A car question: do timing belts REALLY need to be changed?

[Dan Friedrichs]

LOML drives a 2000 Accord that is in rough shape (only 70k miles, but has a salvage title, has been in numerous accidents, needs a new catalytic converter, check engine light won't go off, airbags don't work, paint peeling off the trunk lid, warped brake rotors, etc). It is time for a timing belt change, which will cost me about $1k. I realize that if the belt breaks, the engine is in trouble, but what is the real risk of that happening? And what are the consequences (ie - if the risk of breakage is low, and the only consequence is needing a valve job, is it more cost effective to not change the belt?)

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[Doug W Swanson]

How much damage done to the engine is really dependent on when the belt breaks. I had a belt break on my 1982 Pontiac J2000 about 20 years ago and no damage occurred to the engine. I felt pretty lucky.

In other cases you may get by with just doing a valve job but if a valve breaks off you could end doing damage to the pistons, cylinder, block etc.

$1k seems a little steep for just a belt change but sometimes they will replace the water pump since it usually has to be removed to replace the belt.

I'm not an expert but that's just my experience....

[Mike Davis NC]

The real question is why are you letting your wife drive such a dangerous car?

[George Lesniak]

Your Accord has an interference engine. If the belt breaks look for much more that a valve job.

You could always do the job yourself. You didn't mention which engine is in your Accord but a timing belt typically runs $50-$60 for the belt alone. I prefer to change the tensioner and idler pulleys as well as the water pump at the same time. A complete timing belt kit will run about $200.

George

[Marty Paulus]

Well from your description I would not worry about the timing belt. It is the least of your worries as there are some safety things that need addressing first. My recommendation is to wait on the timing belt. I am not sure of the Honda design but the risk is anthing from the motor being destroyed from piston to valve contact to a simple shut down of the motor.

[David Epperson]

Our little Isuzu truck also has an interference engine (which only means that the pistons WILL hit a valve if the belt breaks). This same truck recently had a timing belt break, only bent one valve. - so yeah they DO need to be changed. But this truck had 187K on the original belt too. It's a risk, but at 70k...probably a safe one for now. How long is the rest of that car going to last?

[Dan Friedrichs]

It's a risk, but at 70k...probably a safe one for now. How long is the rest of that car going to last?

That's basically what I'm asking - I'm not sure how serious the risk is, so I'm grateful for the feedback as to whether or not this is worth doing.

I know $1k sounds like a lot - but that's about what 2 dealers and 1 indep't shop quoted to do it (and the water pump at the same time).


Just to note: I have an appt at the dealer to have the airbag fixed (an indep't shop couldn't figure out the problem), and this car is never driven on the highway - just ~2 miles back-and-forth to work. Besides, we're poor grad students - we aren't allowed to have nice cars

[John Coloccia]

Honestly, I'd seriously consider driving the car until it just died, junking or donating it, and in the meantime, saving up for another car. How much $$$ do you want to sink into it? Between the belt, catalytic and airbags, you're might be looking at a LOT of $$$. Even the rotors and brakes are going to cost somewhere around a few hundred bucks

You also need to ask yourself, why did the catalytic converter die? Not always but often that's a sign that something else is wrong. They're not designed to die. That check engine light can be for a zillion different reasons, some of which can kill the catalytic. Some are cheap, and some are expensive to fix.

Personally, I'd take it to a mechanic that I trusted (ask around) and have him do an evaluation before doing anything else. You may well find that it will take thousands of dollars to make it right. At that point, you may just want to roll the dice and see what you get out of it, knowing you're on borrowed time.

I was on borrowed time with my Durango for a couple of years. A bit of Lucas oil in the tranny and a bit of luck got me through to where I was just about to move from California back east. Donated the Durango and drove the other car cross country. Worked out perfectly.

[Callan Campbell]

Yes, timing belts are important, and usually the service interval of their recommended change times is pretty tight with regards to belt life on some engines, however other engines seem to run way past the recommended schedule with no breakage reported. So, don't play with fire on this one, you already have a damaged/rebuilt car due to the salvage title and the numerous other issues you're living with.
The warped brake rotors would drive me nuts anyway if they're causing enough brake shudder when stopping the vehicle.
My vote is to ditch this vehicle and get another better one before dumping any more money for a timing belt and related parts like a water pump. Unless you're really tight on cash, or in love with the current Honda, it seems like the old expression of "throwing good money after bad" applies to the vehicle.
If you do nothing however, you can expect the belt to break in time, and either damage the engine ,or ruin it depending on how many RPM's the engine was at when the belt broke and the design of the motor itself.
The days of non-interference motors are pretty much gone due to the needed valve to piston clearances of fuel efficient engines, esp, with multi-valve set-ups like 4 valves per cylinder.

[Dan Hintz]

If you do end up looking for another car, see if you can find one with a timing chain... those never need to be replaced. My S2000 has one of those...

[Andrew Arndts]

LOML drives a 2000 Accord that is in rough shape (only 70k miles, but has a salvage title, has been in numerous accidents, needs a new catalytic converter, check engine light won't go off, airbags don't work, paint peeling off the trunk lid, warped brake rotors, etc). It is time for a timing belt change, which will cost me about $1k. I realize that if the belt breaks, the engine is in trouble, but what is the real risk of that happening? And what are the consequences (ie - if the risk of breakage is low, and the only consequence is needing a valve job, is it more cost effective to not change the belt?)

Thanks in advance for your advice.

As someone that has worked in the Automotive Parts Industry... a BRAND NEW belt can break though rare, it can happen. So it is a wise thing to replace it. Yeah a royal pain in the arse to replace it. but do it.

[Jerome Hanby]

FWIW, i never had an y problems, but I got nervous around 220K and had the timing belt and associated parts (water pump and front seal) replaced on my CRX, man wish I had kept that car.

[Montgomery Scott]

Timing belt should not need to be replaced until it hits 105k miles for a 2000 accord. The older ones were 90k miles.

A buddy of mine had a Nissan Pathfinder. He put off replacing the timing belt until it broke and that was the end of the engine. IIRC, the belt was only 15k miles past the recommended replacement.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Dan,

Check the owner's manual for the car and follow it.

Don't be surprised if the local dealership tries to get you to change it sooner than the manual calls for it. They do that here.

Twelve years ago I bought my youngest son a used Honda Prelude when he was in college. I was talking to a Zone engineer a few days later telling him how well that thing drove when I put it on highway for a little joy ride. He asked me how much mileage? When I told him he gave me some advice. Change the timing belt per the recommendation in the owner's manual. He didn't and it cost him over $3,000 when the timing belt broke and the pistons ruined the valves and heads too! I had it changed a few weeks later.

We have a 2003 Accord and we are going to have it changed in the next month or so.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

With all those issues, I say jack up the dome light and put a new car underneath it. Most of those issues make for a dangerous car IMO (cat converter, airbags, and bad brakes).

Check the owner's manual for the car and follow it.

+1 on this. A friend had a car given to him by his F-I-L. Timing belt was supposed to be replaced every 60K miles. it broke at 125K or so. When he told his F-I-L that it broke, he (the FIL) asked if he just went over 120K miles, because he had originally replaced it at 60K and it should have been 'due' at 120K.

I would seriously consider driving it till it dies (which WILL be at the worse possible moment), or junking it now and getting what you can for it, and getting a safer used car.