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Timing belt vs Chain conflicting information

23K views 57 replies 11 participants last post by  plplplpl 
#1 ·
I heard Scotty Kilmer say that all Honda engines after 2018 have timing chains, not belts. I also read this somewhere. Is this true for the V-6s?
 
#14 ·
The best advice anyone can give you is to take anything Scotty Kilmer or almost all Youtube people says with a gigantic grain of salt. He's forgotten more about how to fix cars than I'll ever know but half the stuff I've seen him say I don't agree with or wouldn't do. Also his voice makes me want to hurt things so I don't watch him.

Only guy I mostly trust is Jason from Engineering Explained, he's a great ambassador to my chosen profession and lets legitimate research and facts drive his videos rather than opinion and speculation.
 
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#18 ·
Agreed, if he was that good he would have taken over for Click and Clack when their show ended.
I dont agree with everything Scotty says. I don't care for some of the products he's pushed. I like how he keeps his old vehicles going. He still does work on other people's cars. He's very good at using a scanner and diagnosing. That should give him some credibility. More than what some give him. I find it interesting how some find him irritating. Who has the problem?
In a Scotty Kilmer voice...,
REV UP YOUR ENGINES! 😃
 
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#19 ·
🤮 🤮 🤮
 
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#24 ·
Sage advice:


Dear Tom and Ray:
When driving down the freeway, I heard a scraping sound, shortly followed by my car slowing down, no matter how hard I pushed on the gas. I barely made it to the service road without getting hit by other traffic. When the tow truck driver came, he noticed green liquid (coolant) leaking out. The mechanic towed the car and said my water pump had frozen, and that broke my timing belt. He said it was the first time he had ever seen it, and he doesn't know of a way I could have avoided it. I need to know if it was something I did, that I can avoid doing in the future. I am paranoid about the situation and worried that it will happen again. Thanks!
-- Joanna

RAY: It does happen, Joanna. But we like when it happens. For us, it means we won't have any trouble making our boat payment that month!

TOM: You don't tell us what kind of car you drive, but I'm guessing it's something with a non-interference engine. Cars with interference-style engines get ruined when their timing belts break. It sounds like you were lucky and you avoided that grisly fate; you got off with just an expensive repair and a severe travel disruption!

RAY: The vast majority of manufacturers recommend that you change your car's timing belt after a certain number of miles -- 60,000 miles used to be common. Now lots of manufacturers suggest 90,000.

TOM: If you don't change the timing belt, it can break on its own due to age and use. But on almost every car we see, the timing belt also runs the water pump (which circulates coolant in the engine). In other words, the timing belt goes around a water-pump pulley, and as the belt turns, it makes the water pump's impeller spin. But if the water pump fails and seizes up, like yours did, it takes the timing belt with it.

RAY: So to prevent this in the future, you have to do a better job of maintaining your car, Joanna.

TOM: For instance, it's possible your water pump was failing and you just didn't notice the horrible growling sound coming from your engine compartment. Or you don't see a mechanic regularly, so no one else had a chance to notice it.

RAY: Or maybe you were a good car owner, and you had your timing belt changed when it was supposed to be, but to save a little money, you or your mechanic didn't change the water pump at the same time. That's penny-wise and thousand-dollar foolish, in our opinion.

TOM: Yeah. We'd never change a customer's timing belt without changing the water pump, too, for the very reason that caused you to write to us -- that's what can happen. And then they come back and blame us for it!

RAY: Also, we tend to use factory water pumps rather than aftermarket pumps for this repair, because the risks, if the water pump fails, are so severe.

TOM: So, how do you prevent this in the future? Get better about your regular maintenance. Find a mechanic you trust (if you don't already have one, find one at the Mechanics Files. And take your car in on a regular basis. Even if it's just for an oil-and-filter change every six months, at least someone has a chance to notice when something is going terribly wrong.

RAY: And spend a cozy evening curling up with your owner's manual (that's the thing that's still wrapped in cellophane in your glove box). Read the maintenance section, and see what sorts of things are required at different mileage intervals. A good mechanic can help you determine which items are absolutely necessary. But here's a hint: Changing the timing belt and water pump is one of them! Good luck, Joanna.
 
#25 ·
Sage advice:


Dear Tom and Ray:
When driving down the freeway, I heard a scraping sound, shortly followed by my car slowing down, no matter how hard I pushed on the gas. I barely made it to the service road without getting hit by other traffic. When the tow truck driver came, he noticed green liquid (coolant) leaking out. The mechanic towed the car and said my water pump had frozen, and that broke my timing belt. He said it was the first time he had ever seen it, and he doesn't know of a way I could have avoided it. I need to know if it was something I did, that I can avoid doing in the future. I am paranoid about the situation and worried that it will happen again. Thanks!
-- Joanna

RAY: It does happen, Joanna. But we like when it happens. For us, it means we won't have any trouble making our boat payment that month!

