timing belt help...

fyrfytrryn · 09-23-2007

well the 03 is about to click 109,000... time for the timing belt gig i suppose.

through looking in my manual (haynes) and browsing the civic forums, ive got a few questions.

1. TDC, do i just have to line the marks up, or does it HAVE TO be #1 piston TDC?
2. i dont own a ft. lb torque wrench or an in. lb torque wrench, will i need them? i also dont own a powerful impact, and im afraid i will shear the head off the crankshaft bolt with force rather than impact. at this point, i will just sell this thing.
3. with all the parts coming from autozone, parts alone come up to 280.00, thats minus any kind of tool (like the one i need to hold the crankshaft pulley, a torque wrench if need be). im not sure how much all the parts would be from honda (today is sunday, parts is closed) and i would really like it to stay genuine honda, should i just pay them to do it? they want like 430.00 OTD, and i dont want to mess it up. ive done the TB on my ranger, but that was CAKE, i didnt really have to remove 20 things before even seeing the belt.

on top of all this, the only time i will have to do this is a sunday after 10:00, other six days are full, and monday i have to be up @ 6:00.
based on this, how many of you suggest i take this sucker to be done and not have to rush it on a sunday? im pretty mechanically inclined, but id hate for something to go wrong and not have the car drivable. thoughts? thanks in advance guys!

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speedfoos · 09-24-2007

1. I've done them with whichever piston happens to be at TDC, not necessarily #1.

2. You absolutely must have a torque wrench. No gettin' around this one really. You have to torque the crank pulley back on properly, if not it could fall off and you will fubar your car.

3. You can borrow a torque wrench from Autozone, but you will need the Honda crank pulley holder. Again, no (that I know of) gettin' around this one.

4. What are OTDs?

5. If you're movin' and groovin' this job "should" take about 4 hours.

flotsamm · 09-24-2007

OTD is Out The Door

speedfoos · 09-24-2007

Ah. I thought it was something like Ontario Dollars. You never can tell with those nutty Canadians.

02civic21 · 09-26-2007

i agree with foos here but 280 bucks damn all you shoud need is the manual, torque wrench, the belt and a few different size wrenches maybe a stubby phillips head because you have to take off the covers. oh and that tool to hold the crank (if you dont use the impact) or you could use a hammer bar. its a pretty easy job except for the crank bolt. i had to hire a mobile mechanic to do mine and he had to call a buddy of his with an air compressor on the back of his truck so he could get that thing off. 19mm socket for the crank bolt and 10mm to remove the covers. then turn the cam until the valves are at a neutral position(all valves closed or partially open) so the pistons can move without hitting the valves. then turn the crank until it lines up with the mark on the block. once that is done turn the cam so that the "up" is up on the sprocket. now the crank and the cam are at TDC so you just use the phillips head to loosen the tensioner and slip the belt on. then put it all back together. just torque that crank bolt down
sorry for the thread jack i get carried away sometimes

speedfoos · 09-26-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by 02civic21

then turn the cam until the valves are at a neutral position(all valves closed or partially open) so the pistons can move without hitting the valves. then turn the crank until it lines up with the mark on the block. once that is done turn the cam so that the "up" is up on the sprocket. now the crank and the cam are at TDC so you just use the phillips head to loosen the tensioner and slip the belt on. then put it all back together. just torque that crank bolt down sorry for the thread jack i get carried away sometimes

This seems really complicated. Why not just set the crank at the white TDC mark with the timing belt still on, pull the cam sprocket off - head now stays at TDC, then remove the crank pulley. This way you're not independently rotating the cam and the crank to set them to TDC. You also don't have to mess with the tensioner at all. I don't know.

After thinking about it, I guess it's six of one half dozen of the other....still thinking.........it may be better going your route as that way you are guaranteed to get the ribs on the belt and the cogs lined up right, instead of eyeballing a new belt on to the cam gear and reattaching it the the cam.

02civic21 · 09-26-2007

well you have to remove the belt to take off the cam and then to put it back on you must mess with the tensioner. because the belt is really tight

speedfoos · 09-26-2007

Hmm. When I did mine on Monday I just removed the cam gear bolt and slipped the whole gear off with the belt. I did the same thing when putting it back on last night. Put the belt on the right teeth of the cam gear and then slipped the whole thing back onto the end of the cam and put the bolt back in.

Oh well. Two different ways to accomplish the same thing.

greeen01civic4d · 09-26-2007

god, i need to do this too, but im kinda scared, dont really want to take it on, but i need to

speedfoos · 09-27-2007

Aren't you a mechanic Adam?! Grow a pair and dive in brother! It's actually really easy and a lot less to worry about than if you were jerking the head off the motor.

MarkM01 · 09-27-2007

$430 for the dealer to do it? LOL. Why consider the hassle and time to do it yourself? No offense, but it sounds like it's to much of a job for you to do.

02civic21 · 09-27-2007

hey that mobile mechanic i mentiond earlier he only charged me 150 to do it all for me

Boilermaker1 · 09-27-2007

TDC #1 because when you do, it puts the key that holds the pulley on the crank on top, which increases the likelihood of it staying put when you take the pulley off. Its a little tiny thing which is a pain in the ass to find if it falls.
You also should TDC #1 because the stock cam gear really only has timing marks for #1. I guess you could try and TDC #3, but its so easy to do 1 that it makes sense.

You dont really need a torque wrench. The spec on the pulley bolt is 14.5 lb-ft plus 90 degrees. This equates to the very accurate spec of "Really Fuckin Tight".
I dont know why parts are so much. The belt is $12, the water pump is around $70. If you need a tensioner, the tensioner set is about 70 and new accessory belts are 8 and 11 respectively. If you're buying from the dealer, you're getting ripped off. Buy them through majestic honda's online parts dept. DO NOT impact gun the crank pulley bolt. Get the pulley tool, a 1/2" drive 19mm socket and a 5' breaker bar, take the bumper off and lean on it. They're not too bad with leverage and the proper tools.
Its a pain in the ass because there's no room. If you have to do it overnight, I wouldnt.... you got about 2.5" to work with in there, and if you dont know what you're doing, I'd do it in daylight.
$430 doesnt sound too bad for a T-belt and H2O pump job.

02civic21 · 09-27-2007

why can t you use impact on crank bolt?

Boilermaker1 · 09-27-2007

1. Because the manual says not to.
2. Just think about it.... motor off, no oil pressure, do you really want to slam that thing around with a 1000 lb-ft air gun? Or just lean on it with a breaker bar and slowly pop it loose.
3. You can also snap the snout off the crank with an air gun... which is obviously bad.
4. you dont want to shock load the crankshaft.