'96, 30kmiles, $10k, 1-owner

[mr.ajandkj]

FYI, saw this posted today...

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/1503007745.html

[steve2006]

Looks very nice,

The only thing of concern is it is 13 years old and not mileage related but the timing belt should have been replaced twice by now ( 60,000 or every 6 years) and if it hasn't there is major expense on purchase plus it should have full service history at that money.

[killerFatty]

WOW thats nice. My personal favorite color too. It would pretty easy just to pop off one of the timing covers and check the T-belt for dry rot. I don't suspect to see anything wrong with it though. The main reason I think that lexus puts the six or nine year clause, which ever it is, is to make money. A belt that hefty should be good for another 20K+ miles I would guess. And it seems like he kept up with the matinance pretty well. GREAT CAR

[amcdonal86]

I believe starting in '95, the timing belt only needed to be replaced every 90k miles and XX years. Do you know what XX is?????

Actually, maybe it was '97....

[1990LS400]

I believe starting in '95, the timing belt only needed to be replaced every 90k miles and XX years. Do you know what XX is?????

Actually, maybe it was '97....

The replacement interval for the timing belt has always been every 90,000 miles or 6 years on all model years of the LS400.

I bought my first LS400 new in 1990 and had the timing belt and related parts replaced at about 75,000 miles when it was trashed (didn't really break -- just badly scuffed up) due to water pump failure and again at 180,000 miles a few months before I sold it after 13 1/2 years. The 90 LS engine was non-interference so I wasn't all that concerned about it breaking. I had the timing belt and related parts on the 2000 LS400 I currently have replaced at just before 90,000 miles and within a day of seven years from its in-service date. I have the original timing belt out in the garage -- it looks like new.

"Killer" mentioned timing belt "dry rot" as being a potential problem on the 96 LS that is the subject of this thread. I've never heard of a timing belt failing on a Toyota vehicle due to the timing belt actually breaking due to wear -- it's always been caused by the failure of other parts ... tensioner, idler, water pump. One LS400 timing belt a repair shop owner told me about was trashed by a "mystery bolt" that apparently had been rattling around inside the belt cover.

People should focus more on the need to replace the ancillary parts than on the replacement of the timing belt itself. The replacement of the timing belt is almost a side issue and should be replaced when the ancillary parts -- the ones that usually cause the problems -- are replaced.

[Ruud]

I believe starting in '95, the timing belt only needed to be replaced every 90k miles and XX years. Do you know what XX is?????

Actually, maybe it was '97....

The replacement interval for the timing belt has always been every 90,000 miles or 6 years on all model years of the LS400.

I bought my first LS400 new in 1990 and had the timing belt and related parts replaced at about 75,000 miles when it was trashed (didn't really break -- just badly scuffed up) due to water pump failure and again at 180,000 miles a few months before I sold it after 13 1/2 years. The 90 LS engine was non-interference so I wasn't all that concerned about it breaking. I had the timing belt and related parts on the 2000 LS400 I currently have replaced at just before 90,000 miles and within a day of seven years from its in-service date. I have the original timing belt out in the garage -- it looks like new.

"Killer" mentioned timing belt "dry rot" as being a potential problem on the 96 LS that is the subject of this thread. I've never heard of a timing belt failing on a Toyota vehicle due to the timing belt actually breaking due to wear -- it's always been caused by the failure of other parts ... tensioner, idler, water pump. One LS400 timing belt a repair shop owner told me about was trashed by a "mystery bolt" that apparently had been rattling around inside the belt cover.

People should focus more on the need to replace the ancillary parts than on the replacement of the timing belt itself. The replacement of the timing belt is almost a side issue and should be replaced when the ancillary parts -- the ones that usually cause the problems -- are replaced.

The timing belt replacement interval has always been a topic of discussion, especially on the UK forum. I've found out that every other country uses 90k miles except the UK where it is 60k miles. I guess they did not made enough money out of sales so they adjusted the service interval ;)