plparrish Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 I'm the new owner of a 98 GS400 and I have a quick question. The car has 50,000 miles and has been well maintained. Do I wait until 90,000 miles to replace the timing belt, or should it be done now given the age of the car? Is there a way to check the condition of the belt short of replacement? If the safest route is replacement, would you recommend changing the water pump and belt tensioners at the same time? Appreciate the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airmo3000 Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Piggy backing on the timing belt, anyone know how to get the serpentine belt off the front of the engine (1998 gs300 inline 6). I can't find/figure out the tensioner release mechanism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbarhorst2 Posted December 18, 2004 Share Posted December 18, 2004 Put a socket on the bolt for the idler pulley and use a breaker bar. Push the breaker bar to the right to swing the pulley down and release the belt tension. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new big400 Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 I had my timing belt changed on my 98 GS4 at around 80k and there were some pretty big cracks in it.You may not need it now but Id do it sooner than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plparrish Posted December 20, 2004 Author Share Posted December 20, 2004 I had my timing belt changed on my 98 GS4 at around 80k and there were some pretty big cracks in it.You may not need it now but Id do it sooner than later. ← What was the age of your GS when it reached 80,000 miles? I guess my concern is whether the belt deteriorates much with age, or is it basically miles that wear them out. I know that radiator hoses never seem to need replacement on Lexus products. I replaced the radiator in my SC400 with 150.000 mile and the radiator shop said the hoses would go 400,000 miles. Just wondered if the timing belts can can go 80 to 90,000 miles irrespective of age. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
new big400 Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 It is a 98 and I had it replaced in 03 at 82k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plparrish Posted December 20, 2004 Author Share Posted December 20, 2004 It is a 98 and I had it replaced in 03 at 82k. ← Is there a way to check the condition of a timing belt or do we just assume they're at the end of their useful life and replace them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboGS300 Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 B) yep, it's like changing the oil, only slightly more important Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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