I just wanted to see how many people have actually done the timing belt replacement on their own?

I did this procedure on my own about 3 weeks ago, and I have to say it was fairly simple.

I was not able to find a DIY or Video specifically replated to the 3.7L TL, but I used the video below as a reference.


The procedure is almost 97% the same.

The most difficult part of the entire job, is removing the crank pulley. I sprayed the bolt with PB Blaster and let it sit over night. I then used a good heavy duty 30" breaker bar. It was still difficult to break loose, but I got it.

I didn't take any pictures, but I wanted to write up a bit of my feedback for anyone thinking of doing this.

1) Spray the crank bolt with PB Blaster over night
2) Get a good 30" breaker bar
3) Mark the old belt like the above video link shows. You don't have to, but it's another checking point that will give you a bit of assurance everything is back together properly.
4) Everything is easily accessible, minus 3 or 4 small bolts on the plastic covers that cover the timing belt.
5) Check your marks multiple times

I would say this job on a scale of 1-10, is about a 7.
I struggled more replacing the spark plugs on my dads 2005 Lexus Rx330

If anyone has more questions you can shoot me a PM or reply to this thread.

 

Excellent video.

One thing I would have done in addition to all that is before putting the covers back on, put the pulley bolt on and turn the engine manually clockwise once or twice to see if the marks return to top dead center. Just an extra step I guess to make sure the belt and tensioner aren't playing any games with you Often those little quality assurance steps compensate for fatigue that makes everyone make mistakes.

Also, lucky you, the rear cam didn't fall waaay out of place when you removed the belt. Some J engines have this habit (J30A4 specifically), so you have to remove the intake and valve cover, loosen up the cam pulley and move it back to top dead center. Lots of work - lol.

 

I have done 3 Honda/Acura J series V6 TB replacements. They are all basically the same. I have the tool to hold the crank pulley when removing/torquing the bolt. My 99 TL had a different TB tensioner but that is minor. The cam and crank pulleys have marks to realign before belt installation. At my age it's an all weekend job. I also change the water pump, thermostat, and spark plugs.

 

Similar story... ive multiple honda series engines including the b the h the j and so on.

 

I completed my '09 TL awd a few months ago. It's not hard, but there are a lot of things to take off to get to the actual belt. I replaced the timing belt, idler pulley, tensioner pulley, hydraulic tensioner, water pump, serpentine belt, t-stat, and front crankshaft seall this was a PITA). Also installed a UR stock size lightweight crank pulley while I was at it.

I would recommend replacing at a minimum the first 5 parts on my list if you're doing a T-Belt job. It's not that much more for the parts. My hydraulic tensioner was failing and lucky enough I caught it in time before any damage was done. i.e. before timing jumped.. BTW, my belt looked great at 70k, but I replaced it anyway to save me the hassle later of disassembling it again just to replace the belt.

Becareful if you're thinking of replacing the front crankshaft seal If you don't have decent tools to get it off & pressed evenly back on and it's not leaking, you may not want to mess with it. It's a tight space and it was hard for me to get my seal press kit mounted properly. Almost thought I couldn't get it in. I couldn't do the camshaft seals due to the camshaft gear's area limited work space. You may be able to get the old seals off, but the problem now is you have to get the new ones on properly with tools that not may not fit in that tight area.

As the OP stated, if anyone needs help or advice, feel free to contact either one of us. I wouldn't mind helping anyone out.

 

There are obviously some experienced wrench turners on this post.
I did not want to take on the timing belt replacement on our 2006 toyota due to it being an "interference engine". Put it on wrong and you could drive a valve into a piston head.
Is the TL 3.5 engine an interference Engine? I read in this post that it may be prudent to manually turn the crank over to verify everything lines up vs putting it together and firing it up.
Bottom line question, if you screw this up, do you buy an engine or just redo the work?

 

Yes ours are interference engines. If you install the t-belt and the timing is off, you could essential bend your valves requiring a teardown. The purpose of manually turning the crankshaft is so you can verify that all 3 etches (2 camshafts and crankshaft) are aligned with each other at TDC. These marks are seen on each of the pulleys itself and must align with the etches on the engine TDC.

Put it this way, if you're replacing the belt, just make sure both the camshafts pulley timing marks are at TDC (top dead center) and remain TDC until you get the new belt back on. Same goes for the crankshaft, make sure that remains at TDC. All three of these pulleys have etches on them that will need to align with TDC etches on the engine. If you keep all these three shafts at TDC and get the belt back on aligned properly, then you should be good to go.

If the camshaft so happens to move/rotate a quarter of a rotation, simply reverse/back it up a quarter of a round back to TDC. To clarify, *If the camshaft moves from TDC (while belt is off), DO NOT rotate the camshaft a full cycle to get it back to TDC, instead - reverse it back the way it moved for that fraction of a turn to get it back at TDC. Save the hassle and don't touch it/bump into it when you take off the timing belt.

On another note, when I did the t-belt/water pump job, I followed the service manual's required torque specs for all bolts.

 

thanks ncx for the info. I will be saving your previous post on all the stuff you replaced. But, at this point, I don't want to take the chance of ruining what I consider is a very good engine. I will let the acura dealer do the timing belt and water pump. I will replace the other stuff you mentioned except the oil seal (unless it's leaking). I'm a new acura owner and appreciate you and this forum helping learn about my car.

 

Not to familiar with Honda/Acura engines. Is the 3rd gen TL 3.5L timing belt job the same as the 4th gen?

 

They should be the same.
There are a lot of video on Youtube and you can rent the tool to remove the crank shaft bolt.
It is time consuming to do it but not that hard.