90k Service Questions

[EAGLE33]

The time almost has come to do 90k on my 96 LS. So the question is....what realy needs to be done???

From what I understand, timing of course, fuel filter and spark plugs. I also think water pump should be replaced....Can anybody help me out with this list? I don't want to miss anything.

I would appreciate any help

Thanx, Leon

[VBdenny]

Timing belt, tensioners and while you are there, do the waterpump. Plugs and all that as well.

[rwallican]

All of those are important. Usually, if you have a smaller shop, they'll do quite a bit more. My mechanic changed the thermostat, tensioners and pulleys, drive belt, cleaned the throttle body and even changed all of the fluids for the price that the dealer was going to charge for just the pump and timing belt!

[VBdenny]

The key to that is finding an independent shop that knows what they are doing. Having used the dealer in the past i am not always sure they know what they are doing as they have screwed up a couple of times for me.

[rwallican]

I agree. There are several smaller shops (especially in major cities) that are dealer alternatives and specialize in specific vehicles. Check your yellow pages for a Toyota/Lexus shop. I save big $$ by going to mine. Plus they give a 1 year warranty on all work and use OEM parts.

[lexustech]

The time almost has come to do 90k on my 96 LS. So the question is....what realy needs to be done???

From what I understand, timing of course, fuel filter and spark plugs. I also think water pump should be replaced....Can anybody help me out with this list? I don't want to miss anything.

I would appreciate any help

Thanx, Leon

Because of the age of the vehicle...Timing belt and water pump and the front seals are very important. The engine is a zero tolerance engine which means that your engine could be badly damaged if the timing belt breaks on you. On a typical 90k service your timing belt, water pump, seals and oil and filter change, transmission fluid, engine coolant, pcv valve, tire rotation and balance of the front tires, wiper inserts, air filter, surpentine belt, will be replaced in addition to come inspection of the key components of the vehicle. There is a shop in chantilly VA called Chantilly Repair Center that specializes in Lexus and Toyota vehicles, that maybe an alternative to dealer. They use genuine lexus parts and are very well equiped with lexus and toyota equipment. Hopefully they can be of some help to you. Chantillyrepaircenter.com

Good luck.

[curiousB]

Since you're doing so much disassembly to get to timing belt and its a costly procedure it's probably good insurance to do the water pump too. Its the next thing in the progression. Part is under $200 and can't see it being more than another hour or two of labor once you've come this far. Sure you can stretch water pump and replace upon failure (it will likely leak some before catastrophic failure so its not like you'll be stuck on side of road) but changing it by itself later is the same labor as timing belt plus 1-2 hrs more. Do you really want a $1500-2000 repair after the 90k tab is paid....

Based on a similar logic front crankshaft seal and two front cam shaft seals should be done. I don't get a sense these seals are always changed. Perhaps others have better data on these seals.

[oldskewel]

Since you're doing so much disassembly to get to timing belt and its a costly procedure it's probably good insurance to do the water pump too. Its the next thing in the progression. Part is under $200 and can't see it being more than another hour or two of labor once you've come this far. Sure you can stretch water pump and replace upon failure (it will likely leak some before catastrophic failure so its not like you'll be stuck on side of road) but changing it by itself later is the same labor as timing belt plus 1-2 hrs more. Do you really want a $1500-2000 repair after the 90k tab is paid....

Based on a similar logic front crankshaft seal and two front cam shaft seals should be done. I don't get a sense these seals are always changed. Perhaps others have better data on these seals.

On my '91, the PO's dealer skipped the water pump on the 90k T-belt service, then the pump went out at 122k, requiring a whole new T-belt service. All the other advice you're getting here sounds right to me.

I believe the fuel filter is a 60k-interval replacement, so if yours was done at 60k, you don't need it yet. Same thing (I think) with the electrical things like distributor caps+rotors. But if you don't know they were done at 60k ...