First of all I bought this Aisin TKH002 timing belt kit from a reputable source, a well-known online retailer starting with "R". I kept the factory parts replaced out of another vehicle several years ago so I compared them side by side.

1. The Koyo bearings looked "Made in Japan" quality, smooth and polished.
2. The belt had "Mitsuboshi" and "Made in Thailand" printed on it, it looked okay but definitely not refined or polished. The stitch that sewed the ends together was frayed at the end instead of a clean cut.
3. The workmanship on the hydraulic tensioner looked rough and had an incomplete "AISIN" paint mark. It did not look like coming out of a Japanese factory.
4. The water pump looked most suspicious. Despite the shapes and features of the aluminum cast looked the same, the new pump had quite a few rough spots, the "AISIN/JAPAN" plate looked shabby with rough edges. The impeller had different shape and size.

Other than the Koyo bearings, I didn't see typical Japanese fit and finish on any of the other parts. What do you think? Could this be a counterfeit Aisin kit or just an Aisin kit of "aftermarket" (inferior) quality?

Top: factory Bottom: new


Left: Factory Right: new


Top: Factory Bottom: new

 

Here are pictures of my CL-S6 Aisin TKH-001 kit I purchased BEFORE the supply chains were ravaged by COVID in Dec 2019.
I am entirely confident it is the REAL DEAL:

Same rough casting & 'white' rubber stamping on the TB tensioner.

Same AISIN water pump logo



Aisin packaging

Autodata instruction for models compatible to take the THK-oo1 kit

The TB is not pictured; however, it is a Mitsuboshi CD286; made in Thailand.
If you can reconcile any of the above with what you received from RA, then, IMHO, it is reasonable to assume you
have a genuine AISIN kit;

 

Looks genuine; the big issue is the fake parts stamped with the honda logo. I'd ask RA to exchange the belt with the frayed stitch, better to be safe than sorry!

 

Where did you buy this kit? There's tons of counterfeit stuff on eBay, many with fake Honda brand packaging.
.

 

Why wouldn't you just name @RockAuto .. they're a site sponsor..

 

I don't believe counterfeits are entering the supply chain at a high enough level to affect RockAuto, etc. It's an Amazon/eBay problem in that they're both online flea markets.

 

I'm pretty confident with the same set I got from RA, I don't recall being worried about the belt but don't recall it looking as you described either...so if anything for your piece of mind maybe they will replace it. I was mainly concerned with the water pump with so many fakes out there. I stayed away from ebay and Amazon, went RA.and got what I wanted.

 

I got the same TKH-001 from RA, for my own piece of mind I ended up purchasing a Gates belt separately and using that instead of the one that came with the AISIN kit, im already 3500 miles into the kit and so far so good no issues

 

Thank you for sharing, @JRey

Was your Gates timing belt made in Japan? How did it compare with the Honda OEM belt if you had a chance to compare?

 

Unless something changed recently, Gates comes from China.