ek02

I have a 2003 Accord V6 that I bought new 7 years ago when the 2004 models came out. According to the maintenance schedule, the timing belt is due for replacement by time. It only has 72,000 well cared for miles. Some are highway miles and some are short city trips, and no severe conditions. My question is whether or not I should change the water pump and all the timing belt pulleys, or just put a timing belt on it, or wait until 105,000 miles and do it all. I inspected the belt and it looks almost new all the way around it. I want to keep the car 2 more years and may not get to 105,000 miles. Any advice?

Aliman

just change it before you regret it. i know people who have put off changing timing belts and they have broken with the new belt in the back of the car . For your own safety just do it

ek02

Thanks. I will for sure do the belt, not sure about the water pump. I changed the coolant at 50,000 miles. The pump is not leaking and is quiet. I am not sure how many miles a Honda water pump is good for.

Aliman

Id say its better to change the water pump while the belt is off. first reason it can all be done in the same price. second you dont want to have to pay for it all again just to change the pump when that goes out

ek02

I am doing the job myself, so the labor is not an issue. I just hate to have to do it at 72,000 miles. You are right, do it all at once and be done with it.

motegicivic

Might as well do the water pump since you are there anyway.

By the way for v6's you should do the tensioners as well, 4 cyl, not so much.

ek02

Thanks for the advice. I plan to replace it all.

ek02

I finally got my parts and the crank pulley holder. It took me 7 hours to change the belt, tensioner, and water pump. The book say 4.3 hours. The biggest problem was getting the crank pulley bolt loose. I tried a breaker bar, an air impact wrench, and finally 3 tries with a 4' pipe on a long breaker bar. It's probably easy to pull on a bar on a lift, but I did it on the floor with the breaker bar and pipe coming out the top and pushing toward the hood. Anyone doing this job will need to use a 6 point impact socket. I would also recommend the Honda factory shop manuals be used. The old belt looked pretty good at 72,000 miles and 8 years old. I am glad this SOB of a job is finally done.

salvageland

Just finished doing a timing belt job on my accord too....had 131k miles on the original belt!! It still looked in great condition, no cracks or signs of ageing. I think they may have over engineered the belt on these cars. Probably would have lasted another 20-30k miles.

spydercatt

If you would like to see a video on the replacement of the timing belt on a Honda Acura V6 J Series Timing Belt, check out this video

Accordman1

You replaced them a bit too early. Honda recommended to replace the timing belt at 105K or 10 years. The other parts are replaced as needed. However, given the labor to get to the timing belt, it makes sense to replace them all for the next 105K: timing belt, water pump and seal, idler pulley, tensioner pulley and the tensioner. Gates and others have them all in one kit. I will probably need to do mine this year or next year, even if the mileage is only 55K. I think I will invest in the proper tool set so I can do both my Hondas.

BLKFLSH

Correction, it's 7 years, or 105k miles, whichever comes first. The belts seem to last much longer, but that doesn't mean something else isn't about to go. The tensioner could loose it's pressure, the water pump could seize, or one of the pulleys could go out. I replaced everything but the crank and cam seals when I did the timing belt. I had a rattling noise coming from under the covers, on cold starts, so I wasn't taking any chances with reusing parts. The bearings on the pulleys felt good turning them by hand, and the tensioner didn't seem to be leaking, but the pulleys had black lines around them, so something was letting the belt slip. Changing the pulleys along with the belt, pump, and tensioner solved the noise at startup.

Coupe6

I have '03 Accord v6 auto with 19,397 original miles, I have been advised to pay for the same procedure... I hope you get a better picture thru my example. My impression (thru Honda) is that 120,000 everyday miles are about the miles one would drive to make a change in that timing belt.

That said, when I have $650.00 laying around in the next couple of years I will change mine, simply based upon time.

Coupe6

You are a conscientious car owner it sounds to me like, but if you aren't getting any weird engine sensor lights, or hearing any new never before heard sounds and are changing filters and fluids like clockwork, then that stuff should not be a problem based upon a TIME scenario. (**Extremely cold winter's, and harsh Summer's shorten the durability of some parts) I don't believe you are running on borrowed time, as it sounds you may feel that you are... MY ONLY CONCERN would be is if you have added a second driver in your car on a regular, or semi-regular basis. Cars wear based upon the habits of their driver, and if you have added someone new, whose driving habits ARE by definition different than yours, then wear patterns are altered leaving parts at an increased risk for failure.. I don't have the math to back this up, but I do have 20 years in a new car dealership as a Service Manager, but please remember this is a computer interface with individuals who have NEVER examined your vehicle, like myself.. So take it for what it's worth.

BLKFLSH

I don't think you understood what I was saying. I changed my timing belt, along with the water pump, tensioner, and both pulleys. I waited 8 years, then started hearing noises coming from under the timing covers, so the timing belt was changed a short time later. The belt itself looked to be in good shape, but IMO the lack of grease inside the adjuster and idler pulleys was causing the belt to slip. So, IMO just because the belts seem to last, that doesn't mean another part will not fail. I'm hoping the new OEM pulleys have more grease inside them. Filters and fluids have nothing to do with the lifespan of timing belt components.

DeM3nted

I realize that this is an old post. I just spoke to a Honda mechanic who has basically said not to worry about changing the belt until about 150,000 miles on the V6. Reason being that Honda's stated intervals of 105,000 miles were initially designed for the 4 cylinder engine. Honda engineers would state the mileage interval conservatively so as not to have any customer complaints about broken belts. The 4 cylinder engine only has one cylinder head and is therefore shorter and would generate more revolutions for the timing belt over its life than the V6 which has two cylinder heads and thus has a longer belt which would have fewer revolutions over the same time period as the 4 cylinder. Additionally, the timing belt tensioner for the 4 cylinder is not quite as sophisticated nor as reliable as the tensioner on the V6. He stated that the tensioner on the V6 as some sort of "Rube Goldberg" device that he said he has never seen one fail. He had a customer bring his car in at 250,000 miles who had never changed the timing belt or water pump. Just saying as he's been working on Hondas over 30 years and has his own business.

ek02

I changed my belt because the owners manual and shop manual says 8 years or 105,000 miles. The belt looked good and would probably have gone years longer. Your mechanic is propably right, but since I have a fully equipped garage and I am a retired ASE Master Tech and Fleet Manager, I have the time and place to keep things up properly for my own piece of mind. My wife drove this car and took long trips at times, so I would not cut any maintenance short. I have since sold the car and bought another Accord, a 4 cylinder this time. The V6 sure had more power. This 4 cylinder has a timing chain. True, the longer belt on a V6 would last longer than a shorter belt on a 4 cylinder. Just be aware that when a belt breaks, you will have 24 bent valves and 6 dinged up pistons. If you are really lucky, the block and heads will be OK. I have seen it happen on another brand of vehicle.

Kc5sjq

I agree with DeM3nted. I have a 2000 Accord V6 and just changed the timing belt at 300,000 miles because the water pump started leaking. I checked the belt at 50K intervals after 150000 but never saw any wear on the belt. I replaced everything under the timing belt cover; Tensioner, both idlers, water pump and belt. I also replaced the External belt tensioner. The V6 is a wonderful engine if well maintained. It just keeps on running and running.