DIY Timing Belt
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,535
Likes: 1,142
there is more to remove to get to the tbelt and water pump--figure a good 6 hours first time--with basic skills and the right tools for the job
dont have a 4 foot breaker bar and 3/4 inch socket and the honda pulley holder tool????....its going to be more of a pita
definetly not the same as changing the ac belt~
dont have a 4 foot breaker bar and 3/4 inch socket and the honda pulley holder tool????....its going to be more of a pita
definetly not the same as changing the ac belt~
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 57
Likes: 2
I apologize for my ignorance, the job on my Mercedes is of course not to be compared with this one. What I did on my Mercedes was only the serpentine belt outside of the engine. On Mercedes there is also the timing chain guide rail, the replacement of which involves opening of the engine head, which is also very demanding.
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 35
Likes: 1
Also ,there are some videos on YouTube for TB replacement for the 1999-2004 Honda Odyssey models with the acura 3.5 (basically the same as the 3.2) .
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...ing+belfy&aq=f
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...ing+belfy&aq=f
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,153
Likes: 57
Skip step #5 unless you have to, otherwise not doing it properly will lead to oil leak. As many have wonder dealerships did the TB and it has nothing to to with other things, so why oil leaks aftward; sounds like it has nothing to do with themn. So, remember, anything you follow is at your own risk.
Someone can work on your TB and the backseat got wet, clearly it has nothing to do with the person working on the TB job, isn't it?
Someone can work on your TB and the backseat got wet, clearly it has nothing to do with the person working on the TB job, isn't it?
Last edited by acutee; Dec 19, 2011 at 01:36 PM.
10th Gear
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Central Coast of California
Have a question...
Noticed oil was leaking from around the bottom of the oil pan, took to a local shop and guy told me oil was leaking from oil pan gasket and timing cover gasket, talked to another guy and was told timing belt gasket leak was not from the timing belt due to the timing belt being a dry belt, if the gasket is leaking where would this oil be coming from?
Pro
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 657
Likes: 173
Spend a few extra bucks and change all the 5 components and do the job properly (belt, water pump, idler pulley, tensioner, tensioner pulley). All can be had in the Aisin oem kit for around $230 on ebay. Then you won't have to worry about them for a very long time.
Suzuka Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,296
Likes: 784
'06 > 3rd gen !
Hey Rimike, if ya bought the car new and are not experiencing any issues, why are ya deciding to replace the T-belt so early ? IMO, ya got more time before spending a substantial amount of money on this work.The '99>'03 2nd gens are suggested to be replaced at 105k, I'm unsure if your '06 is the same, but unless ya have an extremely hot or climate and do alot of stop & go city driving, ya got some time !
The original factory installed T-belt and components will generally be more durable and less risky than subsequent replacements as the motor ages. This is mainly due to questionable installation workmanship and replacement part's quality.
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,470
Likes: 230
^^What he says. I went 10 years, 120,000 miles, and the belt looked like it would go twice as long. We used to tell toyota v6 owners to go 250,000, and they typically would make it that far. Those engines don't get destroyed if the belt breaks, however, so it's a lot safer gamble.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
From: Warwick,RI
The age of the belt is the issue here, the car is only driven 8,000 miles a year. If I do just the belt and tensioner now, the water pump still won`t have 105,000 on it when I do the belt again after 6 years. I could replace everything at that time, if I even own the car then. A couple of techs have told me they would just do the belt this time and everything next time.
Suzuka Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,296
Likes: 784
The age is only an extreme precautionary measure suggested by the manufacturer due to the interference type motor which the TL has. Unless your car is exposed to abnormally cold or hot conditions, there is no real facts supporting this suggested maintenance. The TL motor is very well built and doesn't develop internal oil leaks under normal operating conditions. That's something that could potentially affect the belt's condition, if leaks were an issue.
The big question here is if ya feel uncomfortable, then do it....otherwise wait it out awhile longer and the do the entire T-belt service with all the extras at the time. Who knows, ya may be into something else by then !!!
