Toyota/Lexus Timing Belt Change Thoughts

[Renken2000Classic]

Just picked up an '02 Lexus with a 3.0L, 153k miles for one of my kids, and no idea when/if the timing belt was done last.

I checked it over pretty thoroughly, but forgot to ask about maintenance records when I picked it up. I texted the PO and she said something about (not that long ago) possibly, and was going to look for it (it was her 60+ mom's car), but I don't have a lot of hope of hearing back.

I see 90,000 miles as a recommended interval. I'm certainly not going jump right on that job (or even pay to have it done), but I'm sort of wondering how risky it is not knowing. I mean the way some of the parts quality is now, you might almost be better off leaving stuff alone that isn't broke (lol).

Is that an item that is neglected and gotten away with in anyone's experience, or in no way is that a good plan? The stakes are high if it breaks. I mean, I'm assuming the engine's gone after that, essentially.

 

[ezbtr]

I cant remember that engine - can you remove the timing cover to check it?

 

[racerone]

Most Toyota engines are " clearance " engines.-----Lost the belt on an 84 Supra inline 6.----Put a new one on and it ran like normal again.

 

[Scott Danforth]

a quick google search shows the 3.0 v6 to be a clearance engine.

 

[matt167]

Back in the day, Toyota was smart. If it had a chain it was interference, if it had a belt it was not.. that said interval is usually 100k miles or 4 years… but with that one just depends on if you want a tow bill or not for when it breaks

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, I am not sure of the question/dilemma. You bought a used car with a lot of miles and don't know the maintenance history.

I would get a service manual and see what maintenance needed to be performed. Some stuff you can check at least casually like oil and fluid levels.

I would change the fan belts and timing belts, or better yet, help my kid do that. I would test the antifreeze strength, but with it's likely age, change it. The belts are often overlooked maintenance items.

Check the brake pads and rotors and check the wheel bearings and look for rust. You want the car to be safe, as you kid will be driving it

The issue of whether the engine is a clearance engine or not is irrelevant, IMO. That is sorta like the contraceptive method of "I hope she is not pregnant", it is a last resort after the belt breaks.

 

[cyclops222]

If the belt breaks at 60 mph ? Most engine will have valve & piston hits. Some engines can survive belt breakage.

 

[Lou C]

If possible I’d see if you can remove the covers over the belt drive and see what the belt looks like. If there are any cracks or fraying I’d get it done. If not you can decide not to do it just yet. BTW we had twin cam 4 Cyl Toyotas back in the 80s & 90s and had the cam belts changed at 60,000 miles or so. They used a design very similar to Yamaha outboards (in fact I read that Yamaha did the design work on the Toyota twin cam 16V heads for Toyota). The valve clearance is set with a bucket cam follower & replaceable shims. Adjusting one of these is a major project if the clearances are out of spec in fact I bet it is very rarely done…

 

[Renken2000Classic]

That sounds like good news... I'm not worried about a tow bill if it came to that.

60k is what I remember from years ago, but I've not had one personally, until my Acura, that had the belt. I think something was said when we bought it, about my son's '00 Maxima 3.0L too, that it wasn't a routine maintenance item.

I was thinking getting getting a cover off's a pretty big deal (well, for me), but I'll look closer. It was on the Acura when I did the timing belt tensioner. Honestly on that though, I don't know if the goal had been to just get one cover off to see the belt if it woulda been too awful bad.

 

[Renken2000Classic]

Gee, I am not sure of the question/dilemma. You bought a used car with a lot of miles and don't know the maintenance history.

I would get a service manual and see what maintenance needed to be performed. Some stuff you can check at least casually like oil and fluid levels.

I would change the fan belts and timing belts, or better yet, help my kid do that. I would test the antifreeze strength, but with it's likely age, change it. The belts are often overlooked maintenance items.

Check the brake pads and rotors and check the wheel bearings and look for rust. You want the car to be safe, as you kid will be driving it

The issue of whether the engine is a clearance engine or not is irrelevant, IMO. That is sorta like the contraceptive method of "I hope she is not pregnant", it is a last resort after the belt breaks.

Well, you oversimplified that a bit. As I said, I looked it over pretty thoroughly. And it ran and drove great.

Have you looked at cars in the $3-4000 price range lately (including what people want for ones with 200+ or even 300k miles or more [it's crazy])? 153k miles is not a lot for that particular car (assuming decent maintenance, which I judged by current condition rather than looking at papers or listening to [possible] lies). I'm confident it's safe.

Am I going to start tearing into the wheel bearings and stuff? Absolutely not. I have limited time, energy and so forth. If I had one car, and was 18 again, I might could do that kind of stuff. And maybe even wash and vacuum it more than once a year, lol.

Good point on the antifreeze I'll want to check that. I just looked at levels and it was full and fairly clean. Brake fluid looks dirty. Trans fluid's not as clean as I'd like, so that's an item I'm likely to address (another controversy - whether or not to change it; I lean toward change it if it needs it).

I've had a few misses on used car buys over the years, but this one has all the signs so far of being a hit.

 

[Renken2000Classic]

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind having some records, but for most stuff, it sort of is what it is, as long as I know the drivetrain's original and all that. It's a 2-owner car (sisters); but I'm going by word of mouth there, and the feeling I got about the whole thing. A little risky, yes, but you gotta take 'em sometimes.

Worst thing about it so far is one of them at least, smoked, and the interior's got that smell. Not torn up though.

 

[Chris1956]

So, you are going to let your kid drive a car with 150K miles w/o checking the brakes and wheel bearings?

If you are in the rust belt, a visual check of the suspension and suspension support structures is in order, IMO.

 

[Bob_VT]

Just change the belt, tensioner and I normally have a water pump added to the mix..........

