JBrady

Well, my 96 LS400 has 86,000 miles and to retain the 100k pre-owned warranty I need to do the cam belt service at 90k. I know it is a good plan to replace the waterpump at the same time as the majority of the R/R is needed for the belt. My question, and a good thing for ALL owners needing this service, is can anyone tell me what ELSE would be good to replace? Tensioners? Seals? Whatever?

Any recommendations on where to buy OEM parts?

Thanks.

hyperopt

Don't forget the camshaft and crankshaft seals, and throw in new idlers or bearings as well.

JBrady

Good points. I assume by idlers you refer to the cam belt tensioners? BTW, I emailed a Jeremy at wrkzatlexus@aol.com who at one time posted that he could get OEM Lexus parts. So far I haven't heard back from him. Anyone else on suggestions for good pricing on parts?

New Owner

Yes, definitely all seals. Also replace the thermostat, water pump, serpentine belt tensioner, idler pulley, serpentine belt & hoses, everything you can see within easy reach.

However, common thinking on this topic is that if the timing belt replacement is "recommended" at 90k that it'll no doubt last at least 140k or more. The MFR is not going to be "recommending" replacement of something at the point where it's on its last legs. Before spending the money and effort, determine the likelihood that you will keep the car much past 100K miles before committing to a major service job at 90k.

JBrady

New Owner, Yes, good points all. Of course resale value is somewhat better for a maintained car. If you were considering a 110k mile LS400 would you pay $700-1000 more for one that had all its service performed or one STILL needing this work?

Something else I find strange is nowhere in the recommended service increments do I find the accessory drive belt or coolant hoses. Very strange.

New Owner

Better resale for the well-maintained Lexus, yes, but better maintained by whose standards and by what proof? About the only way to "officially" document your maintenance standards (for the sake of improved resale value, if there really is such a thing) is to let the Lexus garage do it all. That can be expensive.

While not opposed to that approach personally, (Westside Lexus does all my work) there are many others who pinch their pennies and/or like to do some of the less challenging tasks themselves.

The oil change, serpentine belt & hoses, filters, headlamps, tail lamps, brakes, etc. are all things that each of us, or at least many of us, are capable of doing ourselves. However, if we choose to do these things, particularly the oil change and chassis lubrication, we're left to our own "record keeping". Individual private records like these are always subject to being pencil-whipped and therefore of questionable or dubious value. By contrast, dealer maintenance records are not subject to any scrutiny.

I say WL does all my work, though that's not absolute. I buy my tires from NTB (for approx 1/2 of what WL wants) and I replace my own headlamp bulbs. Last summer I also put in a 'factory' CD player myself. However, none of these items would matter since none are on the official list of things to do.

Alas, I digress. If I were in the market for a high mileage Lexus (or any car) I would want to see some pretty conclusive proof that certain recommended things (i.e., the T-belt) had in fact been taken care of before I could give the car any serious consideration.

Against my advice, my son-in-law bought a 115k-mile '95 LS400 from a private owner (acquaintance of his) in North Carolina last year. According to dealer records that car hadn't been serviced by a Lexus dealership since 44k miles.... and no, the t-belt hadn't been done. He bought it because he wanted an LS and couldn't afford one any other way. Within the first year of ownership he spent over $2k on service items needing to be done. T-belt and all the trimmings, rear brakes, struts and tires. Now the front brakes are making a clanking noise and he has a bad opinion of Lexus, says it's junk. Well, arguably his is, but only because it was poorly maintained. Last week I ran a CarFax report on it and found that he is the 4th owner. A fool and his money are soon parted.

By the way, did you ever find a CD player?

hyperopt

I would be nice if everything within reach could be replaced. However, if there is $$$ constraint, I would not replace serpentine belt & tensioner, and hoses unless they are in substandard shapes. These parts would not be difficult nor time consuming to replace later on, but do replace the thermostat though. If you were unsure about the condition of these parts and/or wanted a piece of mind, change them anyway.

JBrady

New Owner, I use Westside Lexus as well for most service although I have the oil/filter changed at the small shops due to speed and cost. Mine has the Pre-Owned warranty so the major work I have done a Westside. My intention is to have them do the work with me providing new in box Lexus parts and hopefully save a couple hundred over retail.

