I know what a timing belt is... but what does it do? What i mean is what does it do in reference with your engine? And what happens when ur timing belt is bad and is in need of replacement? Name symptons of a bad timing belt.

 

it's kind of hard to explain to you if you have no knowledge of what any of it is in there... plus i'm a dumbass!!

Timing belt is turned by the crank and at the other end are the cam gear(s) those are attatched to the cam so as the cam gear turns so does the cam, which controls the valves opening/closing. without a timing belt/chain your valves wouldn't open or close.
our cars are modular(overhead cam). A lotta V shaped engines as well as some inline are pushrod... which is a whole nother story but still there is a timing chain which does the same thing...

now i'm rambling like a moron...

bottom line, if your timing belt breaks you could be in for some major problems(such as a piston striking a valve) and your motor will not operate with a broken timing belt.

should be replaced every 70,000-90,000 miles... not sure what honda recomends.

i'm lazy as hell and there are pics available so we'll see if i stop being lazy

 

"On single and double overhead cam engines, the cams are driven by the crankshaft, via either a belt or chain called the timing belt or timing chain. These belts and chains need to be replaced or adjusted at regular intervals. If a timing belt breaks, the cam will stop spinning and the piston could hit the open valves."


The picture above shows what can happen when a piston hits an open valve