My car has 114k miles on it and hasn't ever had the timing belts changed.

Can anyone give me a ballpark figure on what this will cost from a Honda dealership?

Also, at this mileage, what else should I have done to the car? (planning on having all fluids changed next week).

 

when you do the timing belt do the water pump and seals as well... parts and labor at a dealership I would estimate at $500.00 on up....that's my ballpark on it.... in addition to fluids if the spark plugs/cap/rotor/fuel fitler/air filter haven't been done recently I'd have those replaced

 

Here in the Boise, ID area the dealer wants $600 for parts and labor. Parts are: water pump, timing belts, accessory belts, seals and fluids. I need to do my '91 Accord EX and toying with the idea of doing it myself, above mentioned parts at the local parts house total about $200. I'd like to pay myself $400 for a days labor!

 

do it yourself... there are a couple of FANTASTIC write ups in the DIY section with photos and explicit instructions, read through them and then decide if you want to pay someone $400.00 to do a job that you could handle yourself in a days worth of work and a $25.00 ratchet set from a pawn shop... the ONLY BIG problem will be removing the crank pulley bolt if you don't have power tools....

 

At what mileage does Honda suggest replacing the belts? And what happens when they fail?

 

90 to 105k miles ... if t-belt brakes you will be stuck in the middle of whereever you are. engine will die instantly and there is a possability that it might bent valves ..

i reccomend that, if you do mostly city driving , replace the t-belt at around 75k miles ,,the reason being that when you are stopped at traffic lites or behind traffic with engine idleing, the miles will not add up but the timing belt still spins , so actually there are a lot more miles on the t-belt than the odometer registers

if you do mostly hwy driving than i would suggest do it at 90k miles

with the t-belt repalce the water pump always and related seals , on the v6 replace the hydraulic tensioner as well

 

Does the car give sort of indication that timing belt is goin to fail or towards the end of its life? Or will it just snap any moment without any notice? I just had a nightmare thinking about t-belt breaking? what if I am driving on the interstate at 70 mph with many cars and trucks around and the belt snaps? Will the car just stall right there...... and I will die?
Well, I have bought 1994 Accord EX. I dunno when last was the t-belt replaced. Can that be figured out without spending too much. I mean, I bought the car for 2 grand. I dont want to spend more money fixing the car than I spent buying it.
Thanks

 

if you are driving down the interstate and the timing belt breaks then the engine will immediately shut off, you will not die unless you turn the car into oncoming traffic. and no it gives no warning at all, it just snaps. better to spend the 4-600 bucks to replace the timing belts and accessories than to spend over 2 grand for a new motor if it breaks.

 

With the upper timing cover off it is possible to look down [with a strong flashlight] to the point where the belt is bowed 'backward' over the tensioner pulley, and check over the teeth of the belt.
The base of the tooth is where the cracks will be.
The belts don't actuallybreak in two, the teeth get ripped off.
The belt in this picture was as close to death as I've ever seen

 

OOOOOOOOOps forgive me Dude,, instead of hitting the quote button i hit the edit button can you please repost your previous reply ?? []