The Mitsuboshi timing belt can be bought separately, so you're still in doubt as to whether other internal parts and water pump were replaced. Mitsuboshi is the same belt in the Aisin Kit.

 

I just replaced my timing belt with the Aisin Kit. Car had 110k and it had never been changed. The belt was in ok shape but the idler pulley was noisy, no play but definitely on it's last leg. It also looked like the water pump gasket was about to start leaking. If just the belt was replaced on yours I would definitely consider redoing everything for peace of mind.

 

Mitsuboshi is the brand of the actual belt that comes with the Aisin kit, at least the last one I bought did. That service sticker with "Mitsuboshi" on it is also what's included.

When the Lexus dealership does the job, the sticker they put on is different than the one the OP has and does not say "Mitsuboshi" on it. The LS I bought had the timing belt service done at a Lexus dealership by the previous owner and had the records. The sticker on there was like the one Tom57 listed.

 

My Aisin kit tkt-021 came with the Mitsuboshi belt and had the blue Aisin sticker pictured above.

 

For grins I emailed my salesman if he could contact the previous owner and find out if they have records.

I would also like to know if the timing belt kit has a blue sticker and the timing belt, if bought by itself, has the brown sticker that I show under my hood?

 

Shouldn't it be an Aisin?

 

The "brown/black" Mitsuboshi sticker your LS now has is the same one that came with a full Aisin timing belt/water pump kit I bought from RockAuto. Newer kits may now include instead the "blue" Aisin sticker, but mine looks like what you have on there now and I bought a kit around 18 months ago.


You have to think, if somebody put that sticker on purely for the purpose of fooling someone, they have to be about the dumbest scammer alive for then forgetting to actually write down the mileage as they were putting the sticker on in order to scam a buyer.

 

It still boils down to the fact that I have no guarantee that the belt and water pump were replaced although the fact that the sticker was applied from a third part mechanic (outside of Lexus dealer) gives me a bit more comfort that the job was actually done. If I was assuming I would say it was done around the 90,000 mile mark since the lexus records show they reminded the owner it needed it about that time.

 

No, you don't, but I think that sort of dynamic happens anytime you buy a car that age that any of the proper maintenance has been done. If somebody can put a "fake" sticker like that they could also dummy up service records as well , hide the fact that it's been in a wreck, or that it has issues they know are going to be expensive, etc.

And if you get the owners contact info, who's to say he won't lie about it? If he dummies up a sticker, he'll also lie about something like that.

I definitely think it's HIGHLY unlikely that somebody pulled a scam like that, mainly because I don't think you can get that exact sticker without actually buying a belt or a kit, but of course anything is possible.

 

I am looking at some 430's on CL. All of them are over 100k (110-150k miles), if there is no mention of a timing belt and a water pump done in the ad, is it safe to assume it wasn't done?


Ive called a couple of places and asked, but the answer is 'let me get back to you on that'. I never get a call back, so I am going to assume the answer is no.

 

The belt was replaced. The belt can be purchased separately. So the question not answered: were the internal timing belt-related parts and water pump replaced (i.e. all of the parts in the Aisin kit other than the belt)?

 

If these are independent car lots they won't know and won't care. Maybe ask to see if there is a sticker underneath the hood?

 

Most of what I am finding are independent car lots; I will have to do that.

thank you for the suggestion; I think im going to go look at one on Friday.

 

Let us know what kind of condition you find these Lexus on the indept car lots. The one's I looked at were rough. Good luck.