[kpearlst]

I have a 1998 Honda Civic in which the mechanic says that the timing belt needs to be replaced. I have 60K on the car however the owner's manual is giving me conflicting advice. It states that in normal conditions you should change the belt at 105,000 miles. In severe conditions you should change it at 60,000 miles. The job will cost $600, money that I don't really have right now... Should I wait until 75-100K miles before replacing the timing belt? Any advice would help. Thanks

[0rphan]

HI kp'... you should change your timing belt around 100,000-103,000, that's the usual.

Don't leave it longer because even though it looks good ,you can't tell the condition of the tensioners or bearings, also the water pump is usually changed at this time due to the easy access.

So... timing belt,tensioners ,bearings and water pump usually all changed together.

Luckily you've still got about 40k ish left before the job needs to be done.


So it's a lot more readies than first thought...

[TxGreaseMonkey]

See if the owner's manual says to change the timing belt after 105,000 miles or a certain amount of time, whichever comes first. The time constraint may be what the mechanic had in mind. 10 years is a long time for a timing belt.

[duanedragon]

Go with the early estimate. Timing belts are not a good place to get cheap. If the timing belt slips, even under the best conditions, (cold start in the morning when just the force of the starter motor wedges an exhaust valve against a piston and locks the engine), the valves will come into contact with the pistons bending the valves and fracturing the valve guides. Under the worst conditions, (highway speeds), the piston-valve contact will be so severe that while bending the valves a piston will fracture instantly scoring the cylinder bore it once rode in, the crankshaft will now be able to withdraw the shattered piston's connecting rod completely out of the cylinder bore and will fracture the engine block when it slams it against the block's lower girdle just above the oil pan, the crankshaft will bend or fracture when the rod end hits the engine block, the rod will bend or shatter, shards of shattered steel, copper, aluminum, and cast iron will be sucked into the oil pickup and destroy the oil pump, the oil filter may be loaded with so much particulate matter so quickly that it becomes effectively clogged causing oil with all that metal in it direct access to the main bearing journals, connecting rod journals, camshaft bearings and lifter galley in that order. Your first indication will be a mechanical "Pop" followed by what sounds like gravel being thrown against a tin shed and every single idiot light on the dash illuminating and a marked loss of power and a burning oil smell. Your vehicle will catch on fire if the engine block is holed near the catalytic converter. Start to finish the whole process occurs in less than a second.

Don't get cheap with T-belts. Every single component of your car will wear out before the engine does, (seats, transmission, paint, bearings, suspension, electric body servo motors, relays, lights, ect), but ONLY if you maintain the engine.

[paulkramer]

Like txgreasemonkey said, 10 years is a long time for a timing belt. You could have a set of tires (maybe) last ten years too, if you drove as little as you apparently do. But I wouldn't drive on a set of ten-year old tires, regardless of how much tread depth remained.

And, duanedragon has described in gruesome detail what can/will happen if the timing belt fails. It will set you back far more than $600.

$600 is not unreasonable for the job, but you could shop around for a lower price. But of course, don't let someone you don't trust do the job.

[wtashman]

What the amount of kilometre in honda civic before changing the timing belt, in kilo meters , please

[TxGreaseMonkey]

168,000 kilometers.