I'm new here but not new to Hondas or Accords. Recently I did the timing belt water pump etc.on my 99 LX. I did notreplace the tensioners. When I asked my Honda dealer for a quoteon all the parts to do what they wouldreplace, the tensioners were not on the quote so I did'nt replace them. Bad move.Now I have a noise at just the right idle that sounds like a dry bearing turning. So I'm guessing it's the tensioners. So my question is how long do these things last and should I have done them from the start. Or is there somthing else I should check? I will be pulling it apart again this weekend. Its not that bad though. As long as everything goes good its kinda fun.

 

Maybe I answered my own question, yes they need to be replaced and at 105.000 miles.

 

I justfinished taking my 4 door lx apart again and did the tensioners. Everthing is back to normal. Nice and quite. I will never do a timing belt without doing the tensioners again. Live and learn.
By the way I have been reading allot of the posts on this web site on various subjectsand learning allot. My Accord is getting up there in age and I will be doing more work on it myself. Thanks

 

Honda doesn't have a reccomended replacement interval on tensoiners. They suggest inspecting them and only replaceing if they're bad. If it feels notchy, makes noise or are leaking replace it, otherwise I reuse them. Going by this i've yet to have one come back on me, done many hundreds of em.

 

It was the timing belt tensioner making all the noise. It had some side to side play, and yes just a little notchy. What sequence do you use Chiovnidca on the final adjustment of the belts? I got a little confused with the manual I was using.

 

I just take the slack out of the front of the belt and let the tensioner spring do the rest, then tighten the bolt. You have to have the belt properly located on the pulleys to do it this way.

 

Same here.. i can count on 1 hand how many tensioners i have actually replaced and i have done hundreds of timing belts ,, like Chio said,, spin it and see if they are noisy or feel rachety ..
on the final adjustment for the t-belt, once you install it , you need to turn the engine toward the frt to take the slack away on the back side of the belt .Just put in the crank pulley , it is easier to grab it and turn engine no need to install bolt, just put pulley in and turn it toward frt of car ( counterclock wise ),, if you just let the tensioner do it , t-belt will be a bit loose .do this as a final adjustment after you have also installed the balancer shaft belt ..
I am assuming engine is a 4 cylinder ..

 

So now that this is all done does anyone knowwhere I can get some of these plastic plug fasteners things that hold just about everything plastic together on all three of my Honda's. I took the inner fender loose to do this job and almost every one broke. I did a new bumper cover on my wifes Pilot and some broke. And on my sons Civic, it was parked on the downtown streets of Chicago for some time and the bumper covers front and rear have taken a beating. I know I can go to the Honda dealer and order some. Is there any place else you can get them. I need like a gross of them it seems like.

 

Its been about 2 weeks since did the tensioners and it is quiter. Today I started it up and my son was standing there and told me it just did'nt sound the same as before I did this whole job. I let it warm up good and drove it, came back home and let it run and listened to it. It is just not as quit as it was before I did everything. Is it possible that the water pump is justmaking noiseand everything need time to seat in.

 

Well I just took my top timing cover off put the vavle cover back on and let the car run. The timing belt towards the back of the engine is slapping around a little. And when it does, it makes a noise just like what I have been hearing. The tensioner is as tight as it can go. If I idle it up just slightly it stopsSo.
Idle to low?
Belt Too tight?
Wrong belt 14400-PAA-A02?
Bad water pump, OEM Honda?
Help. I have it apart now.

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