How often does a timing belt need to be changed on a ls 400? I have a '92 lexus ls 400. My timing belt was last changed at 78,136 in June '02. The car currently has over 152, 500 miles. So when does the next change need to occur? Thanks

 

I just received some reliable data from a toyota/lexus service employee, and i was told the timing belt needs to be changed every 90k. So i have a considerable amount of time left.

 

dude. If i were you i wouldnt even change it until it breaks. since the 90-94 engine is non- interference, the only thing that would happen is your car would die. Nothing would be damaged.

 

Has it happened to you before?

 

Well, here's my view on it. First of all, how long do you plan on keeping the car? If its another year or two, just leave it be. If you wont be keeping it for a long time, chances are you will not have a problem. The 90k interval is a very safe interval, the belt will probably easily last twice that long.

If you're planning on keeping the car for long term however, then by all means, change it. But don't just change it alone, change your water pump as well. See the water pump is actually a lot more likely to fail than your timing belt, in fact as it ages it starts a slow leak, which then starts getting worse and worse, and eventually it becomes a major leak and your car will start overheating. An OEM water pump will start failing right around 90k, and aftermarket one much earlier than that. Plus, along with timing belt and water pump, people typically change cam and crank seals, which usually develop minor leaks over the age, and also, idler pulleys, which are basically ball bearings, that usually start squeaking with age.

 

The only thing that will happen when your timing belt snap is the engine turning off. You wont be bending any valves since the engine is non-interference. It'll just cause inconvenience. However, just change it when you need to because sooner or later, it needs to be replace.

 

I agree with OCH, cam seals,crank seal, idlers and water pump are very important part of this timechange. Especially if your planning on keeping the car. My 92 is bumping 113k and am looking at doing this work in the next month or so.

 

Well, that's a lot of work, but i don't need to do the timing belt (about 24,000) any time soon. I'll price the water pump, because when i run my a/c a nice amount of water leaks. Also, i'll price the cam, crank seals, and idler pulleys. I'm not going to do all this at one time eventhough i'm going to be driving it anywhere with confidence.

 

LOL, well first of all water pump has nothing to do with AC. Maybe water pump should be more correctly refered to as coolant pump. It pumps coolant, and water that leaks when you're running AC is condensate, its perfectly normal.

As far as timing belt, cam and crank seals, water pump, and idley pulleys, it doesnt make sense not to do them all at the same time. Like I said, timing belt itself isnt likely to fail, but water pump is. Also, idler pulleys can freeze with age, especially if water pump develops a leak and drips coolant onto them. Same with seals, they dry up over age and start leaking. Now in order to access the water pump, you need to have timing belt and pulleys removed. so if you dont do the water pump at the time of timing belt change, and it fails soon after, you're going to do everything all over again. And vice versa.

 

I purchased all the parts i needed to do a proper timing belt change for my 94 LS, stored them in my trunk & drove it until they were needed.

Result: I got to 168,475 when the bearing in the bracket fan support seized, (a part I did not have in my kit) & even with that my TB did not break.
My experiment ended there since the car had to be broken down to such an extent to the replace fan bracket support. My kit ofcourse included a water pump.

Note: the fan bracket support (16307-50011) is not part of a typical TB change procedure.