93 Legend timing belt
07-19-2004, 12:03 PM
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93 Legend timing belt
I am getting ready to do my own timing belt. Does anyone have words of wisdom or "gotchas" for this particular car? I have all the tools, a Chilton's manual, and a ton of experience on non-Honda cars. I intend to replace all of the belts too.
Gary
Gary
07-25-2004, 06:21 AM
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I just completed mine this weekend. 93 Legend LS with 145,000 miles.
No "gotchas"… My words of wisdom are as follows:
1 - I ended up purchasing a special tool ($45.00) to hold the crank pulley in place while loosening the 19 mm center bolt.
2 - You have to remove the front motor mount (damper, center bracket plus the mount itself) to be able to pull out the crank pulley.
3 - To reinstall the center bracket you have to raise the front of the engine to line up the 4 bolts.
4 - I ended up removing the throttle body assembly (four nuts) with the linkages in place for better access. (Need to change the gasket)
5 - To be able to pull out the bottom timing belt cover you also have to remove the rubber gasket around the tensioner pulley adjusting bolt. A small screw driver is all you need to remove the gasket from outside).
6 - Don't panic if you see a black tar like rubbery material flowing from behind the left camshaft sprocket. It is not a leaky camshaft seal. It is the insulation material inside the camshaft position sensor that is melting and flowing out. This is apparently a common problem with all Acuras. I panicked and replaced the sensor ($134.00) and later on was told by a mechanic that it would have probably lasted another 10 years!
7 - You will probably have an easier time fitting the new timing belt if you first advance (clockwise) the right (passenger side) camshaft pulley by half a tooth.
8 - I also replaced the tensioner pulley and the spring.
Overall it was a fun project and took me around 16 hours to complete.
Have fun.
No "gotchas"… My words of wisdom are as follows:
1 - I ended up purchasing a special tool ($45.00) to hold the crank pulley in place while loosening the 19 mm center bolt.
2 - You have to remove the front motor mount (damper, center bracket plus the mount itself) to be able to pull out the crank pulley.
3 - To reinstall the center bracket you have to raise the front of the engine to line up the 4 bolts.
4 - I ended up removing the throttle body assembly (four nuts) with the linkages in place for better access. (Need to change the gasket)
5 - To be able to pull out the bottom timing belt cover you also have to remove the rubber gasket around the tensioner pulley adjusting bolt. A small screw driver is all you need to remove the gasket from outside).
6 - Don't panic if you see a black tar like rubbery material flowing from behind the left camshaft sprocket. It is not a leaky camshaft seal. It is the insulation material inside the camshaft position sensor that is melting and flowing out. This is apparently a common problem with all Acuras. I panicked and replaced the sensor ($134.00) and later on was told by a mechanic that it would have probably lasted another 10 years!
7 - You will probably have an easier time fitting the new timing belt if you first advance (clockwise) the right (passenger side) camshaft pulley by half a tooth.
8 - I also replaced the tensioner pulley and the spring.
Overall it was a fun project and took me around 16 hours to complete.
Have fun.
07-28-2004, 05:18 PM
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The tool is now ordered. Thank you for making me aware of it. I tried an impact gun to break the bolt free. No good! Is it possible that my repeated attempts to break the pulley nut free threw the timing off? After my failed attempt to get the pulley off, I reinstalled everything but the car won't start now. It has fuel and spark but no light off. What the heck? All I did was remove the radiator, change the belts and work on the pulley with an impact gun.
Gary
Gary
07-30-2004, 01:30 PM
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A few questions concerning the timing belt replacement on my 93 legend. After trying to remove the center bolt from the crankshaft pulley with an impact gun, I bought the correct tool and used it and a breaker bar to get the center bolt out. Now I see in the Chilton’s Manual that I need to get the engine to Top Dead Center on #1 cylinder. Oops. too late – timing belt is off. Is the left (driver’s side) front cylinder the number 1? Then I need to ensure that the two cam sprockets are indexed correctly. I see the paint marks on the TB pulley and the cover and I see the marks on the crankshaft. Since this is an interference engine, how do I rotate the engine, with the timing belt off to get to TDC with destroying the valves? Along the same lines, how do I rotate the right cam sprocket to align those two marks without having the valves hit the head? The left cam sprocket is properly indexed so I am only talking about the passenger side cam sprocket.
In a nutshell, how do I rotate all of this without having the valves hit the pistons and how do I determine TDC? The new water pump is on and I am ready to rock and roll on this.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Gary
In a nutshell, how do I rotate all of this without having the valves hit the pistons and how do I determine TDC? The new water pump is on and I am ready to rock and roll on this.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks,
Gary
07-30-2004, 04:38 PM
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Gary,
The passenger side front cylinder is the number one cylinder.
