Rep Power: 129

I have a Canadian 2005 Acura EL with 149xxx km. The vehicle had only one previous owner with all the service being done on time at either the dealer or my personal mechanic. My service manual says the timing belt is due for change at 178'000 km or 84 months. I live in the pacific northwest so the vehicle is only exposed to below freezing temperatures maybe 3 or 4 weeks of the year.

I'm getting a little bit anxious about blowing the belt since I'm past the 84 month deadline. I imagine I will hit the 178'000 mark in a couple years. How big of a risk am I taking by waiting do the timing belt and water pump? Also, is there any other service I should have done when I do get it replaced?

 
Rep Power: 519

Do you gamble? Do you win a lot?

Your valves are at stake, the engines bend valves 9/10x if the belt lets go.

 
Rep Power: 129

No I am not a gambling man. Thanks for putting the situation in the correct perspective.

Since my D17A2 simply has an acura plate I should be able to have it done at Honda, no? I imagine the Acura dealer will charge more for labour.

 
Rep Power: 512

it's easy enough for a DIY job. It's more intimidating than hard.

 
Rep Power: 129

 
Rep Power: 519

It's a Civic LOL, unless the Honda dealer is prejudiced against Acura I'm sure they would do it


Call both places and ask how much to do the timing belt job.
Make sure you get an itemized estimate so you can compare apples to apples.
If one places' quote includes a water pump and the other doesn't, the prices would vary widely so make sure of what you are seeing on paper

If the car is expected to cross 180k miles (290k km?) before the next timing belt replacement I'd strongly urge you to consider replacing the tensioner pulley (with spring) for the timing belt, and use ONLY a genuine Honda part for this.
Expensive yes, but not as expensive as a cheapo part will be.
Aftermarket is known for crap crap, super premature and quite dramatic failures. (Again, the valves are at stake....plus .....(my luck would be) a tow from the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night)

 
Rep Power: 134

I have a 2003 ACURA EL and did mine at the dealer last year at 140K kms (144 months) with the head gasket repair. Replaced the TB, 2 accessory belts and water pump only. Tensioner not changed this time. Flushed coolant, changed thermostat and changed cam and crank seals as well.


Keep on eye on the head gasket as it is a common issue. Don't wait until the engine overheats to the point of a warped head.


How about the spark plugs? Replaced them yet? Use OEM.

 
Rep Power: 129

Is there anything else I can do to keep an eye on the head gasket other than watching the temp gauge and checking for leaks?

Last summer my mechanic pointed out I had some coolant in the overflow tank which he said can be indicative of a blown head gasket. He decided to just replace the radiator cap and haven't seen any overflow since.

 
Rep Power: 134

You can check for:
Coolant leaking externally from bellow the exhaust manifold
White smoke from the exhaust pipe
Overheating engine
Bubbles in the radiator or coolant overflow tank
White milky oil
Significant loss of coolant with no visible leaks


There are tests that a mechanic can do to check for a leaking head gasket like a compression test or dye testing for coolant in oil and vice versa. You do not want to wait until it gets to the point of engine overheating where the temp gauge goes above the normal position on the dash gauge. A warped head could result which would require planning to correct or a cylinder head/engine replacement.


Mine was determined via a chemical test for exhaust gases in the coolant. The only symptom I could tell was the lack of heat in the cabin.