Ok so im overdue for my timing belt service at about 108k on the clock and i took it to the Honda dealership and they said they recommend a valve adjustment while doing the timing belt.I do notice a slight ticking sound while im in idle which im sure is the valves.So the stealership quoted me $1800 for the entire job then i got an estimate from a local garage that works on hondas and they said also im pretty much gonna need a valve adjustment too with a gran total of $1600.Wow i just bought this car too a few months ago now this,i was only thinking i would have to spend about a grand for timing and spark plugs but not no 1600 i might have to sell Lol im not trying to spend that much even though i know it needs it what would u guyz do??

 

Sell the car over 600 bucks in maintenance

 

a grand for timing AND sparks.....where you shopping?

People need to realize:

900-1200 for a reputable Timing Belt change,
300-600 for Valve Adjustment,
150-300 for Sparks or do it yourself for cost of sparks....

like everyone says, it is an investment but one that only comes around every 105k miles....and should you take care of the rest of the maintenance you could still have the car easily for the next go around.

But if you bought the car without having a look to see just WHY so many 3rd genrations are up for sale at 95-105k miles, then it is a bit of sticker shock.

 

I did this last fall and the total out the door was around $1500, but I'm not sure if I got the valve timing done. Only needing this proactive maintenance every 105k miles, I'd say its money well spent to continue driving a great car

However, have it done by a reputable and trustworthy shop!

 

Honda dealer charged me 800 for timing belt. Spark plugs are $75 diy, not sure about valves, but at 105k, it's only inspect them, which means adjust if needed. Honestly, as others mentioned, I wouldn't worry too much about a few hundred given the interval.

btw, is your car still on original shocks? That's next and will set you back anywhere from $700 to $1800.

 

i like the user name...billz-be-blazing-my-savings.

 

Yea shes on OG shocks and struts also im hearing i might need engine mounts too shoot i shoulda became a mechanic im now thinking of selling aint such a bad idea even though she's a beauty nicest RL i found in Cali..

 

hate to break it to ya, EVERY single car you buy will need maintenance done to it.

 

Sell it here on the cheap.

 

How long have you owned it? Did you get it PPI'd before purchase? Would have easily found most issues except PM items.

Did you post here before buying for the folks to weigh it? I think selling is short sighted and you will likely lose more on the sale then the work needed.

 

 

You buy this: https://www.amazon.com/Aisin-TKH-002...t+kit+ACURA+RL

And go to a good mechanic who shouldn't be charging more than 80$ / hour. It takes about 4-5 hours but lets say 6. That's 480 + 200 = 680.

I'm not sure why people pay over a thousand for timing belt change. The local acura dealer quoted me 770usd.

 

my local Acura dealer quoted me 1200 for tb, Honda dealer was 800 all in, including tensioner.

 

Mine it was for belt and pump. it's a good idea i'll check a honda dealer too.


The part i linked above btw can be had for even less at rock auto.com . What's most important is to make sure the water pump is Aisin.

 

I only owned this car for a few months now and no i didnt get it PPid b4 the buy.I know i will probably loose more on the sale than getting the work done but i did over pay a bit because i liked the car and it had rims and brand new tires and seller would not budge on price.Yea i know every car needs maintenance just wasnt expecting a valve job, i swore never to get another car with a timing belt after my Lexus GS430 but i always liked the RL.Im probably going to go with the Aisin kit with a OEM belt as i did with the latter car now i need to find a good mechanic.Here are couple snaps sorry for the low quality (android phone)..

 

I had the belts, tensioners and water pump done by a dealer.....too important to leave to my talents and I read here of some real FUBARS.. I did however do the plugs myself.

Ease of mind: PRICELESS

 

Here's what I was quoted. I am at 95K, 10 years in, 2006 RL. I have a noise coming from the tensioner (dealer agreed after diagnosis) and due to years (not miles), I want to just get the 105K service done.

Valve adjustment (replace gaskets while we're at it): $540
Spark Plugs: $250
Timing Belt (replace waterpump, serpentine, coolant flush obviously): $1250
Tensioner: $215
Power Steering fluid exchange: $140 (I plan to do this myself)
All prices above are negotiated prices, i.e. they claim it's their best and final. We'll see about that. It seems Acura dealers are firm on these prices as I have called around but based on suggestions here, I have to call my Honda dealer which is around the corner from them so maybe I have some additional leverage.

Is there another service I should be thinking about while they are in there? For example, Oil pump gaskets are prone to failures and it's normally a $1300 service. They can do it for $400 while we are in there.

I plan to keep the car for another 4-5 years (give it to my teenager). It's been way too good to me to sell it. If the trans goes then who knows. I look forward to your thoughts. Thank you.

 

I would honestly re-seal the oil pump and replace the oil seals if you're keeping the car. I had my oil pump seal go bad which pushed me to change the timing belt earlier. You can read of a lot of oil pump seal failures on the '07-'08 TL type S which shares our engine. Depending on where you are in Chicago, I can point you to a shop that can do the entire timing belt +oil pump/seals+ Tensioner for cheap. They can probably save you some money on the other stuff too. I don't understand why they are charging you separately for the tensioner and then billing you twice for the spark plus. You remove the timing belt to get to the tensioner and you remove the plugs to do the valve adjustment. Unless dealer plugs are 250$?

Edit: if you don't mind disclosing, which dealer quoted you all this?

