CONTITECH Honda TB Kit - 6 yrs/67K, Cracked Belt and Failed Hydraulic Tensioner

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Owner reported an engine rattle during cold starts. Noise improved but was still present once engine warmed up. Traced noise to the timing belt hydraulic tensioner which was also seeping oil.

I removed the lower and rear timing belt covers to set TDC and replace the hydraulic tensioner. The CONTITECH Timing Belt had many cracks on the smooth side after only 7 years and 67K miles!

OEM timing belt interval is determined by the Maintenance Minder which is 100-105K miles with no published time limit. Genuine Honda Timing Belts are usually in very good condition when removed, even if they are used well beyond 105K.

The engine had tensioner and idled pulleys with green dust seals so I think the kit used was a CONTITECH Black Series CK329LK1.

These aftermarket kits are supposed to last the full OEM interval with some safety margin. This particular timing belt and tensioner look like it should have been replaced a long time ago. Not sure if I would buy a CONTITECH kit for this application.
 

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This engine also has a leaking oil pump, which is quite common on Honda J-series engine. The original plan was to replace the hydraulic tensioner for now and perform a full timing belt service with an oil pump reseal and new oil pan in a few months.

I think the timeline for the full timing belt service just got moved up. ;)
 
I have a 2003 Accord V6 and replaced Honda OEM parts with a Contitech kit from Rock Auto. Big mistake...the components have been on for about 15k miles and my car has a rattle when cold and is not completely quiet when warm. The belt in my kit was made in Mexico and both the tensioner and idler pulleys were Koyo. Water pump was marked as AISIN. All component parts were thrown in a box loosely. Now I wish I replaced everything with OEM Honda like I did at the 100k change.
 
Owner reported an engine rattle during cold starts. Noise improved but was still present once engine warmed up. Traced noise to the timing belt hydraulic tensioner which was also seeping oil.

I removed the lower and rear timing belt covers to set TDC and replace the hydraulic tensioner. The CONTITECH Timing Belt had many cracks on the smooth side after only 7 years and 67K miles!

OEM timing belt interval is determined by the Maintenance Minder which is 100-105K miles with no published time limit. Genuine Honda Timing Belts are usually in very good condition when removed, even if they are used well beyond 105K.

The engine had tensioner and idled pulleys with green dust seals so I think the kit used was a CONTITECH Black Series CK329LK1.

These aftermarket kits are supposed to last the full OEM interval with some safety margin. This particular timing belt and tensioner look like it should have been replaced a long time ago. Not sure if I would buy a CONTITECH kit for this application.
Horrible quality! I have had a few noise problems with their serpentine belts also. The Mitsuboshi timing belts go the distance in good shape.
 
Still blows my mind why people would consider non OEM parts for something so critical.

I had a CONTITECH kit I installed several years ago in a Chevrolet Aveo. It was the style in which the water pump was the eccentric to set the timing belt tension. Against our advice, customer still elected to this kit. Well needless to say, the vehicle was towed in less than 10,000 miles later with a no start and to the ear, no compression when cranking.

The water pump seized, causing the belt to fail, and sheared 12 out 16 valves and bent the others. The vendor of the kit paid for the repair luckily.
 
:eek:

I take it you're going to replace it with an Aisin kit? ;)

What do you think of those blue Gates "racing" belts? They should be stronger, right? :D

If they waited another week or so, the engine would've been destroyed! Then they'd have to get another car, perhaps one with a timing chain. :sneaky:
You KNOW they wouldn't get another timing belt car after THAT!
 
So, my parents had a Nissan Quest with a modified version of the VG30E that isn’t an interference engine. They had a local shop replace the T-belt, WP and auxiliary belts - they used Goodyear for all those and a GMB water pump. When it was time to change it once again, I went with OEM Nissan and got the old parts back for post-mortem.

the Goodyear was made in Poland but it was in decent shape with just over 60K on it. There was some very minor cracking.

I have a feeling if the car was OEM with Conti belts, ContiTech should be fine. This was probably a legacy Goodyear product.
 
:eek:

I take it you're going to replace it with an Aisin kit? ;)

What do you think of those blue Gates "racing" belts? They should be stronger, right? :D

If they waited another week or so, the engine would've been destroyed! Then they'd have to get another car, perhaps one with a timing chain. :sneaky:
You KNOW they wouldn't get another timing belt car after THAT!
I actually just replaced the hydraulic tensioner for now.

I don’t have time to do the full job until after the holidays. If they want it done sooner, they’ll have to seek other options.
 
Installed a new Mitsuboshi timing belt, Aisin water pump, koyo tensioner pulley and koyo idler pulley. Reused the Aisin hydraulic tensioner that was installed 5 days prior.

During disassembly it was evident that the Contitech timing belt had stretched significantly. There was a lot of slack on the tensioner side of the TB drive after the hydraulic tensioner was removed. The new belt had a minimal amount in comparison.

Note: the new Aisin water pumps are now from Japan. The one I installed was from the US. Unfortunately, it does exhibit the typical “warbling sound” at idle.
 

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This doesn't surprise me at all. I am no fan of Continental timing kits. I've gotten in many an argument with my service writers at work about this, they'll try to sell a Conti kit from vendor A because that particular vendor has a generous labor claim warranty. I much prefer, and will argue for Aisin kits from WorldPac, which are usually either equal to or slightly cheaper than Conti kits. The writer will try to argue "Well, if it fails we won't get paid labor on it" to which I simply reply "When is the last time an Aisin kit gave us any trouble?".

Timing kits are one thing you just can't cheap out on. This is coming from one cheap SOB.
 
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