 

[Cruize]

Don't forget there might be a time interval as well as a mileage interval.

I think your best bet is to join a forum or Facebook group for that car and ask on those sites.

My '03 Lexus has a 3.0L I6 (not V6) with an interference engine. If the timing belt breaks, there goes the engine. When I change the timing belt, it's also getting a new tensioner, water pump, main front seal, cam seals, valve cover gaskets, thermostat, and VVTI gear (or o-ring replacement).

 

[Scott06]

Just picked up an '02 Lexus with a 3.0L, 153k miles for one of my kids, and no idea when/if the timing belt was done last.

I checked it over pretty thoroughly, but forgot to ask about maintenance records when I picked it up. I texted the PO and she said something about (not that long ago) possibly, and was going to look for it (it was her 60+ mom's car), but I don't have a lot of hope of hearing back.

I see 90,000 miles as a recommended interval. I'm certainly not going jump right on that job (or even pay to have it done), but I'm sort of wondering how risky it is not knowing. I mean the way some of the parts quality is now, you might almost be better off leaving stuff alone that isn't broke (lol).

Is that an item that is neglected and gotten away with in anyone's experience, or in no way is that a good plan? The stakes are high if it breaks. I mean, I'm assuming the engine's gone after that, essentially.

Yes it is a 90 k service interval if you can’t document it was done have it done as it is an interference engine. There is also a time component if low miles.

Last time I had one done on that engine family I think it was about $600 including water pump tensioner pulleys etc.

It’s not a bad job to do if you are handy I bought a kit from Aisin which is the oem supplier including water pump etc took 4-5 hr.

That vintage is some of the best Toyota engines made. Had one in a sienna and the 3.3 l version in a highlander both still running strong well
Over 200 k when I sold them

 

[Renken2000Classic]

Info. above says it's non-interference... This too:

List of Interference Engines - Car Buying Support

The following list will provide you the information on whether your car engine is an interference engine or a non-interference engine. An interference engine is one that has insufficient clearance between the valves and pistons if the cam stops... Read More

carbuyingsupport.com

(I didn't even know about that before posting here)

At any rate... It's down at the moment with an alternator issue? Hadn't had the car 2wks and had to replace it (with a chain store one); then figure out that oh, you have to do an "idle relearn" procedure or some nonsense after having the cables off, or it just barely idles...

Replacement alternator has never shown over 13.xx volts and the batt light is coming on when you step on it (which it didn't with the one I replaced; the battery just got low and I checked voltage running), with a slight burning rubber smell...

I'm thinking Ok, I didn't get the belt tight enough, but it seems fine and doesn't smell at all under the hood, or feel slippery in the grooves.

I'm gonna pull and check the belt, then pull the alternator and take it back and have them check THAT too (old one checked bad). Battery's only a few month's old, but might have to have that checked too. Beyond that, I'm probably going to take it to the shop.

Got one good drive out of it after doing the alternator and the idle relearn thing, then it cr@pped out on my wife, battery light, speedo dropping out and so forth (code was speed sensor, which I hope only had something to do with not enough electrical power for everything). Thankfully she wasn't far from home.

 

[Scott06]

Info. above says it's non-interference... This too:

List of Interference Engines - Car Buying Support

The following list will provide you the information on whether your car engine is an interference engine or a non-interference engine. An interference engine is one that has insufficient clearance between the valves and pistons if the cam stops... Read More

carbuyingsupport.com

(I didn't even know about that before posting here)

At any rate... It's down at the moment with an alternator issue? Hadn't had the car 2wks and had to replace it (with a chain store one); then figure out that oh, you have to do an "idle relearn" procedure or some nonsense after having the cables off, or it just barely idles...

Replacement alternator has never shown over 13.xx volts and the batt light is coming on when you step on it (which it didn't with the one I replaced; the battery just got low and I checked voltage running), with a slight burning rubber smell...

I'm thinking Ok, I didn't get the belt tight enough, but it seems fine and doesn't smell at all under the hood, or feel slippery in the grooves.

I'm gonna pull and check the belt, then pull the alternator and take it back and have them check THAT too (old one checked bad). Battery's only a few month's old, but might have to have that checked too. Beyond that, I'm probably going to take it to the shop.

Got one good drive out of it after doing the alternator and the idle relearn thing, then it cr@pped out on my wife, battery light, speedo dropping out and so forth (code was speed sensor, which I hope only had something to do with not enough electrical power for everything). Thankfully she wasn't far from home.

Double check there is conflicting info out there see a lot of info that if you have a 1MZ-FE engine after 1999 it is an interference engine, your call. I 6 or V 6 ?

you may want to post on toyota nation as they are better toyota nerds than us here …

 

[Renken2000Classic]

Yeah I saw the VVT-i and thought, oops, but that's the inline according to that site; this one's a V6 (but says VVT-i on the engine cover).

Saw another place or two that agreed with, it's clearance.

 

[Renken2000Classic]

NEW alternator from NAPA seems to have fixed the electrical problem(!). It read over 14V on initial check, as I would expect. The connector snapped in better than it did on the (chain store...) reman replacement I tried first.

That one tested good when I took it back to them, but I got my $ back anyway. It tipped over on the tailgate after I had it out, and a pea-sized piece of plastic fell out; not a hard enough bump that should have broken anything, imo, so just one more reason for me to think something was wrong with it, despite what their tester showed.

I'll be going to NAPA from now on I'm thinking. Price was only about 11% more than the remanufactured one from the other place, with no core charge on the new one. Idk if that kind of price is common (it was less than the online price; guy on the phone told me they were privately owned and he was quoting more of a wholesale price, Idk why though).

 

[matt167]

Napa just private labels the same stuff that other places get. But I’ll venture a guess that the one you had before was A1 Cardone as they have a high failure rate.