My 87 Accord threw a timing belt and I'm worried about the condition of the head. With the belt cut and fished out of the block, it's obvious that all the teeth were stripped off at the crank. Does this mean that the cam siezed and the head and belt came to a stop while the engine was running? This is an LXi, by the way, so it's a PGM-FI engine. Anyway, the cam is very, very difficult to turn by hand. Is the 2.0L EFI engine an interference setup (basically, is there a chance my valves hit the pistons, or will they not reach)? I'd very much like to throw a new belt on and set the timing, but i'm worried about my valvetrain. Any ideas?

 

After a little more searching, it seems pretty clear that my 87 SOHC motor isn't an interference setup and my valves should be fine..... anemic, but fine. I'm trying now to get the tensioner seal and bolt out, but the bolt's way too damn long. It hits the top of the framerail when I try to remove it, and the engine can't be raised or lowered enough to help. Any ideas?

 

If anyone here works on a SOHC Accord (maybe most of them are dead by now, I don't know), I could use some help. I'm in the middle of a belt replacement and wanted to see if you have any pointers. I welded a piece of angle iron to the crank pulley and frame, so was FINALLY able to get my crank bolt out and cleaned up the pulley. I'll be starting on the timing cover tonight and hope to be able to finish the whole job without too much trouble. I've been unable to remove the tensioner bolt like the Haynes manual says to do, since there isn't enough room to pull the bolt out entirely. It's threaded out, but still held by the seal. My biggest problem, though, is going to be setting the timing since Haynes assumes you weren't stupid enough to let the belt fail. As I'm sure you know, the cam sprocket settles with the 'TOP' indicator just slightly forward of the engine centerline, between 11 and 12 o'clock. How do I find TDC without a timing belt, and how much should I try to advance the crank to match the position of the cam sprocket when putting the belt on?

 

Don't know much about 87 Accord but the flywheel should have a timing mark that aligns to a mark on the engine through an inspection hole. With the cam pulley in the up position and the flywheel marks aligned, check that the #1 piston is up. Also the valves for the #1 cylinder should be in their resting position, i.e. they all should have clearance as per their spec sheet. Without a crank pulley holding tool, how do you plan to tighten the crank pulley bolt?

 

Well, I'll tighten the crank bolt with either an impact wrench or will re-weld a piece of angle to the pulley so it'll be supported by the frame. I expect an impact wrench will be fine. Just so I'm sure, the cam is left in its rest position (it snaps to 12, 3, 6, and 9 o-clock orientations) with the 'TOP' at... well, the top. Then I line up the crank pulley mark with an inspection hole and slap the belt on? Where do I put the slack in the belt when lining up the teeth? I'd expect that the belt goes on loose as described above with the slack to the rear, then the tensioner is tightened. Is that right? And please don't tell me to get a manual - it flew out of the bed of my truck when I was towing the car to work.