What To Do When Your Timing Belt Breaks -EricTheCarGuy
This topic comes up quite often. Last week, a 2002 Honda Civic with a 1.7L came in with a broken timing belt and I had time to shoot some video about what I do when a situation like this comes up.
The tendency is to assume the worst, but I say hope for the best and try a new belt first before you go ripping cylinder heads off. Who knows, you might just get lucky.
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Eric TheCarGuy I've been watching you for years, every time I have particular problem or looking for regular maintenance , I always find your video segments across any topic so diverse and enriching , I love your presentations and the knowledge you pour on it .... please don't ever get tired my friend
I think what ice always enjoyed about your videos Eric, is that while I've been a pro nearly as long as you and I do know a lot, I frequently learn neat tips and tricks that I had not learned before. Thanks man!
+Brian Genter Thanks.
This is one of the best youtube channels. Not only because of the content, but Eric is super chill coworker type that you could go to work and look forward to having lunch with.
You're awesome Eric!!! Thanks to you, many people now know how to do MANY things auto related, that they never thought they'd be able to do. About 20 years ago, when I was 20, lol, the second gear in my 89 Mazda 626 broke with 210,000 miles on it. So I took the motor and transmission from a wrecked 90 Ford Probe with 80,000 miles on it and put it in my Mazda. And yes to those that don't know the MX6, 626 and Probe all had the same 2.2 4 cyl for those years unless it was turbo or later on the V6. Point being, unless someone shows you this can be done and Eric goes through incredible lengths to show you many things, you may not know what yourself is even capable of.
Thank you!
I was quite sure the valves were fine. The belt was still continuous and still had some tension. Even though the side was chewed up it never lost contact with the sprockets. Good video.
Yup, I'm thinking it probably just jumped a tooth or a couple teeth and stalled before any damage could happen. These engines won't run even if the belt is off by a single tooth, I think Honda built that protection into the ECU on purpose to help protect the engine from damage.
Sounds like it runs great. The owner got lucky on this one. Thanks for the vid, Eric.
Like a BOSS! Eric is the man! Its apparent his years of experience help navigate what the next best solution would be in attempt to repair/diagnose an issue, regardless of complexity. Thanks for posting these vids Eric! Keep up the good work, stay safe and stay dirty!!!
I love this abbreviated format with exotic camera shots.
Man your so calm about this situation. I'm shitting bricks here because it just happened to me and I'm hoping for the best as well.
How did it go? I just nackered my belt
I would install the new timing belt and do compression test with all the covers off, then go back and do the water pump ect. I think because Eric has dealt with tons of these motors he had a gut feeling it was still good.
A lot of "experts" here but no common scense being used. I dont think these videos are made as a "go to" for you professionals, theyre made for people like myself that have the mechanical abilities, but not all the fancy high dollar tools for diagnostics. Its not cost effective to own a fully equiped garage just to diagnos my own vehicles. I appreciate these videos
Great video. Professional; informative; no crap - everything we've come to expect from ETCG.
Amazing! ...Everyone commenting here is an expert with 30+ years of experience running their own shop. Maybe some of you experts should create a KZhead channel and show us how it's done.
Maybe... If you're mechanically inclined or are a professional mechanic, wouldn't you want to see how others do the job?
@@dallysinghson5569 we have other things to do like repair other peoples cars.
What surprises me is the amount of people that simply change just the belt! In my experience it is often the failure of a tensioner or pulley that kills the belt in the first place. When i do it i always change the belt and pulleys, and like you, i will always change the water pump if it's hidden down below the timing gear. Pumps are cheap compared to the labour cost of getting to it.
+100SteveB 100% correct. You're already that deep into it. Spend the extra 30-40 bucks on a water pump (if it even costs that much....) And get a decent quality 'kit'. Not one made by Yackashema IronWorks out of China. You get what you pay for after all. And yeah, even Quality kits can be made in China, but stay away from "Itchybungholo Metal Products" (As you can tell, I'm not a fan of China parts...But their are some decent companies that DO understand quality of workmanship. Not a lot...but some)
+Tedybear315 That is what I think too, but the problem seems to be finding good (affordable ) parts .Rotors ,tensioners, ect
+100SteveB Probably what happened in this case, the tensioner was bad to begin with and chewed up the belt. Someone went cheap and just threw another belt on it and shoved it out the door...typical for so many drivers. They won't spend a few hundred bucks to maintain their car but they'll spend thousands of dollars on horrible looking clothes every week.
