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So I just realized I installed my timing belt gear without the guide plate behind it. I have been driving the car. I imagine my timing belt has been rubbing against my block off and on and eventually it is prematurely going to snap. That alone would suggest I should get my *** back in there and put the guide plate on. problem is I have a worn crankshaft keyway and I had to put some quickmetal in there so it is all probably stuck in place. I guess im wondering if this is really something I should worry about or will my timing belt be ok for a decent amount of time?

 
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i don't think anybody can give a definite answer to that question, it could snap today, or it could last 50,000 miles,

if it was my car i wouldn't take that risk, i would be getting in there and doing it properly as soon as possible,

and i would also replace the belt with another new belt, seeing as it might have been damaged,

i wouldn't want to be worrying every second im driving if my timing belt is going to snap or not, its not worth the stress alone,

but its your car and your choice,

are you a gambler?....if so, how often do you win?




.

 
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if Honda felt it didn't need a guide plate they wouldn't of put one in
Your playing Russian roulette with your engine

 
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Thanks for the input guys. I know it is kind of an obvious answer. I guess I was just hoping I was wrong in some way about the guide plate being crucial. I will be getting in there asap. one more question though.. as I mentioned my crankshaft has been worn due to what looks like someone put the harmonic balancer in without a key haha. Was not my doing ill tell ya that. So not only the crankshaft, but the built in key on the original timing belt gear was smooshed I guess and is now thinner along with the keyway being a bit wider, causing a lot of play. I ordered a new timing belt gear and it turned out to be one for a 88-95 civic. So I just filled it in with Loctite 660 metal gap filler and installed the original, that seemed to work fine until now that I realize the guide plate is on my counter. I WONDER if I just get another guide plate for the other side of the older timing belt gear would that workout? the original one has a wall already on the outer side, the older one does not. I would like to use the older one because it is in a lot better condition.

 
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a bit hard to understand here,

are you saying the crankshaft itself is damaged?
where the key slot is?

what kind of a moron could possibly damage that? holy crap

i dont know what to say, you cant really fix that without replacing the crankshaft, and a damaged key slot could also affect your timing

 
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Yeah the end of the keyway chipped off, but not that bad and then farther in where the timing gear sits it is indented a bit. Very tight budget, there is no way I can afford a new crank. Filled in the indentation very carefully with a metal gap filler specifically designed for shaft repair (Loctite 660 quick metal retaining compound), set the balancer key also with the filler, and also replaced the chipped end of the keyway after the key was set. I let it all harden before I put the harmonic balancer on. The car ran great, It felt like a great success until I realize I basically cemented all that in there without the guide plate behind it. I did do my best to install it in a way that wouldn't get everything stuck real good so hopefully It will not be too hard to uninstall. For all I know it might have been running a tiny bit out of time, but I don't know how noticeable that would be and I did not hear any unusual noises. I would say I put about 20 miles on her before I realized the inevitable disaster. yeah I was pretty pissed off some a hole would be so careless install without key. So about the timing belt gear.. the original gear's key looks damaged, there is play when I put it on the crank and the key looks a bit too thin. I ordered the wrong replacement and got one for 88-95 civic which is just the teeth and nothing to prevent travel from each side unlike the one I took out of the car. I seen a diagram for either my d16y8 with a different configuration or a d16y7 that showed the older gear with guide plates on each side and I was hoping someone could tell me if that would be ok to do. I mean I guess I would be resorting to an older timing gear configuration for this engine on a new one and that seems a little risky. If I cant get a for sure answer im just going to use the original gear again with the filler and keep the old one as a paper weight because its shiny and new. I also want to do this because it would mean next time probably wont be such a pain to get the gear because I wont have to put as much or any filler in there.

 
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it sounds like your saying the old/current drive gear is damaged also?.....if that is the case i would replace it, and get the proper one for YOUR ENGINE,

take the old drive gear off and clean all that crap you put on the crank as best as you can, then slide the new gear on and see how much play there is,

hopefully for your sake all the damage is confined to the gear itself, and not the crank,

post some pictures if you can of the crank with the gear off and the gear itself



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Got everything off the crank last night and took your advice about getting a new timing belt gear. The correct one for my engine. I realized if used the older gear my crank position sensor would have nothing to read. I am guessing the older civics don't have those or they are located elsewhere. Here is a pic of the damaged crankshaft.



Again I cant get a new crankshaft so I have to make this work haha. Although it sucks I had to do all this again because I forgot the guide plate, I am glad I got to see how the Loctite 660 quickmetal was holding up. I was very satisfied and have no doubt this will hold up until my next change or beyond. The car ran great when I first did this and I am conifident it will again. If it does fail later on it would just be the harmonic balancer, I am not worried about the timing belt gear. Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

 
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huh?!? you don't have timing belts. You posted on 8/9th gen section, so i assume you have 2006+.

 
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Oh my bad. I am new to this forum. Thought I was posting in the mechanical problems section. I have 00 civic ex.

 
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Moved thread to 6th gen.