Timing Belt On Lexus Rx300

[funky]

i need to get the timing belt changed on my lexus.. im looking for some help with that.. anyone has any experience.. what are the recommended brands...? is GMB any good.. i found a GMB belt +tensioners + idler+ water pump on ebay.... shud i go for that..or is there another brand that goes with lexus better.. what and how much does the belt quality matter...i have very little experience with cars.. xcept driving:) .. ty in advance

[code58]

i need to get the timing belt changed on my lexus.. im looking for some help with that.. anyone has any experience.. what are the recommended brands...? is GMB any good.. i found a GMB belt +tensioners + idler+ water pump on ebay.... shud i go for that..or is there another brand that goes with lexus better.. what and how much does the belt quality matter...i have very little experience with cars.. xcept driving:) .. ty in advance

funky- I have had experience 3 times with GMB water pumps and it was not good. They were all new pumps and with lifetime warrantee but the bearings went bad in all 3. Decided no more GMB pumps for me. I would definitely use original eq. in a Lexus. The orig.eq. timing belts, water pumps, idlers and tensioners on Lexus are outstanding quality and I wouldn't use anything else. You can find Lexus dealers on this site and other Lexus sites that sell discounted and also aftermarket sites on Google that sell orig. Lexus parts discounted. With a little research effort you will find you can use the very best orig.eq. parts for no more than aftermarket, and sometimes less! Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[mikey00]

i need to get the timing belt changed on my lexus.. im looking for some help with that.. anyone has any experience.. what are the recommended brands...? is GMB any good.. i found a GMB belt +tensioners + idler+ water pump on ebay.... shud i go for that..or is there another brand that goes with lexus better.. what and how much does the belt quality matter...i have very little experience with cars.. xcept driving:) .. ty in advance

If you have very litle experience with cars, the timing belt may not be the place to start learing. It is much more difficult then the typical do it yourself project. My suggestion would be to get it done at a Toyota dealer, should be less than $400.

[wwest]

i need to get the timing belt changed on my lexus.. im looking for some help with that.. anyone has any experience.. what are the recommended brands...? is GMB any good.. i found a GMB belt +tensioners + idler+ water pump on ebay.... shud i go for that..or is there another brand that goes with lexus better.. what and how much does the belt quality matter...i have very little experience with cars.. xcept driving:) .. ty in advance

Absent having accured in excess of 150,000 I will not consider replacing the timing belt in my '01 AWD RX300. The timing belt that was removed from my '92 LS at 153,000 miles looked as if it was ready for the NEXT 150,000 miles.

And the issue of replacing the water pump is nothing more than an "old wives tale". Long ago water pumps often failed due to failure of the internal seal protecting the "nose" bearing, the ONLY bearing, from failure due to coolant getting into it. To help prevent that all water pumps have a "weep" hole/opening so the small amounts of coolant getting past the seal can simply drain away onto the street. Basically the improvement in those seals over the years has resulted in such a low water pump failure rate that replacing them as a preventative maintainance measure is a waste.

[mikey00]

i need to get the timing belt changed on my lexus.. im looking for some help with that.. anyone has any experience.. what are the recommended brands...? is GMB any good.. i found a GMB belt +tensioners + idler+ water pump on ebay.... shud i go for that..or is there another brand that goes with lexus better.. what and how much does the belt quality matter...i have very little experience with cars.. xcept driving:) .. ty in advance

Absent having accured in excess of 150,000 I will not consider replacing the timing belt in my '01 AWD RX300. The timing belt that was removed from my '92 LS at 153,000 miles looked as if it was ready for the NEXT 150,000 miles.

And the issue of replacing the water pump is nothing more than an "old wives tale". Long ago water pumps often failed due to failure of the internal seal protecting the "nose" bearing, the ONLY bearing, from failure due to coolant getting into it. To help prevent that all water pumps have a "weep" hole/opening so the small amounts of coolant getting past the seal can simply drain away onto the street. Basically the improvement in those seals over the years has resulted in such a low water pump failure rate that replacing them as a preventative maintainance measure is a waste.