And No I never located a factory changer. $500-$1000 is too much for my limited need for one. I am probably going to go with a $200 FM modulated unit. It will probably outperform the 96 model year part (speed of changes and tracking not audio) and be much cheaper.

hyperopt, yes replacing EVERYTHING is big bucks. Of course if you loose a hose during rush hour in Houston you, and everyone else on the road, would be wishing you had done it! The accessory drive belt turns the water pump so that will stop you pretty quick.

ToyLexmods

Jbrady,

Please do a search of archives on timing belt issues. There is absolutely no need to change your timing belt at 90k. Yes, I would remove the cam covers (10minute job) and visually inspect the belt and see if any seals are leaking. But, short of having extreme cracks or a leaking water pump....there is no need to change the timing belt. There is well documented mileage of 120-150k on the factory timing belt. Personally, I have 3 of these engines all running on the factory timing belt.

92SC4 76k
92LS4 130k
94LS4 70k

Poor resale if you dont change the tbelt, bunky. Keep up on all the fluid changes and detail your car. You will always get top dollar.

JBrady

Dave,

Thanks for your imput. I am certain you mean well. I tend to err on the side of safe. Many cars have timing belt replacement recommended at 60k. 90k is long by most standards. It is my understanding that our engines are interferance meaning that if the cams stop turning but the pistons do not the pistons hit valves!!! VERY BAD. A buddy of mine had a tensioner fail on his 91 Q45 and the engine was scrapped. Broken rod, hole in block scrap. Those engines had timing chains. The chain didn't break it was the faulty tensioner. Infinity wanted $11k for a long block WITHOUT installation.

Also, I enjoy running the engine to redline. I especially like the downshift to 2nd gear with full throttle drops at 70mph. This type of driving places more load on the components. Once the warranty is up I will probably mod the engine and tranny.

hyperopt

Well, it's my understand as well as many members here that the LS engines are interference-free so nothing bad happens when the belt snap.

New Owner

I've heard it both ways, but what I most often hear is that the 1st gen were non-interference and everything thereafter is interference. I've heard that from several sources, including a Lexus Tech. Remember, they've increased the HP output in the later engines and they require premium gas. That to me suggests a higher comp ratio and the piston coming up higher in the cylinder. When pistons and open valves collide the result isn't pretty.

ToyLexmods

Jbrady,

Hey, no problem. I like to run my cars from time to time as well. However, like I was saying....you can visually inspect the timing belt within a matter of 10 minutes. That is the only service that needs performed....Yes, yes, yes if the cracks are developing deep into the belt it plain needs changed...or if you see any seals leaking or wp leaking...yes.

I understand you fears about your buddies Q45...but that is a design flaw with Nissan and very, very common to that car. pos

The valves will not hit the pistons on a LS no matter what the year. Period.

I have 300,400,500hp modified Toyota turbos sitting out in the garage and have built several others with never a problem with a belt no matter what the age. My 88 Celica turbo alltrac modified to 300hp running 17psi boost has the factory timing belt over 14years old. Do I inspect all my timing belts on a normal basis? Yes.

I also understand the fear factor that the dealers like to rely on. Bunky, they want to sell 1,000 dollar timing belt jobs and pamper you with free loaner cars. Ha

97LS400

ToyLexmods,

I am with you! There seems to be a lot of mis-information on this forum about which the interference/non-interference issue and all the ducomented sources I have checked (Chilton, All-Data, and Gates) all state that the early Toyota 1.5FE and the new Lexus LX models are the ONLY interference engines made by Toyota.

I can't seem to find a posting in this forum where someone is complaining because they have to replace bent valves after the timing belt broke. That would constitute proof that there engine model was interference and the shop reference manuals are wrong.

Go to a Honda forum and do a "broken timing belt" search... about 50% of them complain about the cost of replacing bent valves. We should consider ourselves lucky that Toyota was more thoughtful.

chadr

ToyLexmods,

Could you elaborate on inspecting the timing belt on the ls400? I have a 93. I took off the driver side timing belt cover... the one above the distrib. cap. I can sort of see the teeth if I peer down in the opening with a flashlight. As far as I can tell the teeth look fine on the section I could see. The backside of the belt didn't look bad either - very very slight cracking if you could call it that. I have 107k on the belt but it could have been replaced before I got the car at 85k.

Thanks, Chad