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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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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.

 
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OTD is Out The Door

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

 
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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

 
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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.

 
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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

 
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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.

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

 
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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.

 
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$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.

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

 
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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 *** 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 ****in 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 *** 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.

 
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why can t you use impact on crank bolt?

 
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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.

 
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thanks for the replies guys!

-im not Canadian, never even been there, haha. im from southern california, redlands area actually, anyone close want to come help me this weekend?

-ive got a torque wrench, but it only goes to 160, not 181 like the c-shaft specs, i think. ill get one though.

-it should probably be done this weekend (im at 109,568 or so, how much time do YOU think it has?) , i havnt had time to get this special tool that holds the crank pulley. so ill try an impact.

- i called spreen honda here in loma linda, tech guy said they dont even have that tool, they always impact and it always works. also, he mentioned that the tensioner doesnt usually need to be replaced the first time, more like at 200,XXX miles with the 2nd belt. ill probably replace it just in case.

-MarkM01, no offense taken, but ive got enough experience to get this done, i work on my own truck and prep offroad race vehicles in my off time. this honda is just a different animal, thats all.

- does anyone around the so cal area have this tool i can possibly borrow?

-i was wrong on the estimates, it was actually like close to 600.00 done @ a shop near me. the parts are actually 153.28.

if you are in the area (909, redlands, lomalinda, heck, even further) and have this tool, or would like to help me out this weekend please call me @ 909-723-43onefive, thanks again guys!

 
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I can do the job for you if you would like. Im in orange county. PM me for a price It would be much cheaper then the $600 you where quoted. I dont have the tool either but I just use a big flat head screw driver in the flywheel teeth to hold it still while I take off the crank pully bolt. I dont trust using an impact on a grade 12 bolt like the crank one. Snapping it off would make for a really bad day.

 
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1000 lb-ft from your impact huh? What is that a 3/4" drive @ 250 psi?

LOL. No, common 1/2" drive impacts are in the 500 range.

As far as "slam" ing it around. Slam what around? The engine isn't going to turn over when using an impact gun.

I'd put any amount of money on it that even the dealers are taking that bolt on and off with an impact.

If you "lean on it" with a breaker bar. How are you stopping the engine from turning?

 
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In for future ref.

 
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The easy way to hold it still is a big screw between 2 teeth on the flywheel. Thats a grade 12 bolt. Its very hard and more brittle thats why your not supposed to use an impact. My dealer has the tool.

 
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So the only things you will need is the:
timing belt
the other two belts (ps ac and alt.)
water pump
tensioner set
and gaskets?
i heard alot of people replacing the crank pulley (harmonic balancer) is that needed?

 
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I don’t think it is. Unless it wobbles when the engine is running meaning the rubber is worn out.

 
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fyrfytrryn what did you get new (parts)?

thanks

Draganjr

 
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As for parts to replace, this kit takes care of it;

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/01-02...spagenameZWDVW

As for tools, I'd have to check my manual, but you may need a puller to remove the balancer once the bolt it removed.

 
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My timing belt just snapped @ 134,500. Keep on driving it. LOL, just kidding. I am now waiting to hear from the mechanic to see what other damage was done. I was pretty much on my way to drop the car off to him when it snapped. Why couldn't it have held out for another 15 miles?

Before this happened, he quoted me $380 for everything. Now I am playing the waiting game. I hate cars.. Actually just hate the lack of time I have to work on them myself. Hope you get yours taken care of smoothly.

 
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like i said be4 in ur other thread... u dont need to wait n see what other damage is done.. LOL ur just screwed... u should not keep driving on it at all lol... 134,500 is wayyy over done.. if anything with an interferance motor you should be proactive and do it around 80 or 90k

 
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I totally agree. I don’t see why It couldn’t have been replaced sooner 24k over the limit is what, probably at least a year of driving? There is no reason to go over like that. Since you obviously don’t care enough to follow Honda's recommended service schedule and take care of your car, why should we care if you need a new engine because of your incompetence. It’s like saying “Hey I never changed my oil and after 40k my engine seized up…” My answer to that is… wow you’re a moron and don’t deserve any car…. Sorry for being a dick but man it’s just hard for me to understand why someone would do that.

 
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definately true life..

 
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I never used ebay before. Is this a good person to buy from? Has anyone else get theres stuff from this guys?

 
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is it possible to just put the car in gear and hold the brake to loosen the crank pulley bolt??