civic '97 timing belt replacement?

[dgiscool]

I have got '97 honda civic lx with 68K miles. I showed my car for regular check up last week & the mechanic recommended me to change the timing belt. I have 3 questions:

Can I wait for 3000/4000 miles & then get it done?
If I don't change it now then what's the risk I run into?
What's the approx. cost (labor + parts)? I'm in dallas, texas, usa.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Deepak

[CivvySedan]

Timing belt replacement is recommended at 75,000 miles for my '95. I don't know if the newer models are any different. Anyway, I made it to 90,000 before replacing mine. My replacement cost was exactly $24.99, the cost of the belt, because I did it myself. A shop will run at least $500. I broke one on my '91 CRX a while back and that's not fun, 'cause then they charge you more for replacing the belt because you don't have a choice at that point. Hope this helps a little.

[civickiller]

dont let your timing belt break. if your timing belt breaks your run the risk of bending all your valves, which would come out to a pretty penny to replace. bettter to replace it now and try not to take the belt to its limits. i am pretty sure your timing belt can last 4k miles, just dont take it to the extremes

[elitethug]

timing belt is every 90k the mechanic is a fool, i got mine from the dealer

[CraniumDesigns]

i have a 96 civic with 84k miles and still have the original belt, need to replace it soon. you can wait a while dude.

[emerge]

i have a 97 civic also. it is recommended like someone said earlier to change it at 90k miles. you've still got awhile. it doesn't cost that much. we had mine changed when we bought the car because it was at 83k miles. im not sure how much it was but not terribly expensive. you do need to replace it tho when u get close to or over 90k...

[CraniumDesigns]

i got a couple quotes, and the cheapest I got was $375, cuz they change the belt and the water pump, and i guess it's quite labor intensive. if anyone knows of instructions online to do it yourself, i would love to save some $ if it's not too hard to do.

[civickiller]

its so easy to change a timing belt, its not even funny. first take off the crank pully, so you can see the crank gear. then take off the timing belt cover. then lossen the tensioner, pull off timing belt, then put back the timing belt. making sure that you didnt move the cam or the crank or else the timing will be off. put the belt on, then get a screw driver and put tension on the timing belt tensioner so there no slack so the belt wont come off. then tighten tensioner, put the center bolt back on and spin the engine to tdc. and check the marks to make sure there lined up. then also spin the engine to make sure the timing belt is tight enough. if it isnt, it will probably jump a notch on the cam gear, so watch out for that. if its all good, then put everything back on in reverse order. ta da its done. but youll probably want someone there that has done it before so they can help you.

if you make the belt too loose it will come off, but if you make it too tight then it may snap and then you bent a valve. oh if its too loose then if it jumps then youll bend a valve. so all you guys, since your inexperienced on working on cars, should take it to a mechanic, or have someone there that has done it before

[CraniumDesigns]

does it require any special tools?

[civickiller]

nothing special. idk how extensive your tool collection is. you probably need regualr sockets, breaker bar, screw driver, 3/8" drive rachets, with 3/8 sockets. youll need a torque wrench to torque everything back on, also the torque specs on all the bolts you take off

oh yeah i forgot to add. you may need to unbolt the flywheel cover and get access to the flywheel and jam a screwdriver in it to prevent the engine from spinning when your taking off the crank pulley.

[CraniumDesigns]

yeah, i'll just get someone else to do it.