TLOHTL

Hi,

So I have a 2005 Acura TL. 6spd - brembo.
I am the 2nd owner and had no service records from original owner.

I have owned the car for just over a year :

Replaced 1 coil , all plugs ..... Nothing major.

Today I'm driving with driver window down and I smell something funny like burning ?

About 5 minutes later I'm at a red light. I take off and I'm doing about 20-30km/h all of a sudden my lights on dash all light up and car starts slowing down an it shuts off. I pop the hood. Smoke is coming from the black cover ( timing belt )

What am I looking at ?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

A damaged engine.

TLOHTL

There was no loud noise or anything. Motor still cranks ....

SouthernBoy

My first thought was a seized engine caused by very low or no oil in the crankcase. Another possibility (not including a broken timing belt) could be a seized A/C compressor. If you broke your timing belt, more than likely your engine would not crank or if it did, you'd hear some crazy sounds coming from the block.

How many miles do you have on the car and how do you drive it?

ez12a

i dont think the engine seized, probably a pulley or tensioner, which burned through the timing belt if OP smelled burning before the problem happened.

This is scary. Mine's older than yours and the belt and related hardware has not yet been changed. What part of the US do you reside?

Edgar9787

I wish I knew hat the problem was. Have you gotten it fixed yet?

SouthernBoy

Yep, that's why I mentioned that the engine seizing was my first thought. Perhaps I should have worded it to convey that seizing was my first impression from his description, not that I was suggesting that was what happened.

I am not a fan of timing belts and especially Honda/Acura's inane and continuing practice of building interference engines which use timing belts. Really a dumb move.

Andy07KBP

Im with him. I have never heard of a timing belt/ timing chain fail and there not be catastrophic damage to the engine

ez12a

for the record my old 93 integra broke its belt and still works fine to this day after simply replacing the belt.

Andy07KBP

okay 1 ha... i have worked on muscle cars since i was 17 which generally use chains so maybe its different but when the valves and pistons don't match up you usually get bad results.

ez12a

B series engines seem to be fairly lucky. Quite a few have snapped theirs on G2ic.com and have been fine simply replacing the belt. You'll be hard pressed to find a completely busted B series on that forum due to broken timing belt.

Now that's not to say no damage occurred, only time will tell. But if the engine's working might as well run it into the ground. My integra had 197k and counting when my parents donated it to a friend after I picked up my TL.

2doped

Was there any symptoms leading up to this OP?

TLOHTL

Hi,

So I reside in Ontario, Canada.
The car ran MINT not a single issue.
The engine did not seize. Oil has been changed every 4,000 kms or less with full Synthetic.
Car is at shop , should be taken apart tomorrow.
The car had a burning smell in it still 2 hours after it shut off, in the cabin.

myblack04tl

Why don't you tell us the miles on the car???

Andy07KBP

good to know. Thanks for the information. I am used to working on 60s and 70s V8s. This is new to me

johnny3

OP may be getting his timing belt & surpintine belt confused.

SouthernBoy

It depends on whether or not you have an interference engine. Supercars of the 60's (those were not called muscle cars) did not have interference engines and they used timing chains. If one went out, the engine was not going to be toast. If someone built an engine with milled heads, after market high compression pistols (say around 13:1), with a high lift long duration cam, then they did run the risk of creating an interference engine if they were not careful.

jhumbo

iTrader: (1)

Actually there was a guy on hear a couple years ago whose timing belt failed and they repaired his engine. Everyone on here was telling him his engine was destroyed, etc, but the dealer repaired it. He said he couldn't tell the difference.

rkan121

if you have a chain or belt failure , you can still salvage a motor by rebuilding the heads. I did two in the last year, albeit on different cars and they still run great. 1999 sebering 100k. 2000 cavlier 120k.

SouthernBoy

I use to own a 1983 Toyota Cressida, the only automatic I ever purchased for myself, and it's timing belt broke when my youngest daughter was driving it. She was sitting at a traffic light when it happened. Since that engine was not an interference engine, there was of course, no damage done at all.

It is a simple and inexpensive matter for Honda/Acura to correct this deliberate design flaw and build their engines so as not to self destruct when a timing belt goes. One when thinks about it, one has to come to the conclusion that there is only one reason they continue with this nonsense.

TLOHTL

Hi Every1.

So I have GOOD news !

No damage what so ever !

What happened is for some reason one of the gears got stuck, with the belt moving it tried to rip the belt. The belt was shreded.
I purchased the FULL kit off a member on this site : https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/%2Abrand-new%2A-full-timing-belt-kit-%5Bfit-3g-tl-03-accord-v6s-odyssey-element-etc%5D-824806/

At the same time changed all the plugs, thermostat and fluids.

Car runs A+ !!!

103K on the car !
The original timing belt was not on the car.

ez12a

Good to hear a broken timing belt isnt a guaranteed death sentence. Grats!

TLOHTL

Yes !

Thank GOD !

I was honestly calling all the JDM engine suppliers, and ALL were out of stock on my Motor ! It usually goes for about $700 complete down where Im from & the tranny about $1,200-$1,500.

They did have (1) type-S motor for $1,500 though.....

But im VERY glad my motor is good !
It's VERY STRONG doesn't smoke, puff, burn, leak ... nothing....

Only use Shell 91, and synthetic Pennzoil or Castrol Syntec and change every 4,000 kms or less.

So I guess a timing belt getting shreded or snapping is NOT always a bad ending....

2doped

Glad to know! Congrats!