2001 Lexus IS300 timing belt/water pump change

[blipblop]

My friend is selling his car and I might want to buy it for my brother. It has 104k miles. It's due for a timing belt since that is what was needed at 90k.

I always work on my Scion and such... I've never had anything as big as a timing belt. What would the difficulty of this be? I've changed plugs, PCV, brakes, tranny, w/e...

Thanks

[Kroze]

I'm sure it's pretty hard and you're going to need special tools that'll cost a lot of money.

Since it's dual overhead cam, you have to align them just right or else.

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Kroze
I'm sure it's pretty hard and you're going to need special tools that'll cost a lot of money.

Since it's dual overhead cam, you have to align them just right or else.

Last OHC engine I replaced a timing belt on used an exotic set of tools to hold the belt on the cam gears in the proper position.

[PottedMeat]

Go to a library/bookstore and page through the service manual/Haynes or whatever book.

I don't know about a lexus, but on a corolla and an odyssey you tear out a lot of plastic parts, remove one of the engine mounts, and have to jack up the engine to get at the timing belt.

[TerryMathews]

Timing belt and water pump aren't impossible for a normal person to do, but I wouldn't recommend it. The fact that you're asking about it is a pretty good indication that you're skill level isn't high enough for this task.

Anything timing-related has the possibility to damage or destroy the engine if it isn't done properly so you really want a shop to do it so you can get/force the shop to repair the damage if it is done improperly.

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Kroze
I'm sure it's pretty hard and you're going to need special tools that'll cost a lot of money.

Since it's dual overhead cam, you have to align them just right or else.

It's kind of tricky, but you don't need special tools. Generally you just mark the old belt (there are usually arrows on the gears), count the number of teeth between gears to be sure, remove the old belt and transfer the marks to the new belt, and install. It's getting access to it that's tricky, but with a repair manual it's not too hard. Transverse-mounted is trickier, but that Lexus isn't.

If the OP has changed the TRANSMISSION, he certainly ought to be able to do the timing belt.

[blipblop]

yea, i've done transmissions. I'm not going to risk doing anything with the belt and such. I'm just going to bring it to the shop.

thanks

[jagec]

Originally posted by: blipblop
yea, i've done transmissions. I'm not going to risk doing anything with the belt and such. I'm just going to bring it to the shop.

thanks

Your call, but if you've actually changed the transmission (not just the fluid), the timing belt really isn't a big deal.

[ViviTheMage]

timing sucksss, gotta let the pros do it.

my jetta needed and engine mount , so they could remove the mount from the car as well.

did i mention timing sucks

[MiataNC]

It's a RWD car.

Compared to most cars (fwd) it will be a piece of cake to change. Find a manual and follow along.

The real question you need to ask is whether or not you want to take the risk of blowing the motor putting the belt on wrong.

[jagec]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage
timing sucksss, gotta let the pros do it.

my jetta needed and engine mount , so they could remove the mount from the car as well.

did i mention timing sucks

Have you ever actually done a timing belt yourself?

Screwing up on an oil change can do just as much damage to your engine as screwing up on a timing belt job. It's really NOT that hard to do the job right, it just takes time and caution.

[Kroze]

Originally posted by: jagec

Have you ever actually done a timing belt yourself?

Screwing up on an oil change can do just as much damage to your engine as screwing up on a timing belt job. It's really NOT that hard to do the job right, it just takes time and caution.

since it's DOHC, if the OP doesn't know and not align the teeth correctly, boom goes the engine. Too many things can go wrong, i'll leave it to the pros.

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Kroze

since it's DOHC, if the OP doesn't know and not align the teeth correctly, boom goes the engine. Too many things can go wrong, i'll leave it to the pros.

I performed my (first ever) timing belt change on my DOHC, transverse-mounted engine without any "special tools". It just takes CAUTION. Count the teeth, mark the belt, and you're A-OK. The only thing that can go wrong is if you see that the marks are off and don't fix it!

Like I said, too many things "can" go wrong when you change your oil, and yet mechanically inclined people do it all the time without issue. Yes, a timing belt change is more complex than that, but it's not some mythical procedure that takes several PhDs to master.

It's also worth noting that even if you throw caution to the wind and end up getting the timing wrong, usually all that happens is that the engine runs like crap. The valve timing has to be significantly off for the pistons to contact the valves, even in interference designs (and of course they will NEVER contact the valves in non-interference designs).

I'm getting conflicting info on the web, but it sounds like the non-VVT 2JZ-GE is non-interference, and the VVT version is. This probably means that interference is only possible at higher RPMs (Toyota's design changes the phase, but not the lift, of the valves), so even if he screws up and DOESN'T mark the timing belt, DOESN'T check the arrows on the gears, DOESN'T count the teeth, and starts the car afterwards, if it runs like crap he can still shut it down before engine damage will occur. As long as he doesn't rev it.

[MiataNC]

Originally posted by: jagec
Like I said, too many things "can" go wrong when you change your oil, and yet mechanically inclined people do it all the time without issue. Yes, a timing belt change is more complex than that, but it's not some mythical procedure that takes several PhDs to master.

