Opps, sorry I posted in the wrong forum...below is for Civic, not Accord

I just had to share my first timing belt change experience.

First, I wanted to thank everyone on this forum. I like the Karma and professionalism many of you share with us newbies. More importantly, thank you to TouringAccord for all his help and advise.

What a challenge!!! I have a 1996 honda civic 4door ex. The trick to the timing belt is to line up camshaft and crankshaft before taking off the belt. I used white out and marked everything before I removed the belt once I had Top dead center on the number one piston.

I used two jack stands, a hydralic jack, 10mm,12mm,14mm, 17mm and 19mm sockets and wrenches. The 17 or is it 19 should be deep sockets to remove the upper engine mount. A 1/4 breaker bar, torque wrench, red liquid gasket and loctite. The most important tool was a Ingersold Rand 550lb torque air wrench from home depot. I used this tool to remove the crankshaft bolt. The bolt came off very easy. I would recommend everyone to purchase the tool from http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/SP-60100.html. I did not. I used the air impact wrench to remove the crankshaft bolt. The tool is handly to put the bolt back in to hold the crankshaft from spinning.


I ordered my parts from HondaAutomotiveParts.com. I learned this from TouringAccord. By ordering the website, I saved $85.00. Parts were ordered Sunday afternoon. Parts were delivered Friday afternoon.

The biggest problem I had was that I confused the camshaft seal and crankshaft seal. They both look, feel and measure almost exactly, but the crankshaft seal will not fit in the camshaft.

I will do a complete write up by Friday on the complete procedure how I did the timing belt. Email me if you want a copy...ArielBanzon@yahoo.com. I would be more that willing to send out my documentation. Oh, it took me seven hours because of the seal problem and the melted timing belt cover (last owner overheated the engine). I replaced; timing belt, A/C belt, Power steering belt, alternator belt, water pump, thermostat (two bolts, eventhough you will see three), head gasket, o-ring for dipstick, crankshaft bolt, spark plug gasket, upper and lower timing cover gasket.

regards.


Modified by arielb1 at 10:06 PM 7/31/2004

 

congrats. you should probably just share your write up with all of honda-tech, maybe it can go in the general accord info sticky

 

I'd like a copy. Any problem with lower tb cover? I heard its a bitch to take off

 

ive been waiting a long time to read something on this. i am just confused what to do with the vehicle after removing the motor mount! put a jack underneatht he oil pan to support the engine?

 

Lower timing belt cover is not a problem to remove. No, it was not difficult at all even when my cover was warped. To install, just make sure all the screws are in place before you tighten them. Removing the lower skirt that goes around the bottom front of the engine is a must. You will understand if you try to get to the crankshaft bolt. The skirt is in the way. You will not be able to get to the crankshaft bolt without removing the skirt.

As funny as it sounds, the jack under the oil pan will support the engine. I took a 2 and 3/4 ton jack and placed a 2 by 4 (piece of wood) between the oil pan and jack. In order to get the air conditioning compressor belt off and on, you will need to remove the bottom motor mount. Lift the enginge slightly to remove the pressure off the motor mount. Remove the big bolt off the motor mount before you remove the two little ones attached to the car. Once the mount is off, then you can remove the belt and install a new one. By the way, I removed the upper mount by the timing belt area so I could have room to push the camshaft seal into place. You don't have to remove it. With both mounts removed, I was able to lift or lower the engine depending what I was doing. Becareful though not to lift or lower the engine too much. I only went about three to four inches at the most each way.

The biggest challenge was installing the air conditioning compressor belt. When installing lossen the pulley (smallest wheel) to it's lowest setting. Wrap the belt around the crankshaft then the air compressor unit. Next, bring it into the pulley. Tighten the pulley.

OH, I just completed my first valve adjustment. Easy with the helms documetatioin help.

Any more questions...keep in mind I am an amateur.

 

When are u going to have a FAQ with pic?

 

David90, email me. My document is about seven pages. I used word to compose it. I completed it as best I could. There are no pictures. Frankly, I don't have time to work on this anymore. I have an exam to pass in two months. Passing it is very critical for me. You should get the idea to do the timing belt just from the document.

ArielBanzon@yahoo.com