I just kicked the code for the timing belt at 108,000 miles. I am thinking about doing it myself which isn't beyond my ability as I used to do my CRX, Eclipse and other cars. What is the hardest part about doing this yourself? The two cams slipping out of time while the belt is off? Is there a factory tool that is needed? The dealer wants $1000 to do the service which includes parts. If you haven't got a grand it is expensive. I can get all the parts on the parts folks here on the BB at a discount which saves a few dollars.

 

did it my self for under 400 with fluids. no different than a B series or a DSM pretty straight forward. just don't pull the pin on the auto tensioner til everything is set.

 

Breaking the crank pulley bolt loose and also being careful taking that side motor mount out(runs through water pump housing) as the bolts have loctite on the threads which have a tendency to pull out some aluminum with them if you try and pull them out to quickly. Use some pb blaster to spray up in there as your removing them as they feel like they are cross-threadeded. Also, remove your cam covers when lining it up at tdc and make sure the cam gear teeth are in the middle of the notches on the the heads. This minimizes cam movement when re-installing the belt. I would definetly replace the timing belt tensioner as they are common to start to leak around 100k. Hardly ever see a water pump leak, although your right there, it's whether you want to spend the extra money on a new pump and a gallon of honda coolant.

 

You go in for a 100,000 miles so you do all that you need to including the water pump. Thank you for the advice. Need to order parts now.

 

Some of the cover bolts were blind- lots of up and down. Took me 4.5 hours. I drove car, and then immediately put the breaker on the crankbolt with the car on a jackstand, Sat on butt with feet and arms under bumper and foot braced against steering knuckle- bolt came right out. let the car cool and continued on. Rear cam had a tendency to spring a 1/4 turn, but pretty straight foward....

 

I will let you all know how it goes once I get the bolt out. I have a good air gun, hope I have enough air pressure to make it remove the bolt. Thank you for all the advice. Certainly a lot simpler than working on my Italian Stallion V6 timing belt!

 

I am happy that my timingbelt with all the other things was changed by the previous owner in the Honda service at 120000km.
That is funny, here the changing interval is that 120000km, you have some 100000miles??? And that is 160000km.
It was also like that with my old Coupe Legend 3.2 from year 1993

 

Actual mileage was 104,000 miles. I misquoted in my first post.

Trying to figure out the auto belt adjuster stumped me until I looked at the manual. I got the belt off and then did the two bolts to get it loose. Next is the belt pulley to get it off and then wade in to do the timing belt.

The bearings still sound good on the tensioner.

More later as I get the covers off. I appreciate the thoughts you all are giving me on what to look for as I progress.

 

I have everything off the engine except the crank pulley. I put some pb blaster on the bolt and hit is with my air gun. Nothing has moved. Every Japanese crank bolt seems to be put on with a half ton of pressure to hold it in place. The worst I ever saw was my Colt Vista. The bolt came out stripped. I put a new bolt in and never changed it until I sold it.

I am off to get a new air gun tomorrow with the hopes that it will take the bolt out. Other than that, I have no clue how to get that bolt out of there. I might have to spring for the factory tool to hold the pulley in place while I pull with a large lever.

Everything was pretty straight forward to get all the parts out.

 

Having encountered this stubborn bolt 2x already on 4cyl accords, the crank pulley holding tool is worth every penny. I got it from amazon for ~$25. Use some quality breakbar with a cheater extension, works everytime.

 

I just popped for the crank pulley tool from Napa so I could hold the pulley. I will put that on with a nice extension to hold it in place. Then my new air gun that has 700 lbs of torque I hope will pop that bolt loose. I read in another forum I might have to find someone that has a 3/4 inch gun but then I am going to need a bigger compressor. Vicious circle? I do have a BIG bar and 6 point impact socket to pull on that bolt . Either way that bolt is coming out!

 

OMG! I can't believe how tight that bolt is on that crankshaft! I put the pulley lock on and my heavy duty socket with the new impact gun. No go. Then I got out my best breaker bar (20 in.) and leaned on it with my cheater pipe and it still didn't move. I even let it sit over night with PB Blaster soaking on the threads.

I have to give in. It is off to the dealer to have them do the belt and I will re-install all the trim and covers.

What I am afraid of is the bolt shearing off flush with the crank and then your really stuck! Better to have the dealer deal with this stubborn bolt than me. If they break it, they can fix it. I will make sure they make it so I can take it off next time myself, as I want to get one of those lightened pulleys.

There isn't any reason that makes sense to me to have this bolt on that tight.

 

same factory guy must tighten the sh-awd plugs
aluminum washers flattened out pretty thin

 

I have had the oil washer molded to the drain plug hole and bent my tire iron using a 4' cheater bar to get lugs off. I too will never understand the necessity for tightening the bolts with the equivalent of an Aventador.

 

There is a reverse washer that goes behind that bolt that puts pressure on the bolt to stay in place. If you look at the manual when you put the bolt back in you are to use some new oil to lubricate it. When I spoke with my dealer today and told him how hard I was leaning on the bolt, he gave me the look like, "if you can't get it loose, then how are we." They can get a couple strong guys on a cheater bar on a hoist to wrench that bolt out of the crank. If they break the bolt off, then we can ask Acura how they can step up and fix it, since they put it on so tight no one can get it out. We will see.

 

My mechanic from the old days had a 12ft cheater bar extender. He took pride in being able to get anything free. I do wonder how many times he broke something...

 

Dang lucky he didn't break his jaw or arm when it let go. Dealer did the job today and lightened my wallet. I have to say the mechanic was very thorough in that he found some of the same things I was aware of. The wife says the car is much quieter than it has been. Thank you for the support on this.

 

Hi Alfa Doctor,

Where did you get all your parts for your timing belt change?


Has anyone used the exact same kit as mentioned in the above link? Please advise My RL now has 88000 miles and I am done playing russian roulette I have not done the timing belt change yet.

 

Russian Roullette at 88k miles? Doesn't Acura throw the timing belt code at 105k?

 

I live in Canada where the temperature flucuates wildy, the local dealers here recommends I change the timing belt at around 65 000 miles. I believe that is a crock of poop for the dealer to make more money but hey, who am I?

 

I would ask another dealer even if it is in another province if what your dealer is saying is fact or fiction.

I bought my parts from Dave Dickerson at Acura of Tempe in AZ. He was one of the dealers listed here on the BB. First class service! Great price, real parts from Acura and FedEx shipping. I was considering getting parts off of EBay, but then you don't know if your getting the real parts.

A quick note, one of the things I noticed when I was in Toronto, there are Acura's everywhere!

 

In this timing belt replacement job, is removal of that pulley (the one some folks replace) inherently required in the job? Is the fighting with the pulley bolt only for those swapping out the pulley, or does it always come off for this particular maintenance item?

 

The pulley needs to come off. The pulley is on the outside of the plastic cover that has the belt inside of it so you cannot get to the belt without removing the pulley and then removing the cover.

 

well i just got quoted from my dealer for $600 for the parts and labor for the timing service which is better then the $1k and the stress for the bolt. so happy.

 

Yep we love our Acuras.

On a separate note just for my own information why the bigger engines in Acura like the V6's come with timing belt but the smaller engines like my TSX comes with timing chains?

 

Belt is quieter, especially with multiple cams
Belt can loop around multiple cams and tension rollers easily
Long belt (multiple cams-big engine) needs no lube - a long timing chain is more complicated to keep wet, but the belt runs dry.

Timing chains break too (my Corvette's died at around 40K miles)

 

What dealership.