All true, but some people are NOT mechanically inclined and can do more harm than good no matter how careful they are.


You only have 3 things to worry about changing oil....

1. Oil filter seal

2. Drain plug seal

3. Proper amount of oil put back into the engine

You are right stating that many things can go wrong (stripped bolt, double gasket the filter, strip the filter, over fill the oil, etc, etc), but the 3 primary concerns are simple enough.

With a timing belt and water pump (most cars need both when you service the belt) you have.....

Belts (not the timing belt) and tensioners

Hoses

Wiring

Covers

Seals (what if he gets the cover off and sees the cam or crank seals leaking?)

Timing belt tensioner (some should or need to be replaced....does a novice know how to determine this?)

Removing/Replacing a water pump requires cleaning/prepping the surface. You then have to properly apply sealant and mount the new pump with no leaks.

Etc

Etc

A timing belt has a lot more "gotchas" than changing oil.

[sjwaste]

Doing a timing belt on a RWD car depends mostly on one thing: What's the required torque value on the crank pulley bolt? Removing it using the starter and a breaker bar is easy. Putting it back on is hard, especially at 200+ ft-lbs. You'll need a good way to stop the crank from spinning to put that bolt back on. A chain wrench and the pavement is a good way.

[helpme]

I did mine on the SRT-4 with a friend. Only thing that makes the job tricky is the tight space since it's a FWD.

The cam gears and crank have a TDC mark on the neon, so as long as you don't go freewheelin the cams after you take the belt off, the point of reference is right on the gears. It's a bitch to get that belt on the first time though, barely fits on when new.

The hardest part was trying to find somebody with a puller for the 3 spoke pullies.

I wouldn't say it's a fun job, but at least I won't have to do it again for the life of the car.

[PottedMeat]

Originally posted by: sjwaste
Doing a timing belt on a RWD car depends mostly on one thing: What's the required torque value on the crank pulley bolt? Removing it using the starter and a breaker bar is easy. Putting it back on is hard, especially at 200+ ft-lbs. You'll need a good way to stop the crank from spinning to put that bolt back on. A chain wrench and the pavement is a good way.

Whats the difference between a FWD and RWD car timing belt? Aren't you just changing it at the engine?

Sometimes theres a service tool that goes before you put on the torque wrench that lets you hold the crank still.

[sjwaste]

Originally posted by: PottedMeat

Whats the difference between a FWD and RWD car timing belt? Aren't you just changing it at the engine?

Sometimes theres a service tool that goes before you put on the torque wrench that lets you hold the crank still.

FWD usually has a transverse mounted engine, so sometimes its harder to reach things. I wasn't saying the process was any different, just more cursing and bloody knuckles

[halik]

Originally posted by: blipblop
My friend is selling his car and I might want to buy it for my brother. It has 104k miles. It's due for a timing belt since that is what was needed at 90k.

I always work on my Scion and such... I've never had anything as big as a timing belt. What would the difficulty of this be? I've changed plugs, PCV, brakes, tranny, w/e...

Thanks

Usually not difficult, just time consuming. On my car (audi a6), you need to take off the front end, support, drain the radiator and then use a special tool to hold the cams in place while you're putting the new belt on.

It's all simple skills (bolts, bolts, bolts... ), but it adds up to good amount of time.

[T2urtle]

and A6 with just a simple 2.8L engine took me all day to do...

Vw's and belts are always 1/2 a teeth off when you get it all set and done. not sure why.

getting the belt to go on and not moving the gears can be the toughtest battle other then getting to the belt. not sure with 2jz's

[thecritic]

It isn't listed as an interference engine (please double check first though), so even if you screw-up, it isn't the end of the world.

Techinfo.toyota.com is Toyota's website for obtaining factory repair procedures, TSBs, etc. You can buy a 24 hr subscription for $20 (may have changed) and you can download all of the manuals and TSBs that you need.

[DOTC]

Originally posted by: thecritic
It isn't listed as an interference engine (please double check first though), so even if you screw-up, it isn't the end of the world.

Techinfo.toyota.com is Toyota's website for obtaining factory repair procedures, TSBs, etc. You can buy a 24 hr subscription for $20 (may have changed) and you can download all of the manuals and TSBs that you need.

thats a great idea Does Honda have something like this?

[helpme]

Originally posted by: DOTC

thats a great idea Does Honda have something like this?

You can buy the shop manuals for all their cars. I bought one for my TSX for about 70$. I managed to get a free PDF one of the SRT-4 I have, but it's good to have a paper one.

[T2urtle]

all cars have shop manuals... most of the common cars are all over the net. civic, accords. camry, maxima and cars with a SR20 engine are what i have on my hard-drive now. didn't pay for any one of them.

[thecritic]

Originally posted by: DOTC

thats a great idea Does Honda have something like this?

Yup, it's called Honda Service Express. The url is techinfo.honda.com.

You can get a 3 day subscription for $20.