I have to agree with you on both counts. I am sure my timing belt would have gone at least double what I had it replaced at. But Toyota had a coupon for about $320 and it was in the Lexus manual as required maintenance , so I caved in. But then again torqueing drive shaft bolts are also in the manual and who does that. At least Toyota was up front with me when I enquired about water pump and idler. I pretty much got the same answer from 2 Toyota service writers and 2 Toyota techs: "We see a lot of these engines and the WP and idler do not fail". They do however check them when replacing the TB. I bet a Lexus tech would have a different answer. Lexus techs are most likely on a more agressive comp plan.

[RX300LS]

Had my timing belt changed on my 2000 RX300 at 90,000 miles at a Toyota dealer. Did not get to look at the belt, but the service writer said the water pump was in great shape, he said not to replace it.

[code58]

Had my timing belt changed on my 2000 RX300 at 90,000 miles at a Toyota dealer. Did not get to look at the belt, but the service writer said the water pump was in great shape, he said not to replace it.

Funky- I have to agree with the guys that say those parts likely do not need replacing at 90k-as Lexus recommends. The orig. eq. are some of the best parts I've ever seen. I replaced them on my DIL's RX but would not if I had examined the parts before I bought the new ones. You originally asked about the GMB parts, and I simply answered that question. Having said that, do remember that it is an interference engine. (if the belt breaks it may do quite a bit of damage) I would not replace them at 90k in my own car if it was a Lexus or Toyota- the parts are almost like new at those miles but the desision is yours. There are those on this and other forums that will tell you that the sky will fall if you don't follow the manufacturer's guidelines, it's just not true- but that desision is yours.

[artbuc]

Had my timing belt changed on my 2000 RX300 at 90,000 miles at a Toyota dealer. Did not get to look at the belt, but the service writer said the water pump was in great shape, he said not to replace it.

Funky- I have to agree with the guys that say those parts likely do not need replacing at 90k-as Lexus recommends. The orig. eq. are some of the best parts I've ever seen. I replaced them on my DIL's RX but would not if I had examined the parts before I bought the new ones. You originally asked about the GMB parts, and I simply answered that question. Having said that, do remember that it is an interference engine. (if the belt breaks it may do quite a bit of damage) I would not replace them at 90k in my own car if it was a Lexus or Toyota- the parts are almost like new at those miles but the desision is yours. There are those on this and other forums that will tell you that the sky will fall if you don't follow the manufacturer's guidelines, it's just not true- but that desision is yours.

The 3.0 V6 on my 99 RX is non-interference.

GMB and Koyo were OEM suppliers for Toyota TB idler and tension bearings on the 3.0 V6 engines. You can get them aftermarket and they will be exactly what was installed at the factory.

[code58]

Had my timing belt changed on my 2000 RX300 at 90,000 miles at a Toyota dealer. Did not get to look at the belt, but the service writer said the water pump was in great shape, he said not to replace it.

The 3.0 V6 on my 99 RX is non-interference.

GMB and Koyo were OEM suppliers for Toyota TB idler and tension bearings on the 3.0 V6 engines. You can get them aftermarket and they will be exactly what was installed at the factory.

artbuc-I am curious to know where the information came from that your 99 RX is not an interference engine. I have looked it up before and it showed as an interference engine and has also been discussed on the Lexus forums as such. I just went back and looked it up under another source and definitely shows as interference engine. I'm always willing to learn but it's a pretty important issue and I feel I need to know if the sources I used are wrong. Y/T Roger

[artbuc]

Roger, you may be right. This question has been raised multiple times on this forum and the answers from our experts such as TunedRX300 and RX in NC say our engine is non-interference. However, there are many out there who say the 1MZ-FE with VVT-i is interference whereas the 1MZ-FE without VVT-i is non-interference.

