Got the LX back today with the old belt. Water pump seems to be OK, nothing special to show there. Here are pics of the belt:
pictures of 197K mile timing belt
- Thread starter chukiechz
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its is showing its age..........good thing you changed it 
Whew, glad that's not in there anymore? I bet it doesn't look too much worse than a similar aged belt with 100k miles on it though. I honestly expected to see worse 
It's nice to breathe easy now isn't it?
It's nice to breathe easy now isn't it?
Jim_Chow
V8_Fan
It doesn't look as bad as I expected. BTW, at 197K mi, do you feel any play or looseness in your steering, worn suspension bushings or anything? That is, does it drive like a normal toyota/honda passenger car after 200K mi when the bushings/suspension has never been changed, or does it drive like a LC with 50K mi?
My car's got 83,000 miles on it, and the dealer told me that it needed to have the belts replaced. Shouldn't it be at 90K recommended, and why did yours last so much longer when I'm already being told to replace mine?
- Thread starter
- #6
Im getting the rear upper control arms replaced friday since the bushings are destroyed with age. My mechanic told me that he's surprised the damper adjustment on the shocks are still working after so many miles. I cant say I know what a passenger car at 200K miles feels like because I've never had one with that many miles. The lexus doesnt handle all that great, but that might be because its an SUV.
No idea why my belt has lasted this long. Im sure the 90K mileage recommendation is a conservative estimate on toyota's part. Not that Im recommending going so long without a change. I definitely feel better knowing that the belt has been changed since its primarily my wife's/baby's car.
No idea why my belt has lasted this long. Im sure the 90K mileage recommendation is a conservative estimate on toyota's part. Not that Im recommending going so long without a change. I definitely feel better knowing that the belt has been changed since its primarily my wife's/baby's car.
Thanks for posting the pictures. The belt looks pretty good for that many miles. No fraying on the edges or missing chunks. I have have always seen chunks or major fraying before a belt failure. I will still change mine right at 90k although I'm not sure I'll change the water pump at the same time. Has a single water pump failure even been reported on this board?
- Thread starter
- #8
the water pump that was replaced still spun freely with no binding and had no signs of wear. I dont think water pump failure should be too much of an issue.
Great photos of the 197kmi timing belt. Thanks for posting them. From your experience, it appears Toyota is using at least a 2X safety factor on the t-belt life expectancy. Most of the timing belts I've seen on machinery at work don't fail by breaking but by a few teeth stripping off. Of course, this screws up the machine timing.
I also appreciate the feedback on the water pump condition. I changed my own timing belt at 110kmi but not the water pump. In the last 3-4 months, two water pump replacements have been reported on this forum. I think the necessity of the replacements is questionable because neither owner ever saw any anti-freeze on the pavement where they park overnight. Both were changed with the timing belt when the dealership service manager phone to report a small leak was spotted by the mechanic when the timing belt was removed. I'm optomistic that my water pump will go to the 200kmi mark when I plan to change the timing belt again. I do change the anti-freeze regularly and use the Toyota red stuff so this should prolong water pump life.
I also appreciate the feedback on the water pump condition. I changed my own timing belt at 110kmi but not the water pump. In the last 3-4 months, two water pump replacements have been reported on this forum. I think the necessity of the replacements is questionable because neither owner ever saw any anti-freeze on the pavement where they park overnight. Both were changed with the timing belt when the dealership service manager phone to report a small leak was spotted by the mechanic when the timing belt was removed. I'm optomistic that my water pump will go to the 200kmi mark when I plan to change the timing belt again. I do change the anti-freeze regularly and use the Toyota red stuff so this should prolong water pump life.
- Thread starter
- #10
I could take pics of the water pump, but I dont think it would really show anything. Im sure the water pump would be good for another 90K still.
the teeth on the timing belt are actually in excellent condition still, its just the outside thats cracked and brittle looking. 2X safety factor is probably reasonable. Most engineering safety factors are 1.5 minimum, along with other reductions.
the teeth on the timing belt are actually in excellent condition still, its just the outside thats cracked and brittle looking. 2X safety factor is probably reasonable. Most engineering safety factors are 1.5 minimum, along with other reductions.
check the water pump weep hole for any traces of red crusty stuff(aka red toyota anti freeze)
our waterpump on the 90 fj62 finaly started to leek just a bit out of the weep hole at 240,000 miles, replaced it with a OEM one.
our waterpump on the 90 fj62 finaly started to leek just a bit out of the weep hole at 240,000 miles, replaced it with a OEM one.
