Timing Belt / Years Of Service Vs. Miles

[AZ Mike]

I own a '99 LS400 that has just barely eclipsed 60K miles. I am well under the 90K mile timing belt interval, but past the 7 year time of service interval. How critical is it to replace the timing belt now vs. waiting for 90K miles? I.e., is the time interval just as critical as the mileage?

[eddielasvegas]

I think the interval is 6 years or 90,000 miles.

This is a tough call that only you can make, but the belt is not exposed to sunlight and should not be exposed to any chemicals or fluids that would deteriorate it. OTOH, guessing wrong might cost you an engine. There are many, many examples of belts going way beyond miles and years and very, very few actually breaking.

I just had mine done at 87,000 miles and ten years, which was close enough for me.

Good luck,

Eddie

P.S. I noticed you're in AZ. If you don't have a good mechanic, I'd recommend mine. Drop me a PM.

I own a '99 LS400 that has just barely eclipsed 60K miles. I am well under the 90K mile timing belt interval, but past the 7 year time of service interval. How critical is it to replace the timing belt now vs. waiting for 90K miles? I.e., is the time interval just as critical as the mileage?

[Jerry Bransford]

One more hint on serpentine belts. Cracks across the belt are normal and should not be used by a dishonest mechanic to convince you that a new belt is needed. Such cracks are normal and can often occur soon after installing even a brand-new serpentine belt. The real clue the belt is bad and needs replacing right away are cracks that run length-wise down the belt. :)

[AZ Mike]

eddielasvegas,

For some reason, I am not allowed to send private messages.....is there some trick to that?

I am 2 months new to the Phoenix area, and am therefore very interested in mechanic recommendations. I spoke to an independent Toyota/Lexus mechanic named Hank last week, and that is all I know other than the dealerships.

[eddielasvegas]

I've never sent a PM here either, but I'm guessing it's a newbie thing. As your post count goes up so do your privileges.

I'll send you a PM in a minute and maybe you can reply.

If not, we'll figure something out.

Eddie

eddielasvegas,

For some reason, I am not allowed to send private messages.....is there some trick to that?

I am 2 months new to the Phoenix area, and am therefore very interested in mechanic recommendations. I spoke to an independent Toyota/Lexus mechanic named Hank last week, and that is all I know other than the dealerships.

[JimsGX]

I own a '99 LS400 that has just barely eclipsed 60K miles. I am well under the 90K mile timing belt interval, but past the 7 year time of service interval. How critical is it to replace the timing belt now vs. waiting for 90K miles? I.e., is the time interval just as critical as the mileage?

My 91' LS was done for the first time last year at 16 years old and 74k miles...

[AZ Mike]

Thanks for the input. I was thinking that I would wait until I get the miles up closer to 90K and not worry so much about time, and your experiences make me more comfortable in that decision.

[jcrome04]

I don't know if the Timing belt has ever been done on my 97. Signed up at lexus.com and didn't find any maintinence records with my VIN. I pulled the covers off a little while ago and took a look, there are no cracks or anything. I'm no belt expert, but in my opinion it looks to be in pretty great shape. No cracking or deterioration, nice and black. current mileage is around 144k.

[tcbted]

Mike, I was in the same boat as you are, this time last year.

My 2000 LS400 had about 59k on her, and had been on the road for about 8 yrs.

I decided to err on the side of caution, and did the belt due to age rather than mileage.

The old belt looked perfect, but the water pump showed a tiny amount of past seepage.

All in all, I paid a retired Lexus tech $600 for the t-belt and pump, using OEM parts.

The peace of mind is well worth the dollars spent on an interference engine.