How can you tell if a drive belt has been replaced? (1 Viewer)

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4runnerguy

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I am thinking about buying a Series 200 with around 150k. The Lexus service history states the owner declined the engine air filter, cabin air filter, and drive belt around 127k. I bring that up to the salesman in negotiating price, and he says he'll have his mechanic check. The salesman gets back to me and tells me, "Good news, the mechanic tells me the belt has been done--not recently--but it's been done." There's been two services (one Lexus and one generic service place) since but nothing noting the drive belt replacement. The story didn't seem credible to me. How's it strike others? Is there an easy way to tell if it has been replaced?
 
I am thinking about buying a Series 200 with around 150k. The Lexus service history states the owner declined the engine air filter, cabin air filter, and drive belt around 127k. I bring that up to the salesman in negotiating price, and he says he'll have his mechanic check. The salesman gets back to me and tells me, "Good news, the mechanic tells me the belt has been done--not recently--but it's been done." There's been two services (one Lexus and one generic service place) since but nothing noting the drive belt replacement. The story didn't seem credible to me. How's it strike others? Is there an easy way to tell if it has been replaced?

At the risk of being "that guy," how does the belt look? Frayed edges? Cracks on the inner surface? Dirt or stains?

It should be easy to eyeball the difference between a fairly new belt and one with over 150,000 miles on it. N'est-ce pas?

HTH
 
If it’s a non-OEM belt per the markings on it then it’s been changed. They’re like $20 so don’t worry about it.
 
Also, besides being inexpensive and easy to replace, it is just a serpentine belt driving accessories, not the valve train.
 
Thanks for the insights, all. I started looking at GX470s and have slowly talked myself into more expensive options. This is the one I know the least about.
 
The 200 is a completely different animal than any 4Runner/GX/Prado. It is worth starting at ground zero and familiarizing yourself with the platform, starting with FAQs and reading everything you can get your hands on. If you can crawl around underneath one, you'll immediately start to see the dramatic differences.
 
Tons of aftermarket serpentine belt options for the cost conscious. Toyota doesn't make them... But I do like to stick with the factory option on the 200. I've used all kinds (Dayco, Continetal, Goodyear, etc.) on other vehicles and every one worked fine. Out of all of them, only one was a tiny bit noisier than stock (Goodyear Gatorback?).
 
Tons of aftermarket serpentine belt options for the cost conscious. Toyota doesn't make them... But I do like to stick with the factory option on the 200. I've used all kinds (Dayco, Continetal, Goodyear, etc.) on other vehicles and every one worked fine. Out of all of them, only one was a tiny bit noisier than stock (Goodyear Gatorback?).
I believe dayco makes the belt for Toyota anyway. Definitely so for the tensioner
 
Tons of aftermarket serpentine belt options for the cost conscious. Toyota doesn't make them... But I do like to stick with the factory option on the 200. I've used all kinds (Dayco, Continetal, Goodyear, etc.) on other vehicles and every one worked fine. Out of all of them, only one was a tiny bit noisier than stock (Goodyear Gatorback?).
I just picked one up directly from my local Toyota dealer. Mine is clearly stamped Bando, but I believe that they have used other manufacturers over the years too.
 
I just picked one up directly from my local Toyota dealer. Mine is clearly stamped Bando, but I believe that they have used other manufacturers over the years too.

Same, Bando straight from Lexus. About $60.

Also while we are on belts for the curious, my experiment of only changing belt and neglecting tensioner and idler is proving to be successful. A few thousand miles now and still no noise.

Oh and OP, factory belt was completely unbranded and no markings.
 
The 200 is a completely different animal than any 4Runner/GX/Prado. It is worth starting at ground zero and familiarizing yourself with the platform, starting with FAQs and reading everything you can get your hands on. If you can crawl around underneath one, you'll immediately start to see the dramatic differences.

Thanks for your thoughts. My family is moving back from overseas, so I’ve been car shopping remotely. Originally, I set out to get the 470, because I’ll likely buy a Prado 120 on my next overseas assignment and I wanted to have a common platform to learn. However, 470s I was finding were pretty rough, so I started looking at progressively newer 460s. At that point, I had price overlap with a 200 series that was a bit older with a good service history. After a few annoying attempts at negotiating on overpriced 460s, I was going to buy the 200. Maybe, I’m straying from my original purpose. I dunno. I don’t have a car in the states, so I may not have a perfect understanding of any before I want to pull the trigger.
 
The 200 is a completely different animal than any 4Runner/GX/Prado. It is worth starting at ground zero and familiarizing yourself with the platform, starting with FAQs and reading everything you can get your hands on. If you can crawl around underneath one, you'll immediately start to see the dramatic differences.

I've been poking around the FAQ and found the maintenance schedule and LC maintenance guide, but is there a good noobie guide for stuff I should be checking before I buy? I found one for the 100 series, but I'm not sure how much translates to the 200 series.
 
Anyone happen to have the Toyota part number for a belt?
 
I've been poking around the FAQ and found the maintenance schedule and LC maintenance guide, but is there a good noobie guide for stuff I should be checking before I buy? I found one for the 100 series, but I'm not sure how much translates to the 200 series.



Here's a pretty knowledgable guy walking through the 200 series. It's not perfect (downplays the radiator leak issue, but there's a sticky thread here for that) but it'll help you to see the insides with your own eyes.
 

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