timing belt went while engine was running

[1988]

my timing belt went while i was at a stop light yesterday. whats the likelihood that the valves might be ok??

[nswst8]

You should be okay, on the highway I would be concerned alittle but at a stop light I wouldn't worry at all. I do believe tha these engines are non interference.

Slap another one on and be on your way.

[w261w261]

This has been a long-running point of discussion, because Gates.com and Honda say the engine is interference. But member's experiences say it is not. I think you're fine.

[1988]

i hope so! i was reading some old threads this morning and it seemed like there could be hope. i will keep you posted thanks for giving me a glimmer of hope!

[Civic Accord Honda]

i believe lost said he snapped one at 6k rpm and it was fine... and my step dads 87 hatch broke twice in the upper rpms and was fine..

[ecogabriel]

You are most likely fine.

The guy from which I bought the car broke the timing belt at 80k (he forgot to replace it!!!).
The dealer that replaced the belt did not find any problem with the engine (I read the report from his repair receipt), replaced the belt and sent it on its way.

And even with interference engines sometimes it's hit and miss. For instance, I had seen once an interference engine from the early 70s (Fiat) with its pistons cracked, valves bent, and even spark plug damage as result of a broken timing belt. In another case, the same type of engine lost its belt at a traffic light and no problem at all

When installing a new belt make sure you pay attention to the timing marks in the flywheel (even a Honda dealer can make mistakes on this as I realized when replacing mine) and the marks on the cam pulley (it is marked in its front and rear; I found useful to paint the rear marks facing the head for alignment)
Besides, make yourself a favor and replace crank and cam seals; if you are really obsessed replace oil pump seals too
Finally, verify the marks hold their positions once it is assembled; I removed my spark plugs to turn the engine more easily to see whether it held OK.
Anyway, the guys around here are experienced with this task. Good luck

[MessyHonda]

slap on a belt...and get it on the road

[Pico]

you should be fine
when I bought my 88 the owner had the belt go on them with 98k on it.
New belt and tensioner and she drives great.

[1987AccordLx-i]

yeah man just put another belt on.. get that 3g on the road again.. picos belt went with 98k miles... my friends supra had a gates timing belt that looked like it never was replaced.. cracked and peices of it missing.. shit looks like it had all the 160k the drivetrain has on it.. gates is a good brand along with gatorback

[Toneloc5145]

You'll be fine. My t-belt didn't break, but about half of the belt teeth had stripped. I was doing about 70 on the highway. I put a new belt on and the car runs really nice now.

[ArokASE88LXi]

ya bud you'll be fine mine went at 65 on the hwy no problems just a tow new belt and on the road again... Btw an old tech friend of mine told me Honda has never made a passenger car with an interference engine... don't know if it's true or not but i've never ran into one that was an interference engine (and i've done quite a few!)

[88Accord-DX]

I've seen on this forum people having the valves bent on these cars when the timing belt snaps. Seems like the recesses on top of the piston helped out in the majority of timing belt failure... Overall, it's a small percentage of folks that have damage when the belt brakes, like less than 10%.....

[russ_512]

i broke mine at a light. i just put brakes on my car and took off at a red light to see how good i stop lol brave but when i went to take off from the light it broke and i put another on and it was fine just slap on one and drive

[ArokASE88LXi]

I've seen on this forum people having the valves bent on these cars when the timing belt snaps. Seems like the recesses on top of the piston helped out in the majority of timing belt failure... Overall, it's a small percentage of folks that have damage when the belt brakes, like less than 10%.....

that's pretty strange how some could be and others not. maybe theres a common point to the ones that bent valves like they had head work done and machined the head down to where it was an interference engine or carbon build up or aftermarket engine parts. i dunno that's just strange to me.

[JpSaNaB]

Mine went out a couple of years ago doing 75mph on my EX, just replaced the belt and everything was OK. Good luck!

[carotman]

I wonder if the 88-89 EFI could be an interference engine. It's the one that has higher compression ratio.

[Civic Accord Honda]

could be ... i know the one that went out on my step dads was an 87dx and lost said his went out and he has a 86dx

[StUpiD8000]

My 89 LXi broke and I repalced it and had no issues.

[carotman]

Well

I guess valve damage could occur if the valves are at FULL extension when the piston comes up. What usually happens is that the valve springs will force the camshaft to come in an "in between" state with the valves partially closed.

[89T]

I wonder if the 88-89 EFI could be an interference engine. It's the one that has higher compression ratio.

halxi's old 88 had no issues. i bought it with a broke belt.
my 89 was ok also.

[fijisac]

well i'm not sure if ur valves r ok, but from wut i have heard, is da old honda engine are not free-wheeling engines (whick maybe result in engine damage so all i can say it just change out the belt and hope it does not knock when it starts up again....

[1988]

I forgot to post the outcome....my car ended up being fine. A new water pump and timing belt were slapped on and the car got back into commission!

[conozo]

thanks for posting the outcome.

As was discussed a week or two ago i think, these engine are classified as interference only because they can be if you put a performance cam on or modify the head at all. Otherwise if its stock, its non interference.

[2drSE-i]

I would still consider it an interference engine. Enough carbon build-up or a bit of valve float and you can break stuff. 9/10 times though, youll be fine.

[lostforawhile]

I broke one at 7000 rpm and no damage. when i was putting valve stem seals on while replacing the belt, i was able to drop the valves down to the retainer groove before they even touched the piston, piston was at TDC. whats odd is the early hatch had a higher compression then most of the FI engines until 88-89 i have a thread with the numbers somewhere.