Is It Worth A Cambelt ?

[floggit]

Some advice please gentleman ...

my 1995 mk3 is due a cambelt in oct/dec this year.

If its worth doin i will be doin the water pump at the same time which ive been told could cost up to £600 all in.

My question is ,,, is this worth the expense on a car that cost me £1500 ? and in todays market would probably only sell for £1000 . The car is in good order all round and body is mint.

If i were to not do the job and just run the car as is the belt may last a long time, if it goes at all. And if it did eventually go i could pick another car up for not much more than the cost of the cambelt now.

Your thoughts please.....

steve.

p.s. i have always been a car person and love my lexus , but do have to balance cost of running against value of vehicle.

[maneesh]

do it. if you plan to keep the car, and it's in mint condition, just think of the hassle of finding another mint LS400 should you need to get another one.

you're going to have to spend on maintainance regardless of the car involved. it's not necessarily the value of the car to the market, it's the value to you, that you might consider.

[kenmac]

Well Steve personally I would do the job because if after you got rid of the Lexus you were going to look for something of similar size you could be buying someone Else's problems, because as the old saying is "Better the devil you know" and if you think after the cam belts done you know for certain there was nothing else to do to the car then you will get another 60000 miles before it needed doing again and you will more than likely have to do the cam belt on your next car as they might have had the same idea.

[Matrixabc]

it sounds like it would make sense to sell the car and buy another newer one now, you should still get good money even if it needed a new cam belt, they only cost £50.00 its up to the buyer to find out the labor cost.

or try a local garage, and you supply the bits. or put it on auto trader for a couple of weeks and see if you get any interest.

[kam05]

What's cheaper? A new timing belt or a new engine?

[Guest inicol63]

Steve your not mentioned the mileage of your car, belts should be done every 100,000

If your car is in mint condition then why not change the belt as you know your car.

Also are you saying your water pump is leaking if not then you may not need to change the pump.

Maybe see if you can sell the car for the money you want, if not get the car fixed, that would be my thinking.

Good luck Steve

[Purvesh]

I could get the belt changed for you in sidcup by an authorised lexus indy for around £150-£200.

[maneesh]

What's cheaper? A new timing belt or a new engine?

Is this a trick question? :winky:

[bazgtr]

I see where you're coming from.

My thought is that if you love the car and it is a mint car which you love and plan to keep for at least another year, Then I would chnage the belts and water pump.

Anther reason not to do the belt has yet to be mentioned. Firstly don't do the belt and the worst happens. You really just need another engine which are going for sale at around £350 a piece from breakers and eBay as there's quite a few getting broken As the price of fuel goes up and they are losing resale value at a high rate(Nobody wants one). The other bonus is before you put the new engine in change the belt while it's still out of the car on the floor and do all the other bits aswell before putting back into the car. This should be OK for many miles to come and you're bale to keep your car.

Having talked to people in the trade I can only find one belt failure over the years and the millage of the car at the time was 130,000 miles form new. I also found the belts are pretty good for 100K, But they suggest 80K at most to be safe from the last change.

My own car was due a belt change at arriving at 80k and once checked the head mechnic suggested that it was fine and didn't really have to change it for miles to come as it was still like new, But I did it anyway as had the belts in my hand.

You could take to covvers off and have a look at the condition of the belt and see if it needs changing soon.

Hope that helps.

[floggit]

Hi, thanks for the thoughts and input, i really cant see me in a small jellymould eurobox tin can so will probably have it done when the time comes, i will remove the covers and check condition first to confirm needed doing. I mentioned doing the w/pump because ive read somewhere on here that the new belt and tensioner puts renewed strain on the old pump and being so far into the engine it would be cost effective to do both at once. If i decide to keep her long term this may be worth doing. Haha ive probably talked myself into it now. Will have to sort parts and prices out nearer the time but changing cars would enevitably work out more expensive and i am very happy with the car.

cheers

steve.

[Matrixabc]

I thought these engines were non interference engines like the GS300. ie if the cam belt breaks the engine stops...but that's all.. no bent valves etc?.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html

[Purvesh]

For those of you who are interested, I really rate Derek at:

Tech One Lexus/Toyota Specialists

St. Johns Parade, Sidcup High St, Sidcup, Kent DA14 6ES

Tel: 020 8302 0600

Been using him for a while now on a number of the family cars. We had two full services done on two IS200s, all belts, all fluids inc transmission and gearbox @ £500 a piece. He's a small independent garage, an ex top technician from Lexus/Toyota who left and set up his own business and has been successfully trading for many years now. Definately worth travelling to him IMHO.

