HondaMan2005

I have a 2005 Accord LX-V6 with only 4,377 miles which is due for a timing belt based on 105,000 or 7 years old which the car was last month.

I'm going to get the timing belt changed, but I'm annoyed that nobody tells you that down the road you're going to spend another $900 to replace the timing belt. I bought the car thinking that if I maintain the car properly, oil changes, filters, etc, that I wouldn't need any major work done on the car until I read about the timing belt and it was recommended to me when I brought the car in for a state inspection and an oil change.

Any thoughts? I read about many cars going over 105,000 miles and over 7 years old before getting a timing belt, so I'm wondering if I should hold off or trade my car in and use the money for a timing belt towards a new car. Then does Honda replace the belt before they would sell the car?

BLKFLSH

Depending on where you live, you could probably wait another 3 years IMO. I just changed the timing belt on my 03 last winter, and it still looked like a new belt. Unless you start hearing noises coming from the timing belt area, I'd let it go.

99blackcivicSi

just beucase the belt "looks good" doesn't mean it is good....that belt takes me under an hour to do if im not putting a water pump on it (a few more minutes to bleed the cooland if i am putting a pump on it), its a good piece of mind so you don't kiss some valves. Don't be lazy or cheap with this i've seen them break right at 7 years regardless of mileage. i've seen belts broken that have no other signs of wear and "look good" just keep that in mind. Lowest mileage i've ever done a t-belt on was a 2003 accord with only 1,9xx miles on it

BLKFLSH

I've been on this and other forums for a few years, and I haven't heard of one timing belt breaking on a J series engine. If the tensioner, or one of the pulleys were to start going out, you would probably hear some noises coming from the area. I doubt the belt would snap on it's own, at that mileage.

94vtecmn

This is what I was experiencing when it was colder out, in April temps when I bought the car, a small whine coming from the t-belt area for a bit. Now that its been warm (Down right HOT actually) I haven't heard that small whine for a while. I'm at 107k right now, so this belt is getting done before fall once it cools down some.

I'd listen for the noise once its colder, a small whine that only lasts a few minutes until it warms up.

99blackcivicSi

and i would say those forums cover about 2% of the cars out there on the road what goes on in the real world and what you see online dosn't really mesh that well. I have seen them let me see if i still have any in my customer education box right now its filled with timing chains haha, But it does happen more often than you might think i assure you

lil_slo

i just got a 93 si delsol and the timing belt went out, trust me its worth the pc of mind to replace it before it goes 162k

BLKFLSH

I've heard a lot more about timing chain trouble, than belt trouble. I think between this forum, and the other three I pay attention to, I get a pretty good sample of what people are having problems with. I would be more worried about my automatic transmission, and brake issues, than my timing belt snapping on me. I realize most people will have the belt changed, before it becomes an issue, but I know there are quite a few owners out there who are going past either the mileage or time intervals. I waited 8 1/2 years to change the belt on my car, and that was with 94k miles on it. I think he could wait at least that long, with less than 5k miles, as long as he doesn't start hearing rattling noises etc. from under the timing covers.

94, I'm not giving you a guarantee, that your belt will not break. No one can do that, but the fact that in the thousands of posts I've read on the Internet, not one person has said his timing belt broke, at least on a J30 engine, regardless of miles or age. That whine you hear when it's cold, could it be coming from the drive belt? You can remove the drive belt, and run the engine for a minute or two, to eliminate that possibility.

BLKFLSH

A 93, 4 cylinder, is hardly comparable. I don't think a 93 timing belt has a 19 year/162k mile interval for the timing belt change. I know my 92 Accord timing belt interval was only 60k miles.

DCFIVER

The belt is made of rubber or nitrile. These materials are prone to degradation over time. Regardless of mileage, I'd replace it based on age.
Many cars have t-belts. Given the overall reliability of most Hondas,I'd say its a small price to pay for dependability. But you can always trade the car in for one with no t-belt and a different set of expenses....
The belt could very well last 20 years, 300,000 miles. But when the belt was engineered, its life expectancy was determined. You could follow the recommended schedule or simply ignore it and roll the dice. Pay $900 for a t-belt job now or possibly 3k-4k for an engine job later....

DCRB

I think i spent around 150 to do my timing belt, water pump, and a new tensioner on my a6/z6 mini me. granted my motor is a lot easier to work on then a big j series crammed into the newer engine bays, but honestly its worth the piece of mind to just do it.

just browsing autozone looks like you'll be spending:
timing belt - $29.99
component kit with both Camshaft Belt Tensioner, Camshaft Belt Idler - $74.99
the hydraulic adjuster - $76.99
water pump - $60.99

so right around 250 if you replace everything. but at only 5k on the clock i'd just do the belt since nothing else is really even broken in let alone worn out. so really is under 50 bux for piece of mind worth it? it is in my book. i mean, at absolute minimum your car is your transportation. do you REALLY want to get stranded in the middle of no where? because 9 times out of ten its when you're hurtin for cash and far from home is when it'll break. cars don't just "run". just like our bodies you gotta maintain them and do upkeep once in a while

94vtecmn

I found a kit on-line with all that for 189.90, good deal I thought.

The only timing belt I ever had fail, (and I've owned MANY Honda's past 200k over the years, many of which were way over 100k and 10 years) was my fully built H22A with 94K on the build, with daily torture. That was probably the dual spring valves with Crower cams, that finally ate the teeth off the belt (A failure non the less), but the belt never atually broke..... Maybe I've just been lucky.

DCRB

dang that's hard core right there. sounds like a belt that was pushed past its service limit, and perhaps it wasn't strong enough for the amount of work it was being put through

94vtecmn

Yeah, I probably should have been checking/changing at 75k rather than the normal 100k recommendation on a stock setup. Oh well, that car was pretty used up by that time.