This is going to be my first time doing the timing belt job. I would like to clarify a couple of things, and also to see if there is anything wrong to do in the process. This is Honda interference engine, so if the timing belt breaks, my car will be history.
1. Honda engines turns counter-clock wise. You should never turn the pulleys the other way at all? In other words, if you turn a little too much, you should go for another circle of turning?
2. If I misalign a tooth or two, would it damage the engine, or is it only going to be a rough drive until you open it up again and correct it?
3. I have seen on Youtube that one person glued the water pump gasket with weather strip glue. Another person glued valve cover gasket with again, weather strip glue. Are these good to do?
Any advice, any tips are welcomed. Thanks!
Although @kaizen gave good tips and instructions, if you have limited experience and skills in this area, I would get a pro mechanic to do it. You're going to be lucky to get the balancer off unless you have a large compressor and an impact gun. Your going to have a harder time getting it back on at the correct torque (over 100 ftlbs) without special tools to hold it from turning. Are you going to use a repair sleeve on the balancer or replace it with new? Lots of things to consider here. Here is some good advice I got many years ago -
"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions."
What @doc said.
I will add this to my comments above. It took me wayyyyyyyyyyyyy longer than expected. I expected it take a day or two. It took me two weeks, because I had other things unrelated to my car. Much of the time was tracking down the right tool, waiting for shipment, or troubleshooting and waiting online for suggestions.
I had the luxury of time because of the pandemic, work from home, and it wasn’t my primary vehicle.
I got almost all the necessary tools. Got all the parts. We will see how tough the harmonic balancer is on mine. I am not too worried about it, because I've got 5 feet pipe. However, I am still praying and debating if I should do it myself or not.
You sounded that it took 2 weeks because of the parts. That is quite long, so I am doing my homework now.
Was the job itself about 2 days?
Oh, I am still waiting for answers to my question 1 and question 2. If you know, please advise.
General Advice from doing the timing belt on my 1999 Honda Accord.
A) You have to remove the wheel remove the harmonic balancer to remove the accessory belts to remove the lower timing cover to remove the timing belts to remove the water pump.
Unbolting the harmonic balancer is hard!!! It is SUPER TIGHT. I needed the special holding tool, extensions, a breaker bar, and a long ass pipe.
B) Before removing the timing belt, find the little notches and markings for each of the pulleys/gears and have the all facing the right way. Some folks use a marker to mark the correct position which makes it easier to see. But as long as you can recognize the markings, you should be fine.
There is one trick I wish I knew. You can somehow screw in a screw in a special hidden hole to lock one of the shafts in place, so it doesn’t move when you put the belt back on. It’s one of the lower shafts.
That was the one that was giving me trouble lining up when putting the belt on. I had to the remove and replace the belts several times to get it all lined up. Had I known this trick, it would have saved me so much time.
You probably know this, after getting the belts on, make sure to turn the engine a few times to make sure everything is lined up. Everything didn’t line up for me so I had to redo it several times. It’s better to make sure your teeth are lined up now, than when everything is all closed up.
C) Might be different for your engine. I didn’t need to use any liquid gasket. The water pump came with its own gasket and the valve cover came with its own gasket. If you do need liquid gasket, I recommend using Hondabond or equivalent.
D) Make sure to refill the radiator coolant and that you prime the system and get the air out of the system. I forgot to turn the heater on, so it almost overheated the engine.
E) Don’t over torque your bolts. Torque to spec and no more. I got torque wrench happy and started retorquing and retorquing just to double check, and eventually snapped some bolts. What a nightmare that was to remove the snapped bolt.
A) I've got 5' pipe and planning to rent a honda crank pulley holder from auto store. I just need to find or buy 20 inch extension. I only have one for 3/8. I am a bit afraid that I might break it if I use an adapter since it requires a lot of force.
B) I did not quite understand but one Youtube video showed that belts were also marked and the number of tooth was counted. It seemed that in this way you do not need to align the timings because you are not moving the pulleys.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zh3K4yiIcAY Starting at about 33:00
I saw there was a bolt hole for temporal tensioning. This must be it.
Good advice on turning the engine each time you think you are done before closing.
C) The kits came with gaskets, but some use glue so that those gaskets stay in place while installing.
D) I don't remember turning the heater on when I changed coolant before, but good to know. Thanks!
E) I got me a torque wrench. I just have not used it. I will practice with tires first.
Thank you so much on these tips!
That a cool trick in the vid!
Btw, here is one of the vids I used for reference: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9C4mc4_Cocw
Year / Model ?
Honda Accord LX 2000, 4cl.
Let us know how it goes!
