So the dreaded SERVICE DUE SOON B4 message has finally popped up on my 04 with about 106k on it and I've decided to go ahead and order the parts and do it myself. Figured I'd come on here and ask some opinions on anything else I should replace while I am at it.

I'll be ordering
Plugs(NGK 6944)
Drive belt(Gates or Goodyear)
Thermostat
Timing belt kit(for this I will probably order a Gates TCKWP329 as it includes the belt, hyd tensioner, water pump and both idlers)
Valve Cover gaskets(if I check the valves)

I'll also be doing an oil change, cleaning my air filter, flushing coolant, and checking my valve clearances.

Although I am seriously considering skipping the valve check.

What am I missing? What else would you do? The car has no other issues, regularly returns 30+ mpg on the hwy 25 cty and all the services have been done close to the time the MID tells me to.

 

What else would I do?

Unless I was planning to sell the car soon, I'd go with OEM parts, not aftermarket ... especially when it comes to the timing belt. Remember, you're dealing with internal integral moving engine parts, so why take a chance with cheaper components?

For best prices, try www.oemacuraparts.com and www.acuraoemparts.com

I'm certain others repliers here will agree.
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There's an OEM kit on Ebay for $374, sold by an Acura dealer. The other two places can probably match that price.

OEM timing belt and water pump kit

 

I spent a lot of years in the automotive parts business and OEM does not always mean better. Who do you think makes all of those belts, bearings, hoses and other parts for Honda. They certainly don't make them all in house.

I'll look into getting the parts from Honda, but I'll likely be buying aftermarket. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to walk into an Autozone and buy the cheapest duralast crap they sell, but I'm also not going to pay an upcharge for the same part because it's got a Honda sticker on the box.

Hell, I might even try a Saturn dealership that's going out of business, might be able to pick up a water pump/timing belt kit for a V6 Vue for cheap. Same parts.

 

Gates is usually a bit better than if not equal to anything oem, hell they manufacture probably 60 percent of the oem parts anyway

 

Nope...

Anyways, I would definitely go OEM. Here's the shopping list I would use:

- Timing Belt
- Serpentine Belt
- Auto tensioner
- Water Pump
- 2 gal Honda Type-2 blue coolant
- 50mm hex crank pulley holder

If your doing the work yourself, you don't need to replace all the idler pulleys or seals. That is something shops like to do so they don't have customers come back and pay an extra $700 in labor if something else goes wrong later on. If you start to loose a bearing or get a leaky cam seal, it's very noticable long before it actually fails. Plus you already know exactly how to get in there. It usually takes half the time to get in there the second time around.

 

Gates makes the timing belts for Acura/Honda. So if you can get a Gates timing belt at a local parts store for cheaper, then why not? It just wont say "Honda" on it.

 

I would agree with all of you who say that buying after-market is the same as buying OEM since Gates (i.e.) makes the belts for Acura. However, you should remember that when Gates does a production run for Acura, Honda is closely inspecting the finished product since Honda's name is on the line......

TL-Rocket

 

OEM with the timing belt. I've had many Acuras & Hondas in my family over the last 20+ years, 3 Kids, 6 grandkids all driving age with honda products (mostly because I do all the maintenance for them).
I've had 100% positive service changing the water pump with every other timing belt change (180-200k miles), same for outer drive belts.
I almost always use an OEM water pump also, never had to replace any of the t-belt tensioner/guide pulleys although I understand that they do fail sometimes & I check them closely. Same for hydraulic tensioner, if it shows sign of leakage, change it.

 

Be sure you are up to doing the timing belt, and be 100% honest with yourself. If it's installed wrong, your engine is going to be a giant paper weight.

 

Gates Corporation
The world's most trusted name in belts, hose and hydraulics.

Gates is the only manufacturer approved by virtually every major OEM to provide timing belts for new engines.

This means that Gates is able to cover the aftermarket with timing belts that are OE-equivalent or better in service life and performance.

Gates also has the largest selection of timing component kits for the aftermarket, with 75 percent of its kits being specified for import vehicles. Each kit for 1974 - 2004 model years contains all the parts needed for a timing belt system replacement: one or more timing belts, idlers and/or tensioners, and detailed instructions.

