Cam Belt

[guinnesslover]

what mileage should the cam belt be changed on an is200 2004 year and is it safe engine if it breaks.thank you.

[scudney]

60,000 miles or 6 years whichever comes first

[andyk134]

Agree with that and probably not safe if it breaks no, you would more than likely need a new engine!

when was yours last done?

[533clive]

Just joined the forum having just bought a 2004 IS200, and the service book says 100,000 for the cam belt!

[ColinBarber]

Officially it was/is 100,000 miles however the belt suffers from external wear and can fail before the change interval. All Lexus dealers now operation the IS200 on a 60,000 miles interval.

Easy to tell if the belt is being damaged, it starts getting thiner!

Take a look at the following thread, the belt in the picture is about 1/2 the width of a new one.

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/57335-check-your-timing-belt-early/

The 1G-FE VVTi engine variant used in the IS200 is an interference design so if the timing is lost you can damage valves/pistons.

[533clive]

Thanks Colin. Is it easy to check?

[ColinBarber]

From what I can recall yes it is fairly easy. The belt cover is in two pieces and the top piece is just held in place with 4 bolts. I think you may have to unbolt the air scope to gain access, but that just push fits against the air box on top of the engine and bolts down near the top of the rad.

[533clive]

Great stuff, thanks! Will have a look tomorrow if I get the chance, but reckon I'll just get it changed next week for peace of mind.

[steve2006]

Just checking the cambelt may not be enough, the other components involved i.e. idlers, tensioner and water pump can if they fail cause the belt to wear and break.

If you are unsure of the cambelt history of any engine play it safe and replace it and the associated components.

[ColinBarber]

Just checking the cambelt may not be enough, the other components involved i.e. idlers, tensioner and water pump can if they fail cause the belt to wear and break.

If you are unsure of the cambelt history of any engine play it safe and replace it and the associated components.

This particular wear takes a long time, an inspection is fine to just check if you have an immediate issue. I agree that if history is unknown then you should consider having the belt and associated components checked/replaced but it is extremely rare for a component to fail which leads to the belt snapping on this engine - the water pump normally leaks rather than seizes for example.

Clearly Toyota have confidence in the mechanics of the engine to have an original 100k mile interval, in normal circumstances the water pump wouldn't be inspected before then.