As far as how to rotate the crank with timing belt off and avoiding any damage to the valve train do the followings:
1 - Remove all spark plugs
2 - Use an 18" long dowel or something similar to probe the position of the pistons through the spark plug openings
3 - Gently rotate the crank shaft slightly while probing the position of the pistons to make sure that pistons on both side are at least half an inch or so away from the TDC. (Do it slowly and check positions frequently)
4 - Once you are sure that the pistons are out of the way, you can go ahead and rotate the camshafts to the TDC mark.
5 - Remember that the camshaft is going to be loaded by the valve springs and you might not be able to rotate them free hand. If that is the case you can use your old timing belt and a peace of 2x4 and make yourself a wrench to grab the camshaft sprocket and rotate it to the proper position.
6 - Once camshafts are positioned at the TDC mark, go ahead and place the crank at the TDC (align the top of the key way with the timing mark on the oil pump housing). Again, probe piston positions to make sure that there is no interference with the valves.
7 - Install the new timing belt tightly in the following sequence:
1- Crankshaft, 2-tensioner pulley, 3 - driver side cam pulley, 4-water pump pulley
5 - Passenger cam pulley
Do the initial tension adjustmnet by losening followed by tightening the adjusting bolt.
In order to do the final timing belt tension adjustment - rotate crank 5 or 6 turns clockwise to make sure it is seated properly then do the followings:
1- Set number 1 piston at TDC (camshafts at proper marks and crank shaft pulley WHITE mark on pointer at lower timing belt cover)
2- Rotate crank clockwise 9-teeth on camshaft pulley (the BLUE mark on crankshaft pulley should line up with the pointer on the lower timing belt cover)
3- Loosen the timing belt adjusting bolt 180 degrees
4 - Tighten the adjusting bolt to 31 ft-lb
Let me know if you have additional questions.
Albert
The passenger side front cylinder is the number one cylinder.
As far as how to rotate the crank with timing belt off and avoiding any damage to the valve train do the followings:
1 - Remove all spark plugs
2 - Use an 18" long dowel or something similar to probe the position of the pistons through the spark plug openings
3 - Gently rotate the crank shaft slightly while probing the position of the pistons to make sure that pistons on both side are at least half an inch or so away from the TDC. (Do it slowly and check positions frequently)
4 - Once you are sure that the pistons are out of the way, you can go ahead and rotate the camshafts to the TDC mark.
5 - Remember that the camshaft is going to be loaded by the valve springs and you might not be able to rotate them free hand. If that is the case you can use your old timing belt and a peace of 2x4 and make yourself a wrench to grab the camshaft sprocket and rotate it to the proper position.
6 - Once camshafts are positioned at the TDC mark, go ahead and place the crank at the TDC (align the top of the key way with the timing mark on the oil pump housing). Again, probe piston positions to make sure that there is no interference with the valves.
7 - Install the new timing belt tightly in the following sequence:
1- Crankshaft, 2-tensioner pulley, 3 - driver side cam pulley, 4-water pump pulley
5 - Passenger cam pulley
Do the initial tension adjustmnet by losening followed by tightening the adjusting bolt.
In order to do the final timing belt tension adjustment - rotate crank 5 or 6 turns clockwise to make sure it is seated properly then do the followings:
1- Set number 1 piston at TDC (camshafts at proper marks and crank shaft pulley WHITE mark on pointer at lower timing belt cover)
2- Rotate crank clockwise 9-teeth on camshaft pulley (the BLUE mark on crankshaft pulley should line up with the pointer on the lower timing belt cover)
3- Loosen the timing belt adjusting bolt 180 degrees
4 - Tighten the adjusting bolt to 31 ft-lb
Let me know if you have additional questions.
Albert
07-31-2004, 12:26 PM
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Albert, your help, along with the instructions in the Chilton repair manual made this possible. I was stumped until you gave me this advice. The car is together and runs just as nicely as before but now all of the accessory belts and timing belt are change. Plus, no left over parts or bolts.
Thank you,
Gary
ps, I doubt that I will be doing this again. The local independant Honda/Acura garage wanted $500 to do this. I spent $230 on parts so he was only getting $270 in labor and I spent a good 8-10 hours on this.
Thank you,
Gary
ps, I doubt that I will be doing this again. The local independant Honda/Acura garage wanted $500 to do this. I spent $230 on parts so he was only getting $270 in labor and I spent a good 8-10 hours on this.
07-24-2006, 10:45 AM
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I am currently replacing the water pump and timing belt on my '90 Legend. The crank pulley bolt is right hand thread and I borrowed a 3/4" drive impact from a local tool shop to remove it, came off with ease. I twisted a 10" long, 1/2" drive extension using a breaker bar and 4 1/2 foot piece of black pipe before I used the impact wrench. All I have to do now is realign the cam pulleys (they turned in different directions) to put the belt back on.