The big question here is if ya feel uncomfortable, then do it....otherwise wait it out awhile longer and the do the entire T-belt service with all the extras at the time. Who knows, ya may be into something else by then !!!
Intermediate
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 37
Likes: 11
From: Ocala, Fl
Did mine on good Friday. Changed the water pump, both belts, tensioner and a bad motor mount. Piece of cake! Next I will replace my cracked dash. My belt, tensioner and water pump all good at 108k! I probably could have gone another 50k.
Suzuka Master
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,296
Likes: 784
Another 50k....., yeah maybe ? But, why risk the chance ?
Especially if you're able to DIY , saving not only money .....but more importantly, peace of mind ! Keep pluggin' away and enjoy troublefree driving with your TL.
Especially if you're able to DIY , saving not only money .....but more importantly, peace of mind ! Keep pluggin' away and enjoy troublefree driving with your TL.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 120
Likes: 13
From: brooklyn, ny
I finished this job last weekend. I did the timing belt, water pump, idler pulley, tensioner pulley, hydraulic tensioner, and put a Bomz underdrive lightweight aluminum crank pulley back on. Of course you basically have to do a coolant change in the process. The best way to get the crank bolt loose is a 4ft cheater pipe slid over a breaker bar with about 18" of extensions attaching the 19mm socket (six-point impact socket), with another breaker bar holding the Honda crank tool in place. Support the cheater pipe and breaker bar combination with a jack stand right underneath the head of the breaker bar where the extensions attach.
A few more thoughts:
- I had to remove the entire side engine mount; this means the 'bridge' mount between the chassis and the engine, the engine mount bracket, and the chassis mount bracket. After supporting the engine from underneath as described earlier, I suggest loosening the big 17mm, horizontally mounted bolt first. If you loosen the vertical bolts first, it will be difficult to loosen the horizontal bolt later. I actually had to remove the bridge mount and chassis mount brackets before I could even access the engine side mount bracket bolts that go into the block.
- There is an engine hoisting bracket behind the power steering pump that can safely be removed if you need more room to get the rear timing belt cover off. The hoisting bracket is bolted onto the engine block, and is basically just a loop that serves no purpose other than providing a place to attach a hook for lifting the engine out of the car. There is a small grounding wire attached to the hoisting bracket that has to be loosened in the process. Removing this hoisting bracket gave me more room to work on that rear timing belt cover.
- Here is a pic of the elusive timing belt adjuster where the battery clamp bolt screws into. It is circled in red.
The idea behind using the battery clamp bolt is that it applies pressure to the top of the tensioner pulley to offset pressure applied to the bottom of the pulley by the auto-tensioner (red arrow). When tightened-down, the battery clamp bolt will hold the pulley in place so you can loosen the IDLER pulley and remove the belt safely. Once the belt has been removed, tension can be relieved from the battery clamp bolt so that the tensioner pulley and auto-tensioner can be removed.
- Speaking of the tensioner pulley, I haven't seen any mention in this thread (or in the service manual) of transferring the metal sleeve bushing from the old pulley to the new pulley. Here are a couple of pics of the metal sleeve bushing and how it fits into the tensioner pulley.
New tensioner pulleys don't come with the metal sleeve bushing, so be sure to transfer it from the old one to the new one. It slides in-and-out easily.
- Re-installing the auto-tensioner and tensioner pulley: bolt both pieces back on, but DON'T pull the pin on the tensioner yet. Tighten the battery clamp bolt back onto the top of the tensioner pulley first. It will help hold the auto-tensioner down until ready. Install the timing belt as described earlier (counter-clockwise starting from the crank pulley), and once any and all slack in the belt is between the rear cam and the crank pulley (i.e., the slack needs to be right where the tensioner pulley is located), THEN pull the pin. The pin is not easy to pull; it is under a lot of pressure. You might bang your hand against the chassis or frame when the pin finally comes out, but battle scars are just part of the process. Once the pin is out, you can finally unscrew the battery clamp bolt, which will slowly allow the auto-tensioner to expand.
The only other thing I can think of mentioning is that the water pump has some guide pins or tabs on it which help line it up and keep it in place for bolting back on. That was handy.
