goMO

Hi - My '02 TL-S has 240k miles on it. Timing belt was replaced at 95k miles and not since. i'm getting worried it might pop at any time.. (tranny replaced at 35k miles in 2004).
anyone know a good place in the Charlotte area? My local guy quoted me $800 for timing belt/wp/thermostat. I'm not sure if that included tensioners.
I like the guy, but his mechanics may be a bit suspect.
any other places to get a better deal? My 04 mdx will need one soon as well.
thx!

goMO

fyi, I'm looking into a few places:

YourMechanic.com - they will get back to me
AsiaWorks (aka HondaWorks)
Metro Honda

Skirmich

Well that's pretty specific so I cant answer your main question.
But I can at least ease you of your worries.. NOPE your belt wont "pop" at any time with that kind of mileage, you need to change if of course but Timing Belts are more concerned about TIME that actual MILEAGE.
If the belt is at least younger than 7yrs the belt is fine! you need to change it but it wont pop on you. If the belt is older than 7yrs then yeah you need to change it ASAP but belts don't usually pop, they like to skip teeths than to break.

wrayman

Not much reporting of the belts breaking in the TL. I was waaay overdue in mine before I finally did it. There were no obvious signs of trouble with it....but the peace of mind was worth the price.

Plus it's a good thing to have done if you want to sell, since it's a bit pricey.

The Gates kit on Amazon worked perfectly for me, and a good mechanic installed it.

Good luck...

Karanx7

iTrader: (2)

My belt at 150k looked brand new. I would replace them every 120k or so to be safe, but they're really strong belts.

prove_it

Working for an Acura dealer has given lots of time to look into common issues and recommendations. The belt won't just break, it can, but I have not seen it. I have seen high mileage belts with less than 5 yrs old that are cracking and could fail. Time and mileage is a guide and only that. Inspecting the belt is the best option. Now, if your oil pump seal or front main is leaking then the belt is in high risk of breaking. Oil saturation will kill the belt.

MarcDavidoff

^ I would agree that it is a guide. It really depends on the conditions the belt has seen. Hwy or city driving, lots of high revs, etc. I don't really agree with the comment that time is more important. Mileage can be as important as prove_it says above. A lot of heat cycles plays in. How old do you think your 'new' belt really is? I bet it imay have sat on a shelf in a warehouse for some time so you may already be installing a belt that has aged a year or two.
If a car is garaged a lot and out of the elements that factors in too.
I have replaced two on low mileage Acuras (under 50k) each that were around 14 years old and we're both like new. No cracks etc. so it really depends.

Skirmich

^ Our highest recorded timing belt ever seen clocked 400K on a 12yr TL the owner never changed the first belt the car came with..


We all presuming here.. None of us can really determine the exact life span of the timing belt But if anyone have to guess TIME is essentially less forgiving than Mileage. Our Timing Belt spins slowly and has so little resistance it isn't funny, You can be reeving at 7000K all day and the timing belt would be only doing a fraction of that RPM.

prove_it

Hmm, never thought about belt speed. I would think he belt turns at the same speed as the crank sprocket which is the engines rpm. Kinda of a thinking question though. Cam sprockets spin at 1/2 speed of rpm, but that is due to the "gear" reduction in the cam gears. So in theory wouldn't the belt be moving the same speed as the crankshaft sprocket?

prove_it

Ah, just talked to a fellow builder, he explained that the speed of the belt is the same, but the rpms are less. It depends on the engine, 4 cylinder=1/4 of engine speed, 6 cylinder= 1/6th of the engine rpm. Now that I think about it, I've replaced more 4 cylinder belts that look worn at 100k than worn 6cyl looking belts at 100k.

Skirmich

Yeah the little sprocket that comes out from the crankshaft for the Timing Belt is definitely smaller than the crank so the ratio cant be 1:1
I saw the engine running once without the timing covers (When I did my timing belt), I could clearly see the camshaft sprocket defined easily at idle, it was moving even slower than the PS/sprocket. I reeved up a little bit and the camshaft only moved a little bit faster.


So that's why we have people with 400K and 12yrs clocked on them.. They don't present much of a fight for a modern built belt.. A Racing Kevlar Belt would definitely be the ultimate overkill should last a lifetime.

prove_it

I run a OEM (gates standard) on my 400hp vr4. Only time one broke was when the head lifted and pushed oil/coolant on the belt. It failed immediately after that.

I stand further corrected on the belt speed. LOL some engineers chimed in on the other forum and I honestly can't do the math behind it. The math on my 4 cylinder comes out to about 6.75 times slower belt speed than the engine rpms. It varies based on crank pulley size, cam gear size, number of teeth, and length of belt.

I still recommend 100k mile changes, as a belt job is easy enough to do at home on a Sunday, and it's far cheaper to do a belt than the engine. Although it would be an excuse to swap in a built engine or a type-s swap.

Seabright

I would also wonder about the tensioners that are part of the timing belt kit. So more than one failure point.

Chojun

My '03 TL is on its original belt with 159K miles. I placed a piece of clean cardboard on the floor of my garage and there are no leaks (although I know it's seeping PS fluid) and the engine burns no oil.

The local Honda dealer quoted me something like $950 for belt/pump change, it's such a huge hit. I haven't done it yet, got other bills to pay right now.