+mrbakerskatz Very true. Sadly I've found better parts in scrap yards than at autoparts stores LOL.
That is very true, i ordered a new after market water pump for my own car, the bearings in the new one had more play in them than the bearing of the old one, which had 60k miles on it.
Great info, and your way of showing us how to do our repairs is fantastic, Thank you so much.
I just did this TB/WP change about 2 years ago on my wife's 04 Civic. I used your other video to give me an idea of what was ahead of me (stumbled a bit on setting tension vs using the Honda Repair manual, but got there). I also did not add RTV to the water pump as had been the normal course of action I learned in the past At the same time, I changed radiator hoses, finding both the overflow tank and the lower hose to have clamps that were 95% gone due to salt. Now 2 years later in the same week as my Tacoma and 2 friends sprung leaks on their lower radiator hoses in cold weather, I found my wife's Civic weeping around that lower radiator hose clamp. I still have no idea what caused all of our hoses to leak, but it seems to be a release of some tension on the clamp (worm gear-style vs spring-style OEM). Maybe the cold allows the coolant (50/50 mix or better) to seep past the rubber...odd. New decent quality stainless clamps seemed to stop it, but the Civic still fluctuates more than I'd like to see. I wish there were a reasonably fast way to get to the TB cover to check that I'm not shredding the TB from any sort of glitch in my own installation. Pulling the valve cover is not fast in this car.
Watched this video and took the same approach on my 1993 accord with 235000 miles and snapped the belt on the interstate at 70mph my girlfriend thought she was out of gas and repeatedly tried to restart it till the battery was almost dead replaced the water pump and belt and fired right up. Thanks Eric a lot great video
update?
@@codycalloway5578 yeah I wonder if the compression was good, just cause it stared right up doesn’t mean it’s all good, it can still have low compression because of the bent valves, so there a loss of power
In my case I had an old Nissan Sentra that had the timing belt go on it. I was sitting in my driveway idling and the engine just turned itself off without warning. Of course my confused teenage self was no mechanic and my first reaction was what any other would have been; let out a "what the hell?" and attempt to restart the car. Found out only after the teardown that trying to restart the motor effectively killed it. That's the tricky thing about timing belt failures; your average Joe or Jane is gonna try to restart the car when it quits with no way to know that it will cause serious damage. I agree with some of the others here; If you suspect a timing issue, then the first priority should be checking those valves. Otherwise you could be doing a whole lotta work for nothing and just wasting your time.
Thanks Eric, you give me hope for my 2009 Fiat Strada - I suspect the timing belt slipped (it's still intact so it didn't break at least), but I was almost resigned to a fate of bent valves. At least I wasn't going more than 60kph in 5th gear when it happened, so hopefully all I need is what you did here.
A true mechanic! Find the problem fix it and is done! Love your videos!
Wouldn't it make more sense just to do a leak down test to confirm if the engine is good or not then let the customer decide? No parts required and can be done in just minutes. If you do take the time to change the belt on a guess and find out the engine did crash do you have to absorb the cost of the parts if the customer were to chose not to repair it? I am just curious just because a belt kit pump job is usually around $300 and up, while a leak down test and confirmation would only be a small labor charge. Am I thinking about this wrong?
makes sense to me. I'd take my vehicle to your shop than Eric's. I'm a subscriber to your channel btw
+cosmophonic12 you can't do a compression test without a working timing belt. That why.
Stephen Rowley I am asking about a "leak down" test not a compression test, Some people refer to them as a blow by test also...
Car repairs based solely on luck is clearly the best way to do it. Just ask Scotty Shillmer.
+Stephen Rowley a leak down test is different from a compression test.
Timing chains FTW. Great vid, btw. Just remember folks: you get what you pay for, and that usually includes car repairs!
Unfortunately tensioners still go bad so it doesn't matter if you have a timing chain when that goes.
Great , I would never have thought to do it your way. Thanks for the "heads up". Outstanding analysis.