I just replaced my TB so hopefully I won't have to find out the hard way. Think I'll call Toyota and see what I can find out.

[mikey00]

I remember this being discussed a few years back and the consensus was it is an interference engine. The confusion started when Gates listed the engine as non-interference in their timing belt replacement chart. It has since been changed. I did email them and the answer came back interference engine but they did admit that they reply on the info verbally communicated to them from Lexus shops. Others have cited numerous info indicating interference engine.

[RX in NC]

Back when my wife had her lousy 2000 RX300 AWD, three different Lexus service techs and two different Toyota service techs at two different dealerships and one Lexus service manager (who has always authorized and absorbed the cost of all required fixes for known problems and defects concerning our previous RX300 both during and after the warranty period) all confirmed to me that our engine was indeed non-interference. Yet different folks around the country continue to get different answers depending upon whom they ask....

Perhaps it is time to contact Corporate Lexus and nail this issue down once and for all. Of course, you then have to ask yourself, "does the person I'm speaking with at corporate really know what he or she is talking about, and what is the source of his/her answer?"....

Obtaining correct information is extremely important in this case. You have very little risk at stake when you decide to run your original timing belt as long as you possibly can on a non-interference engine. But you roll the dice big-time if you make that same decision with an interference engine....

That being said, I know that the factory timing belts used in these RX vehicles are industrial-strength quality. Lexus techs, Toyota techs, and independent techs who specialize in Lexus and Toyota have all told me without a doubt that these timing belts can easily do 150,000 miles and more as long as the vehicle is not abused and is reasonably maintained. Therefore, I did not change the timing belt on our RX300 before I sold it with just under 130,000 miles on the odometer, and I don't plan to change the timing belt on my wife's current 2004 RX330 AWD until 150,000 miles assuming we keep it that long (she just turned 75,000 miles two days ago)....

I propose that a number of us contact Lexus Corporate via phone and e-mail to see if we can gain a consensus on whether these engines are indeed non-interference. If I can reach someone who seems reasonably responsible and informed, I'll post it here. Hopefully some of you folks out there will do the same....

[wwest]

i need to get the timing belt changed on my lexus.. im looking for some help with that.. anyone has any experience.. what are the recommended brands...? is GMB any good.. i found a GMB belt +tensioners + idler+ water pump on ebay.... shud i go for that..or is there another brand that goes with lexus better.. what and how much does the belt quality matter...i have very little experience with cars.. xcept driving:) .. ty in advance

Absent having accured in excess of 150,000 I will not consider replacing the timing belt in my '01 AWD RX300. The timing belt that was removed from my '92 LS at 153,000 miles looked as if it was ready for the NEXT 150,000 miles.

And the issue of replacing the water pump is nothing more than an "old wives tale". Long ago water pumps often failed due to failure of the internal seal protecting the "nose" bearing, the ONLY bearing, from failure due to coolant getting into it. To help prevent that all water pumps have a "weep" hole/opening so the small amounts of coolant getting past the seal can simply drain away onto the street. Basically the improvement in those seals over the years has resulted in such a low water pump failure rate that replacing them as a preventative maintainance measure is a waste.

I have to agree with you on both counts. I am sure my timing belt would have gone at least double what I had it replaced at. But Toyota had a coupon for about $320 and it was in the Lexus manual as required maintenance , so I caved in. But then again torqueing drive shaft bolts are also in the manual and who does that. At least Toyota was up front with me when I enquired about water pump and idler. I pretty much got the same answer from 2 Toyota service writers and 2 Toyota techs: "We see a lot of these engines and the WP and idler do not fail". They do however check them when replacing the TB. I bet a Lexus tech would have a different answer.

Lexus techs are most likely on a more agressive comp plan.

Maybe not.

The Lexus fleet, "installed base", is a lot lower that that of Toyota, a whole LOT lower, and the FLEET is undoubtedly a lot more reliable. So getting a broken Lexus into the shop at a dealer is like getting candy on an ordinary, non-special, day.