I just brought and ek hatch and I took off the valve cover just screwing around. I noticed some powered rubber deposits though. Also after replacing the valve covered it really smelt like burnt rubber unlike before. Is this cause for concern? If my timing belt snaps will my valves and pistons touch? heres a pic of the rubber

 

Do you have any better pics?
Can you see that the timing belt is rubbing onto something?

Is oil leaking around the valve cover causing that smell?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cbmprelude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just brought and ek hatch and I took off the valve cover just screwing around. I noticed some powered rubber deposits though. Also after replacing the valve covered it really smelt like burnt rubber unlike before. Is this cause for concern? If my timing belt snaps will my valves and pistons touch? heres a pic of the rubber

</TD></TR></TABLE>

its not a good thing if the pistons and valves meet. they are an interference motor ( like all honda motor basically).
I would suggest that you make sure your t/belt isnt rubbing. if it is, take this as a great gift from the car gods, since most people dont get this warning before the belt blows.

 

Here is another picture.



As you can see there is about a 1/8th inch gap between the end of the cam gear and the belt. Which makes me believe that maybe the rubber deposts are old? Can a belt shift back and forth accross the cam gear? How can I tell if my timing belt had been replaced/needs to be replaced? That smell might also be oil coming out through the improperly sealed vavle cover, because I only started smelling it after I took it off and put it back on.

 

bump?

 

check it for wear spots on the outside, or if the teeth on the belt are worn. Maybe it is on there too loose, and it has too much play it will sometimes burn rubbing from shifting. so check the tension too.

 

What exactly am I looking for on the outside in the way of wear spots? And how can I tell what is to lose? Also is there any way to determine when the belt was last replaced if ever?

 

bump

 

when i swap a new motor, or get a new car i always replace timing belt/tensioner/wp. saves lots of $$ if it were to break and it were and interference motor. i know from experience that d16z6 motor is not an interference motor and that a h22 is definately an interference motor

 

the question is how can I tell if it has been replaced recently?

 

when you took off your valve cover, did you replace the gasket???

 

no i didn't should I have?

 

everytime you take off a part that had a gasket, always change it

 

i dont believe in that. a valve cover gasket if removed well enough without breaking and the gasket is not flattened then i wouldnt bother replacing it. unless of course it leaks

 

How do I know if I need to replace my timing belt?

 

every 90000 miles

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by young noob &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">everytime you take off a part that had a gasket, always change it</TD></TR></TABLE>

I didnt do it with my valve cover and it still didn't leak. I did check it out first though to make sure it wasn't riped or bad.

To original poster it looks like the gasket was sealing find to me, are you sure you tightend the bolts to spec to make sure there was enough pressure to make a good seal? You should check inside the timing belt cover any rubber coming off the timing belt. Its gonna look like a black dust kinda.

 

The timing belt on the outside should have visible wear marks ( like metal showing, or anything that doesn't look alright). If you have to ask what you are looking for, then i am assuming it is probably OK. On the inside of the belt, check to see if the teeth or worn at all ( like if they aren't all the same, or if they aren't perfect half circles).
If all of that is OK and you are still "burning rubber" i would check the tensioner cause it is probably a hair too loose.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94_HATCH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You should check inside the timing belt cover any rubber coming off the timing belt. Its gonna look like a black dust kinda.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I did notice some black dust under there as in the picture. I didn't see any vsiable marks though. I will try to check the tensioner as well.