I myself was wondering about whether the 95-97 was a interference or non interference engine as it was my understanding prior to now that is was an interference engine.
Anyone can be mistaken here, but that certainly does not mean that they're deliberately spreading misinformation. I agree with VMF that condemning and accusing someone of deliberately misleading others is totally uncalled for. If someone is wrong or another is correct, that can be easily established with a distillation of the facts.
I've been on enough boards where there's a lot of rancor. What's nice about these boards is that everyone is cordial. I'd like to see it stay that way.
havn't visited the forums for a while, and looks like this infamous "NI vs Interference" debate is flaring up again!
in short, 2nd Gen 1UZFE (1995~1997 LS400) is definitely an INTERFERENCE engine, don't take chances! almost 2 years ago, we, the old timers, had a very long and heated discussions:
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=25946
member JPI who did lots of 1UZFE engine repairs finally reported that "Valves slight touch the pistons" in a 95 LS400 engine he was working on at that time:
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...25946&st=59
well, IMHO, no matter how slightly it can be, as long as pistons can contact valves, it still can cause great damages, and no way it can be called "non-interference". also, the service manual for my 97 LS400 does have this exact warning "piston head and valve head can make contact" if crank pulley is not turned before removing timing belt.
thus, it's pretty convincing to me that it's an interference engine and we must take cautions accordingly.