wolfy53

I love this car, I haven't had a chance to post here lately, been busy, all great stuff. I have been enjoying the LS so much. Our family of 5 fits in it great, yes 3 car seats in the back. But my kids and wife love the car too. So we are coming up on 170,000 miles. I had some items off the other day to tighten down the valve cover bolts. They were all very very loose. I just snugged them up with the torque of a screw driver. No more leaking oil now. That has been 7,000 miles or so.

I noticed the timing belt sticker on the front cover said 80k miles. So I am just about at 90k on the 2nd belt. I have been reading through some old threads. I will NOT be doing this job myself. I just don't have the time. I have a great local shop close to me that has done amazing work for me in the past. I will likely be using him. I will only use OEM parts or parts that have been known to be as good or better. I hate cheep aftermarket junk. It has burnt me in the past and I won't do it again.

I have a few questions:

1. I found an OEM parts supplier on eBay. "TOYOLEX PARTS CONNECTION" They have an entire kit $360. Has what looks to be everything.Thoughts on this kit? Link http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOYOTA-LEXUS...gAAOSwstxVZhq9
2. Should I do the cam and crank seals even if they are NOT leaking?
3. I likely need to do spark plugs. Which ones should I get. I want the OEM ones. I assume NGK 4589?
4. What is this i read about the fan bracket? Should I replace this now as preventative or if it does fail how much effort is it to do later? Is this it? http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....sn=491&jsn=491
5. Planning on a fuel filter and service the rear diff.
6. I did the transmission, and power steering myself last year.
7. Anything else you experts can recommend?

I plan on keeping this car for a while still, and want to treat my vehicles right. She got some new steering components when I got here 1.5 years ago and some new Pirelli tires. Car rides and drives like a dream. Had to have a small exhaust leak repaired. A small weld broke loose from a heat shield. Shop got me on the road for $10 Yeah they got a tip that day But anything else you all can recommend would be super helpful. If its tips on where to buy the parts from for a better price that would be awesome.

Scraape

I did the timing belt / water pump job on my 1998 not too long ago. You can refer to my build thread in my signature which shows all the things i have replaced in my vehicle. Some pictures stopped working though because photobucket is lame!

I'd definitely replace the crank seal even if it isn't leaking. Cam seals I did as well, but mostly because they were leaking. You might as well replace both cam seals while you have everything off, even if they are not leaking. Labor cost will probably be higher if they do the cam seals. If you do cam seals, might as well get some new valve cover gaskets and spark plug tubes since the valve covers will need to come off.

Make sure your mechanic refers to the factory manual and torque specs! Someone on here awhile back had their 98-00 engine damaged due to negligence from his independent mechanic.

OEM is wise especially for timing components on an interference engine! I was close to buying that exact kit you posted, but decided to piece everything together myself. I also recommend getting a new OEM radiator cap.

As far as spark plugs go, I definitely recommend NGK Iridiums.

I replaced my fan bearing bracket, I did not notice any issues with the old one, but with ~265,000 miles on it I figured I may as well replace it.

Definitely do fuel filter, mine was filthy, and it was a pain in the *** due to the threads on the fuel hard line.

Last but not least I recommend replacing your Oil Control Valve and VVT Solenoid, they seem to fail on these cars down the road eventually

this thread was very helpful with doing the cam seals, show it to your mechanic if you have to : https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ith-vvt-i.html

Losiracer2

I opted for the Aisin Timing belt and water pump kit off rockauto. Great quality parts and 30k miles later, not one problem.

Definitely replace the crank seal, that's actually what caused me to have to replace the t belt in the first place since it coated the belt due to it leaking pretty bad. You might as well do the cam seals also since those are aged and dry/brittle from use. I purchased a dealer crank seal from Toyota since it was shared with either a Tundra or 4Runner engine and saved a few bucks. Cam seals I got off rockauto since they were 3 bucks each on closeout, Felpro was the brand, made in Japan on the box, so I was happy to see that.

For spark plugs I went with some NGK iridium IX, about 7 bucks a plug. I also replaced the wires with some new NGK plug wires I found on a wrecked JY car that had the belt service done just before it met it's fate. I also did the distributor cap and rotors since this car had new ones I pillaged from as well.

If it's also never been done, I'd recommend doing the engine coolant temp sensor. Mine was cracked and crumbled as I undid the connector along with corrosion on the terminals, and my car is an AZ car it's entire life.

