naturalgas Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Newbie here. I justed picked up a 03 LS with 29k miles super clean at an auction. I had the local dealer check the car out and it is 100%. He could't sell me anything. But they recommended that I get the timing belt and water pump changed to the tune of $1252.00 because of age of car. Would this be a good idea? Or just put the miles on it before I get it done which will be quite awhile for me as this is a third car for me? Any ideas on this? Thanks in advance Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1990LS400 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 Per your owners manual, the recommended timing belt change interval is 6 years or 90,000 miles. Be aware that actual timing belt failure, due to wear of the belt, is almost unheard of. It's usually some other component (water pump, tensioner, idler) that fails and takes the timing belt with it. On my first LS, a 1990 LS400, the timing belt was trashed at about 75,000 miles when the water pump failed. I had bought the car new and I think I was at about the six year mark. There was no damage to my 90 LS engine but the early LS had "non-interference" engines. From the 1998 model year onward and some say from the 1995 model your onward, the LS engines are of the "interference" type and many thousands of $$$ of damage are caused when a timing belt "breaks" or fails due to some other component failing. I would go ahead and change the timing belt but make sure that all the failure prone components are also replaced - water pump, idlers, tensioner and there will be a few other small inexpensive parts too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landar Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I could get 'flamed' for this but I would just have the coolant drained and refilled and drive her for a couple of more years. As Jim mentioned, a seized water pump is the most probable reason the belt would snap and fresh coolant tends to keep the pump properly lubricated and "happy". So get that coolant done right away if it has not already been changed. If the car has been stored indoors in a relatively cool and dry place for most of its life, the belt should be fine for now. I have an '02 LS430 with 45k miles and on the original belt. I will change it in a couple of years and, yes, I still sleep fine at night. BTW, this time vs. mileage issue has been debated ad nauseum in other posts. If you do a simple timing belt search you can read the debates. Congrats on your purchase. Would like to see some pics and..... WELCOME to the world of "Lexitis"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiousB Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 I agree. Many passionate debates about Timing Belts and interference vs non interference engines. Despite the hysteria what is lacking are actual cases of snapped belts and the horrendous damage. I haven't seen a thread here about it. You'd think with thousands of these cars there would be plenty of stories. Yet there are few (maybe even none). Sounds like TB anxiety is not something to get very worked up over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.