92 Sc400 Idler Pulley Exploded

[eds92sc]

My 92 sc400 died on the freeway at 70mph. I looked around and found the timing belt busted, and had it towed to the shop.

I just got my SC400 back from the shop. They found one of my idler pulleys had exploded with the bearings exposed. They think the pulley froze and then overheated from the friction of the timing belt rubbing it. Has anyone ever had this problem on their 1UZFE motor???

For the fix, I had the timing belt changed, both idler pulleys and the tensioner replaced. Since everything was torn apart, I had a new water pump put in, new serpentine belt, new spark plug wires, caps, rotors, and plugs. The total damage at my local shop came to just under $1500 parts and labor.

Funny thing is, I bought this car from my neighbor who had the car serviced by the Lexus dealership. The timing belt and idler pulleys and tensioner were replaced about 12000 miles ago. But the car was hardly driven, and 12000 miles ago was over 5 years ago. Does anyone know or heard of these idler pulleys going bad if you let a lexus sc sit for long periods of time?

[Air Force Rascal]

My 92 sc400 died on the freeway at 70mph. I looked around and found the timing belt busted, and had it towed to the shop.

I just got my SC400 back from the shop. They found one of my idler pulleys had exploded with the bearings exposed. They think the pulley froze and then overheated from the friction of the timing belt rubbing it. Has anyone ever had this problem on their 1UZFE motor???

For the fix, I had the timing belt changed, both idler pulleys and the tensioner replaced. Since everything was torn apart, I had a new water pump put in, new serpentine belt, new spark plug wires, caps, rotors, and plugs. The total damage at my local shop came to just under $1500 parts and labor.

Funny thing is, I bought this car from my neighbor who had the car serviced by the Lexus dealership. The timing belt and idler pulleys and tensioner were replaced about 12000 miles ago. But the car was hardly driven, and 12000 miles ago was over 5 years ago. Does anyone know or heard of these idler pulleys going bad if you let a lexus sc sit for long periods of time?

Did your neighbor show you the old parts and receipt....? Something is mighty fishy here....Good Luck

[jzz30]

either the bearings were just not changed because its so hard to just take a quick look to see if it was changed or they just used cheap replacement parts. but most likely they didnt change the bearings the first time.