Its awesome to see videos like this. Back when I started driving I had to do all the work on my cars because I couldn't afford to take it to the shop. KZhead didn't exist then and had to wing it on my own. The amount of stupid mistakes I have made installing parts. Well it was lessons well learned and still came out cheaper the the shop :)
Thanks Eric, great video. I did the same thing several years ago changing my friend's timing belt on her 2000 Honda Civic. I just replaced the belt, tensioner, water pump, etc., and her friend who did it before messed up. The tensioner bolt was rounded but luckily not cross threaded. I did that because I was lazy and didn't want to pull the head and didn't have the gages to do a cylinder leak test. Thank goodness for laziness! To this day, it runs like a champ.
youd be suprised how many times a interference engine will be fine after a timing belt break
+UBBERTANKER Thank you! I'm trying to show people that but I'm getting quite a bit of resistance.
if we are talking about a diesel atleast the ones i am used to service (1.5 to 1.9 liter 4 cylinders) its one in a million if a belt breaks and does no damage...even if it broke while idling or cranking often there are many bent valves...sometimes bent or broken camshafts on OHC engines....if it breaks in the highway then...hmmm...massive carnage
@@ericthecarguy I have first hand experience with having an interference engine jump timing. I happened to get lucky and replaced the timing components, jt fired up and years later still running without issue.
@@pospc2 won't be so lucky if you drive a Volvo 850. Those things are VERY strict on the timing.
@@SimplyGooch no matter the brand, I consider it lucky no matter,that is if it's on an interference engine. It's worth doing some troubleshooting before pulling heads none the less.
Man cars are so Resilient even after been so badly Damaged thanks for Sharing Eric!!!
Non-interference engines are cool. If you have one of those, just slap another belt on!
Yup, just like my 2.3l Ford Ranger!
toyota 7mge hell yea
greg h I noticed a lot of straight sixes are non-interference, I need to get one to play with.
Mr S GEO METROS FOREVER AND CHEVY SPRINTS FOREVER!! THREE CYLINDERS OF RAW POWER!!! RESPECT THE THREE CYLINDER!!
Richard Kaltenbach I just practically rebuilt a 1993 geo metro lsi convertible and will be doing the same on a 1991. They're fun little cars, lol.
I've had it happen on two car's(Honda Civic and Pontiac Sunfire). Engine was toast, both times. Sad, such a small part can destroy an engine...
I'm pretty sure the Sunfire has a timing chain.
@@herbiehusker1889 It does and they are very prone to failure on the 2.2
Great video and thanks alot for putting the final running shot we all wanted!
You give me hope. Even if my engine is done thank you Eric i will replace it now since my belt snapped
The timing belt on my Honda broke about 3 weeks ago, had a new one put on and, fortunately, it started right up! Never again will I put off changing the timing belt after I buy a used car....
how and when did it break? i just broke mine and its heading to the shop to find out :(
Yep, also my experience on a 1984 Accord.
How was your speed when you broke timing belt ?
Yes.. I always automatically replace a Timing belts when I first buy a use car. Because you have no idea what the person did before you.
You could also turn the cam to close cylinder valves and do a leakdown test on each cylinder (regardless of piston position,) and know before you change the timing belt if there's engine damage. You'd be giving the customer a more accurate estimate that way.
ablackformula ^^^^ this 100%.
Obviously Eric used his intuition and did the right thing...it worked. My daughter's 1.7 litre just blew it's timing belt and I will do a blowby test for valve seating before continuing to change the belt.
Eric the Car Guy is a Legend! Thanks for another great vid, Bro. From a long time Viewer.
I always pull the valve cover and look at the valve clearance first. When you see some of them have way to much clearance, you know there are bent valves.
+1970chevelle396 That's a good idea.
If you get one that's questionable you can do a leak down test. But every single one of them I've seen its obvious by the valve clearance. I've probably done 1000 of them and I've never had one that's questionable yet. .
+Ben Silva It may not show all bad valves, but if it shows just one obviously bad valve, the rest is irrelevant. Scrap it or tear it apart.
+Ben Silva At best. Pistons, if you have my luck.
+Ben Silva I did the same dam thing with my pontiac wave !!!
Too much hate on the ETCG channel lately. His channel is still good and I think many have learned from his site for their own car repairs. There is more than one way to approach a car repair and Eric's is just one way of doing it. That small Honda motor is not worth much and getting a used replacement, if needed, wouldn't be that hard and you now have new parts to put on the replacement engine. If Eric's way works so be it. At least he appears to care..
