Cambelts - Can Someone Clear Something Up For Me?

[ROCKATANSKY]

Can some please tell me definitively if the IS200's have a cam belt or a chain. I'm looking to get on and loads I've seen mention the belt being changed; great. But there are also a few that have said something along the lines of 'no cam belt to worry about, these have cam chains'.

One bloke I spoke to was adamant it's chain driven?!

[iano21]

well i am 100% sure that an 1GFE engine in an is200 has a timing/cam belt. changed my own myself

[true blue]

Hi I hope the 'bloke ' you spoke to was not a mechanic your IS 200 will have a BELT ,there are plenty of posts on here about changing it .I would advise a change at 60,000 miles or ASAP if you have not got a service receipt proving it has been done . I did mine 6 weeks ago and i'm glad I did as the belt looked OK but the tensioner was slack . :o

[ROCKATANSKY]

Hi I hope the 'bloke ' you spoke to was not a mechanic your IS 200 will have a BELT ,there are plenty of posts on here about changing it .I would advise a change at 60,000 miles or ASAP if you have not got a service receipt proving it has been done . I did mine 6 weeks ago and i'm glad I did as the belt looked OK but the tensioner was slack . :o

Well the guy said his mate who has been a mechanic for 20 years said they were chain.

Any thing else to look for? Most I've looked at have full service with proof of the belt being done. Are they're any probs that occur with them through out? I'm kinda leaned towards them coz being a toyota, jap stuff is pretty good. Are ones designated 'navigator' worth paying extra for? I mean how good it the nav system on them?

[kam05]

IS200 has a cambelt- I personally replaced mine back in 2007. I wouldn't trust what your "mechanic" (I use that term loosely) or his mate says.

3 items need to be changed- cambelt, idler and tensioner. This is also a good time to replace the waterpump (as the cambelt has to come off in order to get to the waterpump, so by changing the waterpump now you save on future labour costs).

Hope this helps.

[lexynik]

a lot of people seem to misunderstand the term navigator-or i do-if you look on autotrader you see lots of is200 navigators advertised but sometimes when you check the photos there is no nav screen even fitted-its the motorised pop up screen on top of the middle of the dash-saves you having to have a tomtom and looks cool too

[lexynik]

id agree with what kam said especially about the loose mechanic - dont let that guy anywhere near your lex if you buy one-or anything else for that matter

[ROCKATANSKY]

I think some of you are misunderstanding what i'm saying. It's not 'my' mechanic or 'my' friend. It's a car i was going to view. The owner said his friend was a mechanic and said they are chains when I enquired about the belt change.

OK got another question. How do I know if it's a real 'sport' version? I see these have a limited slip diff.....

[iano21]

I think some of you are misunderstanding what i'm saying. It's not 'my' mechanic or 'my' friend. It's a car i was going to view. The owner said his friend was a mechanic and said they are chains when I enquired about the belt change.

OK got another question. How do I know if it's a real 'sport' version? I see these have a limited slip diff.....

the real sport has 17 alloys minimum, LSD, traction control, sunroof, leather interior, tinted rear windows, different rear exhaust box and will say sport on the tax book

[lexynik]

the se also has 17" alloys,sunroof and HALF leather interior same as the sport- check the logbook but beware if it says "S" that is the base model not sport - a sport will say "sport" on the logbook,it will have a sport grill although many se,s have them retrofitted and it will be lower than a s or se model when it left the factory-the sport also has alloy pedals and sillgaurds although again many s,s and se,s have had them added

[Mossyn]

ROCKATANSKY ......

I think some of you are misunderstanding what i'm saying. It's not 'my' mechanic or 'my' friend. It's a car i was going to view. The owner said his friend was a mechanic and said they are chains when I enquired about the belt change.

If thats the case then dont buy the car.

This so called mechanic knows jack s**t about the IS and if he has been doing repairs on it then I would guess that if you bought it you will encounter problems very soon!!!!!!!!

[iano21]

sorry just the two lads that i know with SE had standard lexus 16inch alloys and no sunroof! but have leather interior and alloy sills and pedals. .

[sparkystav]

sorry just the two lads that i know with SE had standard lexus 16inch alloys and no sunroof! but have leather interior and alloy sills and pedals. .

must have been upgreade/downgrades then?

the 16"'s were on the S, the S had no sunroof,the SE did.

The alloy pedals and sills are Sport only.

[Gareth Rose]

The sport has got 'Sport' written on the back windows. The back windows are also tinted on a sport. I know some people have retro fitted sport windows to SE's or S's, but its a bit more difficult to do than pedals or wheels, so should be a good indicator.

Gareth