Timing belt ... is it ok to go a few thousand miles over the recommended replacement?

[Kirby]

I thought that most 6 cylinders had timing chains, not belts. And btw, when the impeller broke in my water pump, I went ahead and changed my belt. Water pump + belt + labor = $900. It's a VW Jetta.

 

[raildogg]

Well, I appreciate all the replies. I have decided to get this done in approximately 10 days or so. Hopefully, it will last that long

Thanks all

 

[bctbct]

Bummer, there goes all the savings from gas milage.

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: bctbct
Bummer, there goes all the savings from gas milage.

?

As if you won't need to replace timing belts on cars with lower mpg....

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: chuckywang
Some cars have a non-interference head such that if the timing belt does break, then the rest of the motor doesn't get damaged. Not sure about the Accord.

The Accord probabyl has Vtec ro some derivitatino of VTEC and all variable timing engines are interference.

as for the replacement, you probably should do it but you'll probably be safe for a while. Aslo make sure to do the water pump with the belt, otherwise if the water pump breaks, its an even bigger pita to replace and your car is undrivable too during the time the water pump breaks to the time the water pump is repaired. Not sure but I think the accord may have plastic water pump impellers whaich make them more prone t breakage.

 

[Captante]

Wow $600 is a lot of money for a timing belt ... I've never had that job done on a Honda, but my Volvo 850 cost about $375, the Camry I had before that cost about $300 for the belt & my wifes Subaru Outback was about $400.

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: Captante
Wow $600 is a lot of money for a timing belt ... I've never had that job done on a Honda, but my Volvo 850 cost about $375, the Camry I had before that cost about $300 for the belt & my wifes Subaru Outback was about $400.

Did you get it done at the dealership? Dealerships always screw you with high prices.

I was looking at this ad for a 97 LHS for $650 that needed a new timing belt (non-interference head), and I asked the Dodge dealership for a quote. $800 dollars for timing belt+water pump!!!! WTF!!

 

[Eli]

Yes.

 

[n19htmare]

Atleast I don't have to worry about TIming belt.... Got a timing chain in the RSX-s...... don't really need to mess with much till about 100K which i'm approaching .

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: bctbct
Bummer, there goes all the savings from gas milage.

Yeah, that works out to a whopping $0.005714/mile. Yup, there go all the savings....think I'll buy a fullsize SUV with a timing chain instead and spend the savings on a condo in Hawaii.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: chuckywang
Some cars have a non-interference head such that if the timing belt does break, then the rest of the motor doesn't get damaged. Not sure about the Accord.

The Accord probabyl has Vtec ro some derivitatino of VTEC and all variable timing engines are interference.

as for the replacement, you probably should do it but you'll probably be safe for a while. Aslo make sure to do the water pump with the belt, otherwise if the water pump breaks, its an even bigger pita to replace and your car is undrivable too during the time the water pump breaks to the time the water pump is repaired. Not sure but I think the accord may have plastic water pump impellers whaich make them more prone t breakage.

Which is why they recommend replacing them when you do the timing belt. It's just good preventative maint. and since you basically have to remove the timing cover and belt to do the water pump you might as well spend the extra money and replace the water pump at the same time.

 

[BoomerD]

Wow...that price seems awfully high. I guess they're charging you full retail for the parts. Checking with zygmunt, (one of the places I get my BMW parts from) I find this:

Part # Description Mfgr Availability? Retail Your price
A5006-160543 Timing Belt Kit Gates IN STOCK $478.90 $184.65
Try checking with some of the quality local shops in your area, before paying the Stealer/Dealer's price. MANY shops will let you even provide your own parts, (but don't guarantee them) and some will price match against quality sources like Zygmunt and others.

 

[BatmanNate]

If it's non interference, I wait until it breaks or I have the heads off or motor out for something else. If it's intereference, play it safe.

And the price may not be that unreasonable, on a transverse setup changing the timing belt can be an enormous pain in the butt. I'm not familiar with that car, but my wife had a Honda Accord and it was my least favorite car to work on out of every one we've ever owned, including my mid engined one. Get a second opinion if you have doubts about the estimate.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: raildogg
The guy did say that I will end up needing a new engine if it fails. I think I will go ahead and get this done in 2 weeks.

Do you think it will hold up that long? (a bit nervous)

It almost certainly will.

But don't go presenting ME with the bill if it doesn't.

FYI, timing belts and waterpumps and clutches aren't the easiest jobs to do yourself, but they do save you a CRAPLOAD of money, and so IMHO it's worth it. The expense isn't the parts, it's the labor to take the engine apart and put it back together.

But that really depends on how much your time is worth. I'm a cheap bastard, so...

Originally posted by: chuckywang
I was looking at this ad for a 97 LHS for $650 that needed a new timing belt (non-interference head), and I asked the Dodge dealership for a quote. $800 dollars for timing belt+water pump!!!! WTF!!

On a DODGE? Dude, you could do it yourself for peanuts. That's the great thing about an American car...if you do your own work, the most expensive part of any job is the beer

 

[BatmanNate]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: chuckywang
Some cars have a non-interference head such that if the timing belt does break, then the rest of the motor doesn't get damaged. Not sure about the Accord.

The Accord probabyl has Vtec ro some derivitatino of VTEC and all variable timing engines are interference.

as for the replacement, you probably should do it but you'll probably be safe for a while. Aslo make sure to do the water pump with the belt, otherwise if the water pump breaks, its an even bigger pita to replace and your car is undrivable too during the time the water pump breaks to the time the water pump is repaired. Not sure but I think the accord may have plastic water pump impellers whaich make them more prone t breakage.