ItsAlwaysRusty it’s absolutely shit now
Man thanks for this video it’s awesome! Hopefully I’m lucky I’ll be changing my belt and I’m praying the car is fine
Eric thanks so much for ya time n style in the you help other, cheers
When a timing belt goes, how do you know how to line up the crank and cam together, like what if one has spun more than the other?
A service manual will be able to show you how to line them up so that they're in time. More often than not there are indicators on the crank and cam to indicate time.
@@LoveToDriveGTR My service manual is very vague on how to get TDS. they both line up but to the left. ( and not the top where i believe they are supposed to go) working on a 2000 frontier tensioner bolt snapped right off.
Sounds like the owner needs to thank their lucky stars lol
+TJC450 What did their lucky stars have to do with it? I'd be thanking the timing belt for not snapping and keeping everything in time.
+twn5858 and yell at whoever installed the water pump, tenioner, and spring before,
+twn5858 that, and the fact that they took it to an intelligent and honest mechanic
+ab30494 Im pretty sure the belt was installed way too tight and that killed the tensioner spring and pulley.
I like your approach to replacing timing belt, great advice thanks.
Glad to see you are back.
That's why I love my non-interference engine. How often do you personally think you should replace the belt?
+TheAwkwardBanana Check your owner's manual. It also depends on climate and the way you drive. For instance where i live (Canada) it is recomended by Honda to change every 100,000 km/ 62,000 miles.
+TheAwkwardBanana Read the factory service manual or the owner's manual. Generally it depends on the car- some can go for 105,000 mi like my Subaru (and all the Subaru EJ25's). Other's recommend it at 100,000. It's up to you whether you want to risk stretching the service intervals, but if you own a car with an interference engine (pretty much 90% of the engines out there are), I recommend it before 100,000 miles. Timing belts are pretty reliable and can last to the max service interval unless they are damaged somehow like by oil/grease/coolant contamination, a broken timing cover that lets in dirt and water, a failed bearing in a pulley or tensioner- a failed tensioner or pulley can wreak havoc), but don't stretch it. A timing belt job is many times cheaper than a cylinder head rebuild! Timing chains on the other hand need special attention. They don't have tensioners, but do have guides that wear out. As they wear, they get sloppy and can affect the timing or fail altogether. Keeping up on your oil changes is extremely important.
+adventureoflinkmk2 I thought this too, unfortunately timing chains stretch and eventually rattle which means it needs replacing. They do usually last twice as long as belts though.
+Nick Bruns I have an Impreza 2.5i EJ25 and just looked it up. It is 90kmi. Going any higher is officially rolling the dice.
+Nick Bruns Many people forget about the 10 year rule too, if a car hasn't hit the specified mileage. Rubber dries out and weakens over time.
With an overhead cam like that, I'd take the rocker carriers off so the valves close and look for one that is shorter than the others. If they look good, I'd do a quick leak down test to make sure the engine still has compression. No parts need be ordered or installed and you'd have to take most of that stuff off to replace the timing set anyway. I realize there was plenty of work you cut out of this video, but did you really not even do a compression test at all?!? I've had a timing belt go on one of the neons I've owned and a tensioner go on one of the other ones, so I'm familiar with what it takes to replace the timing set and the damage a failure can cause. I'm currently working on a friends Rio I'm going to be replacing the head on because the old owner had the same job you just did (timing belt only) done after a timing belt broke. I know for a fact that there are bent valves because the person who put the timing belt in the car did a compression test on it and found there wasn't any compression on at least one cylinder. The old owner didn't remember if it was more that just the one damaged, but given it's a 4 it's likely. The engine used to rock pretty badly when it ran, but it always fires up (usually within a second or two of turning the key) and since I've patched the exhaust it doesn't buck the engine at idle any more. The car runs and drives as it is and gets him back and forth to work with no trouble, though its down on power and the economy is down by about 2 mpg. He's put over 7k miles on it since he got it and the biggest complaint he has right now is when it was rocking before I patched the exhaust it managed to cause a power steering leak. For anyone watching this who got the wrong idea, without doing a compression test, the engine running does NOT mean that there is no damage.
Great lesson, Eric! Timing belt on my 2004 Civic went a year ago and the car has been sitting. I was thinking I'd buy a used engine, but your video changed my direction. I'll let you know how it goes.
Yo how'd it go mine went out on my 2001 civic d17a1 it just went out while driving but I didn't hear any metal on metal or damageing noise. How did yours go was it worth fixing?
