Fabio Drummond

I have a 2002 Civic Sedan LX, which has only a little more than 10k miles (about 16k km), although it will be 7 years old (of course) in next june. Such a low mileage is result of a health problem I had, but the car has been used used, very sparinglly, by my sons, and is in perfect shape.
The question is : the owners manual says 110k miles (176k km) as the interval between replacements of the timing belt, or 7 years of use. So, I ask to the friends, is it really necessary in this special case, or may I delay the replacement? Many thanks, and excuses for the bad english.

speedfoos

iTrader: (17)

Where are you located and what is the climate? If it is hot and dry, then I would replace it soon as the rubber can become dry, brittle and risk breaking. If you are in a temperate region - like the middle western part of the USA, then I would leave it alone.

Fabio Drummond

Speedfoos, I live in the eastern part of Brazil, where the climate isn't very dry, but somewhat hot. So, I'll take your advice and replace the belt as soon as possible.
Thank you very much.

d0ughbOy81

iTrader: (4)

honda says 120000 mile time for a timing belt but while ur in there u should do the water pump and bent tensioner

but i would agree with speedfoos

Fabio Drummond

OK, dOughbOy, I'll not forget to do this. Many thanks.

greeny_beany

i got mine replaced yesterday,have them looks at yours valves also. its sucks that a timing belt in hondas is such a pain and costly.
i got valves adjusted
water pump and timing belt cost be about 700

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

damn thats alot I would say, normally $500 is what is expected at a dealership, or at least I thought. I will be doing mine this summer or sooner.

speedfoos

iTrader: (17)

That sucks. I charge $100 +parts to do them in my garage.

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

$100 bux wow thats great..parts are only about $200 so $100 for just labor is like $300. I think the stealerships charge $300 for just labor

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

I think valve adjustment is also included with timing belt replacement. They did the tensioner too I would assume?

Sluggo

Want to hear something crazy?... my brother has a 1990 Accord that he put 435 thousand miles on it.. he finally gave it to charity and got a tax break. the car was so good, he bought another honda...a 00 civic, he put 236 thousand miles on it.. BOTH cars, he has NEVER changed the timing belts, even though his mechanic told him to every time he took it in....
Just shows honda quality... at my last job, my friend has a Hyundai.. he never changed his timing belt.. at 106 thousand miles, it broke... and he needed a new engine. I would not suggest doing what my brother did... but this shows, Honda has awesome cars !!

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

yea its all a hit or miss..where do u live sluggo?

Krumenager

Are there any symptoms before the timing belt goes?

speedfoos

iTrader: (17)

Nope. It either works and your motor is fine, or it breaks and you bend valves. There are no in-between stages.

Sluggo

i live in Arizona.. but my brother who i am talking about lives in California. Around the Santa Maria area

04 Honda Civic

iTrader: (2)

What if the belt was to stretch a bit could u somehow have a rough idle?



I was reading in the owner manual and it says 110k or 7 years whatever comes first so remember dont always go according to miles.

dopes6070

iTrader: (25)

Just to give you a heads up I would tell them NOT to change the water pump, tensioner and not to adjust the valves since you only have 10k miles. Replace only the belt since its the only item that will go bad with age. I work on these all the time and under your circumstances I would want get some more use out of the water pump/ tensioner. Definatly have the coolant flushed though.

Fabio Drummond

Many thanks everybody.
I decided to replace the belt but have serious doubts about the age of the new one I buy, considering that Honda changed to timing chains instead of belts some years ago, and those in stock may be about as old as the one in my car. Or is this a dumb question (the belt in storage will last much longer, maybe ?)
Any help will be very useful.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Wow your still debating this from 2009? Honda still manufactures new replacement belts for your car. So your getting a new belt