£39/hour labour with a proper Lexus/Toyota stamp, you can't ask for much more really.

HTH

[TigerFish]

I could get the belt changed for you in sidcup by an authorised lexus indy for around £150-£200.

The journey from Maidstone to Sidcup is a tad shorter than from Plymouth though mate

[Purvesh]

I could get the belt changed for you in sidcup by an authorised lexus indy for around £150-£200.

The journey from Maidstone to Sidcup is a tad shorter than from Plymouth though mate

Sure is. Some other members might find it useful though... ;)

[soundchaser100]

I thought these engines were non interference engines like the GS300. ie if the cam belt breaks the engine stops...but that's all.. no bent valves etc?.

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/engine/timingbelt.html

The early engines wre non-interference, but the later (1UZ -FE) will be seriously damaged by a cambelt failure. My 96 LS had it changed at 48000 and now I'm on 92000 and 7 years so it's time mine was done. I'll take it to Lexus Chester where I can get 15% discount on the £450 or so that they charge. Worth it in my opinion. Paul

[Nitmoi]

It was the first job I did when I bought the car. I was told broken belt = smashed valves.

I was told 60,000 miles and not to risk it.

I was not told anything about doing the water pump at the same time.

Along with full service it cost around £450:00

I later found that they had not changed the automatic gear oil though and missed the 2 bulging front brake hoses!

I do not trust Lexus any more than I might an independent.

I'm looking for a Cambridge based independent if anyone knows one?

[floggit]

hi yep i cant really do sidcup from plymouth and back on a weekday, id haveto leave at midnight to give them the car for a days work at 8am , then home at the end would be a killer ,lol. I do have a local ex lexus trained technician in plymouth i use but was just weighing up the cost against value issue, Ive decided to do it now anyway around october time . At the end of the day the car is just worth it and anyone who cant understand this has obviously never driven a ls400. I do have to make a trip to see chris vince at some point to sort the usual display issues we get and that will be a long enough day out !!.

Thanks for the input from all though.

steve.

P.S, what do you drive after owning a lexus anyway ..... yep i gota keep :winky:

[JellyBean]

I'm looking for a Cambridge based independent if anyone knows one?

If you could manage Norwich (a fine city), then Roys Motor Company used to be the official Lexus agent. They are about half the cost of the Official Bandits.

[Nitmoi]

Thanks Jellybean,

Anyone know a little closer than the Fine Norwich?

[Jiberjaber]

Thanks Jellybean,

Anyone know a little closer than the Fine Norwich?

Westfield Motors, but I think it is about the same distance, they are based in Rayleigh, Essex

[kenmac]

I spoke to Derek at Tech One in Sidcup today and what a bargain £220 all in (Belt,labour,VAT) just needs 3/4 days notice and will be a same day service,so I know where mines going in a few weeks

[Purvesh]

I spoke to Derek at Tech One in Sidcup today and what a bargain £220 all in (Belt,labour,VAT) just needs 3/4 days notice and will be a same day service,so I know where mines going in a few weeks

Excellent to hear. Yes he does get booked up quite quickly, so book early to get the date you want.

I'm sure you discussed this, but he gives you the option of blueprint or lexus parts, make sure you specify which ones you want him to use. You can also supply your own oil if you want him to use something specific.

Let us know how you get on :)

[kenmac]

I spoke to Derek at Tech One in Sidcup today and what a bargain £220 all in (Belt,labour,VAT) just needs 3/4 days notice and will be a same day service,so I know where mines going in a few weeks

Excellent to hear. Yes he does get booked up quite quickly, so book early to get the date you want.

I'm sure you discussed this, but he gives you the option of blueprint or lexus parts, make sure you specify which ones you want him to use. You can also supply your own oil if you want him to use something specific.

Let us know how you get on :)

I'm going to get him to do a full service as well,and will let you all know how I get on :)

[genius149]

It was the first job I did when I bought the car. I was told broken belt = smashed valves.

I was told 60,000 miles and not to risk it.

I was not told anything about doing the water pump at the same time.

Along with full service it cost around £450:00

I later found that they had not changed the automatic gear oil though and missed the 2 bulging front brake hoses!

I do not trust Lexus any more than I might an independent.

I'm looking for a Cambridge based independent if anyone knows one?

What about Smiffie at Soarer World/Toyota Import Forum? I know he specialises in Soarers but if he will do yours, I would trust him more than most.

Mind you I haven't been on TIF for about 6 months so don't know if anything has changed on there.

[Nitmoi]

Where might Smiffy be?