Civic Timing belt change, cost estimates?????????

[0roo0roo]

any idea how much it should cost? i've been told around 300? the water pump or whatever should be changed along with the belt???

btw, how easy is it to change anyways? its outa my hands now, but maybe for next time.......


*edit, its not the timing belt, engine is hosed after on 70k miles. wtf wtf wtf!

 

[HokieESM]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
any idea how much it should cost? i've been told around 300? the water pump or whatever should be changed along with the belt???

btw, how easy is it to change anyways? its outa my hands now, but maybe for next time.......

$300 is a good bet. The "water pump" should also be changed... although i use that term loosely since its really just the drive pulley for the water pump (the guts of which are actually located in the block). Changing the serpentine belt while you're in there is a good move as well.

How easy is it to change? That's relative. Its relatively easy--requiring no special tools--but the reason that its $300 is that its typically billed as a 3 hour job for a mechanic. If you do it at home, it will probably take you 2.5... plus getting ready.... plus cleaning up. So it comes down to: what's worth more, your money, or your sunny Saturday afternoon? I've changed the one on my Civic... but I told my sister to take hers some place to get it changed. As with all car repairs, take it to a good dealer or a reputable third-party mechanic--a shady place might have a better price--but with a Honda interference-engine, you don't want to snap your timing belt.

Good luck.

 

[BeeVo]

Originally posted by: HokieESM

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
any idea how much it should cost? i've been told around 300? the water pump or whatever should be changed along with the belt???

btw, how easy is it to change anyways? its outa my hands now, but maybe for next time.......

$300 is a good bet. The "water pump" should also be changed... although i use that term loosely since its really just the drive pulley for the water pump (the guts of which are actually located in the block). Changing the serpentine belt while you're in there is a good move as well.

How easy is it to change? That's relative. Its relatively easy--requiring no special tools--but the reason that its $300 is that its typically billed as a 3 hour job for a mechanic. If you do it at home, it will probably take you 2.5... plus getting ready.... plus cleaning up. So it comes down to: what's worth more, your money, or your sunny Saturday afternoon? I've changed the one on my Civic... but I told my sister to take hers some place to get it changed. As with all car repairs, take it to a good dealer or a reputable third-party mechanic--a shady place might have a better price--but with a Honda interference-engine, you don't want to snap your timing belt.

Good luck.

My mechanic did it for $250 on my 1995 Civix CX.

 

[0roo0roo]

thanks

yea, car just stopped working this morning. luckily it snapped or whatever just starting up. hope thats the extent of the damage

 

Honda engines are interference engines, meaning that if the timing belt breaks, the pistons hit the valves.

You may have lucked out though, in my 25 years as a tech, I have seen a few that broke at idle but did no piston/valve damage.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Roger
Honda engines are interference engines, meaning that if the timing belt breaks, the pistons hit the valves.

You may have lucked out though, in my 25 years as a tech, I have seen a few that broke at idle but did no piston/valve damage.

Is there a way you can tell if an engine is an interference engine or not?... our old plymouth had a timing belt failure a few years ago but there was no head damage.

 

Every Japanese vehicle are interference designs, almost every American vehicle is non interference.

 

[crab]

Are the Ford mod engines?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Roger
Every Japanese vehicle are interference designs, almost every American vehicle is non interference.

Actually, the early Acura V6 engines were non-interferance. I'm pretty sure that all the 4-cylinder Honda engines were interferance though.

And the easiest way to tell is to have the belt break and then crank the engine over. If you hear something that sounds kind of like cornflakes getting crushed, the engine is interferance. And you've just trashed your valves.

ZV

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Roger
Every Japanese vehicle are interference designs, almost every American vehicle is non interference.

Ahhh... cool...

Is there a performance gain by having a small valve to piston clearance?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: crab
Are the Ford mod engines?

Doesn't really matter since they use a timing chain, but yes.

ZV

 

[Spikesoldier]

many mazda engines are non interference.

FP-DE 1.8L DOHC
FS-DE 2.0L DOHC
1.6L DOHC motor

just to name a few.

 

Is there a performance gain by having a small valve to piston clearance?

Combustion chamber efficiency.

