Question on dealer quote for Timing Belt/Water Pump
#16
These belts and water pumps on gs430 are solid, you could easily wait until 100k but thats just my 0.02. As for dealership do yourself a favor and as someone mentioned before go to Toyota dealrship and have them do it for a couple hundred less. You could even buy your own original parts online (save money there) and just pay them for labour. It's obviously up to you though e.g. rockauto has a complete timing belt kit by ASIN for $170!!!
#17
Lexybaby77 perhaps has a point - that I worry too much...But given what happens if it breaks, you're not just stranded somewhere, there's a good chance that pistons have gotten overly intimate with valves...I am going to take another look at my owner's manual that came with the car when I get home today and see if there is a time component in the maintenance schedule along with miles. I really don't want to spend money if I don't need to but I am thinking I might be somewhat of an unusual case since I only average about 10K miles a year. Has anyone heard of a timing belt breaking before 100K miles?
#20
Man you worry too much. There's a guy here who drove his car 150k without changing timing belts and his car still runs great (which I would not recommend by the way but shows you this is a quality car and uses quality parts). I would wait for 90K if I were you. Time actually does matter, dealer recommends 10 years or 90k miles. Enjoy your GS it's a great car.
Unless you see yourself getting rid of the car so you can avoid this service altogether, you might as well do it now, and put some use on the new parts.
What are the chances you're are going to do a 2nd service in 10years from now? What's the difference between doing it now, versus say a year or two from now? If you do want to do an extended interval, make that decision 10years from now on the 2nd belt, when the car probably has much more wear and tear, and you won't feel bad about getting ready to junk your ride.
I've compared this before to pitstops on a race. You don't wear your first set of tires completely out just because you can, and then put on new tires for the last 10laps of a race. You try to average out the race over the the number of sets of tires you plan to use.
That being said, the price quote looks like it is in range for a dealer-but you can definitely save money if you obtain the parts yourself (even if you want genuine Toyota/Lexus parts (look to the forum sponsers) ) and then find an independent shop to do the labor for you.
Please note, that many Toyota dealerships are not allowed to work on Lexus as a matter of policy if there is a Lexus dealership within the territory range.
Last edited by raytseng; 06-12-11 at 01:58 PM.
#21
the prices you put seem a lil high. I went to both my toyota dealer and lexus dealer and the lexus dealer was only like $50 dollars more for labor. Parts i was going to get from sewell lexus. but Toyota quoted me 498 labor and lexus 552 labor. Must have some good dealerships where i live
#22
2000 gs300 with 130k. Just getting timing belt/water pump/serp belt replaced for 1st time... not because they went bad yet, but just because something was gnawing at me to get them done. You have plenty of time, my friend.
That dealer quote is way too high. Got mine done at independent Lexus mechanic shop that uses only genuine Lexus parts -- $700 for all.
That dealer quote is way too high. Got mine done at independent Lexus mechanic shop that uses only genuine Lexus parts -- $700 for all.
#27
I would go ahead and only change the belts, the water pump usually never go out. I paid $28.46 for the timing belt, 33.01 for the serpentine belt and 183.38 for the water pump from the lexus dealership.
I have a 98 gs3 with almost 200k miles and I did the maintenance myself at 195k miles, i did the water pump, thermostat and idler to be on the safe side. I also changed the plugs and wires, both valve cover gaskets, and both cam seals as they were leaking just a bit.
I have a 98 gs3 with almost 200k miles and I did the maintenance myself at 195k miles, i did the water pump, thermostat and idler to be on the safe side. I also changed the plugs and wires, both valve cover gaskets, and both cam seals as they were leaking just a bit.
#28
Some mixed reviews on this one. I would highly recommend replacing the t-belt, water pump, and crank seal. This is NOT a repair issue here. This is preventative maintenance!!!! You replace the timing belt because of it breaks, it will cause interference and your pistons will most likely hit some valves. All of this work is necessary so that you do not have the break downs or engine failure. Personally I could care less how long someone else rolled the dice and got away with it. I'm not willing to gamble my engine just to put off some maintenance I will be doing at some point regardless. Do it when the people that engineered the car say to. There are other factors too. Climate, how hard its been driven, any fluid leaks getting on the belt, ect... You should change the water pump for sure. They do go bad, I have seen plenty of them. That is why the dealer recommends that you change it now. If it goes bad in the future, you will be paying your dealer all that labor again. When I replaced mine for the second time I did t-belt, water pump, crank seal, idler and tensioner pullys.
#30
I'll cast another vote for going to the Toyota dealership. I got lexus-grade service with a nice loaner camry for the day while my car was getting timing belt/water pump/engine mounts done. It was almost half the price taking it to the Lexus dealership. WTF Lexus dealership?!?!! This ain't no benz.