lnguyenh

... on a LS430? My car has 74K. Can it last till 90K or should I do it now? BTW, I don't drive it hard at all. Thanks

Tee

Service log says 90K.

sojah

iTrader: (1)

it prolly wouldn't even be near physically breaking before 120k-150k but yeah its recommended like tee said.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

I agree. I wouldn't have the least bit of concern over running one to 120K, and probably not even 150K.

AlexusAnja

You're a gambling man if you run to 150K with no concerns. 90K is too soon, 100K is safe. 110K is furthest I myself would dare to go. 120K is big red for me and 150K is NO WAY for me.

The LS430 I heard is not a non-interference engine, so if the belt snaps... it's over.

Tee

My old 1997 4Runner timing belts were changed out every 60K like Toyota recommended, the last time went to 150K (flipped it twice & some change) before changing it but it is it says a lot for OEM parts that is for sure. I aftermarket belt would have popped way before then. I would never do that again but I had some things going on back then, I'm sure Toyota/Lexus knows peopel will go over their recommendation and put buffer mileage for that reason.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

I understand playing it safe (and I probably won't actually run mine that far beyond the recommended change interval), but from what I've seen on Toyota V-engine timing belts, I just don't think it's that big of a gamble in most driving circumstances, certainly not at 120K. I haven't actually seen any high-mileage Toyota V8's torn down, but I've seen V-6 4-runners and the like with 200K+ on the original timing belt and they still look fine. If I wanted to run it that long, I'd just take a look at it periodically -- every 10-15K miles after the first 100 or so -- and wouldn't go that long if it started looking bad, but I really doubt it'd start looking bad. I've never seen a factory belt break unless it was showing fatigue symptoms such as cracked teeth and back-side, missing teeth, etc. (not that I've inspected belts before they broke, but these are things you can see after the fact). The way they're built they just don't suddenly fail without any aging/fatigue/damage signs before hand, IME.

My GX has 95K on it and I'm planning to do the major mtce soon and will probably go ahead and replace the timing belt while I'm changing the plugs, fluids, serp belt, etc. But that's not because I'm afraid of the belt at this early point, but because I want to get everything out of the way at once and be good for the next 100K or so.

lnguyenh

Thanks guys. I guess I don't have to worry about it for a couple more years.

LS430inDE.

Interesting way that you put it--as double negative. I had to stop and think about that a while..lol. It's easier saying it IS an interference engine.

AlexusAnja

I'm just a double kind of guy... ha ha.

Or, I could have said The LS isn't not an interference engine...

Anyway, back to topic. I look at opinions as this... if it's not something I would do, I would not recommend it. Meaning, if I myself would not dare risk going 120K on a timing belt, but I was pretty sure that it COULD go 120K, then I would not tell someone it could go 120K no problem even though I was fairly certain. Got me?

jayclapp

I agree. The 04 LS430 Maintenance Schedule says to replace the timing belt at 90,000 miles. I'll follow that. Would be a shame to void your warranty during the last 10,000 miles of the 100,000 mile warranty.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

Re: my posts, I didn't recommend anything. I simply stated what I would be comfortable with and gave the basis for my opinions. These views are based partly upon the vehicles I've personally wrenched on over my 35+ years of hot-rodding, building engines, and doing routine maintenance, and partly on what I've seen in performance or repair shops over the years. I just would not be very worried about a Toyota timing belt breaking at 120K miles. The reason I will probably change my timing belts prior to 120K miles (If I keep the vehicles that long) are more related to the fact that I'll be doing the other major maintenance (fluids, spark plugs, serpentine belt, etc.) earlier, so while I'm in there I'll just do the timing belt and get it over with.

But I realize that a lot of fear is created by the owner's manual when it states a specific mileage interval. Fact is, mileage is only a part of the equation -- running time at operating temperature is much more important. For example, a car that lives in the city and accumulates 90K miles averaging 22 MPH (very possible) obviously has half the hours on it as one that spends a good bit of time on the highway and averages 44 MPH (also very possible) -- ~2000 hours vs. ~4000 hours of running time. Since the owners manuals don't allow for inspection, they err on the side of caution and recommend a VERY safe change interval that will offer some "headroom" to protect even in relatively extreme-case conditions. Even in the tougher conditions, it's not like the timing belt will snap at 90,001 miles.

Funny (to me) related story... I sold a Volvo 850T5 a few years ago with 96K miles on it. The timing belt hadn't been changed, but I'd inspected it a couple of times and it wasn't cracked, no broken teeth or anything, and showed no real danger signs. The new owner was so worried that he had a flat-bed come get the car and take it to Atlanta from North Florida because he was afraid to drive it on the original timing belt.