Just for a reference, I called a local dealership, and they quoted $1200 including 3 water pump and seal changes. Maybe half the price for a local shop? I don't know...
I have been wondering what is the hardest part of this job? I understand that Crankshaft bolt is extremely tight, but it is just a matter of force. Apart from that, is it, taking it apart to get to the timing belts, or adjusting the timing, or putting everything back together?
2. If I misalign a tooth or two, would it damage the engine, or is it only going to be a rough drive until you open it up again and correct it?
It will not run properly. You will have significant power loss.
3. one person glued the water pump gasket with weather strip glue. Another person glued valve cover gasket with again, weather strip glue. Are these good to do?
Is it good to eat soup with a fork? Do you drive screws with a hammer? No. Why would you do that?
Buy the correct gasket.
No. I don't mean without proper gasket. I am talking about putting glue on the gasket for the water pump for extra sealing. For Valve cover gasket, some people glue the gasket to the cover or put Vaseline between the cover and gasket to keep the gasket in place during installation.
A) I don’t see why not (assuming the timing is right). Obviously if the timing is off, don’t keep turning it.
B) TBH, I really don’t know. I erred on the side of trying not to turn them. If I did need to turn them, then I turned them in the direction they would naturally go. The one that gave me a lot of trouble was the bottom right one, the one where you could use a bolt to keep it still. I actually jiggled it back and forth to get the timing right. Since it was always off by one tooth in either direction. Finally got it to stay, when turning the engine several times.
C) Ooh tough call. As long as you lined up everything and all the markings line up after several turns, and torque everything correctly, you should be fine. I did have a mobile mechanic number on back up just in case I didn’t feel comfortable. But I didn’t need it. They usually charge at least $100/hr at my area. I don’t know if one would come out for $50 bucks, but that price may vary per market.
btw, what method did you use to get that crazy bolt off?
good luck!
Thank you. I got the bolt with a long pipe
@stingray77
Here is a list of my stumbling blocks. Mind you I am just a casual to moderate DIYer, so a more experienced DIYer or mechanic may not run into these problems.
1) I didn’t have the right sized tool or bits to remove some of the bolts/screws on the waterpump. My tools were too big. I bought a skinny and long socket to help my fit in the nook and cranny. It wasn’t really hard, it just took some time.
2) Obviously, the harmonic balancer bolt was super hard for me like listed above. But doable.
3) I accidentally broke a bolt/screw on installing the new water pump. I had to take the time to go and buy a replacement bolt/screw. Thank goodness they had one in stock. It wasn’t the exact replacement, but close enough. The original only had threads half way, but the replacement had threads go all the way.
4) I couldn’t figure out how to replace the tensioner, the springs, and the bracket holding the tensioner. Pulling the spring took some patience. I needed to get some picks to help me.
Take pictures prior to removal, so you have a reference.
5) Replacing the actual timing belt wasn’t too hard. It just took a lot more time than expected because I couldn’t get it lined up. It was just trial and error.
6) I forgot to install the bottom timing cover. So I had to do the reinstall harmonic balancer twice. Dumb mistake.
7) Reinstalling the alternator gave me some trouble. Just trying to figure out how to screw it back in, while balancing it. A second pair of hands would have been handy for this part.
8) Totally forgot to turn in the heater when refilling the coolant and letting the air out of the system. Another dumb mistake.
9) overall it was fulfilling to do it myself, but I also had the luxury of time and a second car. Had I needed my car right away, I would have taken in it. My independent mechanic quotes were from high $600 to $800’s. I think that is a fair price for the work they do. A v6 would cost even more.
10) Good luck, whether you choose to do it yourself, or take it in.
Hi, Kaizen,
Thank you so much. This is really good. Especially about water pump. I got that wicked bolt off, so I am not going back.
Was funny that you forgot lower timing belt cover. I have forgotten something bigger than that, and I did not redo it...
Noted on the alternator installation.
I have 3 questions:
A) Let's say you put both belts back on, and turn the engine (not by starting the engine by the key). You can do it as many times as you want, right?
B) Then, can I turn all these pulleys by hand when I am aligning them? While you are driving and timing belt breaks, many times the engine is destroyed. So does that mean, without the belts while working, you do not want to, even by hand, turn them except for a little bit? Is it going to damage if I keep turning by hand?
When you keep re-doing the belts and tensions, is it OK to turn indivisual pulleys both ways (clockwise and counter clockwise)?
C) Is it a good idea to have a mechanic stop by and do a final check before I close the timing belt cover? Would they do it for $50? Or it is not necessary as long as you turn a few times when you think you are done, and all the markings are still aligned?