Timing Belt Opinions

[Smoky14]

I'm about to change the timing belt on a Honda 2.3 4cyl engine.

What is your opinion on after market belts and tensioner pullies.
The OEM are pricy but are they that much better than say a Gates set up.
Thanks for your help
Smoky

 

[hate2work]

Use the OEM belt, it's too far back in there to use a cheaper substitute. OEM belt is tried and true, aftermarket belt...not so much.

Try to find it online, might be less expensive.

 

[nfs480]

you can order honda parts at hondaautomotiveparts.com for a pretty nice discount (These are Genuine Honda Parts)

 

[Steve S]

OEM for the important stuff.

 

[2oldtommy]

Gates-- They are a major supplier to OEMS. FWIW-- Oldtommy

 

[JustinC25]

Honda t-belts are made by Gates-Unitta.
'Nuf Said.

 

[rpn453]

Before my buddy did his timing belt on his Civic he phoned around for prices. It was $80 for a Gates or $90 for a Honda. I told him either would be good, but he was hesitant to use something other than OEM for such an important part. So he got the OEM belt, and I took a good look and found the Gates marking on it before we began installation! No big deal for $10 though.

 

[kschachn]

"Made by" and "same as" are not equal. For your Honda example it may very well be identical but do you know that for certain?

On my Toyota I tried buying a Gates belt but it was thicker and less supple than the OEM. It was impossible to install myself, it kept unwrapping off the crankshaft pulley. Not only that, the timing marks were just a wee bit off on the Gates belt and it made it difficult to determine whether the belt was aligned or not. I returned that belt and bought a Toyota belt. It went right on and the marks lined up perfectly.

Sometimes aftermarket is fine sometimes it is not. Personally on this job I would take the advice of most of the posters, and get a Honda belt.

 

[JustinC25]

Nothing wrong with OEM, I've used them before. I've also done 3 Gates belts on Camry's in the last year. All of them are fine.
My point is use what makes you feel comfortable. If that means OEM, then thats fine. If that means a quality aftermarket belt like a Gates, then that's fine too.

 

[benjamming]

Originally Posted By: nfs480
you can order honda parts at hondaautomotiveparts.com for a pretty nice discount (These are Genuine Honda Parts)


+1

 

[XJ1100]

I purchased the t-belt "kit" w/ water pump on eBay for my del Sol. It was OEM Honda and priced about the same as the Gates setup.

 

[The Critic]

Gates OE and Gates aftermarket are not the same.

Get the Honda belt and tensioners or the OEM-equivalent from worldpac.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
"Made by" and "same as" are not equal. For your Honda example it may very well be identical but do you know that for certain?

On my Toyota I tried buying a Gates belt but it was thicker and less supple than the OEM . . .


I agree, and I didn't think it was a bad decision. I trusted Gates' ability to make a quality timing belt as much as I trusted Honda's ability to specify how Gates should make the timing belt; I didn't expect them to re-design it!

So the Toyota OEM belt was also a Gates? I'm surprised that they would even use a different design for their self-branded belt, since it would cost more to re-engineer it than to just make it the same as how Toyota wanted it.

 

[nthach]

Toyota goes through Mitsuboshi for T-belts.

 

[kschachn]

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Gates makes the OEM belt. Like nthach noted, Mitsuboshi makes the belts (I always loved that name). It was just that I was starting the job on a Sunday and NAPA was the only place open. The NAPA branded box contained a Gates belt.

I'm sure that there was nothing wrong with the quality of the Gates belt. It was true though, that it was thicker and harder to install, and the alignment marks were not spot-on.

 

[mechtech2]

Honda parts are way overpriced. But c'mon... you knew this.

I'd get the name brand aftermarket parts. And you are smart to get the pulleys as well as the belt at his time. Bad pulleys cause a belt to go out, not the other way around.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Gates makes the OEM belt. Like nthach noted, Mitsuboshi makes the belts (I always loved that name).


You didn't really imply that. That's just the direction my thought process went after reading your post. I started wondering whether a company who manufactures OEM belts would ever use different specifications for their self-branded belts.

Higher satisfaction with OEM Toyota Mitsuboshi belt than Gates belt noted!

That's the first time I've heard of Mitsuboshi. When I read the response from nthach, I actually thought Mitsuboshi was either a typo or he used that term because Mitsubishi and Bosch were somehow tied together!

 

[mechanicx]

I think Gates aftermarket belts and hoses are pretty good, but I would always go with the OEM for a timing belt. Especially if the engine was interference. I'm not saying they were Gates or wre but I've had so many bad aftermarket timing belts that I always go for OEM.

I do think a manufacture will supply a higher quality OEM part than an after market part even if it's their own brand. I think Dayco supplied some belts and hoses for GM and they were fine. But Dayco aftermarket often times were junk.

 

[wander2039]

On my Festiva/Aspire I've used Dayco, Goodyear, Gates and few others and never a problem. Lined up perfectly. Think I used a Goodyear on a corolla and had no problems either.

 

[fdcg27]

A timing belt failure on a Honda is fatal.
There is no fix that doesn't involve many dollars.
I have always used OEM belts and water pumps on mine.
If the original belt and pump went 100K without any problem, then I don't think any savings would be all that significant over the life of the parts.
This is something you will probably do once in the car's life.
Saving a few dollars isn't really an issue for parts you rarely replace.
We aren't taliking about an oil filter here.