My 1993 EX died while driving on I95 in Waltham Ma. I heard a pot and the engine
died. AAA towed me to a local Honda dealer. The tow truck driver said it looks like the Timing belt broke. Anyone know of a good shop in the Waltham Ma area that would be cheaper then having the Honda dealer repair the damage.
What could be the worse case damage with the timing belt breaking.
thanks Jim

 

that sucks man, when was the last time u changed it?

 

I am not a mechanic but what I have been told is that the way honda engines are set up if the timing belt breaks it will/could bend or shear off the valves.. My old mechanic did it to him ( defective belt) and it cost him 2500 to do himself in parts to fix..

Sorry to hear about you luck.. Sounds like you are having my week ..

 

The wost that could have happened is the valves could have made contact with the pistons. Because the engine is an interference motor, you have to be very careful here. You won't know the extent of the damage untill you replace the timing belt, and go from there. Good luck!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by karpieldisco &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am not a mechanic but what I have been told is that the way honda engines are set up if the timing belt breaks it will/could bend or shear off the valves.. My old mechanic did it to him ( defective belt) and it cost him 2500 to do himself in parts to fix.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Then that is the worst mechanic EVER! I've done two complete valvejobs in my lifetime. Replaced 25 valves total, machined the heads, and everything and spent less than $800. Unless he managed to crack his pistons there's no way...short of being a racing setup and that wouldn't have a timing belt.

Yes it is technically an interference head...but only at VTEC and even then its VERY rare on the single overheads. You should be alright!!!

 

So did you do the work? If you did how did it go?
I have a 93 accord LX 5spd and I am doing my belts right now. I am having a few problems with it because I don't know if how I have things is correct. I would love to have another persons point of view.

email me if you want at lilskul@aol.com

thanks

Brandon

 

Damn. I wish you the best. Good luck.

 

thanks all for the responses. Turns out that the igniter burnt out, and not the timing belt.I'll have to stop listning to the tow truck drivers. So now the Honda dealer wants to change the igniter, rotor and cap, spark plugs and spark plug wires for $500.

 

""So now the Honda dealer wants to change the igniter, rotor and cap, spark plugs and spark plug wires for $500.""

I am not sure about this but $500 sounds a lot money for relative cheap parts. try replace spark plugs, spark plug wires, rotor and cap by yourself if you can. Ignitor is a small part with 3 screws inside the distributor cap - all you need to do is to unscrew these 3 screws and unplug the ignitor and put a new one. it should be a 30 minutes job?

see part # 7 and 3 screws below. its selling for $74.

http://www.hondaautomotivepart...EC%29

 

Yeah yo, **** that dealer. If you can't replace the parts yourself, at least buy them online, it will be cheaper. Then have a local mechanic install them for you. Paying anything above $100 for labor is a rip off.

 

You can get a new distributor and wires for like $250...3 bolt install

 

yea man, you can do all this yourself with minimal tools. You might get a sore back but its not gonna bust your knuckles! Main thing just make sure you unhook the battery so you don't end up doing more harm than good. I was wondering about the timing belt...glad to hear its an easier fix!

 

also, if it were the timing belt, most times sohc motors wont bend valves if the belt snaps, dohc on the other hand almost definately will

 

well my timing belt slipped two months ago with no damage to the valves, but last weekend it did the same things and once again i got lucky and had no damage to the valves so basically just have luck on your side

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by twistedbydezign &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">also, if it were the timing belt, most times sohc motors wont bend valves if the belt snaps, dohc on the other hand almost definately will</TD></TR></TABLE>

what are you talking about?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AccVic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well my timing belt slipped two months ago with no damage to the valves, but last weekend it did the same things and once again i got lucky and had no damage to the valves so basically just have luck on your side</TD></TR></TABLE>

how'd you manage to do that? Sounds like someone didn't tension the belt correctly!

 

actually i didn't do it i didn't have the time or the knowledge so i had a shop do it and now i'm in the process of taking them to court about it