Hi all,

Next week I will be taking my car to the Japanese auto shop to do the big timing belt job for my LS430 2006.

40k miles ago I used Aisin kit from Amazon. I have no complaints about it, however, it is far from being complete. Now I have approximately 130k mileage. Looking forward to forget about timing belt or other issues until 200k.

This time I am no longer using any aftermarket timing belt kits. The reason for that is simple - I do not believe they are manufactured at the same quality level as OEM, period. Even if it is Aisin or Koyo or NSK aftermarket.

For reference purposes, I added some extra parts which are not usually considered for the job, but as long as we are removing half of the engine, why not to replace these. The goal is to bring 3UZ-fe to factory defaults, while making sure all rotating parts aren’t making sounds, seals aren’t leaking oil or coolant (now or later), filters are clean and crankshaft/camshafts are rebalanced / retorqued together with the new rubber damper.

Any comments / feedback are greatly appreciated!

 

This damper may have inside damage if removed incorrectly. It has rubber isolator. Lexus could have put more rubber in it.


Water pump kit contains gaskets, seals and bolts

This belt is made in USA OEM for Toyota



New hardware for crankshaft pulley and sensor proper work



Camshaft and Crankshaft seals and springs

Gaskets and washers for valve cover and spark plugs area

Engine filter plus VVTI filters - one per each camshaft.

Two kinds of high quality fluids

New engine splash shield

 

I share your sentiment toward the Aisin kit. No complaints but there’s a lot to be said about peace of mind.
Personally, I wouldn’t touch the cam seals until approx. 200k if they are not leaking. While this is a zealous project on your part it’s just another day to the technician. Kudos to you for the attention to detail including parts most ppl don’t consider like the harmonic balancer etc. 👍

 

Dimitry, wow! Super complete kit of materials you have assembled. How much did it total out to obtain all those as Toyota/Lexus parts?
I doubt a dealership could be any more complete in getting all the right parts available, and I probably would not trust an independent to obtain all those as OEM parts.

 

Thanks for the input! I will have a good opportunity to assess how the Aisin kit performed from the last timing belt work plus will check the original seals.

 

Yes, looking forward to swap all of them. Money wise we are looking here at approximately 500-600 dollar range, if ordered through foreign supplier. Some parts may have different production number for oem and aftermarket kits.

 

Suggestion:

Before leaving your vehicle with repair shop,
request to see the special.service tool.they use for removing and installing a 1UZ-FE Harmonic Balancer.....

A chain or strap wrench will tear the harmonic damper elastomeric element...

If they use the starter to loosen the crank bolt..then run.

Must be held at hub with this tool:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-...ct-wrench.html


Also request to see the shop manual with torque specs...most shops don't bother...this engine has torque specs for each bolt for a reason

If they don't have Damper SST or torque specs, don't leave your vehicle.

The Aisin timing belt in the kit is not the same quality as dealer belt...

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-1st-and-2nd-gen-1990-2000/868958-beware-aisin-timing-belt-kit-deficiency.html

 

Yodaone, good point about harmonic balancer. Check one of the pictures which i submitted has info about Harmonic balancer. The other name of it is Crankshaft Damper.

Question. When you say "aisin timing belt is not the same quality as dealer belt", are you referring to the quality of color marks?

 

The spine of the dealer belt appears to be of better quality.

I spoke to an engineer at Mitsuboshi plant at Ottawa illinois... he commented the belts were produced on same equipment.

However, if the Aisin kit is in fact using the Ottawa belt, based on post it is not the same quality... the lettering issue is immediately apparent.

On that point, the post speaks for itself....

The dealer belt and Aisin kit belt are different in that regard.

It appears from your dealer purchase of individual timing belt service components you are convinced the more expensive dealer parts are superior to Aisin Timing Belt Kit componecomponents.

A Lexus dealer tech swears the aftermarket stuff is inferior to dealer (same brand vendor; Aisin, Denso, etc)... spark plugs, fuel pumps, fuel filters, cabin filters, oxygen sensors, water pumps, bearings, radiators, etc, etc

Here am only referring to the timing belt kit belt.

As you purchased a dealer timing belt, ithis is not an issue for you

If a timing belt manufactured in Japan with a recent date code is available, I would locate and go with it.

Verify date code...

 

All those OEM parts look beautiful, sounds like you have a great plan to refresh the engine, but a WIX engine oil filter? Get yourself a 90915-20004, they are ultra-premium quality and triple the price of the regular 90915-YZZD3 and YZZD4 filters, which also work perfectly fine and likely better than the WIX. I would trust Toyota filters to be more effective and to be of higher quality than vast majority of aftermarket filters.

I would feel more comfortable taking the LS430 to a Toyota dealership as opposed to an independent shop, as Toyota has access to all Toyota SSTs and full access to online Techstream and the service manuals in case anything goes wrong. Independent shops can be hit or miss, just a risk factor I'm not comfortable with for more in-depth jobs like this. But if the particular tech at the independent shop has done many 2UZ and 3UZ engines already, then I'd be very comfortable.

Toyota installed my AISIN TKT-021 kit just a few months ago, and even put the parts they changed out back in the box. No problems with the parts or labour so far, engine runs smooth as can be, will likely use Toyota labour for the timing belt job again in 6 years. I was able to go 12 years/113,000km with the OEM Lexus belt that they replaced, replacement spec is 6yrs/144,000km. No signs of damage or wear, but since some people question the quality of the AISIN belt, I'm going to play it safe and change at the 6yr mark, then check the condition of the parts and see if I can take the next AISIN kit to 12yrs. If not, then it's very unlikely the cost savings of the AISIN kit would offset the labor costs of changing every 6 years, and then I would revert to Lexus parts and 12 year intervals.

 

I just bought both the Aisin kit and Toyota parts for comparison. The water pump and belt were a little different but the two idlers and tensioner were exactly the same, KOYO and NTN. I am doing it now using the Toyota parts and I returned the Aisin kit, but if money was a big concern I would not hesitate to use the Aisin kit.

 

Thank you for interesting info, guys.

I haven’t seen this Toyota part yet. Is it a factory installed filter or aftermarket Denso @YZZD series? I heard Wix heavy duty filters are one of the best in the market, but I would not mind to see the proof of oem filter superiority.

 

Wow you guys are something else, a brand new crank pulley? That's not a wear item. Why didn't you buy new VVTi pulleys? Those are parts that actually leak. Are you sending the crank and cams out to be rebalanced? They don't get torqued together and the crank pulley doesn't balance them.

 

Interesting logic, but thanks for the feedback. Couple of questions if you don’t mind:

1) Describe the process of rebalancing the camshaft. Now that you said that it exists, what are the chances someone outside the factory can reach satisfactory results?

2) Have you seen mechanics using chainwrench method to remove crankshaft pulley? Do you know what is the purpose of this part?

3) Why exactly do you suggest purchasing VVTI pulleys instead of replacing seals and springs?

4) What do you believe may happen if the crankshaft gear or the sensor plate shows signs of wear?

I hope you may give detailed answer on each question. Thanks again for the input!

 

Buy once, cry once... I like your style. Keep us updated with the progress....