Good luck, guys! With the right tools, you can do it, too!
A few more thoughts:
- I had to remove the entire side engine mount; this means the 'bridge' mount between the chassis and the engine, the engine mount bracket, and the chassis mount bracket. After supporting the engine from underneath as described earlier, I suggest loosening the big 17mm, horizontally mounted bolt first. If you loosen the vertical bolts first, it will be difficult to loosen the horizontal bolt later. I actually had to remove the bridge mount and chassis mount brackets before I could even access the engine side mount bracket bolts that go into the block.
- There is an engine hoisting bracket behind the power steering pump that can safely be removed if you need more room to get the rear timing belt cover off. The hoisting bracket is bolted onto the engine block, and is basically just a loop that serves no purpose other than providing a place to attach a hook for lifting the engine out of the car. There is a small grounding wire attached to the hoisting bracket that has to be loosened in the process. Removing this hoisting bracket gave me more room to work on that rear timing belt cover.
- Here is a pic of the elusive timing belt adjuster where the battery clamp bolt screws into. It is circled in red.
The idea behind using the battery clamp bolt is that it applies pressure to the top of the tensioner pulley to offset pressure applied to the bottom of the pulley by the auto-tensioner (red arrow). When tightened-down, the battery clamp bolt will hold the pulley in place so you can loosen the IDLER pulley and remove the belt safely. Once the belt has been removed, tension can be relieved from the battery clamp bolt so that the tensioner pulley and auto-tensioner can be removed.
- Speaking of the tensioner pulley, I haven't seen any mention in this thread (or in the service manual) of transferring the metal sleeve bushing from the old pulley to the new pulley. Here are a couple of pics of the metal sleeve bushing and how it fits into the tensioner pulley.
New tensioner pulleys don't come with the metal sleeve bushing, so be sure to transfer it from the old one to the new one. It slides in-and-out easily.
- Re-installing the auto-tensioner and tensioner pulley: bolt both pieces back on, but DON'T pull the pin on the tensioner yet. Tighten the battery clamp bolt back onto the top of the tensioner pulley first. It will help hold the auto-tensioner down until ready. Install the timing belt as described earlier (counter-clockwise starting from the crank pulley), and once any and all slack in the belt is between the rear cam and the crank pulley (i.e., the slack needs to be right where the tensioner pulley is located), THEN pull the pin. The pin is not easy to pull; it is under a lot of pressure. You might bang your hand against the chassis or frame when the pin finally comes out, but battle scars are just part of the process. Once the pin is out, you can finally unscrew the battery clamp bolt, which will slowly allow the auto-tensioner to expand.
The only other thing I can think of mentioning is that the water pump has some guide pins or tabs on it which help line it up and keep it in place for bolting back on. That was handy.
Good luck, guys! With the right tools, you can do it, too!
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 120
Likes: 13
From: brooklyn, ny
Here are some pros showing us how it's done!
Very Informative!
Great tip about zip-tying the TB to the pulleys for easy installation.
It's on a 2001 MDX, but basically the same as the CL and TL.
[BTW, I got a OE AISIN kit from RockAuto.com for $216.00!]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiPfB9zSgS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE0Mh...feature=fvwrel
Very Informative!
Great tip about zip-tying the TB to the pulleys for easy installation.
It's on a 2001 MDX, but basically the same as the CL and TL.
[BTW, I got a OE AISIN kit from RockAuto.com for $216.00!]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiPfB9zSgS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE0Mh...feature=fvwrel
Advanced
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 89
Likes: 2
Hi All
Can anyone confirm this is the correct part/part# for a 2003 TL-P?
http://www.rockauto.com/
Acura -> 2003 -> TL -> 3.2L V6 SOHC -> Engine -> Timing Belt Component Kit -> With Water Pump ->
AISIN Part # TKH001 Engine Timing Belt Kit with Water Pump
Interference Engine
$213.79
TIA
Can anyone confirm this is the correct part/part# for a 2003 TL-P?
http://www.rockauto.com/
Acura -> 2003 -> TL -> 3.2L V6 SOHC -> Engine -> Timing Belt Component Kit -> With Water Pump ->
AISIN Part # TKH001 Engine Timing Belt Kit with Water Pump
Interference Engine
$213.79
TIA
Banned
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
From: Florida
Hi. A friend of mine is going to be helping me do this in about 2 weeks because I don't have all the knowledge or confidence to attempt it myself. He wanted to know if we should change the oil pump o-ring while we're doing all of this. He used to own an Integra and did that on his when he did his timing belt. My TL-S has almost 122k miles on it at the moment. Thanks!