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache...&ct=clnk&gl=us

I would have no problem using Gates products, they are very well established in the automotive industry!
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Btw, fyi, you can get a similar 5 component kit with the OEM parts for about $10 more: The Aisin Kit is $222.89 at Rockauto.com. They also have great prices on Gates kits and others brands.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1798462

On an aside, do you really think it's neccesary to replace the hydraulic actuator, the idler, and tension idler at 105K miles? I don't believe the Stealerships do.

 

On an aside, do you really think it's neccesary to replace the hydraulic actuator at 105K miles? I don't believe the Stealerhips do. I'm not even sure if they replace the idler and tension idler bearings!

You can also get the 3 component kits (belt, idler, and tension idler bearing) for around $60 for Gates and $80 for the Contitech (OE setup) and get the water pump seperately for ~$55 (Gates)/ ~$78 for Aisin (OE).
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I'm pretty sure that you can get away with not changing a lot of stuff out it you take good care of your car. Defiantly don't skimp out of the timing belt.

 

Necessary? nah, not really but the part costs a few bucks so I might as well replace it while I am in there.

I've had all the parts sitting in a box for a month or 2 now just waiting on a good day to throw them in. I'm not sure why this thread keeps getting bumped back up.

Hopefully I'll find the time soon since the MID is now telling me that I'm 900+ miles past due on it which means I've got about 16,000 miles on the oil thats in it. Might go ahead and change the oil some night since it only takes a few minutes and put off the timing belt until I have the time.

 

It's just a timing belt on a honda engine, I think a monkey could do it if you gave him the right tools.

 

I'd go with the Aisin kit as they're the OEM supplier of our water pump to Honda/Acura. As for the hydraulic tensioner, Sal, the mechanics' chief at Acura of Manhattan said they ALWAYS replace it with the 105K tune up. He said this part wears with time/mileage just like the belt itself.

Despite Gates's reputation, we don't know if they make one grade for Honda direct, and another for the general aftermarket. As I said previously, you're dealing with internal intregal moving engine parts. So unless you're planning to get rid of the car in the not distant future, why take a chance?
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How do you know Aisin doesn't have 2 different grades? I sold thousands of gates belts(including probably hundreds to several different Acura/Honda dealerships) with out ever having one come back due to a defect, I think the Gates belt will be just fine. You make it sound like Acura hand builds all of thier engines using the most expensive parts money can buy. No, like every other car company they buy the cheapest parts they can that meet thier quality standards. Our cars have a Honda J series engine in them... it's really nothing special. Hell they share about 90% of those "internal intregal moving engine parts" with a Saturn Vue.

I don't know how much longer I will keep the car, it's still a relatively nice car and it's paid for, but if I knew I was getting rid of it soon I wouldn't be replacing anything.

 

Then you would overpay for no reason. OEM is not made by Acura or other car manufacturers and obviously people do not know this. Actually timing kit is made by different vendors to Acura and Acura only stamps it as OEM. One of vendors to Acura is AISIN for those parts. Also Gates makes one of the best timing belts and certainly superior to what Acura can afford to give you in the kit (Gates makes performance timing belts and is recommended on many cars for heavy use like on track).

I would go and get this:

http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/...ek+Google+Base

 

Exactly. Unfortunatelly people are so ignorant that they think that buying some parts (especially maintenance) at dealership they will get some magic "Acura part" while it may be just AISIN manufactured parts for Acura and stamped Acura. One can get those "non-OEM" parts somewhere else and not neccesarily paying premium.

People seem to forget that todays business model is to outsource to vendors for cost effectivness, but its not new. I can tell you some BMW and Volkswagen parts and who is vendor to those companies... but if one prefers box and tags wit "BMW" or "Volkswagen" on it and pay more thenthat's okay. They wait for people like that.

 

Great info and suggestions here but what did you guys ACTUALLY put in your cars? Gates? Conti? Aisin?
Thanks

 

I haven't actually put anything in my car yet but I have had a Gates kit sitting on the workbench in my garage for a few months now just waiting for a free afternoon to install it.

I think I just rolled over 111k so I'm not that overdue yet. The engine did get a good cleaning the other day so maybe I'll go ahead and do it soon...

 

Now that's foam action......

To save the OP a few or perhaps a lot so bucks, check out this thread:

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...iming+belt+kit

 

FYI, you're not overdue until the MID says "Maintenance overdue".

Fire suppression system malfunction?