 

Thanks, feel free to pm me if you have a contact in the area. I am near O'Hare. I used to know a good mechanic who had worked on Honda/Acura before but lost his contact info. I prefer to do have it done with genuine Honda parts. I'll PM you the dealership info. I think they do a good job and I don't want to disparage them in any way.

 

Hm yes every used car will need maintanance. Valve adjustment. . They can be too loose. (Engine sounds like old diesel mercedes)

Or tight. If tight valves don't close all the way. Compression test will reveal. In general I would not do valve adjustment.. and the mechanic will probably not do anything. He will just charge u for valve adjustment . I did adjustment after lapping valves and head gasket job. The were a little tight. Basically I think after lapping the valves. Getting rid of debree between valve and cylinder head pushed valves a little deeper into cylinder head. That's why they measured too tight. If u haven't done anything like that, no mercedes diesel sound, no smoke and check engine light.. I'd skip valve adjustment

 

Just saw.. 108k miles is nothing on honda engine. . I drove many v 6 hondas with original timing belt till 200k mikes. Tensioner may show signs of leakage. Maybe an idler pulley will have some wobble. Just timing belt, tensioneer, idle pulley and the other pulley is good enough. The rest is the maintanance is unnecessarily. It's not a bmw.. no need to drain ur credit card every month for maintenance.

Those fees are really high.. u must be dressing like kim kardashian when at a mechanic. They think u have tons of money . Show up as poor student and make it look like u know whats up. Just drive it till 180.. no problems . ) and get That kit from rock auto. Aisin I believe. It's oem. Just no honda labels on parts. I had a thread asking about oem belt , pulleys about a month ago . Aisin pump, mitsuboshi belt, koyo bearings i think. Same shet as in your car now - honda label (.05 cent value)

 

Thanks MrVtech. Don't know about Billsblaze but I am walking in with a 10 year old car, think they would give me a break but I guess not. You are also making me rethink my OEM parts from the dealer strategy. Now, only if I can find a trustworthy mechanic (with skill to work on this car of course).
Billsblaze, didn't mean to sabotage your thread, was trying to avoid adding yet another post and I thought my question could add some costs feedback and ask my questions in the process. By the way, I have always liked that silver color on an RL especially with that spoiler think on the trunk. Sweet ride.

 

u know it seems there is too much bs in dealer hearing noise from tensioneer.. I have yet to see a honda with 95k That had tensioneer leaked out . It's sooo rare at such low mileage. There is serpantine belt tensioner(2 pulley assembly outside Thst holds serp belt tension ) and often those fail if in humid climate. Basically bearings develop light side to side play. Noticeable noise. But again.. closer to 150k or something like that.

I am not a pro mechanic but worked on about 15 v6 hondas.. it's only those well over 160-170k miles had a trace of oil on timing belt tensioneer. U can see it your self outside. It's a little cylinder sticking towards firewall. Google "acura belt tensioneer" and pics will pop up

Basically as a preventative measure it's good to replace timing belt, waterpump, tensioneer, idler pulley every 90-105k miles on hondas. Unless it's a track car and is really pushed to its limits. Chance of belt snapping under normal conditions I think is extremely slim.. i change belts at 150-200k miles
Of course if tensioner is all leaking and u see trace of antifreeze in waterpump area do it asap

 

Hey its all good thanks for your input thats what the forums are for huhh..As for the job i ended up saving a few bucks by just buying the Aisin kit i bought a OEM timing belt which honestly i shouldnt have, as the one in the kit looked just as good.I bought new sparks,air filter,valve gaskets,serp belt,coolant and tensioner as i rem Aisin kit didnt come with it.I said F da stealership and had my buddy/mech do the work he gave me a really good deal ended up saving about 600.Also ran into a lil problem while he was doing the work he noticed the front and side engine mounts were shot had to wait a couple days to order them so definitely check those also.Glad i didnt sell, cars running like a champ now..

 

I used to be a dealer mechanic on another marque, and learned to wrench on the Acura myself. There doesn't seem to be much I can't do other than the timing belt and a/c. I am dealing with some other issues in another post, but I can tell you that you should shop around for what it will cost to have your service done. Here is what I found out:

• Spark plugs cost $20+ at the dealer, you can buy them on Amazon or Rockauto for the exact same thing far cheaper. If you can wrench on a car you can do the plugs yourself. Just need a small plug socket and a long extension. The coil packs come out with a disconnect and two 6mm nuts. The back ones are the hard ones but doable with some patience. 60K miles is a good limit but they will go 100k. I just changed mine at 100K and they looked like they were put in yesterday.
• Valve adjustment - absolutely! After 160K from the last one I did, I found the intakes to be loose by .003-.005 inch. You can hear them rattle. Afterwards all you will hear is the click of the injectors. the back valves are a real royal pain in the proverbial butt to get to. It took me about 4 hours to do them, including cleaning the intake plenum, valve covers and new seal kits.
• Timing belt, don't scrimp on OEM parts. My local Honda agency said it would be about $1000 including the parts. The Acura dealer was $1400 plus the valve adjustment, it was going to hit my wallet to the tune of $2000. I don't think so! The parts are water pump, tensioner, timing belt, antifreeze.
• Do the tensioner as they go 60K-100K. That will also mean a new serpentine power belt for about $40 at O'Reilly's.

Let us know how things work out as we like to know these things.

• If necessary do the crank seal and oil pump seal while you have the covers off.