Hi,

Anyone can give me a hint how long would it take to change 1. timing belt + water pump; 2. head gasket; on a Civic 2002 LX. I never had to do these.

Because of limitations where I live, I need to rent a bay & tools and I need to plan ahead for it.

Thanks,
Gene

 

As a mechanic I can tell you you can not plan for everything that can go wrong.
On the best of days It should take an experienced mechanic about 6 hours of straight work including all of the cleaning and prep to re assemble.

You may have trouble cleaning the head gasket area without some red scotchbite pads.
You may have trouble with the intake hoses and clamps and bracket bolts from underneath. Jack it up high enough to work under but not much more.

Worst case.............
Bolts break
Hoses break at clamps near head
O Rings gets f uped
Break sensors trying to remove connectors
you get the idea

 

Thanks, much appreciated!

I needed the ballpark time. The shop is open about 12h a day so in theory I have the time. But since I have no experience with this work, I am now clear it might spill into the next day. I'll ask them - they will probably be ok if I leave the car overnight in the shop.

 

inexperienced might take a day or two.
On my cars which I do pretty frequently takes me about 2 hours for headgasket and maybe a few more minutes for timing belt but this is no ac no ps and pretty much bare engine bay.

Best thing I would get is a good cordless impact and air impact makes jobs way faster and easier

 

I've done a few timing belts. All with ps and a/c. My first one took 12 hours in my shop at home. The rest about 6-7 hours each. The biggest pain is the acces to nuts and bolts when removing components to get to the timing belts. The crank nut was no biggie with a cheater bar on the breaker bar. Local dealers tell me about 5 hours. Never done a head gasket.

 

The crank pulley bolt was a pain in the but for me. If i was you, I'd start with that.

 

If don't have the tools nor shop, better pay a mechanic instead renting shop and tools.

At least find a friend with experience.

Don't know how you loose that bolt but, next find some help. Remove starter and ask someone to lock the engine at the flywheels theeths with a screwdriver.

And why you need to replace the headgasket?

Maybe you need resurface the head