wes61

Took my 2008 in today for 30K maint and some other issues. While test driving with tech I asked if he heard the slight ticking I heard at idle. He said this is nomal because the car has several timing chains. Manual says it has a timing belt that needs replacing at 90K. He said timing chains don't need maint till 200K.

Also asked about maint schedule for plugs; manual says 60K. He said they should go to 100K.

I assume he knows what he is talking about. Seemed like a pretty sharp kid. What do you guys have to say?

edarte

Your read of the manual re. timing belt and replacement period of the plugs sounds more like the 2001- 2006 LS, as it had a belt.

Everything I have read says that the 2007+ models have a timing chain (not sure about there being one or two chains).

My dealer explained the ticking sound on my 2009 as "normal" and due to high pressure direct injection. Other dealers give different answers and some owners believe that this sound is not normal and can be corrected.

RioDino

2007-2011 have timing chains. No need to replace until or unless it breaks.

I agree that you can go 90-100 on the platinum plugs.

Tee

Yes we have a chain (not two) no need to change it & you change the plugs @ 110K.

JFNash

I think he's right.

Did he say anything about replacing the tranny's fluid? Manual says no change. I still can't swallow it.

wes61

Thanks for replys. Makes me feel good not to have to replace timing belts. Can wait till 90-100K before I take it back for major servicing.

Did not ask about transmission.

wrc7732

I would say that 100k right on for the platinum plugs. This is a pretty common service interval for cars with these types of plugs these days. As for the timing chain, I find that one interesting. It is true that it really should be sufficient for the life of the engine, but it could also be the end of your engine prematurely if it breaks. I imagine that most likely scenario though would be that the chain tensioners would need replacement before the chain ever came close to breaking, and in replacing the tensioners why wouldn't you change the chain at the same time.?. I certainly would take the opportunity and then not need to wory about it.

I certainly don't agree with not servicing the transmission fluid. A lot of new imports these days say a drain and fill every 30k miles. I am not a huge fan of this method as you are simply mixing 1/3 fresh fluid with 2/3 old fluid and never fetting a completely fresh change. However, some systems are not able to be drained completley as there is no way to access the tourque converter drain plug (if there even is one) without removing it altogether. Therefore at a minimum, I would drain and refill every 30,000 miles. This should be sufficient for the life of the average ownership. I am not familiar with the process for the LS460 yet as I have just now reached 30k miles, so if it's possible to do a complete drain and refill I would do so at a minimum of every 50-60k miles. Sooner if you're really conservative.

As for the ticking noise, this seems to be a common back and forth between owners and dealers. Some folks had no noise befoe the VSR and now have this ticking. Some have been successful in taking their car back to the dealer and having the VSR checked/reperformed and this has eliminated the ticking. My car has had the VSR performed and also has this same light ticking noise. My belief is that when the VSR's are being performed at some dealers, the lash settings in the drivetrains are not being set with the same precision as when these engines are assembled in the factory. I believe that it is possible to set the lash in such a way that this ticking would be eliminated, but I also believe that the lash is most likely within a certian spec and thus the resulting noise, though somewhat irritating in an $80k car, is most likely not anything to worry about.

I have debated going back to my dealer and discussing this with them and trying to get them to try again, but am concerned that they could wind up doing more harm than good.

There is something to be said for the noise being caused by the high pressure, direct injection, fuel system. But I son't believe this to be the case for a couple of reasons: 1. Not everybody's LS460's are making the noise and; 2. If VW can eliminate this noise in their new TDI's with high pressure injection diesel, then Lexus should certainly have been able to eliminate it in their 460 gas engines.

That's my .02 cents anyway. Take it for what it's worth.

WhitBaby

Took this pic during the VSR...looks like two chains to me...on the left bank. Dunno if the chain serpentine's across to the other head or not, but sure looks like two in this pic.

I suspect the chain on the right just goes down to drive the second cam (out of sight in this pic). I'd also suspect a duplicate config on the right head...ergo, at least two chains. This pic was originally over 2 megs with great resolution, had to resize it to get under the 100K limit. Dunno how some posters get the big, hi-res, pics on here.