Intermediate
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 35
Likes: 1
That great J series timing belt video by Bundy's Garage has been uploaded again -
New link -
[QUOTE=spydercatt;14525893]Here is a video that gives you detailed instructions on how to complete the timing belt on a Honda Acura V6 J Series engine.
New link -
[QUOTE=spydercatt;14525893]Here is a video that gives you detailed instructions on how to complete the timing belt on a Honda Acura V6 J Series engine.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 187
Likes: 28
i have to improvise lol The 4 bolts removing the rear bracket was the most difficult part very limited space to work with. 
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 63
Likes: 19
From: British Columbia Canada
Thanks guys !
A big thanks to all on this thread, I just did mine, went smooth as could be. Here are a few pics and the Aisin kit sheet. I took pics of old parts and Aisin kit, for anyone that is interested. here https://acurazine.com/forums/third-g...ics%2A-784622/
I had the new belt on and off a few times to get all the slack around at the adjuster, pulled the pin and everything lined up. I found the new belt a bit stiff to get all the slack just right.
Many thanks to all the great info on this site !
I had the new belt on and off a few times to get all the slack around at the adjuster, pulled the pin and everything lined up. I found the new belt a bit stiff to get all the slack just right.
Many thanks to all the great info on this site !
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 63
Likes: 19
From: British Columbia Canada
I found a video using plastic zap straps to hold the belt on the cam gears and tried it out. If you don't do this job a lot, I recommend you consider using the straps, and essentially put the belt on in reverse to the manual, starting at the rear cam zap it, front cam zap it , and then down to the drive gear, then pull the bracket off the tensioner. Nothing moves with this method, as long as the slack is on the left, ( rear ) of the drive gear and I did not use the 3rd strap on the belt above the drive gear. Then just cut the straps off if all 3 gears at at TDC, easy like pie !
The new belt is a little stiff, and I found it a challenge to get all the slack to the rear, without bumping the rear cam off TDC.
The new belt is a little stiff, and I found it a challenge to get all the slack to the rear, without bumping the rear cam off TDC.
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
Timing belt "kit" parts.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 33,535
Likes: 1,142
did you look at the aisen kit mentioned a few post above? that's typical of whats being used and they are the OE supplier of the parts
Not sure whats in their kit- ck it out
aftermarket tensioners are fine- rockauto is a good source or seller of aisen probably has all the rest of your needs
Tbelt tensioner and idler pulley, ac belt tensioner, and the dipstick oring come to mind as needed parts
Not sure whats in their kit- ck it out
aftermarket tensioners are fine- rockauto is a good source or seller of aisen probably has all the rest of your needs
Tbelt tensioner and idler pulley, ac belt tensioner, and the dipstick oring come to mind as needed parts
Advanced
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 67
Likes: 0
Thank you for your response, I did take a look at the aisen kit, however I would prefer to get original Acura parts. Does anyone have the part numbers for the parts mentioned in my previous post???
did you look at the aisen kit mentioned a few post above? that's typical of whats being used and they are the OE supplier of the parts
Not sure whats in their kit- ck it out
aftermarket tensioners are fine- rockauto is a good source or seller of aisen probably has all the rest of your needs
Tbelt tensioner and idler pulley, ac belt tensioner, and the dipstick oring come to mind as needed parts
Not sure whats in their kit- ck it out
aftermarket tensioners are fine- rockauto is a good source or seller of aisen probably has all the rest of your needs
Tbelt tensioner and idler pulley, ac belt tensioner, and the dipstick oring come to mind as needed parts