How did the end result go? Just had the waterpump blow on my civic and the mechanic said there's a high chance the timing belt broke too which damaged my motor... But I want to take a chance and replace the waterpump and timing first before assuming the motor is done. When my waterpump blew, the car kept driving. Didn't stall. It slowed itself down a little but then regained power to get me home. But now it won't crank over
+south main auto repair, I have watched your videos and can say they are very informative, but don't forget you have literally a fraction of the subscribers that ETCG has so I'm pretty confident he knows what he is doing 😉
If it's only a cheap old car and the timing belt snaps then it's probably not worth it.. You may as well break down the car and sell it as parts, then buy another car. The moral is.. Change your timing belt/tensioner and water pump before they break.
To many back yard mechanics that think they know more than anyone else. Ive been doing this for 30 years and cant find more accurate or helpfull information on you tube.ive learned that i dont know everything and even when i do know i watch this channel for helpful hints thanks keep up the good work
Timing belts should be outlawed. Timing chains should be federally mandated.
All new cars use timing chain nowadays
I have a cadillac and my timing chain failed.. and they have high failure rates... but yes im sure they can be better then belts
😂 timing chains stretch and make you a Bank out of time which ever side the tensioner is on. Done many of them in my shop. I prefer a belt.
my 08 focus diesel has a belt
I cannot stand timing chains, belts all the way.
that was really cool, perfect amount of footage for the time watched.
Thanks Eric! I had this exact situation a few months back and I was lucky enough that I had no bent valves. I have a 2000 Acura Integra GS.
+sumaznkid Stock B series engines usually survive a timing belt break. Thanks for the comment.
First thing I do is check to see if it's a non interference engine
William Dowell a 2002 acura mdx broke timing belt are valve bent or not
Dexter Perry good question, that is an interference engine. More than likely they are, like Eric says. You might get lucky, Depending on what the engine rpm was at the time the belt broke. Keep in mind though it's easy enough for a mechanic to try because he's usually in a shop with the tools to gamble. The best way for a jack leg mechanic to find out is by pulling the head off the engine. Damage occurs between normally between the pistons and the valves. For that age of car, unless you love it, probably not worth fixing. You may find a mechanic to access the damage for a low enough price but I'd make sure he knew what he was doing and was honest. I bought 93 Nissan Maxima , interference engine off a lady once who had just had it overhauled with a broken belt. Put a new on it and it was fine so.... like the old adage says "you pays your money and you take your chance
THAT is so true! Mine is not,but some engines are and if the belt breaks,it's going to be MAJOR work! (Usually).
William Dowell hi... what's a non interference engine ?? Tnx
Victor Rodriguez It's When If Your Timing Belt Breaks Your Valves Will Not Crash Into Your Pistons. i.e. GEO METRO, CHEVY SPRINT With 1.0 Litre 3 Cylinder!
I hate people who don't replace their timing belts when they need to be. I've done oil changes on cars and stuff and seen that the timing belt is 95% done for and I mention it and they say they will just call me when it breaks. I always tell them to save a few hundred dollars for a new engine out of the junkyard for when it happens and they change their mind real quick haha.
Devin Stambolziovski Usually WOMEN Are Guilty Of This!
Devin Stambolziovski add salt to the wound and correction *Save up thousands for a new motor*
Eric the video quality is amazing now!
great camera and vidoc. solid workmanship. The best mechanic technician ever. Thanks The car guy.
What about removing the plugs and use a borescope to look at the valves and pistons? Top of the piston will show signs of collision with valve. That should save alot of time and labor than replacing the belt and ending up with a bad head.
+Aleksandr Pokrachinskiy No matter what, you're going to have to replace the belt anyway.
+EricTheCarGuy YES but what if the car isn´t worth the repair or you choose to replace the whole engine then you wasted timing belt or at least you´re time
+Matej Šoky No you didn't. You can transfer the new timing belt parts to the new engine. I've had to do that a couple of times in my career already. Like I said in the video, sometimes you get lucky. Why not give it a shot since you have nothing to loose?
