Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts
 

I convinced my grandma to spend the extra money to change the timing belts set and water pump while having the broken radiator fixed on her 1999 accord since the car was ten yrs old. After having the timing belt set and radiator were changed in her car I noticed a very strong bunning rubber smell coming through the AC vents and the engine bay when you open the hood after driving for a while. I called the machanic they said it's because the new belts are strectching out. Does that sound right or did mess up somewhere? Thanks in advance.


Modified by vittal at 6:47 PM 8/6/2008

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts (vittal)
 

Open the hood and inspect the timing belt make sure they are not shredding on the sides. Check the other belt. Serpentine Belt for same signs of wear. If you encounter shredding on timing belt bring it back to mechanic and have him look at it. It should be covered under your mechanics warranty.

check if the timing belts, are rubbing against the plastic timing belt covers. sometimes they reinstall them cockeyed

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts (gqstatus05)
 

Thanks for the advice. I took the car back myself and the mechanic looked for shredding on belts that can be seen after popping open the hood. There were none but he didn't check the timing belt because it was inside the plastic case and he said if the timing belt was loose you would be able to hear it. Unfortunately it's been 3 weeks since having the all the belts changed so the smell is not as strong as before. I was told to bring it back when the smell gets really bad again. I asked him if timing belt could be too tight...he didn't reply. Could that be it?

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts (vittal)
 

Ok and if the timing belt snaps while you are on the road have fun. I hear you can blow your engine like that.. as in you're screwed. Why didn't he take off the case to check the timing belt? If that mechanic would have told me that I would have made him take it apart. I don't accept "If"

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts (gqstatus05)
 

How long is the warranty from your mechanic did you ask him that question?

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts (vittal)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vittal &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I called the machanic they said it's because the new belts are strectching out. Does that sound right or did mess up somewhere? Thanks in advance.</TD></TR></TABLE>

no, I have never experienced that after replacing a timing belt and I've done a few.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vittal &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks for the advice. I took the car back myself and the mechanic looked for shredding on belts that can be seen after popping open the hood. There were none but he didn't check the timing belt because it was inside the plastic case and he said if the timing belt was loose you would be able to hear it. Unfortunately it's been 3 weeks since having the all the belts changed so the smell is not as strong as before. I was told to bring it back when the smell gets really bad again. I asked him if timing belt could be too tight...he didn't reply. Could that be it?</TD></TR></TABLE>

so all he looked at was the accessory belts? you could have done that and if those snap or shred who cares, you get a new one and put it on. He should have checked the important belts, the timing and balance shaft belts.

Tell him it doesn't need to be loose for it to be rubbing on something, it could just have been misaligned on the pulleys/gears.

A timing belt thats too tight isn't going to smell either, but it will make a whining sound that will increase with the engine rpm.

this is on a 4cyl correct? If so, you can pull the valve cover very easily by pulling the spark plug wires, disconnecting any hose(s) attached and remove the 5 bolts holding the valve cover to the head. Then remove the 2 or 3 bolts holding the plastic side cover to the head. From there you can look for signs of rubbing on the edges of the timing belt. To reinstall everything just reverse the steps you took to remove it all, but make sure you put some Hondabond or other gasket maker in the corners where the gasket goes over the camshaft and only tighten the valve cover bolts down to 7-8 ft/lbs.

Also, as mentioned above... if the timing belt snaps you run the risk of internal engine damage. The pistons and valves are no longer running in time and the pistons could come in contact with the valves resulting in bent valves and/or other damage that would require tearing the head or block down to fix or maybe even a complete engine replacement

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts (TouringAccord)
 

Yeah it's a 4 cyl. The belts are guaranteed for 90 days. I guess if something is going to go wrong it's going to be long after that. I didn't make him take the plastic covering off because I don't know much about cars, so unless the belts were badly misaligned I wouldn't able to tell. And the mechanic didn't want to do it, for the obvious reason, is the extra work and the smell is mostly gone. They also said the smell could of being coming from the lubricant they put on the belts.

I tried listening for a whining sound but it's diffucult because I don't really know how it's suppose to sound like. But then again, like touringaccord said, a belt that's too tight should not smell. If belts are not loose, but misaligned on the pulley/gears, will the mechanic be able to it. He keeps saying that he would be able to hear it.

I will try checking it myself with your instruction but I am a newbie at this. If that doesn't work I will take it back again or take it to honda but don't know how much that's going cost. Thanks for all the help.

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts (vittal)
 

i changed my belts and i never smelt any rubber and if you break a timming belt while you r driving u can drop a valve

Re: Strong burning rubber smell after changing timing belts