So i went to my mechanic to see what was wrong with my car since the "Check Engine" light went off. When i picked it up he gave me a couple of papers telling me something i should do to fix the problem next time. The papers ended up telling me that i should replace the pcm or something next time. Actually it said " CHECKED WITH SCANNER; CODE PO 700 A/T PROBLEM AND CODE PO 740, CON/CLUTCH PROBLEM. VEHICLE SPEED 72MPH (SEE OTHER SHEET)". Well i got in the car and the light didn't come on again, so i was like "umm what made the light go off in the first place????"

Im really confused on what happened but as far as i know there's nothing wrong anymore, but i'd sure like to know what was wrong and what they did to fix it!

Anyone who's had this same problem can u tell me what just happened?! plz.

At the same time i was getting that fixed they also did an inspection of whats wrong with the car. This is what it said: "Radiator leaking, tires bald, V/C Dist. O ring leaking. Timing Belt?"
Now i got some of that radiator filler stuff cause i heard that helps, gonna have to replace the tires before the real inspection, my mechanic said that the o-ring isnt goin to be that much to replace, BUT . . . the timing belt! I guess thats a costly procedure that can run up to like $400!!! and i dont wanna replace it if i dont have to. But i have no idea when the timing belt was replaced last cause i have a '97 accord with 127K miles on it.
Is there anyway of telling if i need a new one soon??? Would it give me any warning like making weird sounds before it goes or something??? or is it just a ticking time bomb and will just go and i'd be stuck in the middle of the highway without any way of goin anywhere?????

 

You can "destroy" your engine if the timing belt breaks and your piston hits your valves. It can turn a $300-500 timing belt job into a $1000+ valvetrain replacement job. But if you don't trust the mechanic, ask them how they found out that the timing belt is bad or worn. It's hard to check without taking the timing belt cover off and that alone takes more than a few minutes to do. To tell for sure, you should see with your own eyes and visually check. But some timing belts break without much visual wear so even then you're better off replacing it for the peace of mind.

I wouldn't recommend a filler for the radiator. Instead, if it's an aluminum area, ask a friend who knows how to weld and see if it's weldable.

 

man id replace ur timing belt immediately.. look at me... i no longer have a car because my timing belt snapped 5 days ago and damaged the engine.. if i had someone giving me advice like that this wouldn't happen.. plus i neglected to do any service or tune up.. so i'm at fault somewhat..

 

You dont have to pull the timing cover to determine if it needs to be changed. It must be changed for two, well make it three reasons. As soon as the HONDA rolls into the shop the first thing we look at before we ask what the hell is wrong with your car is, how many miles are on it. While looking at the car we look under the main pulley (crankshaft pulley) and see if there is any oil leaking out of there. This would be a camshaft or crankshaft oil seal leak and while looking for an oil leak should just double check for any small antifreeze dried up residue from an intermittent leak.

HONDA, interferrence engine, high miles or medium miles with an oil leak in the belt area means lets do timing belt right now. This is serious preventive maintenance and its a serious upsale for the shop, depending on the engine it can be done in one to three hours for an experienced tech and get paid for many more hours especially if they talk you into a water pump at the same time. And we wont even talk about getting double charged for work that had to be done during a timing belt or water pump change anyways.

 

Many check engine light codes will automatically erase the MIL if the same problem does not appear in a couple of drive cycles OR a higher priority history code will take over but it only happened once and is required to happen twice to turn on the MIL.

 

timing belts can make a slight slapping noise as they stretch and wear out....but not always.

 

As for the radiator, the big "if" factor is where it's leaking. I haven't been under the hood of 97's much, but the 4th gen actually has a plastic upper portion of the radiator. If it's leaking anywhere plastic, your best bet is to replace it. I tried a dozen different sealers before I finally just gave in and had mine replaced. The radiator filler will slow the leak, but definitely will not stop it... it's designed to "clog up" the hole. As was said above, having a buddy (or possibly a radiator shop) weld the hole is probably the best option for a hole in the metal portion of the radiator.

As for the timing belt, better safe than sorry. I've been in 2 cars that snapped timing belts, and the only "warning" we got was the engine cutting out (and by then it's too late). One of my friends just killed his car by letting his snap and smash the valvetrain. And while you're having the belt repaired, make sure they do the water pump and seals down there while they're at it. It's a lot cheaper when half of the labor is already done for the belt than it is as a stand-alone replacement.

 

take it to a dealer or honda only shop they will usually be cheaper than your "works on everything" mechanic. I paid 364 for my t-bet and water pump I had by belt changed at 90K. I wasn't even gonna take that chance.

the original belts for the 5th gen cars were good for 90K, the replacements are good for 105K.

Did someone beat the crap outta that car? it seems to me that it was not maintained well based upon what you are telling us.

It takes me an average of 1.5 hours to change a rad and it is really easy on these cars

 

Can you find out who the previous owner was, to find out if the timing belt was changed before? If it was changed at 90,000 you would be good for a while.

 

nah, i dont think it was changed at 90k cause like a year ago my dad still had the car (yes i bought my car from my dad) and he never payed over $350 for any one piece of the car to be changed, but maybe in total costs, ya he prolly payed a lil over $350 or sumting for a check up and little parts. . . anyways i doubt the timing belt was replaced so by the replies im guessing i prolly have to change the timing belt.

Ya and i think it was me who "beat the crap outa the car" but if the car can't do what i ask like: accelerate fast, let me pull the handbrake and go over 100 all the time then without crap breaking everytime i try somthing, well then it should . . . . . otherwise it should be built to higher standards.


Thx for your replies everyone!

 

indication that a car is not well maintained is driving around on bald tires leaking fluids, no indication of proper maint (changing t-belt at 127K+, etc. At the first sign of trouble I have my car in the shop and it is fixed.