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Timing Belt broke

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14K views 19 replies 14 participants last post by  Nail Grease  
#1 ·
Had the timing belt break on the freeway driving it home the same day I bought it...it has 237k miles on it and chances are it was really original.

So the question is, damage most likely occurred in the cylinder heads. When a timing belt goes, is there typically damage elsewhere in the engine or can I just get some reman heads, slap on a new belt kit and call it a day?

Trying to decide how much time and $$ to invest in this thing.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Bdiddy11 said:
Had the timing belt break on the freeway driving it home the same day I bought it...it has 237k miles on it and chances are it was really original.

So the question is, damage most likely occurred in the cylinder heads. When a timing belt goes, is there typically damage elsewhere in the engine or can I just get some reman heads, slap on a new belt kit and call it a day?

Trying to decide how much time and $$ to invest in this thing.
Click to expand...
Pilots as you know have "interference engines" meaning bent valves. The block and piston usually doesn't seem to suffer any damage. You'll know more when you yank the heads. Reman heads run around $700 each so your looking at least $2000. It might be cheaper to have a machine shop rebuild the heads. For kicks you could replace the belt and do a compression or leak down test before removing the heads or the valve lash to see if how many may be out of spec due to bent valves, who knows you might get lucky. Good luck and good day.
 
#3 ·
As stated, the bottom end rarely suffers damage. The heads themselves usually don't suffer any damage either, the valves are what take the brunt of the damage.

Some have been lucky and had no damage - run some tests first if you have the time.
 
#5 ·
I'm gonna be the pessimist...

If you were driving 70+mph I would anticipate heavy damage. I think saying the pistons don't 'usually get damaged' when the TB snaps is specific to each individual, but when traveling at highways speeds with the crank moving at 3000+rpm I would expect the worse, and anticipate you could be on the bad end of this with damage to at least 2 pistons.

I would not waste the time or money with buying a belt and checking - that's just more time and money. Just to make sure you weren't a lucky leprechaun do a leak down test, but when that fails plan on removing the heads. If you got lucky and the pistons seem fine, then rebuild the heads yourself or take both heads to a shop and have a complete valve job done. Even if you get lucky and find damage in only 1 head, considering there's over 200k on the Pilot it would be best to recondition/rebuild both heads.

Consensus for higher mileage Hondas (in general) is that 9/10 times it's better to rebuild the heads you have rather than buy new, reman or used.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I'm somewhat guessing here, but because you bought a Pilot with ~240,000 miles, I suspect your funds are limited. The cheapest option will be to remove the heads yourself and do the valve job, which could cost ~$200 (maybe a bit more). Add in the head gaskets and new bolts, other gaskets (valve covers, etc.), plugs and timing belt component kit - and you're still into this repair for probably a minimum of $600, and that's a very conservative estimate.

If you haven't ever replaced valves and set the lash (etc.) - then call local shops and plan on getting the heads rebuilt. At $300 each (which I think is still a conservative figure for anywhere right now), I suspect you're going to be in this for $1000+, 10-15hrs of labor and probably 2 weeks of downtime while the heads are done.

You need to change the TB and water pump, so I would also consider installing a new radiator and both the right side and front motor mounts. These parts would add ~$200 and probably 4-6 hrs to the build - but your coolant system would be set for ~100,000 miles minus a fluid change or 2.

EDIT: I've done a few valve jobs on heads off V8s and older V4s when I was younger - at minimum, even if you tackle the valves yourself, I strongly recommend you take the heads to a machine shop and have them inspected, cleaned and polished. At that point you can decided if the extra cost and convenience (and peace of mind) of having them install the valves and seals is worth the extra money...
 
C
#9 ·
That's super good to know. The PO of my 2006 had the timing belt go out after a fresh one was installed. This forced a rebuild, and it's been running great since. I think the heads were done (she doesn't recall the details & we don't have the paperwork) but I doubt things like bearings, rings, honing & so forth were messed with, in my particular case. If there was more of a chance of that happening, it would steer @Bdiddy11 towards punting on this particular project.
 
#13 ·
What all was involved in the head rebuild you have listed? I've had it posted as a mechanics special to try and resell...had quite a few people ask about it but nothing has come of it. Might end up pulling the heads and checking the valves. Watched some videos and it doesn't seem too crazy hard to swap out new valves.

If there isn't damage past just a few valves and a new belt kit...might be worthwhile to spend some more time on getting it running again.

Any other possibilities of damaged parts apart from bent valves with a timing belt going out at 65 mph?
 
#12 ·
One thing which I don’t think has been mentioned is you could pull the spark plugs and borescope each cylinder. Use a borescope with a side view and front view cameras to get the full picture.
 
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#20 ·
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