kos

iTrader: (1)

I remember my first time joining a forum. lol.

Honestly though, what is the purpose of knowing what others' timing belts look like? Debating on skipping / prolonging preventative maintenance?

430SLOwner

04-27-13, 02:25 PM zippinbye Driver

My friend became owner #3 an 02 LS 430 on my advice last year. 147k mileage. Records consisted of owner #1 taking it to the dealer for everything through 60K or so. Owner #2 had indie shop records, quite detailed for oil changes, brakes, coolant change and a few other things, all done at responsible intervals. No docs on TB. Seller didn't know #*&$ about cars, but we kind of assumed the TB had been done based on evident overall care, but there was no sticker indicating so. Called the indy. He couldn't remember doing it, but said his often advises customers to wait until the water pump weeps or makes noise, and then do the whole package. He said "I'm 38, started as an oil change monkey at at a Lexus dealer at 18. Went to tech school and became full-fledged line service guy. 15 years in Toy/Lex dealers, now 5 in my own place. I have never seen a hydraulically tensioned Toyota engine break a belt. Period. Seen them with 300K+ even. But reality is the pump goes in the 100-150K range, and that's when I recommend changing the belt. On a typical 90K LS, I'd rather see my customers tend to a front end issue or some other maintenance item rather than waste a grand on something unnecessary." Enlightening from a guy who could have made more money going the other way. My buddy used the lack of TB change proof as leverage, and the seller honored it dollar for dollar.

Anyhow, said LS water pump got squeaky at 155K. We took it apart a few days ago and found that everything associated with timing and cooling was original. And in good visual condition. We're waiting on parts, but it will be rolling with a new belt, tensioned water pump, and coolant very soon. Based on what I saw, I don't have much grief that my GX has 95K and I'm waiting until I have some time off next month to address it. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...acement-2.html

430SLOwner

Read some horror stories in the forums of indie tech error when replacing LS 430 timing belts (e.g. 02Legend's buddy's shop timing belt replacement error and the months of aggravation it caused) and got dealer quotes for timing belt replacement nearly equaling 30% of my purchase price for the car. Also read some posts advising that time is as, or more, important than miles. (An indie in whom I have a high level of confidence that he can do the job right has his own parts suppliers. When I asked if he would use genuine Toyota/Lexus instead, he said Toyota is not one of his suppliers. When I offered to supply genuine Toyota/Lexus, he said he would do the job, but his hourly late rate would then be increased to 133% of normal and he would not offer any guaranty because the parts were not through his suppliers. Another indie said he would be happy to install parts I supplied and said he was very familiar with the job. When in the process of scheduling with that indie, he told me he needed the shop manual for the job and I should also supply it with the parts.) Posted the questions to help me determine whether I should worry while I continue to drive a 2006 LS 430 with 96,000 miles and its original timing belt until I can find the time to do the job myself or until I can find an indie who will both, use genuine Toyota/Lexus parts, and in whom I can have a high level of confidence. Am very thankful for the help so many kind forum members have given by telling about their timing belts and looking forward to reading posts by anyone else who may care to reply to my questions of:
How many miles were on your LS 430 timing belt when it was changed? And; In what condition was the used LS 430 timing belt?

2KHarrier

I responded to add to my post count .... Ain't gonna lie...

Fussy

No need to be rude to the fellow navigation on this site is not as intuitive as it could be. Perhaps the person asking for assistance doesn't want to remove the Cam Cover for he may not be an expert who can ascertain the condition of a Timing belt by doing so. I have asked numerous questions and not received one answer. I own a 2004 LS430 with all the bells and whistles in the back seat. I get rather tired of people pushing other people about .

Bocatrip

I spoke with the customer care director at a local Mercedes dealership, who was head of operations at a Lexus dealership for 19 years. He has an 01 LS430 for almost as long as me (10+ years). It has 175,000 miles with the original timing belt/water pump and his son is driving it. He's not concerned as he has seen LS430s with even higher miles and original belts. Mine was changed by the previous owner at 95,000 miles but still has the original water pump, so I need to keep an eye out for any noise or leakage. I found a Gate's sticker years ago showing January 2009 and 95,000 miles as my record.Yes it's been 10 years as well. I currently have 144,000 miles. As has been discussed on a number of threads, the original OEM belts when changed usually don't show much or any wear as they are quite robust. In addition, I've still not heard (at least on this LS430 forum) of anyone who lost an engine due to a broken timing belt. Not saying it can't happen as everything wears out, but still not common. I'm sure in the future, when we have 5, 6 and 7+ owners on these cars and owners just don't care anymore......it will happen. Who knows how much traffic we will even have on this forum by then?

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

I had mine changed at around 100k, I don’t know the condition of the belt but I like the peace of mine, the car is 17 years old and is most of it’s like in the intense Texas heat.

Johnhav430

here was mine when I got it done. Kind of funny nobody ever asked what the seal was (I just thought of it now), funny in that so many cooks were in the kitchen. lol

p.s. when I think of it, I wonder how many cars have a maintenance service which throws out a perfectly good water pump? It isn't exactly $0.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ml#post9759615

NetG

How the belt looks it's pretty meaningless.

I have stories from when I worked at toyota of cars with high mileage belts, an mr2 came in with over 200k...belt looked like **** of course. I've seen other old belts not look bad...SO WHAT? You're telling me you wouldn't change year old oil just because it looked new!? That's foolish. Plus it's not JUST the belt when it comes to this job, I had a brand new belt snap because the tensioner was a pos, cheap quality high priced parts sold by DNJ.

Either way how your belt looks and anecdotal evidence of belts lasting nearly 200k should not be used to determine when you do your belt. Here's what experienced mechanics do...every 90k when it's recommended at 80k. These are people whose lives have been working on cars and seeing everything, people with decades of experience, and this is on THEIR cars. If you have cash to blast and can lose a car that *as of posting* goes for nearly 8 grand and don't give a **** well good for you, I don't, and I LOVE this car too. Change it every 100k if you want to push it, hell mine went probably 154k, doesn't mean I would make that a habit...again, how it looks means nothing and it's not just the belt