 

[HokieESM]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Roger
Every Japanese vehicle are interference designs, almost every American vehicle is non interference.

Actually, the early Acura V6 engines were non-interferance. I'm pretty sure that all the 4-cylinder Honda engines were interferance though.

And the easiest way to tell is to have the belt break and then crank the engine over. If you hear something that sounds kind of like cornflakes getting crushed, the engine is interferance. And you've just trashed your valves.

ZV

Yeah, that's definitely the "easy" way. I know that all the D and B series Honda 4 cylinders are interference designs (which is pretty much everything prior to 2001). I'm sure the S2000 engine (F20) and probably the new Accord/Civic engines are as well. Interference definitely isn't a BAD thing... sometimes its necessary for high-compression engines--high lift valves, big pistons. You just have to make sure you do regular maintenance. Honda suggests 90K miles for the D16 (the Civic engine from 91 to 01)... I change mine at 75K like clockwork.

 

[sharkeeper]

Is there a way you can tell if an engine is an interference engine or not?... our old plymouth had a timing belt failure a few years ago but there was no head damage.

ANY engine without resistor plugs and suppressor wires is an interference engine!

Cheers!

 

[slycat]

if the timing belt snaps and u can't drive...how do u get it to the mechanic?

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: boyRacer

Originally posted by: Roger
Every Japanese vehicle are interference designs, almost every American vehicle is non interference.

Ahhh... cool...

Is there a performance gain by having a small valve to piston clearance?

Yes, to a degree. It allows the valves to open a little farther with higher compression ratios so the engine breathes better.

ZV

 

[boyRacer]

Coool... learn something new everyday eh?...

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: slycat
if the timing belt snaps and u can't drive...how do u get it to the mechanic?

They make these things.....tow trucks.....you might have heard of them?

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: slycat
if the timing belt snaps and u can't drive...how do u get it to the mechanic?

They make these things.....tow trucks.....you might have heard of them?

that sux...u gotta pay for towing on top of fixing that belt ...i call CRAP!

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: slycat
if the timing belt snaps and u can't drive...how do u get it to the mechanic?

They make these things.....tow trucks.....you might have heard of them?

that sux...u gotta pay for towing on top of fixing that belt ...i call CRAP!

Well, if the maintenance had been done properly in the first place...

ZV

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: slycat
if the timing belt snaps and u can't drive...how do u get it to the mechanic?

They make these things.....tow trucks.....you might have heard of them?

that sux...u gotta pay for towing on top of fixing that belt ...i call CRAP!

LOL. How else are you going to get a disabled car to a mechanic? That goes for any major failure.
Besides, if you have AAA you already paid for that towing.

When my Escort was iced with a strange electrical problem, I considered calling AAA to tow the car to my office and back each day. The premier plan gives you free towing within 50 miles, well I live only 2 miles from work

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: HokieESM

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Roger
Every Japanese vehicle are interference designs, almost every American vehicle is non interference.

Actually, the early Acura V6 engines were non-interferance. I'm pretty sure that all the 4-cylinder Honda engines were interferance though.

And the easiest way to tell is to have the belt break and then crank the engine over. If you hear something that sounds kind of like cornflakes getting crushed, the engine is interferance. And you've just trashed your valves.

ZV

Yeah, that's definitely the "easy" way. I know that all the D and B series Honda 4 cylinders are interference designs (which is pretty much everything prior to 2001). I'm sure the S2000 engine (F20) and probably the new Accord/Civic engines are as well. Interference definitely isn't a BAD thing... sometimes its necessary for high-compression engines--high lift valves, big pistons. You just have to make sure you do regular maintenance. Honda suggests 90K miles for the D16 (the Civic engine from 91 to 01)... I change mine at 75K like clockwork.

yea, damn, i was 5k miles away from 75k too

bah

if the timing belt snaps and u can't drive...how do u get it to the mechanic?

tow truck

 

[Kaieye]

The old mitsu g63 were non-interfernce type valve design. Vista's, cordia's and tredia's all had this POS motors...

 

[Nocturnal]

You should get your water pump changed at the same time since they'll have to remove the same parts to get to your water pump at a later time.