'96 Accord 90K preventive maintenance

Hi,

1st time on here...

Honda recommends preventive maintenance replacement of water pump and timing
belt at 90K.
I'm at 91K now and things are running fine with my '96 Accord coupe (4cyl
Vtec auto).
Should I have it done now by Honda ($800), find a good back-alley guy, or
just wait for something to happen?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

DO NOT WAIT!
You do not want to wait for something to happen. If your belt breaks you can
cause major engine damage. That $800. figure will pale in comparison. When a
timing belt fails, there is no warning, so don't be fooled by how your car
runs.
If it were my car, I'd bring it to my dealer. I'd want to be sure that it's
done right and with the best quality parts. Avoid all "back alley" guys. But
if you do it outside of your dealer be sure of three things. First, be sure
to do it right. Change all of the following: timing belt, balance belt,
alternator belt, power steering belt, air conditioner belt, water pump,
camshaft seal, balance shaft seal (make sure you have a retainer for this
seal which was added by Honda later) and crankshaft seal and use Honda
antifreeze to prevent any damage to your cooling system from the wrong
coolant. Second, as I said before, use original Honda parts. They WILL last
longest. Third, if your dealer does it, fine. If you do it elsewhere, be
sure that person/shop is not just an experienced mechanic but is a Honda
specialist. These three steps are the key to be lucky enough to have the
opportunity to get you to be able to spend this much and more for the next
time at 180,000 miles!
Good luck,
Howard
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike" <>
Newsgroups: alt.autos.honda
Sent: Tuesday, November 30, 2004 12:05 AM
Subject: '96 Accord 90K preventive maintenance

 

Just wondering if anyone on this newsgroup has had a timing belt break on
them
and would like to share the experience with the group?
The conditions at the time, such as the age and make of vehicle,
mileage, damage that occurred, cost to repaid and end results.

 

I've seen numerous broken timing belts. Some are disastrous and some are
just a nuisance. It all depends on whether your motor is an "interference
motor" or not. That means, is their any space between the piston and any
hung open valve. If there is space then internal damage will not occur. You
would have to tow the car to repair it and replace your timing belt and any
other needed belts or items due for that type of maintenance. If there is no
room between pistons and valves or your engine is an "interference motor"
then when your motor is running (spinning) and your timing belt breaks the
piston will smash in to the open valves and bend them. Depending on how fast
your engine was turning (RPM) you may bend a majority or all your valves.
You may even damage a piston. All bent valves and damaged pistons would need
to be replaced if you wanted the engine to run again. I've seen the costs
run from about $300 for no engine damage to a couple of thousand to replace
valves and/or piston(s). Sometimes the cause is a frozen belt tensioner
which should be inspected when repairing and replaced.
Most of the time the failure has occurred after the factory specified
mileage period for replacement when owners have ignored the maintenance
schedules. But I have seen a few that have failed before the specified
interval, though that is rare. It all depends on how a vehicle is maintained
and under what conditions the vehicle is operated under. Normal or severe
conditions require different timetables of maintenance.
The most frequent end result I've seen is people will follow the recommended
service intervals after going through that experience and then not have that
problem again.
And that is usually all that is required to make a Honda last and be
dependable. Just follow the recommended service intervals from the factory.
Don't let anyone sell you a service you don't need, such as an engine flush,
transmission flush or anything beyond the factory intervals. If you follow
them you usually won't need these unnecessary services because your Honda
has been properly maintained.
Howard

 

Lost the timing belt on my 1986 Accord LXi Sedan at 60 miles per hour...
coasted to a controlled stop...no engine damage. I was lucky. Happened in
a construction zone...not pretty. Don't even risk it.

 

Howard is exactly right - don't wait for something to happen - absolutely
guaranteed you won't like what happens, and it isn't a question of "if" but
of "when."

If you are really lucky and the engine is not grievously damaged, you at
least won't get where you were going, your car will have to be towed, you
will be without it until it is completed, and you will pay at least as much
for the repair as you would have if you scheduled it. It's a losing game by
any measure.

The timing belt replacement should include replacement of the tensioner and
the water pump. They are modestly priced, and the labor to get to them is
about the same as to replace the timing belt.

The dealer is worth it for the peace of mind. If the replacement belt fails
early (it could happen, but isn't likely) and trashes the engine, the dealer
can probably be pressured to make it right. I doubt you will get that from a
small independent.

Mike

 

Why is Honda still using a timing belt, instead of a timing chain?
Why would they not switch to a chain and eliminate this high cost
maintenance item?

 

Timing chains are also high cost maintenance items. They may not break quite
as often as timing belts do, but they can jump at even lower mileage than
the replacement interval for timing belts.

The normal failure mode for a chain is wear of the link pivot areas so the
chain appears to stretch. Bicycle chains often "stretch" so much they are an
entire link longer than a new one. I had a 1984 Dodge 600 (like a LeBaron)
with a Mitsubishi power train, and I got rid of it at 90K miles because the
timing chain had developed enough slack that it was rubbing on the timing
chain cover in spite of the snubber being at the end of its travel. The
first step in changing the timing chain: remove engine. Toyota engines in
the 80s were notorious for chewing holes in the timing chain covers, and my
#2 son and I spent most of a week changing the timing chain in his '82
Corolla... about a month before it threw a rod (sob).

Mike

 

Honda has switched to chains on the newer 4 cylinder engines. They are
still using the belts on the 6s though the replacement interval has been
extended to 105,000 miles.