Johnhav430

I think I would get these Denso 3297 / SK20R11's from Rock Auto. They are $5.74 ea. plus shipping.

http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo....sn=346&jsn=346

It seems the Toyota/Lexus part# is 90080-91180:

http://www.discountpartsmonster.com/...ame=spark-plug

When looking them up on eBay, the OEM seems to clearly be marked Denso SK20R11:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOYOTA-OEM-S...ZYlzBj&vxp=mtr

Can anyone confirm these are the right plugs? They seem dirt cheap....and than Toyota p/n seems to apply to every car.....

deweronick

Thanks, Those are the plugs I just ordered. $36.99 for the set of 8, SHIPPED!!..........see ebay item #
332020762417 ... (90919-01210 OEM Denso SK20R11 Spark PlugsToyota / Lexus / Scion 8 PC).. Its the lowest on ebay by a decent margin...

lildann

I'm a Lexus Master Tech at a dealer and have seen a few LS engine failures. One was from an aftermarket water pump that came apart and slung the belt. I've seen several timing belt failures. Almost all of them were from belt teeth ripping off on start up. The belts will get coolant from the water pump or oil from the cam and crank seals on them and that will weaken and swell a belt. Almost all of them happened on startup. The belt is under the most torque as it starts up and turns the crank and will rip a few teeth off the belt. These 430 engines have VVT so a jumped or damaged belt causes a lot of damage. Most of the water pumps that I've taken off have signs of leaking. Starting at the weep hole and usually running down the covers. These cars have engine and under car covers so a leak often isn't obvious. Just wanted to share.

Also, I bought the LS that the water pump came apart on. It was a 2001 with 171k miles. Another tech had worked on it and quoted the customer something like $8-$10k on a factory Lexus motor replacement. Lexus doesn't sell a long block so everything had to be priced individually. I bought a used motor that had a 6 month warranty for $3k. I did a bunch of other parts in addition to the motor to make it nice like engine and trans mounts and new hoses all through. With labor and new parts, plus assembling and installing the motor, that $8-$10k price made it not worth it for the customer.

2KHarrier

That's the way to do it. Nice work...

lildann

Thanks. I appreciate that.

Johnhav430

Really great info......well, it debunks the very old thread that there was a LS430 whose belt broke and it was $22k to fix, but I think many on the thread questioned that number....

Having not done the job myself, the pump is inside a cover, so if it weeps, is there a hole in the cover to allow coolant to come out? Meaning it's not like my Maxima which has chains, yet you can see the pump's weep hole outside.

That aftermarket pump that failed was not Aisin, right, meaning I think Aisin is the OEM mfg., just costs less?

With BMW, I am 100% confident getting the OEM supplier parts, because even the BMW OEM parts have the very name on the parts, for example, brake pads made by Jurid or Pagid etc. So I feel the same way with Aisin, seems like most get their kits and not "Lexus" or "Toyota,"....I've heard the belt is Mitsuboshi, the idlers are Koyo, not sure who makes the tensioner....

My concern would be you can't see the coolant as mentioned, nor would you see the oil, and I don't think that most jobs are gonna do the cams and crank at 90k, right? Hopefully, if a person sees coolant and/or oil depleting, there is enough tolerance that if they did the belt/water pump again at roughly 180k, they'd catch those leaks and correct...

Do you see LS430 6-spds easily going 250k+? The indie told me has has seen a bunch himself at 250'ish, and he's a drain and refill, never flush guy, claims if you drain and refill early on, that can not cause your tranny to fail, impossible....he has a wall in his shop with all the 200k+ cars, most are Hondas, some are Toyotas....

edit: one last question if I may, have you ever seen an extension housing seal leak on a 6-spd? I saw mine on the lift last week weeping at 86k, and so the seal has been replaced. I believe the driveshaft needs to be undone in order to do it....Online, could not find anything on the LS430, but many on Tundras....

Johnhav430

Decided to take another look at my old parts. My car was a 9/05 build, and the water pump is stamped 7/05.

The tensioner was made by NTN.

The idler was made by Koyo.

The tensioner pulley was made by NSK.

There would be no way possible to break the timing belt, its teeth, nor the serpentine belt by hand...

Is this where the tensioner makes contact with the tensioner pulley? I see that the tensioner would be vertically oriented, and then the pin is pulled. Just curious since I have not done the job myself. I see on the youtube that when the pin is pulled, the pulley moves very little, just a tiny amount



edit: a perfect shot at where the tensioner goes in and orients is at 13:18. In my illustration the tensioner would rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise



my clean engine bay with blue Aisin sticker

Bjamin75

Got the kit today I will put it in next weekend

Johnhav430

What do the parts look like inside? The indie used TKT-001 and then added a tensioner separately....I never saw the new parts, but they returned the old ones in the Aisin box....

