RGP

Just had my timing belt, pulleys, tensioner, crank seal and serpentine belt changed on my 2002 with 70k miles on it. Had them save all the parts. I looked them over and found that it was a good thing I had the work done. The timing belt was frayed along the entire outside edge and had fibers hanging out everywhere but no cracks. The water pump was starting to leak and one of the pulleys (idler) had a bearing that was starting to go. The accessory belt was dirty but looked fine. The crank seal was fine.

FWIW.

tentoys

that's odd. i didn't change the TB on my 99 Land cruiser till 118K miles and it still looked fine and I'm still on the original WP now at 156K miles.

mandyfig

Agree with tentoys, most of what I hear about timing belt condition when repaced, for Toyota and Honda are quite the opposite the OP's post, the belts are close to new.

FWIW.

mandyfig

Good decision for you to do it. What prompted you to change it, the age?

RGP

The age. The car was bought new 10 years ago and rubber does deteriorate after a while. Plus my car sits all winter (November until April) every year. Rubber that sits for long periods tends to take a set. Probably why the water pump seal was starting to weep. I figured doing the service was way cheaper than rebuilt heads and possibly new pistons/rods/crank if the belt broke.

scdroptop

iTrader: (1)

RGP-sounds like a wi$e financial decision! Like buying insurance. Thanks for sharing. If you don't mind me asking, how much did the entire service cost you? Lots of lurkers and curious would like to know. I'm a big advocate of replacing due to time for all the reasons you mentioned. I've seen too many radiator hoses, serpentine belts and other rubber parts (including transmission and motor mounts) go bad over time.

NWcoast

Just as RGP did, I went with age and had it done today. My 02 has 44K miles on it and it isn't driven as much here in the NW so after weighing most if not all of the comments on this forum I decided it was time. I didn't want to think too much about it anymore and looked at it as insurance against the unknown.

Really, it is something that you couldn't pop open the hood and readily look at, so armed with all the forum information I sought out cost info from both the Lexus dealer and the Toyota dealer ( I have a Tacoma p/u ). They are located about 3 miles apart. Lexus quoted $1470 + tax and Toyota $1050 + tax. I liked the way the Toyota service manager explained his approach to this time based repair and even the Lexus service adviser was forthright in his opinion - They know these cars are well built and it is just one of those things owners will do for peace of mind in their own time.

I chose the Toyota dealership and feel that is was a very good experience. As it turned out the old timing belt looked new, the serpentine showed slight signs of wear, the water pump had a tiny leak and tensioner assembly was upgraded along with the usual rings/gaskets/thermostat/antifreeze. All parts were Toyota.

Now, I can focus on tires and rid myself of the flintstone wheels!

PLAYTYM

Performing this maintenance on my 02 with 56k myself this Saturday! Will report back!

Sapherynth

Looks like it is that time of the year :-). I am bringing my 02 with 37k miles in next week for the Timing belt and other 90k service work. I use a non dealership service shop (I trust their work and have been using them for years) so I will let you know the costs and outcome for comparison next week.

PLAYTYM

Geez, how do you all get '02s with such low mileage??? I thought mine with 56k was low...guess I was way off...LOL!

Sapherynth

56k is still low PLAYTYM!! I am still in shock that I found mine . It was owned by a officer in the millitary (I live near DC) and it was his fun car when he was home. Now it is my turn to baby her!

PLAYTYM

You got a fantastic find...that's for sure!

Mine was owned by the owner of the company I work for. He lives in Palm Beach Florida...and also has a house in up state NY. The reason the car has the miles it does as he has seven other Lexus' to choose from, is because he chose the SC to drive up and down the east coast from FL to NY. So literally all the miles are highway...so all and all not bad!

JerryB

Hi TYM,

It is called 'looking for what you want.'

I bought my '02 1 1/2 yrs ago with 26K miles on it.

I value low mileage over just about anything other than a salvage title. That is because I tend to keep my cars for quite a few years.

Jerry Baumchen

PLAYTYM

I agree with you 100%!

I wasn't looking for another sports car, but this one was a partial gift to me from the owner of my company for my recent promotion, so kind of couldn't pass up the deal. I also don't think you could of found a car in the shape mine is in with the 53k it had on it when I bought it for as little as I paid.

I also do not put many miles on me vehicles and after this Saturday's maint. I'm sure she will last me a long time before I go searching down a very low mileage 2010...

grabber2

That's a pretty good price for dealer service at $1050. My local Toyota/Lexus are same owner. This Toyota dealer refused to do the job and refer me to Lexus, quote: $1,800 The shop I use all the time quote me $900. I will be happy to pay the extra $150 for a dealer service

How do you guys approach for dealer quote? Walk-in/phone/email?? Thx