[theodydude]

Hi everyone,
My 2000 Odyssey has about 233,000 Kms (145,000 Miles).

I don't believe the timing belt has ever been done. I've owned the van since 2005 since it had 106,000Kms (65,000Miles)

I don't believe the timing belt job has ever been done.

I'm wondering if replacing the timing belt tensioner aka automatic adjuster (14520-P8E-A01) is really a good idea or if it is worth the extra 75 dollars at this point in my vans life.

I want to be very thorough in the TB replacement and don't want to have to be in there in 20K miles replacing something I should have replaced today.

Do it once and do it right...that's the idea

If the timing belt tensioner goes bad later on would the labor to replace it equal the labor to replace the TB?

More importantly would tensioner failure ruin my interference engine.

Any insight and words of wisdom you could offer would be greatly appreciated.



One last thing should I replace the water pump too...not to mention the timing belt while I'm in there...this paragraph (line) was a joke. :stupid: =)

Thanks!

 

[mjody]

those tensioners leak all the time, change it.

 

[gregersonke]

From past experience on anything timing belt related. It's always been best to replace anything that has a bearing on it. If that bearing fails, its going to cost you a hell of a lot of money and work that could have been prevented had you replaced it in the first place.

 

[theodydude]

Done and done

Alright thanks a lot gregersonke & mjody!

I will replace it as per your recommendations!

 

[redmondjp]

Yes, if your van truly has that mileage on it, with original timing belt, tensioner and idler rollers, and water pump, I'd strongly suggest replacing all of those items. Plenty of threads on this here if you search. You can get OEM parts online for reasonable prices too.

I remember when a coworker of mine back in 1994 had a 1987 Accord that stopped running on the way to work. It had 176K miles on it, on the original timing belt, until it broke that day (he had no idea it even needed replacing every 60K miles, which was fairly typical of those who had previously only owned American cars).

 

[LJSearles]

Do it. A friend just had one fail in his '99. Whoever did the timing belt and waterpump couldn't be bothered with the automatic adjuster, and it let go the other day and the racket scared the crap out of him.

 

[theodydude]

Do it. A friend just had one fail in his '99. Whoever did the timing belt and waterpump couldn't be bothered with the automatic adjuster, and it let go the other day and the racket scared the crap out of him.

What happened? Did it mess up his engine?

 

[LJSearles]

What happened? Did it mess up his engine?

Thankfully, no. The timing belt remained in place. The adjuster pulley was just moving back and forth against the adjuster.

I got it all back together last night, and for some reason it won't fire up. I suspect i set number 1 piston at TDC on the exhaust stroke rather than the compression stroke. I can't think of anything else it could be.

A note of warning from this experience. Be super careful not to accidentally drop anything down through the intake manifold into the valley, it takes forever to fish stuff out. I managed to drop a nut down there, and spent half an hour fishing around in there with a magnet finding the bloody thing.

 

[slam9mm]

LJSearles,
Did you get it running again? I just did the TB on my 99 @ 145k and forgot one bolt on the actuator it ran good for a few miles then it died, I have it re-aligned and will do a compression check this evening. I am interested in anything you learned from your experience.
-Sam

 

[GLP]

It seems like a pretty critical part. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the tensioner leaks enough the belt loses tension, starts skipping teeth, then it's all over. I replaced mine just to be safe.

 

[LJSearles]

Yup, running like a champ, other than the failing transmission. Make sure your cams are lined up correctly and you should be good to go. Just replaced the power steering pump on the same vehicle.

 

[LJSearles]

Yup, that's what caused all the grief on the Ody i worked on. Tensioner failed, cam skipped a few teeth, valve met piston. Luckily, only one bent valve.