Whit

cheez80

iTrader: (1)

you can get huge, hi-res photos on here by hosting them elsewhere (photobucket, tinypic, flickr, etc) instead of attaching them to your post

cmasten

I bought the service manuals for the LS when I bought my vehicle. I have been conditioned to change out the Trans fluid regularly. In the service manual its very specific that you dont touch the fluid, they even took the dip stick out to keep people from looking. If there are repairs to be made, you drop it, send it back to Japan and put in a rebuilt. I am guessing this is not your average trans with 8 speeds and whatever they are doing in there they dont want it exposed. I asked my SA about this when I got the VSR done and said when do I need to have the trans serviced he said never, I must have had a strange look on my face as he then followed up with ever. I figure no need to worry about it then, sure goes against everything I ever learned about fluids in this device, but the service manual is very clear.

Nospinzone

The first time I ever heard about sealed transmissions was when we bought my wife's 2001 Jaguar S-Type. Like the LS460, there's not even a dipstick to check the level. So far 90,000 miles and it operates like it did on day one.

I think the thing people have to realize is automotive engineering and products have continually improved over the years. I can remember when oil was changed every 3,000 miles, plugs (and points, btw) were changed every 5,000 miles, tires wore out in 10,000 miles, and you replaced coolant every 2 years (now the LS is 10 years).

I also have a 1995 Infinit Q45a. It has 187,000 miles on it. It is not a sealed transmission, but I have never changed the transmission fluid and do not intend to change it unless there is a reason. The fluid is clean, up to full level and the transmission runs fine. Now I don't abuse the transmission, but I have pulled 2 big Harleys in a heavy trailer on a 2500 mile round trip every year for 5 years. Even that heavy use didn't put enough stress on the transmission to degrade the fluid.

I know manufacturers cheap out in some areas, but in the items I mentioned above, they just keep getting better.

wrc7732

Well I guess that's one less thing to take care of then.

Evitzee

It might sound like a good idea to change the transmission fluid but you physically can't do it in the way the Lexus transmissions are designed and built. They truly are a sealed unit and last the lifetime of the vehicle. That may scare you but that is reality.

gemigniani

The LS460 engine has 4 timing chains (2 per each cylinder head as you can see in the photo above posted by Whitbaby). Historically (with a few exceptions like the Corolla 1ZZ-FE motor and 22R-E motor) the chains on Toyota vehicles have lasted the life of the motor. The few exceptions involved engines that were prone to chain tensioner wear issues after 150,000+ miles or so. Chain breakage is almost unheard of. Faulty chain tensioners make the chain noisy so the owner has plenty of advance audible warning that trouble is beginning.

The transmission is not sealed. It actually has more plugs than Toyota transmissions had in the past; i.e. a drain plug, overflow plug and fill plug. Savvy late model Toyota and Lexus owners have already figured out how to do pan drain and refills (the only tricky part is re-establishing the correct fluid level when refilling). Dealership Mastertechs are finding more and more that the WS fluid discolors and gradually go bad just like fluids of the past so changing (pan drains and refills every 30K miles or so) is justified for owners who plan to keep their cars far beyond 100,000 miles. Owners who sell/trade every 100,000 miles or less can confidently skip the tranny fluid drains and refills.

Spark plugs should be changed twice as often as the manual recommends IF the owner plans to keep their car far beyond 100,000 miles. Plugs gradually deteriorate and fuel economy and emissions gradually increase as a result of that deterioration. Keeping fresh plugs in the engine keeps emissions at a minimum which in turn prolongs the life of the catalytic converters and extends the number of miles an owner can drive before getting the dreaded check engine light code for "catalyst efficiency below threshold." On an LS 460, converter replacement would be mega expensive as compared to the pocket change cost of new spark plugs.

outbid81

The engine has three chains. A smaller chain for each cylinder head cam set and a primary chain which runs from the crankshaft to each intake cam sprocket.