Hi Guys,

I knwo this is non G35 related topic but since this is the only forum that i go to and you guys have been awfully helpful... i hope you guys dont mind me asking this...

My girlfriend has a 1999 Honda CRV with 87,000Km on it... she hasn't done any maintenance on her car since Dec 2006 and finally i have talked her into do some oil change and brake inspection..

so i called a local carshop this morning and the guy there told me that since her car is 8 years old.. a timing belt replacement and water pump replacement need to be performed and the cost is roughly CAD$550 (including tax)....

since i aint so much an car expert myself.. i haven't never heard of this timing belt thing before in my life either.... so i did some reseach on Wiki and found that timing belt is something that controls the valve movement thats inside the engine..

so my questoins here are..

1. Do I have to change the timing belt for my 2004 G35 sometimes in the future too(my car alraeyd has 87K by now)


2. According to Honda schedule, timing belt needs to be done at 7yrs/160,000km...but given that her CRV is still way below 160,000km, is it absolutely necessary to do the timing now or she can wait for sometimes in the future?

3. Is CAD$550 a reasonable price to do a timing belt/water pump replacement? (according to the guy, it requires 5 to 6 hours of labor. )


4. Say if she doesn't change the timing belt now and it breaks one day.. would it totally trash the engine or the engine will simply stop running until a new timing belt is put on? (This is important because if its the latter one, then she can jst wait till this one is dead then get a new one without running the risk of having to replace a new engine..).


Thanks in advance for yous help guys..

 

1. No- doesn't have rubber belt.

2. Speak to Honda about that. Normally you can go until the mileage indicated however over time there may also be deterioration that occurs. Timing belt replacements are critical to avoiding major piston/valve damage. Big$$$.

3. That price sounds reasonable.

4. See #2. Bye bye engine.

 

Although Hondas has pretty long durabilty with low maintenance, i say that timing belts on hondas are the most important thing to replace since they're made out of rubber and tend to crack after the suggested life year/miles.

You're from toronto and since the winters get pretty cold up there, that puts a little more harsh cold conditions on the belts causing it to become more brittle. I've seen some hondas here in the states that had the belts break around 200k miles(not kilometers) on a 10 year old car. I've own several hondas and replaced the timing belt at a little over 100k miles just to be safe. They would've lasted a very very long time but two of my hondas were eventually stolen. , and never tested the record breaking mileage life i could've had.

Yes, the engine practically becomes junk when the belt breaks. Unless you know how to replace pistons and valves, then the engine would be junk, and thats if only damages were pistons and valves.

G35 has timing chains(similar to a bicycle pedal chain), they have same life of pretty much the whole entire life of the car.

 

2) Despite the lower kms, I would strongly advise changing it at the required time or km interval (whichever comes first), it's like your drive belts, they crack over time even if you don't drive it as much. Better to be safe than sorry.

I agree with RBull with the rest.

 

+1.....

PS-- It's cheap insurance to get it done early.........especially considering the damage if the belt breaks.........> pistons hit valves= new engine time.

C.

 

depends on how the timing belt is designed. My old camry had it's belt snapped, replaced it and it still ran like new. My other friend drove his camry til his timing belt was literally in pieces. Still ran strong after changing it. Never actually heard a car go bye bye from breaking a timing belt...

 

Interference engine: broken belt=boom
Non-interference engine: broken belt=no prob

Saw broken belt on Chevette=no problem. Broken belt on Fiat, BMW=$$$.

No idea if CRV is interference or not, but I personally wouldn't chance it.

 

wow.. thanks for all the info and advice guys..........

now i am just glad that G35 uses timing chain...

 

Older Hondas were interference. Not sure about '99.

 

thanks guy.. one more question here then..

does anybody have a clue if a 99' S80 2.9L (non-turbo) uses a Timing belt or a Timing chain??

And in case if it uses a timingi belt.. is the engine interference engine or non-interference engine?!?

 

a 1 minute phonecall to a Volvo dealer will answer that one...

 

+1

only a guess on my part but I would say timing chain.

 

99 s80 uses a timing belt

 

thanks guy,
i jsut called Volvo dealer and they said 99 S80 uses timing belt and it's interference engine...

so i geuss its up to my dad whether or not he'll replace the timing belt in his car...which i doubt he will as he is the strong beliver that wahtever replacement/parts change that is not mentioned in the user manual belongs to the "car modding" category and thats somethign only a teenager would do to his/her civic.

 

how many kms on the volvo? an 8 yr old car is probably due for a belt replacement. it may cost up to $500 (lots of labour) to change, but that's a lot less than what a broken belt would cost in engine repairs.

when i was a student i had a civic. i changed belts at 96k kms as recommended. the mechanic said i probably had another 30-40k kms on the original belt. it's just not worth the risk...