Well, this week is the 4runner, but I change my mind pretty often.

 

Factory rotating parts on a Toyota can last forever, and usually they will give plenty of warning before they fail. Usually the point of failure comes from the water pump that seizes when someone mixes wrong coolant, of from cam/crank seals seeping oil onto the belt.

I bet a lot of belts actually fail when a mechanic sells someone a timing belt/water pump job, and installs aftermarket garbage.

 

You got a point there. Lots of junk out there and those who fix cars use cheap parts that don't cost much less than OEM.

 

Yep. It's sad since if only the pump was external it would be near unkillable, the water pump, cam seals and crank seals actually have a spillway that lets minor leaks avoid the belt entirely. If it's severe it won't work but a small pump leak is not the end

 

Who knew timing belt vs chain was a "thing" lol
Put me down as a timing belt fanboy I guess and strong believer in going only OEM on that part.

True story- bought a Porshe turbo back in the day and as I was digging in the glovebox was surprised and excited to find maintenance records.

Upon closer examination it was invoices to replace the timing belt with material list and part#'s- yep the timing belt was aftermarket and a major name brand found at auto part stores.
Next maintenance invoice was for replacing timing belt again with cylinder head replacement and massive damage due to aftermarket TB failing/breaking 6 months later. Yikes! haha

Yep, I'm a big believer in only using oem for critical parts.

 

If someone doesn't use OEM parts for something as major as a timing belt kit, that's on them when it breaks.

These aren't headlight bulbs. Some things need to be left to the dealership IMO.

 

So true, proof is in the pudding.

What's sad is customer paid for it both times to two different shops.
1st shop used aftermarket
2nd shop used oem

If going to use a cheaper belt to save $20, I don't recommend doing in on an inteference engine!

PS- Even more diabolical is I'm thinking the previous owner may have been sold the TB service as "preventative maintenance" because car only had 50k miles or so when I bought it.

 

IMO the auto industry never should have gone to belts in the first place. Like so much else in the industry, it was mostly just cost-cutting....just like when metal timing-gears and sprockets gave way to plastic ones. True, all else equal, belts can make an engine run quieter than a chain, but are much less durable, prone to breaking, and, especially on transverse-engines, can be a real PITA to replace. But the manufacturers liked them because they were cheap to produce and weighed less.

 

There are certainly V8s as smooth with timing chains.

 

Its 100% cost cutting. Its the cheapest way to achieve smooth and quiet operation, not the best way and not the only way.

All the evidence you need that chains are better is that Toyota went back to chains. If belts were cheaper AND better, Toyota engines would still have timing belts. If you maintain your car and change the oil, you won't have any issue with a timing chain for decades and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of miles.

You get to a point where a car is so old and worth so little that using OEM parts no longer makes financial sense. There are also situations where OEM parts are not the best parts, for instance brakes. Lexus brake rotors are terrible for instance. We like to think of these cars as special, but most people who buy an old one for $5k or 10k to them, its just an old car they paid very little for and it gets serviced at a Jiffy Lube or a gas station if its lucky.

 

I still haven't checked out my friend's S560 identical to yours. Soon. Today possibly.

I don't care that my car isn't worth that much, it is an extension of me and I love it. You switch cars every 3 years and are fine making payments indefinitely, that's cool but not all of us do that. LS430 is also one of the best cars ever made, and that's not fanboyism it's just the truth. It's been to CA and back and driven around LA for 2 years, up to Canada, all over the place. And it's been dead reliable. Only OEM parts. If it were junk breaking all the time then yeah I get it. It still looks and drives fabulous....and it's PAID FOR! Owning stuff free and clear, I love that feeling. (I had a lot less money when I bought it in 2012, financed it....I HATE car payments.). This is a 400k mile car easily and I plan to take it there. Owning such a sterling piece of engineering is also a pride thing, sorta.

 

AJ, you had an IS 350 right? I thought I used to see it in your sig.

 

Thats fine for you, but I'm explaining why everybody else is not the same way about using only OEM parts on cars that age. If I had a car like that which I loved I would be the same way. For my ES though, its what gets the car back on the road for the best balance of cost vs quality. The thing hasn't had an OEM part come anywhere near it in years and years.

Case in point, I have a friend that has a 2010 or so BMW, we were recently talking about how it needed brakes and he had a shop do them and told them "I know its a BMW, but I just want it to stop for cheap". Thats how most people are, and to his credit its an old BMW with like 160,000 miles, it doesn't make sense to spend $1,500 on brakes so that it has the brakes it had when it was new.

 

I think you're talking about people who pick up LS430s in less than great condition, and I don't disagree. I mean I've had mine for over ten years. It needs a detail realllllly bad but it's perfect otherwise mechanically and every single thing works. Garage kept its whole life.

 

I'm talking about people who pick up LS430s simply because they are a car in their price range and not because they love LS430s regardless of their condition. Lots of people who own them just happen across one on a used car lot and compare it against some other used car and buy it.

Do you think these people bought this LS430 because they have passion for the Lexus LS430? Do you think they buy OEM parts?! They bought it because it was $8,000 and was cooler than that old Accord.