Hello All,

I'm in the process of replacing the head gasket on a 98 Civic LX (non-VTEC) and have a question about the timing belt. Before I took the old one off, I pushed against it from the stretch where it goes from the top of the cam pulley downward and it had quite a bit of play I thought. It probably moved in an inch or maybe a little more.... It seemed loose but obviously hadn't skipped timing or anything yet. My question: Was that probably like that from the last person changing it or would it have stretched over time (100K miles since last change)?

I know you don't want it TOO tight because it could wear it and the tensionor prematurely but I always thought it should be pretty tight all around it. Yes, I looked at the manual and it just says to rotate 5-6 times counterclockwise. Should I actually be pushing on the tensionor before I tighten the bolt down in order to get really good tension on it? Maybe I am overthinking it? Thanks!

 

Regarding the loose tension of the old belt, had you rotated the crank clockwise prior to checking the tension? If so, this would have loosened the belt.

If you exactly follow the instructions in the manual, the new belt tension will be fine.

 

No hadn't turned anything clockwise. Just took the cover off and felt like it was loose. Guess that is how it is supposed to be done since it was a Honda tech who did it last. I'll follow the manual. Thanks