Which is why they recommend replacing them when you do the timing belt. It's just good preventative maint. and since you basically have to remove the timing cover and belt to do the water pump you might as well spend the extra money and replace the water pump at the same time.

Not all cars have the water pump driven by the timing belt. I had a Toyota Supra that had the fan belt driving it, no need to take off the covers even.

 

[BatmanNate]

Originally posted by: n19htmare
Atleast I don't have to worry about TIming belt.... Got a timing chain in the RSX-s...... don't really need to mess with much till about 100K which i'm approaching .

I had an 82 Celica that went 250k without timing chain replacement. Then again, it redlined at 5k or so.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: raildogg
The guy did say that I will end up needing a new engine if it fails. I think I will go ahead and get this done in 2 weeks.

Do you think it will hold up that long? (a bit nervous)

It almost certainly will.

But don't go presenting ME with the bill if it doesn't.

FYI, timing belts and waterpumps and clutches aren't the easiest jobs to do yourself, but they do save you a CRAPLOAD of money, and so IMHO it's worth it. The expense isn't the parts, it's the labor to take the engine apart and put it back together.

But that really depends on how much your time is worth. I'm a cheap bastard, so...

Originally posted by: chuckywang
I was looking at this ad for a 97 LHS for $650 that needed a new timing belt (non-interference head), and I asked the Dodge dealership for a quote. $800 dollars for timing belt+water pump!!!! WTF!!

On a DODGE? Dude, you could do it yourself for peanuts. That's the great thing about an American car...if you do your own work, the most expensive part of any job is the beer

How would a FWD American car be any easier to work on than a FWD Japanese car? Or are you saying your friends would only work on American cars for beer?

 

[BatmanNate]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: raildogg
The guy did say that I will end up needing a new engine if it fails. I think I will go ahead and get this done in 2 weeks.

Do you think it will hold up that long? (a bit nervous)

It almost certainly will.

But don't go presenting ME with the bill if it doesn't.

FYI, timing belts and waterpumps and clutches aren't the easiest jobs to do yourself, but they do save you a CRAPLOAD of money, and so IMHO it's worth it. The expense isn't the parts, it's the labor to take the engine apart and put it back together.

But that really depends on how much your time is worth. I'm a cheap bastard, so...

Originally posted by: chuckywang
I was looking at this ad for a 97 LHS for $650 that needed a new timing belt (non-interference head), and I asked the Dodge dealership for a quote. $800 dollars for timing belt+water pump!!!! WTF!!

On a DODGE? Dude, you could do it yourself for peanuts. That's the great thing about an American car...if you do your own work, the most expensive part of any job is the beer

How would a FWD American car be any easier to work on than a FWD Japanese car? Or are you saying your friends would only work on American cars for beer?

I work on American cars for American beer, and Japanese cars for European beer.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: iamaelephant
Should be okay, manufacturers build a huge safety margin into their timing belt schedules. I've seen cars do 100,000km+ on the original, although I do not recommend that.

the recommend interval for many hondas is nearly 30,000 miles longer than that, actually.

the $600 quote is about what you should expect for a honda. i recently had the full timing belt service done on my 1991 accord and the tab was about $800 (and that was discounted because i had other work done at the same time). it's an extremely time-consuming job on that car.

BTW, don't worry about the cost since it's such an infrequent service. it's a small price to pay for the continued reliable service of the car.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Captante
Wow $600 is a lot of money for a timing belt ... I've never had that job done on a Honda, but my Volvo 850 cost about $375, the Camry I had before that cost about $300 for the belt & my wifes Subaru Outback was about $400.

That's in line with other Hondas I've seen. The price to replace the timing belt on the '88 Accord I used to have was just about $600.

(And if you want a bad price for that, buy a 951. T-belt and water pump were $1,430.34 in parts and labor, not counting the additional $261.25 in labor required to drill out the old water pump studs which had rusted due to neglect from the previous owner.)

ZV

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

How would a FWD American car be any easier to work on than a FWD Japanese car? Or are you saying your friends would only work on American cars for beer?

I didn't say anything about how easy it is to work on them...I just said that on American cars, the parts you need to get it running cost less than the beer you need to install said parts.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Captante
Wow $600 is a lot of money for a timing belt ... I've never had that job done on a Honda, but my Volvo 850 cost about $375, the Camry I had before that cost about $300 for the belt & my wifes Subaru Outback was about $400.

That's in line with other Hondas I've seen. The price to replace the timing belt on the '88 Accord I used to have was just about $600.

(And if you want a bad price for that, buy a 951. T-belt and water pump were $1,430.34 in parts and labor, not counting the additional $261.25 in labor required to drill out the old water pump studs which had rusted due to neglect from the previous owner.)

ZV

yeah, but at least the 951 was $800 more fun than the accord when it was done.

 

[goodoptics]

OP, don't forget to have the shop check the accessory belts and front seals, too. Get them replaced as necessary.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

How would a FWD American car be any easier to work on than a FWD Japanese car? Or are you saying your friends would only work on American cars for beer?

I didn't say anything about how easy it is to work on them...I just said that on American cars, the parts you need to get it running cost less than the beer you need to install said parts.

So, you're saying that your friends are all low life drunks? :beer:

BTW-I couldn't tempt any of my friends to do repairs on my cars for beer. None of them are that stupid...nor am I. My time is worth more than that.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

I'd get it replaced. I had mine snap on me when I guessed it was what made the maint req light came on. Dad didn't believe me and told me to keep driving. AAA to the rescue.

Took 8k over the 40k life though. I'm assuming 40k life, since the light came on at 80k, and it's an older truck (95, last production year of that model).