Originally Posted by greenskeep (Post 10676803)

change it or roll the dice...19 years on a rubber belt?

Originally Posted by Rozie30 (Post 10676797)

Hello,

I recently purchased a 2001 Lexus430 with 55k miles. Should I change the timing belt because of the years or wait until 90k? I will only be driving this car 1-2x a week for the next couple of years.

Originally Posted by TFBTRADE (Post 9055380)

I own a 2001 LS430. It is my fourth 430. I put a lot of miles on this one fairly quickly. At 180,000 miles I replaced the timing belt. Because of the high mileage, it wouldn't be worth much in a sale, so I kept driving it. I tried not to spend anymore than I had to because I assumed it would be DOA at any time. When I bought tires, I typically didn't get the best quality, again, because I figured it was on its last legs. Suffice to say, I have continued to buy new tires. It didn't drive like it was on its last legs, so I kept jamming on the miles. When I got to 300,000, I skipped the timing belt because of the miles and because I knew the last one had gone for 180,000 with no problem. Now the damn car is at 393,000 miles. I haven't even been changing the oil at regular intervals. I can't kill this car! Besides, at this point, I was on a mission to get to 400,000 miles. Unfortunately, when doing a recent brake job, my mechanic noticed that the the left rear portion of the unibody frame was badly rusted and about to fail. He told me the car was toast, but another mechanic said that portion of the rear frame was replaceable for about $1700. LIke the fool I guess I am, I decided to have it fixed, if for no other reason than to say I got it to 400,000 miles. Now my dilemma is the timing belt replacement, which is 213,000 miles from its last change. Got to think about this. Maybe I am just lucky or maybe the likelihood of timing belt failure, is, in fact, way overblown. On the other hand, I would hate to have spent the $1700 and then have it snap on me next week. Think I'll write a letter to Lexus complaining about why they can't make a car that can go 400,000 miles. Just kidding. If I get to 400,000, I will have no choice but to shoot for 500k. These are the finest of cars ... the finest, even if you abuse them.

Originally Posted by 430SLOwner (Post 10676896)

I am waiting til 150 on mine to think about it or until the water pump starts leaking. My mechanic said it should be done. He also changes oil for customers every 3 months, even if the car has only been driven 1000 miles, because, as he says, it is time to be done, When I heard that, I ignored his advice to change my timing belt. The main reasons I am waiting is because of the horror stories I have read when the job is botched in addition to the arm and a leg wanted to do the job in my area. So, will leave well enough alone for now. However, I never drive the car very hard, rarely going above 2000 rpm unless rolling at 100 per on the freeway and never in a hurry to get up to that speed. If I drove it hard or could find someone close by who was like ClubLexus member peacebay, an ace wrench who can do the job in very few hours and who will do the job for fellow members for $500 parts and labor, probably would just get it done. When I got the car I worried about the timing belt until reading several posts like the one below ...
If you can wrench it yourself....



and: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...mile-05-a.html

Originally Posted by Tom57 (Post 10676947)

Did the TB & WP and idler & tensioner bearings on my '01 in 2011 at 180K+ miles. The belt looked virtually new.