I have a 2006 Accord with the 3.0 V6 and 6-speed manual transmission. It is my wifes daily driver and it is coming up to 110k. The only unplanned maintenance so far was a rear-seat dome light bulb .

So, at this point the clutch is starting to disengage a bit early suggesting that it is starting to reach its useful life. During hard acceleration there is also a bit of a 'clunk' suggesting that the motor mounts are getting there. Also, at 110k I should probably get the timing belt and the water pump done.

I know that if I go to the dealer, they will just add up their block-hours for the three separate jobs and come up with a unreasonable number.

As tight as things are under that hood, I suspect that doing the TB will require substantial disassembly or possibly dropping the entire engine-tranny combo. Once we are a that point, doing the clutch and the motor mounts shouldn't be much additional work.

Anyone have an estimate how many hours it would take to do all three, TB+pump, timing belt and clutch in one trip to the shop ?


(and if it is not against the TOS: does anyone have a recommendation for an independent shop in northern VA/MD to do this.)

 

http://repairpal.com/ Input your info here. This site is pretty accurate and provides a listing of shops. You should also be aware that the T-belt and clutch are on opposite ends of the motor. The labor DOES NOT over lap.

 

Correct, I've done a timing belt on TL, which is very similar, it's extremely tight, but there is very little disassembly involved, nothing over a 4 cylinder timing belt anyway, there is just far less room to work. The only thing I will say is if you pull the transmission first you can slide the engine over and get a couple of extra inches to work when doing the timing belt.

 

Tb isn't bad I did mine on my 6 speed in 3 hours, clutch is next on my car also, have to drop the subframe though

 

umm, what? please dont take this advice. there is no way your gonna get a couple inches of room even if theres no tranny, wiring harness and motor mounts arent gonna let this happen. timing belt is easy and plenty of room. remove the right side mount (which is probably already torn open) then jack the motor up until it doesnt move anymore. this will give you the room you need. as far as the motor mounts, the right side is coming out during the belt job so replace that one if its torn open. if your getting a bang off of initial accell then its common for the front mount to be bad, see if its leaking hydraulic fluid and replace it. if your planning on a clutch job too then do it at a different time. the right side mount is whats going to hold your motor in and keep it pretty much aligned during clutch job, since the subframe will be removed, so your not saving anything by doing it all at once, just making a big job even bigger and more stressful. dont bite off more then you can chew. ive been at the dealer for 10 years and can tell you that the right tools for the job will get it down more then anything. my .02

 

Obviously you have to remove motor mounts, the harness doesn't need to come off though. You will also need to support the engine with something.

I will admit I haven't done an Accord specifically, but I have done a TL which should be pretty much the same, and there is not a lot of room, it's all you can do to get at some of those timing cover bolts.

 

Thanks for the tips.

Where is the water-pump ?
Is the WP accessible during the TB job ?
Is it worthwhile to replace the TB tensioner ?

So it looks like it is probably going to be TB+water pump and maybe a motor mount in one sitting and I'll wait for the clutch to completely wear out before I have that done.

 

pump is behind the timing belt cover

yes

if the tensioner shows signs of leakage replace


the engine mounts are pretty prone to breakage but its common to find them still in one piece.

 

I'll have to price the parts, but it sure sounds like this is the kind of engine where doing TB,WP and idler may be a worthwhile job.

 

get a kit from ebay

OEM honda parts only, not that china junk.

 

When we do the v6 timing belts at the dealer, we always replace timing belt, t belt tensioner, water pump, coolant, serp belt, usually the torn right front motor mount & always suggest spark plugs. Just my 2 cents. if you need to know the tools you will need let me know.

 

Hey all. Are all the 2006 Honda Accord 3.0 come with J30 series engines?.

 

Yes, from 03 through 07, it's all J series.

 

There is plenty of room for the experienced technician with swivel sockets, 1/4 air ratchets and experience. The weekend warrior/ novice mechanic calls this tight to impossble. I would save the money on a H20 pump and wait for the second timing belt to replace that. Its been my experience that the h20 pump will last 200k. Some ppl arbitrarily replace it because that is what their dealer suggests. I do however always replace the hydraulic tensioner/ tbelt/ drive belt and crank seal. As stated earlier the passenger mount off already so replace it with that saved h20 pump money. As far as your clutch goes just wait it out and when it fails replace the front mount then because the subframe will be out of the car already and it will only cost the part price then.

 

Removing the timing covers is only difficult, if you don't have the correct tools. I did the covers with a 1/4" ratchet. The only problem is, you need a different combination of extension and socket for each bolt. For one bolt, you might need a short extension and regular socket. For another bolt, you might need a deep socket and no extension. I certainly wouldn't take all the engine mounts off, just to make a little more room. That would be nuts.

 

Thank you sir.

 

I changed the tb, on my 02 accord, about to do my sisters 06. I'll replace the tb, wp, drive belt, and crank seal as well as plugs. My 02 I changed the cam shaft and front balance. Does the 06 require any other seal change other than the crank?. How many hydraulic tensioners are there?.

 

I have very rarely, if ever, see a water pump go 200k. The sensible thing would be to replace it during the tb service or risk having to do it again...

 

Crank seal too? Never heard of anyone needing to do that.

 

You are talking about a V6 engine, right? The I4 has a timing "chain". If you are talking about a V6 engine, yes there is only one tensioner. There is no balance belt on the V6.

 

Yes that's right, the V6. So for a full service would be the t-belt, water pump, tensioner, crank shaft seal, got to do the plugs (NGK) as well. No cam shaft seal?.
Thanks for the help!.

 

There is an idler bearing as well I would do.

Search for the Aisin Timing Belt "Kit", it has everything you should replace while doing the timing belt. I see no need to do the crankshaft seal, unless you get in there and see oil all over the place. It is not part of the kit.

I bought my kit this past summer with everything I needed for $200.90 shipped.

Then go "buy" the crank shaft pulley from someone like O'Rielly's, to get the crank pulley off, and return it when you are done, they give you your full money back when you return it.

 

I didn't change any seals. Shortly before I did the timing belt I started hearing a rattling/knocking sound coming from the timing belt area, so I didn't want to take any chances with the moving parts. I changed the timing belt, water pump, tensioner, adjuster pulley, and idler pulley. I figured I would find a leaking tensioner when I took it down, but the tensioner seemed fine. There were black lines around both pulleys however, leading me to believe the belt was slipping on the pulleys somehow. I took the seals off both pulleys, and found what I thought was a lack of grease inside. The rattle noise was gone after the timing belt job, so something in there wasn't working right. I had already changed the plugs, but I did do a coolant replacement at the same time.

 

This is EXACTLY why you do the "kit"!

I did, and found, the same thing with my bearings that you did BLKFLSH.

The coolant flush is the bonus of doing the water pump at the same time. It's not that bad of a job if you take your time. You can hit a lot of scheduled maintenance in one day.

 

Found the timing kit on amazon, think I'll go with this. Don't want to have to go back for something a second time.