Honda Car Forum

i've seen all these discussions about "should i change it at 60k? or
90k?" .. my recently acquired car is 7 years old and only has 15.2k on it..
so i REALLY need to know what the *time* limit is on a timing belt... if
any?

thanks as always.

--
-Chris
http://www.ChrisGarcia.com <- My Homepage
http://starwars.chrisgarcia.com <- Centerpoint Station
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/ginger/ <- Ginger
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/leia/ <- Leia

"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
- Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars: Episode 1

depending on what model yours is
you might have two belts, timing belt, and timing balancing belt

if you change one, you might want change the other as well - that what i did
(the belts themselves are very cheap, its just the hassle of getting to
them - hence the labour charge)



"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message
news:bzHRa.52843$Lc2.8784@fe09.atl2.webusenet.com. ..
> In article <Xns93BBBDA4C4196NcOhSrPiAsMchrisgarc@68.12.19.6 >,
> Chris Garcia <NcOhSrPiAsM@chrisgarcia.com> wrote:
>
> > i've seen all these discussions about "should i change it at 60k? or
> > 90k?" .. my recently acquired car is 7 years old and only has 15.2k on
it..
> > so i REALLY need to know what the *time* limit is on a timing belt... if
> > any?
>
> It's rubber, and like all things rubber, it rots. 7 years is too long;
> the spec is 6 years. Change it.
>

Don't forget to renew the water pump when you renew the timing belt. It will
save you time and money.

"Fluffy" <no-spamming-bsavanh@mchsi.com> ¼¶¼g©ó¶l¥ó·s»D
:I6RRa.88334$N7.11745@sccrnsc03...
> Rubber do get brittle over time after being exposed to elements,
especially
> sunlight, that's why tires dry rot over time but a timing belt internally
> shielded don't get exposed to as much elements but it stills will age as
> with anything else. The time and mileage factor on my 91 Civic Si in the
> Honda Owner's Manual states that timing belt replacement "72 Months or
> 90,000 miles, whichever comes first". Should you worry that it's going to
> break on you? If it was my car, I personally wouldn't worry about it too
> much but I would consider replacing it the next time I get some work done
on
> my car... i.e. brake pads replacement... or something like that.
>
> My rubber
> "Elmo P. Shagnasty" <elmop@nastydesigns.com> wrote in message
> news:bzHRa.52843$Lc2.8784@fe09.atl2.webusenet.com. ..
> > In article <Xns93BBBDA4C4196NcOhSrPiAsMchrisgarc@68.12.19.6 >,
> > Chris Garcia <NcOhSrPiAsM@chrisgarcia.com> wrote:
> >
> > > i've seen all these discussions about "should i change it at 60k? or
> > > 90k?" .. my recently acquired car is 7 years old and only has 15.2k on
> it..
> > > so i REALLY need to know what the *time* limit is on a timing belt...
if
> > > any?
> >
> > It's rubber, and like all things rubber, it rots. 7 years is too long;
> > the spec is 6 years. Change it.
> >
>
>

"Sahar Choudhury" <ivo908098@hotmertewail.com> decided to join the
conversation on 18 Jul 2003 with message
news:1058520133.73429.0@despina.uk.clara.net:

> depending on what model yours is
> you might have two belts, timing belt, and timing balancing belt
>
> if you change one, you might want change the other as well - that what
> i did (the belts themselves are very cheap, its just the hassle of
> getting to them - hence the labour charge)
>
>
>

96 civic ex.. the shop i take it to has it right now, said it'd be about
$250 for the labor i think.. and that's to replace all 4 belts, and
something dealing with the cam and crank shafts (i'm not sure if it was
the gears or the gaskets.. or both) since they said it wouldn't cost
extra labor to do that.

It looks like a fun job.. i think the a/c and cruise have to be moved or
taken out, a MOTOR MOUNT has to be taken out (that's just CRAZY) .. Makes
me glad i'm a computer tech and not a mechanic.

--
-Chris
http://www.ChrisGarcia.com <- My Homepage
http://starwars.chrisgarcia.com <- Centerpoint Station
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/ginger/ <- Ginger
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/leia/ <- Leia

"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
- Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars: Episode 1

"Fluffy" <no-spamming-bsavanh@mchsi.com> decided to join the
conversation on 18 Jul 2003 with message
news:I6RRa.88334$N7.11745@sccrnsc03:

> Rubber do get brittle over time after being exposed to elements,
> especially sunlight, that's why tires dry rot over time but a timing
> belt internally shielded don't get exposed to as much elements but it
> stills will age as with anything else. The time and mileage factor
> on my 91 Civic Si in the Honda Owner's Manual states that timing belt
> replacement "72 Months or 90,000 miles, whichever comes first".
> Should you worry that it's going to break on you? If it was my car, I
> personally wouldn't worry about it too much but I would consider
> replacing it the next time I get some work done on my car... i.e.
> brake pads replacement... or something like that.
>

well, 72 months = 6 years.. so i'm a year and a half overdue.. the
timing belt is very important to me, as I would rather just pay the $250-
300 now instead of risking it. Another reason I wouldn't go over the time
limit.. I live in Louisiana where it's constantly hot and humid.. I'm
pretty sure high heat and humidity will accelerate the wear on them.

