Slingshot1

Could the irony be that SC owners replace their timing belts in a timely manner as to not have belt failures.

SlvBullet

iTrader: (8)

You defininately should change the belts at about 7-8 years or 95k miles which ever comes first. I changed mine at about 8 yr and 55k after consulting with the belt manufacturers. As Harold57 mantioned belts defrade with time. Search the forum - there are at least two cases I've seen where folks waited and lost their engine.

Do your serpentine belt too, water pump and related parts that should come in the kit - you won't be sorry.

jonas's RX

" You live once " ��

Prasha

When will u plan to change?

jzwu

Not sure. Maybe soon.

SC43052

Timing belts almost never break from fatigue to rubber. Pulley bearings and water pumps do go bad and when a water pump freezes it will break the belt.

If, after the water pump seizes and the belt breaks and valves crash into pistons, you ask the mechanic (if you even get to talk to him in person at a dealership) they will always say "broken belt".

If you are very good about maintaining your coolant every two years (to keep the water pump well lubricated) you should be good to 90K miles regardless of age. But the water pump is still a weak link. It is a good idea to change it out after 8-10 years, regardless of mileage especially if you didn't own the car since new and don't know the full maintenance history.

It is really not a bad DIY as long as you keep track of where everything goes and use caution regarding the position of the crank and cams during new belt installation and turn the engine over by hand to ensure you have the timing right. Having the engine apart really allows some deep cleaning and detailing in the engine compartment also.

For those using a mechanic - NEVER let anyone talk you into changing the timing belt and not changing the water pump and pulleys. Not only is the timing belt not the weak link, but the other parts are a small fraction of the labor cost and need to all be changed to make the maintenance complete.

jzwu

Interesting. Then, why won't Lexus also recommend water pump change at the same time of timing belt change? You seem to suggest water pump change is actually more important than the timing belt change. But I only see timing belt change schedule in the owner manual.

Also, the Toyota long life coolant is good for 5 years/100k miles.

gripau1

to get 5 years/100k miles from the Toyota coolant concentrate, you will need to mix with distilled water not tap water.

Bgw70

Who knows why they do not recommend these other items and you may find the same thing in a Honda manual but speaking from experience and past history if you do not do what SC suggested you may remember this conversation in your future...

These additional parts are not very expensive compared to upper and lower end engine rebuild.

You should also change the tensioner, tensioner pulley, idler pully and any seals if you plan to keep the car a very long time.

Preventive maintenance.

jzwu

I understand all of you guys' points and am not arguing with you since I would change them if I do the timing belt and the cost is not that much.

What I don't understand is why Lexus (Toyota/Honda) doesn't recommend this in the first place. It sounds like a prudent thing to do without much additional cost.

Yes, also use distilled water to dilute the coolant concentrate. Easy and little cost.

Bgw70

I understand your point now and I agree with what you were trying to say in the earlier post. Look at it like this, I am just making a point with no real data, if the water pump normally lasts for 180k miles but 30% fail before that time, do you want to change it at 90k miles when you normally change the timing belt or take chance and wait until 180k miles?

Some dealers may tell you that you only need a timing belt while others will tell you add the water pump. I would rather change everything in there because it takes me all day to do this job and if I change everything, it gives me confidence that I should have no issues for a very long time. My total cost is less than $300, or $400 if I use toyota parts.
No, I do not include my labor cost.

Harold57

The dealers and shops I talked to recommended changing them all. It was included in their price when I asked for a breakdown of the job list.

lugnuts

Would this belt issue, replacement, parts source, etc., be a worthwhile "sticky" item??