"HondaAccordManEX" <saylo1234@yahoo.com> wrote
snip
> I love this 1991 Accord EX. It is the first car with a
> sun-roof/moon roof that I have ever owned. I love it. I bought the
> car for $900. It has 123,000 miles. For a Honda Accord, that should
> be nothing in terms of miles.

Re your car's age:
Yes, pretty much. I factor in how much the Honda has been driven under Northern
U.S./Canada driving conditions, where the weather is harsher and the buildup of
rust etc. may take a greater toll. I say this as a former Northern U.S. driver,
now living where it's much warmer and sunnier, and observing the rust on my car
vs. others' cars. As well as what others have said here at the newsgroup on the
subject.

I'd be curious about what year you bought the 1991 Accord and how many miles it
had at purchase.

(I am a 1991 Honda Civic owner. I purchased the car new. 148,000 miles. Planning
to take it over 200,000 miles, at least.)

Re the 'Shake':
I doubt the timing belt has anything to do with the shake when at a stoplight.
But I am not the expert on symptoms like this. FWIW: I'd suspect at first blush
a misfire of some kind. That is, incorrect timing or a cylinder not firing at
all. You said you had new plugs put in. How about new wires, new distributor cap
and new distributor rotor? If you're a little ambitious, you can do these
yourself. Probably make sure at least the wires are OEM (that is, Honda) parts.
I estimate a shop will charge you $150 or so for parts and labor. I'd want to
check the timing, too. (But that's unrelated to the timing belt needing
replacement in my view.) I am doubtful the cause of this 'shake' will require a
whole new engine

Do you monitor your gas mileage? Does it seem like it's been bad lately?

Re the timing belt:
As you seem to know, if your timing belt fails while driving, it may very well
do serious damage to your engine. Do you really want to risk the engine being
destroyed (or at least needing a repair over $1000) on a car that is capable of
years (and maybe 100,000 miles or more) more service?

As we seem to agree, 123,000 miles is young for a Honda Accord, assuming, as I
say above, adverse weather driving hasn't causing it to rust out everywhere. If
I owned this car, I would definitely put a new timing belt and water pump in.
While doing so, see if the shop will give an opinion on your car 'shake at
stoplights' problem.

$600 for the new timing belt and water pump replacement? That a dealer price?
Seems not unreasonable. But there can be a lot of variation. I have had mine
replaced for around $250, but this was several years ago and *not* at a dealer.
Plus, mine's a Civic, not an Accord.

I'll add that some shop that put in a new timing belt dented my oil pan. I now
understand this is a common problem with non-dealer shops that do Honda timing
belts. I'm inclined to spring for the dealer doing it next time.

Updates are welcome. :-)

Good luck.

[snip for conciseness]