So I'm coming up on 105,000 and we all know what that means. Calling around to some shops and the dealer, it turns out to be a costly ordeal between $600-$1,000.

I've found timin belt kits on Rockauto.com for around $220 and have a good buddy that has done tons of timing belts on 90's Civics. He said he would give me a hand to get mine done. I on the other hand am pretty ignorant outside of plugs and oil changes. On the plus side we have access to a hobby shop on base to work with, lift, tools and pretty much whatever else we need.

Question #1 : Is it a feasible idea that we could knock this timing belt out on a Saturday afternoon and be good to go?

#2: Any reccomendations on belts/kits as far as manufacturers go?
#3: Am I better off doing a kit or just the water pump and belt?
#4 I always appreciate any hints/tips/tricks you guys have to offer. I'm learning bits and pieces as I go.

Thanks!

 

Replace:
T-belt
External belt(s)
w-pump
cam seals
crank seal
T-belt tensioner (for piece of mind)

Doing this will guarantee you wont have to open it up for another 105k miles..
Oh and go with honda parts if you want quality..

make sure you guys have a strong impact with sufficient pressure from the compressor to get that crank bolt off, if not a hex tool and breaker bars will be needed to loosen it..

This is'nt comparable to a 90 civic either..its alittle more complex, if youre not up to par..you might want to leave it to a professional imho..

 

I'm doing this now on my '03. Got a Honda belt off Ebay, Aisin water pump and tensioner from Rock, Koyo tensioner pulley and idler pulley from Partsgeek. Unless those seals are leaking, it's more trouble to change than it's worth. I do have the $100 crank holding tool but people make due with the cheaper model or make one themselves.

 

I would recommend all OEM Honda parts for your maintainence. Especially if you plan to keep it for a while. You can get away with aftermarket, but for my personal vehicle I always use OEM (Keep in mind this is an interference engine). Replace ^^ all parts mentions. Why go into twice or even three times when you have everything open up. And as mention it's a little more involve then a D-series engine. Hope all goes well.

 

so whats he gonna do when they start leaking at about 150K miles? do the job twice?

lol..

go ahead shade tree mechanics..

 

Thanks for the input. I'll be searching around for some OEM parts then. Money is tight, but I have a 1,200 mile trip at the end of this month and I'm sitting at around 103,500 miles. Too close for comfort!

I know it will be for difficult than the D series, but I guess I just wanted to point out I wouldn't be going it alone. There would be someone with some kind of exeperience... whether it's related or not is a different story lol.

 

I'm just doing this job before selling the car, it will be long gone by the time 150K rolls around. And I've yet to see these seals leak even with 200K.

 

Oh...well i've seen them leak before 200k also..so its all up to the owner then..

 

Always use honda belts! Why risk an aftermarket belt coming apart and bending valves to save a couple bucks?

No, you won't need to replace the seals in a V6 at 105k on a 5 year old car. If it was 10+ years old or a 4-cylinder, that would be a different story.

The water pump will be fine and the tensioners on that engine almost never fail. The 3.5 in the Ody/MDX/Pilot/Ridgeline should have it's tensioner replaced every time, they leak.



And don't be intimidated. It's all just nuts and bolts! I can do an Accord V6 slightly faster than an Accord 4-cylinder. They aren't that hard. The hardest part is getting the two rear bolts out of the rear upper timing cover and even that isn't a big deal.

Good luck! Just remember, if you screw it up, it gets REAL expensive fast.

 

You don't need to use Honda-branded parts, but I do recommend using parts from the OE Honda suppliers. For an '05 J30, that would mean a Gates timing belt, an Aisin water pump, and a Mitsuboshi or Bando serpentine belt. The timing belt tensioners rarely require replacement on '03-07 J30s, but if you do replace the tensioner, use a Koyo or NTN bearing.

FWIW, you'll be fine on your trip with the existing belt, so no need to hurry. I've never seen a J-series break a timing belt early (unlike some D17s...). It's not a problem to run it a bit over 105,000.

I've seen plenty of camshaft and balance shaft seal leaks on F-series and cam and crank seals on D-series, but I have yet to see a leaking cam seal or front crank seal on a J-series engine - and we've been doing three or more J-series belt/pump jobs per week for the past decade.

I wouldn't touch them if it were my own personal car.

 

good info,

But i've personally seen j seals leak, do a couple t-belts a week too..

It all depends on how hard the customer drives his/her car...also depends on lube boys overfilling oil etc..

 

Definetely use Honda OEM parts, best fitment and not expensive at all, get it from either manchester Honda, or www.hondaoemparts.com I have done tons of these and they are a lil harder than D series, and most of the time you'll need the crank tool, get the parts yourself and look for a reputable mechanic to install it for you, cause if you mess up...it's very expensive...

 

I just finished my '03 and used the following parts:

Honda timing belt $21 (Ebay)
Aisin tensioner $60 (Rock Auto)
Koyo tensioner pulley $40 (partsgeek)
Koyo idler pulley $25 (partsgeek)
Aisin water pump $70 (Rock Auto)
2 gallons Honda coolant $22 (dealer)
Honda radiator hoses $25 (dealer)
NGK Iridium plugs $60 (Advance Auto)
Honda serpentine belt $25 (dealer)

Spread the job over two days but actual wrench time was maybe 4-5 hours not including the 12 times I flushed the coolant beforehand. Biggest pain was getting to the bolts for the cam covers and the crank pulley bolt. I had the factory type tool with the 2 foot extension to hold the crank but it was still a bear breaking free the nut even using a 2 foot breaker bar with a 3 foot pipe as an extension. Here are a few pics I took as proof since I'll be selling the car soon.

Timing belt:


Water pump:


1-Tensioner, 2-tensioner pulley, 3-idler pulley:

 

lol

it looks like you kidnapped the engine