I did replace a timing belt and water pump on my Honda 1997 Accord 96K mi. And everything looked good for a short time, however when my wife started driving it today in the morning - the radiator cup (or whatever is made of plastic and sits on the top of the radiator) exploded. So, now I will have to replace my radiator! Question - my mechanic swears that this is a coincident, I have no skill to agree or disagree with his statement. Can somebody suggest if this might a coincident, or a mechanic's low skill level an he is just fooling me? Thanks in advance YuriW
How did it drive after the timing belt change? Rough/smooth? Power still the same? Was the temperature gauge still registering at the same place after the engine warmed up? Its possible the engine was running hot because he had the timing belt off by a tooth or more, but there would have been other drivability symptoms. Its also possible that the new water pump is defective and not pumping as it should, but you should have seen some action in the temperature gauge if that is the case. If there were no other drivability or temperature symptoms before the tank blew, it probably was just a coincidence.
=================== Does the car still start / run, momentarily? A rad / fan malfunction should have shown up before getting this extreme. Did the mechanic tell you to keep an eye on the coolant in the reservoir since the job was done? 'Curly'
