I just had my timing belt changed from a local mechanic. I purchased a OEM Honda kit with all the belts, seals, and water pump and just took those to my mechanic to have them changed.

Well, the engine seems to run the same as before but when accelerating especially around 2500 rpm the engine seems to vibrate. I can feel it in the gas pedal and steering wheel. The car did not do this before the belt was changed.

I took it back to him and let him hear it and he said it was the timing belt "breaking-in", and it the vibrations would go away as the belt stretched.

Since I have never had to get a timing belt changed before, I am completely clueless to whether or not this is true.

The mechanic has always been straight up with me and has always done good work so I trust what he says, but I just wanted to get some of your opinions.

Also, I am planning on changing the plugs and wires next week with some new NGK iridiums and NGK wires.

I just want to clarify too that the engines mounts are not broken or bad, so I do not think the problem is coming from that.

I appreciate your help

 

I had that problem on another of my vehicles, and it also felt that I lost power 2500 rpm. If this ia the case for you as well, then it means ur mechanic put the belt on backwards.

 

Well, it does seem to be getting a little better. But if the problem persists I definitely will be taking it back to get corrected.

 

Probably a stupid question but......

Can the belt actually be put on backwards?

 

No but it can be tensioned wrong

 

Is the it just needs to be broken in answer just a BS answer. Or is there any truth in that?

If so, should I just take it bad and have them correct the tension of the belt?

 

doesnt all new engine parts need to be worn in... maybe you should ease on the car till it gets worn in? and if the problem doesnt get fixed i dont know? sue him?

 

You'd have to be pretty stupid to put the belt on backwards considering it wouldn't catch on the cams or crankshaft. I agree with blackack, it may be tensioned incorrectly.

 

I have been taking it easy on the engine. I haven't noticed any performance decrease. I took her out on the interstate today and she didn't have a problem. It seems to be ask quick as a stock 2.3 can be. If you can call that quick

I bought the car to save myself a little bit in gas, as I drive almost an hour to and from work.

So I will give it another week and see if the vibration continues to subside. Hopefully, it will but the mechanic I took it to will fix the problem if it continues. Whether he likes it or not

 

I'll give the the third agreement on it being tensioned wrong.

The timing belt has to break in?.... lol aye look here's the thing... The timing belt has teeth on it right? those teeth have to stay in their correct spots. One slip and... ehh we all know what happens. The belt breaking in might get a little more flex but the tensioner pulley takes care of that.

If your mechanic has tightened that belt too tight and its getting hot, the teeth on the inside that are keeping everything lined up will end up essentially "burning" and become glazed and thats bad too. The belt has to have the right amount of flex to it... too tight and it'll get hot... too loose and it can jump. If you can, get your valve cover/timing belt cover off and see how much flex there is in the timing belt. If not, get it to the mechanic and have him check it. Keep an eye on him and when he gets the timing belt cover off see for yourself how hot the belt is getting.

 

disgruntlednut my mechanic actually told me that the belt was on pretty tight and it would stretch and cause the vibrations to go away. So I guess I will have to go and take it back and have him adjust the tension on the belt.

Ah, the joys of living out in BFE where if you don't drive a Ford or Chevy you are SOL.

I actually used to own a Nissan Altima and took it to him for everything and never had a problem.

But I am also very picky about my vehicles so I pay close attention to every sound, squeak, etc. I know that it is a 10 year old car and won't be perfect, so maybe the vibrations are not as bad as they same.

Either way, I am going to give it a few days and then take it back

 

No, the timing belt does not need to be broke in. I bet he did not align the balance shaft(s) before putting on the new balance belt. Higher displacement 4 cyl engines are equiped with balance shafts to counter weigh the inertia from the crankshaft. This prevents the engine from unwanted vibration. When doing the timing belt, the balance belt must be removed. once the balance belt is removed, the shafts must be realigned. One of the shafts is aligned by matching up the mark on the pulley to the mark on the oil pump. The other is aligned by inserting a bolt into the balance shaft via a service port on the back of the engine. If the balance shaft is not properly aligned, your engine will certainly vibrate. Take it back to him and have him do it right.

 

i am about to get my timing belt changed....just wondering how much did he charge you to change the belt and water pump for labor? also how much was the timing belt kit and where did you pick that up?

thanks!

 

He charged me $375 for the labor and I picked up the kit with all OEM Honda parts for about $120 on ebay. I did not want non-Honda parts going on the car. So about $500 with parts and labor.

I hope that you will have better luck than I did.

I am taking the car back to the mechanic tomorrow, and will most likely have to get nasty with him over fixing the car correctly. I honestly think that it is the balance shafts not being properly aligned, that is causing the vibration.

 

$500 is MUCH better then what the stealership qouted me...$1000!!!!

 

this tread was helpfull as hell cause i had no clue about the problems that might come up regarding the timing belt. i was gonna take my 3.0 to fountain ACURA of orlando and i thought my quote was good, HA! 500 bucks sounds like a steal compared with the $1000+ they want to charge me. thanks for the info

 

So what were the results?