+Matej Šoky If you get a used engine instead, for safety measures you will change timing belt anyway :)
yes but you put it on you´re current engine becouse you thought that it will work and it doesn´t so now you need to put it down and put it on to salvage engine so you need to do the same work 3 times instead of easely finding out using boroscope in these case
True Story about my 1990 Civic Dx So I kept putting off replacing my timing belt and pump, and although I knew it needed done, procrastination got the best of me. So one day when I'm cresting a hill and I just shifted into 4th, and as soon as the revs drop to about 2500......silence and all the dash lights come on. I knew it was the timing belt and immediately ninja kicked the clutch to the floor to stop the crank, but then I did the dumbest thing you could do once I pulled to the side of the road.....I tried to start it (moron) and It basically free spun....then the damn towtruck driver also tried starting it :( Long story short - a friend of mine told me not to bother trying a belt and just pull the head, but I couldn't help it and had to try. Anyway, there were no signs of damage after checking clearance and simply pulling the plugs and inspecting the pistons. After I threw a belt and tensioner on it ran beautifully, so I replaced the pump and it's been running ever since. Nice video proving interference engines do survive
Vocabulary and parts ID makes this channel useful time well spent learning more , the comparative look of 2 springs , the wheel in the tensioner tilted resulting in belt wobble . This helps me learn when a job is sloppy and catch it quickly.
Eric, I needed this video a couple of years ago. Darn if you don't live too many states away... Seems the 1983 MB 380SL has a very under engineered timing chain of which we had an example which failed in seemingly unstressed circumstances. Could I find anyone who would _try_ to replace the timing chain and pray that it all survived?? Noooooooo. All anybody could see was a $10K engine rebuild. Now, I do not argue for one nano second that a 1983 MB 380SL V8 engine is anything like a Honda 1.7L I4. No doubt, a timing chain for said 3.8L V8 is an expensive pain in the sitting spot and wallet. Anyway, great vid. I agree - especially when the timing belt replacement is "relatively" external to the rest of the engine.
Sometimes, I simply want to have the knowledge of causes/mechanics of...and not actually want to do the work myself. Great video for just this aspect, thanks.
Don't you just love those non interference engines.
Schrodinger's engine :)
The engine is both fine and destroyed at the same time... until you test it...
Thats why i always watch your vids. Thanks, Eric!
Pull the plugs. Inspect piston tops for evidence of valve strikes with a Borescope. Love your vids Eric.. and the comments!
So,, who eats the cost of the timing belt kit if a customer decides not to fix an engine with bent valves..
The customer
+Brad Hoger Eric would prob just keep it, and use it the next time a car needs one with that size belt.
S.O.P explain to the customer about your plan on how to fix his car before doing anything else,.maybe eric did that before changing the belt and the tensioner,.no one knows....
We would put a note on the work order suggestioning the timing belt replaced. Usually, the customer would why we do that, and we just say we were "covering our asses." Most of the time the customer would have us do it then, or book it for another time.
What to do when your timing belt breaks? You fix it, duh!
thank you!!! just had this happen and was expecting the worst. worth a shot.... i had done the timing belt and components recently im wondering what i could have done wrong.
First of all, it is pretty easy to find out if it is an interference engine or not. This information is widely available for most engines. For example my 1972 Pinto woodgrain wagon with the 2.0L OHC engine is a non interference engine. It is a very simple engine, I run the timing belt without a cover so I can keep an eye on it's condition. As far as damage to an interference engine when either a timing belt or a timing chain breaks or jumps teeth, it is usually severe. I had the teeth shear off the plastic cam sprocket on my 1970 Dodge Dart with a 318 engine. I already knew this was an interference engine, so I made no attempt to repair it. I did tear it down, and the damage was severe. Bent valves, bent pushrods, damaged rockers, holes in pistons, and bent rods. I decided to scrap it and get a rebuilt long block. And before I installed it, I replaced the plastic cam gear with a steel one. I typically replace both timing chains and timing belts every 50,000 miles. And any time you replace a chain, replace the cam gear with a steel one. My small block Chevy powered S10 drag race truck has the ultimate solution. I replaced the timing chain with a straight cut gear drive. Yes it whines, but I like it. Makes it sound like it has a blower on it.
Ah it's a Honda and they are built to take on the world. Eric knew it wasn't an interference engine or he would have done a leak down. I wish I knew Mr. Hondas' birthday.....I'd send him a card.
+Robert Davis You're an idiot Robert. This IS an interference motor as is the overwhelming majority of Hondas. Sadly ironic that you should be relying on this guy for technical advice.
