Rep Power: 0

I'm getting ready to do my timing belt replacement on Civic 2004 LX with 91K. I've got a belt from Honda and a FelPro valvecover gasket. Question is should I use OEM water pump or does it matter? I have a Cardone Industries pump from autozone. Has anyone used a non oem pump and had any problems? I've been a civic owner for six months now. Thanks in advance...

 
Rep Power: 352

non oem is fine.... just as long as you dont buy the 10$ ebay ones...

i would also suggest you get a new tensioner, power steering belt, and AC belt. they are cheap and the mechanic is right there when ur doing it. they gotta take it off anyways, might as well put a new one...

@ 100k my PS belt and AC belt was all cracked.

 
Rep Power: 812

might as well change the crank pulley too if you have extra $

 
Rep Power: 234

why would you change the crank pulley?? are you saying to like change it to a underdrive or something?? and also its a good thing to take a look at your cam seal its possible that it is leakin.... most of the cars that i do t-belts on have leaking cam seals.

 
Rep Power: 812

just get a new stock one. the rubber balancer inside usually is only good for 60-80k miles before it starts to fall apart. then your engine gets worn out faster cause there is less vibration damping.

 
Rep Power: 234

my car has 135000 on it and no problems.. i have never heard of anyone replacing the crank pulley unless it actually falls apart for some reason.. Thats interesting.

 
Rep Power: 299

Ive never replaced one either... an easy way to tell is if it wobbles at idle then definatly replace it.

 
Rep Power: 812

well like i said, only if you have the extra $ (its actually not much for a new one anyway). its not "required" perse, just recommended because ive seen pulleys with less than 100k and the rubber insert was almost completely gone. over time it will put more stress on the engine, which is exactly what you dont want on an old motor.

 
Rep Power: 275

changing the crank pulley is a waste the only the rubber on the very out side of the edge of the pulley faces the elements and gets worn. the rubber that is squeezed into the pulley never faces the elements and you don't have worry about it going bad. the only time have seen it necessary to replace the crank pulley is if you break it or knock off a piece of it. honda balances them so nicely from the factory that you could torch out all the rubber dampening material in the pulley and you would not notice any difference. most old cars don't have rubber compressed into them just a balanced block of metal to keep it running smooth.

They don't go bad I have seen a number of 350 thousand miles+ cars that are running the original crank pulley and there is no difference in the way they run. When the crank pulley is out of balance you will know fast very fast the car will start vibrating like mad it will try to kick your hands off the steering wheel with the vibrations.