I love my 94 Accord LX Coupe. It has been a great little car. I change the oil, plugs, air cleaner, etc. All the things a car owner should be doing to keep his car running a long time. My Accord has 174K. The only major repairs have been a timing belt replacement, brake and rotor replacement, and an upcoming strut replacement.

What else can a shade tree mechanic do to take this car into the 200K range?

My current fear is that I have no record of when the timing belt was replaced: 60 or 90K?

Final question: Why is it doom and gloom if a timing belt breaks? Is it really a death blow to the engine as I've heard? What happens mechically when a timing belt breaks?

Thanks

 

when a belt breaks on an interference engine the valves get slammed by the pistons because they no longer close. in a split second your engine is junk.
change the belt/water pump, get the struts and enjoy the car.
ive gone 287K on a 91 accord. im on my fourth accord, got a 09 last month and love it.

 

^^^ what Kyle said

 

Call your local honda dealer and find out if they have a record of when your timing belt was changed. They should be able to look up service records by the VIN. It is worth a shot.

The timing belt is due every 90K miles (check the owner's manual for the service interval), so you will be due in about 6K miles.

 

Thanks PA Honda, but the place I had it serviced has since gone out of business and it wasn't a Honda Dealership. It's just that (like everyone else) money is tight, and I wish there were a way for a mechanic to assess the timing belt before doing the replacement.

 

There isn't. You could do a DIY bare-bones belt change (no waterpump/no tensioners/no seals) for $25 by just replacing the timing and balance shaft belts with aftermarket belts. Peace of mind.

 

If the place that did your service followed Honda's maintenance schedule, then they should have done the timing belt at 90K miles. You are due for a timing belt change at 180K miles. I would probably do the water pump and the tensioner bearings at that time as well.

Your timing belt may look perfect when you inspect it and could break the next day, so inspection will not help.

I would do the belts when the car hits 180K miles, then you will be on the normal maintenance schedule.