I bought a Honda CIVIC ex 96. It has 130 K, a friend told me that honda's timing belt should be replaced on time. I have no idea if the previous owner has replaced it or not. I can not tell if the plastic cover was openned before.
Any advise.

 

well you are supposed to replace the timing belt like every 70k or somthing. and your car has almost double that. so i say take your valve cover off, and take the timing belt cover off and inspect the belt for any visual wears. and its up to you if u want to risk runing a used belt or spend the money and put a new one on.

 

what i learned from somebody is that when you take off the cover, have someone turn on the car real quick then turn it off, so the timing belt turns. then take a flathead screwdriver and lightly graze the belt to feel if there's any cracking. you should feel the screwdriver kind of bouncing if there are cracks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by oo3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what i learned from somebody is that when you take off the cover, have someone turn on the car real quick then turn it off, so the timing belt turns. then take a flathead screwdriver and lightly graze the belt to feel if there's any cracking. you should feel the screwdriver kind of bouncing if there are cracks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that sounds like a great way to damage your timing belt

just replace it. you'll regret not doing it when it breaks and you are stranded somewhere.

 

I would change it right away. Wouldnt want it to break while driving and it can do more damage

 

the interval on that car is 90K. At 130 the belt would have most likely snapped by now. Look at the belt. You can't tell by looking almost ever...but if it has 130 on the original it will look hammered, there will be cracks most likely and it will be pretty loose.

 

^^

True.

If you determine it needs changing, don't forget to do the water pump and idler pulley also. Trust me, it's much easier to just do them all at the same time while your in there.....and then you won't have to worry about that stuff for another 90k miles.

 

Timing belts can go without any indication, or signs of wear. So just because a belt doesn't look worn, or isn't cracked doesn't mean it's not old and won't break.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by wilsel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Timing belts can go without any indication, or signs of wear. So just because a belt doesn't look worn, or isn't cracked doesn't mean it's not old and won't break.</TD></TR></TABLE>

BINGO!

 

if you change the timing belt, might as well change the other stuff. ie, water pump, crack seal, cam seal.

 

Id say replace it anyway. Its a good piece of mind to know for sure. Like others have said, replace waterpump too. Its kind of expensive, but worth it.

 

yea just change the thing
and fyi - i had a car with 233k miles on it with the ORIGINAL timing belt and clutch. felt like i was driving a time bomb. i replaced it within a couple hundred miles i had it

 

I may have agreed with inspection as a way to determine how new the belt is - but I agree more with just changing it.

Just clearing that up -