1998 LS400 cambelt.

amazighman · August 30, 2019

Evening dear members.

I bought this old girl a few months ago knowing that the Cambelt is due, it has been replaced 10 years ago 68k , now the car has done a little over 100k.

I thought i should get the Cambelt replaced soon however I would like some advice .

I want to get the belt, tensioner,idler pulleys and water pump all changed.

I did some research concerning pricing some paid close to 1000£ whilst others a more realistic 600£ , I thought I d get the Gates kit plus a genuine Lexus tensioner from the USA and get a local garage to fit it, although I am confident i can replace it but i have no time and i have other pending project .

Can anyone recommend a reasonable place around West Midlands ?

I heard good about Lex-tekautos has anyone here used them?

Cheers

Malc · August 31, 2019

you will also be replacing the coolant too and probably the alternator belt ( extra costs there ) ...... that's what occurred with mine last year

cost should be bits and pieces plus about 8 hrs labour ...... so anywhere between maybe £700 and £1000

The Gates kit should be fine, not all my pulleys etc needed changing at the 205k miles 3rd cambelt change in 2018

The prior change at 105k was at Lexus though so I don't know exactly what they did

Malc

amazighman · August 31, 2019

2 hours ago, Malc said:

you will also be replacing the coolant too and probably the alternator belt ( extra costs there ) ...... that's what occurred with mine last year

cost should be bits and pieces plus about 8 hrs labour ...... so anywhere between maybe £700 and £1000

The Gates kit should be fine, not all my pulleys etc needed changing at the 205k miles 3rd cambelt change in 2018

The prior change at 105k was at Lexus though so I don't know exactly what they did

Malc

I would imagine Lexus main dealer to be mega expensive and as i would like to keep the costs down i might go down an independent garage route with me supplying the parts

The-Acre · August 31, 2019

32 minutes ago, amazighman said:

I would imagine Lexus main dealer to be mega expensive and as i would like to keep the costs down i might go down an independent garage route with me supplying the parts

It would seem that some Lexus main dealers do a reasonable fixed price on the older LS cambelt replacement so worth getting a quote.

Malc · August 31, 2019

2 hours ago, The-Acre said:

fixed price on the older LS cambelt replacement so worth getting a quote.

have we seen thoughts on here about this " fixed price " thingy ? that it doesn't include pulleys or waterpump etc

AND that they want to charge extra labour for the whole job again when doing the waterpump in the same job :zorro:

just take care with what they actually offer to do

Malc

amazighman · August 31, 2019

I dont think that the fixed price offer is a good value, they charge you mega money in labour charges even though they have access to everything when they remove the Cambelt.

I would rather find an independent Toyota or Lexus specialist , although fairly certain it will cost at least 600 quid

Malc · August 31, 2019

44 minutes ago, amazighman said:

I would rather find an independent Toyota or Lexus specialist

I'd imagine almost any competent mechanic could do this job tbh so i shouldn't worry too much about finding that specialist

Malc

The-Acre · August 31, 2019

3 hours ago, Malc said:

have we seen thoughts on here about this " fixed price " thingy ? that it doesn't include pulleys or waterpump etc

AND that they want to charge extra labour for the whole job again when doing the waterpump in the same job

just take care with what they actually offer to do

Malc

True enough, but surely worth getting a quote. It's a complex job, and although any competent mechanic could no doubt take it on, I'd be happier with someone familiar with these cars, bearing in mind it took a group of mechanics some years ago over an hour to discover where the starter motor is.

amazighman · September 2, 2019

My Battery (Yuasa) just packed up so went to Lexus Birmingham to get a replacement, 106 quid , it was only 25 pounds dearer than the Yuasa...not too bad.

I asked them to give me a quote on Cambelt,w/pump ,all the pulleys and a new tensioner , the lady there didn't know as it wasn't part of their fixed price service so promised to check with service dept and ring back which she Didnt.

Malc · September 2, 2019

1 hour ago, amazighman said:

than the Yuasa

when I replaced mine at the Toyota dealer / Lexus in Canterbury in January ( it specifically fits the Mk3 hole ) the guy told me that the original Battery which lasted about 12 years or so would have been Japanese Yuasa Battery supplied

but that the new Yuasa's aren't now that robust he thought

Malc

The-Acre · September 2, 2019

1 hour ago, amazighman said:

My battery (Yuasa) just packed up so went to Lexus Birmingham to get a replacement, 106 quid , it was only 25 pounds dearer than the Yuasa...not too bad.

I asked them to give me a quote on Cambelt,w/pump ,all the pulleys and a new tensioner , the lady there didn't know as it wasn't part of their fixed price service so promised to check with service dept and ring back which she Didnt.

So call back, ask to speak to the manager, complain about the shocking service and negotiate a good price for a cam belt as compensation! I did it last year with my Volvo main dealer and it worked!

amazighman · September 26, 2019

update

Had the timing belt , tensioner , pulleys and water pump job done.

Got the gates kit from eBay for 168 pounds

tensioner SkF came from France for 38 pounds.

11 litres of coolant

Labour 180 quid

The-Acre · September 26, 2019

8 minutes ago, amazighman said:

update

Had the timing belt , tensioner , pulleys and water pump job done.

Got the gates kit from Ebay for 168 pounds

tensioner SkF came from France for 38 pounds.

11 litres of coolant

Labour 180 quid

Excellent result, all that for a very, very good price!

Howplum · September 26, 2019

For comparison, I had a quote the other day from a garage here in Milton Keynes of £470, including VAT, which comprised 3.2 hours at £60 p.h. (plus VAT) and a genuine Lexus cambelt kit and water pump at £199.65 (plus VAT). No mention of the cost of coolant though.

The main dealer initially quoted £850 ish, although reduced this to £750 after a bit of pushing.

amazighman · September 27, 2019

22 hours ago, Howplum said:

For comparison, I had a quote the other day from a garage here in Milton Keynes of £470, including VAT, which comprised 3.2 hours at £60 p.h. (plus VAT) and a genuine Lexus cambelt kit and water pump at £199.65 (plus VAT). No mention of the cost of coolant though.

The main dealer initially quoted £850 ish, although reduced this to £750 after a bit of pushing.

I Thought that by the book its at least a 6 hrs job

Howplum · September 27, 2019

2 minutes ago, amazighman said:

I Thought that by the book its at least a 6 hrs job

Yes, I have also read that it takes several hours, but if that's the case, then your garage is working for about £30 an hour, which seems way too cheap.

My local Lexus dealer uses a "reduced" labour rate for older cars of about £120 per hour, presumably plus VAT, so based on their quote 3 - 4 hours looks about right.

This is a topic on this site from January 2017 which throws more light on the matter: