Toyota Soarer Cam Belts - Our Shed

By: Guy Allen

Date: 12.03.2022

With some fresh belts, the old Soarer should be good to 500,000km

Our 1991 Soarer Limited is one of those cars that seems to have a remarkable will to live, despite some peripheral issues. First, a little background…

We bought this thing back in mid-2018, in decent shape with 356,000km on the clock, for a few grand. This was never a factory import to Australia and, like a lot of its contemporaries, was brought in second-hand and rebadged as a Lexus SC400 in the hope of scoring some extra dollars.

Curvy Californian coupe  cruiser

Even at a few grand, we probably paid a little too much, as the V8 autos aren’t in demand. Had it been a turbo six, it would be a very different story. We picked it up on the Gold Coast in Queensland and had a leisurely driving holiday back home to Melbourne. It proved to be a terrific car to travel in.

It is very much representative of the high-techno Japanese auto culture of the time, featuring touch screen with sat nav and television, ride height adjustment from in the cabin for the air suspension, side-mirrors that have a button to shake off rainwater – all sorts of interesting gadgets.

| Read next: Guido's Soarer starter motor replacement

Major task needs an expert

Under bonnet, it has the first Lexus V8, which Toyota famously spent something in the order of US$100 million to develop. And the styling for the coupe was very much a California baby. So while we may have paid a little too much, we got a decent conversation piece in exchange.

We’ve added 17,000km to the tally and have tackled a few issues along the way. The air suspension was leaking, which meant that if you left it sit for several days, it would be down on its haunches and couldn’t be moved until it was pumped up again. The simple solution was to source a set of coils and springs out of the same model (easy) and exchange them. One less thing to break down.

Next was the starter motor. Normally replacing a starter is literally a one-hour job (tops), involving a couple of bolts. Nope. In this case the offending part is under the cover at the back of the vee of the engine. That’s not a task for the faint-hearted, particularly as assorted plastic clips and fasteners had become brittle with age and were breaking along the way. No matter, that’s now done.

| Read next: The Soarer's suspension work

Then we had the one breakdown – which was the ancillaries belt letting go at an awkward moment. That was entirely my fault and easily fixed, though you do need a ‘road map’ to recreate the sinuous path around the assorted pulleys.

And now, the job I’ve been putting off – the cam belt change. A sticker on the car said it was last done a little over 100,000km ago, so probably within tolerances, but I’d be a lot more comfortable if we gave it a freshen-up.

Somewhat optimistically, I had visions of doing the job. But the more I looked into it, the less attractive that prospect became. It wasn’t that it was necessarily hugely complex, and there is plenty of info out there to help you along. However it’s a task that requires an enormous amount of patience (which immediately excludes Yours Truly) and/or the nicely honed skills of a regularly-practicing mechanic.

With that in mind, I beat a tactical retreat and cheerfully handed it over to Rhys at our local workshop (RPM Autotech in Heidelberg Heights). And no, I haven’t left Mick at Glenlyon – it’s just that he was already up to his elbows in another job. Long story…

Comfy hi-tech luxo cabin

This is where a pro is worth their weight in gold. It took 6.5 hours of labour, which I know damn well would translate into 6.5 days for mugs like me.

Along the way the coolant pump was replaced – which you’d be mad not to do once you were in there. In fact, there are readily-available kits out there that include belts, gaskets and pumps for around $450. Throw in a minor service and you’re looking at a bill of around $1300.

We’ve used the car for a few long trips, and as a runabout when we don’t want to knock around one of the other toys. It’s kind of the sacrificial anode of the fleet, and so I don’t begrudge the money.

Translation please

And you know the best part? It now has a shiny new sticker saying the job is now due at 500,000km – lots of miles away.

Now we’re going to move on to one or two other little issues. The air-con pump is making unhappy noises, so I’m hoping I can find a repairer, rather than throw it away. The latter seems wasteful.

Next will be the touch screen in the console. It’s decided to have a little holiday, showing background menus in Japanese, and none of the info I actually want. There’s a bloke in New Zealand calling himself the Soarer Surgeon and he specialises in these. So that will soon be whipped out and sent across the Tasman.

Next is the big task: Paint. It’s become unacceptably ropey in places and needs a big touch-up. This will be a DIY job, the quintessential doors-shut blow-over. Watch this space…

From Unique Cars #461, Jan 2022

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