i have a 1998 honda accord lx sedan with a 2.3 liter 4 cyl. i recently had the timing belt changed for the first time. when it was changed it had over 188,000 miles on the odometer. i was wondering if anyone else out there with this same car/engine waited this long to have it changed? the mechanic didnt believe me at first. he said the belt looked like it had about 50 or 60k on it. i havent had any problems i was just curious.

 

I went to change my belt on a integra I had that had 90,000 on it and the mechanic said I looked brand new, I think you should change it around 110,000. My motor in my 95 accord f22b has 205,000 on it, Im not sure if its been changed

 

1998 and u have 188k miles on it!?

 

wow nice, i change mine at 76k miles i now have 78k miles and they look like they needed to b change soon. 96autoaccord.


have u change the transmission yet? and is it manual or auto?

 

108,xxx and still going strong... hopefully. :nervous:

 

i changed mine at 105k. I mean, it is one of those things where you cant tell when to replace it. Some people have gone without changing them, and some unfortunate people snap there belts and get engine damage.

 

188,000...all those ur miles??? i have a 98 and had mine changed at 90K. prolly didnt need it tho. did u get ur water pump changed too? i didnt. they said it could wait for another 90 (not the honda dealership)-one of those "honda specialist" places.

 

age is also a factor too. the longer the timing belt is on the car it can dry out and crack. i would try to get it done by 105K.

honestly waiting till 188K is just crazy you should do some gambling in vegas cause your a lucky guy.

 

Anyone who lets their timing belt go past 90k is a fool. You're driving on borrowed time. I do mine every 80k (not the 90k recommended). If you've hit 90k or its been over 6 years since you did it last, you better keep your fingers crossed.

Regular maintenance should be put before any bling-ariffic mods. Most people do it th other way around. Having a well-running and maintained car is a mod unto itself.

 

These are true and wise words, but . . .

I have changed timing belts on Integras with more than 100K miles on them, and the belts really, really still look totally fine.

No visible wear. No noticeable rounding of the tooth edges. No cracking along the edges of the teeth where it attached to the belt, even when you bend the belt back at 180 degrees. No fraying of the belt edge.

It's kinda frustrating actually, to feel like you're changing perfectly good parts out.

But as long as you're in there (and have broken that crank pulley loose!) might as well replace the water pump and probably the idler pulley too . . .

I had a friend who let a timing belt go on his early 90's Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi actually of course) go until 162K miles - then SNAP! Stranding him on the side of the road on the way to work. Apparently nothing bent and he just changed the belt and kept driving it.

BTW, most Civic timing belt snappages do NOT cause bent valves - not sure why. It seems to be a less-interference motor than Honda would lead you to believe. On Preludes and Accords, though, your chances of very expensive damage is much greater.