I purchased a 92 Accord DX, it ran great and then the timing belt broke. The repair shop told me that it would cost around $300.00 to replace the timing belt but the valves were probably damaged and would not be able to tell unless they replace the timing belt first. If the valves were damagsed, it would cost around $400.00 to $500.00 more. This car is not worth $500.00 and I would like to keep it but don't want to spend that much $. Is 92 4cyl. prone to valve damage when the timing belt breaks? Should I take a chance and spend $300.00 to replace the Timing belt?

 

They're interference motors so if the timing belt snaps the motor is f'd

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm about 90% sure that's correct

 

You'll get lucky if the valves aren't bent. Same thing happened to my old 92 and it needed a new head..

 

Bull Crap ! Don't trust mechanics that don't know how an engine works
You don't have to replace the belt to find out if there is a bent valve.
Turn the crank 90 degrees from any cylinder TDC, that puts the pistons 1/2 way up and out of the way of the valves.
Next turn the cam until the valves are TDC [cam lobes at 4 'o' clock and 7 'o' clock]
Then blow air into that cylinder,[20-30 PSI is plenty] if you hear it coming loudly thru the intake or exhaust, you have a bent valve.
Was the engine at high Rev when the belt let loose?

 

No unless you are really atached
same thing happend to me and I got lucky

 

Thanks for your input, I might tow the car home and check it out myself. I don't know much about this car ( nothing a service man. can't cure ), but does the motor have to be pulled to change the belt?

 

what is the mileage on this car????

 

no, the motor does not need to be pulled to change the timing belt. Check out the Accord FAQ, in the Engine section you'll see a link to a timing belt write-up I did. The write-up was on a 94-97 EX motor but the same steps apply, just might have slightly different alignment marks, so it'll give you a good idea of whats involved.

 

I don't know what the mileage is, thanks again everyone for your info! This is a great site.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondadude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...
Then blow air into that cylinder,[20-30 PSI is plenty] if you hear it coming loudly thru the intake or exhaust, you have a bent valve...</TD></TR></TABLE>
You might want to lock the crankshaft from spinning so it doesn't cause one of the other pistons to come up & hit it's valves.
Or don't use too much pressure.

 

I started to work on my car and got to the point where I needed the nut removal tool, didn't have it so I decided to check the presure ( wrong order, shoud have checked presure first ). No way! All four seem to be holding presure. I will finish the timing belt replacement and hope that everything is going to be fine. I will let you know what I find after I fire the motor.


Modified by zoro5 at 8:41 PM 5/13/2007