My wife has 128K on her 01' CL Type S. Honda put a new tranny in @41K and the car performs flawlessly, the mpg is great, and it drives fine. She will not trade it in on a new one and plans to drive it for several more years. I'm old school and it just rubs me wrong to replace parts that are working fine, so I pulled the right side TB cover and the belt looks fine...no cracking, seperating, or overly worn teeth...its clean, dry, and tight so I doubt if its stretched much either. Is there any of you guys who have run their TB to 200K or more? Any horror stories about guys who tried?

 

I had mine replaced. dunno how worn it was. I considered it cheap insurance, as a belt failure at the wrong time (like 85mph in highway traffic) can cost more than a motor rebuild... if you're gonna keep the car I'd get it done.

 

That's the whole thinking of "preventive maintenance"
It's a recommendation to replace the TB at 100K miles. However since you inspected it, & it seems fine, then let it go & check it every year.
I've had other cars that never had it done in 150K+ miles & were fine.
I'd be more concerned with the tranny. If it goes that will cost more the a TB to fix.

 

I think Kris (fsttyms1) was getting close to 200K on the original belt before he did his 6spd/types engine converison on his 2G TLP...

If I still have my CL @105K, I plan on getting the belt done...

 

A neighbor skipped the belt change on her Accord. Don't remember how many miles she had but when the belt broke it cost more than the car was worth to fix, the valves hit the pistons and they had to replace the engine.

Get it done as a preventitive.

 

I would replace it if I were you. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

fsttyms1 could risk not changing it, cause he's got the skillz to replace an engine (and convert to a 6spd)... pistons hitting valves probably wouldn't have phazed him...

For us mere mortals, $800 to get the belt changes is cheap insurance

 

change that belt otherwise 9K for a new motor.......

 

if you have to ask...you should change it....never want a timing belt going out and bent valves.....it sucks taking an on ramp and losing power steering cuz your car cut off....ever try to turn a dead car with no power steering at 40 + mph...not fun..

 

I think the key here is it was checked by someone that knows their stuff. If it's not in bad shape why change it? At least right now.

 

I am pretty sure honda says 105K for a reason...........It's like $800 to change the belt and at least 9K for a new motor...belts that "look ok" can still snap without warning.....due to internal failure that one CANNOT SEE

 

There's an internal part that helps keep the timing belt running smooth...I can't remember what it's called but I had to have it replaced cuz it was leaking fluid. If I didn't replace it then I could have been assed out of a motor right now.

-Spend the money to get it done...so you're not coming back and crying to us that your motor blew.

 

Fsttyms1 got 200K out of his and pulled it out and noted that it "looked really good".

 

At the honda dealership that I do work for, Ive heard stories of the TB on a V6 accord snapping at 40-50K. It hasn't happen a lot but more than once is enough. As soon as I heard that it convinced me to do it when the time comes.

 

Thanks for all of the advice guys, I REALLY do appreciate it! You've convinced me that the $$ spent, the 'not worrying about the wife breaking down on the road' factor, and the possibility of trashing a great engine all make the replacement worthwhile. I'm pretty handy at turning a wrench and with my Helms manual for a guide the project looks within my realm of capability. I'll order parts from the Acura dealer next week and get-r-done. Since all of the parts on the car are original and I'll be removing some to get to the TB anyway I figure as mentioned it'll be cheap insurance to replace them also. My parts list includes-
Timing belt.
Timing belt tensioner.
Alternator belt.
Power steering belt.
Water pump.
Spark plugs.
If you have anymore recomendations or advice/tips on the project please don't hesitate to pass them along. Thanks again!

 

if you have to remove any hoses for coolant, replace them as well.

 

just for the insurance, get a new timing belt and just have it with you in your garage or in the trunk or something.

edit: good call. haha didnt read that u were getting stuf replaced..

 

I appreciate the tip...All of the hoses & belts on the car are OE so it wouldn't hurt to replace'em while I'm there. I'll add'em to my list of needed parts. Thanks

 

I would love to hear a success story about a handy person changing his own timing belt (as this may include me one day). Please keep us updated.

 

Well I got it done . It was not as difficult as I expected and only took me 4.5hrs and that included replacing the plugs and flushing/replacing the power steering fluid. Replacement parts included-

$96.60- New water pump.
$29.44- Timing belt.
$53.20- Tensioner pulley.
$43.63- Idler pulley.
$11.94- Alternator belt.
$10.99- Power steering belt.
$12.60- Power steering fluid.
$21.75- Spark plugs. NGK PZFR6E-11
$280.70- Total

I did need to borrow a crankshaft pulley holding tool to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt but other than that I had everything else in my tools to complete the job. Actually the hardest part of the project was removing the splash shield under the car to access the alternator belt. Other than it being a very tight area to work in,the accessories removal, covers removal, pullies removal, TB replacement and reverse installation procedure it went very smoothly. This is definately 'do'able for anyone who feels comfortable replacing other parts (starter, alternator, ect.) on their vehicle. The TB, tensioner pulley, and idler pulley were all in exellent condition and would have no doubt run much longer without worry, as would have the water pump. The power steering and alternator belts were showing their age as to be expected running outside the engine. The spark plugs were surprizingly clean and in good condition showing minimal electrode detoration for the 128K miles they have been fireing. It was an interesting learning experience and has taught me that the Acura engineers definately gave themselves a large built-in saftey margin with the 100K recommended TB replacement.
I have pics of the replaced parts but am not allowed to post'em, so if anyone's interested let me know and I'll email'em to ya.

 

lol, why can't you post them???
My other car (2000 Acura TL) has 130,000 miles on it and I haven't changed the TB yet. It seems to be in good condition, but I am probably going to replace it before year end. Do you have any advice on the overall project, I can do most things on my car besides engine internals. When it comes to that, I am a little rough around the edges.

 

I had 200k on my timing belt and when compared to the belt on the motor i was putting in for my 6speed swap with 30k on it i couldn't tell the difference between the 2. I would trust, and will trust my new belt to 200k+ again.

 

I don't know...just says I'm not allowed to post attatchments? Probably because of low post #'s or new member?

 

You're not allowed to post attachments on A'zine at all. Pics need to be hosted on a site such as www.photobucket.com.

 

Thanks!

 

belts look good