So, when I had my 93 Honda Civic at the mechanic's recently, they said the timing belt was out of time and had to be re-set. I'm obviously getting less power out of the car, but it runs fine otherwise at <70 mph.

My 3 questions:
1) How much should I expect to pay for this? Should I expect to get the timing belt just replaced? (car has 190,000 miles and not sure if I want to do that).

2) The water pump was replaced at around 170,000. Should I just have that done anyway since they're going to be digging around and I understand the timing belt-water pump- Honda connection?

3) Would anyone like to do this for me for cheaper than a shop, especially if I buy the parts
and some other belts to replace, while I'm at it?
(I live in Durham).

I'll throw in a case of good beer on top of labor costs. .

3/18/2009 7:40:47 PM

what a bitch of a fucking job. damn crank pulley

3/18/2009 7:52:26 PM

WTF Ray? Its a simple job, compared to taking apart a rotary engine.

3/18/2009 8:00:20 PM

zxappeal

3/18/2009 8:11:20 PM

^^^ let me rephrase. the crank pulley is a bitch. everything else is fine.

[Edited on March 18, 2009 at 9:00 PM. Reason : .]

3/18/2009 8:59:37 PM

So this is really hard to do? Should I just assume it's best an auto mechanic do it?

3/18/2009 10:41:57 PM

#1 When was the timing belt last changed?

#2 Whoever changed the water pump almost certianly is to blame for the fucked up cam timing. They should be made to fix it since they caused it.

3/18/2009 11:38:30 PM

I do these...in my sleep. And I am in Durham. And I guarantee to be cheaper than any shop you go to. You pick and buy the parts, BUT ON MY RECOMMENDATIONS ONLY. Hit me up with a pm if you're interested.

3/19/2009 1:50:59 AM

Why would you have to take off the crank pulley to adjust the cam gear +- a tooth?

If you know something I dont I need to know in the next 24 hours. My engine has no head on it, i C clamped the belt to the cover, and I am not removing the crank pulley.....unless I must.

I would unbolt the rocker assembly and rotate the entire cam before i did that shit.

3/19/2009 8:11:01 AM

pm sent.

3/19/2009 11:45:01 AM

If the water pump was done at 170k the timing belt should have been done at the same time. 90somepercent of the time they go together. Water pump + labor is hundreds of dollars and I can't imagine them not throwing in the $15 belt while they were doing it. If there really is a timing belt problem it may be covered under warranty by the original shop (especially if it was done less than a year ago.)

I can recommend zxappeal after having him do the timing belt & water pump on my 4Runner.

[Edited on March 19, 2009 at 12:04 PM. Reason : s]

3/19/2009 12:03:26 PM

Quote :

"Why would you have to take off the crank pulley to adjust the cam gear +- a tooth? If you know something I dont I need to know in the next 24 hours. My engine has no head on it, i C clamped the belt to the cover, and I am not removing the crank pulley.....unless I must. I would unbolt the rocker assembly and rotate the entire cam before i did that shit."

If a particular procedure requires the complete removal of the timing cover, that would be hard to do without taking off the crank pulley, or at least it was on the Y7 i did with my friend. Let me say that I haven't really seen the car in question or thought about the exact steps needed for that particular vehicle.

On the motor I did, when the crank pulley mark lines up, the cam gear "UP" mark should be at the top and the two little tic marks on the edges of the cam gear should be parallel with the head. At that point the #1 cylinder's valves are completely closed and the #1 piston should be at TDC. If that's not the case I would think the timing belt would have to be pulled off and the cam gear rotated so that the above conditions are satisfied. The EK service manual explains it pretty well.

[Edited on March 19, 2009 at 12:36 PM. Reason : .]

3/19/2009 12:21:30 PM

The timing can be adjusted without disassembly. Fun, but doable. The only thing that might be a little involved is the valve cover might have to come off. Not bad.

3/19/2009 2:07:54 PM

taking a valve cover off is easier then removing a wheel to remove a crank pulley.

you can tell if its at TDC with a long cylinder with diameter smaller then a spark plug thread. you can tell all valves are closed by rocking the rocker arms back and forth. this should literally be a 20 minute job. it will take you longer to find a wrench that can fit to undo the 14mm tensionor bolt than anything else.

I think everyone else is right though. The shop that screwed this up should fix it.

3/19/2009 6:06:54 PM

The problem is, the water pump got replaced back in Nov. 2006. It wasn't having this timing belt out of time thing then, so if there was a warranty to cover it, I can't imagine they would do it after more than a year.

3/19/2009 8:35:35 PM