DAiNiUS

My car is approaching the mileage which requires the timing belt to be changed, however I'm not sure if it was changed already. The thing is, in the manual it says that it has to be changed every 105k miles or 8 years. The woman who owned the car before me, might have changed it when the car turned eight, but I have no idea how to find that out.

I contacted the dealer to which the car was delivered in 98(it's the same dealer that I bought my car at), they told me that the previous owner stopped taking the car to their dealer in 2002, therefore they have no idea of what has been done to it. I also called the Acura customer service, and they said that they don't have any way to retrieve any service records or help me in any other way.

So does anyone have any ideas of how I could find out if the timing belt has been changed two years ago, before I go out and spend a bunch of coin to replace it?

TexasHonda

Short answer is no. Impossible to determine whether belt was replaced or not w/o records. Liklihood is that belt was not replaced, as this is one of reasons people use to convince themselves they should trade cars. If you can't verify it has been done, you should perform the maintenance.

Severe damage can result from a broken belt; bent valves and worst case piston damage requiring engine replacement.

good luck

01tl4tl

very few owners think to do a $1000 job based on age, when they can easily convince themselves that its all about the miles~

gee my 99 only has 56k miles- so I can drive another 10 years at this rate!!

Look at the bolts on the engine covers on the front- look like a wrench ever left a mark on them? Probably not!!!
You do the timing belt- water pump- replace tensioners and anything else in there, and adjust the valves and replace the spark plugs if not already done.
Its the first real service the car gets, and its a big one, something a seller would tell you about since it was a big expense

Nedd

can you replace the water pump without replacing the timing belt?

DAiNiUS

You can, but as far as I know you still have to lift the engine out(or something along those lines) so people do both at the same time.

01tl4tl

The water pump is located BEHIND the timing belt and you have to remove the belt to get at the pump. By releasing tension on the belt there is a possibilty of it suffering some weird stressors. And the belt itself is only about 45 bucks iirc- dont know gen1 prices or procedures, so info based on gen2 car. You dont remove the engine itself- just all the stuff on the front end of it!

If someone replaced the timing belt before, and didnt replace the water pump- they are idiots. Only the dealer would do that to you- for example there is a recall on pulley alignment (03?) that wears out the timing belt, so they replace the pulley and belt for free,
and give you the car back. Thats happened to a ziner recently~
A good service writer checks the mileage - puts 2 and 2 together and says:
We can add the water pump replace for an extra 150$, would you like to do that now, or pay us 6 hours labor at $125 per hour, to do all the same work we are doing now for free??? to do the water pump at a later date!!!

Nedd

I was asking because when i bought my car it had 103k on it and the lady i bought the car from indicated she just had the water pump replaced. i wanted to know if there is a possibility the water pump could be be changed without replacing the timing belt

01tl4tl

no sane mechanic would have done the pump and not the belt,
and a customer would commonly refer to this as the water pump job, especially if done at 103

01tl4tl

any stickers on the window or door wih name of shop that did oil change?
may be the place that did everything for the car

DAiNiUS

In my case the car was bought at an Acura dealership so if there ever were any stickers they removed them.

Is it possible to approximate the age of the belt just by taking a look at it?

VQPower37

^no

TexasHonda

I went through this issue when I bought my TL, where I was told the timing belt had been replaced. They did deliver all receipts and there was no timing belt job noted. I inquired w/ shops they used, and called the party. They were evasive and unhelpful, so I did the job myself. A good lesson there. If something materially affects the value of a car, ask for proof.

I examined the removed belt, which looked guite good and could identify no manufacturing sequence numbers or bar codes that would indicate date of manufacture.

Actually, although the belt can fail so can the tensioner or water pump which can have the same result as belt failure (shear off several lugs and timing slips).

If you come up w/ some way, it would be useful as this is a constant problem on all cars w/ timing belts.

good luck

Go90go

Someone should just start writing the date on the damn belts. Granted they could future-date it or put mileage that the car hasn't seen yet, but I think it'd help clear things up a bit.

~Cheers~

AJ3

I tried contacting my dealership about my timing belt as well.. except those clowns gave me the run around and the cold shoulder and THEN told me they cant find records.. anyway.. I'm at 156K miles... can i safely assume that mine has been changed?

TexasHonda

You might assume the belt has been replaced, but not safely.

One of the prime reasons people trade in high mileage cars is to avoid expensive maintenance items. You're betting perhaps $400-600 timing belt replacement avoided cost vs. $1000-2000 engine repair cost, if the timing belt breaks.

good luck

gokartmozart

What is the OFFICIAL mileage that we are supposed to change the timing belt???

TexasHonda

It's either 90K miles or 105K miles depending on model. Consult owner's manual maintenance schedule.

good luck

hinode

What's the normal damage we're looking at here for the cost of replacing the timing belt through a dealer?

I always get these "so and so % off on timing belt replacement" from the Acura dealer...and my car is closing in on 89,000 miles, so it is something that I have most definitely been thinking about changing as well.

01tl4tl

expect to do the 105k service with the belt and pump- plus some other things really should be replaced to keep the TL trouble free another 100k++++
There are TLs here that had 150k + on the t-belt and pump and were fine, its about age and driving, and the decreased ozone layer and rubber deterioration
To assume someone else spent a grand and sold the car is foolish at best-
dig into the car and check the spark plugs- they are due at 105
look for wrench marks on the bolts for the front timing belt covers too

I have seen similar belts break at 175k miles with the owner unaware of the need to even change it!! back at 100
If it breaks its 2500$$$$$-
to replace its a good 800-1200 with the other things
You can do a lot of it, like cabin filter an engine air filter, at home- save big there
Let them do the rest and adjust the valves
You should be doing seafoam and getting the car ready for service now
My 01 has mid 80s now, but nearing 7 years- do I risk it or be safe, and drive it anywhere anytime- knowing everything--- is fine~

01tl4tl

ask the dealer what they charge and what exactly that includes
Ask a few private honda- acura shops the same thing- they should know what extras `not in the book` are a good idea to take care of now,,,
places that actually work on our cars everyday, not just some guy who works on fiats and will do it....

boomer70

Hello. Many are asking if there is any possible ways to know if a timing belt has been replaced when you have no records of the car you are owning. Well the answer is: YES.


Trick number one is that when an engine is assembled at the factory, they align the timing belts with the actual marks on the bloc and pulleys. When a timing belt is changed, all mechanics will use white paint marks the get their alignment on the marks, etc.. So those with paint marks are a very good clue.


Number two is that many acura or hondas come out of the factory with only mitsubishi brand belts, so if your belt is any other brand or even a Honda OEM brand, (well its not the original belt). Also on all belts there is a code bar that you can know the date, year and product line fabrication of the belt.


Number three is to see if your water pump is an Aisin its factory, (unless they replaced with the kit Aisin TKH-002 etc..). Most do change to water pumps and they will be other name brands, and agian there is a date on them.


Most important is to find those white marks... and than the brand of the timing belt. Frome there, get the code bar and check with the company to get the year and sometimes even the month of that belt. Hope this will help many.

spinsan

Thanks a lot! recently bought 2014 Acura MDX at 123K even though the owners I bought from said, she has maintained everything through dealer but she has no receipts/service history with her as it was a corporate lease for her. So your pointer of checking the paint mark and timing belt brand will definitely help.

I'll update my findings to help others in the same boat!