mando90

i have a 2003 acura TL and it has been making a kind of light grinding sound coming from my timing belt cover i think its my timing belt but a repair shop wants to charge me 900 to put a new timing belt kit and water pump does that sound about right or are they over charging me?

ANC297

iTrader: (2)

Over charge. Go to a private shop that specializes in Honda/Acura

mando90

thanks for the help il start looking now its hard to find someone in south dakota that specializes in Hondas or Acuras

01tl4tl

get out the phone book and internet- you will find some near you
kids that are into the honda racers are a good resource

shops get 800-1200-1500 for the 105
depending on how good a job they do and replace the needed parts
its an all day job and parts can run min 200-300-400 once you buy hoses and thermostat etc

the noise- its worth cking the ac tensioner pulley at top of engine
those go out all the time and make a really bad noise as they do

Chances are a timing belt or pulley thats making a bad noise,, would have already broken and destroyed the engine

mando90

i was looking when the guy was looking at my car i went to a auto hobby shop and was watching what they were doing (trying to learn) and i noticed that the timing belt cover has kind of a split and he had stethoscope and was listening for the noise it was coming from the bottom half of the cover where it kind of splits i put the stethoscope on too and and herd it you cant really hear it but once you go over 2000rpm its definitely noticeable even from inside the car

01tl4tl

sounds like a major belt tensioner or idler puller is about to take a dive and leave you holding the bag
there are pics on here of tensioner or idler with the grease leaked out of it- about to fail at any moment
Was there any odd grease on the cover or under it?

the stethascope doesnt lie! everyone should have one- 5 bucks at harbor freight tools
they also ckd the ac pulley and alt and ps- all for noise to be sure?
if so and noise is def down low inside= time for the timing belt service now!

you can do spark plugs and oil change yourself to save money
the wp part of service includes new coolant- so thats taken care of for 5 years

this is the only big service the car gets,,and a valve adjust, every 100kmiles- thats not bad
Cars used in `severe service`- harsh stop and go commutes, live in the mountains, hot/cold areas-
the miles are reduced to 60k for replacement on those same parts that acura hopes last till 105 for most of us
true that many go beyond the years and miles with no prob- but current noises demand attention

dont cheap out- get new idler pullies and tensioners,
makes the car worth more when you sell it to show the service was really done well- wont die in 10k on them
thats my opinion

01tl4tl

in the diy or gen3s diy - there are great pics of all the parts involved as installed on the engine-- with covers removed
so you can see where you were listening and get the relationship

mando90

thanks for the help i didn't know i needed to do a valve adjustment i just broke 100k and knew that the timing belt was coming but not this moment the car is a California car but im stationed in South Dakota and it get below 0 in the winter with stong winds so now it makes more seance why it went out a lil earlier then usual thanks once again for your help