k, i got my car(97 accord lx) from my brother and he bought it from another guy. when he bought the car it had around 88-89k on it. before he bought the car(he didnt ask about timing belt at the time) it was in a frontal collision, i did a carfax on it and it has a "salvage title" at one point and then later on it recieved a "rebuilt" title. ill copy and paste the definitions of this as i see it on the carfax history report

Salvage Title
A Salvage Title is issued on a vehicle damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing the vehicle exceeds ~ 75% of its pre-damage value.. This damage threshold may vary by state. Some states treat Junk titles the same as Salvage but the majority use this title to indicate that a vehicle is not road worthy and cannot be titled again in that state. The following ten States also use Salvage titles to identify stolen vehicles - AZ, FL, GA, IL, MD, MN, NJ, NM, NY, OK and OR.


Rebuilt/Reconstructed Title
A Rebuilt/Reconstructed vehicle is a salvage vehicle that has been repaired and restored to operation. These vehicles are often severely damaged before they are rebuilt and refurbished parts are typically used during reconstruction. In most states, an inspection of the vehicle is required before the vehicle is allowed to return to the road.

this is the question. since the car has the rebuilt title and the damage occured to the front, do u think that they would have used a new timing belt during the refurbishing? also, honda recommends that it must be done at 90k and im now at 124k do you think it shouldve broken by now? honda gives me the "not necessarily" answer with just about anything i ask them. so now im asking the honest people.

thanks for ANY help.

 

rebuilt would have just meant the exterior.... if it was in a frontal accident, the motor could have been saved depending on the impact.... if it was saved, it's unlikely tht they touched the internals of the motor at all... i say just go ahead and change it for peace of mind

 

thanks man, i think ima go through with it. they said 419.00 to do it, but im assuming alot of other stuff will need to be done so ima just expect 600.00.

i have to drive about 500miles to see my girlfriend so to have my car break down on I-10 on the way there would be just about the worse thing that i could think of.

but if u dont mind sharing your two cents on my theory id appreciate it. since the belt was meant to be changed at 90k, i had it from around that and i used to be fairly hard on it until i matured. its at 124k, and i live in louisiana so the hot to cold weather change isnt that traumatic of a change. if it didnt get changed at 90k do u think it wouldve broken by now?

i should have been asleep several hours ago but ive been trying to find a legit reason NOT to go through with this, my theory is my only one. if its wrong, i have no choice but to spend some money this week.

 

being a 9 yr old car is pushing it. when the timing belts break (have a 92, 2 timing belts, i think its the same engines 90 thru 97?) they will crush your valves. hondas have interference engines. some toyotas and many american models have noninterference engines. when the belts break on those cars the car just stops running no real damage occurs. i gather that price includes the drive belts, associated oil seals and the water pump. some places charge more for the oil seals but they r worth having done since u have to remove the timing cover to get to them.

if your balancer shaft seal goes u will lose all of your oil in a few minutes. there is a spacer that is put in to keep it in place when its replaced in a timing belt maintenance. the spacer is not an original part. there was a recall that is closed now on that oil seal this is the fix for it. its added with the timing belt maintenance or if u r unfortunate enough to lose all your oil. it will dump out fast.

u can go to www.hondaautoparts.com, majestic will come up and see a diagram of what im talking about.

salvage title and repair. i doubt they did anything to the engine. most places r going to put that on the new owners dime. its a bitch to have to spend money on car maintenance none of us likes to do it. good luck.

 

actually under normal conditions the 97 accord T-belt is due 7 years or 105k even tho it uses the exact timing belt as the 90-02 non vtec accords part numbers and all, but for peace of mind change both the timing and balanceshaft belts and the waterpump , also inspect the tensioners ,cam ,balance shaft ,crank & oil pump seals for seepage and replace as needed also make the balance shaft seal retainer is installed.