Timing Belt ?

[zerotap]

Ok my car has 133 thousand miles and some change so I know soon I will need to change the timing belt. How much of a b*tch is it on an 88 accord hb. My friend can show me how to do it, but I am wondering if it would just be easier to take it to the shop and cringe while handing over a few hours of labor cost. The belt is relativly cheap at around $50 or whatever depending on how fancy I get, it's the labor I am wondering on. What do you guys think ?

[nswst8]

If you have a friend that can render asistance then DIY, the timimg belt for our cars is around $450.
But it is pretty simple and straight forward.
Just remember the loosen the Crankshaht bolt before you lift the car.
Hope this helps, LOL
Phil :cheers:

[k-roy]

I say do it yourself. And you might as well change the head gasket and water pump while you are at it, its easier to do all three at once. All three are less than $200 in parts.

[nswst8]

KROY, why headgasket @ this time he's showing no signs of headgasket trouble. I have 194,000 and mine is still good to go.
I agree with the water pump, but ? the headgasket.
Phil :cheers:

[k-roy]

Why not is a better question. It is 16 years old.
I see it as preventitive maintaince.

[TINBOAT]

I would DIY..if the water pump has been bathed in a good antifreeze mixture all it's life, I would leave it alone until it fails.....as for the head gasket, ditto. 2 hours should be about right for a belt change at home.

Timing belt replacement is preventative maintainence, as for head gaskets, if it aint broke....

[Robs89LXi]

Sorry, Kroy, but I gotta say Amen on the head gasket. If it has a good seal, don't mess with it.

[DBMaster]

The reason to change the water pump when you are ding the timing belt is that it probably will not last until you do the timing belt again and it is MUCH easier to change when you have the timing belt cover removed. It costs less than $40 from Majestic Honda (stick with the OEM pump). The water pump is part of the job at any good Honda shop. As for the head gasket, I have no idea where that came from. I wouldn;t touch the thing unless the need was there. Unless you overheat the engine that ought to last a lifetime.

[Blkblurr]

It's a good time to check for leaking oil seals as well. I had mine replaced on my 97 accord during the timing belt change as well as the belt ldler pulley. The whole thing done by the dealer was $500 bucks. This included the water pump as well.

[spoon611]

I'd definitely replace all teh seals while you are in there. I replaced my oil pump seals, crank and cam seals while i was in that area. Dealer price for all those seals will run around 30-35 bucks. My oil pump seals were like plastic when I took the old ones out.

[HondaBoy]

i'd say its about time to replace your T belt. i had mine changed when the water pump went out. had the other belts changed too. it got all parts less than $80, $200 for labor which now i kick myself in the ass for! a guy who worked on my moms car would have charged less and got it done a lot faster. had to wait about 3 days. if you can do the head gasket, go for it! but i dont reccomend it because if your not careful, thats not good to mess up on.

[DBMaster]

Yeah, next time I do mine I need to replace the oil pump seal. That is the only small oil leak left on the car. My cam and crank seals are not leaking and I have no intention of changing them unless they do. I have 213K miles.

[dysiu]

Changing my timing belt was my first ever car project. Kind of big for a beginner but I did OK with a manual. In my car (88LX auto) you can replace water pump independently of the belt. I did that one a year later without removing the timing belt. I say do it yourself. It will give you a lot of confidence to work on the other projects later.

[zerotap]

If you have a friend that can render asistance then DIY, the timimg belt for our cars is around $450.
But it is pretty simple and straight forward.
Just remember the loosen the Crankshaht bolt before you lift the car.
Hope this helps, LOL
Phil :cheers:
I do hope that was a typo on the $450 for just a timing belt :cool2: When I have it done I plan on replacing all the belts while the engine is lifted.

[zerotap]

i'd say its about time to replace your T belt. i had mine changed when the water pump went out. had the other belts changed too. it got all parts less than $80, $200 for labor which now i kick myself in the ass for! a guy who worked on my moms car would have charged less and got it done a lot faster. had to wait about 3 days. if you can do the head gasket, go for it! but i dont reccomend it because if your not careful, thats not good to mess up on.
How many hours was labor and how much were they carging. Main reason I don't want to do it myself is because I need it done as quick as possible and I don't have a garage setup for it right now. I will probably change the water pump and the belts but leave the head gasket alone unless it's leaking. Then I'd have to really think on just buying a new engine because it'll be about $500 for a headgasket job alone.

[zerotap]

It's a good time to check for leaking oil seals as well. I had mine replaced on my 97 accord during the timing belt change as well as the belt ldler pulley. The whole thing done by the dealer was $500 bucks. This included the water pump as well.
That's not a bad price at a dealer, how many hours labor was that ?

[nswst8]

I do hope that was a typo on the $450 for just a timing belt :cool2: When I have it done I plan on replacing all the belts while the engine is lifted.

This is what the average dealer and auto shop charges. Although our 3rd gen Accords are sixteen years old they don't drop the price for repair work. But that does include all new belts and water pump without the seals.
But you can always find someone like me 1/2 the labor charge plus parts and I'd do the cam & crank seal too.
Hope this helps, LOL
Phil :cheers:

[Blkblurr]

They charge $70 / hr US and I think about $150 in parts but that included a new ilder pulley. It was abpit 5 hrs labor.

[Michael Cote]

He may have meant valve cover gasket

[zerotap]

the only gasket i would change if any would be when i change the water pump no sense in replacing the head gasket unless u plan on having the head machined and if u do that u might as well replace all ur internals and if u do that might as well rebuild the engine. lol sorry for the long winded answer, the long short story is just replace the timing belt, cam gears, other serpantine belts, water pump, and of course with other previous good advice check for oil leaks and water leaks from the head gasket. thanks for the input guys it helps out a lot.