Hello everyone, thank you all very much for the help I've received with my car so far - I appreciate it a lot.

I'm getting the timing belt replaced on my 1999 LS, so I'm going to place an order on Rockauto to get a timing belt + water pump kit shipped out to the UK - it's so much cheaper in the USA, you guys are lucky!
Is there anything else you'd reccomend getting from Rockauto at the same time, stuff which is LS specific and worth doing with the timing belt job? Or maybe just good stuff to have in the garage?

I was thinking about maybe getting a thermostat, front crankshaft seal and a serpentine belt?
This is the AISIN kit I'm getting for the timing belt + water pump

Many thanks.

 

Front main, idler, tensioner, serpentine belt tensioner, thermostat

 

Radiator and both hoses will come out during the job so you might as well replace them

 

Thank you guys! I'll get all those things and the radiator hoses.
I'm looking at the front crankshaft seals - does this look like the right part to you?

 

If you're not using a Toyota seal, cheap and easily purchased from any Toyota dealer, I'd go with the Fel-Pro or Timken from Rockauto.

 

Ah great news they are available at the dealer - I'll get one in the UK then. Thanks so much for the help Bradland (on the previous thread as well!).

 

Water pump. I wouldn't touch the crankshaft.

 

Obtain a Toyota/Lexus shop manual.


The supplied timing belt in kit is different from the Toyota/Lexus Dealer timing belt.
I acquire a timing belt from Toyota.
Acquire Toyota (NOT Rock Auto): cam seals, crankshaft seal, spark plug tube seals, valve cover seals and Toyota FIPG (both for water and oil). PCV valve and left and right ventilation hoses and clamps.

Rock Auto Ruthenium Spark plugs.
Rock Auto Denso radiator, Toyota thermostat (comparable price to aftermarket)
Toyota coolant sensor and crush washer

 

Don't know of the mileage of your car, but when I changed my timing belt at 230k miles, I ended up changing out the fan bearing at the same time as it was shot. Had to wait for it to come in and I had a delayed timing belt change out.

 

Cam and crank seals. Don’t even think about doing a tb job without changing those!!!

I bought a 95 LS400 once for a good price because the previous owners mechanic changed the timing belt but didn’t change the cam seals. The car had a horrendous leak out of the cam seals for some reason and the idiot mechanic didn’t fix the issue. Fortunately the timing belt is a piece of cake to do on the UCF20, so I changed the seals out and the car was good to go.

 

Thank you sdls, this is interesting because my mechanic advised against doing the cam seals as he said it would add another hour of labour and usually wans't necessary. I have a 1999 car so I believe it has special VVTi seals, which perhaps makes the job harder? To be honest I just got the car and I'm a bit of a noob, would appreciate any advice.
He is doing the front crankshaft seal after I insisted!

 

let me tell you, that hour of labor is the best investment you can make right now
cam seals wear out with age and heat cycles. The car isn’t getting younger and especially the cam seals aren’t getting younger either. Your mechanic probably just doesn’t want the extra hassle

 

Servicing the cam seals on a 95 makes perfect sense during a TB job. The 99 VVTi engine is a completely different story. The cams have to be removed completely to change the seals. The seals have an extended service life and it's actually rare for them to fail on VVTi motors so double check with your mechanic. It's certainly more than 1 hour but if he agrees to do it at that rate I MIGHT consider it. Otherwise leave them alone.

 

power steering pump, alternator, alternator 3-wire plug connector, radiator..etc.

^^^ if they are in need of replacing of course.

 

if you are for any reason taking out the inlet manifold, replace the starter and knock sensors.