Major Accord Servicing

[bowtieguy]

whenever you have these services done, don't forget about the belt tensioner and idler pulley. and yes, i would replace the water pump at that time. the owner/operator of the leading independent(non-dealer) shop in my area will NOT warranty the work on timing belt service w/out tensioner/idler/water pump replacements.

personally tho, i would flush the brake fluid and change the plugs myself. not too involved really.

[Pyrorocketeer]

so paying the $300 or so for the timing belt removal, $50 for the pump, install of the water pump, and then replacing the belt, or even getting a new one? Is that a waste of money?

that sounds like its worth it to me.... listen to your mechanic on this one get it replaced.

[2TonJellyBean]

I appreciate the balanced opinions I'm being presented actually.

[Danronian]

Originally Posted by Pyrorocketeer

so paying the $300 or so for the timing belt removal, $50 for the pump, install of the water pump, and then replacing the belt, or even getting a new one? Is that a waste of money?

that sounds like its worth it to me.... listen to your mechanic on this one get it replaced.

If the mechanic and owner's manual said to replace these things at 60k miles, yes, of course it would be a good idea. But don't go against the Honda change intervals. If you do, you are throwing away your money!

[trebuchet03]

So here's my thinking - branding aside

If you can afford (time wise and dollar wise) to change your water pump before you have to change your timing belt next. Don't replace.

If you can't afford that - of course, replace the pump
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So what's the price difference if you were to replace the pump now? Because really, that's the only gripe

[lovemysan]

When I did the Tchain on my nissan pickup. I replaced with all new guides, tensioner, and gears etc. However when I went to install the $40 "lifetime gold" water pump I noticed it was completely inferior design. Noting that the old oem pump was still doing fine at 145k I reinstalled it. I sold the truck at 170k.

The bottom line is only use OEM parts. I would let it go till the 120k service, personally. Or let your mechanic decide for you, after all he must stake his reputation on the decision. But insist on an OEM pump and parts.

[thisisntjared]

Originally Posted by Pyrorocketeer

so paying the $300 or so for the timing belt removal, $50 for the pump, install of the water pump, and then replacing the belt, or even getting a new one? Is that a waste of money?

that sounds like its worth it to me.... listen to your mechanic on this one get it replaced.

what the hell are you talking about?? of course the water pump should be done with the timing belt!

we are saying that its too early for BOTH the timing belt AND the water pump.

[trebuchet03]

On recommendation of the owner's manual - the water pump should never be changed, you know, because there's no chance it's going to ever die at any time other than an opportune time In any case, it says to inspect when the T-belt is off - so whomever is inspecting it should make the call on replacement (unless someone on the internets is hiding some X-ray equipment in their butt and is looking inside your engine for bearing wear and gasket cracks)

So the manual, for your car, says for normal conditions - don't even replace the T-belt until 105,000 mi/168,000 km/7 yrs. For severe conditions replace the T-belt at 60,000 mi/96,000 km/4 yrs.

When replacing the T-belt - also replace the balancer belt on 4cyl engines.

Severe conditions:
Temp > 90F
Temp < 20F
Frequent Short Trips (5mi or less or 10 mi in freezing conditions)
Excessive Idling or Stop/Go Traffic
Muddy Dusty or De-Iced Roads
Trailer Towing/Car Top Carrying/Mountain Driving
But occasional severe driving doesn't mean you're a severe conditions driver (muddy definitions - as clear as whole milk)

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So, if you're not a severe conditions driver - you don't even need to do any of this T-belt shenanigans (according to the manual). If you are a severe driver - you're due

All of this information is on Honda's website for owners - registration is free - and you don't need VIN numbers and all that crazy gunk they have on their registration form

Link Me Up Scotty!

[2TonJellyBean]

treb, unfortunately, Honda considers all of Canada a severe service zone even though out neighbours in Buffalo get far worse extremes in weather - the Toronto area actually gets a pretty mild winter.

Our cars get lots of short drives (train commuters in burbs) and we are way over on changing the coolant, so I'm not worried about the cost of a pump if it needs it. This will actually be the first service it's had other than simple oil changes since new, so I just want to catch up -- especially for neglecting the fluids.

I had heard a few times that replacing the water pump can be a prudent move. I'm not sure if old coolant shortens the life of pumps, if so, this seems prudent. I appreciate you going to the effort of looking it up and should have mentioned that I was more or less looking for stuff that isn't in the manual, like not waiting to change plugs until they are one with the cylinder heads or the water pump scoop... Thanks!

[thisisntjared]

water that is not distilled can mess up the water pump, i wouldnt say that old coolant would shorten the life of the pump, but that depends on the health of the cooling system in general.

at first i didn't realize you were from canada, but i would still say its ok, especially in the toronto area (i used to live in syracuse, ny).

if you plan on selling the car in a couple years, then i retract my statements earlier. people like timely service records when buying a used car. otherwise i would tell them to let the timing belt and water pump go for a bit, that is unless you want to get it done now for convenience sake....

do accords have a balancer belt?