TOM: You don't tell us what kind of car you drive, but I'm guessing it's something with a non-interference engine. Cars with interference-style engines get ruined when their timing belts break. It sounds like you were lucky and you avoided that grisly fate; you got off with just an expensive repair and a severe travel disruption!

RAY: The vast majority of manufacturers recommend that you change your car's timing belt after a certain number of miles -- 60,000 miles used to be common. Now lots of manufacturers suggest 90,000.

TOM: If you don't change the timing belt, it can break on its own due to age and use. But on almost every car we see, the timing belt also runs the water pump (which circulates coolant in the engine). In other words, the timing belt goes around a water-pump pulley, and as the belt turns, it makes the water pump's impeller spin. But if the water pump fails and seizes up, like yours did, it takes the timing belt with it.

RAY: So to prevent this in the future, you have to do a better job of maintaining your car, Joanna.

TOM: For instance, it's possible your water pump was failing and you just didn't notice the horrible growling sound coming from your engine compartment. Or you don't see a mechanic regularly, so no one else had a chance to notice it.

RAY: Or maybe you were a good car owner, and you had your timing belt changed when it was supposed to be, but to save a little money, you or your mechanic didn't change the water pump at the same time. That's penny-wise and thousand-dollar foolish, in our opinion.

TOM: Yeah. We'd never change a customer's timing belt without changing the water pump, too, for the very reason that caused you to write to us -- that's what can happen. And then they come back and blame us for it!

RAY: Also, we tend to use factory water pumps rather than aftermarket pumps for this repair, because the risks, if the water pump fails, are so severe.

TOM: So, how do you prevent this in the future? Get better about your regular maintenance. Find a mechanic you trust (if you don't already have one, find one at the Mechanics Files. And take your car in on a regular basis. Even if it's just for an oil-and-filter change every six months, at least someone has a chance to notice when something is going terribly wrong.

RAY: And spend a cozy evening curling up with your owner's manual (that's the thing that's still wrapped in cellophane in your glove box). Read the maintenance section, and see what sorts of things are required at different mileage intervals. A good mechanic can help you determine which items are absolutely necessary. But here's a hint: Changing the timing belt and water pump is one of them! Good luck, Joanna.
This mechanic rejoicing in someone's misfortune would make me want to run from him and DIY.
 
#35 ·
I was told by my service guy at Honda that the V6 engines still have a timing belt - the 4-cyl engines have a timing chain. Why he couldn't say. That seems to me to be almost backwards. But, I have had several Honda vehicles with the 3.5L V6 and have had no problems with the timing belt. I have replaced them per the mileage intervals that Honda recommends. My 2004 Odyssey van had the 3.5, and Honda recommended that it be replaced at 7 years or 65,000 miles. We replaced the belt three times - once at 64,000, 130,000 and 189,000. I sold the van with 198,000 miles on the odometer and bought a new Acura MDX - again with the 3.5L V6 engine. Some of the automotive pundits state that the 3.5 is one of the best engines that Honda has ever built. There may be some truth to that as the engine has been around for quite some time and it is found in a number of Honda and Acura vehicles. 🤠
 
#37 ·
I've owned both Honda and Acura with the V6 over the last 20 something years. Never once have I read that "Honda" recommended that the TB replaced at 65k. Seems the dealerships are convincing some Honda owners in to changing them sooner. 90k was normal then pushed up to 105k.
 
#36 ·
And remember that Honda is the largest manufacturer of engines in the world.
 
#38 ·
I was surprised to read that, too. 105k is the standard timing belt replacement interval AFAIK. It seems like a cliché to call them stealerships, but they brought it upon themselves by pulling this sort of thing.
 
#40 ·
The 65K is if the car is in extreme climates or towing. I still wouldn't replace the TB that soon. As soon as I buy a new car, I put $1,200 aside for the timing belt service. It's unavoidable and it ensures another 100,000 miles of trouble free driving (for the most part). Usually I have a couple hundred dollars left over and I start saving again. Never had a belt break and even went 189,000 miles on the original timing belt on our old 2006 Odyssey. I don't recommend doing that, it just slipped through the cracks.
 
#47 ·
Our '15 will likely be due to age rather than miles. I'm just debating whether I do it myself or not. If I don't want to do it myself my wife will likely want to stretch it another year until she's done PA school and making money.
 
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