Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the forum. I bought a used 2000 Accord 2-door LX (4-cylinder) over a year ago. It know has 85K miles on it, and I'm concerned about the timing belt. The car has been driven mostly in California. I'm on the east coast, and this is the 2nd winter for the car, but I only drive about 8K a year.

I called a Honda Dealer in Northampton, MA to replace the timing belt. He wants to charge $630.00 and replace the following:

- Timing belt
- Alternator belt
- Power steering (fluid or belt?)
- Airconditioning (belt?)
- Antifreeze (fluid?)

My questions are:
1) Should I get the Timing belt changed now?
2) Do I need all this other stuff done?
3) Is the quoted price reasonable?
4) Can I trust a Honda Dealer to do this properly?

Thanks!

Woofers

 

All those parts should be replaced when doing a timing belt. I take it this is on a V6 as there is no balancer belt listed. That sounds about right. But the belt is not due till 105k miles. No need to worry till you get close to that milage unless you just want to replace it.

 

No it is a 4-cylinder. (I just edited my post to include that.)

Actually Honda recommends 105K miles or 7 years, and my car is going on 9 years, so that's why I was concerned. I've also heard that if the timing belt breaks, it can cost $3,000 to fix the damage. So I wanted to stay on top of this.

Thanks,

W.

 

you could replace it yourself and save some money

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/how-replace-timing-belt-timing-balancer-belt-water-pump-f22b1-1908944/
not the exact same engine but close, gives you a good idea of whats involved

 

ALLDATAdiy.com has a procedure if you were up to the task.

The engine in your Honda is an interference engine so serious damage can occur if it is not repaired correctly or in the correct amount of time. This begins with bent valves, and depending on the severity, much much worse.

You are right in wanting to take as much precaution and perform preventitive maintenance before it costs you more $$$

 

i just did the t-belt in my 01 accord L4 engine its not bad but if you do it urself a couple things to watch for, the timing on the balance shafts the front one is fine as long as its on the mark but the rear is a pric if you get it out of time. its not like the front one where every time it goes round once its back on time. the rear one goes around 3 times then its back in time. theres a way to lock this shaft in. on the back of the block theres a 12mm bolt w/ a crush gasket.(rite above the axle) remove this and stic a punch in there to hold the shaflt from turning. Also the seal on the front balance shaft is known to pop out and it will empty the crankcase pretty quick. Honda has come out w/ a fork like device that you install to prevent this. its like 5 bucks or smething but it saves you alot of trouble later on. other than that it a straight forward simple tbelt. Hope this helps Happy installing

 

I guess I got lucky, my water pump started leaking so had the timing belt replaced along with the water pump - 2 jobs in one. Although at 82k, when I ahd it replaced, the timing belt looked great. You never know till you get the cover off.

 

um, the timing belt and water pump are usually replaced together, not at separate times.

 

that's pretty much the standard price for that serivce from a dealer. replacing the drive belts is recommended as preventative maintenance. there's no extra labor built in for that, its just that they have to be taken off anyways to do the timing belt. likewise the coolant is replaced because you will lose a good portion of it when they change the water pump. if you do it all at one time you actually save money over doing each portion of the sevice individually. honda calls for the TB service at 7 years or 105k miles whichever comes first. honda timing belts are a standard procedure any dealer and most if not all of their techs can handle it. dealers guarantee the work they do. i wouldn't skip doing it, a broken timing belt usually means a broken engine or at a minimum bent valves. either way its not fun.