Acura / Honda 3.5 v6 timing belt frustration!

[jimbanville]

Never heard that before.... What I have heard is it's rarely the belt that goes, that it is the tensioner, but it's on vehicles where the owners simply never replace them (they don't know it's strongly advised to do so).

The tensioner is what consistently fails at 100k miles on these 3.5 v6 Honda engines. Been like that for years. Sad really. You're encouraged to go ahead and replace the belt, water pump, etc. since you're already there and a belt (unlike most chains) is a wear item. My Camry's chain is supposed lifetime, although there are always people that hate that term. Lol. Lifetime is probably 200-250k miles or whatever Toyota thinks the average miles the car will have before being wrecked or taken off the road for other reasons.

 

[The Critic]

The tensioner is what consistently fails at 100k miles on these 3.5 v6 Honda engines. Been like that for years. Sad really. You're encouraged to go ahead and replace the belt, water pump, etc. since you're already there and a belt (unlike most chains) is a wear item. My Camry's chain is supposed lifetime, although there are always people that hate that term. Lol. Lifetime is probably 200-250k miles or whatever Toyota thinks the average miles the car will have before being wrecked or taken off the road for other reasons.

The belt is due for replacement at 100k anyway. The tensioner is usually leaking by then, but it rarely causes you to replace the belt before 100K.

 

[jimbanville]

The belt is due for replacement at 100k anyway. The tensioner is usually leaking by then, but it rarely causes you to replace the belt before 100K.

I'm sure there are tensioner failures before 100k miles, but shortly after 100k miles you can be assured it will soon fail and start rattling, mostly at start up or when it's cold outside. It's designed to fail. Perhaps to "encourage" you to have the belt replaced. Lol. The old belt actually looked fine. No cracks, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if it would have lasted another 100k miles based on its appearance. I'm just happy my Camry has a lifetime chain and a non interference engine. Lol

 

[The Critic]

I'm just happy my Camry has a lifetime chain and a non interference engine. Lol

Nah, those covers like to seep and sometimes leak. Pick your poison.

 

[Hall]

My Camry's chain is supposed lifetime, although there are always people that hate that term. Lol. Lifetime is probably 200-250k miles or whatever

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a timing chain is typically not a maintenance item, at any age or mileage. I would never call it a "lifetime" item. You replace it if it breaks. There's countless vehicle parts that are "lifetime" parts in that sense. But you're right, if an automaker says "lifetime" anything, some people get really worked up.

 

[John105]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a timing chain is typically not a maintenance item, at any age or mileage. I would never call it a "lifetime" item. You replace it if it breaks. There's countless vehicle parts that are "lifetime" parts in that sense. But you're right, if an automaker says "lifetime" anything, some people get really worked up.

Right, it typically involves an unplanned repair. Sometimes a guide fails causing more damage.

 

[jimbanville]

Nah, those covers like to seep and sometimes leak. Pick your poison.

Still spotless on my '07 v6 Camry. Best car I've ever owned. Lol. Can't bring myself to sell it.

 

[CarDoc66]

I install Aisin kits all the time never had an issue.

 

[jimbanville]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but a timing chain is typically not a maintenance item, at any age or mileage. I would never call it a "lifetime" item. You replace it if it breaks. There's countless vehicle parts that are "lifetime" parts in that sense. But you're right, if an automaker says "lifetime" anything, some people get real.

I'm guessing the average person who knows a little about cars has probably heard of timing belts/chains breaking, thinking wear as the cause, resulting in catastrophic damage. Referring to the timing chain as lifetime would probably alleviate some worry about an expensive preventative maintenance bill 100k miles down the road.

 

[jimbanville]

I install Aisin kits all the time never had an issue.

Where do you buy them?

 

[Trav]

When I have done these the belt has been fairly tight between the cams (not 1/4") and down the idler side, the only slack in the belt is on the tensioner side before pulling the pin. You may need to put the crank mark forward a hair and the rear cam sprocket back a little to get the belt on tight leaving slack only on the tensioner side.
I cant see it but I am guessing the slack between the cams is the cause of your issue. The reason it looks correct after running the engine is the cam will center itself to the mark from spring pressure if slightly off but in operation the rear cam is possibly retarded.

 

[Dave Hess]

Lol. Taking it to a shop is my very last resort. I think I can figure it out for less than another $1200. I could even buy OEM parts and install them for way less than $1200, but I think I had it installed correctly. I think either the tensioner is faulty or the belt is out of spec.

Any way to exchange the tensioner and belt ?

 

[jimbanville]

When I have done these the belt has been fairly tight between the cams (not 1/4") and down the idler side, the only slack in the belt is on the tensioner side before pulling the pin. You may need to put the crank mark forward a hair and the rear cam sprocket back a little to get the belt on tight leaving slack only on the tensioner side.
I cant see it but I am guessing the slack between the cams is the cause of your issue. The reason it looks correct after running the engine is the cam will center itself to the mark from spring pressure if slightly off but in operation the rear cam is possibly retarded.

I'm trying to follow you. Are you saying to rotate the rear sprocket 1 tooth toward the front sprocket, even if it puts the sprocket forward of the the timing mark, and rely on the tensioner to pull the belt (and sprocket) back in line with the mark?

Also, I asked this earlier...since all these belts are supposed to be identical, shouldn't there be a known number of ribs/teeth between the front and rear cam timing marks? What is that number? I swear I've seen a timing belt for something with marks on it from the factory that you line up with marks on the sprockets so there is no ambiguity about placement.

 

[jimbanville]

Any way to exchange the tensioner and belt ?

It's from Amazon. I could buy another kit from them and send these back in the box with the rest of the parts as a "return". I've had this kit too long to just "return" it.

 

[Trav]

I'm trying to follow you. Are you saying to rotate the rear sprocket 1 tooth toward the front sprocket, even if it puts the sprokey forward of the the timing mark, and rely on the tensioner to pull the belt (and sprocket) back in line with the mark?

The rear sprocket back (away from the other). Pull the belt tight down to crank to the right (not the rear tensioner side), you should have slack only on the tensioner side before pulling the pin. Once you think it is correct rotate the engine twice and check the marks.

 

[Trav]

Check this out.

 

[jimbanville]

The rear sprocket back (away from the other). Pull the belt tight down to crank to the right (not the rear tensioner side), you should have slack only on the tensioner side before pulling the pin. Once you think it is correct rotate the engine twice and check the marks.

I appreciate your help but I'm not following.

 

[jimbanville]

Check this out.

Yes. I watched that video before I did the job. What point in the video explains what you are referring to?

 

[jimbanville]

The rear sprocket back (away from the other). Pull the belt tight down to crank to the right (not the rear tensioner side), you should have slack only on the tensioner side before pulling the pin. Once you think it is correct rotate the engine twice and check the marks.

I know people will mark the old belt and the sprockets. They transfer the marks to the new belt and use those to line up the timing. Since all these belts are supposed to be identical, why aren't they just marked from the factory to line up with timing marks on the sprockets? Shouldn't there be a known number of ribs/teeth between the timing marks?

 

[The Critic]

Yes. I watched that video before I did the job. What point in the video explains what you are referring to?

Basically, the belt should only be slightly slack on the “west side” - which is the side with the tensioner. Everywhere else, it should be tight.