My 96 Accord has 56k miles. Yesterday I visited the local Honda dealer to use a coupon for a cheap oil change. The service rep. asked me if I had changed my timing belt yet. I told him that I thought I had another 30k miles to go. He then said that it was also dependant on the age of the belt. Said they were only good for six years. He then quoted me $680 including tax for replacing all the belts, the timing belt, the water pump, the valve cover gasket and a valve adjustment.

I know I can have this done cheaper at Danny's Import (Honda/Acura Specialist) here in Lewisville, but I was wondering if he was right about the six year belt lifespan.

 

Milage is the more criticle perameter, although rubber products do oxidize over time too. the interval that appears to work for the real world is more like:

60,000 to 80,000 in areas of wide temp extremes and dusty conditions
80,000 to 90,000 in all others

Although you'll have all manner of people telling you "I made it to xxx miles!!!", going much beyond these guidelines is asking for a BIG repair bill.

Basically, you were quoted the "dreaded 60k service' as discribed in the owners' maintaince schedule.

P

 

also 1 thing to keep in mind if u do mostly city driving ur t-belt has a lot more than what the odometer reads........all those times sitting idling at stop lites the miles on the odometer don/t roll up however t-belt is still turning .....having said so i still would wait till u reach 70-75k and if cheaper go to Danny's Imports but make sure they use Honda parts and replace seals as well

 

I say take off the cover and have a look at it..if it looks glazed or the teeth are rounded offa little, etc you should have it replaced.

That said, I'm sure thousands of cars are on the road right now with 175k on the original belt!

 

It looks like you have a nice accord and take care of it. I would say get that timing belt replaced, with honda parts. If that thing snaps you're not having a good day.

 

Does this fit your engine.

Damn, link wont paste, go to cybertrails.com and look for the honda timing belt change maybe at the very bottom???

 

http://www.cybertrails.com/~pu....html

Is this the one you're thinking of, Duane?

 

thats it

 

I changed my T-belt at 91K when my 1994 car was 7 years old. It is now 4 years and 43K later. The new belts are good for 105K. Unless you have an oil leak and getting crap on the belt, I would not be too worried about the age in years as how you drive the car will have the most impact on belt life. The belts are not exposed to crap so they should last for the milage.

 

The 50 plus year old lady who was the original owner of my Accord drove it about 3 miles to work each day. Probably took it shopping some too, but mainly it has been babied. She garage kept it always and took it to Honda for all services. When I bought it from her it had 54k miles on it so I've only put a couple thousand on the car since I bought it from her in May. I plan to continue the gentle care

I'll check with Danny's Import and see what they say. They have always been really honest and won't recommend service unless it's really necessary. They only use Honda parts...very cool shop...Danny's a great guy, been working on Hondas since the late 70s.

 

Well, just talked to the folks at Danny's Import and they said that they have never seen an Accord break a timing belt with less than 90k miles. He said that the Accords are extremely reliable in this regard and that the age of the belt was nothing to be concerned about....especially if my Accord has low miles and was taken care of like it has been.

Thanks for all the comments guys!

 

$680 is a little high. $500 would be reasonable. The last time I did one on a 96/97 that is what I charged at my shop.

 

It nice that he never saw one go out too early but if you have oil on yours, IT WILL. Do yourself a favor and at least inspect it for oil leaks in the timing cover area, this means nothing coming out of the bottom of the timing cover or from around the crank pulley seal. Also make sure your cooling system is in good order or a frozen water pump bearing will surely take out the entire engine. Remember there is a very good reason for preventive maintenance, to prevent the big maintenance.

 

Duane brought up a good point, your water-pump. That thing has had a decade to build up $#!^. My water pump went out after I missed my appt for the 60k service. Also my girl's 99 accord just had its 60k service done, the timing belt looked fine, but the water pump had started to wear out.

 

if you bought your ride used like i did...can honda check records to see when the t-belt and crap was changed last??????

 

stick to the book mate.The belt went on my accord type r 15000 miles before due change.Cost me a grand OUCH!!!.Honda dealer wanted nearly three grand OUCH!!! OUCH!!!.Its just not worth it trust me the damage is MASSIVE.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ejc3110 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you bought your ride used like i did...can honda check records to see when the t-belt and crap was changed last??????</TD></TR></TABLE>

Only if it was done at a Honda dealer...and then...there's probably still no gaurantee.

Wouldn't hurt to call your local dealer service department and ask though.