montanawinter

Same ticking on my 2000 LX 470 w/ 65k miles. The Dealer originally said in the 60k service that both manifolds needed replacing to the tune of $4,000. After I started asking him what would happen if I allowed the ticking to continue he said it was only one of the manifolds and they could replace it for $2,800. I still said no - he said that the valve could suck oxygen in through the crack and your O2 sensor will give you an engine warning if it gets to bad. Anybody out there just let the baby tick - consequences? Alternatives to getting it fixed - no warrenty here!

The charge for the belt was $53 - I did check at Autozone and they had a range of belts from $23-55....decided to stick with a Toyota part. From your recollection how does the belt tensioner work - loosen the bolt in the center of the pully and it swings - or is there a bolt to the side that is the pivot point for a swing arm? Also, when installing the new belt does the tensioner auto tension or will I need a torque wrench? Thanks for the help!

I have been a faithful follower of this board for many months now. It walked me through buying a 2000 LX470 in April and now I am back for some repair advice. I took it in to Lexus for the 60k service and was a bit overwhelmed. Problems are: Exhaust Manifold Gasket leaking - Repair cost ~ $2500 Serpantine belt needs replacing - Repair cost ~ $275 Recomended fuel system clean - Cost ~ $250 Recomended full transmission flush - cost ~$400 In my discussion with the service tech about the exhaust manifold gasket he said that it needs replacing but I could get by without until it fails. I asked the mechanic what worst case scenario was and he said it may give a check engine light because of improper fuel/air mixture. I'll put this repair on the back burner since I have better uses for $2500 right now. The Serpantine belt is where I really need advice - I almost choked when I heard $275 to replace the belt. I told them no and picked up an OEM belt on my way home from work the other night. Saturday morning I pulled the 470 from the garage in preparation of what I thought would be an easy replacement....stunned I just stared - couldn't figure out what to loosen to relieve tension on that thing. Any help or advice would be appreciated. As far as the fuel system clean, I ran some Chevron Techron through the tank and figure between using that semi-regularly and the 93 octane gas I shouldn't expect a problem until the 250k mile range. Transmission flush will come but not until 100k or so. The fluid has been changed regularly and I know that the transmission is fairly heavy duty - all we use it for is light driving. Not worried. Any help on the serpantine belt would be appreciated as well as any advice on Indys in the Houston area who are well respected / fair priced.

I will go pick up a Thule Cascade 1100 lockable rooftop box for my LX 470 this weekend - it will mount directly to the factory bars. I chose the Cascade 1100 (by the way there are numerous other lockable boxes that mount to the factory racks - made by Thule & Yakima) because it is light (~30 lbs) and slender...I can fit skis/snowboards/poles/boots in it in the winter and fly fishing gear with a sleeping bag or two for the summer yet not even get close to the maximum weight allowed.