HAVE 1996 HONDA CIVIC WITH 68,000 MILES.
CAR IN GOOD CONDITION, MAINTANED WITH OIL CHANGES, TIRES, BATTERY ETC. SHOULD I CHANGE TIMING BELT? DEALERSHIP ALSO WANTS TO CANGE WATER PUMP. TOTAL COST IS $513.57
There’s a time and mileage limit for the belt. You certainly have reached the time limit. Water pump and tensioner should be replaced as well.
You don’t need the dealer to do this; a good independent mechanic will do this for a lot less.
Good luck!
I 2nd your answer.
“SHOULD I CHANGE TIMING BELT?”
Only if you want to keep the engine from self-destructing.
The interval for replacement of the timing belt on your car is 90k miles OR 7.5 years, whichever comes first. Thus, you are at least 6 years overdue for this procedure, and you have been unusually lucky. That luck will not continue, and since there will be no warning–either visual or auditory–of an impending belt failure, it could already have failed by the time you read this.
When the belt snaps, you will have to spend ~$2,000 for repairs, over and above the cost of the timing belt and water pump. Hopefully you will see the importance of doing this vital service tomorrow.
As soon as possible
I don’t believe that you have the original belt in this engine. I’ve never heard of one lasting 13/14 years. The rubber deteriorates with time. See if you can find out when the belt was changed last. If it was less than 6 years ago, you can wait. If it was more than 6 years, do it now. Belts tend to break in cold weather, and its cold outside (here anyway).
Yes, it’s the cheapskate who pays the most.
I had a 92 Plymouth minivan wit the 3.0 Mitsubishi engine that had a lot of things to be removed to get at the timing belt so I didn’t want to do the job myself. The car was 8 years old and had 70,000 miles and we were going on a 6 week 8600 mile trip. I called the dealer service department to find out what it would cost. In the course of discussion I found out they had never towed a car with this motor in with a broken belt! Every belt they had changed was because of a leaking water pump. I decided to take my chances. The car went to the junkyard with 170,000 miles in 2005 because of rust with the original belt and water pump. I am not reccomending doing that, just telling you it is possible. For the last 4 years the car was worth less than tje job would have cost.
I never had a problem doing the timing belt on my Pathfinders…I did the belt on my wifes Accords twice…And it’s a lot more difficult. The Pathfinder has a lot more room to work…but the Accord has so little room to work with that transverse mounted engine. There are places I can’t even get my forearm into. The Mitsubishi engine is also a transverse mounted engine…so it’s probably just as difficult as the wife’s Accords. However…if it’s an interference engine it’s far cheaper to replace the belt (even if you go to the dealer) then to have it break and then replace the engine or junk the vehicle.