 

I cleared it once it said maintenance overdue, that was about 4k miles ago. I changed the oil and cleaned my filter, I just keep putting off the timing belt and everything else.

Yes, it was an expensive malfunction.

 

I said seafoam it before the 105 service, not SEE foam!!!

wholesalepartsguy- acura of santa rose ca has a special now for 295$ shipped- all the parts they use on the wp timing belt job,tensioners,pullies and belts- same as they use in the shop for the job
He is good about swapping things around, dont need acc belt but want valve cover gaskets...

 

you cleaned what filter?

 

The oiled air filter on the end of my cold air intake.

 

105K is the limit on the timing belt, 60K is the limit on the replacement ones! Change it ASAP before it snaps!

 

Where is the 105K limit written? The 60K is in the manual, but I haven't seen 105K written anywhere.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/complete-timing-belt-kit-special-%24295-763445/

Also check out post #37 in that thread to get an idea of dealership service dept labor:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showpos...2&postcount=37

 

there are 2 sections in the service manual `severe` shows replace at 60
normal says 105
If you drive in really hot or cold climate or extensive stop and go commute- thats severe and early replacemernt wont hurt

there is a failure time margin built in with 7 years/105 but dont push it past there very far
IF the belt breaks, the engine will stall, and both heads will sustain damage- to valvetrain and all~

crank it over trying to start with broken belt??- guaranteed $2500 in head damage plus still needs timing belt

 

Not in the 3G service manual. Not in the 3G owner's manual. The only mileage listed for timing belt is 60K for "If you drive regularly in temperatures over 110F or under -20F". Nothing about stop and go driving either. The normal time to change the timing belt in the 3G is when the MID says to. From what I've seen regarding the 3G folks that have received the MID message (a "4", "service due"), it has been 105K +/- 5K. From Mr. Fubar's MID message history, the "service overdue message" seems to come about 3-4K after the "service due" message.

 

How difficult is it to do the timing belt/water pump/etc? I wasn't able to find a DIY... Is there one?

 

The MOST difficult part is getting the crank pulley off. If you've done this on a honda before, then it shouldn't be that hard for you. If you have NOT removed one before, then expect a very rough time. You will need at least a braker bar, a 3/8" drive ratchet, a short 3/8" drive extension and two pipe handles to extend leverage on both. You will also need the special hex shaped pulley holder that you can get on eBay or Amazon for $12...

The rest is easy following the manual. If you don't have the Helm inc shop manual, add it to your shopping list ($60-$70). If your too cheap, make a stop by the local Acura dealer. They usually let you have a read through theirs and take notes or even let you make copies of the pages. Just be sure to get all the pages as some steps simply refer you to other sections for parts removals...

You should replace coolant and drive belts as they both come out when doing this. Honda Type 2 coolant is expensive, but you may as well use it. Should cost around $30 for 2 gallons. Anything more is a rip so call different dealers if available. 3 dealers in my area all had very different pricing on this stuff...

A lot of people use this time to adjust the valve clearance as well. This is why you see some people adding valve cover and spark plug hole gaskets to the parts list. According to the manual, you only need to do this if they are noisy.

 

on my 02 accord. I needed to use a torch to take that crank pully bolt out. Human strength will not prevail on these darn bolts !

 

I've done a few now. An 89 CRX with 207k miles, a JDM B16A w/ unknown mileage and an 03 Pilot with 106k miles. They were all difficult, but they gave in the end with just muscle.

BTW: The 03 Pilot is the same parts as the TL. Here is a link to my Pilot writeup. The timing belt change is pretty much the same except you don't have to move the Power Steering pump on the TL.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=...cdf8cbbf06dc4f

 

That's why I'd bite the stealership service dept $$$ bullet and let an experienced professional do the job.

 

Yikes... Thanks for the info!! Yeah, I'm probably going to let an experienced person do it.

 

The B4 Service due message came up for me at about 106,500. I drove it until it said 0% and the Service Overdue message came on(about 107500) I cleared the message and now have about 111000...

I'll get around to changing the belt one of these weekends.

 

I bought my TL with 73k and now has 102k, I have never noticed a MID maintenance display other than oil life. What all maintenance messages are displayed? For instance, do most people get a 'B4' code at around 105k? Does this code include spark plugs and timing belt?

Sorry for hogging post but i thought it was relevant. Thanks!