Landpimp said:
Landpimp
IH8MUD Lifer
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Gig Harbor WA
Posts: 6,901
#2 I am at 89K, I am doing t-belt, waterpump, tensioners, all belts.
__________________
2000UZJ100/92FJ80/90FJ62/86FJ60/82FJ40green/82FJ40mustard/78FJ55/67FJ45LPB/65FJ40/65FJ45LV/64fj45LV/and a few others.
If you get 240,000 miles out of a water pump on a 90 fj62, why would you change the pump on a 100 at 90,000 miles?
Here is my belt at 110k. It was due. Note the "sewing" coming loose in two places.
Higher Res pics here
Pete
Higher Res pics here
Pete
Jim_Chow
V8_Fan
FYI, the Lexus dealer here in Tucson recommends changing the t-belt on the 2UZ at 105K mi since the engine is real easy on the belts, but also recommends changing the V6 t-belts at 75K mi, saying they degrade them to the point where they're on the brink at 90K mi (this is the same dealer that does a t-case/diff/ATF drain & fill every 15K mi due to the heat). They say 90K mi is really Toyota's general guideline, but it should really be replaced long before they're about to go. It sounds good to me since 105K is closer to the time when one changes the water pump (say at 120K). BTW, I changed the water pump on my '86 4runner at 125K mi, no sign of leaks.
timing belt
The only visible difference between my old and new t-belts @ 100k was the writing & markings were rubbed off of the old one. Other than that it looked like new. I bent it tightly backwards looking for signs of cracks at the base of the teeth but still looked like new, but there still could have been damage in the cords in the core and can't be seen. I'm not going to sweat it if I can't get to the next one within the next 100k miles. +10 or +20 doesn't make me nervous.
My water pump was weeping but the bearing still felt solid. There's a leak channel drilled into the water pump housing that ducts the leak off to the side of the block behind the water pump and the leaks aren't visible from the front of the engine. The only way to see if it's been leaking is to take the water pump off or by signs of drips on the driveway overnite. None the less I'm glad I put a new one in it at 100k. I'd hate to have to go thru all that work all over again before the next t-belt is due. I was expecting the idlers to be in better shape than they were, so replaced them too. Since the waterpump pulley also acts as an idler for the t-belt, all the more reason to replace the water pump every time when doing the t-belt.
I was going to replace the hydraulic tensioner as well, but the dealer doesn't even keep them in stock, says they're good for 200-300k so I'll replace it next time. The original one was dry, no signs of oil around the seal.
I left the cam & crank seals alone. Everything was spotless inside when I opened it up and no traces of oil anywhere. I've been running synthetic since 31k and if they were going to leak, they would have been showing signs @ 100.
The only visible difference between my old and new t-belts @ 100k was the writing & markings were rubbed off of the old one. Other than that it looked like new. I bent it tightly backwards looking for signs of cracks at the base of the teeth but still looked like new, but there still could have been damage in the cords in the core and can't be seen. I'm not going to sweat it if I can't get to the next one within the next 100k miles. +10 or +20 doesn't make me nervous.
My water pump was weeping but the bearing still felt solid. There's a leak channel drilled into the water pump housing that ducts the leak off to the side of the block behind the water pump and the leaks aren't visible from the front of the engine. The only way to see if it's been leaking is to take the water pump off or by signs of drips on the driveway overnite. None the less I'm glad I put a new one in it at 100k. I'd hate to have to go thru all that work all over again before the next t-belt is due. I was expecting the idlers to be in better shape than they were, so replaced them too. Since the waterpump pulley also acts as an idler for the t-belt, all the more reason to replace the water pump every time when doing the t-belt.
I was going to replace the hydraulic tensioner as well, but the dealer doesn't even keep them in stock, says they're good for 200-300k so I'll replace it next time. The original one was dry, no signs of oil around the seal.
I left the cam & crank seals alone. Everything was spotless inside when I opened it up and no traces of oil anywhere. I've been running synthetic since 31k and if they were going to leak, they would have been showing signs @ 100.
Water pump on my '98 began squealing and (slowly) leaking red coolant at just under 80K. Makes little sense not to replace it when you are doing all the labor to replace the timing belt.
Jim_Chow said:
Jim, I think the heat where you live is a big factor on the rubber parts. My 99 LC lived its life in southern AZ. Mine was about 7 years old with 58K miles when I changed all of the belts, hoses and water pump. They all needed to be changed and I think the "time" is as big of a factor as the miles when it comes to the heat that you get in AZ. Nice thing is you don't have to worry about rust
