[crxfisher]

Well, on the way to work this morning my car died on the interstate. Luckily I was in the very right lane when it happened. I was accelerating (but not too much) and I feel and hear a "CLUNK!" and my engine bogs for a second at the same time. I thought I had hit something on the road. Then the engine dies, and I pull over to the right. And I get out and pop the hood and do the typical "hands on the hips, stare at the engine, pull out the cell phone."

I thought my timing belt broke. I have a brand new belt and water pump and everything in the garage at home, all ready to be put on. But I procrastinated, then we sold our house, and so I figure "oh, I'll do it when we move into the new house." So I'm kicking myself. I was so sure the belt broke on me.

Ok, so I got the car towed back home. I pull the valve cover off to survey the damage. The belt is NOT broke. Good news and bad news. Anyway, I pull all the spark plugs out, and begin to turn the crankshaft with the valve cover off so I can see the magic inner-workings. All looks good, except for one thing. As I turn the crankshaft, it seems like the timing belt is really loose at one point. Basically as I turn it, the timing belt gets loose, then tight, then loose, then tight. Not extremely loose. Like I can't slip the belt off or anything when it's at the loose point.

But my question is, what could cause this? Do you think my timing belt skipped a tooth or two?

I'm about to put the valve cover back on and test for spark. I just didn't want to start turning the engine over and over if my belt was broken.

 

[crxfisher]

Welp, I feel really stupid now. I'm never driving anywhere without tools again. The whole problem was the distributor rotor set screw. The one I replaced about 5000 miles ago, AND tightened extra tight because I knew of the problems they are known for. I'm going to get a basic little tool set to keep in my car because this is just embarassing. I could have been back on the road in 10 minutes if I had just had the right tools with me. :roll: :evil:

 

[Kain]

glad it was a simple fix. now you just gotta get that timing belt changed... maybe this was just to remind you?

 

[crxfisher]

glad it was a simple fix. now you just gotta get that timing belt changed... maybe this was just to remind you?

Exactly. After I got it running now (I left the top timing belt cover off), I can see the belt is a lot looser than it should be. I'm really nervous now. This was a good kick in the pants.

 

[toxiclows]

Pull the crank puley and the botom cover and you should be able to tighten the belt ( or throw your replacment on ) very easily. . . . . .get a new on on there and get it tight. . . its not worth losing an engine over the darn belt. . . . .. trust me I almost found outthe hard way. . .. . . . .as stated. . . . it truly is an eye opener. . .
Chris

 

[shorte]

Actually you can tighten the belt without removing the pulley and cover. there's a plug in the lower cover that can be removed and lets you access the 14mm bolt for the tensioner, loosen it and turn the crank lust a touch counter clockwise to take up the slack, thentighten it back up.
Hope that makes sense.

 

[crxfisher]

Actually you can tighten the belt without removing the pulley and cover. there's a plug in the lower cover that can be removed and lets you access the 14mm bolt for the tensioner, loosen it and turn the crank lust a touch counter clockwise to take up the slack, thentighten it back up.
Hope that makes sense.

Yeah, I saw that today in the manual. I tried it, but couldn't get the bolt loose without stripping it off. I'll have to try again tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[stick]

Yeah, I saw that today in the manual. I tried it, but couldn't get the bolt loose without stripping it off. I'll have to try again tomorrow. Thanks.

Yeah, it's definitely in a bit of an awkward spot. Even more awkward if you have A/C. Wear gloves so you don't slice your hands up if the wrench slips. :?

 

[Stavros]

I heard that sine our cars dont have two camshafts, a timing belt break isnt a disaster, just a minor set-back. Am i wrong? i know timing belts are crucial, but i know some engines will have to be thrown away if the belt breaks, and some just need a new belt and to line everything up TDC and slap it on there... someone please enlighten me

 

[Krix]

its still a disaster. my old 88 dx had one go. when i pulled the head i had 4 valves that were not damaged. then after that it only ran on 3 cyl.

 

[crxfisher]

Well, I made it to work this morning ok with the semi-loose belt. I went to Sears today at lunch and bought a set of 6-point short sockets and was able to tighten the timing belt in the parking lot. I have to give Honda a lot of credit on this. It couldn't be easier to tighten that thing. It's spring loaded, so you just loosen the tensioner and it tightens itself the right amount. Much easier than the other tensioners I've seen (ahem..Nissan!). Anyway, I feel much better about it now and feel like I can last a couple more weeks until after we move into the new house to change the belt. Whew!