Robert Davis ALL Hondas/Acuras Are Interference Motors, As Is Nissans/Infinitis! Also Hyundais And Daewoos The YUGO Is Also Interference.
Robert Davis this is an interference engine
Richard Kaltenbach ,
If you break your timing belt, shut er down!
+paradoxdesigns If you break your timing belt you don't have to shut er down... she'll shut erself down!
+paradoxdesigns when you have a manual transmission doing 70mph your engine stays spinning until you put the car in neutral or press the clutch.
If the belt breaks, the engine is shut down, one way or the other.
+89nissancrawler yes tje engine isnt fireing but it is still being spun by the connection to the transmission and the momentum of the moving vehicle. now if the car isnt moving, then the engine will just stop
+Oddball gamer I'm well aware of that, but it's still shut down. Spinning or not is irrelevant by then. If it's going to be damaged, it will be toast long before you can do a thing about it.
Great video, i'm guessing you have a new camera! Crystal clear image, well done.
Hi Eric. Great video! You are a very knowledgeable mechanic. I have a 2008 Acura TL with 175k and was wondering how many miles have you seen on a j32a3 engine? I've heard you can get at least 500k if you treat them right.
After reading through a barrage of comments on your youtube channel, it appears only EXPERTS view your videos and have more knowledge than you. Its far out man
diy fail,
+Mustie1 You dare question the deity that is Eric!?
+TheGhjgjgjgjgjg no the guy before him that did the crappy replacement,
+Mustie1 This is scaring the hell out of me. I just replaced my timing belt and water pump. Hope I did it right!
+Daniel Chen now your going to be hearing every sound that your car makes with a worried ear,
+Daniel Chen I like to rev my engine to the limiter after doing a belt just to make sure ;)
He explains well and talks very well, thank you, video is helpful.
My timing belt broke recently on a Eclipse GS 06 120k miles. I changed the belt and it fired right up. Had to time everything back again which was a painstaking process but it can be done. Just finished my first test ride, fingers crossed 🤞
You have to be a really shitty tech if you can't even do a timing belt on a civic ffs >.< I cringed when Eric pulled everything apart and showed the other tech's "handy work"
Darksyne Honda Civics Are Very Complicated Cars To Work On, Unlike A GEO METRO Or A CHEVY SPRINT!
No. Civics and accords are easy. You want hard? Do the timing chain job on the VR6 in my garage 👌 or buy a vw tsi😎
or an audi 3.2 lmao or any bmw 7 series
78missredrum vr6 is fun to beat on but when its time to change the chain, its a nightmare
Or have a car made by proper engineers who use a timing chain. Still on my original after 20 years and haven't had an issue. Belts wear out much faster.
If the timing belt on my Volvo fails, I could probably change it on the side of the road. 8 valve redblocks don't give a fuck.
+FrankTheCat If the timing belt in my P80 volvo fails, I get to pull the head and figure out how to rebuild it :-(
You could change it on the side of the road. Red blocks are also all non-interence, unless you have a 16 valve DOHC one.
FrankTheCat Volvo=Interference Motor! In Other Words, You're Fucked! GEO METRO! CHEVY SPRINT BOTH = NON INTERFERENCE MOTOR! THREE CYLINDER FOR THE WIN!!
wow I guess the owner is really happy it's not an expensive repair with getting new valves and stuff you are real lucky right there so freaking gradulations Eric
Hi Eric! I love your videos, keep up the good work! I have a question; I did a timing belt on my 2001 honda civic and I noticed that when I'm putting the crank pulley it doesn't go all the way in the splines, is that normal or is it just holding on the key lock? Please advise, much appreciated!
Non interference engine. I replace my timing belt when it breaks, and I laugh at all of you crying about engine damage from a broken timing belt. Hahahahahahahahahaahhahahaahah.
the solution to this problem is not to buy a car with timing belt, get a car with a timing chain, EricTheCarGuy would serve us better if he gave us youtubers a list of cars that have a chain drive
+Nite Explorer I have seen a timing chain failure for 5 series BMW, basically if you dont take care of your car it will cost you.
+Nite Explorer That's not a solution. Just yesterday my friend HumbleMechanic posted a pic of the second timing chain that had failed in as many days. Any mechanical system can fail, including chains.
