Timing belt changed or not ??

[RonMur]

Just bought a '95 Accord LX with 115,000 miles. Interior and engine bay are super clean. According to CarCheck, it has only had 2 prior owners. It appears both owners took great care of the car. The problem is, I don't know the service history. Bought the car from a broker who got the car from Carmax as a trade-in. How can I tell if the timing belt/water pump has already been changed? Is there some secret advice that could help determine either way? When I say the engine bay is super clean, I mean SUPER CLEAN. There is no oily film built up anywhere. Multiple parts shine like new. I say that to say this -- I can't tell if anything has been disassembled to change the belt/pump. If I wasn't so happy with the condition under the hood, I would almost wish there was some dirt so I could tell if the parts had been removed for the service.

This is my first Honda. So I'm hoping someone who has a history with Hondas might be able to point out some tell-tale signs to look for. If the car ran crappy, I'd go ahead and change the belt anyway. But with the obvious care that has been given to the car, and the fact it runs smooth and strong, I really would rather not change a belt/pump that might have been changed 10-20,000 miles ago.

Anyone have suggestions/pointers??

[jeffcoslacker]

All you can really do is remove the top cover and have a look....not real hard.

Look for wear exposing cords on the flat backside of the belt, strings coming off the edges, and small tears at the base of the cogs on the toothed side...dig a thumbnail lightly into the backside...a newer belt will feel soft and will "hook" your nail, an old one in need of replacement will be hard as a rock....

[mpumas]

I think the change point is 90K for that year. Honda calcuates that 99% of the belts will last that long. After that the percentates start going down. So at 115K, the belts on more then 80% of the cars will still be strong and look new. and it starts going downhill rapidly after that. So looking at the belt is not a good indicator. Look for lube records on the door to see if you can tell where he had his service work done. I know that it is a hard deciscion, but if you can't find any records, the cost of not doing it and having a belt break is not worth it on Hondas. A broken belt means a head job to fix bent valves.

[somick]

jeff gave you a good advice, but I still would not trust the look and fill of the belt. Since the broken belt on a Honda means thousands dollars I would just replace it now. Especially if you can do it yourself. This is a cheap insurance!

It took me about 10 hours to do it first time. I installed it incorrectly and had to redo it again! This time it took only about six.

This is of course only my own opinion and you will have to make decisions your self.

Good luck,
Sam