water pump time to change?

[ManOnTheGo]

Originally Posted by Spectre927

In regards to checking your timing belt visually, I've heard its whats on the inside that counts. You can typically get a general idea of the condition, but not always. But they say you cant really rely on that.

Acura uses extreme wear resistant polyurethane timing belts. In controlled test environments, all timing belts should have equal life expectancy, plus or minus some small standard deviaton from the mean life expectancy.

Unfortunately in the real world, varying conditions -- such as climate and driving environments -- cause larger standard deviations in life expectancy. Extreme temperatures and different driving conditions add stress to a car's timing belt, reducing a timing belt's life expectancy.

One constant is that all polymers plasticize and become brittle over time.

Given consistent polymer pasticization and varying climate/driving conditions, you get a large standard deviation for life expectancy. This is why Acura only suggests changing the timing belt after a certain mileage (the mean life expectancy).

The internal condition and outward appearance of a timing belt should reflect one another. I've never seen or heard of a cracked or chewed up timing belt that was still good on the inside. In contrast, most timing belts that appear to be outwardly good, but turn out bad, are results of poor inspection.

The key to inspection is to carefully look for cracks at places where the belt bends. The same inspection process is done on gaskets/o-rings used in million dollar vacuum systems. In extreme cases of degradation, pieces of the belt can be found within the belt cover housing.

[cuba3377]

engines are made to run in closed loop. besides, if ur car is at idle, and its standing still and its cold, ur fan wont be on until it reaches the right temp, and with no air going through the radiator, it should go up rather quickly ^^