lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 15:27
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - barbarasweeney

Hi, my timing belt has snapped and i really could be doing with advice, please. The car is and x-reg and i have been told its a safety engine and it would be a case of outting on a new belt and driving away. Im not soo sure and this does appear to good to be true. I have also been told to try putting the car in 3rd gear and try turning the car tyres more than twice by hand and is this works there is no damage. There has been other bits of advice, however i really am totally at a loose end. Any advice is truely welcome as i miss my car :(

many thanks..

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 15:53
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - unthrottled
Bad luck. By safety engine, you mean 'non interference' engine which means that the valves cannot strike the piston crowns if the cambelt breaks. There is a good chance that this is true; in which the mechanic can just put on a new belt and you're good to go.

Turning the tyres by hand isn't likely to yield any meaningful results I'm afraid. It could throw up a false negative. If the valves are bent from striking the piston, you wouldn't be able to ascertain this from turning the engine over by hand. I would google your engine model followed by 'non interference engine' and see if anyone has any experience of a snapped cambelt on this engine.

Good luck!

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 16:02
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - gordonbennet

Purely out of interest, what mileage has the car done and was the belt changed at it's normal interval, if so by whom?

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 16:05
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - unthrottled

At this point apportioning blame is surely a moot point gb?!

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 16:22
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - gordonbennet

At this point apportioning blame is surely a moot point gb?!

Blimey, what came through your end when i typed...'out of interest'..?

It's possible there may be a warranty issue either with the maker if it's very low mileage (not sure if there's a time scale), or indeed if a garage has fitted a new belt and not done the job properly.

Apportioning blame might well come into it.

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 17:53
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - unthrottled

I think it would be very hard to prove that a belt had been incorrectly fitted once it had snapped. I've known belts to snap even when changed at the correct intervals.

OP: It might be worth asking at a Lexus dealership. If they're quiet, they might be helpful. The service technicians will have seen this before-and they've got technical bulletins for all their engines that are not in the public demain.

I can empathise with the problem: The cost of a cambelt change is painful if it doesn't work.

You could try the following: If you take the spark plugs out and shine a torch down into the holes, you might be able to see the tops of the pistons. The pistons are made of quite a soft alloy and if they strike a valve, they'll leave a mark. There should be 4 crescent shaped valve recesses on each piston crown-so don't confuse these for evidence of valve-piston interference! If you see a shiny mark around the valve recess, where the rest of the piston is dull, then the valves are probably bent and I'm afraid that effectively writes off the engine-and car. This does take a bit of judgment and I only suggest this because it is something you or a friend can do at home for free.

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 16:08
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - bathtub tom

Try Gates: www.gates.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2256&locat...7

You may have to look for another model with the same engine, it's an American site.

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 16:34
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - barbarasweeney

hi and thanks....... i ma trying to get to the bottom with the info online.. going around in roundabouts :( i bought the car a couple of years ago with being told the belt was done... the irony here is ik was thinking about getting it done just a couple of weeks ago now that i am working again!! nightmare! car has 120k on the clock. I rally dont have money to burn hence wondering if it was worth while getting it to a garage and getting them to try. Another problem is the garages my way arent the best and cant get recommended on any.

That was great advice you gave about teh false negatve and trying google with non-interference... the fun begins as its soo confusing with all teh info i am getting.

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 18:32
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - Peter.N.

I am not familier with this engine but with the engines I know, usually the cam shaft or rockers break if the valves have hit the pistons, so it might be worth whipping the cam cover off and having a look.

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Fri 22 Apr 2011 18:56
lexus is200 - timing belt snapped - please help - unthrottled

Pete-you're the XUD expert IIRC?

Yeah, most diesel engines do this because of the flat firedeck. But with a pentroof chamber, the valves should hit the piston at an oblique angle and simply bend. I think this might yield another false negative! I am assuming a lexus of that age will be a gas engine though...

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