MRTWO86

Hey yall.
I just got a 92 ls400 I put about 30 miles in it when the harmonic balancer pulley failed an sent part of the pully into the timing cover. It put a large whole onnthe cover
I'm about to do the pully an timing belt an water pump
But I'm in need of a lower timing cover..any one have any leads? I've been calling around and searching the net but im not having much luck.
I appreciate any help I can get!

bradland

https://www.car-part.com/

deanshark

https://cars245.com/en/item/toyota-l...ming-belt-no1/
This place shows it but I would contact them first seeing how it's a discontinued part and says "special order" 30 days out.
Looks like you're best bet would be to get it from a junkyard.
Someone else had the same problem last week. There's a timing belt guide behind that cover that might have also been damaged. You'll notice that when you take everything off to do the T-belt.

mikaelse

Very smart to take the things apart and have a close look. Other stuff may also have been damaged.
It can be tricky to find unusual parts these days. This part is listed as discontinued.
Over a timingbelt the covers have the task of keeping dirt and debris (and fingers ) out. Often it is possibe to improvise something that works with thin AL metal sheet and original attachment points. Since the car has a plastic bellypan it does not have to be perfect.

deanshark

The "bellypan" (lower engine cover) is sometimes missing after people work on their car. Either bolts get lost or people get lazy and don't put it back on. But either way the lower timing cover, or any timing cover for that matter, should be replaced with an original cover so it's completely sealed. You don't want any dust, dirt, or ANY drop of water getting on the timing belt. Easy to find at a junkyard.

mikaelse

If it is possible to find a cover it is definitely a good idea to fit one. Here in Sweden many things are next to
impossible to find for LS400 these days due to very few cars left. <100 and junkyards do not see much value in the few they get.
Seldom any engines and very few body parts etc. I think it may be the same in many countries over the world.

deanshark

Not here in the US, there's plenty in the junkyards. (for now anyway) But I do see your point if ya can't get it then ya gotta make it. The link that bradland put up you can find almost anything ya need. I could drive 20 miles and hit 5 junkyards from where I am, and most will have at least 1 LS400. I guess we're lucky that way.

MRTWO86

So I got on off this site from a yard in NC they shipped into me it was way to much but I need it
Problem is...this one is also broke..
they didnt tell me that when i ordered it so I'm prob gonna try to return it..
uunless anyone has ideas how to fix it!?!?

deanshark

Damn, that's one big *** hole in the side. That would let way too much dirt and debris in there. I would definitely try to return that one, cuz, it's damaged. They shouldn't be able to sell damaged parts. I know there's plastic cement that people here use but I can't remember what the name of it is off hand. But even still, it's usually used just for cracks, not a big hole.
If you do return that one and order a different one I would call the place and ask for pics before they send it.
Someone else might have an idea on maybe covering the hole with something and then using the plastic cement on it. The only trouble is it's on a curve.
https://www.car-part.com/ does show alot of them but nothing even close to you in Maryland.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

is it in better shape than the one you have?

of course ideally a cleaner, hole-free part would be better but to get you up and running you can just seal it with some tape (i don't think that part is near a pulley eh?)

if you paid a substantial amount for it, i understand wanting to get your money's worth!

deanshark

I usually agree with you on most things but not on a piece of tape to fix this. This timing cover, (all timing covers) need to be sealed up perfect so nothing gets in. The position of this cover and where the hole is, a tiny stone, or any type of road debris, can be tossed up and cut through the tape and the thing would be wide open for more stuff to get in, including just rain water, which can cause all kinds of problems with the belt getting wet, or the bearings rusting and seizing up. Maybe fixing it with something hard and sealing it would be a good "to get you going" fix. Also, whatever you use you don't want that to come apart and fall inside.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the "just get me going" fix, but I would fix this one the right way.
That is one crazy, unexplainable hole. It looks like maybe someone dropped a bolt or something inside the timing covers up top and spun on either the timing belt guide or the crankshaft gear. Whatever caused the hole, good thing none of us has to diagnose that one.
Bottom line is you want this part to be sealed good. Not only to keep debris out but you don't want to have to take it off again, cuz of everything else that needs to be removed to do so.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

understand your point of view dean!
it's certainly an odd placed hole but it might make sense if i knew it's full orientation (hard to tell from the angle of the pic).

getting to that cover is difficult as you will need to remove the crank pulley, so i totally understand getting this thing fixed the right way the first time!

paulo57509

Maybe do this:

• Grind off that hang nail from the edge of the hole.
• Your local hobby shop or Hobby Lobby should have K&S metal sheet or strip and some epoxy that's used for R/C airplanes. I'd use brass just because it's soft enough to work with.
• Using a small ball peen hammer and some snips, make a patch out of the metal.
• Epoxy the patch over the hole.
• Paint over the area for corrosion protection.

Depending on clearance, it might be easier to patch it from the inside of the cover. There's more than one way to go about this.

deanshark

Awesome description, sounds like that is the way to go. But as for your "depending on clearance" suggestion, I would do the repair on the outside. There's plenty of clearance on the outside and ya don't want to take a chance of it not holding and falling off inside and then having more problems, again. Plus, looking at other pics, (from lexls.com) the timing belt guide comes close to this cover. Heck, that might have even made the hole.