the timing belt at 127K. That puppy looked like it was brand new. I posted this just so people who start getting up tight about changing the belt at the suggested mileage will realize it's not as critical as you'd be led to believe.

 

^^ and when someone who lives somewhere where the weather affects the belts more (i.e texas humidity) and their belt snaps and destroys their motor, you'll be more than happy to front the $$$$ =)

 

yeah, that's some pretty bad advice.

 

had 200k on mine. looked great, hard to tell the difference between it and the new one. Miles are less important than age. Age is a much bigger factor.

 

I concur!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah the $4.1k+ it costs if that thing snaps isn't worth it? Fuck that, I'll do it right on time. Every belt will age differently and there's no sense in chancing it. Only reason not to do it is if you're a cheap ass and don't care about general maintenance. Funny how the same people that will tell you to always change your oil on time are willing to risk much worse things by putting off other general maintenance.

 

It's sometimes another part failure that will contaminate the belt and cause it to fail. The water pump, cam seals, and crank seal all add variables into the life of the belt. You could do regular inspections on the timing belt but that's a PITA to worry about. Since the service interval is 105K, most people will only do one timing belt change on the motor. Extending the service interval doesn't buy you fery much unless you plan on selling your car before you do the timing belt service or you plan on keeping your car beyond 210K miles. To me, just get it done right and enjoy the next 100K miles with one less thing to worry about. I'm big on reliability and prevention.

 

i have had both the honda dealer and the acura dealer tell me that you can easily go 120K on the belts. just like my previous hondas, I will change the belt when it gets to 105K

 

When a belt breaks it's usually due to internal structure failure, not external cracking or wear.

You can not judge the condition of a belt by looking at it.

 

LOL.....I like your avatar bro! I thought mine was classic.

 

I should have done it earlier but I didn't have a chance or the money. But I did mine at 140K. and the belt was fine I still have it.

And I know my car sat for over a year at a dealership in bufflo, ny (cold harsh winters).

I would advise doing the belt between 105k and 120k.

 

I will say your right in what your saying, but going as far as calling people cheap asses cause they are not jumping on a $1050+ maintenance service to their car isnt them being a cheap ass...Broke ass is a better word to use....

 

Cheap or broke has nothing to do with it. Think about it. If even 5% of the cars had their belt fail at or before 105K these cars would have a reputation as one of the worst pieces of crap around. That obviously isn't true. The belts are engineered to go waaay beyond 105 and they do it all the time too. There's always a chance that you might find one with a manufacturing flaw but that would be the exception. It's not the same thing as an oil change at all. But if you want to drop a grand when you don't need to, well, that's your business and someone else's profit.

 

So Kris had 200K miles on his and mine made it to 150K miles and we're wrong somehow? And both belts looked great as well? To each his own.

 

Agree. If it was that critical to have it done by then that it might fail honda would put a much lower mileage/age rating on it. Honestly, how many failures have we seen.

 

yeah yeah yeah.
stop bragging abt it.
"she pretty much has to" ,,,,,,...............

 

ive seen plenty of snapped timing belts and they all looked new...except for the part where they are torn apart. its the age that gets them, but you cannot go off of how it looks

 

I agree I just changed mine at 103k and it looked brand new. If I had to guess the belt could go to 150k no problem.

 

Where in MD do you live? Where did you have the belt done? I am at 108K, and have been thinking about getting it done. The car runs great and is mint, I'd like to keep it that way!

 

what's the point in risking it on an interference engine?

 

Have you measured it for stretching? Just because the teeth on the belt look fine doesnt mean the belt is in perfect working order.

 

Ellicott City, it was done at Neubauer's . But, take your own parts to save a bunch of money. They do very good work though they have the usual markup on parts prices. Several friends who are familiar with Acura/Hondas strongly suggested using only the OEM timing belt (which I did), the rest of the stuff (water pump, tensioners, etc.) came from NAPA.

 

See my post #13 above. It's your money though, so do what you wish.

 

Though I currently have neither the time nor a good place to work on the car, hence why I paid to have it done, I know how to do all the appropriate checks , work, etc. and the belt was practically mint. I did a very close inspection/comparison before the new one was put on.

 

mine was done at 105k and looked good. it was stretched a little more than the new belt though.

 

What I'd like to know is how many people here have A.) Actually had a T-belt break on a Honda motor and B.) How many can do the T-belt job themselves?

My old del Sol's belt broke at close to 220K. I knew it needed to be changed, just kept putting it off. Luckily the motor wasn't trashed, I lined everything back up and it ran just fine.

To me, it just isn't worth risking it, and I almost had to learn that the hard way.

 

(A)I've known a few that have broken.

(B)It's relatively easy to do a timing belt on a honda motor, however on the CL there really isn't much room so I will most likely take it to someone.

On any of my other Hondas, I'd gladly do the work myself.