I paid my mechanic 400 cash for labor to do the job and supplied all parts. I didn't do the idler for the accessory belt or the outer belt either so that might be next on my list since they're easy to do

wolfy53

Thank you both for your comments and insight into these cars. I just wanted to make sure to do the job right the first time. One thing I really dislike is to do things more than once.

I will likely be ordering some parts here soon. And going to talk to my local guy to get an appointment.

Legender

I'd add PCV valve, grommet and hose since you're taking them off anyways. They're probably so brittle they will break when you try to remove them.
You don't have wires, distributor cap and rotors to worry about as you've got a 99.
And yes, definitely all the seals while you have it open. Don't take a chance as it's not worth it.
Sounds like you're trying to stay up on the maintenance, which is a great plan.

wolfy53

Thanks so much for the info. Good tip on the PCV.

Yeah no wires and dizzy. COP which is nice.

wolfy53

Got this scheduled at a local shop that specializes in Lexus and Acura. Should go in Monday. Car will get full timing belt kit, cam / crank seals, water pump, tensioner, all idler pulleys and all bearings, drive belts. Pretty much everything, including thermostat. They will also do the plugs for me as well. I got all OEM stuff.

Legender

Sounds like a great plan. Let us know how it turns out. Should get another 100k out of this easy after that.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

yep, sounds good, my 99 just turned over 200k a few months ago, and I ordered the aisin kit, plus VC gaskets sparkplugs w/orings, AND I replaced every bearing on the front of the engine (inc fan mount & all idlers) engine mounts & tranny cushion... (ps had mine done for me also [83 now] at a friends shop.. I done this for 30 years til I retired. I have kept the front suspension up to date also.... and it runs like new,. silent.. I plan on driving mine til God calls me home.....
here it is:

EthanS

Be sure to do that radiator fan bearing/mount assembly whatever! That is the only thing on my 99 LS400 that has ever left me stranded... Well luckily I was only a mile from my office so I limped it there.
The original fan mount crapped out at 168k miles if I remember correctly, which seems quite early compared to other people's experiences.
It sure does make a racket when it finally lets go.

billydpowe

iTrader: (1)

Whoops...... I missed that one (altho it is not on the front of the engine) I guess I need to see about it
motor shows to be 88550 50060
wow, from 40$ used- to 145$ (new aftermarket)- 300-400$ OEM.. think I will wait...
I don't read/hear much about them going out.. but I am at 216+ k miles..
hope you didn't jinx me (altho I don't believe in jinx's... ).

YODAONE

Go with Aisin fan bracket bearing...Rock Auto.

They typically show signs of wear after 125,000 miles.; Bearing noise and slight roughness.

Also, you have an 18 year old part so bearing lubricant degradation over time.

Replaced mine at 150,000...noticeable reduction in engine nois, vibration and harmonics (NVH)

wolfy53

Beautiful looking car there Billy! I am a firm believer they will last if you take good care of the. They shop I took it to this morning specializes in Lexus and Acura's. Guy knew the LS400 very well. You could tell he is a big enthusiast. I asked them to give the car a once over. I have already replaced several front end steering components. Have them looking at a few rear bushings. They said they would check all the bearings and idlers up front while it was apart. Gave me a loaner es300, mid to late 90's. Nice little "baby" lexus

I plan on keeping this car for a while as well, she just ticked over 171k miles and runs perfect. They are doing the plugs as well.

Thank you all for the tips here. I will keep that fan bearing in mind for the future. If its not making any noise I won't replace it. However if it is rumbling or noisy they will point it out and I will have it fixed.

Billy, if I never meet you on this side of eternity I will on the other Born in 1982, Born again in 1995!

Losiracer2

If you have any JYs around you, I got my OEM Aisin one for about $10 which included the fan to make it convenient. I needed to use a combo of my 1/4" ratchet, and gearwrench to get it off due to the tight clearances. The one that came on my Lexus at 253k was seized and aftermarket, some off brand, and at idle sounded like a freight train. I would only go OEM as the aftermarket ones tend to fail in a very short time. You should be able to spin it freely when the engine is cold, it should do about one spin before the fluid inside starts to slow it down since its a thermostatic clutch.

RA40

iTrader: (6)

You can save some $$ by having the old idler bearings pressed out. Replacement bearings are in the ~$6 range. Just to note that some of the pulleys did have revisions so the bearings from one may not fit certain idlers. Toyota went with a propriety sized bearing on some applications and there is not a mainstream industry replacement. In which case you'll have to buy the Toyota version. Check the bearing numbers and call a local bearing shop for a cross reference/availability. If you have a bench vise or C-clamp this is a pretty easy job to swap them.