havok123

Well i was changing my plugs today and realized that my timing belt is done for. its cracking so i parked the car and it aint goin anywhere till i fix it.. but I want to know what a decent price for this repair is going to be.. I have heard 650+ and i have heard less then 400.. So im stuck. I dont have a lot of cash so i will prolly do it myself. But I want to know how hard is it? and what all will i need to do.?? any help is welcome this car is my DD and i need it up and running asap.. thanks Mike

JohnEd

iTrader: (1)

Havo,

I did it and it was not a cake walk. I subscribe to a service called "alldata". It is an on-line auto manual. It was a god send with the t belt changeout. There are so many connectors and small parts to take off and it walks you through every single bolt and connector. 24 bucks a year.

I think you should get quotes on the job. I think Lex wanted $1,400. Ask around cause i think it will give you incentive.

You need the belt, of course, but you also should do other stuff too. The water pump is a standard replace while you have her open. The idler pulley should be listened to and inspected by a real mechanic. Make sure the covers are in place and make a decent seal. Get the pump at a parts store after you call several aznd get the best price. The Toy belt is much more spendy but will last 150,000 miles. The others will go 100,000. Your call.

Nothing about this job is HARD. You can buy all the tools you need and still come out way ahead on the final bill if you do it yourseld.

How many miles are on your SC?

John

vwynn

iTrader: (4)

i agree.. i helped my uncle do it to mine and well.. prepare to work for hours!

havok123

thanks guys.. my SC just turned over 150,000 about 3 days ago.. I went a bought a timing belt and water pump today for about 180~ total.. I still dont know if im going t do it myself or not.. a local shop said they would do it for abotu 350~ if i buy parts so iono yet

2JZ_SC

Not trying to add work to your list, Nine times out of ten. When the T-belt is replaced and the cam and crank seals are not...They start to leak. Any time I do a T-belt I ALWAYS replace the cam and crank seals. You are right there. Just a thought

havok123

Thanks for the input. I will go ahead and do those also.. thanks for hte tip.. anything else that i might need to do while im in there
??

JspecSC3

iTrader: (4)

Just got my brothers done on his SC300. Took an entire day worth of work. EVERYTHING has to come off. The fan shroud, the fan, the drive belt, alternator, crank pulley, plastice spark plug covers, plastic cam covers, plastic timing belt cover, distributer, timing belt tensioner, and finally the timing belt.

I hope you dont have an SC400. I'd rather have a professional do that one.

G LEXUS

I have a sc 400 and need to do a timing belt. I have a guy I work with and his 92 went out on him on the interstate. He said that the engine is a nono interfernce engine. Is this true? I just dont want to take a chance and make a big mistake because I am to cheap to do the maintance on it.

Thanks

JohnEd

iTrader: (1)

Gavin,

I believe the valves do "interfere" in the 4 liter V8. You lose the belt....you lose the engine. I am less and less certain of all the things I am sure of the older I get. BUT...I am sure that our engine is an interfering vartiety. I think most Toy engines are not interfering and can be run till the belt fails. I think my Cressida engine was of that design.

Get better info than I or "your buddy" can give.

Good luck

John

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

up until 96 Toyota claims they are non-interference engines (4.0 v8)

Blizzy

iTrader: (-1)

I believe this is true. I ran into an owner of a pair of original LS400s who just drives his timing belts until they break. He has a shop with a tow truck at his beck and call. In general, this is not suggested, but I am certain it has been done.

In the case of my 96, I am glad that the previous owner did the timing belt way ahead of time at 56k miles. It is something to not have to worry about for a long time.

CleanCL

someone on the forums blew his belt on early SC400 and i believe the motor was fine.

Scoupe3

check this link out for list of interference type engines
http://autorepair.about.com/cs/doity...mingbelts4.htm