I have a 1997 CL with 267K. Yes, it's old but it's been a good vehicle.

I switched to an independent garage shortly after having the timing belt / water pump service at the dealer at 180k. My main reason for doing this was dissatisfaction with the amt. of time / cost the dealer took to do a service at 180k.... almost like they had forgotten how to work on an older acura.

Fast forward to now, it is at the shop for another timing belt and water pump and a check engine light for a cylinder #1 misfire which seems to be a false alarm.

It's been at the shop for 3 days and they haven't been able to solve the check engine light. Now to make things ugly, they tell me that the last time the timing belt was changed, the crank bolt was cross threaded and they might break the crankshaft attempting to get it off.

Any thoughts?.......... drive until belt breaks, try another shop etc....... argh!

 

If you have paper work from the dealer about the last timing belt, contact them first about it.

 

If Acura was the last one to touch the timing belt maybe they can help you out. I really don't know how that works since so much time has passed. On the plus side, a used F22 can be picked up for only a few hundred dollars. You could swap in a low mileage motor with a new timing belt and water pump for $1k. If you plan on keeping the car, it might be an option.

 

This sounds like the best route to go if you want to keep the car a long time. I would contact the dealer about the crank bolt too though. Crazy how long the 2.2CLs with the manual transmission can last if well maintained and not abused.

 

Id find a different shop.