DANELSON

does anyone recommend gmb tb kit

alex2192

Wow thank you so much for this.... planing on doing timing this weekend!

ez12a

Anyone use sealant or a liquid gasket on the water pump gasket? Manual doesnt say anything about putting something like honda bond or anything so i was just wondering.

jda123

It should have an O ring, not a gasket.

ez12a

my mistake, an o ring, but i've seen some guides where there is some liquid gasket on the pump side which is spread to hold the o ring in place. Is it ok to go on dry?

Majofo

Don't try to fix what's not broken.

JBONN

Well, I successfully completed this on my 2002 MDX this weekend thanks to this awesome write up and the members here on Azine! I purchased the gates timing belt/waterpump/idler/tensioner kit from rock auto and everything matched up nicely, I also replaced the thermostat, side engine mount and drive/power steering belts (OEM).

My only comments for anyone who is looking to do this themselves is make sure you pull out the internal bearing on the tensioner idler and be careful with the water pump o-ring as mine didnt want to sit properly at first.

In case you are wondering, the crankshaft bolt came out quite easily with the 50mm hex tool secured on the ground via 1/2" drive @ 2' long breaker bar and with a 19mm impact socket on a 3/4" wratchet with a cheater bar and 20" of extension to get out past the wheel hub (I used a jack stand to hold the extension level with the bolt).

ez12a

Attempting this job this mornin.

Majofo

ez12a

Just like to update y'all on our progress. Let me tell you having a friend there to help HELPS A TON.

Half way! Idler pulley off and belt is loose. Everything marked and then some.


I'd like to add a reason why you need the battery tie down before removing the belt. The idler pulley bolt is tapered, so as you unscrew it the idler pulley will shift, reliving tension and allowing you to remove the belt. The battery pull down prevents the tensioner from taking up that slight slack introduced.

Chad05TL

great write-up, but I'm glad I paid someone 600 to do this. 2 other dealers in dallas wanted like $950

Majofo

nice

ez12a

FML, my TL has issues.










Burping issues! (she's fine)
Job complete (minus the passenger wheel and plastics). 12 hours total including about a few hours in between to wait for cooler weather and lunch. Probably could be done in 5-6 for a first timer that doesnt take breaks. A helper is totally recommended. Both of you will get dirty so a fancy girl wont be ideal.

The moment of truth (saving $700 or blowing $3500) caught on video:

In hindsight, i'm glad I did it. I could easily use that $700 elsewhere. Would I do it again? Well, that's 7 years away for my car at least (we'll be doing my friend's 07 RL in 2). There were times where it got tedious and tiring. In 7 years my body might not allow me to contort my hands to do this again.

Here is what I did a little differently:

1. Got the old belt and lined them up tooth to tooth to the new belt and used painters tape on the new one (no residue, removable) to markings I made that match up with markings on teh cams:




2. When putting the belt on, I had problems lining them up going from the CP. I started at the rear cam, moved to the front cam (matching the exact teeth) and then down to the CP. Dont tighten the idler until you put the belt on. The little slack it gives you helps a lot.

My auto tensioner for the TB was also leaking. This is at 8 years and just about 70k miles. So I would definitely recommend doing this for those who havent hit the "105k" service notification, or are well under actual ~105k driven miles. The tensioner is always working even when the engine is off, so this could factor into the 7 year recommendation. It also proceeded to get some oil on my belt.

Chad05TL

Congrats on a nice completion. your car sounds just like mine. I remember having those all day jobs. Fortunately I have not done one in a while. Trying to avoid that actually.

Majofo

Majofo

Where's my shoutout?

ez12a

my bad dude, thanks for the write up.

i noticed this already but i didnt want to triple post, so if you see your OP i already put my thanks

oh forgot to mention my old water pump was also weeping fluid from the bearing hole. So there are all sorts of reasons to do this at 7.

and also did the starter trick on the CP bolt. I used a 1/2" breaker bar plus extensions and it simply would not budge (i bent the bar 90 deg). Unplugged fuel pump ign fuse, unplugged coil packs (i also didnt remove spark, found it easy enough with them in to crank by hand) and bumped the starter. 2 bumps and it was free. This was my last resort.

