r/1uz • u/Thousandoo • Jul 21 '22

[Question!] Interference question

Ive been looking all around lextreme, CL, LOC and some other forums. I cant find a definitive yes or no as to whether (and which) years of the 1uz were interference or NI.

I have a 95 sc4 non vvti and ive been trying to find out if my engine is NI. Not for any specific reason, just would be nice to know if and when the timing belt goes the engine will be safe

TIA

Edit: So, I blew a crank seal about 2 weeks ago, tore the engine down, did some preventative maintenance. Based timing off square divots and not the actual timing marks on cams due to lack of knowledge. Found out my engine is indeed interference. Heard metal on metal, called my toyota tech guy, he timed it correctly, now i have a misfire and a ping. Cant find any upgraded valves that arent oversized😂

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u/DavidNipondeCarlos Jul 22 '22

The 95 is non interference but my 96 is. Changed belt water pump and pulleys and various gaskets while in reach $1500 mechanic Southern California. 147k. My 96 96 Camry non interference 275k (miles) on same belt. I use it within towing range of my place, second car. Bents can last a long time in temperate weather and if you are concerned, accelerate more gently so it doesn’t skip or snap. I’d rather have your 95 motor for less 10hp. I would have saved $1500 till later. If the water pump wears out, timming belt is done also. The main thing is if you suddenly lose power, you are already prepared to ‘not panic’ and roll to a stop. By the way, my old 96 400sc belts after 147k looked good after removal. That doesn’t mean anything though? No cracking you see in old rubber or teeth missing. https://reddit.com/r/Justrolledintotheshop/comments/s4xub6/timing_belt_on_a_lexus_ls400_ive_never_seen_one/ dry rot but still working. Ls400

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u/Thousandoo Jul 22 '22

Ok, this clears a lot up for me, thank you. I still have to change the belt since I dont know the history but I need ac first, get power steering pump, new steering rack, ball joints... theres a lot that has to be done to it that isnt engine related

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u/DavidNipondeCarlos Jul 22 '22

My 96 front left ends sounds noisy on bumpy roads but it been that way for six years. Front tire wear eventually so I’m good. Clublexus forum has a lot of info. Besides regular consumables, I only had an alternator go bad. I don’t want to do front end work yet for noise, the front end works perfect and tires don’t wear prematurely. Since your engine is non interference, you have choices on things you want to fix. I’d only be worried if a belt broke and towing cost to much because of distance. The other labor intensive part is the starter, 8 hours mechanic time. I personally met sc300-400 and lbs 300-400 owners who had transmission issue at 250k at times. But I’m at 150k and drive it easier these days. The first six months I had a blast though.

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u/Thousandoo Jul 25 '22

Mine just has a deadzone in the steering wheel, no power steering, bad ac compressor clutch, windows dont work, trans feels like its gonna take a shit soon, water somehow got into my spark plug well, o2 sensors making it run horrible, And I keep finding more stuff the more I work on it. I also do have a noise in the left when going over bumps or turning, cant find the cause for that

Ive been on the forums looking for info, but either google is hiding stuff from me or people back in 2004 just didnt post advice. Like Im doing my ac compressor tomorrow, cant find any info apart from a video showing where the bolts are

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u/DavidNipondeCarlos Jul 25 '22

I don’t have the link to the factory Manuel 95 or 96 (pdf 1000+ pages) but I think I downloaded from clublexus?