Tom57

Changed the timing belt and related internals for the first time on my '01 at 183K miles and 10+ years old and it appeared just fine.

DavidinCT

My Car has 240K on it (flipped about 3 weeks ago), I changed my TB back at 109K (OEM parts)... Was wondering if needed to adress it again.

Yea, when I had it swapped the guy who did it said, I didn't even need to, it was in perfect shape (he showed me the old parts and I agreed)

Would there be signs showing that the TB needs to be replaced, or is it one of those, Working perfectly, then the next day it's dead type things ? I know it's sealed and it's a big deal to check

Johnhav430

The tech on this thread said that an aftermarket water pump has failed and cause teeth to come off I believe....the actual hardware and belt itself, from what I can see of my old parts would be pretty difficult to fail. But they do have a finite life. My hunch is the 90k change is almost like a 1200 mile oil change, i.e. a very early change. But what can we do, if it's recommended and we don't do it and it fails, it's like a I told ya so. But it would seem like people agree 120k is no problem....and it could very well be that 90k is the failure number cut in 1/2 for a safety margin.....

If only it were this easy (my buddy emailed me this today)

lildann

The water pump failed. And by failed I mean that the water pump pulley seized up and then came apart. I've never seen any other one do that. I've seen some other belts where some of the teeth have been ripped off. Those were from fluid saturated belts. I've never seen a Lexus belt snap. I have seen many Honda timing belts snap. I attribute it more to the maintenance than to the belt itself. Lexus vehicles are more expensive to buy, generally. New and used. Hondas and other brands are cheaper, more entry level cars. Whether or not a Lexus needs a timing belt done at 90k, many are done at that time. Also, from my experience, people that buy Lexus' also maintain their cars better than people who buy more entry level cars. So, if they have a coolant or oil leak, they are more likely to find it sooner and spend the money to get it fixed. All of the belts that I've seen snap were on older vehicles with miles way over the suggested timing belt change mileage. This wasn't always as big of a deal as it is now. For example, I've seen many early 90s Honda Accords with a broken timing belt. From what I've seen, if the belt broke on startup or low RPM there was no damage to the engine. Just slap belts, seals and a water pump on and you're good to go. Emissions standards and the need for better fuel economy as well as power has made many manufacturers turn to variable valve timing. It's a great system but when a belt slips or fails, major engine damage can happen. I've seen a tech set up the VVT-I timing wrong on a 2JZ GS300 when doing a timing belt service. He had to take the head off and replace every single intake valve.

The way that I look at it is that the cost of a T-belt service is way cheaper than the alternative. Plus I don't have to worry about my timing belt failing at some horrible time. My luck it would fail while it's pouring on the interstate and I've got my kids with me. I don't need that!

lildann

Signs that it may need to be changed are hairline cracks in the belt (usually longways in between the teeth), a wet belt ( indicating fluid saturation) or, in extreme cases, a code for VVT-I or timing. (I saw that once when a tensioner was failing.)

It's kind of a big of a deal to check the belt. However checking the condition of the belt by taking off the driver side cam cover is easier. But a mechanic isn't going to do it for free. You have to take off the drive belt, undo a connector (kinda tricky), and take 4 bolts out. You would be able to see the condition of the belt and see if the timing is correct for that bank.

lildann

The water pump that failed was aftermarket. It was the only one I've ever seen do that. And they do have a weep hole. It can leak and run down the front of the engine and come out under the crank or onto the oil filter housing. But if it's leaking that far, it's leaking badly. Best way to see if you have a coolant leak is to watch the reservoir. If it is empty or you constantly have to fill it, you probably have a leak.

Aisin makes the factory water pumps. When I rebuilt a 94 GS300 for my wife's daily I ordered an Aisin pump from Rock Auto. I compared it to the OEM pump and it looked identical right down to the markings. It didn't have the Toyota stamped in it though.

I've seen LS430s go past 250k on the transmissions. But I've also put a lot of transmissions in them before that. Mine is a 2004 that was just past the VIN range for the recall and sometimes it shifts a little harsh. I doubt mine will make it to 250k.

I've never seen an extension housing leak on a LS. I have a 2003 Chevy Avalanche with 217k on it. The extension housing is leaking on it but they are known for that output bearing going bad and causing that leak. Hopefully that's not what is happening on your LS. If it were me, I would take the car to a dealer and have them drain the transmission fluid. They will fill it to the correct level based on the temperature of the fluid. That way you know that it isn't over filled and coming out of the vent on top of the transmission. I've seen that look like a trans leak.