i just got a 2002 civic ex, and while i'm not thrilled about it (sold 2000 Lightning) i do love the gas mileage that it will get me. my only question is what is the interval for changing the timing belt? it has 80000 miles on it, and i thought they were supposed to be changed at 100k. btw, is the motor an interference one or no? by that, if the belt breaks, does it result in the pistons slamming into the valves? thanks for any info.

 

Welcome. I bought my second Honda and now my full size 4x4 just sits in the driveway and decreases in value as the Honda pays for itself in gas mileage. Welcome to the club!

Anyways, owners manual says 110,000 or 7 years, whichever is first for the timing belt.

Unfortunatly, most of (if not all) of our Honda I4s are interference engines, including your D17, so change the timing belt at least as often as the manual says. I will probably replace the one in my 05 shortly before 100k.

 

i believe all civics t-belts are due every 90k miles.

 

I'd do every 80k to be safe. Thats not something I'd want to walk the line on. But welcome to the Forums!

 

thanks for the info. is it hard to change these things yourself, because i'm not going to pay the stealership 400-500 bucks to do it.

 

Something the others didn't mention is that it's also a good idea to go ahead and swap out the waterpump for a new one at the same time the timing belt is changed. Everything that is nessecary to get the water pump off is out of the way to change the timing belt, so really there's no additional labor cost and the water pump is 50 or less... trust me and go ahead and do it... My pump died on mine and cost me a head gasket, and almost the engine... so it's cheap insurance if you ask me.

While I do not know how the belt goes in on your specific civic, on my 93dx D15B7, you have to remove the drivers side wheel, the splash guard behind the wheel, the motor mount on that side has to come off, and the timing belt covers have to come off... once all that is off you can get to it, it's kinda tight in there though... I just opted to pay my mechanic $275 to do it for me so I wouldn't be out there in my front yard cussing the car out and kicking it and so on... once you can see everything in there all you have to do is line up the marks on the cam and head, then loosen it and remove, replace, and re-assemble... so acctually changing it is easy, it's the prep work that sucks...

Yes they are interferance engines. I would definately hate to risk that one... when my water pump died it almost broke the belt... it stripped a few teeth and frayed it pretty bad, but lucky for me it did not break.

I bet you really like the mileage difference between the civic and the lightning... mine runs in between 35-38mpg hwy. and I get no less than 30mpg in city driving, so yeah I really like my car...

 

I forgot to mention... 400-500 sounds pretty steep to do a timing belt, my mechanic did my water pump, and t-belt, and put in a used radiator for $275, which was labor only, I bought the parts separate... I would definately not be going to that dealership... In the town I was in at the time I had some good mechanic friends who took care of me on the prices and stuff.... and I could trust them to not do more than what was needed... that is what I would look for If it were me...

Now I have to pick different shops by specialty.. I'm in charleston, sc, and don't know any good shops... somethings go to stokes honda, and others go to other places... The thing that sucks the most is my apartment place has rules against working on your car on the property, so I have to pay a shop now...

 

For the timing belt change on mine (96CX) I ended up buying a big specialty socket from Snap-On but now i can't remember zackly what for - hafta check - bout due again.
Hey civicpimpin, what kinda mileage did U have when your water pump went out?

 

It had 199k on it, but there's no telling how many miles were actually on the water pump or timing belt... could have been original i suppose... I was going to change it anyway... but the pump decided right then was a fine time, so I didn't have a choice...

 

hell yes i love the mileage, however, i'm still getting used to having no power. other than that, they are a lot nicer cars than i thought they were. i'll keep it as long as it'll run, but i will have to get another cobra or lightning in another year (after i finish college) or i'll probably lose it. lol

edit: btw, the 400-500 was my own estimate; i'm glad to hear it doesn't actually cost that much.