Did the belt already break, or is the water pump making noise?
Reason I ask is because your 1st-generation LS has a non-interference engine, meaning if the belt breaks, no damage will be done to the engine.
If you don't travel out of town much, you could always just wait for the belt to break. Although my local mechanic says, in his 20-year career, he has never seen a timing belt on a Toyota vehicle break. Fords are another story. ;)
I have a related question.
I have a Camry and the timing belt broke on it twice, once after 90k miles and the second time was after 40k miles on a new timing belt.
What is troubling is the time that it broke after only 40k highway miles.
The mechanic that fixed it was an old Toyota factory trained mechanic. He told me that if a mechanic doesn't install the timing belt correctly, then it could be prone to snapping. He also mentioned that he thinks that LS400's have a "self tightening" feature, whatever that means.
I have 3k miles on a new timing belt on my lexus ls400 (95) and I am a hoping that I won't have a problem. I used all Toyota parts.
Has anyone had a problem with the timing belts snapping before the recommended change intervals?
I didn't have the work done at a dealer, but at a local garage. So, my concern is if a less experienced mechanic put on the belt, would this potentially cause me problems or are timing belts pretty straightforward and not considered a difficult job?