I've just purchased a used 2001 CRV with 116,000+ miles. Car is pretty clean and I took it to my Honda dealership's service to get it checked out. They mentioned i should replace the timing belt...IF it hadn't been already. The place I bought it couldn't verify if this work had been done and I'm about to take the car on a long (6 week) cross-country trip.

Trying to find and contact previous owner, but failing in that pursuit I need to make a decision whether to pursue a replacement... here's where I could use some help. Trying to deduce if the belt has been replaced led me to look for signs, and here's what I found:

1) Looking at the engine, the two external pulley drive belts (Gates) look quite new.... check
2) It also appears the valve cover gasket is newish (clean, crisp edge, without much discoloration)... check
3) Water pump does NOT look new, BUT it is covered with a bit of grime and the effects of salt are evident throughout the engine compartment... ???

If the work has already been done, wouldn't the water pump look better? Or can I probably assume the water pump wasn't replaced when the belt was replaced? Or ???

If I had the tools and skills, I'd try to pull of the cover(s) and look at the belt, but I'm a little too poor/cheap to ask the Honda service (@$100+ labor per hour) to do this... but may have to just to get the answer.

Just looking for opinions and suggestions.

thanks

 

Just my 2 cents but I've had a timing belt snap (in a Suzuki) before it was due so if had any shadow of a doubt, I'd replace it. But that's just me.

 

I'd get a new one. I'd buy a timing belt kit complete with a water pump and just change that out while I was in there.

 

Just replace it to be on the save side. If it's never been changes it's already 12 years old, so it is dried out some.

Plus you can only see the water pump if you pull off all of the front engine covers. Removing just the top part you can't see it all, you only see the top of it, not the bottom.

 

Just replace it man

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-Honda-Ti...f00283&vxp=mtr

that's the exact kit I put on my new engine. While you've got it all apart why not just change everything then. The only part I didnt replace was the crank pulley seal. I didn't feel like pulling that pulley off.

Go ahead and adjust your valves while you're at it.

 

Thanks all. Seems the overwhelming opinion is "just do it." I'm ordering the kit above and having it shipped to my first destination, where I will be staying for a month. Hopefully the 1,546 miles between home and vacation house will be incident free.

 

just pull off the valve cover and you can look at the timing belt itself.

 

ehhh the hardest thing when changing it is getting the cams lines up. there's a order which i forget as to how you install the belt so it puts the right tension on the cams because one of them wants to move on you away from tdc.