Timing Belt

Timing Belt

Honda Timing Belts: Keeping Synchronization in Your Engine

Have you ever seen the high-flying acts of trapeze artists? If you think that plummeting to the ground is the only way that they can get hurt, then think again. Performers can have their arm muscles overstretched or even tear. They can even dislocate their shoulders. This is why every swing needs to be perfectly timed and coordinated. More than making the act look effortless and graceful, clockwork-like precision decreases the risk of injury. Just like those artists, the components of your Honda engine perform a trapeze act of their own. Within the cylinder, the intake and exhaust valves take turns sticking their necks out while the piston is down. But before the valves get hit by the returning piston, they retreat so that they can repeat the process all over again.

Coordinating this intricate act in your Honda is the Honda timing belt. Usually made of plain-looking silicone-enhanced rubber, Honda timing belts are actually integral to engines that utilize them. Honda timing belts are toothed straps that transfer the rotation of the crankshaft (the piece that pumps the piston up and down) to the camshaft (the piece that opens and closes the valves) in such a way that the pistons and valves never collide. However, a missing belt tooth can set this coordination off. Also, if the Honda timing belt shows cuts, cracks, or excessive wear, it can break and cause the camshafts to stop turning. Either scenario can make valves stay open, long enough to get hit by the piston. This can result in bent valves, damaged pistons, or busted cylinders—any one of which will cause the engine to stall and leave you stranded.

Do not wait until you run up your bill with costly repairs and expensive engine part replacements. Replace compromised belts immediately with new Honda timing belts. Just like with trapeze acts, engine performance can end abruptly with the loss of timing.

About the Author

Anthony Fontanelle is a 35-year-old automotive buff who grew up in the Windy City. He does freelance work for an automotive magazine when he is not busy customizing cars in his shop.

How hard is it to replace a timing belt on a 2000 Honda Civic?

I have not done any real work on cars for a number of years. The occational alternator and oil changes. I would like to know if I could pull off doing this timing belt thing on my own. Is there that much to it? Does it take any wierd tools? Or would it be easier to pay someone to do it. I have all the basic tools for regular maintenace. Does the car need to be re-timed when I am done?

Well it is a time consuming job, but not terribly difficult. As the engine is transverse mounted there is very little clearance in which to work and you have to be a little bit of a contortionist and have a reasoable number of adapters and extensions to get into the tight places. There may additionally be a couple of TORX fittings, though I cannot recall if Honda uses those in place of Allen fittings where flush mounted hands are required for clearance.

Also, as I recall, Honda recommends changing the water pump when you change the belt, as you have done most of the work to get access to it when you do a belt change and it would be a shame to have done all of that only to have to be back in there again should the water pump fail.

As to changing the belt, there are a couple of covers to remove and often some components are in the way. It varies from car to car, but it is not unusual to have to remove things like air filter housings, radiator reservoirs, windshield wiper tanks, and sometimes even starter motors and alternators. It just depends upon what you find in the way.

Any good Chilton's or Haynes manual will detail the procedure for changing the belt itself, and how to get the timing right when you do.

It is terribly important, of course, that the cam shaft and crank shaft pulleys remain in precisely the same relationship to one another that they are now in. If one rotates even a tooth out of the current relationship they car will run very poorly, if at all. Fortunately, Hondas are what are called "non-interference" engines, which means that even with a valve fully extended it can never get low enough to strike a piston when it is at the top of its range. Accordingly, if you get it wrong the worst that happens is that your car either will not run, or will run badly, but no internal damage to the valves or pistons will result. and then you will have to go back and recheck your timing marks.

On most cars you will have to remove the old belt before you can put the new one on, and so you will have to refer to the manual for aligning the timing marks. However, sometimes there is just enough room on the cam and crank pulleys to push the belt to the innner edge and slip on the edge of the new belt on the outer. If so, then timing is assured and one just takes a sharp blade, cuts off the old belt to get it out of the way, and then slides the new belt on the remainder of the way.

Now one other important thing to do is, after the new belt is in place, but before you have put everything else back together, you put a large wrench or socket and rachet on the crank shaft bolt and turn the engine over a few times, just to make sure it turns smoothly to assure that you have assembled it properly. Turning it over slowly will apply far less stress to the system if something is awry than would a starter motor.

Also, do not buy a cheap belt. Get the belt from the dealer. You may pay $15 or $20 more for it, but in that the far greater investment here is your time, as this can take a shade-tree mechanic several hours, it is not worth scrimping on a belt that may fail prematurely.

Timing Belt