this weekend, i plan to have my friend change my timing belt for me. i bought the timing belt, balance shaft belt and water pump for a honda dealer. however, i was looking at some timing belt kits online and they come with a blance shaft tensioner and tensioner pulley.

do i need these parts too to do the change? could the old parts be reused? i'm not too familiar with this, so sorry if its a stupid question. someone please help!

 

If you are going to be in there changing stuff then why not just replace the tensioner as well. That is the way I look at it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by -RedneckDave- &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you are going to be in there changing stuff then why not just replace the tensioner as well. That is the way I look at it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the only problem is i'd like to do this change this weekend. i'm in fear that that timing belt will snap any day now (over 95,000 miles). maybe i'm just too worried. anyhow, if i do get the tensioner, the honda dealership will have to order it delaying the date of changing my belts. does this part need to be new?

 

If you can get your hands on it I'd try to replace it. Replace both belts at the very least. Also make sure you have the little retainer on your balance shaft seal. There was a recal on 5th gens because they could pop out and loose all oil pressure in about 5 seconds!

When I was young and nieve I replaced a burnt out valve on my first car, changed the timing belt and everything but was too cheap and lazy to spend another $25 and another hour to replace the balance shaft belt. A month later the balance shaft belt broke, wrapped around the timing belt, and this time I got the privilege of replacing all the valves.

Moral of the story is to always put that extra bit of effort in...it pays off in the long run.

Make sure your "friend" knows what he's doing too. Its quite easy to get the timing marks off while you suffer the consequences.

 

thanks for the advice. i did get the balance shaft belt and seal as well. i'm just a little worried about the tensioner. should this be a major concern? i trust that my friend is capable of doing this change out as he is a mechanic. i just did not consult with anyone when i went to purchase the parts, so that would be my fault.