Just bought an 01 LX (1 Viewer)

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I just bought an 01 LX so I thought I'd join and say :flipoff2:

This is my first Toy/ Lexus but so far I love the thing. 170k miles and zero service records. The interior looks brand new basically and the AHC appears to function properly. I've got some concerns obviously about the timing belt being replaced. I don't know enough about these trucks to see much of an indicator, but I do notice the crank pulley and a few other pulleys have "wear" marks on the bolt heads. They look like they've been taken off before and I can't think of any other reason to remove the crank pulley. The brake fluid is almost clear so it has been changed recently but the kicker is the engine coolant is green.

From reading on here, green coolant is bad? I can understand mixing the red and green could be bad, but is strictly green coolant a problem? This also leads me to believe the timing belt has been changed, the mechanic put in green coolant when he got done.

My only problem is I have a squeal at start up. It squeals for the first 10 miles or so and then stops until I park it for a few hours. The belt looks new, so how do I test the pulleys? Is there a way to test them by popping the belt off and spinning them by hand?

A big shout out to the engineers: I own 6 vehicles and this is the only one that doesn't leak. yet.
 
Go to the nearest Lexus dealer and have them plug your vin number into the Lexus national data base. It should bring up all maintenance info done at any Lexus dealership in the country. If someone else did your timing belt should have a sticker in the engine compartment. If you can't find any evidence of timing belt and water pump change then that would be my number one priority, along with the pulleys etc.
 
If you go to mylexus and register, then plug in the VIN it should pull up all the dealer service history for you too. You can erase that vehicle from your profile later.

That's what I did while I was looking for trucks several years ago.
 
Thanks! Looks like it was last serviced at a Lexus dealer at 62k miles in 2006. Nothing major was done during that time frame except replace the radio. I'm going to look closer, but aside from some wear on the bolts, I don't see any indication of a timing belt change.

14.9 mpg with 75% highway. Seems about right.
 
I tested my AHC fluid levels today. 8 gradations between low and high. That's borderline not good. In low, the fluid tops out at the MIN level.

I pulled back on the tensioner pulley also to get a feel for it and pulled the belt off. Once I got the belt back on, the tensioner had less motion in it. Instead of turning it 40 degrees or so from the first crank to loose, it now only turns roughly 15 degrees to loose. What could cause this? Either way, the squealing stopped and I feel like the tensioner assembly may be on its way out.
 
I tested my AHC fluid levels today. 8 gradations between low and high. That's borderline not good. In low, the fluid tops out at the MIN level.

I pulled back on the tensioner pulley also to get a feel for it and pulled the belt off. Once I got the belt back on, the tensioner had less motion in it. Instead of turning it 40 degrees or so from the first crank to loose, it now only turns roughly 15 degrees to loose. What could cause this? Either way, the squealing stopped and I feel like the tensioner assembly may be on its way out.
True with any engine...the new belt will stretch a bit, and tensioner accommodates the stretch...complete normal.

With 170K on the car, I might consider replacing the tensioner as well as the idler.


Go to the nearest Lexus dealer and have them plug your vin number into the Lexus national data base. It should bring up all maintenance info done at any Lexus dealership in the country. If someone else did your timing belt should have a sticker in the engine compartment. If you can't find any evidence of timing belt and water pump change then that would be my number one priority, along with the pulleys etc.
The dealer printout will also show any recommended maintenance that was declined by the previous owner(s).

Steve
 

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