jeffbayne

Hey guys, just had the 30k done on the car- they wanted to do a fuel injection cleaning cause the throttle body was a little dirty. Is this something that a gasoline additive would help? or do I need them to do it- it wasn't the dealership, but a specialty import repair place. They also said the timing belt is due to be changed. they want $374 to do it. Anybody change this themselves? Any tutorials?

Thanks, Jeff

debian

Funny, I thought Lexus' didn't need timing belt changes until close to 100,000 miles. That was the first question I asked the dealership mechanic before I bought the used LS.
From other cars I have owned I have never had the timing belt repair cost so little as you say above. Usually mechanics would tell me $500 or there abouts. It gets a bit involved and you need to open lots of things. Please if you DIY make sure you record the process and put it on Youtube.
Cheers,
IAn

danxp

the timing belt change is done at the 90k service... and didn't even see any fuel service listed in any of the maintenance details... there is a fuel filter, but it is a non-serviceable afaik...

CG lover

sounds very questionable, I would head to a Lexus dealer and discuss with them,, certainly no timing belt and have not heard of any throttle body issues on our cars,,

Derry

honeygee2

The best fuel for the car is either texaco or chevron..they both contain an ingredient called TECHRON which is suppose to be the best engine cleaning agent on the market. you can buy the product by itself at auto stores and add it to your fuel.

Timing belts on LS 430 is due at 90K

jeffbayne

correct on the 90k, I'm at 245k and the stamp on the current belt was at 150. If its that involved, then fine, i prolly won't mess with it- its just that i've owned three GM cars with the 3800 V6 and that belt is $30 and can be changed in 3 minutes with an 18mm socket wrench... I'm still getting used to Japanese technology...

I'll take a look at Techron, see if i can find it anywhere... I'm sure with so many miles, my car will have issues that most of you guys won't deal with... they only wanted $75 to do the cleaning, which is dirt cheap, but that also usually translates to something easy for an individual to do as well.

V8_Fan

Yes and no. Good quality gasoline like Chevron 91 w/ techron will help keep the injectors clean, but it won't really help for the throttle body flap. You will get a sticky carbon residue build up on it. You can clean it using a rag, stainless (tooth) brush, and can of carbuerator cleaner. The LX (and I suspect, LS) has a sensor at 12 o'clock, so don't just shoot carb cleaner in the TB! Remove the hose leading to the TB, then spray some carb cleaner on a rag and brush and gently push the TB flap in and scrub, wipe the excess, being careful to avoid the sensor. Do this around every 30K miles for any car (honda, toyota, lexus, etc.) Make sure the key is out of the ignition and engine is off to avoid generating check engine codes when you move the TB flap. If you do nothing, the flap eventually gets gummed up with sticky carbon. On the LX, there's an electronic motor that moves the flap open/closed rather than being cable controlled. When the TB flap gums up just enough, the flap gets stuck, can't open when commanded, and that generates a check engine code. The dealer will diagnose it as a bad TB and recommend replacement ($1500 on the LX) since they only replace, not repair. In reality, nothing is wrong. Just $3 of carb cleaner and you're good to go. On old cars like my old 4runner, you can just shoot the carb cleaner straight into the TB and scrub, then start up the engine (it'll sound terrible the first 30 sec or so as it burns off the carb cleaner).

Timing belt should be done at 90-100K. The longest I've ever heard of anyone running a t-belt on a lexus v8 is 198K mi. He had it changed then. The mechanic told him it could have snapped any time, causing $$$$ in valve damage. You might also consider changing the water pump. The water pump generally lasts around 120K mi, but to change it, you have to remove the timing belt (read: $$$ in labor again since you need to pull out the radiator and everything else in front of the timing belt cover), so you may as well kill 2 birds with one stone and have them both done at the same time around 100K mi.

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

^^ Good advice here.

Budhah

Jeff Where was the Mechanic that told you to change timing belt?? Sounds like he is trying to rip you off. To put it bluntly. I would suggest you going to a real Lexus dealer.. Even a Toyota dealer knows better than to change the belts at 30k.

Vpanin

O man dont ever go to that mechanic again!!! timing belt at 30k ....thats just so funny. From what I remember from the previous posts ........its like 1200$ to change at the dealer with the water pump which is a given.........just for your info

toantran99

Just had my timing belt, drive belt or serpentine belt, water pump, sparks plugs($9 a piece) thermostat,camshart seal, transmission fluid flush and changed. So I was doing the 90k and 120k at the same time.
Vehicle has 109k miles on it.
2004 Modern Lux

Vpanin

How much did that run you??

toantran99

About $600 for the parts, lexus parts.
Had a mechanic from Honda and Toyota to do all the work. Toyota guy did the transmission work.
Labor $0 since it's a family friend. Still owe them a BIG dinner. Planning to take their family out.

xuserx04

iTrader: (6)

As stated above^^ timing belt at 30k is a joke. I just love people like that mechanic. He saw you in a Lexus flagship and automaticly assumed that every time you take a dump you get a nice fat stack of 100 dollar bills. What a jerkoff.

xuserx04

iTrader: (6)

Last month I had my t belt, serpentine belt, water pump, spark plugs and struts changed at 135.000 miles by a lexus mechanic and i was with him the whole time for about 7hours and its no easy task.