diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index 569b619a44f9..241f75f0b0bd 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -11,9 +11,10 @@ v3.8.1 (XXXX-XX-XX)
 * Do not block a scheduler thread on the coordinator while an index is being
   created. Instead, start a background thread for the actual index fill-up work.
   The original thread can then be relinquished until the index is completely
-  filled or index creation has failed. This also allows obsoleting the startup
-  option `--cluster.index-create-timeout`, which from now on is ignored when
-  set.
+  filled or index creation has failed.
+  The default index creation timeout on coordinators has also been extended from
+  1 hour to 4 days, but it is still configurable via the startup parameter
+  `--cluster.index-create-timeout` in case this is necessary.
 
 * Fixed: getResponsibleShard call on disjoint Smart Graphs if you asked for the
   responsible shard on a disjoint edge collection where the _from and _to differ
diff --git a/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.cpp b/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.cpp
index 27e6bb50b57a..f5625774fe08 100644
--- a/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.cpp
+++ b/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.cpp
@@ -115,11 +115,6 @@ void ClusterFeature::collectOptions(std::shared_ptr<ProgramOptions> options) {
 
   options->addObsoleteOption("--cluster.agency-prefix", "agency prefix", false);
   
-  options->addObsoleteOption("--cluster.index-create-timeout",
-      "amount of time (in seconds) the coordinator will wait for an index to "
-      "be created before giving up", true);
-
-
   options->addOption(
       "--cluster.require-persisted-id",
       "if set to true, then the instance will only start if a UUID file is "
@@ -223,6 +218,15 @@ void ClusterFeature::collectOptions(std::shared_ptr<ProgramOptions> options) {
                                    arangodb::options::Flags::OnDBServer,
                                    arangodb::options::Flags::Hidden));
 
+  options->addOption(
+      "--cluster.index-create-timeout",
+      "amount of time (in seconds) the coordinator will wait for an index to "
+      "be created before giving up",
+      new DoubleParameter(&_indexCreationTimeout),
+      arangodb::options::makeFlags(arangodb::options::Flags::DefaultNoComponents,
+                                   arangodb::options::Flags::OnCoordinator,
+                                   arangodb::options::Flags::Hidden));
+
   options
       ->addOption("--cluster.api-jwt-policy",
                   "access permissions required for accessing /_admin/cluster REST APIs "
diff --git a/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.h b/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.h
index bc770df67dcf..92a045030dbf 100644
--- a/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.h
+++ b/arangod/Cluster/ClusterFeature.h
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ class ClusterFeature : public application_features::ApplicationFeature {
   bool forceOneShard() const { return _forceOneShard; }
   /// @brief index creation timeout in seconds. note: this used to be
   /// a configurable parameter in previous versions, but is now hard-coded.
-  double indexCreationTimeout() const noexcept { return 72.0 * 3600.0; }
+  double indexCreationTimeout() const { return _indexCreationTimeout; }
 
   std::shared_ptr<HeartbeatThread> heartbeatThread();
 
@@ -171,6 +171,8 @@ class ClusterFeature : public application_features::ApplicationFeature {
   bool _unregisterOnShutdown = false;
   bool _enableCluster = false;
   bool _requirePersistedId = false;
+  /// @brief coordinator timeout for index creation. defaults to 4 days
+  double _indexCreationTimeout = 72.0 * 3600.0;
   std::unique_ptr<ClusterInfo> _clusterInfo;
   std::shared_ptr<HeartbeatThread> _heartbeatThread;
   std::unique_ptr<AgencyCache> _agencyCache;