Hey,

So I'm new, but yes I did search the site and Google.

I'm looking at a 2001 Civic with 250,000kms. He tells me "the timing belt should be replaced". He has a new belt in the trunk apparently.

I know I'd need to buy a new water pump while I'm at it.

I think I could get both installed for a cheap from a (good) mechanic who works from his garage.

Now the reason I made this thread.. my mom (yes, I know.. no mechanic but has had many cars in her life) told me she changed the timing belt on one of her cars with around 48,000 original kms and the car died a month later.

From what I've found, changing the belt is fairly regular maintenance and not a huge deal/it should be done around 90,000 miles (145,000kms) on the Civics even though the belts might last longer.

A) Is anything bad going to happen after I change the belt?
B) What if you drive with an old belt? I know if it breaks while driving you are basically screwed, but what if it doesn't break and you just drive an old one? (I'm not considering driving the old one, I just don't know how long the previous owner has been driving the one installed now and wondering if he caused damage doing so)

For the record, he told me he'd take $2,500 cash (I've tried talking him down more but no response). I'm in Canada, and most Civics that year are going for around $5,000-6,000. It's a standard.

 

As long as the old belt did not slip and the engine runs fine, then the engine should continue to be fine after you change the timing belt.

 

If it's done properly, you can look forward to another 90,000 miles from the new belt. If the engine is working properly now, it will continue to work properly, unless the old belt breaks.

I would not use the one in the trunk; buy a new one. Rubber degrades over time even if it's not used, especially when stored in adverse conditions. Usually the tension roller (about a $50 part) is also replaced along with the timing belt and water pump.

 

Thanks for the advice on not using the one in the trunk. I'll see how old the belt is and how long it's been there.

I knew about the tension roller, but I'm new to cars and forgot the name of it.

In any event, thanks to both of you. However, I was told that it's hard to tell how good the engine is running if the belt is old. How would I know if slipped or not? If there was something wrong with it, would I notice on a 10-15 minute test drive?

 

If the timing belt were 1 tooth off, it would run incredibly bad, you would know in an instant. I imagine that timing belts stretch to some degree over the course of it's life but probably not noticeable to the driver until it snaps.

 

I agree with the above threads, Replace the belt, water pump and tensioner. If the car is running OK now then it will still run OK so long as the belt is installed correctly. I just did this job on a '03 Civic LX and it was fairly straight forward. I think the dealer charges between $600 and $700 for this job. The parts are about $100 and the rest is labor.