A friend bought a 93 accord auto with 187k on it from a local used car dealer. Before she bought it, I told her to make sure they had receipts to prove the timing belts and waterpump had been done on it.

The salesman told her they were "99.9%" sure the belts had been done within 5k. They said they had the receipts, but misplaced them. She bought the car. When she got it home, I told her she could not take their word for it, and needed to get the belts done asap.

She didn't. This morning I got a call from her, asking if I would take a look. I know very little about these engines (I just got my 92 a few weeks ago) but I can clearly see when I removed the top belt cover that the lower belt has broken.

Of course, the question is - is the engine toast? I haven't told her what I think yet...but I believe it's gone. I wasn't sure if the (because the cam and crank belt is entact) if the lower belt being broken would damage the valves?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

I just had the timing belt done on my 94 Accord EX auto. I believe the lower belt (at least on my engine) is the balancer shaft belt. My balancer shaft belt had almost all the teeth stripped off of it and the car was still running. (Made a helluva noise though!) Apparently the reason the belts deteriorated was because the seals on that side of the engine were leaking and the oil affected the belts. With a broken belt, I don't know, but maybe it is OK. If you have this done you should look at replacing all the seals as well and the belt tensioners if necessary.

 

If it's the lower belt which would be the balancer shaft belt then you're fine. May experience vibration at idle, but the engine will still be fine.

 

As stated above, the lower belt is the balancer belt. Even though that belt is important, it breaking isn't going to destroy the engine, unless of course the broken belt causes the timing belt to jump or slip. You'll want to do a full timing belt job on this engine and before disassembling you'll want to make sure it's still in time.

 

Touringaccord, Nusdog, mhercat, thank you guys for the replies.

Touringaccord, looks like the worst case (the broken belt fouling the good belt) has happened. I removed the plugs, and they are dented - all of them. I removed her lower timing cover, and it's clear the lower belt got "sucked" into the crank.

I'm going to call the dealership she bought the car at and see if they are willing to "do something"...

thanks again

 

That is so messed up. They should do something about it. Like give her her money back. She didn't have anything to do with the engine failing. They sold her a piece of crap that was going to break down anyday.

 

Could not agree more. This is a single mom of 3. She bought this car in desperation. Without a car she can not work.

I called the salesman today, and he told me she was SOL...I asked to speak to the owner (Omar), and will see if maybe he's willing to listen. I would very much like to help this mom...fingers crossed.

 

that sucks, sorry to hear that... She bought the car out of desperation and I'm sure they could see that and just told her what she wanted to hear to make the sale good luck with getting them to take care it, and even if the owner doesn't listen or isn't willing to help I wouldn't stop there

 

Is there some sort of implied warranty for used cars in your state? Maybe see if the attorney general handles cases like this.

 

Well, after a lot of back and forth, they agreed to work with our friend a little.

In Georgia (as in most states) they can flat out lie to you, and tell you to go "^&^%$" yourself after the sale (which this used car lot did).

Luckily, the owners name was in the owners manual, and I called him. The lot has stated that the PO had the work done, but they had lost the receipts. The previous owner told me this was a lie.

One of her son's has aspergers syndrome...I threatened to go to the local media, the attorney general, clark howard and have her sue him in small claims.....I'm not sure if it was the threats, or her circumstances made the owner felt a little guilty. He offered full credit on another car on the lot. She won't have to pay any additional fees or taxes (they have a very nice 160k 99 CRV that looks very, very good)...Her local church and a local charity gave her 2k to cover the added cost of the car. She's getting the timing belt done at honda the day she picks it up.

Sorry for such a long post....hopefully this will serve as a warning to anyone buying a used accord to have the belt checked before sale.

 

Wow, what a headache... but I'm glad you didn't back down and you kept at them to fix the situation. Good for them for doing that but bad for them making you threaten them and putting her through all this. Thanks for updating us, I'm glad everything worked out for her.

to you, the church and charity for helping this single mother in need

 

Good job helping her out. Although the dealer can technically tell her to **** off, nobody want to be seen on the news screwing over poor ladies who don't know any better

 

It's got 187K on it. JS. That's pretty much the end of the expected service life for those cars. Unless you happen to enjoy rebuilding stuff. I don't want to sound callous when I say this but you bought a 19 year old car with 187,000 miles on it, from a used car dealer. Sounds sketch to me.

 

you might want to go thru and read what happened....not my car, just trying to help someone out who didn't know any better.