I plan to replace the timing belt on my 1998 Honda Civic DX with the help of an expert. I am curious if there is a major, or any, difference between a generic timing belt and the OEM timing belt that Honda sells.
I bought a Duralast timing belt for about $30 at the local auto shop. Honda sells an OEM timing belt for about $50. Should I return the generic timing belt and get the Honda OEM timing belt? Does it really matter?
Autozone correct?,Use it ,it should meet Hondas specs.I dont think I generally use a Honda belt when getting my cars serviced-Kevin
I’ve replaced alot of timing belts with aftermarket belts, and all them were made by either Gates or Goodyear. I don’t know who manufactures the Duralast belt.
Tester
I personally would use the honda belt. That way if it breaks, I can yell at Honda about it. Often times if you use their stuff and it breaks, they’ll do customer courtesy repair for you.
BTW you can order it for $32.27 at hondaautomotiveparts.com - it’s a dealership in Rhode Island that almost always has much lower prices than anyone else.
I put a Duralast belt on a Neon several years ago. It broke within 100 miles and bent all the valves. After putting new valves in the head, I installed a Gates belt. Must have fixed it. It never came back. I regularly charge hundreds of dollars a month at AZ. I’m not mad at them even though they refused to accept culpability for the bad belt, but I don’t buy Duralast timing belts anymore.
How many factories make timing belts? Could this be similar to deciding between Scotch Buy and Del Monte pineapples, or CVS and Duracell batteries?
I’ve used Gates and Honda belts…both were fine. The Gates belts were only about $5 more then Honda belt…And the only reason I’ve used Gates before was convenience. Personally I’ve never had good luck with parts sold by Autozone…