Majofo

I meant in the vid.

Great feedback

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

well done

JBONN

Well crap, after I did my TB on my 2002 MDX about 2 weeks later I noticed the drive belt was squeaking when under load from the AC...no biggie I figured it was either a bad belt or bad tensioner...bought a new belt and tensioner only to find the problem still persisted (WTH?)

So tonight I had some time and I decided to look around some more and while checking the harmonic balancer with a pry bar from above I realized that it is shot! I got a friend coming over to try and temporarily weld it so it will last a couple of days for the new part to come in but I am doubtful it will work since it is made of cast iron!

Anyways just thought I would share my dilemma with you all...stupid harmonic balancer!!!

Majofo

You mean your crank pulley?

JBONN

Yes, Harmonic Balancer/Crank Pulley.

Turns out the gasket is gone that holds the drive belt on the harmonic balancer so it cant (and shouldn't ) be welded anyways, guess I will have to find a new one...see picture attached.

Majofo

nfnsquared

WTF? How the heck did that happen? I don't think I have ever heard of that happening....

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

2012 is here

ez12a

DIY DIY! If I can do it, anyone can!

Majofo

That's not what he meant..

swoosh

iTrader: (5)

tpurkey

Great write up! I will keep this handy for when I need to do mine. thanks!

94eg!

2012! Like that awful awful movie with John Cusack. :\

nfnsquared

Perfect time to consider a light weight pulley

Majofo

Can you imagine.. all HeelToe or Excelerate have to do is post that guys pic.. and they'd sell them like hot cakes.

Majofo

jbonn must have overtightened the crank pulley bolt.

nfnsquared

I have no clue how that could have happened....

Majofo

Ron A tightened it for him.

nfnsquared

Now that I believe

genokan

I just completed mine today! Took about 8 hours of labor so not too bad.

One thing I did notice, on the rear cam sprocket, I had the timing ticks lined up perfectly, then I released my auto-tensioner and it jumped off a tooth from the slack in the belt moving the cam. Might note that somewhere, we took the belt on and off 4 times before we figured out to line it up 1 tooth towards the front of the car, so that way when the tension was put on the belt it pulled the lines in line.

Car started up nice, and purrs. Do I need to do any sort of auto-learning stuff or anything?

Oh and on a side note, this was the first time it has been done, I bought the Gates Kit and Gates Tensioner, funny stuff that the stamps on the factory Acura parts were the same as the gates. So why buy dealer again?

ez12a

i know right? Other than the sole purpose of supporting vendors, there's no real reason to buy the parts from dealers (is there a kit offered from them that is under $250? let alone $170!?). The water pump is the only thing that isn't from japan/US (in my case). And the OEM pump isn't anything special.

Ah, I wanted to avoid issues with the cams moving so I marked the cams and the belt itself to make sure i got them lined up 100%. Glad you got your stuff worked out!

If people can DIY the TB job you can save hundreds. I just spent maybe $300 after buying tools and a day doing it. Nothing of worth was lost and i learned a ton.

94eg!

This typically happens when you install the belt onto the pulleys in the wrong order, OR if you don't pull the belt tight enough while feeding the belt teeth into the gear. Your slack somehow managed to ended up between the cam gears. Threading the rear pulley is always the most difficult because the stupid cam wants to jump forward at the slightest bump. At least that's what kept happening when I did my wife's Pilot.

At least you caught it and figured out how to make it right.

nfnsquared

There is a very specific procedure for threading the new belt in the SM. If you didn't follow that, then that could have led to your situation.

The Gates Kit is supposedly all OEM except for the pump. I used it and it has been fine for 20K miles now