hypervish

There is no sticker on the timing belt cover from the factory, so If there is a sticker, there's a very high probability it was done. I'd worry about the timing belt at around 180k miles in your instance.

maorsela

Just had all belts replaced by Lexus of Naperville in Illinois, in my 2002.

I was charged $955 for the timing belt, water pump and all other drive belts.

They also suggested crank and cam seals (for $254.04). Should I do that at some point in the near future?

The car has 113K.

hypervish

Cam & Crank Seals should be done when doing the timing belt (usually not done at the first timing belt change), if you were to do them now, you would have to re-do all of that work again and pay for the labor. When the timing belt and associated components are out, replacing the cam and crank seals are a fairly quick job.

These seals are usually good for many, many miles, however I recommend they be changed at the second timing belt replacement.

matts6887

Well; the thing is; how can I get complete records if normal maintenance and other repairs etc were done at a independent shop? A lexus dealer probably wont have those records if a independent shop did all the work etc. So Where would i go from there? Is there a way they can get that info even if a different shop worked on it?

salimshah

Only from the person who sold you the vehicle

Salim

salimshah

I can share what I do, but this is not a hard and fast rule to follow dealing with timing belt chain ... the acc belt has 45-60k interval change. I only use OEM

1. Timing belt every (90k-110k)
2. Idler/roller along with timing belt [there is no lube for them]
Examine the things listed below at every T belt change, but replace them in every other T belt change
3. Tensioner
4. Waterpump [or sooner if you have not maintained your coolant or have used something other than toyota red/pink]
5. Front main seal, and Cam seals.

Items 3-5 can fail anytime, so you carry the risk of paying/doing the labor the second time in shorter interval. The Above is just one persons opinion.

Salim

matts6887

Saw this post just now. Thanks hyper. Yea i kinda thought there was a chance that it had been done because there is a sticker on it. And indeed i will wait til around 180,000 to change it. thanks hyper.

matts6887

Very good info here Salim!; I will definitely keep this in mind when it comes to changing out the water pump, etc. Only I dont know who i am gonna have do it for me. Since you say its a good idea to only use oem stuff which is obviously gonna be more pricey than other stuff; not sure what Im gonna do there when it comes time to change the seals, etc. However; i think most of the things if not all that you mention above were done on my rx300 before I picked it up used which like i said before was it approx. 107,000 miles. So with that in mind I may need to do them soon but i also may not. Its hard to tell because there were no service records that came with the vehicle so i have no idea at what mileage the seal(s) were changed if they were etc. so should i change them soon to be safe or just wait on it? Also; what about the rear main seal in addition to the front as i know those can start to leak due to age, etc.?

salimshah

Matt:

It seems the belt was replaced, so wait till 200k miles. If any thing leaks then you will have to get in and address it. The belt itself is about $45, so if you open (or have it opened up) for the repair, replace the belt sooner that 200k.

Rear main seal is on the far side. That you deal with when transmission is separated. If that seal leaks, one should try alternatives repair methods or even live with the leak till it gets to a point that the repair is a must.


Salim

matts6887

Yes; I know about the rear main seal. Those can be a royal pain in the you know what to replace because like you mentioned; ya gotta separate the trans from the engine to get access to it. And that is something i definitely dont have the tools or facilities to do it with so i probably will have no choice but to get a shop to replace it. But unfortunately with that we are talking big bucks to do it. But if it ever happens and it gets to the point of needing replacement because of severe leakage etc. then i will have no choice but to pay a shop to do it.