I got my 01 cl 2 years ago with 80000 miles. Since I lived in the arizona desert at the time, I immediately had my timing belt, accessory belts, thermostat, and water pump replaced. Now that I have found this site it seems like most guys on here replace the tensioners and seals at the same time. What are the consequences of not having these parts changed at the time? Can replacing the tensioners and seals wait until my next timing belt service is due? Thanks for any feedback

 

The thing is that the next timing belt change is in 100k. That means your seals and tensioners will be 180k miles old. Im not saying they will fail but its just a higher chance.

 

If the tensioner fails, and the belt skips a few teeth.... engine go

Seals shouldn't be a big issue.

 

as in bent valves which is $$$, AT LEAST $2000 to $3000

and for the seals they might start to leak which can destroy the belt if bad enough, but anyways i would not worry so much about the cam seals as i would the crank seal (has alot more oil next to it, aka oil pump)

 

Well I'm at 110,000 now. Think I should have the tensioner replaced now or just have the whole timing belt service done again at 140,000?

 

thats a tough call. you might have to pay close to the same labor prices you did for the timing belt change. if you wait till 180k, you risk serious engine damage.

 

I did not ever see tensioner to fail, But tensioner and idler bearing can go bad, if they loose grease seals. You can hear that though, your engine will start to rattle. I ve done my timing belt 3 weeks ago. Water pump and idler bearing was loose. Crankshaft seal leaking - not seriously - but I replaced it too. So it depends what you had replaced. If you have done : bearings + water pump, I would not bother doing anything soon, just check on your crank seal sometimes

 

anyone remember what failed on the TL that melted their timing belt? Idler?

 

but they did have that recall about the tensioners becomeing too weak or something

 

I have not heard of that ... but if there was a recall get it replaced too. It adds about $80 to the bill.... Mine was so stiff I could not squeeze it with the c clamp and had a hard time to remove pin afterwards

 

sorry only for some 03 tl, cl, and mdx

 

Yes as I understand the tensioner recall affects the late 2002 and 2003 models only. I guess as time went by acura improved the original by making it worse??

 

hey they gotta inch their pennys like the domestics do