--
-Chris
http://www.ChrisGarcia.com <- My Homepage
http://starwars.chrisgarcia.com <- Centerpoint Station
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/ginger/ <- Ginger
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/leia/ <- Leia

"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent."
- Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars: Episode 1

"Chris Garcia" wrote
> 96 civic ex.. the shop i take it to has it right now, said it'd be about
> $250 for the labor i think.. and that's to replace all 4 belts, and
> something dealing with the cam and crank shafts (i'm not sure if it was
> the gears or the gaskets.. or both) since they said it wouldn't cost
> extra labor to do that.
>
> It looks like a fun job.. i think the a/c and cruise have to be moved or
> taken out, a MOTOR MOUNT has to be taken out (that's just CRAZY) .. Makes
> me glad i'm a computer tech and not a mechanic.
>

Bah! Motor mount is no big deal.
I used to own two Dodge Spirit R/T's. Limited production (1208) so most
mechanics had never wrenched on one. Ended up doing most of the work myself
because (a) I'm a fast learner and (b) I was broke!
Those things used to chew through timing belts like nobody's business.
You'd be lucky to get 10,000 miles out of one. (Fortunately the engines are
non-interference so if you lost one before you hit the traps you wouldn't
lose your whole valvetrain!)
Long story short you definitely have to remove a motor mount, among other
things, to replace the timing belt. Just get yourself a good sturdy jack to
hold the engine up while the mount is off.
I got to the point in the golden era where I could swap one out in an hour
and a half tops for about 150 bucks. Typical dealer charge for the same job
was $750-$1000!

It sure pays to be your own mechanic, but yeah I'm glad to be a computer
tech too!

-Dave

In article <Xns93BBBDA4C4196NcOhSrPiAsMchrisgarc@68.12.19.6 >, Chris
Garcia <NcOhSrPiAsM@chrisgarcia.com> wrote:

> i've seen all these discussions about "should i change it at 60k? or
> 90k?" .. my recently acquired car is 7 years old and only has 15.2k on it..
> so i REALLY need to know what the *time* limit is on a timing belt... if
> any?

I'm similarly puzzled. I have a '95 Integra with 81k miles on it. So
I'm reasonably comfortably under the 90k nominal limit, but it's also
97 months old. Too independent Honda specialist mechanics have both
told me to just wait till 90k (maybe 5 months from now). Any thoughts
on how risky this might be?

>I'm similarly puzzled. I have a '95 Integra with 81k miles on it. So
>I'm reasonably comfortably under the 90k nominal limit, but it's also
>97 months old. Too independent Honda specialist mechanics have both
>told me to just wait till 90k (maybe 5 months from now). Any thoughts
>on how risky this might be?
>

DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It'll be the cheapest ($150) maintenance
you'll ever need to do.



U.S.A. "Go West Young Men..."

Mexico "El Norte Hombre..."

drpimpdadi@cs.comBush4Oil (DrPimpDadi) decided to join the conversation
on 14 Aug 2003 with message
news:20030814120136.03154.00000603@mb-m12.news.cs.com:

>>I'm similarly puzzled. I have a '95 Integra with 81k miles on it. So
>>I'm reasonably comfortably under the 90k nominal limit, but it's also
>>97 months old. Too independent Honda specialist mechanics have both
>>told me to just wait till 90k (maybe 5 months from now). Any thoughts
>>on how risky this might be?
>>
>
> DO IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It'll be the cheapest ($150)
> maintenance you'll ever need to do.

i agree.. when i did mine, they told me the belt was a little dry-rotted,
and was a good idea to be changed.. (this was after 7 1/2 years and 15k
miles)

better to be safe than paying a crapload of money.

--
-Chris

http://www.ChrisGarcia.com <- My Homepage
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/cars/ <- *NEW* My cars
http://www.chrisgarcia.com/dogs/ <- *Sort-of NEW* My dogs
http://starwars.chrisgarcia.com/ <- Centerpoint Station, the "ghost-
town" of the Star Wars Universe!

On Thu, 14 Aug 2003 14:47:26 GMT, Larry Gorbet
<lpgorbet@earthlink.net> wrote:

>In article <Xns93BBBDA4C4196NcOhSrPiAsMchrisgarc@68.12.19.6 >, Chris
>Garcia <NcOhSrPiAsM@chrisgarcia.com> wrote:
>
>> i've seen all these discussions about "should i change it at 60k? or
>> 90k?" .. my recently acquired car is 7 years old and only has 15.2k on it..
>> so i REALLY need to know what the *time* limit is on a timing belt... if
>> any?
>
>I'm similarly puzzled. I have a '95 Integra with 81k miles on it. So
>I'm reasonably comfortably under the 90k nominal limit, but it's also
>97 months old. Too independent Honda specialist mechanics have both
>told me to just wait till 90k (maybe 5 months from now). Any thoughts
>on how risky this might be?

The manual specifies every 90,000 miles OR every 72 months (6 years)

Change it quick!