve problem early. :-p

PERRYinLA

If the water pump locks up, even a new timing belt won't help you. And on the SC forum right now is a posting from a member whose water pump failed relatively early (under warranty, at about 36K miles, I think).

But you bring up a good point, which is that I've heard of many more water pump failures than timing belt failures. If you are lucky, the pump gives some warning signs, like leaking or noise.

If the water pump goes, of course, that creates the opportunity to change both belts at the same time.