+Nite Explorer sure, because VW's timing chains are flawless..
if you don't over rev your car a timing chain last the life of the car, but a timing belt has to be changed often
+Nite Explorer Revving the engine has nothing to do with it. Timing chains wear as well as you'll see in next weeks video.
This happened to me and my accord and I did change the belt which had broken and it is an interference engine setup. Car started right up and lived to die another day, which hasn't happened yet. Words cannot explain the sheer joy of my car starting up again. I danced a little jig!
Found this interesting even though none of my cars have timing belts. Well done!
if its a VW, throw it in the garbage and never buy german again.
Yeah if you can work on it or afford it Vw isn't for you bud
they're overengineered , designed to fail and designed to be expensive to repair. That's how the dealer makes $$. It goes with their corporate philosophy of screw the customers. It really became apparent with the diesel-gate smog scandal.
German cars scare those who dont know how to Work on them. Stick to the 8valves they're bulletproof. If people weren't so careless with service intervals this wouldn't even be a valid complaint. Lol
Scare those that dont know how to work on them? Why is it that you have to take off the whole front end of a tdi vw beetle to reach the goddam alternator? It's a $2000 job to change the alternator at the dealer! Why is it that you have to buy all the specialized tools? I had to buy a tool just to take out head bolts! Why was there a class action lawsuit that was paid out to audi owners for timing belts that failed way BEFORE the "service interval" ??? LOL
taledarkside must have not owned many good cars in the past
Hi Eric, I love your channel, and the advice and tips you give to DIYers. Props to you!!! Now, I don’t know if you do any engine work on Volkswagens, but if you ever get to do major engine work on one of these late model Beetles, Jettas, Tiguans, Rabbits, or Golfs, please post a video on this. Really interested. Thanks.
That's what I need. Have a 2012 Jetta with the 2.0 CBPA engine. Timing tensioner failed and the belt gave out under mild acceleration at 15mph. I'm really hoping the engine is still good. 😢
Good job Eric. Excellent advice!!
I love your videos... fyi, you don't have to pull the valve cover to do timing job on this motor. Pull the two engine mount studs off alternator bracket, and you can tilt the top timing cover outwards at the bottom, and push cover down. It will clear the lip on the valve cover. I've done this job several times and it shaves a lot of time. Thanks
I give the video a THUMBS UP. With a car and engine of this age, Eric's philosophy makes sense. If the engine doesn't have internal damage, your good. If it does have internal damage, all you are out it the small amount of time is takes to actually throw on the belt and other good bits. Take off the new belt, tensioner, water pump if the engine is toast and use them on the replacement engine. No one is going to buy a new engine for a car this old so you will need those part anyway.
I've dome many timing belts and as a general rule of thumb there will most probably be engine damage if the belt breaks...I did one today on a 4g64 Mitsubishi and the belt book says "Probable engine damage" but a new belt fitted on it and away it went...Sometimes we can "or the customer" can be lucky...First turn of the key and we know whats what....Good vid mate...Sometimes people just don't care about the noises or the waning lights.!.
I wish you was in the uk. you seem the sort of person I could trust as trust is a THING. love your vids.
I learn a lot from your videos, good job.
i wanna tell you, you are my mentor! i only wished you happened to sevice PSA engines. i'm aware there are not many in the States
Great work Eric!
Have that on a 2008 chrysler 300, hoping for the best but will do a cylinder leak down test to save a few steps to see if the rest of the motor is ok. 17 bucks on Amazon will for the leak down kit will let me know if I have any problems including head gaskets or rings. Plus due for plugs anyway and valve cover gaskets. Thanks for giving me hope to not have the heads pulled, not the best weather up here and do not want to pull the heads if not needed.
Yes, a leak down test would also tell if there is a bent valve. But a Eric said with the odds and time spent either way, putting on a new belt and trying it makes sense.
Tnks Erik to my eyes you are a Great Mechanic.....blessings to u n family always.
Great video Eric. Good advice.
When changing timing belt and water pump. Do I have to change the hydraulic tensioner,idler pully, and cam shaft seal .My car is only 40,000 mile on it but I have it for 10 year. Question 2 should I change the timing belt alone because I only have 40,000 miles on the car,keep in mind I have the car for 10 years. Thanks will really help I am a big of your channel I learn a lot. I asset my timing belt looking at my serpentine belt to get a idea how the timing belt May look.
Another great video Eric!