Timing belt and water pump

[Silver_civic]

Hello and how hard is it to do a timing belt and water pump on a 03' civic? I have the factory shop manual and lot of tools. Seems pretty straightforward as mine is the 1.7L 4cyl SOHC. Helped one time with a friend on a 98' HX Civic. Have the parts already and some honda coolant and new spark plugs. Have 112k on car, plannin to do it when the weather breaks at brothers place in harrisburg area.


thank you in advance


adam vasbinder

 

[Dave Hess]

It shouldn't be too hard once you remove the driver's side tire to gain access to the Tbelt & WP. At that mileage you should also clean the IAC and TB.

My mom has a 2001 Civic LX and my dad has a 2005 Civic VP and both are easy to work on.

 

[Silver_civic]

Thanks for the advice LT4 Vette. Am I correct that the 01-04's were same body style? Did they change the body after 05' or am I wrong? Thought the 2000-2004 were all same body style (civics)

adam

 

[J_Sap]

I replaced the timing belt and water pump on a Civic last summer and it wasn't that bad. It all depends on how you are with a wrench. If you helped your friend change his timing belt his 98 HX and you feel comfortable doing it then go for it. If you are not sure or if your only maintenance done on your car is oil changes then getting someone else to do it would be a smart choice. It is a lot cheaper to have it fixed right the first time then to fix it again.

 

[Silver_civic]

Hey J_Sap, thanks for the info and advice. Yeah, his was a stick, SOHC cam believe 1.6L, seemed like more room on his(which I hear is true on older hondas/acuras). I like to work on things and learn from the experiences. Was wondering how you release the tension on the tensioner to remove timing belt; manual looks like you use a hex or torx socket if I read it right. I did front wheel bearings, front brakes, front struts and rear brakes so far on it; other than that its pretty darn reliable lil car.

thanks again J_Sap

adam

 

[bruckus]

I have done 2 timing belts on my 2001 civic 1.7. You will need the tool to hold the crankshaft which is an external hex, and a socket with a long extension and a breaker bar. The job is not too bad when you have the manual. I would suggest also checking the tensioner as well as replacing the valve cover gasket. I start by removing the belt access covers and then marking the old belt before removal and transfering the marks on to the new belt so there is no question that it is in the correct position. Not a bad job but leave yourself a day so your not rushed. Make sure you get yourself a crank holding tool ahead of time. I dont know if you can rent otherwise ebay is an option. Good luck

 

[Silver_civic]

Hey bruckus, thanks for the advice and help. When you say hold crankshaft, you mean its a hex bolt? I have the crank holding tool and its a snap on part. Have a good butterfly air ratchet which is nice. Yeah, plan to use couple vaca days to do it at brothers house in Harrisburg. I have the tensioner also. Got few good white paint markers also to mark old and new belt. Think manual says the crankshaft bolt is a 17mm or 19mm bolt. Holder tool is like 6point holding part also. May be wrong so correct me or enlighten me if I am.



thanks in advance bruckus

adam

 

[bruckus]

Adam, You probably have the right tool. Snap on makes one. Newer Honda are 50 mm external size, older hondas were 45mm. This tool is inserted in the crank pulley and is used to prevent the crank from turning when you are trying to break loose the pulley bolt. The pulley bolt will be inside of the holding tool and your socket will be inserted through the middle of your holding tool.

 

[Silver_civic]

Hey bruckus, yeah my Honda tech/friend, said newer hondas are different. The crank bolt is 17mm he told me. I just wonder or what the socket or hex or allen socket; how you release some tension from tensioner to take old belt off. Have to re read some of the manual.


thanks for the help/info bruckus

adam

 

[mechtech2]

If you touch a part, clean it, lube it, seal it, or replace it.
And clean does not mean the results of a four year old washing the dinner dishes.

Actual extra time and grief? Maybe 1/2 hour. WELL worth it in the grand scheme of things.

[If they are shooting at you and you have to get away, that's a different story.}

 

[Silver_civic]

Thanks for the info mechtech2, I know how to degrease, clean and re assemble things also. It also helps that I have a parts cleaner if I need it.

 

[bruckus]

Just use a good quality 6 point 1/2 inch drive socket for the pulley bolt. The bolt can be very tight. I never really worried about taking tension off because there is not a whole lot there. There is a pin you can insert in the tensioner to hold it off to the side a bit. I wouldnt worry much about it. The belt will come off easily once you get access to it. If you do not replace the tensioner you will not have to adjust it but if you replace it there is a proceedure in the manual. I replaced mine on my second timing belt at 220,000.

 

[MarkM66]

I use an impact gun, to remove and install my crank pulley.

It's a 500ft/lb unit, with 150psi to it, and it took all it had to remove that bolt. I wouldn't remove it until the compressor cycled to max psi.

 

[Silver_civic]

Thanks for the advice and help bruckus, and MarkM66, and I LOVE my IR Titanium air wrench!