Timing belt

This may be stupid but ,Im looking at a 88 integra for my son, do these need timing belts replaced,how often,and what happens if it goes out while driving it,and approx.how much to replace. Thanks in advance

I beileve Honda recomends every 90k. Find out when/if it was last done. If the belt breaks, about 98% of the time the motor is trashed. I'm not sure what a shop would charge to change it but a Saturday with a shop manual and about 25$ for the belt will get it done.

A shop is gonna charge you at least $600 to replace the timing belt. Funny you brought this up cuz someone asked a very similar question in another forum. But if you're not that experienced with working on your engine its not recommended you attempt to change your own timing belt because of all the parts involved. Not to say you couldn't if you tried but its very labor intensive and if certain stuff goes wrong (particularly with the crank) then you're gonna cause yourself more headaches. How bad does the current belt sound? Is it constantly making the high pitched screech?

I beileve Honda recomends every 90k. Find out when/if it was last done. If the belt breaks, about 98% of the time the motor is trashed. I'm not sure what a shop would charge to change it but a Saturday with a shop manual and about 25$ for the belt will get it done.

90K is good, but most will last 120K. If the belt does break, there will be a good chance of bending a valve, but 95% of the time the engine is not trash. I've seen 3-4 broken timing belts on b-series motors, a few of them needed some new exhaust valves.

Its also a good idea to replace the water pump with the timing belt, if one goes out, it can distroy a new timing belt. An honest mechanic shouldn't charge more than $450 for a new timing belt and water pump, but you may see as high as $600 from the dealer.